Town Board — Minutes

1 REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES DATE: Feb 13, 2024 Chairman Fred Stoll called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Supervisors Myron Olson and Kevin Mackie, Diane Nelson, Clerk, Amy Eliot, Treasurer, Mark Johnson, Streets Dept, Keith Kesler, Fire Chief, Gene Germano, Trusty Trucking, Andy C arlson and Karen Nevins from the Youth Ballfield League and Jan Meller and Carrie Johnson from the Brule Presbyterian Church. Minutes: Myron motioned, seconded by Kevin to approve the minutes of last month’s board meeting, motion passed. Financial Report: The financial report showed: $85,081.50 in checking, $307,238.14 in the general money market account which includes $196,112.92 in a sub-account dedicated to the town garage, $534,962.62 in real estate tax account, $ 32,601.25 in personal property tax account, $51,794.42 in equipment account, and $69,956.09 in the ARPA Grant account. Kevin motioned, seconded by Myron to accept the financial report, and authorize paying the bills as presented, motion passed. Diane noted the Feb tax settlement to the county and schools hasn’t arrived yet; these will need to be paid as soon as they are received . They will show up on next month’s check report. Public Comments: Jan Meller and Carrie Johnson discussed a $1000 award they’ve received to spend on something benefiting the church and the community. Ideas for spending it included a new fridge to replace the one that doesn’t always work right, new sinks/faucets/plumbing in the kitchen, new faucets and/or sinks in the bathrooms, and improved privacy stalls for the women’s bathroom as you can see over the tops of the current ones. After discussion, it was determined the church may want to focus on the fridge and the town will address the plumbing and other issues one by one. Kevin will work on assessing the options for upgrades to the sinks and faucets. County Supervisor’s Report: Scott emailed that the county has been cleaning up the trailer parks, 24 trailers and 10 sheds removed. 208 loads to landfill, 619 tons totaling $35,000, total labor and equipment ~$47,000 not including dump fees. The county is currently 91% staffed and had a 100% retention rate in December. Town Officers Reports: Myron worked with the road limits posting as the county put them on earlier this year as roads are so soft in places . He also met with Dean Baillie about the possibility of putting a digital sign on land he owns across from the KroBar. Dean was amenable but would like to meet to iron out details. Diane mentioned a grant opportunity for upgrading a road that has periodic weight restrictions . Clevedon Rd is used frequently for timber hauling as it is a main connector between Hwy 13 and Hwy 2. The board agreed to contacting Scott Weyandt for assistance with the application. Road Report: Not much plowing needed so far this year ! Snowflakes are down. They have been brushing and pushing downed trees off rights-of-way. 2 Fire Chief Report: They have had 1 medical call and one cancelled landing zone call since the last meeting. Grant paperwork is done for several grants . They are currently working on an Assistance to Firefighters grant to replace the 23-year-old extraction equipment. He donated some functional but “no longer meeting code” equipment to Nigeria. New Business: Zoning: Fred motioned, seconded by Kevin to file No objection to the revised non- metallic mine conditional use permit and reclamation plan for Olson Bros. Motion passed. Fire Dept. Officer Appointment: All incumbent officers were reelected to their positions. Myron motioned, seconded by Kevin to confirm the election of the officers. Chief: Keith Kesler ; Deputy Chief: Virgil Johnson; Assistant Chief: Mark Johnson; Captains: Adam Olson, Jon Dillard, and Borg Isaksen. Safety Officer: Sam Ostrazeski. Motion passed. Brule ballfields usage discussion: Andy Carlson and Karen Nevins informed us they are now involved with the NHS youth softball league as both Scott Janigo and Jay Johnson have quit. Scott will continue as coach for Northwestern through this school year but will be retiring after that. They are interested in creating another ballfield for the 8 and under group to practice on as they are continuously getting bumped and shorted practice time. Myron suggested once it warms up meeting at the field before a board meeting. Old Business: Fire Dept. Water Source : Keith suggested a smaller well 100 /gpm vs 250 along with a tank rather than purchasing land and building a pond. He would link the 2 wells together to output to the trucks with shutoff valves for each . This would greatly reduce refill times for volunteers after events and be more cost effective. The board authorized him to get estimates. Playground Equipment: Tabled until next month. Town correspondence was reviewed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Diane Nelson, Clerk