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| Linwood Town Board deals with vacancy issues |
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| Wednesday, 22 April 2009 | |
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Alice Pickering Linwood Area Reporter Linwood Town Board supervisors adopted a resolution on Tuesday, April 14 to declare a supervisor’s seat to be vacant. The vote was 4-0. The board has been operating with four supervisors essentially since November, when Robert Johnson stopped attending meetings. Efforts to encourage his participation have been unsuccessful, officials said last week. The action took place later in the meeting, after three supervisors voted to appoint Marie Holm to fill the remainder of Howard Holm’s term. Marie Holm has served as a supervisor in the past and will now fill the term vacated by the death of her husband. The other matter concerns the town board seat held by Johnson Supervisors directed Attorney Gerald Randall to draft a resolution to declare that a seat is vacant to allow the board to fill the vacancy by appointment. Howard Holm and Johnson were elected in 2007. Power line Great River Energy is meeting opposition from both the Linwood Community and School Forest and the park board about routing power lines along the western border of the school forest. The organization next makes its presentation to the planning and zoning commission. If the power company cannot use this route it may have to use eminent domain and follow the originally planned route along county roads. There is opposition to that from some property owners because of the number of trees which must be cut. Building official Supervisors accepted the letter of retirement from building inspector Dave Thompson. Thompson is retiring for personal reasons. The vote was 3-0. Holm and Phil Osterhus had been checking on ways to save the township money. To that end they have contacted Nowthen and indicated that the building inspector there and their council will consider sharing expertise with the township. The board voted to hire Barry Olson on a trial basis to serve as building inspector for Linwood. The hours are to be arranged and are likely to be mornings three days a week. Osterhus and Thompson both know Olson and believe he will be a good addition. The trial period will be six months. Road matters Supervisor Osterhus reported a memo from East Bethel about the equally shared cost of seal-coating Sunset Road. The total cost is estimated at $58,000 which Bob Beckman believes is high for the work planned. Osterhus and Beckman plan to seek more details about the project. Street sweeping is scheduled to begin in the township on April 20. The township road review is scheduled Saturday, May 2. Supervisors will leave the town hall at 8 a.m. to review township roads to determine priorities for maintenance and repair for the coming season. Rubin Brown submitted a letter of resignation from the road and bridge committee. He made the announcement at the annual meeting. The board accepted his resignation by a vote of 3-0. A letter of interest in a position on the committee was submitted by Tim Peterson. Supervisors approved his appointment. Fire report Linwood firefighters were called to assist at two grass fires, one in Columbus on April 6, the other in Oxford Township on April 10. The recently acquired J-5 Bombardier (grass rig) was a great help, according to Chief Ken Minske. The fire department responded to a total of 13 calls in April. Four were to fires. The other nine were medical emergencies. Plans for a retirement event for Joe Dolphy and Bill Durhiem are in the works. The event is scheduled May 2. They announced their resignations in January. They have 32 and 23 years service with the department, respectively. The department has applied for a $5000 state grant to cover the cost of the driver training drill. The department will receive a grant, but the amount is unknown. Minske also reported that the township’s emergency management plan is being updated. The department has obtained an ID badge machine and has been making permanent badges for members. Badges for township officials and employees can also be made when the information is available. Other topics A public hearing on the U.S. Cable contract on April 14 prior to the regular meeting had no attendees. There was no objection to extending the contract after expiration of the current contract in 2011. The board amended the franchise agreement to extend the contract with the company for 10 years to 2021. Approval was unanimous, 4-0. The ordinance in its entirety was approved for publication. There was more discussion about the accessibility of a computer for seniors in the community who may not own a computer but wish access to the Internet. A computer is available with this access because the Senior Advisory Board saw a need for the service. Carol Searing told the board that the location is where there is disagreement. A computer has been placed in an alcove in the south end of the senior center. Searing said the preference from potential users was an office area on the north end, so it could be accessed when there were other events going on. Also a concern was unauthorized use or damage when the site could not be secured. For the time being, the computer is to remain where it is. Guidelines for use are to be developed. Judy Hanna, senior center coordinator, announced a Senior Health and Fitness Fair at the Linwood Senior Center on Wednesday, May 27. There will be a number of health care services available during the session which lasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 651-462-5565 or 651-462-2812. Other business In other business, the board: •Learned a joint meeting of the Linwood Community and School Forest Committee and the Linwood Park Board is scheduled 7 p.m., Monday, April 27. •Learned the next Sunrise River Watershed meeting is Thursday, April 23. •Announced the Spring Recycling Day is slated 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 25. •Announced additional pet clinics from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, May 16 and Saturday, June 6, at the Linwood Town Hall. Residents can save up to 40 percent on vaccinations. •Learned plans are moving forward to include a variety of activities for Linwood Family Fun Day. A recent garage sale netted $1700 to support the event. •Granted an extension until June 15 for a resident to move landscape shrubs from the road right-of-way. •Learned of a request to establish a street clean-up program. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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