Homer Township Board Annual Meeting Minutes

March 11, 2025 at 8pm

Location: Homer Town Hall

Board Members in Attendance: Chairman Harlan Larsen, Supervisor Franklin Fitch, Jr., Supervisor Gordy Nagle, Clerk Charlotte Roraff

Absent: Treasurer Kim Skappel

Public Attendance: 40 township residents; 4 non-residents

Meeting was called to order by the Clerk, Charlotte Roraff, at 8:33pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Board of Canvass was called to order. Township election returns and abstract were reviewed. No concerns noted. Election results were announced by Charlotte Roraff. Total votes received of 302; there were 2 rejected ballots which were double voted (i.e. overvoted) and therefore, did not count. Township Supervisor, 3 year term - Adam Carlson received 188 votes, Michael J. Vogel received 112 votes. Township Treasurer, 2 year term - Anna Driscoll received 109 votes, Kim Skappel received 191 votes. 

Copies of the prior year’s meeting minutes were passed around for review by meeting attendees.

Clerk Charlotte Roraff requested nominations for Moderator. Skip Ellings made a motion to nominate Frank Fitch; Adam Carlson seconded. Amy Cordy made a motion to nominate Jay Sadowski, Travis Neumann seconded. No other nominations were made. Vote was taken by raised hand. Frank Fitch received 22 votes. Jay Sadowski received 19 votes. Frank Fitch was elected as Moderator.

Copies of the proposed Agenda were available at the beginning of the meeting. Frank Fitch announced the proposed Agenda. Brian Drache made a motion to approve the agenda as read; Dan Gunderson seconded; voice vote taken, motion carried. 

Board of Audit Report was read by Charlotte Roraff. Skip Ellings made a motion to accept the Board of Audit Report as read; Brian Drache seconded. Michael Busch asked how many miles of road are in the township. Harlan Larsen stated there are 33 miles. Michael Busch asked how many bridges are in the township. Harlan Larsen stated there are 4 bridges. Voice vote taken, motion carried.

Copies of the Pickwick Fire and Rescue 2024 Annual Report were available at the beginning of the meeting. Ben Maynard gave a brief overview of the contents of the report. Pickwick Fire and Rescue responded to 82 calls in 2024. A majority, 42% of them, were medical calls. They responded to 5 Mutual Aid calls. Gross revenue for the year was $90,863. Total expenditures were $95,313. Fundraiser revenue was $15,310. 

Ron Burt asked about what the depreciation expense listed on the report was for. The response was that it is the loss of value of the building and equipment they have; there was not an expenditure for that amount, it is the depreciation. 

Another question was asked (unsure by who) about how much Pickwick Fire Department gets as payment from Richmond Township. Total Township Contracts revenue is listed as $52,600. They get $40,000 from Homer Township so the remaining $12,600 is what they receive from Richmond Township.

Anna Driscoll asked how the mutual aid costs are billed. There is a standard rate all the local fire departments agreed to charge each other for mutual aid. The bill is then based on the number of hours and what apparatus they need to bring. Fire departments also work with each other on this since they respond to each other. The fire department will also get bills for city water if they need to use that. 

Amy Cordy asked if homeowners should be talking to their insurance agents about getting adequate fire department coverage because eventually the fire department will not be able to fund bills they get if they don’t get paid. The response was the typical policy covers $500. Amy Cordy suggested the fire department try to make residents aware to check their policies. Stephen Gernes suggested maybe during fire week or other events it could be brought up. Comment was made that likely the fire disbursements are set by home offices of insurance carriers in large cities and they don’t account for rural fire department needs. Michael Busch asked what the average cost of a fire is. The cost varies based on the size of the fire and hours spent so it can be different each time. Additional discussion was had about how the fire department can approach the township on a case by case basis to help cover these costs, as is the case with the large bills from the fire at the Black Horse.

Bob Bruno clarified that the increase that Pickwick Fire and Rescue is asking for is to cover the increase in their liability insurance costs. For 2024, they had over $13,000, for 2025 to 2026 the cost will be almost $18,000 per year for general liability insurance. The fire department can not charge for medical calls and insurance companies will not pay. 

Dana Blong made a motion to increase the amount given to Pickwick Fire to $44,000 per year; Adam Carlson seconded. Postposed vote until the agenda item for levies was reached.

No one from Ridgeway Fire was in attendance.

Voting on Homer Township Rates and Levy for 2026 began.

Brian Drache made a motion to keep the Gopher Bounty rate the same at $3.00; Skip Ellings seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Brian Drache made a motion to keep the Township Wage the same at $18.00 per hour; Dan Gunderson seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Brian Drache made a motion to keep the Tractor/Bobcat rate the same at $60.00 per hour; Dan Gunderson seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Brian Drache made a motion to keep the Equipment Operator rate the same at $35.00 per hour. Jessica Fitch seconded. Joe Neumann asked who the snow plow and grader drivers are. Harlan Larsen said it is Scott Belter and Kevin Larsen. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Brian Drache made a motion to keep the Chain Saw rate the same at $18.00 per hour. Ian Swart seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Jessica Fitch made a motion to change Pickwick Fire Department payment to $44,000 per year for 2 years. Dana Blong seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Skip Ellings made a motion to increase the payment to Ridgeway Fire Department by 10%, the same as what percent Pickwick is getting raise, that would make it $7,700 per year for 2 years. Rick Thorn seconded. A question was asked if we had any report from them. Frank Fitch responded we didn’t get a report, but they cover part of the township. A question is asked if we knew what the percentage of the township each department covered. Comment was made that land wise Ridgeway probably covers more area, but by population it is probably way less. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Bea Salisbury made a motion to adjust the General Fund Levy to $50,000 based upon reviewing the last 10 years of that fund they’ve not gone much more than $40,000 so there’s always been extra in that fund so $50,000 would still be a $10,000 cushion, but it would be about a 11% tax break. Anna Driscoll seconded. The question was asked what the General Fund is used for. Charlotte Roraff responded there are 3 funds the township has, General Fund, the Fire Fund and the Road and Bridge Fund. Expenses which don’t fall under Fire Fund or Road and Bridge are paid for from the General Fund. Examples were given of salaries, moderator fees, election costs, gutters for the townhall, the new door for the town hall, heat for the town hall, electricity for the town hall, electricity for street lights, training costs. Bea Salisbury made additional comments that she feels this is a recognition of the fiscal responsibility of the township because the figures she looked at went back to 2014 and year after year the General Fund didn’t go much over $40,000 which has allowed a cushion. She continued to say the board and supervisors have done a phenomenal job being fiscally responsible. As a taxpayer she also feels she has the right to ask for a small tax reduction as well. Michael Busch asked how many households and if we could put the money in the bank and get interest. Someone suggested it’s somewhere between 550 and 600 households. Ron Burt asked if the Township’s extra money is invested. The Township has basic accounts which earn some interest, but are low risk and keeping the money available if needed. Anna Driscoll suggested the Township look at Certificate of Deposit or Money Market account options. Another question was asked what happens if there is extra money in the General Fund does that stay in the General Fund. Harlan Larsen responded it does, but sometimes we need to help cover the Road and Bridge Fund if that comes up short so it can be moved there. Fire Fund can only cover Fire, it can’t be moved to cover other funds. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Jessica Fitch made a motion to change the Fire Fund Levy to $51,700 which is the total of the increased amounts to Pickwick Fire and Ridgeway fire discussed earlier in the meeting. Bea Salisbury seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Dan Gunderson made a motion to keep the Road and Bridge Fund Levy at $215,000. Adam Carlson seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Bea Salisbury made a motion for the Total Levy to be $316,700. Dana Blong seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Amy Cordy made a motion that the legal newspaper be the Winona Post. Jeanne Nelson seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Charlotte Roraff made a motion to change the official posting sites to be Homer Townhall and Homer Township Website because we are not able to post at the Black Horse or at the Pickwick Inn and that puts the Township out of statutory compliance. Jim Driscoll seconded. Other sites were offered as options like the church or Witoka. Charlotte Roraff said it is recommended to have posting sites which are under control of the township like the website or townhall because any retail business may not give access to post something or may not leave the posting up and that can cause the township to unknowingly be out of statutory requirement. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Skip Ellings made a motion to have the 2026 Annual Meeting at Homer Townhall. Adam Carlson seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Skip Ellings made a motion to start the 2026 Annual Meeting at 8pm. Rick Thorn seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Brian Drache made a motion to authorize the town board to construct a new townhall at a commercially reasonable price to include either a land purchase or in conjunction with the Pickwick Fire Department’s parcel of land. Jessica Fitch seconded. Several points of discussion were had. It was asked why this was not on the agenda under the fire department. Brian Drache said he was making this motion as a resident of Homer Township and not as a member of the Fire Department. Anna Driscoll commented that changing the location of townhall requires two thirds vote of the township residents. Brian Drache stated part of the reason for his motion is because tonight there are 46 or 47 people present and it’s posted as a 40 person capacity, but also the school house is here and saved it’s not going anywhere, but he doesn’t want his tax money going into something that really should be a historical site. Dan Gunderson commented the fire department does have a site and eventually would like to build because the current building doesn’t fit standard fire trucks. Stephen Gerdes made a motion to lay the current motion on the table until next year and everyone gets a chance to think it over. Jeanne Nelson seconded. There was discussion about Roberts Rules and which motion needed a vote. Charlotte Roraff explained Township Annual Meeting is not required to follow Roberts Rules and instead follow basic parliamentary procedure rules required by MN Statute 365.56. She read the full text of MN Statute 365.56 so all could hear. Bea Salisbury commented she didn’t feel it was respectful of the township residents to make this motion based on the vote from last year and while the board doesn’t have to take action if the motion passes, she felt it was not right to do. Ron Burt commented that there was no cost listed.The Moderator decided to end discussion after approximately 20 minutes of discussion and asked for a vote. A hand vote was taken, 12 in favor, 24 opposed, motion failed.

Michael Busch made a comment he doesn’t like not being able to participate in each monthly board meeting and feels it takes away his rights. It was commented there is a public comment period for each meeting during which residents can talk about what they wish. It was also commented that the regular board meeting is where the supervisors make motions and decisions, the annual meeting is where residents make motions and decisions. Michael Busch made a motion that we should discuss this. Travis Neumann seconded. Comments were made that meetings used to be more back and forth, maybe not as orderly, questions could be asked in the middle of the meeting. Other comments were made regarding this is how the county runs meetings and the city as well, people can make public comments but can’t talk during the middle of the meeting other board meetings are like this and other township meetings. It was clarified the board has public comment time at the start of each meeting. Board member phone numbers are listed on the website and residents are able to contact any of them to ask questions or express opinions. The Clerk’s email is listed on the website and she can pass information to any Supervisor if needed as well. Comments were made that this is the way boards typically operate and many boards operate in the county and local area. The Moderator ended discussion after approximately 10 minutes. Since the motion was a motion to have a discussion and a discussion was had, no vote was taken.

Stephen Gerdes made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Skip Ellings seconded. Voice vote taken, motion carried. 

Meeting adjourned at 9:50pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charlotte Roraff

Homer Township Clerk