CLERK’S RECORD OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2025 WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

Chair Mike McCullen called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. with the Pledge. Also present, Supervisors Alden Shute and Maureen Rioux, Clerk Paul Raymond, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Glen and Stefanie Williamson, Madeline and her companion, plus Micah Murray and Rebekah and Daniel Calder.

Approve Ground Rules: Alden moved to adopt our old ground rules for the meeting: Citizens must raise their hand and be recognized by the Chair to speak; No interruptions; If a speaker asks question of another person, they can answer but the speaker holds the floor; Maintain respect and decorum. Maureen seconded; passed.

Road Report: Alden replaced the deep culvert on Tamarack Pine Drive, . The culvert is 18” x 40′. Alden said he had calls about Little Tamarack Lake Road and he went out a bladed the road. This road is the first priority for major work this summer.

Spring Road Inspection: Was May 23. SUMMARY: Alden said the priorities for 2025 will be #1: Little Tamarack Lake Road; #2, Vink Road; #3, North Duncan Road; #4, Mink Farm Road; #5 South Duncan Road. The clerk contacted Andrew Pierce about the blocks in the ditch on N. Duncan Road, 612-616-9312, and a Mr. Brandstrom about the beaver dam on Pete Anderson Road, 651-295-9749. Brandstrom said he’d check the dam and Pierce says he’s planning to make a driveway into his land and has already put in a culvert, and he will remove these blocks like he did before.

OLD BUSINESS: Alleged Election Ballot Irregularities: The Pine County Attorney Reese Frederickson and the Sheriff’s Dept. Investigator Zach Libra investigated allegations of ballot irregularities in our March 11, election. All charges and allegations dismissed.

MATIT Town Insurance Policy: The Board reviewed the policy and said our coverage is too low for what it would cost to replace our town hall and fire/grader hall. Our last appraisal valued the town hall at $173,859 and the fire/grader hall at $176, 703. Mike and Alden said he didn’t think we could replace them for that.  Per Lisa Utley: “I have attached the most recent Property Valuation that was done 8/11/23. [Copy to Board] These valuations are scheduled with our third-party property appraisal company with a schedule of every 5 years for an update. What is the board thinking a better value would be for these two buildings? MATIT only sends our EXL again in-between that timeframe if there is a new building or an addition to value. Please let us know what other questions you may have.” The board said they still do not believe we can replace our buildings for these amounts and directed the clerk to write to MATIT and ask if we can have another appraisal if we pay for it.

NEW BUSINESS: Free Amazon Business Prime Membership. “The Minnesota Association of Townships announces a new partnership with Amazon Business. Exclusive to member Townships, receive free Business Prime and special Government pricing on thousands of essential products. This membership includes fast, free shipping on eligible items and access to exclusive discounts across thousands of products.” Staples also has a township program we could check out. The clerk opened a township account if we need to order anything, or we can add members to our account if they use their own credit card and own email. No other board members wanted to be added to the account, and they can request the clerk to order anything the township needs. Patrice said she has an account with Staples for her office supplies, and has free shipping.

NEW BUSINESS: County Land Sale, North Duncan Road: County wants to sell 200 acres of tax-forfieted land on the east side of N. Duncan road. Mike said the whole reason he got on the board was because the county was selling public lands, and he has consistently opposed taking any public lands out of public use for hunting and fishing. Wilma has a standing resolution dated April, 2020, “Township of Wilma opposes any sales of county land in Wilma Township.” Paul sent our resolution and a letter to Greg Beck, and he scheduled a public hearing on this sale for Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at the Courthouse at 10: a.m. Mike said he will really try to attand, and Micah Murray can go with if he wants.

Wilma Zoning: Inquiries to the county auditor about Wilma’s cigarette licenses led to the county taking over our licenses. Auditor Kelly Schroeder said we were the only town still issuing licenses, and the only one (or one of few) with no zoning. She encouraged us to either opt into County-wide zoning or enact our own ordinace. We tried once: A draft ordinance was prepared and submitted by the Wilma Township Planning and Zoning Commission, which was made up of Eldon Schmedeke and Gary Vink, on March 11, 2003. “Whereas, Wilma Township residents, as a whole decided at their annual meeting March, 2002, to adopt a minimal zoning and ordinance plan, the Planning and Zoning Commission has drafted this plan and ordinance to submit to the Board of Supervisors and to the Town of Wilma for deliberation and discussion.

This ordinance is establishing and adopting land use and zoning regulations within the Town of Wilma, Pine County, Minnesota.” Mike explained the history of this draft and that Eldon quit the zoning board when some of the provisions were questioned, and the issue died without his participation.

MAT Attorney Steve Fenske said, “Your Township is allowed to set some zoning ordinances on the matters the town board finds it appropriate to have an ordinance about. The townships land use management powers are found within Minnesota statute chapter 462. The township’s land use management is also affected by chapter 394, which is the county zoning statute. A Township that is interested in adopting land use management powers, can do so by the vote of the Township board, following procedures described in chapter 462. We have information in the information library about the procedures and contents of that chapter. Please use the help of your Township attorney to produce an ordinance and the paperwork and procedures that will be required to carry it out properly.” Copies of the Wilma draft ordinance were made, and Mike will contact township attorneys Couri&Ruppe to get professional help reviewing and updating Wilma’s draft ordinance. Under Chapter 462, the board has the authority to adopt an ordinance.

ECE Utility Permit: ECE wants to ditch a cable from east side of Dollar Lake Road to property on west side of road. Maps and application were given to the board. Alden moved to approve their request and have the clerk notify them. We still hold $1,000 damage escrow for ECE.

Latest Population Figures from MN State Demographer: We have 78 people living in 40 households, as of April 1, 2024, over a year ago.

Coiuri & Ruppe Legal Seminar: Will be in Rutledge, Saturday, October 11, 2025, 9 am to 4 pm. On Agenda: Cartways; Engineering: Roads; Municipal Contracting; Ordinance Enforcement; Family Medical Leave Act; Road Rights-of-Way; Open Meeting Law.

Duxbury VFD Pancake Breakfast: Sunday, May 25, 7 am to 1 pm, Duxbury Town Hall. Was very successful.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Total bills: $6,033.37. Alden moved to approve her report and transfer $6,000 from savings to checking. Maureen seconded; all aye. Passed. Mike moved to adjourn; Alden seconded. Adjourned at 8:40.

Paul Raymond, Clerk

CLERK’S RECORD OF WEDNESDAY MAY 7, 2025 WILMA TOWNSHIP BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING

Chair Mike McCullen called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. with the Pledge. Also present, Superivisors Alden Shute and Maureen Rioux, Clerk Paul Raymond, Treasurer Patrice Winfield, Cindy Klienschmidt, Glen and Stefanie Williamson, Clay Heller, Micah Murray, Lane Cales, Rebekah Calder, Sarah Bergren, Daniel Calder.

Road Report: Alden gave his report for April, mostly routine blading. The big project coming up is replacing the deep culvert on Tamarack Pine Drive, which will close the road past Ecovillage for 4 – 6 hours, hopefully on Friday, May 16. Alden will give notice to the Mattsons and Maureen. The culvert is 18” x 40′.

Spring Road Inspection: Alden is off Fridays, so he wants us to do the inspection on Friday, May 23, 10 a.m. We will do the Crooked Lake rangeline roads last. Open meeting. Clerk will post and publish.

Vink Road: Cindy said that Kyle and Alexa, her neighbors to the north, ask if the soft spots could be worked on. Alden assured her that this is a project he will be working on, and the board will inspect the road May 23.

OLD BUSINESS: Alleged Election Ballot Irregularities: The Pine County Attorney Reese Frederickson and the Sheriff’s Dept. Investigator Zach Libra are investigating allegations of ballot irregularities in our March 11, election. The Sheriff’s Deputy came to the Clerk’s home. No decision yet, but clerk is confident it will be dismissed like Stan Riley’s complaint about the DVFD and the complaint to the State of Minnesota regarding a personal campaign letter written by a citizen. Copy of ballot shown to board. Request to Glen and Stefanie as to what the complaint was, but they would not say. Alden said that Auditor Kelly Schroeder said all township election ballots need to list candidates alphabetically and not to alternate positions on the ballot. Patrice said that in other state/national elections, the names are alternated to not give an advantage to any candidate.  That’s what the clerk said he was trying to do.

Assessor, Board of Review and Equalization: Glen asked if we lost our local boards because of no trained officers. Paul explained that on almost every agenda and meeting record for the past year he has posted about online training for supervisors for boards of appeal and equalization, but only Mike and Maureen got certified, Maureen too late for our board. We can get it back after one year. Board of Appeal and Equalization Training website: mnrevenue@public.govdelivery.com Follow the instructions.

Spring Short Course: Was Friday, April 4, at the DECC in Duluth. Mike, Maureen, Patrice, Paul and Glen attended and we took different classes. For Clerks & Treasurers: Post/Publish; Meetings; Legislative & MAT Update and Insurance Update; Reorganization Meeting; Paid Leave Reporting; Clerk/Treasurer Monthly Duties; /SLFRF/ARPA reporting.

For Supervisors: MN State Fire Marshall Division; Local Road Research Board; Legislative & MAT Update and Insurance Update; Navigating New Regulations on Road Approaches; Paid Leave Reporting & Town Road Miscellany.

FREE Amazon Business Prime Membership. They said participating townships will receive a FREE Amazon Business Prime membership. The Minnesota Association of Townships announces a new partnership with Amazon Business. Exclusive to member Townships, receive free Business Prime and special Government pricing on thousands of essential products. This membership includes fast, free shipping on eligible items and access to exclusive discounts across thousands of products. Staples also has a township program we could check out.

Wilma Cigarette Licenses: Inquiries to the county auditor about our license led to the county taking over our licenses, at $100 per year instead of $10. We had the legal right to issue licenses, but it will be easier for us to let the country do it, and they can enforce investigations of minors buying cigarettes. We were the only township in the county doing it. Validity of all Wilma-issued cigarette licenses since 1970 questioned. All boards and chairmen for over 40 years, including Glen, approved cigarette license applications and no one ever challenged our licenses, which were prominently displayed at the Duxbury Store. Clerk said, “What difference at this point does it make?”

NEW BUSINESS: County Land Sale, North Duncan Road: County wants to sell 200 acres of tax-forfieted land on the east side of N. Duncan road. Mike said the whole reason he got on the board was because the county was selling public lands, and he has consistently opposed taking any public lands out of public use for hunting and fishing. Wilma has a standing resolution dated April, 2020, “THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF WILMA, PINE COUNTY, MINNESOTA : Township of Wilma opposes any sales of county land in Wilma Township and affirms that the public’s right to use these lands not be impeded or restricted but protected.” Chair Mike told Paul to send our resolution and a letter to Greg Beck, and ask for the date of a hearing that Mike can attejnd.

Bank Resolution: Northview Bank needs a new resolution adding Maureen Rioux as a signer/supervisor, and to change the position of Glen Williamson from supervisor to deputy treasurer. Mike moved that the board adopt this resolution; Alden seconded; passed. Patrice had all the officers sign the form and she will bring it, with a copy of tonight’s record, to the bank.

Training for Deputy Clerk and Treasurer: Supervisors Maureen Rioux and Mike McCullen had asked that the agenda include setting a policy for training for deputy clerks and treasurers. Necessary training was set by board at $22/hour, the same as other officers. Long discussion about what out-of-town training should be paid? Consensus that deputy training directly relating to the duties of clerk or treasurer such as short courses will be paid, but no decision on other meetings such as the annual 3-day 2-night conference; Township Day at the Capitol; County Township Officers’ Meetings; Legal Seminar; District 7 Meeting; L&R Meeting. Patrice said she wants Glen to be paid $100 for the last board meeting, but no decision on Glen being paid for the County Township Officers’ Meeting where hs was also paid by the PCTOA to take records, so that will stand also. Chairman Mike tabled the issue.

Online training: Mike moved that we pay $22/hour for online training. Alden seconded; passed.

MATIT Town Insurance Policy: MATIT asks the board to review coverage. Our last appraisal valued the town hall at $173,859 and the fire/grader hall at $176, 703. The board asked the clerk to request a new appraisal as they didn’t think we could replace these buildings for this.

Coiuri & Ruppe Legal Seminar: will be in Rutledge, Saturday, October 11, 2025, 9 am to 4 pm. On Agenda: Cartways; Engineering: Roads; Municipal Contracting; Ordinance Enforcement; Family Medical Leave Act; Road Rights-of-Way; Open Meeting Law.

Duxbury VFD Pancake Breakfast: Sunday, May 25, 7 am to 1 pm, Duxbury Town Hall. Paul asked if people would please help set up tables and chairs after board meeting, and the Ecovillage people helped.

Treasurer’s Report and Claims: Total bills: $3,185.95 Alden moved to approve her report and transfer $3,000 from savings to checking. Maureen seconded; all aye. Passed. Mike moved to adjourn; Alden seconded. Adjourned at 9:40.

Paul Raymond, Clerk