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Morse board deals with cartways, resignation of clerk

The Morse Town Board dealt with a number of issues include a contentious petition for a cartway and the resignation of the town clerk.Supervisor chairmanMorse board deals with cartways, resignation of clerk Terry Soderberg asked for review and approval of June and July minutes after all present stood and said the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Other township business was addressed until the arrival of Kurt Peters.The township acknowledged the receipt of $3,000 from Fall Lake Township for the year’s entire payment for First Responders. Supervisor Jack Willis said the quarterly billing to Fall Lake required a payment of $3,300.“Fall Lake will pay more when there is a 50/50 contract signed,” said supervisor Len Cersine.Some line item billings, such as the $4,500 for township road brushing costs, were discussed by the board. There had been some complaints about not enough brushings and also about too much brushing. One concern from a citizen was the amount of mess left on the roads. Cersine said it would cost the township additional money to clean up the brush that is thrown back onto the road. “This is mainly a problem on the smaller roads,” said Cersine. He said to avoid additional costs to the township that it is up to the residents to do the cleanup.The cost for chloride for dust control on the 17 miles of township roads amounted to $8,600. Town of Morse and Fall Lake Township share the cost of dust control on the Cloquet Line.Concerning the comprehensive plan for the township, the board established a public hearing on Thursday, September 2. Willis questioned if it would be a good idea for all board members to meet with the steering committee and Rudy Schoolderman of ARDC to discuss the comprehensive plan. A special meeting for this purpose was set for Thursday, August 26 at 7 p.m. at the town hall.The matter of a Kurt Peters’ cartway petition was moved up on the agenda.There seemed to be some confusion about a motion that was passed last month concerning the setting of a cartway hearing. In actuality, the motion was in acknowledgement of receiving the cartway petition and to discuss a hearing date, with the proper notification of affected landowners and advertising the hearing to the general public.Peters offered the cartway petition involving the possible crossing of property owned by Jon Zebrowski. Both Peters and Zebrowski were in attendance, as well as Town of Morse attorney Mitch Brunfelt.Zebrowski said as much as 17% of his property could be affected by the proposed cartway. “When you only have a 2-acre piece of land, that amounts to a lot,” said Zebrowski.Zebrowski went on to list several concerns to him and his wife, which include the loss of privacy, access by others, liability, and loss of property value.The cartway is for the purpose to access Peters’ property, which appears to be landlocked and not accessible by any other means. Once the cartway is in place, the intention is to divide and develop the land. Peters said a road already exists on the property that has been used for years. “When I first bought the land, it was under the assumption that an easement already existed,” said Peters. He will continue to research for this possibly existing easement.Much discussion took place regarding the amount of a security account to be paid up front by Peters before the cartway hearing would even be scheduled. The security account would serve as a safety net for the Town of Morse so all costs involved with the cartway would not be a burden on township citizens. Brunfelt suggested the amount agreed upon be put into a checking account.The security account would include, but not be limited to, attorney costs, surveying costs, supervisor, clerk and treasurer wages, damage to property owners, filing and recording costs, advertising and mailing costs, and miscellaneous expenses. All totaled, $20,000 was the amount agreed upon by the board as a lowball estimate.At this point, Soderberg suggested the two parties sit down over a cup of coffee and come to an agreement. “A lot of coffee,” said Soderberg. “You both want something - one wants compensation, and the other wants access. I suggest you talk to each other and come to a compromise settlement between yourselves, rather than leaving that up to this board.”Both Peters and Zebrowski said they were willing to discuss the matter.Returning to the agenda: • The board approved the exchange of St. Louis County roads, which include the Somero Road, Tek Road and North White Iron Lake Road, for the Cloquet Line, which the Town of Morse had been maintaining.• The matter of the list of standard operating procedures for the Ely Fire and Morse Fire Departments, most concerned liability, was tabled until the Morse board heard from fire chief Ted Krueger about the list of concerns.• The board approved the list of 12 election judges plus three alternatives for the upcoming primary and general election. One judge for every 150 voters is required. Judges will work in two shifts of six judges.• Discussed free conveyance of two parcels of land that abut the city of Ely. Also discussed was the possibility of selling a portion of township land to the city of Ely because of liability of the bike and snowmobile trails on the land.• Complaint of a loose dog on Maple Street was taken to the St. Louis County Sheriff, who said an agreement could be entered between the township and the county with Contented Critters.• Another complaint involved a written complaint about sled dogs.• Township assessor Ed Latva said his assessing schedule started early this year, and that he will need water transportation on Burntside, Twin and Shagawa Lakes.The town hall property was surveyed in preparation for paving the parking lot. The lot will have an entrance and exit. The Road Committee had recommended the double access, gravel work and paving.Willis objected to the paving of the lot. “Money can be better spent elsewhere,” said Willis.Lengthy discussion involved the regional garage. According to a letter received from St. Louis County Commissioner Mike Forsman and Dave Skelton, the costs to the Town of Morse to be involved in the beginning stages for the design of the garage facility will be about $16,500. The township can pull out of the project at any time. If Morse decides to stay in the project, total costs will be amortized over a 15-year period.“If this goes by the wayside,” said Soderberg, “there won’t be another opportunity like this.”Cersine said the joint facilities in Hibbing and Pike Lake are working great.“Local governments working together will reduce costs,” said Willis. “That’s excellent. But we only operate six months of the year.” He also added that only cold storage in the winter for two trucks, the loader and grader are needed. Housing of the fire truck is not a part of this project.The resignation of Town of Morse clerk Keiko Alysworth was accepted, and the filling of the position was addressed.The township could appoint an election clerk, but this position requires five hours of training. Soderberg will check if an election clerk has to be a resident of the township.Deputy Judy Fredrickson agreed to fill in as needed, and Alysworth suggested the clerk position be paid for 10 hours per week plus meetings. There is a possibility that Char Mayranen may be available as an election clerk. She already has had most of the training.It was also noted that a change of September’s meeting date be changed due to the primary election on September 14. Morse’s September meeting will be held on Monday, September 13 at 7 p.m.The board agreed to place advertisements for the clerk position.“Our biggest concern is getting through the primary and general elections,” said Willis.The meeting was recessed until Monday, August 16 at 6:30 p.m. A special meeting to discuss the comprehensive plan with all board members and a clerk would be posted for Thursday, August 26 at 7 p.m. The public hearing of the comprehensive plan was set for Thursday, September 2 at 7 p.m.

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