Ida Township Newsletter February 2010 |
Town Board Address
Mike Rosenwald, Supervisor 320-815-4804 4700 County Road 6 NW
Tom Scearcy, Supervisor 320-834-3737 PO Box 95
Orin “Clet” Blegen, Supervisor 320-834-3156 Garfield, MN 56332
Palmer Krueger, Treasurer 320-834-2509 Office Phone: 320-834-3377
Barb Kilgore, Clerk 320-846-0823 E-mail: idatwp@wisper-wireless.com
From the Chairman about the Roads
Once a year the Supervisors, the Clerk and AJ go on a road review to see about the amount of gravel on the roads, the blacktop cracks and other needs. Gravel and chloride are applied hopefully by Memorial Day. The chloride holds the dust down, but it also helps hold the road together. Spaces on the roads that don’t get chloride get bladed once a week, while the chloride parts get bladed as needed.
We completed three road projects last summer. The first one was the completion of two turnarounds. One was at the North end of Christopherson Road, and the other one was at the far end of Betsy Ross Road. The second project was putting in a culvert on the corner of Water Lily Trail and Memory Lane, where the road had been washing out. The third project was on Pleasant Grove and Utopia Drive, where a lot of work was done. The section of Pleasant Grove was from 81st Avenue North to Big Chip Trail and also a big spot on Utopia Drive. We dug down about two feet into the road and put down a fabric mat, then filled in with new gravel.
Hopefully next year we can put in two more turnarounds and complete the rest of Pleasant Grove from 81st Avenue South to County Road 22. Orin “Clet” Blegen, Chairman
Calcium Chloride
Per the Ida Township Chloride Policy we want to remind all residents who want to contract for extra chloride coverage that you must contact the Township and pay for service prior to May 10, 2010.
Another Banner Year for Thistles
As a lot of you know, the Township is required to inspect for noxious weeds on an annual basis starting the first week of June.
Last year we had monster thistles in some of our Right of Ways (ROWs) and when we sprayed, these plants thought it was plant food. This year we will be spraying the infested areas earlier in the season before the plant is fully developed and we may have to spray later as the season goes on.
Our ROWs were not the only place that thistles grew last year. Several areas on private property had an infestation of thistles. The Township notified the owners of these properties directing them to take care of the situation. However, tens of thousands of seeds were released by these plants. Next year will probably have more plants than this year, so expect a weed notice from the Township.
By law, thistles only need to be cut down before they flower and seed out. However, this is a short term solution and requires attention more than once each year. Spraying will kill the thistles and the Township recommends this method. If you have an area that has thistles that cannot be mowed, the area must be sprayed. There are a number of contractors certified for weed spraying available to do this.
If you receive a notice and fail to take care of the noxious weeds, we are required to notify the county and they will hire it done. The cost will be presented for payment to the landowner and, if not paid, will be added to the real estate tax for the next year.
If you have thistles please take corrective action.
2011 Tax Levies
Over the past few years the board has not requested an increase in the tax levy. However, we can no longer maintain this position. Last year we spent over one hundred thousand dollars curing the frost boil areas that appear every year on the north end of Pleasant Grove and one on Utopia Drive (and the south end of Pleasant Grove still needs attention). The cost of fire protection has risen every year. We are replacing all Township signs with new retro-reflective signs as mandated by government. In general everything has increased. Below are the amounts your board is requesting for 2011. Please come to the annual meeting on March 9, 2010 in order to have input regarding these requests.
2011 Request Last Year’s Amount
General Revenue Fund $ 75,000 $ 45,000
Road & Bridge 170,000 135,000
Fire Protection 70,000 50,000
Tar & Upgrade 25,000 60,000
7T Debt Service 60,000 60,000
Sewer Bond & Interest 100,000 90,000
Total $ 500,000 $ 440,000
Paving Projects
When the Township paved Bedman Dr, Lake Ida Way, Wahtomin Trail, Oakridge Road, 81st Avenue and Christopherson Road, which we called the 7T project, it was financed through a bond. These roads were chosen because they were high traffic roads leading to residential areas and affected over 500 landowners. At the time of the project, the board indicated that paving residential roads would have to happen when funds were available in the Blacktopping Fund that is appropriated at the annual meeting. There is some money currently available in this fund.
How do you get your road paved? (Please keep in mind that half of the cost of the paving project will be assessed to the benefited land owners.) The first step is to submit a petition to the Ida Township Board requesting paving of a specific road or roads. This petition needs to be legally correct and signed by eight registered voters of Ida Township who reside within three miles of the project. Once the petition is brought before the board, the board has thirty days to act on it. They can either deny the petition or set a hearing date. If the petition is denied, it cannot be resubmitted for one year. Some of the factors that will influence the board’s position are:
Estimated cost of the project versus money available
Whether the cost to be assessed to each landowner is more than the benefit
Whether the road(s) in the petition currently have a 66 foot recorded Right-Of-Way
Whether the road to be paved connects to a paved road (Township requirement)
If the board sets a hearing, all affected landowners will get a chance to voice their opinions either for or against the petition and the board will vote whether to proceed to the bid phase or stop the project. If the project is approved, engineering will be contacted and the bids will be prepared and let. If a bid is accepted, the work will then be scheduled.
Once all costs are in and the roadway is completed, a hearing will be held regarding the assessment. At this hearing landowners may voice any objection to their assessment. Once all issues are voted on by the board, the final assessment amount will be set. All benefitted landowners will have a choice to pay the assessment right away or have it attached to their property taxes.
Understanding Real Estate Taxes
Every year effective January 2, the Douglas County Auditor estimates the value of your property. To do this, the Auditor looks at the historic value, any improvements or changes made to the property and recalculates the value based on sales of similar properties. For example, if your permanent residence was worth $500,000 the previous year and similar sales average 10 percent over the market value, it is likely that the new value for your property will be $550,000. This new value is what each taxpayer has the right to protest at the board of equalization held at the town hall each spring.
However, as most value changes are determined by a formula set by the state legislature, it is unlikely that the board will lower (no one asks for an increase) the valuation unless it can be shown that an error was made regarding the property itself. Last year the State Legislature removed the limited market value classification causing many parcels to have large increases in value. In many cases, this resulted in significant real estate tax increases. This could not be changed by the Board of Equalization.
After all values have been established, the levies from the County and Township are calculated using tax capacity. This is determined by taking the taxable market value of your property times its classification/rate (there are many different classifications/rates). For the residence worth $550,000 this would be calculated as follows:
$500,000 x 1.00% = 5,000 (1% base rate for property values up to $500,000)
$50,000 x 1.25% = 625 (1.25% for property values above $500,000)
Tax capacity = 5,625
This is done for all properties in the Township resulting in a Total Tax Capacity (TTC) for Ida Township. The levy from the township is then divided by its TTC to arrive at the Township’s property tax rate. This will occur for all taxing authorities that affect your taxes. The County auditor will then calculate each property’s tax and apply any credits or additions as shown on your property tax statement.
Lake Charley Cemetery
The Lake Charley Cemetery was established in 1875, and its first burial was in 1873. It has also been called the Lake Charlie Cemetery, the Oak Hill Cemetery, and the Floding Cemetery.
It is located west of Lake Charley along Sunset Strip on the right hand-side of the road. Go south on Sunset Strip from County Road 61 toward Arrowwood Resort and County Road 22.
What is interesting about this hidden gem is its history, and the fact that it is now again an active place of rest. It was deeded over to Ida Township several years ago. Under the direction of three volunteers, Julie Kirscht, Wayne Odegaard, and Frank Bartlett, the brush and debris have been cleared, and it has been brought back into use. The beautiful wooded cemetery has been surveyed, and there are now forty-eight future sites available. A fence has been erected, crosses erected over the unidentified person sites, and two beautiful benches have been added overlooking the plots and the rolling hills. From the cemetery you can actually see the split between prairie and oak savanna forest.
There are nineteen known graves, fourteen which have been identified by name. Two Civil War veterans from the First Minnesota Regiment and an African American who worked for resorts in the area are buried there, along with several other families. Two commemorative stars have been replaced for the two veterans from that war which took place over one hundred thirty years ago. The cemetery was last used in 1947 when Andrew Lundgren was interred there.
Of the 48 lots made available, 10 have been sold, leaving 38 available for purchase as of December 31, 2009. Pricing is $250.00 per lot for residents of Ida Township and $500.00 per lot for those outside of Ida Township. Call or stop in the Ida Township Office for more information. If you are interested in being on the Cemetery Committee, please contact one of the current members or the Township Office.
The Douglas County Historical Society is very pleased with the renovation and may now include Lake Charley Cemetery in a historical tour of the area in the future.
If you have any information regarding the cemetery or know the names of any of the unidentified people buried at the cemetery, please contact the Ida Township Office 320.834.3377
Acknowledgements
The Ida Township Board would like to thank the following people and associations:
Greg Burkey for all the work he has done in the past to keep the cemetery in order.
The Cemetery Committee: Frank Bartlett, Julie Kirscht and Wayne Odegaard.
Julie Kirscht for the flowers placed on the graves for the summer months
Ida Lake Association for donating the benches.
Excerpts in this article are from the Ida Lake Assoc. newsletter.
March Election and Annual Meeting
The Township Election and Annual Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. The polls will be open from 12:00 PM. to 8:00 PM. with the Annual Meeting starting after the polls are closed. There will be two offices on the ballot:
Supervisor Seat C 3-year term Candidates: Orin “Clet” Blegen, Daniel Diedrich
Clerk 2-year term Candidate: Barbara Kilgore
The 2010 tax levy will be set and voted on at the Annual Meeting, so it is very important to attend! Both the election and annual meeting will be held at the Ida Township Hall, 4700 County Road 6 NW, Garfield, MN. In case of inclement weather the election and meeting will be held on March 16, 2010 at the same time.
Candidates for Office
Supervisor Seat C
Orin “Clet” Blegen Supervisor from 2004 through 2010.
Daniel Diedrich Born in Leaf Valley Township, Douglas County. Attended country grade school three miles north of Leaf Valley. Graduated from Parkers Prairie High School and attended two years of college at Bemidji.
Wife: Rosemary, Four grown children, six grandchildren.
Worked road construction as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver, building engineer, production supervisor, plant manager and project manager. Owner of a seed conditioning business for the past twenty-seven years. I served three years on the Leaf Valley Fire Department and twenty-two years on the Garfield Fire Department, holding the position as Chief for fifteen years.
Owned a twenty acre farm site north of Garfield for the past thirty years plus. Currently driving truck part time and helping our oldest son with farming, also doing some custom harvesting.
Clerk
Barbara Kilgore I grew up in Austin, Minnesota. I have been married to Bill for 37 years and we have one daughter. I graduated with honors from Alexandria Technical College in 1996 with an Associate’s Degree in accounting.
I currently work part time from home as a Calling Rep for Service 800 as well as carrying out my clerk duties for Ida Township. We moved to Lake Ida in March of 1989. I have been clerk since 2003.
Office & Meeting Schedule
Meeting Schedule: The Ida Town Board meets on the First and Third Mondays of each month at at the Ida Township Hall. If the Meeting date falls on a holiday or conflicts with an election, the meeting will be held the following day at the same time and place. If you wish to be put on the agenda, call or e-mail the township office preferably by the Thursday before the next scheduled meeting.
Website If you are interested in what is on the agenda for the next Town Board meeting or if you want to know what transpired at recent meetings you were unable to attend, check out the Township website at www. Idatownship.Com.
Office Hours The Township Office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from until , except for holidays. You can also call and set up an appointment.
Town Hall Rental The Town Hall is available to rent for meetings or family gatherings at reasonable rates.
Election Judges If you are interested in becoming an election judge, please contact the Ida Township Office.