Regular Meeting
08/07/2012, 7:00 pm
Members present: Ken Selzler, Chairman/Road Supervisor; Paul Zent, Supervisor; Kerry Olson, Supervisor; Terry Mauch, Weed Board Member; Jerry Kunz, Zoning Board Member; and Rick Solberg, Zoning Board Member. Greg Hillig, Building Inspector; and Elizabeth Patterson, Clerk/Treasurer, were also present.
Chairman Selzler opened the meeting.
Supervisor Olson made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 2, 2012, regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Supervisor Zent. The motion passed with Supervisors Zent and Olson and Chairman Selzler voting in favor.
School Board report: Shawn Whitney, Apple Creek School Board Member, reported that there is now one teacher for every grade and that the school spent $16,000 to have the floors refinished throughout the school. Mr. Whitney also said that the school board has put on hold finding someone to repaint and reside the school building due to the uncertainty of the future of the school. He said that dependent upon the outcome of the bond issue before Bismarck voters in September, the school board will start polling residents of the school district and hold public hearings in order to determine whether to keep the school open or become part of the Bismarck Public School District if the new school in Lincoln is built. Mr. Whitney said that the vote to dissolve the school district would be a vote of the school board members, not the school district residents.
Supervisor Zent said the board would still like to see the school building painted rather than sided.
Assessor’s report: The assessor was not present and no report was given.
Building Inspector’s report: Mr. Hillig issued the following permits:
• DSC, Inc. - new home at 10003 Pond Place.
Valuation of work - $138,080
Permit - $252.65
• Terry Burke - 40 x 50 garage building at 9007 Lincoln Road.
Valuation of work - $32,000
Permit - $296.15
Weed Board report: Nothing to report.
Road Supervisor’s report: Supervisor Zent said that JP Moszer had provided him with a road report. A survey of the township roads was conducted and a gravel plan was formulated and given to Burleigh County. The county will apply recycled asphalt to 80th and 119th Streets. The county will supply gravel for the township, but the township will need to find someone to haul it.
Treasurer’s report: Ms. Patterson said the starting balance was $289,218.88, total deposits were $1,198.80, and total checks written were $473.48 for an ending balance of $289,944.20. Supervisor Zent made a motion to approve the bills. Supervisor Olson seconded the motion. The motion passed with Supervisors Olson and Zent and Chairman Selzler voting in favor.
Other business: Mr. Kunz brought before the board a notice of the Lincoln Planning Commission public hearing that he received. The meeting was regarding a proposed city resolution amending the current comprehensive plan. The notice was sent to residents located in Lincoln’s extraterritorial zoning area, and Mr. Kunz was concerned that this part of the township had now been taken over by Lincoln. Mr. Kunz indicated that the meeting in Lincoln was scheduled for tonight and he was planning on attending. Supervisor Zent said that the board needs to know what is in Lincoln’s comprehensive plan before taking any action.
Chairman Selzler said he received a call from Al Vietmeier, Director of Tax Equalization, Burleigh County, regarding an application for abatement filed by Anton Schumacher. Mr. Vietmeier said that Mr. Schumacher was a retired farmer and did qualify for an abatement. Supervisor Zent made a motion to approve the application for abatement for Anton Schumacher. Supervisor Olson seconded the motion. The motion passed with Supervisors Olson and Zent and Chairman Selzler voting in favor.
Marv Abraham asked the board to clarify what the township’s rule is for concrete dumping. Supervisor Zent said that the township is following state regulations which classify concrete dumping as solid waste littering.
Chairman Selzler said he met with Kevin Glatt, Burleigh County Auditor, regarding comments that were made by Mr. Glatt about the township’s assessor. Mr. Glatt felt that the township assessor should reassess all township residents because values are going up so fast and he was concerned that the township would fall behind again. Mr. Glatt also indicated that if the township assessor could not reassess all residents to let Vanguard do it. Chairman Selzler said he does not want Vanguard to reassess all residents and thinks that the township assessor is doing his job well. Supervisor Zent said that we should leave assessments as is until after the legislative session to see if anything further is decided regarding property tax relief.
Chairman Selzler said he spoke with Brian Bitner regarding the drainage issue on his property that was discussed at last month’s board meeting. The consensus of the board was that the fix is quite simple and the issue needs to be resolved. The board will have Mr. Moszer check into the cost of having the sediment cleaned out that is blocking the flow of water.
Scott LaCoe asked the board what specific information needs to be collected on a petition to change the township zoning regulations. Mr. LaCoe indicated that the issue he wanted changed was the 5 acre minimum lot requirement currently in the zoning regulations. Supervisor Zent said the exact definition of the change and the name and address of each signer would be needed for the issue to be placed on the ballot at the township’s annual meeting.
Chairman Selzler asked if there was any other business before the board. Seeing none, Chairman Selzler adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Patterson
Clerk, Apple Creek Township