After Cook County commissioner Ginny Storlie explained the process the county board was going through in choosing whether or not to continue to tape all of their meetings when there is a quorum of commissioners present, the Schroeder Town Board pushed back with a resolution calling for all of those meetings to be recorded for the public to view.
The resolution was made by Rick Anderson, seconded by Bruce Martinson and passed 3-0 with the support of township supervisor Tina McKeever’s yes vote. It will be forwarded to the county administrator.
The vote came at the township board’s May 14 meeting.
“We will continue to record all of our regular commissioner meetings,” explained Storlie, adding that some meetings like the Committee of the Whole, where no decisions are made or resolutions passed, might not be recorded in the future. But she noted, “All of our meetings are always open for the public to attend.”
“For transparency’s sake, any time there are three or more commissioners meeting that meeting should be videotaped,” said Martinson.
Anderson brought up a dilemma for many who would like to attend commissioner meetings but can’t because of the times the meetings are usually held. “I can’t be at most commissioner meetings because I’m at work, but I can watch them later when they are recorded. This is the only way that many of us can follow what’s going on in the county,” he said.
Storlie thanked them for their input and promised the township’s resolution would be taken into consideration when there is a vote on whether to record all – or some – of the commissioners’ meetings.
Fire/EMS report
Schroeder fire chief Phil Bonin said the firefighters responded quickly to a garage fire on the Skou Road, saving the structure. “There was smoke and water damage inside. The fire marshal said it was an electric fire.”
The firefighters put 200 gallons in the water tank at the Schroeder cemetery, said Phil.
“I put in for a 50-50 grant from the DNR for $5,000 for equipment,” he said, adding that if the grant were appropriated to Schroeder, the town would match the $2,500 allotted from the DNR.
EMS training is ongoing, he said, with one call over the previous weekend.
Road & Bridge
Rick Anderson reported that Tom Dwyer (Isak Hansen owner) wanted to get his gravel pit going on the Sugar Loaf Road. If the road is damaged because it hasn’t firmed up yet, Dwyer said he would fix it.
Rick said there was a 4-ton weight limit on the Tote Road and Father Baraga’s road. He didn’t know the weight limit for the Skou Road because, “MnDOT paved it, and I never found out what the weight limit for that road is.”
Concerning the township roads, Anderson said the board should have weight limit signs placed on them to protect the township. Not everyone was going to ask to use the roads like Dwyer, he said, and if the roads weren’t posted and the roads were damaged from too heavy loads, the township would be responsible to fix the damage. If the roads are posted and damage occurred, the trucker would be liable to fix the road, he said.
“If we don’t do this, it could come back to haunt us,” Anderson said.
No action was taken on his suggestion.
Recreation report
Tina McKeever, township board chair, reported the money from the Great Place grant had been received for a dog station and once it was in place in Harbor Park, a picture would be taken and sent to Jim Boyd, Chamber of Commerce director who is in charge of the Great Place project.
Once the weather warms (if that ever happens) Tina said the porch on the community center building would be stained. She also reported the dock at Dyers Lake is in.
Cemetery
Bruce Martinson said three sunken graves would be repaired and the cemetery will soon be raked and fertilized. Greg Johnson won the bid to mow the cemetery for the next two years, and he will keep the grounds looking spiffy.
Maintenance
A small piece of entry flooring was fixed in the community center, and some railings will be added to the deck in the back of the community center so it can be safely used and brought up to code, said deputy clerk Gale Ring.
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