By Anne Thom

There is a dead calf carcass still laying in a ditch off of Little Pine Lake Road. It wasn't the only issue with the potential to cause a smell at the Fish Lake Township meeting Feb. 12.

Blue Heron trail resident Rick Klick, reading a prepared statement, said he wanted to make sure residents in Fish Lake Township "won't get dinged more than $8,000," the amount they are currently being told they will be assessed per property for the paving of Blue Heron Trail.

Further, Klick said he wanted the board to make sure that new lot owners do get "dinged" for the $8,000. He asked the board to consider a resolution that would legally bind developers to pay their fair share.

Board chairman Bob Carter said he had talked to Carolyn Drude of Ehlers and Associates, who is handling the bond sale, and legal counsel Peter Tiede, about how to word a resolution. There is concern between the town board and the residents that the agreement that stands with Nessel Township will fall through and that Fish Lake residents will be the ones to end up paying the full tab.

"We've been grabbing horns trying to get them committed," said Supervisor Bob Cupit. Carter said, "We have no way of getting them to commit," but said, "They're willing to do something in kind."

Klick said, "If we're having trouble right now with Nessel, you can imagine the problems we'll have in the future." Klick termed the situation "a mess." The board agreed to put on next month's agenda composing a letter of concerns addressed to Nessel Township.

Carter advised the board and Klick that he had received something from contract engineer Warren White that day and said, "Suddenly his engineering costs are more than were estimated, approximately $3,000 more than the $12,000 Fish Lake Township had planned on." White has told the board he is giving them a deal in billing at 7 percent of the cost of the project for his services, telling the board that engineer's fees are typically 20 percent. Supervisor Tim O'Keefe asked if White was on a contract for this project or if he was billing on a fee for service basis. Klick then asked, "Who is going to start picking up the cost overruns?"

Carter responded "I assure you we'll be watching it. We don't want to be holding the wrong end of the stick when it's done. It may come down to a point we go forward or it won't."

Cupit pointed out that only Fish Lake has spent money on the project so far, approximately $7,500. The two townships had applied for a grant to get the project started and Nessel was supposed to chip in $500.

Fish Lake Township resident Carla Heinke asked to be allowed a turn to speak. She read from a prepared statement also. She said Fish Lake had voted in August to approve a legally binding joint powers agreement. Carter and Nessel Supervisor Tom McKenzie were authorized in the agreement to conduct business on this joint project. As of November, Fish Lake minutes state FLT has expended $15,185.42 on the project. In November the Fish Lake town board had authorized payment for half that amount.

Heinke asked how engineer White could have been paid in the absence of any agreement which stipulated FLT needed to document project costs and keep track of receipts. She then asked how it was that White had been paid $12,500 for the project in the absence of any meeting minutes between Oct. 2005 and August 2006. Heinke maintained that though meetings have been held and payments have been made as authorized in the Joint Powers Agreement, there was no evidence that the agreement had ever been signed that would make all of its provisions and responsibilities legally binding.

Heinke produced a document bearing the watermark "draft." The purpose of a Joint Powers Agreement is to grant authorization to run the project. The document cites MN State Statute 471.59, as authorizing the two townships to work cooperatively in both spirit, actuality and in terms of dollars in paving Blue Heron Trail. The agreement states that if either entity fails to ratify and commit their respective monies, the agreement is essentially terminated. Each township was to have committed a representative, four "regular" meetings were to be held in each calendar year of the project's duration, a quorum must be present (both parties) at the meetings, votes must be unanimous and no proxy votes are allowed. The period of the agreement was stated as one year and any debts incurred are joint responsibility.

Fish Lake Township was named administrator of the agreement. There were several blanks to be filled in, none of which bore the essential information as far as legal description of the location of the project, the date established for the meetings, the percentage of costs for which Nessel would be responsible and finally on the last page, there was an absence of any signatures or dates.

The board paused to review documents. Clerk Andrea Nekowitsch said she had seen the draft document but didn't remember receiving anything with signatures. Nothing could be produced other than the June 2006 draft document that had been received from Tiede. Nekowitsch reviewed her documents also for a charge from Tiede that might have indicated there was some finalization of the Joint Powers Agreement. June 2006 meeting minutes indicate the township was awaiting receipt of the document. Klick spoke up and said he had never seen the agreement.

The board came to the conclusion that neither Fish Lake nor Nessel has a signed agreement. Carter will work with Tiede to find out when the agreement was sent to both townships and then it needs to be completed and signed.

When discussion of Patrick Havirland's Andrew's Acres development came up, supervisor O'Keefe asked if the board had made a decision on the final plat of the development. Receiving no response, O'Keefe's next question was, "Why was it signed outside of a meeting?"

The approval of the Andrew's Acres plat has come into the media spotlight recently over allegations that the plat was improperly signed off on by board chairman Bob Carter.

Carter answered O'Keefe saying, "It's done in other townships, we know differently now." Havirland said he did not know the final plat had to be signed at a regular township meeting and that both the county and the township had advised him all he needed was the chair and clerk's signature. "I'm telling you over the years it (signing the final plat) has been done casually,' said Carter.

O'Keefe then pointed out the documents indicated the plat had been signed Aug. 24, 2006 "at a regular meeting" as required by MN State Statute 505.03(2). The regular township meeting had been held Aug. 14, 2006.

O'Keefe persisted asking if they had held a regular meeting that day and Carter said, "No and I never denied signing it outside of the meeting." Supervisor Cupit interrupted at that point, asking what motion was on the table. O'Keefe said there was no motion, but he wanted the public record to reflect the final plat had been signed outside of a meeting.

The motion was made to accept the plat.

O'Keefe asked if entire board had seen the final plat and whether there was a motion to pass it. Havirland, still seated at the table requested that the board not place him in the middle of the situation saying, "don't punish me if you decide not to approve the plat, it's something out of my control."

Havirland said he has $150,000 invested in the property and if he doesn't sell the lots within six months he will not make any money. Carter pointed out there is a house now standing on one of the lots as well. It was then pointed out that under state statute, if it is not now passed, Carter could be held personally liable by Havirland and the township could also be held liable.

O'Keefe said "I'm still upset about it being signed outside of a meeting but I'll make a motion to pass it." Carter said again, "It's been fairly common practice. I've talked to other townships. It was a mistake. It was poor judgment. I've never denied it." He said to O'Keefe, "Why didn't you have the integrity to bring it to me first instead of bringing it to the paper?"

Cupit spoke up cautioning his colleagues they may be about to get into a discussion that could bring liability to the township if they didn't approve the plat now.

O'Keefe made a motion for Carter to step down from the board.

Carter apologized to Havirland for dragging him into the situation, but declined to resign saying, "You've heard me say publicly I made a mistake on it." He said O'Keefe has made a mistake bringing township business to him outside of public meetings too. He said O'Keefe had shown up at his house with a one ton truck and a young man who was interested in selling it to the township. O'Keefe responded that he had brought the truck over for Carter to view, not to make a decision on buying it.

Cupit stated it indeed has been the practice in the county for the township chair to unilaterally approve a plat. Heinke, who is married to O'Keefe, suggested, in this instance as Carter's property borders the development, that Carter may have done it in order to gain some kind of property value benefit. She asked Carter if he had thought that it might be perceived as a conflict of interest for him to sign the final plat for a development that adjoins his property.

O'Keefe said he was disappointed that once again the public had been taken out of a mandated public process said "that is disturbing to me."

Carter asked then, "Are we done with this now?"

Heinke's summation was, "We vote you folks in. I didn't hear ‘I'm sorry' or ‘I made a mistake'." The discussion will be continued to a meeting scheduled for the evening of Feb. 22.