Author: Glen

PINE COUNTY TOWNSHIP OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION FALL MEETING, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012

           Chairman Frank Grundmeier called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed with prayer.  Roll call:  26 Townships represented.

          SPEAKERS:  Tony Lourey:  Tony said he spent several years as Kerrick Township Supervisor, which helped in his approach to his Senate duties.  He echoed Frank’s prayer for cooperation and dialogue and finding common ground.  Tony said there are several serious state issues.  They were unable to agree on budget issues, and the state borrowed $2.7 billion from the tobacco settlement which was for schools.  The state has a $4.5 billion deficit.  Tony said his goal is to raise revenue fairly.  The state neglected road issues and pushed more of the burden down to counties and townships.  To avoid a tax increase, the state increased property taxes and removed the Homestead Tax Credit, which doubled property taxes over the past years.  Rural property owners were hit 3 times as hard as city dwellers.  Tony said we have to cut services and expenditures plus raise taxes to combat the deficit; it is not moral to keep pushing the problem to the next biennial.

County Commissioners:   Steve Hallan, District 1:    He said he agrees with Frank and Tony on the need for civil discourse and discussion.

Steve Chaffee, District 2:    He said the Commissioners  agree on the need for action, but not always on the means.  He said even with the loss of the Homestead Tax Credit, they were able to keep the levy at minus 1.  They have tried to hold down spending without cutting services.  They’ve learned to do more with less.

Curt Rossow, District 4:  He represents the townships and communities affected by the flooding this year.  The county has acted to help people fill out FEMA forms and get grant money to help people with forms.  It can take up to 40 hours to fill out the forms.  They were able to keep the levy at zero increase.

Doug Carlson, District 5: PineCounty is part of the Arrowhead County Association and the Minnesota Association of Counties.  They’ve worked on the problems of floods and blowdowns and tackled the issues of bureaucracy and regulations and streamlining agencies.  Their biggest issue is wetlands regulations, which have hurt our area a lot, affecting road projects and businesses.  They were able to refinance the jail with bonds and lowered interest rates from 6% to 2.7%, which will save the county $1 million.

Terry Croup, candidate for District 3 Commissioner:  He said his priority is public safety and roads.  He is concerned with the county losing population and said we need jobs to keep people here.  He said there are 900 businesses inPineCounty, including farms.  More businesses mean more employment.

Sheriff Robin Cole:  He’s been busy working on property crimes and arresting burglars.  This was a bad summer for car and ATV accidents, with 12 deaths.  Most accidents were caused by speed, not alcohol.  Kerrick and Ogema had a new problem, giant outdoor concerts with multiple bands over several days.  They choose Pine County because of little zoning.  The Ogema rave brought 1,500 people and cost the county $5,000 to police, and requested an ambulance and fire truck, and only had 6 security working.   There were drug arrests and fights and deputies arrested the promoter.  Ogema is now working on an ordinance to control raves.  Radios:  The new 800 MHz system is already working at the county level.  All 11 fire departments will get up to 75% of the needed radios.  The state is buying another 200 radios and Pine County may get 30. He encouraged the township officers to put pressure on the county commissioners to provide more radios.  The new system will cost $1.6 million.  They will need 5 towers, but the one in Duxbury and Cloverdale haven’t started construction, and the state isn’t responding.  He said they have other options to cover dead spots.  County Watch Program:  Thefts fueled by drug use are an issue.  This is hard to combat, so he stressed the importance of neighborhood watch groups at the local area, and of reporting any suspicious activities.

Tim Faust, Candidate for District 11B Representative:  The district lines were changed and Bill Hilty is not running.  Tim wants to restore the Homestead Tax Credit to townships because farm taxes have increased up to 250% or more, and rural taxes are greater than in the metro area.  He said if voter ID is passed, it will cost townships more to implement it.

Cathy Clemmer, County Auditor:  The levy proposal notices are ready.  Some township’s levies are going down.  School levies are still high. 60% of taxpayers will be paying less.  One third of our townships are mail-ballot precincts, and it is not clear how voter ID will work with absentee and mail-ballots and military ballots.  We don’t know yet how much it will cost.

Lenny Bonander, Pine Hospital Board:  Lenny gave the history of Essentia’s attempted takeover of the Pine Medical Center, and the grass-roots campaign opposing this, with townships and county and state and federal elected officials all getting involved with petitions and resolutions and letters.  This led to Essentia agreeing to a new lease and new agreement, and will be building a new hospital behind Gateway Health Clinic on a 55 acre site.  They hope to start construction by March, 2014.  Roads and sewer and water are going in already.

Ben Weiner, Candidate for District 11B Representative:  His focus is on the lack of jobs in our area, leading to foreclosed homes and our population decreasing.  He will fight unfunded mandates and excess regulations.  He said there is a big difference between the cities and rural communities in taxing and mandates.

Kelly Schroeder, County Assessor:  Many property values have gone down, and some people’s taxes have gone down.  Values are now holding.  The last 300 sales in the county were reasonably stable.  The flooding in northPineCounty affected 130 homes.  All non-productive land has been removed from the Green Acres program, and people must appeal by May 1, or they can lose their green acre status.  She distributed a list of 263 people at risk of losing Green Acre status, which could increase their taxes.

Mark LeBrun, County Engineer:  A 5-year road program has just been approved, with 100 miles of resurfacing paved roads and some newly paved roads.  He explained the specs for breakaway posts and said the county is now starting applying chloride on high-volume dirt roads, at a cost of $2,500/mile.  This reduces the frequency of blading and extends the regraveling interval from 5-7 to 10 years.

Brett Grundmeier, DNR:  Still concerned with fewer younger hunters and anglers, and they’re working to encourage more, with special hunts, etc.  Still fighting invasive species and cracking down on removing weeds and pulling plugs on boats.  Zebra mussels can wreck a lake.  Don’t know how the new wolf season will work; he suspects a lot of large coyotes will be brought in.  Some hybrid wolf-coyotes can’t be distinguished from wolves.  Farmers are allowed to kill wolves that are stalking their cattle.  His most frustrating problem is trespassing, and the law will not protect property owners if they don’t post their land every 500 feet, or at all entrances and corner borders, with a name and phone number or a signature.  Brett encouraged the township officers to call on the legislators to remove the posting law.

Don Sherper, MAT District Manager:   He said federal funds are disappearing due to the national debt.  He encouraged attendance at the state MAT convention inSt. Cloud.

Frank Grundmeier said the townships must work together to solve problems.  We can’t always get our way, and if we don’t work together, nothing will work.  We need to speak up at the grass-roots level, or things will not change.

BUSINESS MEETING:          Minutes of Spring Meeting:   Paul Raymond read Glen Williamson’s record of the March Township Officers Meeting.  Motion made and seconded to approve, with two changes:  Doug Carlson said it was 14 times running for all offices, not just commissioner, and Sue Koecher is fromNickersonTownship, not Wilma. Passed.

Treasurer’s Report:  Paul gave Glen’s treasurer’s report.  Motion and second to approve.  Passed.

State MAT Educational and Annual Meeting:   Paul explained howWilmaTownship has sent a representative several years, but felt that it would be better if the whole county township officers were represented at theSt. Cloud conference November 15-17.  The theme is Townships Serving Their Citizens—Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.  Paul suggested they send our Secretary-Treasurer Glen Williamson, since he is knowledgeable about our county township issues.  Frank said the total cost would be around $500.  He asked if there were any interest in sending a representative.  There was no motion or discussion, and the matter died.

Frank Grundmeier, East Central Regional Development Committee:  This year the Minnesota Department of Transportation is making a survey of all roads and will have a representative from ECRDC speak at the next township officers’ meeting. PineCounty has more roads than many counties.

Assessor Training:  Frank said we still have a program of financial assistance for anyone interested in becoming an assessor.

Pine County Hospital:  David Cullen fromSandstoneTownship said the new hospital is on a fast track for construction.  This is very important for our county and area.  He encouraged townships who are in the hospital district to get involved.  The hospital is owned by the district and the participating townships.

Motion and second and vote to adjourn meeting at 11:20 a.m.

BUSINESS MEETING:   Dave Kapoff, Dave Baker, Frank Grundmeier, and Paul Raymond present.  Sue Koecher’s mother died and she is absent, as is Glen Williamson. Motion made, seconded and passed to approve minutes of the September 20  business meeting.    Checks were signed, bills were paid. $66.50 was donated for the lunch.  Motion made, seconded and approved to adjourn at 12:20 p.m.

Paul Raymond, acting Secretary Treasurer, Pine Co. Twp. Officers’ Assn.

 

Date Approved: ___________Chairman:___________________________

The Spring  Meeting of the Pine County Township Officer’s Association was held on Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the Hinckley American Legion Hall. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Frank Grundmeier at 9:00 a.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led Chair Frank Grundmeier. The Invocation was provided by Frank Grundmeier.

Roll call was taken with 31 townships present, establishing a quorum.

We had several speakers:

Roger Crawford, State Representative District 8B spoke about the need for a $220 million upgrade to fix electrical and other improvements at the State Capital.  He went on to say that he doesn’t believe in expanding gambling to cover the Viking Stadium.  However, he believes that electronic gambling has the least amount of resistance to the people.

MAT Rep District Manager Don Sherper said that interim ordinances are important to townships.  He went on to say that the constitutional amendment for voter id, if passed will cost the townships a lot of money to enforce.  He’s concerned as to how it will affect veterans and the elderly.

Sherriff Robin Cole said that he went from 28 sworn officers last year to 40 deputies now on staff.  He’s adjusted his staffing to meet the needs of the 30,000 residents in Pine County.  Any weekend, we have from ten to 16,000 visitors to the area… i.e. people coming to their cabins.

They are getting new squad cars; they have about 40 volunteer posse to help the sworn officers.  The posse did about 4500 volunteer hours last year.

The Drug Task Force is very active and recently raided a home in Finlayson.  It’s important to keep this raid up because drugs are the driving force behind many of the burglaries.

He said that statistically, the average burglar does eight crimes before being arrested;  when crime goes up, they check their records to see who was released.

Many township officers engaged Sheriff Cole on matters ranging from cabin break burglaries to what he’s doing about speeding.

Cole said that he spent about 150 hours of his time working on the Property room at the jail.  He said that book keeping wasn’t that good prior to him taking office.  He said that about 12 firearms were missing.  These weapons are entered as stolen.

District 1 Commissioner Stephan Hallan said the he represents the least amount of townships; he represents Rock Creek, Pine City and Pine City Township.  He would like us to join with Kanabec Health and Human Services.  Their combined population would be about 45,000 residents.   He believe it would better serve the residents in the long run.

District 3 Commissioner Steve Chaffee said that he’s in his final year of his four year term.  He said the county board has been good at holding cost down.

District 4 Commissioner Curt Rossow said that it is a pleasure working with the board most of the time.  He said that County Rd 41 will be blacktop next year.  The county has about 700 miles of road, but only 300 miles are blacktopped.

District 5 Commissioner Doug Carlson said that this will be his 14^th time running for county commissioner and has been involved in government for twenty-six years.  He went on to say that most residents are not happy with property tax increases; half of the budget is Health and Human Services.

Kelly Schroeder, County Assessor, started working March 7, 2012.  She grew up in Isanti County.  She talked about Green Acres and Rural Preserve Programs.

Kurt Schneider sent a survey, “2012 Pine County Township Land Use and Permitting Survey,” that was passed out.

DNR Conservation Officer Brent Grundmeier talked about the fire danger and that there is a burning restriction in place.   He mentioned that timber wolves have been delisted.  You can now protect your livestock if they threaten them.   He talked about aquatic invasive species and the importance of checking your boat when leaving the water.

Leonard Bonander, President of Sandstone Economic Council touched on many topics.

The railroad is an economic issue; it’s a job creator.  He said that the railroad is an efficient way to take people to work and to put people to work.  NorthenLightExpress.org is a good place to get information about the train.  Eighty percent of the funds for the railroad project will come from the federal government and other twenty percent will be from the state.

Terry from Hinckley Township doesn’t want to the train to go to the casino.  They were reminded that the casino is the biggest payer of taxes in the county and they employ about 1700 people.

Sandstone Federal Correctional Institution has the opportunity to add 250 to 750 new jobs in the coming years.

Bonander talked about Essentia trying to acquire the Sandstone Hospital for little or nothing, based on a contract the Hospital Board signed about 15 years ago.  The hospital did about $30 million dollars in business last year and has about $3 million in the bank.  Essentia wants to exercise an agreement in the contract and want to only pay $170,000 for it.  There isn’t any legal recourse; so the community is using political pressure to politicians and the press to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Essentia is worth $1.5 Billion.  Bonander said this is a non-partisan issue.  They need the community to send letters and make phone calls.

Business Meeting

Motion made, seconded, and passed to approve the minutes of the October 22, 2011 meeting.

Motion made, seconded, and passed to approve the Treasurer’s March 31, 2012 report.

Paul Raymond from Wilma Township and Susan Koecher from Wilma Township were re-elected and elected by unanimous ballots for a three year term on the Pine County Township Officer’s Executive Committee.

A motion was made, seconded and passed a resolution in support of the North Pine Area Hospital District retaining local control of the Sandstone Hospital. The only township that opposed the resolution and voted against it was Arlone, who was represented by Bill Peel.

Motion made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 12:00 p.m.

Respectively submitted by

Glen Williamson Sr.

Secretary/Treasurer

Pine County Township Officers Association

Date Approved:______________________

Chairman___________________________

 

The Fall Meeting of the Pine County Township Officer’s Association was held on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at the Hinckley American Legion Hall. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Frank Grundmeier at 9:00 a.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led Chair Frank Grundmeier. The Invocation was provided by Frank Grundmeier.

Roll call was taken with 26 townships present, establishing a quorum.

We had several speakers:

Roger Crawford, State Representative District 8B said there will be a meeting on November 2, 2011 to talk about issues including property taxes. He said that with the budget shortfall, everyone had to sacrifice.  He would like to see property taxes uncomplicated.  Currently, we have over 50 classes.  Most states have less than ten.   He doesn’t believe that the state should tell local government what to do.  It does against the Republican policy.  He went on to say that about 40,000 people work for the State of MN, 34,000 for the Feds and 19,000 work for the University of Minnesota.  He said the state spends about $34 Billion in a year, that $26,000 per family of four… when compared to Colorado which spends only $4600 per family.  As of October 1, 2011 the new law got rid of Sales Certificate requirement for local government unit/townships.

Frank Grundemeier made a comment that townships should be able to levy our own taxes.

District 1 Commissioner Stephan Hallan encouraged the officers to attend the meeting, November 2.  He said even if the county set the levy at zero, we’ll still have an increase of 5.2% in taxes. He went on to say that the county government is running smooth as silk and that they just sold a ¼ million dollars in land.  If anyone is interested in purchasing county land, check at the courthouse.

District 2 Commissioner Mitch Pangerl said that the board agrees to disagree.  As the new guy on the board, he’s always looking for suggestions.

Numerous officers, including Bill Foster, Munch Township, Jerry DuBois, Pokegma Township, Ben Hancock, Mission Township, Tom Martini, Pine City Township and Dave Baker from New Dosey Township voiced their opinion on gravel pit, weight restriction and speed limit.  Stephan Hallan responded by saying that township is the road authority and can post weight and speed limit.

District 3 Commissioner Steve Chaffee thanked the townships for all their hard work.  He said he lives in Hinckley Township and thanked them for keeping his taxes low.  The County Board voted to have a zero levy.  He went on to say that board members can disagree and still get along.  He’s on the Negotiating Committee for Employee Benefits.

Jane Richey, Mission Creek Township wanted to know more about Pine County adopting a county wide zoning.

Steve said he doesn’t think the board is truly interested. He said they talked about it, but will allow townships to opt in or out.

Bob Brewster, Arna Township said that county should look for a minimum ordinance for the county.

District 4 Commissioner Curt Rossow said they have a good county board.  He stated that it’s always good when you have opposite votes.  Roscow said don’t’ be afraid to call your commissioner if there is something wrong with your county road.

District 5 Commissioner Doug Carlson said the issues the county has is always changing.  He represents ten townships in Eastern and Northern Pine County. He thinks that the county board is fiscally responsible.  He said that the truckers who are clearing trees in Wilma and Arna area are doing a good job for the communities involved.

Tony Lourey, District 8 State Senator said that he spent nine years on the town board.  He wanted cover three things.

1.  The process is failing.
2. Market Value – Homestead Credit
3. Redistricting

1. He said the process is becoming unglued and we have to be open, honest and transparent in government. Zoning and land use process is really important. Health and Human Services funding is a very large part of the state budget.  He said he’s very involved with Health and Human Services.
2. In regards to market value and homestead credit, he said most of this was done in closed door with the Majority leader, governor and other people.  It wasn’t very transparent.  Low and moderately income people are struggling with property tax. He said that the state was trying to be a good partner by trying to help out with homestead credit.  However there is a bi-partisan effort to undo this.
3. Redistricting – Population has shifted to the cities and its suburbs.  There will be less legislatures from the rural area which means less representation.

County Auditor Cathy Clemmer and Assistant Assessor Tory Stewart gave a presentation.  Troy Stewart said that Mike Sheehy had a serious head injury in June and may not be back.  He talked about property taxes and said it will go down for about 10 percent of property owners.

Cathy Clemmer spoke about Market Value Exclusion and that many property taxes will go up for all townships except for Crosby.

Gary Anderson from Pine County townships said the original legislation for Homestead Credit was help those with lower income.

Clemmer said that anyone that doesn’t have a homestead credit will be picking up the slack in the coming year.

Pine County Jail Administrator Rick Boland spoke on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department.  Sheriff Robin Cole is out of state for training.  Boland said that it cost about $3 million to run the jail and it gets about $760,000 from boarding prisoners from outside Pine County.  Over the last year they boarded about 1500 prisoners and half were from outside of Pine County.  They usually house about 90 prisoners per day.

Boland said that they have AAA, religious, knitting and a variety of different groups for the incarcerated.  This helps the inmates to have a positive attitude.  They also have a STS Crew (Sentence to Serve).  These are usually offenders are usually those who have committed misdemeanor to gross misdemeanor crimes.  They usually do community service.  However, those who have committed burglaries are not included.  The STS crew did about 9000 hours last year.  If you’re interested in having STS crew work in your community, check out the sheriff’s department website for an application.

DNR Conservation Officer Dustin Heaton states that he’s in charge of the Northern 1/3^rd of Pine County form Askov and north of Finlayson.  He said he’s been a CO for seven years.  He said that Road Authority may remove dam within 300 feet of a road, even if it’s on a private property.  However, before killing a beaver you need a permit from the DNR.  He said he won’t issue a permit to an individual unless he hears from the township.  He also won’t issue a permit if with one of the trapping season which starts October 29^th.  You still cannot kill a wolf unless it’s threatening you personally.

MAT Rep District Manager Don Sherper said 113 people from Minnesota attended the National Association meeting in September.  He said that MAT is pushing for a $600 income tax exemption for First Responders.   Sherper said that with Market Value Exclusion whatever you levy is basically what you’ll get.  He talked about an asphalt scam where people just don’t do a good job… so watch for it.   He talked about the unfunded signage mandate and that the township must have a policy in place by January 22, 2012.  Also as of October 1, 2011, townships don’t have to pay sales taxes.   He announced that November 17 – 19, 2011 will be MAT state convention in Alexandria, MN and urge all officers to attend.

Paul Raymond talked to Bill foster about Wilma Township policy of getting escrow from loggers.

Bob Brewster, Zoning Administrator from Arna Township would like to get a committee of township officers to takes to the county board. He would like to see one township officers on the board from each district.  Frank Grundmeier said he was with agreement with Bob Brewster.

There was made by Terry Lougren and seconded by Jerry DuBois for the Glen Williamson (Secretary/Treasurer) to setup a web site for the Pine County Township Association for $300 per year. This includes securing the domain, setting it up and administering the site. The motion passed.

Ann Mlaskoch from Kettle River townships said that all of us can access the internet from the library.

Business Meeting

Motion made, seconded, and passed to approve the minutes of the March 26, 2011 meeting.

Motion made, seconded, and passed to approve the Treasurer’s October 22, 2011 report.

Motion made, seconded, and approved to adjourn at 11:30 a.m.

Respectively submitted by

Glen Williamson Sr.

Secretary/Treasurer

Pine County Township Officers Association

Date Approved:______________________

Chairman___________________________