NOTICE
OF ROCHESTER TOWNSHIP ELECTION
· Tuesday,
March 08, 2011
·
Rochester Townhall
4111 11th
Avenue S.W.
· Polls
open from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
· Election
of Supervisor for 3 year term
Jeff Orth
running unopposed
· Election
of Supervisor for 3 year term
Douglas
Butler
running unopposed
·
NOTICE
OF ROCHESTER TOWNSHIP ANNUAL MEETING
·
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
·
Rochester, Town Hall
4111
11th Avenue, S.W.
· 8:00
PM Annual Meeting
·
AGENDA
1.
Clerk – Calls the meeting to order
2.
Results of Election
3.
Elect Meeting Moderator
4.
Approval of agenda
5.
Approval of the minutes of the 2010 Annual Meeting
6.
Clerks report of 2010 financial information
7.
Audit Report and presentation of proposed budget for 2012
8.
Set levy for 2012
9. Set
gopher bounty
10. Report
from Deputy Valerie Coe
11.
Review of Roadwork
a.
Rochester/Cascade Joint Powers Program
b.
New Equipment
12.
Planning and Zoning
a.
Residential Development
b.
Update on township ordinances (Headwall)
c.
County land Use Plan Revision
13.
Stormwater Management (new application fee)
14.
TCPA update
15.
Township Picnic & Recognition Dinner
16.
Other Business –
17.
Date & time of next years meeting
In
case of bad weather, the election and annual meeting will be held on
Tuesday March, 22, 2011 at the same time and place as listed above.
Sign in sheet for members and if they are
interested in any standing committees.
2011 Rochester Township Annual Newsletter
Your Rochester Town Board will promise to deliver quality, cost
–effective services under the most democratic form of local
government if you, our constituents, will promise not to demonstrate
against us.
One of the issues we mentioned last year was the need to update
our zoning ordinance. After much effort and time from our Township
Planning and Zoning Commission and from our Zoning Administrators,
we are ready to hold a public hearing on the proposed changes at the
beginning of our monthly Town Board Meeting on March 10, 2011. We
will discuss some of these changes at the annual meeting following
the Township election on March 8. Most of the additions to our
ordinances are adoptions of new Olmsted County Ordinances dealing
with wind towers, solar energy and home business regulations.
Remember we already have a parking ordinance that does not allow
overnight parking on Township roads and cars must be removed for
snow plowing and road maintenance.
Another change is our adoption of a Headwall Removal Ordinance in
December of 2010 which provides a means to regulate the construction
of new driveway entrances and remove any existing entrances that are
non-conforming and constitute a hazard to public safety.
A major key to providing services is revenue, or lack of it. With
a major budget deficit at the State level, our township receives no
local aid back from the State except some gasoline tax money. This
means we rely almost solely on property tax for income. We just
finished setting the proposed budget for the year 2012 with a total
almost the same as the budget set for 2011. The fluctuating price of
oil plays havoc with our costs for fuel, paving and seal coating
especially since we budget road work so far in advance. We do our
best to keep to a rotating schedule for road maintenance and
equipment purchases so that we are not caught with a huge expense in
any one year.
Our best tool for managing road expenses is our Joint Powers
Agreement with Cascade Township which allows us to jointly hire
personnel and purchase material and equipment. This past year we
purchased a new snow plow truck for $190,000 to replace a current
one as we try to do every five years to maximize our resale or
trade-in value. In order to use our equipment most efficiently we
mow ditches for Haverhill, Oronoco and Pleasant Grove with our ditch
and brush mower. If you have driven on local roads elsewhere you
will appreciate how well we maintain ours. Thanks is due our full
and part time road crew for a job well done.
We must remind you every year about the need for vigilance in
preventing storm water pollution both above ground and below ground.
Report to the Township any unusual runoff and remember anything
toxic you put on or into your property can wind up in your or your
neighbor’s well water. While we agree that clean water is a
necessity, we have chafed against the mountains of paperwork and
bureaucratic regulations required by the State to do a job we have
always handled responsibly on our own. The latest burden is a $400
fee, an unfunded mandate, charged us for a permit to regulate storm
water pollution.
We continue to be committed to the program that keeps Deputy Val
Coe patrolling our streets and helping to enforce our ordinances.
Lately there has been a rash of false alarms from improperly
operated home alarm systems and problems with dogs running loose –
we have a leash law. Your cooperation with solving these problems is
greatly appreciated.
Do I dare mention that the County Land Use Plan is still a work
in progress? It is supposed to come up for a public hearing sometime
soon.
Our Township picnic has been such a success that we plan to hold
it again late this summer.
Please show us your support by voting and attending Annual
Meeting on Tuesday, March 8. People in other parts of the world are
rioting in the streets for the privileges we take for granted.
This concludes the news from Rochester Township. For the
Rochester Town Board,
Brenda Dicken, Supervisor
Doug Butler, Supervisor
and out-going Chair
Jeff Orth, Supervisor
Gary Donovan, Supervisor
Brian Mueller, Supervisor
Gary Swenson,
Clerk/Treasurer
Web Site – www.rochester-township.com
Go To >>>>
Proposed 2012
Budget
