By Anne Thom

Looking for a new place for the rubber of your tires to meet the road? The Joint Powers Agreement between Fish Lake Township and Nessel Township for the paving of Blue Heron Trail will proceed with all i's dotted and t's crossed. A meeting was held on Saturday, April 6 for the residents of Blue Heron Trail to meet with representatives of Fish Lake and Nessel townships and to hear from financial advisor Carolyn Drude of Ehlers and Associates. The project to pave the road has been in the works for six years.

Supervisor and Fish Lake Township Board chair Bob Carter acknowledged this was a learning process, saying this is the first time the townships have attempted a project of this scope involving the establishment of a Subordinate Service District. Townships working with establishment of a Subordinate Service District have generally hired a consulting firm to guide the process.

The major concern of Blue Heron Trail residents though is "how much is this going to cost me?" The price of paving the road has risen from $3,500 each parcel to $8,000 a parcel as quoted in previous meetings.

Residents were presented with a somewhat scaled back plan and a new figure of $7,067 per property. The changes include scaled back cut downs, turn around area, lower grade and guard rails.

The supervisors said they are confident that they have balanced the residents' desire to get the road paved soon at an affordable cost with all safety standards for roads being met.

The townships had tried to obtain grant money through the state and from the Dept. of Natural Resources, one of the property owners on Blue Heron Trail. They had learned in the process that even the county is unable to obtain assistance with roads, let alone a township. The county will help by billing residents for the assessment and service charge.

Drude presented a detailed handout on the project. The estimated bond size was now $212,000. She expected this to be divided among 30 properties, giving the figure of $7,067. Drude had struggled to try to forecast exactly how many properties might be subject to the charge for the project. She also had to look into her financial crystal ball to try to determine what would be the best way to collect the money, the choices being special assessment and service charge split at different percentages.

Drude defined a special assessment by explaining the property's assessed value would have to increase by at least the amount of the assessment figure. Minnesota law requires that at least 20 percent of the total project cost or the bond issue must be assessed against benefited properties. Property owners are also free to contest assessments. Drude said, "Even one assessment being contested successfully results in increases for everyone else." The assessment amount will be $1,414 plus interest over 10 years at approximately 6 percent.

Service charges are not tied to the value of the property. A service charge can also be spread out among any future properties built on Blue Heron Trail. The service charge will represent 80 percent of the cost to each property at $768.74 per year. Drude asked the townships to determine now the final number of residences to be assessed and then the amount of the bond. She also advised the joint powers then to lay out their decisions as policy. Supervisor Carter solicited opinions from the residents who were present saying, "I want to make sure people are comfortable and have had time to think about it."

About a dozen residents were present at the meeting and Fish Lake Township resident Rick Klick expressed disappointment at the turn out. For those not present, the boards can't wait any longer for input.

The Joint Powers Agreement is now on file and signed by both townships. An assessment hearing will be scheduled and as soon as the Joint Powers have settled on the dollar amount, Drude will talk to the Cambridge State Bank who will handle the bond. The township board will then need to approve the issuance of the bonds. The agreement is that Fish Lake Township will issue the bonds on behalf of Fish Lake and Nessel Townships. Fish Lake Township clerk Andrea Nekowitsch will now talk to Bauerly, the contractor, about getting started. Residents will probably then see their mailboxes temporarily moved and construction crews move in as soon as mid-May.

In Other News:

Supervisor and board chair Bob Carter would like to see a township planning commission established. He cited MN State Statute 505.03 which says that in townships under populations of 5000, who do not have a zoning agency or planning commission, a developer can go to the county planning commission and would not even have to inform the township of plans. In regard to a Fish Lake Township Planning Commission being formed, Carter said, "I don't think we have a lot of choice."

The township would then send its own planning commission representatives to the county planning commission in order to make the wishes of the township known in the planning and development process. Right now, township residents do not have a say in how the landscape shapes up, it is all determined by Chisago County. Supervisor Bob Cupit agreed. The board is now seeking phone calls from residents who are interested in forming a planning commission. Interested residents can leave a message with the township at (651) 674-7709 or e-mail the township clerk at clerk@fishlaketownship.com.