TOWN OF NORTH STAR

CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME, and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Jan            6:30PM

ATTENDANCE: Rod Saline: Supervisor, Gary Mantay: Supervisor, Jan Keough: Supervisor, Jenae Pitoscia: Clerk, Donna Elsbury: Treasurer, Rory Blazevic: Fire Chief

Assignments are as follows:

• Gary Mantay: Chair, Roads
• Rod Saline: Vice Chair, Building
• Jan Keough: Supervisor, Recycling
• Rory Blazevic: Fire Chief
• Mike Siers: Assistant Fire Chief
• Donna Elsbury: Treasurer
• Ray Barnes: Deputy Treasurer
• Jenae Pitoscia: Clerk
• Deputy Clerk: TBD

Wages for Board Members:

Jan made motion to raise wages for election judges to $18.00 per hour. Rod 2^nd, Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved.

Mileage:

2024 rate has been changed to .670

Gary made motion to approve all other rates as below. Rod 2^nd, Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved.

Monthly Board Meeting:

3^rd Tuesday at 6:30 will be monthly board meetings

Township Bank:

National Bank of Commerce

North Star Weed Inspector:

Tim Walters will continue in the position. Wages will remain the same.

Township Posting Places:

• Barrs Lake Rd
• Northwoods Lane
• Alden Lake Rd
• Bulletin Board at North Star Townhall

Gary made motion to approve posting places. Rod 2^nd, Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved.

Gary made motion to adjourn Re-organization Meeting. Rod 2^nd, Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved. 7:06 PM

TOWN OF NORTH STAR      

CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME, – Jan    7:06PM

ATTENDANCE: Rod Saline: Supervisor, Gary Mantay: Supervisor, Jan Keough: Supervisor, Jenae Pitoscia: Clerk, Donna Elsbury: Treasurer, Rory Blazevic: Fire Chief, Ray Barnes: Deputy Treasurer

February 2024 MINUTES – Gary made motion to approve February meeting minutes. Rod 2^nd. Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye.  Motion approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT – Donna

TRANSFER –Transfer amount $5866.29 Check numbers 9057-9078. PERA EFT $54.00 Rod made motion accept transfer of funds. Gary 2^nd. Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved.

Audit minutes need to be posted to website.

CLERK COMMENTS / CORRESPONDANCE- Jenae:

Good Neighbor Agreement:

Gary made motion to sign and support good neighbor agreement. Rod 2^nd. Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Jan: Aye. Motion approved.

MAT: Township Day at the Capital: April 8th and April 9^th. $100.00 per attendee. Registration is online.

March 21^st 6:30. Duluth Township Organization. Rod Saline will be attending.

RECYCLING: Jan: No new updates.

WEBPAGE/COMMUNIATIONS REPORT: Jan: Jan made changes to website to change supervisor name from Dick Dillon to Rod Saline

ENews will be updated as needed probably in May

May 26^th will be the pancake breakfast

FIRE – Rory/Gary: Responded to fire on weekend of trash fire. Fire was put out safely. The Fire department is questioning how we move forward with garbage burning. Community members can call EPA, and County Health Department for resolution. Currently we have no ordinance in North Star with regard to burning trash.

Rod to reach out to County attorney’s office to see if there is anything that they recommend to resolve.

MAINTENACE: Dick: Hunt electric replaced motor in the generator and it is running well.

ROADS- Gary: Culvert replacement will be happening this spring.Dates TBD. Donna will review what the cap is to determine if we need to get bids.

OLD BUSINESS – No old Business to discuss

NEW BUSINESS- Donna/Jan: No new business to discuss

REVIEW OF DUTIES-

UPCOMING EVENTS – May 14^th ISD-709 Election, April 16^th Board Meeting, Pancake Breakfast May 26^th, Board of Equalization Meeting: May 7th

ADJOURNMENT:  Gary made motion to adjourn 7:40 PM Rod. 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Rod: Aye. Motion approved.

Date | time 3/14/2023 | Meeting called to order by Mary Hellman

In Attendance

(I do not have the sign in list for all the attendees)

Pledge of Allegiance

Attendees

Moderator

Motion for Rod Saline to moderate Meeting; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Approval of Previous Year 2022 Meeting Minutes

Motion to waive the reading of the previous year meeting minutes; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Motion approved

March 8^th 2022

2023 Review of meeting minutes will commence March 12^th 2024

Election Results

15 Votes Gary Mantay

4 Votes Bill Bailey

Gary Mantay winner

Reading & Approval of Board of Audit Report

Supervisors completed audit of Treasurer and Clerk Books for 2022. End of year figures are on cash control statement for year end 2022.

General Fund              $47,973.03

Road and Bridge         $17,441.66

Fire EMS                     $27,351.84

Fire Donations            $3,909.66        

Building                      $8,355.84

Recycling                    $2,779.13

ARPA Funds               $21,200.00                   

Total                            $129,011.91

Questions? None

Motion to Approve Audit; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Motion Approved

2024 Proposed Budget Review

Budget consisted of 2022 Actual, 2023 Budget and 2024 Proposed Budget for upcoming year.

Question: How was 2022 in comparison to the budget.

Answer: We overspent. Budget was reviewed and updated based on calculations of past budgeted amounts to better fit where the actual expenses are. This was done to fit the expense and fund that it came from. Example is Communications WIFI. It was moved from” building” to “general” fund.

Comment: Comparatively speaking budget looks good in terms of other years that have been created.

Question: Can anyone answer what happens when we overspend? Where does that money come from?

Answer: We have monies in reserve. We are not overspending in term of dollars. We are overspending based on budgeted numbers. Funding does cover those expenses.

Question: It looks like the budget from 2022 to the proposed budget of 2024 has increased by about 10K. Is that correct?

Answer: Yes

Question: Is there any areas that are significantly increased?

Answer: Most of the increases are coming from the clerk and treasurer salary. It has taken more hours to complete the work. Raises were also given. More elections are also coming up in 2024. This equates to more funds required for those elections. Increase in budget from propane cost, snow plowing and building maintenance.

Question: Looks like not all receipts are not property tax. How much of the receipts of the 109K is from real-estate taxes?

Answer: 21,200 is ARPA (Covid Funds), Recycling$ 4889.31 was a grant from WLSSD. $63,993.00 is the funding by taxes.

Motion to Approve 2024 Budget; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Motion Passed

Road Report

More gravel work will be done this year. 2 culverts on east side will need to be replaced. County has asked to do more brushing. Pretty standard maintenance this year.

Questions? None

Fire Report

12 Calls over the last year

1 Fire Call

Working on purchasing some new turn out gear and replacing other items that are worn. CPR training will be coming up in the spring and pancake breakfast is in the works. We are also looking for members especially on the fire side.

Questions? None

Items of Concern

Short Term Rentals

• Committee to address issues with STR’s
• Denise Anderson, Ryan, Mike and Carolyn
• Talked with other townships to determine what can be done
  • Number of rentals
  • Quiet Hours
  • Max Guest Count
  • Event Hosting
  • Watercraft
  • Parking
  • RV
  • Garbage
  • Campers
  • EMS, Fire call bills
  • Evocation of Permit
  • Length of Permit
  • Fishing
  • Owner response time
  • Invasive species
  • Burning
  • Pets
  • Fireworks
  • ATV
  • Private property
  • Enforcement
  • Insurance
    • County requires applicants name county as additional insured. Covers county in case of legal issue. Should liability insurance also have the name of township?

Question: How can we enforce our rules?

Answer: This is still being worked out. There is a moratorium in place for 1 year starting in January. 1 Property does have a permit on Barrs Lake. Property owner is required to follow county and township rules if the township has them. Our township rules can be stricter than the county.

Question: Is there a timeline on decision making and reporting back?

Answer: We would like to have this completed sooner rather than later. Our rules will need to be followed when they are created.

Question: Should we have townspeople vote on the committee policy in regards to STR?

Answer: That is the general consensus that it would be voted on by the township.

There are other townships that are going though the same issues in regard to how to put together policies and procedures for Short Term Rentals (STR’s)

Motion: To support the STR Committee to move forward; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Motion Passed

Communication

            Please sign up for email communication from our website.

Broadband

• No fiberoptic yet
  • ROI is not there yet
  • Broadband grants are in process
  • Looking for individuals to assist in efforts to get this service.

CLP Annual Meeting

• April 19^th
• 6:00 PM
• Two Harbors High School

Motion: Set meeting for March 12^th 2024 for next annual Meeting; Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Motion Passed

Motion to Adjourn

Dick, Aye; Jan, Aye; Gary, Aye

Meeting Minutes completed: Jenae Pitoscia 3/16/2023

Audit Meeting
January 29, 2024
In Attendance – Supervisor Gary Mantay, Supervisor Jan Keough, Supervisor Dick Dillon, Treasurer Donna
Elsbury
Supervisor Jan Keough called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.
All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
The attending supervisors received the 2023 Financial Books from the Treasurer and the Clerk. 3 sets of
Disbursements, Receipts and Bank Statement were compared from each set of books.
The supervisors completed the audit of the treasurer and clerk books for 2023 and the attached 2023
Board of Audit Report shows the verified receipts and disbursements and the verified bank statements
and clerk/treasurer balances. The attached 2023 Cash Control Statement verifies the ending balance of
all fund accounts.

Board of Audit Report

CHECKBOOK TOTAL December 31, 2023: $127,958.21
Dick Dillon made a motion to approve the 2023 books. Gary Mantay seconded the motion, vote to
approve the audit of the township books. Vote – Dick Dillon: aye, Gary Mantay: aye, Jan Keough: aye.
Motion carried.
Gary Mantay made a motion to adjourn, Dick Dillon seconded the motion. Vote- Jan Keough: aye, Dick
Dillon: aye, Gary Mantay: aye. Meeting adjourned at 7:17 pm

TOWN OF NORTH STAR      

CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME, and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Gary            6:30PM

ATTENDANCE: Dick Dillon: Supervisor, Gary Mantay: Supervisor, Jenae Pitoscia: Clerk, Mary Hellman: Deputy Clerk, Ray Barnes: Deputy Treasurer, Donna Elsbury: Treasurer, Rory Blazevic: Fire Chief

December 2023 MINUTES – Dick made motion to approve December meeting minutes. Gary 2^nd. Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT – Donna

TRANSFER –Transfer amount $6018.95 Check numbers 9024-9039. PERA EFT $54.00 IRS $888.99. Dick made motion accept transfer of funds. Gary 2^nd. Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

Voided expense for payment to MATIT for workers comp. Report from MATIT stated the premium was incorrect and overpaid. Revised premium was sent and reissued check with reduced premium.

Request to township to add software for Adobe Acrobat. $19.99 per month is the cost of the new software.

CLERK COMMENTS / CORRESPONDANCE- Mary/Jenae:

Auto mark was returned

Supervisor submissions were completed with 1 applicant

Election training is in process

Annual Meeting scheduled for March 12^th at 6:30 PM Back up date March 19th

Guest: Todd Abernathy

Todd is joining us representing the NorthStar, Pequaywan, and Alt townships. Crime numbers and types of calls are shared as below:

January 2022-Current

28 calls total

1. Fraud
2. Predator Offender
3. Property damage
4. Theft
5. Call back message
6. Order Violation
7. Burglary
8. Welfare Check
9. Suspicions Activity
10. Runaway Reports
11. Threats
12. Suicide Threats
13. Computer Crime
14. Physical Domestic
15. Garbage
16. Juvenile Offense
17. Property Damage
18. Overdose
19. Animal Bite

Todd will be joining each township over the year to check in and keep communications open to township residents. Reports can be requested without addresses and private personal information. Always call 911 if there are any issues in the community. This will assign you a case number for your records.

RECYCLING: Jan: NA

WEBPAGE/COMMUNIATIONS REPORT: Jan: NA

FIRE – Rory/Gary: Responded to 1 medical call. We continue to work on training.

MAINTENACE: Dick: Furnace is the hall has been repaired. A new motor for the generator has been ordered (previous was under warranty) and is on the way. The floor drain in the hall needs repair as it is plugged and needs to be unclogged. This repair would be fixed in the spring

ROADS- Gary: No updated

OLD BUSINESS – NA

NEW BUSINESS- Donna/Jan: Ray is reviewing the Omni ballot machine to set it up.

REVIEW OF DUTIES-

UPCOMING EVENTS –

Audit Meeting scheduled for January 29^th at 6:30 PM

Budget Meeting scheduled for February 13^th at 6:30 PM

Annual Meeting scheduled for March 12^th at 8:00 PM Back up date March 19^th

ADJOURNMENT:  Dick made motion to adjourn 7:10 PM Gary. 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

TOWN OF NORTH STAR       

CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME, and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Jan    6:30PM

ATTENDANCE: Supervisors: Jan Keough: Supervisor, Dick Dillon: Supervisor, Gary Mantay: Supervisor, Jenae Pitoscia: Clerk, Mary Hellman: Deputy Clerk, Ray Barnes: Deputy Treasurer, Donna Elsbury: Treasurer, Rory Blazevic: Fire Chief

November 2023 MINUTES – Dick made motion to approve October meeting minutes with amendments. Gary 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

FINANCIAL REPORT – Donna

TRANSFER –Transfer amount $19,060.75 Check numbers 9009-9022. PERA EFT $54.00. Gary made motion accept transfer of funds. Dick 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

Banking Update: Credit union accounts are closed. Now banking at National Bank of Commerce. There is a checking account as well as money market account. New credit cards have been given out to Gary, Rory and Jenae. Old credit cards are no longer able to be used. Would the board like to have a portion of funds from money market to buy a CD? Balance of previous money market account was at $130,000. Past CD was 56,000. Dick made motion to have the same amount from old CD ($59,000) to be put in new CD at National Bank of Commerce for 10 months. Gary 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

CLERK COMMENTS / CORRESPONDANCE- Mary/Jenae:

Opioid Training completed. Still in training for elections. Shared Drive in process.

Audit Meeting scheduled for January 29^th at 6:30 PM

Budget Meeting scheduled for February 13^th at 6:30 PM

Annual Meeting scheduled or March 12^th at 6:30 PM Back up date March 19th

RECYCLING: Jan: Grant communication should start coming in around January.

WEBPAGE/COMMUNIATIONS REPORT: Jan: Enews election communication will be posted on the website as well as posted bulletin board communication. Broadband information will also be updated on Enews. Jan asked if STR survey results should be posted on Enews. This has been tabled until March. Broadband survey results are in. This is an information gathering tools to see how community members are feeling about the internet options that they currently have. This information will also be shared in Enews.

FIRE – Rory/Gary: Elections were completed and Rory Blazevic will remain the fire chief. Assistant Fire Chief is Mike Siers. Snowmobile accident training will be completed. There was 1 medical call and 1 welfare check completed. There is a wild fire defense grant meeting January 6^th 2024. This is an informal meeting. Recommendation is to stop burning. There is no ban however our fire danger is high. Awarded a MN Board of Firefighter Training Education $4180.00 July 1^st 2023- June 30^th 2024 for any training.

Gary made motion to renew contract with IAMresopnding for another year. Dick 2^nd Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.

Reminder from Gary that the open supervisor position will need to be posted on bulletin boards.

MAINTENACE: Dick: Furnace in garage was fixed. Generator is still not fixed however Dick has been making calls to find a person to get it fixed.Met with Brady Grey on plowing. He will be putting bills in the mailbox.

ROADS- Gary: NA

OLD BUSINESS – NA

NEW BUSINESS- Donna/Jan NA

REVIEW OF DUTIES- Dick will continue to work on furnace, Jenae will send contract to Dick for plowing, Jan will update Enews.

UPCOMING EVENTS –

Next Board Meeting:January 16^th 2024

Audit Meeting scheduled for January 29^th at 6:30 PM

Budget Meeting scheduled for February 13^th at 6:30 PM

Annual Meeting scheduled for March 12^th at 6:30 PM Back up date March 19th

ADJOURNMENT:  Dick made motion to adjourn 7:05 PM Gary. 2^nd. Jan: Aye, Gary: Aye, Dick: Aye. Motion approved.