Chairperson Scott Welsh called the Regular Solway Town Board Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. at the Solway Town Hall, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  Also present were Supervisors Ron Gajewski and Clare R. Stromlund, Clerk Regena Merritt, Treasurer Cindy Moe and 4 concerned citizens. 

MOTION made by Stromlund, seconded by Gajewski, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from the January 8, 2008 town board meeting and the February 4, 2008 budget meeting. MOTION by Stromlund, seconded by Gajewski and carried unanimously to accept the Treasurer’s report dated January 31, 2008.

CITIZEN REQUESTS/CONCERNS: a) There are no special requests or concerns.

INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE:

1/8/08 St. Louis County Planning Dept – St. Louis County Board of Adjustment decision on the Daeda Variance.  This variance is for a 40 by 64 foot accessory building 60 feet from a property line, where a 100-foot setback is required. Construction of the building has already begun.  The St. Louis County Board of Adjustment denied this variance.  No board action.

1/16/08 St. Louis County Auditor Office  - Copy of St. Louis County Resolution #568. This resolution formally transfers ownership of the AutoMARK voting machine purchased with HAVA grant funds to the township.  No board action.

1/16/08 MN State Auditor - Best Practices Review survey.  No board action.

1/18/08 St. Louis Cnty Public Works -            2008 snowplowing fee schedule.  The county has raised the snowplowing fees to $700.00 per mile for 2008.  The town board assumed there would be an increase in county snowplowing fees and budgeted accordingly.   No board action.

1/18/08 CAT Information on bus for Lobby Day. No board action. 

1/25/08 Lake Country Power  - Billing due date change. No board action.

1/31/08 St. Louis Cnty Auditor Office – Automark ballot marking machine battery maintenance information.  No board action.

1/31/08 Proctor Journal - Informational letter from the new accounting manager at the Proctor Journal.

2/5/08 MAT Attorney Dan Greenswig - Insurance coverage information for volunteers.  No board action.

2/12/08 MN Benefit Assoc - Information on Life Insurance for township officials and employees.  This cost of this coverage is very reasonable.  MOTION By Gajewski, seconded by Stromlund and carried to explore the life insurance benefit from Minnesota Benefit Association for the 2009 Budget Meeting. 

2/12/08 St. Louis Cnty Auditor Office - Voting roster for township election.  No board action.

OUTSTANDING BILLS:  The Treasurer has four additional bills as follows: Fire Department for personnel equipment in the amount of  $641.43; Northland Fire & Safety for town hall fire and recycling shed extinguishers; Proctor Journal for envelopes and meeting notices for 2008 in the amount of $118.95; Alex Air Apparatus for foam for the fire department in the amount of $640.00.  MOTION by Stromlund, seconded by Gajewski and carried to pay all bills as presented by the Town Treasurer.

The board then addressed the nomination of Fire Chief Wayne Suliin as the 2008 Solway Citizen of the Year.  The Clerk received a letter at the town office nominating Chief Suliin as the Citizen of the Year.  MOTION by Stromlund, seconded by Gajewski and carried to name Wayne Suliin as the Citizen of the Year for 2008. 

ROAD: a) Supervisor Gajewski reported that he has contacted Minnesota Power to have streetlights installed at the intersections of Maple Grove and Jeffrey Roads and Caribou Lake Road and Highway #194.  There is an existing utility pole on the corner of Caribou Lake and Highway #194 that can be used for the new streetlight.  Minnesota Power has submitted the paperwork needed for the streetlight on Highway #194 to the state. A decision has not been made as to which corner to put the streetlight on Maple Grove Road. MOTION by Gajewski, seconded by Stromlund and carried to install the streetlights on Caribou Lake Road  and Highway #194 and the corner of Maple Grove and Jeffrey Roads.

b) The Clerk reported that she received a phone call letting her know that the “Dead End” sign on the Jeffrey Road is missing.  The board feels that this missing sign is not a danger to the public.  MOTION by Welsh, seconded by Gajewski and carried to not replace the “Dead End” sign on the Jeffrey Road.

FIRE: a) Chief Suliin reported that the fill gauge on the water storage tank on Engine #1 is not working properly and has a possible tank seal leak; Engine #6 has a problem with the pump heater; truck #7 dashboard lights do not work and the defroster is not working properly; and tanker #3 pump is not working and possibly needs to be overhauled.  Chief Suliin will make the arrangements for the work to be done by Steve Adamski. 

The Chief reported that he attended a gear demo at Grand Lake and looked at turnout gear and thermal imaging cameras.  There is another demo scheduled at Solway Fire Hall tomorrow night.

Clare Stromlund and Ron Leslie are retiring from the Fire Department.

There have been two new applications received and one new firefighter is attending Firefighter 1 School in Proctor.

The department had 2 calls in January, both were medical calls.

RECYCLING:  a) Nothing to report.

HALL: a) The Clerk and Treasurer would like the township website changed to a .gov site.  The yearly cost is about the same as we are presently paying Hostway for web hosting. There was a presentation by representatives from the gov office web hosting at the Minnesota Association of Townships Annual meeting.  The Clerk has different options for web hosting from gov office available for the board to review.  MOTION by Gajewski, seconded by Stromlund and carried to go with option 1 for web hosting through gov office at an annual cost of $400.  The Clerk will arrange to have our website switched to gov office hosting.

b)  The lock on the upstairs bathroom door needs work.  Leon Forstrom will check it out.

PARK: a) Supervisor Gajewski completed a park report. Other than the lower playground needing to be painted this spring and new roofs being put on the baseball dugouts, the park areas are in good condition.

CEMETERY:  a) There is nothing to report.

COMMITTEES: a) Nothing to report.

OLD BUSINESS:  a) Nothing to report.

NEW BUSINESS: a) The Lakehead Harvest Dinner that is usually scheduled for the second Saturday in February will have to be changed as the Country Music Show will be held on the same Saturday.

b) The Town board will be attending Lobby Day at the capitol in St. Paul on February 25, 2008. 

c) The Clerk reported that she has appointed Mary Saline as her Deputy Clerk.  

d) Treasurer Moe mentioned that there will be no MAT legal seminar this year and that maybe the board should attend the Urban Short Course.  This is tabled until March when the Clerk can have a copy of the agenda from the Urban Short Course available for the board to review.

e) The board has set the budget for 2009 at $299,145 and would like to use $25,150 from the Aggregate Tax Fund to offset the raise in the budget so there would be no levy increase from 2008.  MOTION by Gajewski, seconded by Stromlund and carried to present the budget amount of $299,145 to the electorate at the annual meeting with $25,150 coming from Aggregate Tax Fund monies.

f) The Clerk has presented a list of trained election judges from which the board to needs to appoint judges for the annual township election. MOTION by Gajewski, seconded by Stromlund and carried to appoint Bonnie Siiro, Joan Gajewski, Amy Johnson, and Leon Forstrom as election judges for the March 11, 2008 Township Election.

BOARD OF AUDIT: The Board of Supervisors audited the books of the Clerk and Treasurer and found them to be in order.  The 2007 statement of receipts, disbursements and balances was signed by the Board of Supervisors on this date February 12, 2008.

MOTION by Stromlund, seconded by Welsh and carried to adjourn tonight’s meeting after signing checks.    The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.