Year: 2022

2022 Re-organizational Meeting

03/15/2022

CALL TO ORDER  –  Gary Mantay

ATTENDING – Gary Mantay, Jan Keough, Richard Dillon, Donna Elsbury, Mary Hellman,  Ray Barnes

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

BOARD ASSIGNMENTS-

            Supervisor Positions

                        Chair – Dick Dillon

                        Vice-Chair – Jan Keough

                        Maintenance –Dick Dillon

                        Recycling –Jan Keough

                        Road – Gary Mantay

            Deputy Clerk – Carrie Landman

            Deputy Treasurer – Ray Barnes

Recommendations were discussed.  A motion was made by Dick Dillon and seconded by Jan Keough to accept these Town Board assignments as listed. Vote: all ayes.

THE BOARD CONGRATULATED Jan Keough on being voted in for another 3 year term as Supervisor, this time serving as Vice-Chair! Dick Dillon will be taking his turn at being Chairman.

WAGES FOR BOARD MEMBERS –

A recommendation was made to raise the Board Members (Supervisors, Clerk, Treasurer) wages by 20%. A discussion followed. A motion was made by Dick Dillon and seconded by Jan Keough to approve this wage increase for the Board Members.  Vote: Jan – Aye, Gary – Aye, Dick – aye.

WAGES FOR TOWNSHIP EMPLOYEES

A recommendation was made to raise the wages of the Township Employees (Recycling, Cleaning, Mowing, and Election Judges) by 20%.  A discussion followed. A motion was made by Jan Keough and seconded by Dick Dillon to approve this wage increase. Vote: Jan – aye, Dick, Aye, Gary – aye.

Mileage – the State of MN has raised the suggested amount to $0.585 per mile for government travel. A motion was made to approve this amount for mileage by Dick Dillon, second by Jan Keough. Vote: Jan – aye, Gary – aye, Dick – aye.

Monthly Board Meetings have been on the third Tuesday of every month at the North Star Town Hall with all meetings starting at 6:30 pm.  Dates may change due to inclement weather or other reasons and notice will be given.  Clerk to post yearly schedule and any changes as needed.

A motion was made by Jan Keough to accept regular Board Meeting schedule and postings, Dick Dillon seconded. Vote: All ayes.

The Township posting places will be at the Town Hall, Alden Lake Road, Briar/Bars Lake Road, and Northwoods Lane.

A motion was made by Dick Dillon to accept the Township Posting as listed, with a second by Jan Keough. Vote: All ayes.

The township bank will continue to be Superior Choice Credit Union.

Discussion followed. Jan Keough asked Donna Elsbury, Treasurer, if this banking establishment was satisfactory. She stated it was.

A motion was made by Jan Keough to accept retaining the SCCU as the township bank, with a second by Dick, Vote: Jan – aye, Gary – aye, Dick – aye.

Weed Inspector Appointment:  Jan said she would like to make a motion to have a weed inspector hired and in place. Jan Keough made a motion to hire Tim Walters to be the Township Weed Inspector, with a second by Dick.  Vote: all ayes.

A motion to adjourn was made by Dick Dillon, followed by a second by Gary Mantay. Vote: All ayes.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Hellman, Clerk

Town of North Star

Budget Meeting

February 8, 2022

In attendance – Supervisor Gary Mantay, Supervisor Jan Keough, Supervisor Dick Dillon, Treasurer Donna Elsbury, Clerk Mary Hellman, Ray Barnes, Rod Saline

Supervisor Gary Mantay called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm at the North Star Town Hall.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited to the flag by all in attendance.

The board reviewed the 2022 Budget and reviewed the monies received and expenditures.

The board discussed each levy and agreed to the following levy totals to be presented at the annual meeting on 3/8/2022.  The totals are:

General – $23,213.00

Road & Bridge – $7500.00

Fire – $25,265.00

Building – $9715.00

Total:  $65,693.00 an increase of $1700.00 from the 2022 Budget.

 Increase in expenses found to be related to yearly North Star Website costs(new), and need for “HotSpot” at hall for internet access for town and fire business. There were also expected increases for property insurance, propane and Inland Marine Insurance costs.

Motion by Jan Keough, second by Dick Dillon to approve the proposed 2023 budget.  Discussion followed.  Vote: Jan- aye, Dick- aye, Gary- aye. 

Motion to adjourn was made by Gary, second by Dick. Vote: all ayes.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Hellman Town Clerk

Town of North Star

Audit Meeting

January 28, 2022

In Attendance – Supervisor Gary Mantay, Supervisor Jan Keough, Supervisor Dick Dillon, Treasurer Donna Elsbury, Clerk Mary Hellman, Ray Barnes

Supervisor Gary Mantay called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm.

All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

The attending supervisors received the 2021 Financial Books from the Treasurer and the Clerk.  4 sets of Disbursements, Receipts and Bank Statement were compared from each set of books.

The supervisors completed and the audit of the treasurer and clerk books for 2021 and the end of year figures were as follows:

Fund	Total Receipts	Total Disbursed	Ending Balance
General Fund	$ 38,154.01	$ 28,488.91	$ 61,852.73
Road & Bridge	$   6,347.49	$   3,467.00	$ 10,895.19
Fire EMS	$ 23,357.64	$ 17,760.38	$ 16,760.10
Building	$   7,440.83	$ 10,381.30	$   8,326.89

2021 LEVY TOTALS:  December 31, 2021                $53,982.00 

Fire Donations	$     250.00	$     210.24	$   2,677.63
Recycling	$  4,081.19	$  5,499.81	$   1,698.79

CHECKBOOK TOTAL December 31, 2021                                 $104,200.00

Dick Dillon made a motion to approve the 2021 books.  Gary Mantay second the motion, vote to approve the audit of the township books. Vote – Dick aye, Gary aye, Jan Keough aye.  Motion carried.

Jan made a motion to adjourn, Gary second the motion.  Vote- Jan aye, Dick aye, Gary aye.  Meeting adjourned at 1:51 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Hellman

Town Clerk

January 2022 Board Meeting

TOWN OF NORTH STAR

01/18/2022          

CALL TO ORDER – Gary Mantay

ATTENDING – Supervisors Gary Mantay, Jan Keough, Dick Dillon, Treasurer Donna Elsbury, Clerk Mary Hellman. Guests Sue and Marv Forbragd, Linda Britton, Ray Barnes and Deb Pomroy

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –All Present recited the Pledge of Allegiance

MINUTES APPROVAL – Motion to accept December 2021 Minutes with discussed corrections by Dick, second by Jan, all ayes.

REVIEW AND APPROVE PAYROLL AND CLAIMS – Motion made to accept Payroll and Claims by Dick, second by Gary. Dick, aye; Jan, aye; Gary, aye.

TRANSFER – Total amount of checks – $4628.88. Transfer of Funds amount is $3552.38 for checks 8321-8329, and auto payments 010122-010222.

COMMENTS FROM CLERK OR TREASURER –

January 2022 Financial Summary

• A motion was made to set the Audit Meeting Date on Friday, January 28^th, at 1:00 pm at the NS Hall by Dick, second by Jan, all ayes.
• A motion was made to set the Budget Meeting Date was on February 8^th, at 6:30 pm at the NS Hall by Jan, second by Gary, All ayes.
• Annual Meeting – March 8, 2022 at 8:15 pm at the NS Hall, with Township Election voting to precede the meeting from 5:00-8:00pm. This date is predetermined by the state.
• Mary presented a list of Election Judges available for the Annual Meeting Election; Sue Forbragd, Linda Britton, and Bill Taft. A motion to accept named election judges was made by Dick, second by Gary, all ayes.
• Jan completed the Board of Equalization and Appeal Training.
• Credit Card updates done.  CLP and Superior Fuel have been notified of new card #.   
• St. Louis County March Election candidate filing deadline was December 28, 2021. Two people applied for candidacy for the Supervisor Position.
• Carrie L., retiring clerk, passed the NS computer, files and supplies on to new clerk, Mary H.
• Donna and Mary are registered to attend the Clerk/Treasurer Class provided by MAT in St. Michael, MN on January 25^th.

CORRESPONDENCE – None

FIRE DEPARTMENT – Gary reported the FD had annual department elections. Rory was voted in again as Fire Chief and Gary will be Assistant Chief. NSFD/EMS had 2 calls in December.

Fire Fighter Don McCormick passed away in December. Arrangements by FD made for Memorial Gift of $250 and a plaque. Gary to pick up the plaque from Stewart Wheel Goods and provide to Don’s wife Julie.  Funeral is January 22^nd. Let Gary know if attending with the group.   

MAINTENANCE – Dick

Town Hall Heater was cleaned and checked/tested by General Heating of Duluth with Dick and Gary present.   

RECYCLING – Jan completed the 2022 WLSSD grant for Designated Recycling Drop-off Center Operations for North Star Township.  The application identifies $5125.22 requested for operations of our Center.  The 2021 annual report defines a successful recycling program with growing participation by the community.

ROADS – Gary reported that the roads are white and slippery.

WEBPAGE REPORT – Jan reported the Website is online.  Information is being added, and more to follow, such as election info and monthly Meeting Minutes. Mary is learning the process. 

COMMUNICATION REPORT – Carrie will be asked to bring the Enewsletter up to date with more township election information. Gary stated that the Fire Department is looking for a Grant Writer. The applicant(s) would not need to be active fire fighters or EMS per Rory, FD Chief.  Jan offered to make a draft of this for the Enewsletter.  Dick suggested that job benefits are included, and Linda suggested the requirements of belonging to the FD are listed.

New email addresses have been made for Township contacts for Donna/Treasurer and Mary/Clerk and will be used for online sites.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS –

Lee Kaplan will need a replacement card for Website costs.

NEW BUSINESS – Deb Pomroy brought a packet of Weed Report information which should be helpful to Tim Walters, the new reporter. He still needs to finish the required reporting for 2021 to the website.  It appears that Tim may need to ensure that the 2021 Weed Report is complete in EDDMaps. Dick will contact him regarding this.   

REVIEW OF DUTIES – Gary will pick up Don’s plaque during the week before the funeral.

UPCOMING EVENTS – Audit Meeting is January 28^th at 1:00 pm, Budget Meeting is February 8^th at 6:30 pm. All meetings at North Star Town Hall.

NEXT BOARD MEETING – February 15, 2022

ADJOURNMENT – Jan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:32 pm. Dick seconds, all ayes.

Respectively submitted,

Mary Hellman, Town Clerk

TOWN OF NORTH STAR

December 2021 Meeting Minutes                 

12/21/2022

CALL TO ORDER  –  Gary called the meeting to order at 6:30.  Attending:  Gary Mantay, Rory Blazevic, Donna Ellsbury, Ray Barnes, Marv and Sue Forbragd, Jan Keough, Dick Dillon, Tim Walters, Carrie Landman and Mary Hellman.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – All present recited the Pledge of Allegiance

MINUTES APPROVAL – Jan makes a motion to approve the November 2021 minutes with corrections, Dick second, any discussion, all in favor aye.

REVIEW AND APPROVE PAYROLL AND CLAIMS – Dick make a motion to approve, Gary second, any discussion, all in favor aye.

TRANSFER – Total amount of checks $6,072.07.  Transfer amount is $5,735.94.  Dick makes a motion, Jan second, any discussion, all in favor aye. 

December 2021 Financial Summary

COMMENTS FROM CLERK OR TREASURER  –

• Tax apportionment $23,493.67 – See attached.
• SLC 2021 Year End Advance – $382.44
• ARP additional funds of $336.13 were deposited into our account on Nov. 23.
• St. Louis County March Election deadline Dec.28, 2021
• Carrie will pass on the clerk laptop /printer/files by end of December to Mary

• New Credit Card from SCCU has been put in Mary’s name as new clerk and received.
• Dick completed Board of Equalization and Appeal Training
• Donna reported that Mary has signed all forms to be added to the SCCU accounts and Carrie has signed the form to be removed.
• Mary reported that a resident is interested in becoming an election judge and she will work with the resident on training

CORRESPONDENCE = MAT Insurance annual paperwork and invoice reviewed. Dick noted that all three trucks are insured and wondered if the 1995 Isuzu truck needs full coverage. The amount for the 1995 truck insurance is $287 annual. Jan suggests selling the 1995 truck in 2022.

FIRE DEPARTMENT – Fire Chief Rory reported one medical call and volunteers are working on training.  Gary reports that the State of Minnesota has created insurance for volunteers that is offered to fire department members at no charge.  Gary provided the paperwork to Rory for review. 

MAINTENANCE – Dick reported that the light ballast is not worth replacing so the new lights are LED with no ballast.  Dick and Gary suggest that future light ballasts be replaced with LED bulbs.  Gary asks if the ARPA funds can be used to replace the ballast with LED.  Donna said some of the funds can be used for building things but she is unsure yet.  There are four or five resolutions that the State has provided and Donna will review the resolutions to determine if the light replacements qualify as ARPA spend. 

Dick reported that he is still waiting for General Heating to call back regarding the heat in the Hall.  The battery in the thermostat in the Fire Hall was dead and has been replaced. 

A plowing contract has been given to Jim Taft, as he has agreed to plow again this year for the township /recycling lot. 

RECYCLING – Jan reported that she attended the annual WLSSD meeting regarding the 2022 Grant.  The data for the report will be due in January and the grant request turned in at the end of February.  The good news is that bubble wrap can be recycled in 2022.  The furnace in the recycle building has been replaced.

ROADS – Gary reports that the roads are white and slippery.  Use caution and slow down.

WEBPAGE REPORT – The new North Star Township Website has been designed and the content has been uploaded.  Jan, Carrie, and Mary met with Lee Kaplan and he created a user manual.  Jan reported that she requested Mike delete the @northstartownship.org domain which resulted in the email being deleted.  Jan is coordinating with Mike on creating new emails for the clerk, treasurer and supervisor correspondence. 

Lee will need a replacement credit card for costs because Lee used Carrie’s card to pay for the new website domain.  

COMMUNICATION REPORT –  The November North Star Township eNewsletter was sent out. Of 61 recipients, 43 opened the newletter.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS – 2019 Federal Filing update; Linda B. sent out copies of the 2019 W2 and W3 on 12/1/2020. 

NEW BUSINESS –

VEGA 3 Grant – DS200.  Dick would like the Clerk to be trained fully on the DS200 before the mid-term election.  Jan would like the Clerk to have the representative come and make sure the equipment works before training.  Jan would like to add an item to the next enewsletter to ask residents to volunteer for election judges.  Carrie reported that Mary has the paperwork and the contact for training.

Tim Walters prepared and distributed the 2021 Annual Weed Report.  See attached.  Tim reported that the online form (eddmaps) is impressive and he submitted the report and the pictures on 12/21/2021.   Jan asked if Tim is interested in continuing in 2022.  Jan makes a motion to accept the 2021 Weed Inspection, Dick second, any discussion, all in favor aye.

2021 Weed Report

Jan reports that she is filing for the 2022 Supervisor position and has completed the application and will submit her filing fee.

Dick makes a motion for both the Treasurer and the Clerk to attend the MAT training on 1/25/2022 which covers the topics below.  All in favor, aye. 

• Clerk/Treasurer Duties/Statutes
• W-2’s, 1099’s, PERA
• Board of Audit
• PERA Exclusion
• Annual Meeting
• Financial Report
• Reorganizational Meeting
• CTAS/Accounting Procedures

REVIEW OF DUTIES:  Dick will call General Heating again about the Hall furnace. 

UPCOMING EVENTS – None at this time

NEXT MEETING – January 18, 2022   

ADJOURNMENT – Gary makes a motion to adjourn, Dick seconds the motion, all in favor aye.  Meeting adjourned at 7:25 pm.

Respectively submitted,

Mary Hellman – Town Clerk