Greenwood consults on legal issues and conducts routine business over three meetings in December
December 20, 2016 — The Greenwood Township Board of Supervisors met three times in December. In addition to its regular meeting on Tuesday, December 13, the board held two special meetings—one on December 13 and one on December 20. Each of these special meetings were closed, at some point, by the town board so it could discuss ongoing claims against the township.
December 13 Special Meeting
The News does not have a clear understanding of what was discussed at this special meeting. We only became aware that the town board met in a closed session, after the fact, when we arrived at the regular meeting a few minutes prior to 6:30 p.m. on December 13. It can be assumed that at this meeting the board discussed legal concerns related to its early termination of the employment contract it holds with township Planning Director Julia Maki, or ongoing litigation with Ken Peterson, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MN–DLI). The Department of Labor and Industry has pursued a claim against the township over that past two years because of a complaint by, now, Town Board Supervisor Jeff Maus.
The township met to discuss the MN–DLI case in November and discussed that case again, as well as the Maki claim on December 20, suggesting that either, or both, cases were likely topics at the December 13 Special, and closed, meeting.
In November the township posted a closed meeting notice on its township internet site: http://greenwoodtownshipmn.com. No such postings were made for either of the special meetings the town board held in December. In December, the board opted instead to simply place a notice of the meeting on the township’s bulletin board located near the entrance to the town hall. Of course posting a meeting notice on the bulletin board does meet the legal requirements to post the meeting; it does not, however, foster a general impression of open and accessible government.
December 20 Special Meeting
Opening the special meeting the town board acknowledged that it would accept an agenda of three items. One to discuss the ongoing MN–DPLI (Maus) case and one to discuss the ongoing claim Planning Director Julia Maki is currently pursuing against the township. These two agenda items would be discussed in a closed session due to attorney–client privilege, according to Town Board Chairman Dr. John Bassing. The town board also reported that it would be meeting with township attorney Mike Couri, and attorney Robert Alsop “by phone or in person,” and that it expected Supervisor Gene Baland to also be present at the meeting by telephone during the closed session. The board also stated, in writing, on the agenda, that Supervisor Jeff Maus “will not attend the closed meeting portion having to do with MN–DOLI vs Greenwood Township.”
The third agenda item, one related to a health insurance policy for the township’s maintenance director Pat Trancheff, was discussed and decided in the open portion of the special meeting. Ellen Trancheff told the town board that her husband, Pat, has obtained an insurance policy from Health Partners and they had paid the enrollment fee, but no other paperwork was yet available to present to the township. Supervisor Randy Kladivo made a motion, supported by Supervisor Carmen DeLuca, to approve paying the premiums, when received. The motion passed unanimously, with everyone present (Bassing, Kladivo and DeLuca), supporting the motion.
The meeting was then closed to allow the town board to meet in private, by telephone, with its attorneys. When the board reconvened in open session it immediately approved a motion to adjourn, and it is understood that the board took no action during the closed session.
December 13 Regular Meeting
The Greenwood Town board faced a routine agenda during its December regular meeting. It appears that the township is becoming a boring township, as it was suggested, last summer, by attorney Michael Couri. There was little controversy and every motion met with the unanimous approval of the board of supervisors.
The town board gave approval to pay the majority of the township’s bills. However it declined to pay a bill for the maintenance director’s family medical insurance premium citing a lack of documentation. Chairman Bassing said that the township could take the issue up at its special meeting next week, as the claim was not due until after the first of January. A motion to address the issue at the special meeting was unanimously approved by the town board. (The issue was resolved at the December 20 special meeting.)
Supervisor DeLuca reported that he was unhappy with what he called “a lot of double talking with the attorney.” He said that he did not think that Supervisor Maus needed to be having telephone conversations with the township attorney in addition to those conversations Chairman Bassing was having. Maus acknowledged that he clearly understood his concerns when DeLuca asked him to coordinate attorney conversations through the Chairman. “Point Taken,” Maus said. The issue of attorney conversations was brought up a couple of times throughout the board meeting.
Town Clerk Sue Drobac presented correspondence to the township, acknowledging thank you notes, holiday greeting cards and an email correspondence from Lee Peterson. Drobac said that Peterson had written asking the township to become involved with the Lake Vermilion Trail project. According to Peterson, Greenwood is the only local government unrepresented at trail meetings. Chairman Bassing said “I’ve been to three or four meetings and I will continue to go to them.”
Mary Richard spoke under public input seeking clarification on the township’s plans to flood the ice skating rink. Chairman Bassing said that he would check with the fire department to see if it had any interest in flooding the rink.
Supervisor DeLuca reported that the township has received four bids to install a fire alarm system in the town hall and fire hall. Opening the bids revealed that the numbers ranged from $14,640 to over $34,000 to complete the project. A motion to table any action on a fire alarm system until a later time was unanimously adopted by the board.
The town board discussed the activities of the fire department personnel committee and noted that “good progress is being made.” The board reviewed correspondence from attorney Mike Couri on fire department and emergency personnel wages.
The town board accepted, with regret, the retirement of Pat Trancheff from the Greenwood Fire Department. Trancheff held the position of assistant fire chief at the time of his retirement. The town board also accepted, with regret, the January 1, 2017 resignation of Jan Makowski as a First Responder in the township. The board acknowledged the receipt of an application from Peter Makowski to serve as the assistant fire chief.
The town board discussed actions it was taking to maintain and repair the town hall and township equipment. It was reported that the town board had a master plumber inspect the hall and that repairs were needed in the men’s room and to the outside water spigot. The building’s emergency generator is also in need of repairs. Unanimous approval was made to conduct a “one time” full maintenance call on the generator. The board also discussed the costs of purchasing versus renting a handicap accessible portable bathroom for the township’s recreation area. It was determined that any action on the portable bathroom would be tabled until April when outside activities increased in the spring.
The March 2017 township election hours were established from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. The board acknowledged that there would be four seats needing to be filled. Seat one and two, currently held by Maus and Baland, respectively, each would be open for a three-year term. Seat three, currently held by Kladivo, was open for a one-year term. The treasurer’s seat will also be open for a three-year term. The clerk’s seat and the supervisors’ seats held by Bassing and DeLuca are not open this year.
Unanimous approval was given to hire Mary Richard as the township’s Deputy Clerk. Her pay was unanimously set at $20 per hour. Approval was given to have the township pay for training and accommodations to have the clerk and new deputy clerk attend the upcoming Minnesota Association of Townships course at St. Michael, Minnesota. Chairman Bassing told the town board that he had a problem paying the township safety officer when he is not in the area. The board decided to suspend the safety officer’s contract until a permanent solution was determined. The board unanimously appointed Supervisor DeLuca to serve as the township’s new weed inspector. Clerk Drobac also reported that the township had received affirmation from the state that the former township planning director was entitled to unemployment compensation.
Jari Ankrum informed the board that the Greenwood Recreation organization currently holds over $3,000 from memorials to Dean Panian and other fundraisers. It is the groups’ hope that the township will give its approval to allow it to install playground equipment at the town hall site.
The town board approved purchasing holiday season advertising from The Tower News and Timberjay newspapers.
Attorney Mike Couri provided the town board with a lengthy memorandum on the township’s relationship with the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade. Eighteen months have passed since the township and fire brigade entered into a “memorandum of understanding,” according to Couri. Because the fire brigade is a non-profit organization and the township is a municipal corporation there are potential conflicts between the two organizations in the areas of liability and insurance.
“The Fire Brigade is a huge asset to the township fire department, in terms of equipment and personnel,” Fire Chief Dave Fazio cautioned. The fire chief said that the City of Cook, Department of Natural Resources, and the Coast Guard all have agreements with the Lake Vermilion Fire Brigade and that he was sure Greenwood should be able to continue its agreement as well.
It was determined that the township wanted to investigate potential problems further and enter into a conversation with the fire brigade to assure that any liability issues can be addressed. The board authorized Chairman Bassing to continue the conversation with the township attorney.