4111 11th Avenue SW - Rochester, Minnesota 55902 - Tel. (507) 282-6488

ROCHESTER TOWNSHIP BOARD - MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Brenda Dicken called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.

Members Present: Gary Donovan, Jeff Orth, Douglas Butler, Brenda Dicken, Brian Mueller, & Lenny Laures

Guests: Joy Harris, Homer Tompkins, Bruce Ryan

Minutes: Douglas Butler made a motion to approve the minutes. Brian Mueller seconded the motion; it was voted on and passed.

Audit Report - Joy Harris presented the 2006 audit report to the town board. Douglas Butler made a motion to accept the audit report as submitted. Gary Donovan seconded the motion; it was voted on and passed.

County Road 8 Rock Quarry: Homer Tompkins made a presentation as owner on the plans for the former Mayo property and the County Road 8 quarry. He stated that they have met with the county on road accesses for the former Dorothy East property. He is working with McGhie and Bets on accesses to county road 8 from the property across from the quarry and a secondary road through Dorothy West connecting with Meadow Crossing road.
 

Homer said that if they can develop a road through the property stated above, the mining operation might have a negative effect on the property. He asked if the board would allow him to do some test blasting to see what effect the new process of blasting would have on the adjacent properties. This was discussed, but was not approved by the board.

He is looking for a long-range reclamation plan for the quarry and an over all plan for the area. Homer Tompkins requested a 30day extension on the request to operate the quarry while he pursues some alternatives for road access. He also asked permission to do a test blast and see what affect it has on the neighboring property. Douglas Butler made a motion to approve the 30 day extension without approval of the test blast. Gary Donovan seconded the motion; it was voted on and passed.

Bruce Ryan requested that if and when they do approve a test blast in the quarry that the neighbors get notified far enough in advance so they can get their houses inspected.

The board discussed the possibility building a bridge on Old Valley Road. The board felt if the cost of the new bridge could be shared by the county, state and township, it might be the best solution for a secondary access for Meadow Crossing Road.

Planning and Zoning Commission: Gary Donovan Reported on the Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing for zone change request and general development plan for Bowe property.

Gary Donovan said the request was made to approve the Bowe request to develop the Bowe land, the decision was delayed for 30 days so the county could review the access to the county road 25. They also need to find out if old county road 25 right away was vacated.
 

MNDOT change in flood plain mapping on town hall property: Brenda Dicken explained that Lenny and she met with Tom Johnson from the Polaris Group that did the mapping for FEMA. The new 100 Flood Plan Mapping reduced the township property in the flood plan.

Deputy Valerie Coe’s Report - We had several burglaries in the area with people stealing wire. A bunch of construction garbage was dumped by Heritage II.

VonWald Group Home - Douglas Butler said that he attended the VonWald Group Home quarterly meeting. He stated that things are running well, but their attendance is down.
 

Treasurer’s Report – Gary Swenson, Treasurer

TREASURER's REPORT

Gary Donovan made a motion to approve the treasures report. Douglas Butler seconded the motion; it was voted on and approved.

RT claims - Jeff Orth made a motion to approve the Rochester Township claims # 429 – 443 for $100,565.96. Gary Donovan seconded the motion; it was voted for and passed.

JPB Claims – Jeff Orth made a motion to approve JPB claims # 824 – 843 for $13,106.15. Douglas Butler seconded the motion; it was voted on and passed.

Maintenance Supervisor’s Report – Lenny updated the board on Meadow Crossing Road. The chloride has been applied on the township roads. They have finished the first round of mowing and will work on Cascade mowing now.

TCPA – Brenda/Lenny – Roger Ihrke and Gary Pedersen had a barbeque for the members. They had a positive cash flow this past month. Lenny Laures was appointed chairman of ROCOG.

LGA – Brenda/Lenny - Lenny Laures approached MAT’s to see if they would be interested in rolling LGA into MAT’s. Kent Sulem from MAT’s thought they would be interested and would have the staff to cover it.

Annual Picnic - Douglas Butler suggested that we set a date for our annual picnic. The date Monday August 13, 2007 was set.

Follow-up on garage sale on Conway Court – Roger sent a letter to the resident.

Headwall Study - Gary Donovan will contact Mike Gown with McGhie and Bets and have the start the township inventory of our headwalls. The study with specifications for headwalls has been done.

Group Insurance Policy - Gary Donovan reported on the group insurance policy, he talked to Jim Stephen and the insurance is better than anything he has seen.

Meeting Adjourned - Gary Donovan made a motion to adjourn at 10:58 PM. Douglas Butler seconded the motion; it was voted on and passed.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gary Swenson, Clerk

Gary Donovan, Chair

Rochester Township - 4111 11th Avenue SW - Rochester, Minnesota 55902 - Tel. (507) 282-6488

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