Greenwood Township clears agenda for new board of supervisors
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017 — The Greenwood Township Board of Supervisors worked to clear its agenda before the annual township elections on March 14 at its regular meeting on Tuesday, February 14. Several meeting agenda items were tabled until the new town board is seated in March. The board also announced that it had reached agreement on two complaints it has been wrangling with for many months.
One complaint involved the firing of Julia Maki when the township eliminated its planning commission and all planning and zoning activities back in September of last year. Nine months earlier, in January 2016, the township entered into a three-year contract with Maki to continue to serve as Planning Director and once the town board relinquished planning and zoning to St. Louis County it terminated Maki’s position. She objected to the early termination and hired an attorney to negotiate a settlement on the remaining term of her contract. The contract between Greenwood and Maki began on March 1, 2016 and was to continue until March 2019.
In addition to serving as Planning Director Maki worked for Greenwood as a firefighter, administration assistant for the fire department, an emergency responder and maintained the township’s website. Following a series of closed-meeting negotiation sessions both parties, the township and Maki, agreed upon a settlement. The town board unanimously approved the settlement at last week’s meeting.
Through this agreement Maki resigns from all employment she held with Greenwood and releases any claims against the township. In exchange for the settlement Greenwood Township will pay Maki $28,000 in severance pay.
Maki confirmed that she received the settlement paperwork from the township’s attorney on Tuesday of this week and found it in agreement with the negotiations. She now has 21 days to consider the agreement before signing and then another 15 days to rescind it. It is expected that Maki will sign the agreement putting all issues between her and Greenwood to rest.
OSHA complaint
When the Greenwood Township Fire Department reorganized in 2014 Jeff Maus was terminated from the Captain position he held with the department. According to Fire Chief Dave Fazio the position was eliminated, however, Maus alleged discrimination and filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (MDLI) in June 2014. Last April MDLI filed a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Act complaint against the township claiming that the township did indeed discriminate against Maus.
Both parties, MDLI and Greenwood Township agreed to settle the case against the township “to avoid the expense and uncertainties of litigation” with the township paying $18,000 to Maus as a full and final settlement, subject to lawful deductions. Maus waives “all possible rights or claims related to his position as a firefighter in the Fire Department prior to the execution of this Agreement ….” It is expected that Maus will continue as a township employee as a firefighter for Greenwood. He currently serves as a supervisor on the town board, a position he was appointed to in August of last year. He is a candidate in the March election for the same seat he currently holds. He faces challenge for the seat by Dr. JoAnn Bassing and Larry Tahija.
Other issues
Several other issues which came before the board were tabled in deference to the upcoming new board of supervisors following the election next month. The township has a committee which has been working on updating the Personnel Policy and the board decided that it will wait until the new board is seated before it makes any decisions on any recommendations it may receive from the committee.
The board of supervisors has been working on clarifying policy on employee pay and pay periods for firefighters and emergency responders. Action on these policies was also tabled until the new board is seated.
Fire Chief Dave Fazio told the town board that firefighters were unhappy with the new pay guidelines for calls set by the town board in January. The fire department believes its pay has moved “backwards” with the new policy. Firefighters note that most of the calls last less than an hour and that the reduction in On Call pay, for the first hour, will not be offset by the subsequent hourly rate. The board decided to ask the fire department to return to a future meeting with its concerns once the new town board is seated.
With all the previously unresolved legal issues on the township’s agenda who can contact the township attorney remains a controversial division within the current town board. In January Supervisor Carmen DeLuca chastised Supervisor Maus for contacting the attorney without approval from the board. Maus returned to this meeting and said board policies established in March 2016 gives him, and all supervisors, the right to contact the attorney. Both Chairman Dr. John Bassing and DeLuca disagree with Maus’ interpretation of the policies. A heated discussion ensued between Maus, Bassing and DeLuca.
Maus maintains that he was conducting township business when he contacted the attorney and DeLuca said that he feels like that action cost the township unnecessary expense. It is expected that the township will continue to discuss the issues related to attorney contact following the reorganization of the town board of supervisors.
Budget and Levy
Chairman Bassing presented the town board with a copy of his proposed 2018 budget. That budget calls for spending $310,122 conducting township business and spending $30,000 on fire department services in 2018. The budget will be presented to township residents, for their approval, at the March Annual Meeting. The board will also ask residents to set a $150,000 levy for 2018.
In the recent past, township residents set the following levys:
• 2017 — $ 1.00
• 2016 — $100,000
• 2015 — $150,000
• 2014 — $477,689
• 2013 — $479,688
Correction
In my February 17 Greenwood Township report I erred in writing that Pam Lofquist asked the town board to consider donating to the Tower-Soudan Area 4th of July Celebration. I should have correctly wrote that Pam Lundstrom made the request on behalf of the 4th of July committee. I sincerely regret my error and extend my apologies to both Ms. Lofqusist and Ms. Lundstrom, as well as all Tower News readers.
In other action, the board of supervisors:
• Received a Prisoner of War flag from Supervisor Gene Baland. He noted that he wanted to present the flag to the township as he was retiring from his service on the board of supervisors.
• Set a pay rate of $25 per hour to Delores Clark to train the new township treasurer which will be elected in March
• Appointed Mary Richard and Bev Peterson to be election judges and noted Carol Maus’s resignation as an election judge
• Acknowledged that Mark Drobac could view the attorney bills at the township clerk’s office.
and the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, (Jeff Maus case) on settling the respective, and unaffiliated, claims. At Tuesday’s regular meeting of the town board both settlements were publicly approved by the board of supervisors. The vote on the Maki settlement was unanimous and Supervisor Maus abstained from voting on his case. The other four supervisors voted in favor of the Maus settlement.