Meeting Minutes July 22, 2020
Download the .pdf copy of the meeting minutes here.
TOWNSHIP OF CLAY
CLAY TOWNSHIP BOARD MEETING
JULY 22, 2020, 6:00 PM
VIA TELEPHONE CONFERENCE
PARK RAPIDS, MN
- 1. CALL TO ORDER: The July 22nd, 2020, Meeting of the Clay Township Board was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Andy Kietzman, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
- 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Chair Andy Kietzman, Supervisors Jeff Haukebo and Norm Leistikow, Treasurer Del Holz, and Clerk Margie Vik. All board members participated by phone. Absent: None. Others Present: Marty Liestikow.
- 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Haukebo, and unanimously carried to approve the agenda as presented.
- 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
- A. Clay Township Regular Meeting Minutes-May 27, 2020: A motion was made by Haukebo, seconded by Kietzman, and unanimously carried to approve the Clay Township Regular Meeting Minutes, for May 27th, 2020, as presented.
- 5. NEW BUSINESS:
- A. Zoning Permit for Clay Township: Kietzman stated he is applying for a zoning permit on behalf of Clay Township for the new town hall. It will be a 42’x 36’ single story building with one bathroom. A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Leistikow, to approve a zoning permit for Clay Township for the construction of a town hall, and to waive the permit fee.
Discussion: Haukebo stated the township’s zoning ordinance says that a town hall is not a permitted use in a conservation district, not even with a conditional use permit (CUP). The only conditionally permitted uses are for gravel pits or communications towers. Allowed uses are public parks, hunting, and essential services. Kietzman stated a town hall is an essential use. Haukebo stated an essential use is described as utility distribution cables and equipment to provide services for public safety by a municipality or other government agencies. Holz stated Minnesota Statute 365.10, Subdivision 6, reads that the electorate can authorize and decide how much money can be spent to build a town hall. Kietzman stated we still have to meet the laws of the governing county. The expense was approved so it would justify recommending a change to the zoning code, but it will probably require a public hearing to make that change. He added that we should ask for our attorney’s opinion.
The vote was called on the motion.
The following Boardmembers voted in favor: Leistikow
The following Boardmembers voted nay: Kietzman, Haukebo.
The motion falled.
A new motion was made by Kietzman, and seconded by Haukebo, and unanimously carried to approve the zoning permit for Clay Township for the construction of a town hall if supported by the township attorney. - B. Zoning Permit for Leistikow: A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Haukebo, and unanimously carried to approve a zoning permit for Norm and Marty Leistikow to construction a garage, which meets all applicable zoning regulations.
- C. Treasurer Position: The board discussed the need for a new treasurer after Holz’s term expires. Holz stated he’d like to be proactive about leaving his position and offered to meet with the new candidate to go through all of the materials and issues of the treasurer’s position. Kietzman stated that was wishful thinking at this point. We need to find a person first. Vik reminded the board that candidate filing opens on July 28th and closes on August 11th, 2020. It remains to be seen if anyone will file for the open position. No action was taken.
- D. Minnesota State Demographic Center: Vik stated the new report from the state indicate the population in Clay Township is 72, and the number of households is 34.
- A. Zoning Permit for Clay Township: Kietzman stated he is applying for a zoning permit on behalf of Clay Township for the new town hall. It will be a 42’x 36’ single story building with one bathroom. A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Leistikow, to approve a zoning permit for Clay Township for the construction of a town hall, and to waive the permit fee.
- 6. OLD BUSINESS:
- A. Website Update: Vik reported she had contacted Shannon Barnett again about the uploading all of the minutes to the township’s website and was told that it has now been completed.
- Zoning Permit Issues: Haukebo stated that he spoke to Attorney Troy Gilchrist regarding houses being built without zoning permits and what we can do to enforce our zoning ordinance with both the contractors and the property owners. Gilchrist said according to the ordinance a permit is not needed until the building is occupied and that a permit is not needed for the construction. His advice was to change the ordinance to get out in front of the issue and require something in advance of the construction. Haukebo suggested having Gilchrist give the ordinance a full review to look for other possible issues. A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Haukebo, and unanimously carried to authorize Attorney Gilchrist to review the Clay Township Zoning Ordinance to look for regulations that could leave the township in a weak position, and then make recommendations to the Board to decide if changes need to be made.
- 7. APPROVAL OF TREASURERS REPORT: Holz presented his written treasurer’s report to the board (see attached).
A motion was made by Kietzman, seconded by Leistikow, and unanimously carried to approve the treasurer’s report and to pay the outstanding invoices.
Kietzman stated the board is allowed to meet in person for the July meeting or we can continue to meet via telephone conference. Things ae fairly calm right now so we can wait to see if there is a peak in COVID-19 cases in July and then make a determination later on what method we will use to meet. - 8. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Haukebo, seconded by Kietzman, and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 6:51 p.m.