Homer Township Board Regular Meeting Minutes
August 12, 2024 at 5:30 pm
Location: Homer Town Hall
Board Members in Attendance: Chairman Harlan Larsen, Supervisor Franklin Fitch, Jr., Supervisor Gordy Nagle, Treasurer Kim Skappel, Clerk Charlotte Roraff
Absent: None
Meeting was called to order by H. Larsen at 5:30pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Prior meeting minutes were read by C. Roraff. F. Fitch made a motion to accept the minutes as read. G. Nagle seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion carried.
Meeting agenda was reviewed. G. Nagle made a motion to accept the meeting agenda. F. Fitch seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion carried.
Public comments started. Amy Cordry, Scott Roraff and Michael Busch made public comments.
F. Fitch made a motion to adjust the agenda to open the Sebo Hill paving bids first since a representative of one of the bidding companies was present solely for that part of the meeting. G. Nagle seconded. Agenda adjusted.
Two bids were received on the paving of Sebo Hill. Bids were opened and reviewed by the Supervisors. Czars of Tar Inc. out of Ham Lake, MN submitted a bid of $273,000.00. Dunn Blacktop Company out of Winona, MN submitted a bid of $216,050.18. Brief discussion was had to compare the bids. F. Fitch made a motion to accept the bid submitted by Dunn Blacktop Company. G. Nagle seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion carried. Dunn Blacktop Company had a representative present and will get the work scheduled for completion this fall. C. Roraff will notify Czars of Tar Inc. that they were not the winning bid. Pickwick Fire Department and Ridgeway Fire Department will be notified when the work will take place so they can make coverage arrangements.
Fire Chief A. Zimmerman gave a brief update from the Pickwick Fire Department. He explained a very brief meeting was had with G. Nagle and C. Roraff and the financial information they requested was given to them. Pickwick Fire Department provided support at the Midwest Hill Fest event and reported no major injuries, no major traffic disruptions and no major complaints.
Discussion was had regarding how to handle lawn mowing at the Town Hall. Joe Neumann has been doing it and is willing to do the mowing for $60.00 per time. G. Nagle made a motion to hire Joe Neumann to mow the lawn and pay him $60.00 per time. F. Fitch seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion carried.
John Weinberger presented his request to build a second house on his property. He explained he is doing this to build a dwelling which is wheelchair accessible and on a single level. He is working with Winona County on this project. Winona County wanted the Township to be aware and give pre-approval. J. Weinberger will also work with Minnesota DNR to get a variance regarding the impacted creek bed. Discussion was had. F. Fitch made a motion to approve the building of the second home as long as Winona County and DNR give approvals. G. Nagle seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion carried. J. Weinberger will continue to work with Winona County on this project and will present the Township Board with County paperwork as needed.
K. Skappel presented information available from the State on the Cannabis Registration Authority. Not much is available as it is still being developed, but Winona County is asking Townships to indicate if they intend to delegate their registration authority to the County or keep it at the Township level. F. Fitch made a motion to delegate the Cannabis Registration Authority to the County. Brief discussion was had. H. Larsen seconded. Vote taken; F. Fitch and H. Larsen voted in favor, G. Nagle opposed. Motion carried.
C. Roraff gave a brief update on the door replacement on the Town Hall building. There were two dates set up to have it done and circumstances caused those to fall through at the last minute. C. Roraff and Steve Bachler are working to schedule the week of the 19th for replacement. G. Nagle gave a brief update regarding gutters and downspouts. Latsch Island Gutters has added the job to their schedule and they said the job is about three weeks out. Latsch Island Gutters does not do ice breaks, but recommended Kendall Lumber for that work. G. Nagle will contact Kendall Lumber regarding the ice breaks.
C. Roraff requested a debrief from Aiden Haas regarding the Midwest Hill Fest event, but hadn’t heard back since the event was just this past Saturday. C. Roraff will follow up with A. Haas for the feedback and hopefully have something for the board at the next meeting.
H. Larsen had the following to report regarding Homer Township Roads:
Pleasant Ridge Road has been shouldered.
Cedar Ridge Road hill and Husman Ridge Road hill mudslides have been fixed with clay and rock.
Chloride has been put on the roads.
Site visit completed by Suffrins, may need to add rip rap to prevent washout.
Homer Avenue and Sebo Hill washouts were fixed.
Road projects still pending include:
Cedar Ridge Road cattle pass to be replaced with culvert.
Homer Valley Road culvert is dug out, but more ditch cleaning needs to be done.
Site visit needed to Anna Driscoll property to view a tree in her yard.
K. Skappel indicated a notice was received from Ben Klinger asking if the Township had any damage from the June 20th, 2024 storm which would be eligible for reimbursement. Discussion was had. The Township did not have any damage which would qualify.
F. Fitch made a motion to adjourn the meeting. G. Nagle seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Meeting adjourned at 6:14pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Charlotte Roraff
Homer Township Clerk