A discussion of the proposed tax levy for 2016 to be presented at the March annual meeting, the annual report from the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Dept. and restoration efforts for the carpet in the town hall meeting area were among the items discussed at the regular meeting of the Santiago Township Board Wednesday night.

 

The tax levy for collection in 2016 will remain unchanged in Santiago Township, according to documents presented by outgoing Treasurer Jeff Anderson.  The figure presented to the voters at the annual meeting on Tue., March 10 will be $302,500, exactly the same total as the previous year.  Of that, $77,500 will be placed in the general fund, $145,000 for road and bridge maintenance, $75,000 for the fire protection fund and $5,000 in the park fund, Anderson said.

 

Chairman Stuart Nelson opined that planned turn-backs of some 4.5 miles of county roads may have an impact on the township road budget, though Supervisor David Jehoich said that the county would continue to maintain those roads for several years after the turn-back was completed.  The turn-back involves sections of Co. Rd. 127 and Co. Rd. 85, Jehoich said.

 

Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott presented his annual report to the board, which stated that there had been 611 calls for service in Santiago Township in 2014, up from 579 in 2013.

 

Those activities included one assault, two burglaries, one narcotics investigation and four DUI arrests, along with three cases of criminal sexual conduct, eight thefts and six cases of criminal damage to property.

 

Brott also commented on the accreditation of the Tri-County Regional Crime Lab, which greatly increases the speed in which evidence is processed, and said that more personnel in his department have completed the Police Staff and Command School at Northwestern University.  He also cited the Emergency Response Unit for the awards they have won in the previous year.

 

Custodian Matt Weber reported that he had met with representatives of the firm that had manufactured the carpet squares used on the floor of the town hall meeting area, and that they were willing to replace the material under warranty.

 

A number of the individual squares of carpeting have come loose from the adhesive backing on the concrete floor, for the second time in recent years. Commenting that the floor “looks like an ice house” with the pulled-up carpet squares, Nelson and supervisors Jehoich and Jeff Pappenfus voted to have the firm install a one-piece carpet in the area.