Greenwood Township

TUESDAY, SPETEMBER 11, 2018 — Following the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, Greenwood Town Board of Supervisors Chairman Mike Ralston opened the regular September 11 town board meeting by asking for a moment of silence in memory of the Americans lost during the attacks on New York, Washington D. C. and Somerset County, Pennsylvania, 17 years earlier.

Following this expression of reverence the meeting got underway when Ralston said that he would like to see the township adjust the agenda by moving public comments from its place near the beginning of the meeting until the end of the agenda. He made a motion to do exactly that, and with support for his motion unanimous consent was provided by the supervisors on the town board.

The township was notified of the State of Minnesota’s intention to sell a parcel of tax forfeit land within Greenwood Township to the Vermilion Penguins Snowmobile Club. The state is seeking approval from the township to reclassify the parcel from conservation land to non-conservation lands which would permit the Penguins to build a workshop and storage facility for its extensive snowmobile trail grooming equipment. The town board gave its approval to the change in classification, 5–0.

The town board again discussed the problems it experienced keeping the recycling canisters at the town hall clean. According to Supervisor Carmen DeLuca it is almost a daily task to keep the area neat and orderly. Chairman Ralston said, “I am tired of getting beat up about the canisters,” and made a motion to remove them from the town hall area. His motion, however, failed for a lack of support. Many people in the township want easy access to recycling and others want the recycling canisters removed from the town hall. Supervisor Paul Skubic said that he understands that there is a lot of support for keeping the recycling canisters in place, however, “If it wasn’t for guys like Carmen and Larry (Supervisor Tahija), who go there all the time, it would be a real mess.” Skubic said that he was in favor of maintaining the status quo, utilizing volunteer town board supervisor labor to keep the area clean, and place the final decision on recycling before township voters at the annual meeting in March of next year. No other action was undertaken.

In other action, the Greenwood Township Board of Supervisors:

• Approved the minutes from the August 15, 2018 regular town board meeting

• Approved the Treasurer’s Report as presented by Treasurer Pam Rodgers, noting August ending balances of :

$257,401.28 — Checking Account

$251,651.27 — Long Term Investments

$230,715.29 — Savings Accounts

$739,767.84 — Total

• Approved the payment of all current claims against the township

• Instructed the fire department to review its training and membership policies and forward recommendations for changes to the standard operating guidelines to the town board

• Acknowledged that the township is responsible for maintenance of the Birch Point Extension Road and asked Town Clerk Sue Drobac to contact all adjacent property owners asking them to help keep the roadway brushed along their properties

• Asked Clerk Drobac to consult with the township insurance carrier on listing the new playground equipment and snomobile ambulance as insured Greenwood Township real property

• Decided that the township will run advertisements intended to educate township residents on voting and absentee voting procedures for the upcoming mid-term elections on November 6

• Approved providing keys to the town hall bathrooms for people reserving the pavilion. The township takes a $50 deposit for groups of less than 50 people and $100 deposit for groups more than 50 people, utilizing the town hall or the pavilion and the deposits are fully refundable provided everything is left in clean conditions

• Approved purchasing three full sets of fire fighter gear for three firefighters who already have, or will soon, finish their training requirements

• Learned from Supervisor Tahija that the walking trail culvert repairs were now complete and in good order

• Approved utilizing leftover food from the 40th Anniversary celebration at the upcoming ribbon cutting ceremony for the new playground equipment on September 22

• Denied a grievance filed by Jeff Maus, because he was not paid for the time he spent studying for tests related to fire fighter training he undertook

• Approved a $100 donation to Northwoods Partners

• Approved accepting the $1,956 quote from Reichel Electric to replace all of the overhead lighting in the town hall with light-emitting diode fixtures and bulbs