TOWN OF BLAINE
TOWN BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, May 14th, 2025
I. OPENING
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Mike Metcalf called the May 14th, 2025 town board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Chairman Mike Metcalf, Supervisor Bryan Holter (via conference call), Supervisor Josh Fornengo, Clerk Ryan Brennan, Treasurer Mona Velebir, Charla Zaccardi, Kevin & Kathy Tidemand, Ron Gallagher, Phil Jackson, Dean & Dori Willett, Matt Holter, Billy Fish
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Supervisor Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the April 30th, 2025 town board meeting minutes as submitted. Supervisor Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
II. STANDING REPORTS
CLERK’S REPORT: Clerk Ryan Brennan provided updates on help-wanted advertisements he approved & published in county newspapers for the roads/maintenance position needing to be filled, signage he designed to draw attention to the new ordinance recently passed restricting artificial wake enhancement activities at Big McGraw Lake & Little McGraw Lake, and the paperwork needing to be completed to approve requested changes to our banking signing authorities. He also provided a courtesy reminder to local residents that it would be prudent to bring in their bird feeders at night to prevent feeding bears from demolishing them.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer Mona Velebir reported on bank balances for Bremer Bank and Community Bank of Cameron.
APPROVAL TO PAY EXPENDITURES: Upon review, Chairman Mike Metcalf requested that the expenditure sheet be updated in the future to provide more specific details beyond the general summaries that have typically been presented. Clerk Ryan Brennan suggested that both Charla Zaccardi and Jessica Estridge would be able to assist in this request. Charla Zaccardi also suggested that we use our QuickBooks Online software to automatically generate a thorough expenditure sheet. Chairman Mike Metcalf would like for the town board to continue to receive the supplemental documentation presenting a running total of year-to-date road expenditures. Supervisor Bryan Holter requested details regarding expenses for the Burnett County Highway Department, upon which Clerk Ryan Brennan presented invoices detailing specific information while reading aloud their contents. Supervisor Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the submitted expenses. Supervisor Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Chairman Mike Metcalf laid out multiple priorities to address over the course of the summer, including filling the roads/maintenance position, adjusting the tax levy/mill rate, posting ordinance signage, restructuring debt, taking inventory of all road equipment, purchasing Ray Sandstrom’s front-end loader, handling the ECE fiber-optic line request, and reviewing the culvert ordinance. He also laid out road plan details regarding St. Croix Trail, Big Hill Rd., N. Markville Rd., the lake bridge on Big McGraw Rd., and culverts for State Line Rd. After both consideration from the town board and input from those in attendance, priority was given to repairing sections of Big Hill Rd., St. Croix Trail, Perkins Trail, and N. Markville Rd. In order to clean up the public access to Big McGraw Lake, Chairman Mike Metcalf is looking to clean up lakeshore signage and place individual signs upon a single board, while Ron Gallagher will continue to provide general maintenance. A discussion took place regarding the rate of mileage reimbursement for Ron Gallagher.
ROAD CONDITION REPORT: Ron Gallagher reported that although the roads are generally in good condition, he will soon be addressing potholes on our paved roads. He typically follows a route beginning and proceeding respectively from N. & S. Markville Rds., St. Croix Trail, Little McGraw Lake Rd., McGraw Lake Rd., and Big McGraw Rd.
ROAD EQUIPMENT REPORT: Ron Gallagher reported that equipment has been running well after recent maintenance. Further discussion has taken place with Ray Sandstrom over the possible purchase of his front-end loader, and should it go through, it will be a welcome acquisition for the township.
HILLCREST CEMETERY REPORT: Supervisor Bryan Holter reported that 2 headstones received mild-to-moderate damage and that Sexton Jessica Estridge reported the incident to the proper authorities. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the damage was likely incidental.
DAIRYLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Billy Fish reported that more than 70 calls have come in over the course of the last month as a result of the dry, grassfire season. Thankfully, Blaine residents have been conscientious in refraining from burning activities. He also gave a description of the FireWise program which provides educational opportunities for landowners in prioritizing tasks that reduce the risk of fire hazards from occurring. Billy Fish will coordinate with Clerk Ryan Brennan by reserving the NCC for a seminar in September or October.
NCC ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT: Kevin Tidemand reported on the recent activities of the volunteer committee, including the ordering of a new window for the clerk’s office which will likely occur in June, new chairs purchased for Community Church parishioners by a generous donor, roof inspection findings, plans for repairing playground equipment, and more. Some committee members voiced objection at a previous committee meeting that one of the hall closets had been converted from a utility closet into record storage for the township, requesting that it be reverted back to a utility closet. However, the building is a town hall first and a community center second, and township needs thus take precedence over user needs. Furthermore, Clerk Ryan Brennan followed proper protocol by informing the supervisory board of the need for a space dedicated to the security and safekeeping of township records and election equipment, laying out plans for its renovation, requesting and receiving their approval of the project, and then coordinating with Kevin Tidemand on the repair of the closet’s door knob and the removal of disparate materials accumulated within. Therefore, Chairman Mike Metcalf stated that there will be no changes to the renovation plans already approved and the closet space will remain dedicated to record storage for the township going forward indefinitely.
WARTS/TRANSFER STATION REPORT: Clerk Ryan Brennan will be reaching out to contacts at Holdt Disposal and NW Regional Planning Commission and request they move their respective dumpsters uniformly to the gravel section and away from the tall grass. He also thanked Ron Gallagher for brushing the tall grass nearby and requested that he do so again once the dumpsters have been moved to aid in the removal of loose debris.
III. OLD BUSINESS
1) Supervisor Josh Fornengo reported that during correspondence with ECE, they reassured him should any damage be done to culverts during the installation of the fiber-optic line along State Line Rd., they will cover the cost. He also asked they hold as close to the tree line as possible during installation. Thus, the supervisory board granted general approval of ECE’s request.
2) Water heater and furnace repairs to be provided by Aquarius will likely be scheduled in the late fall and occur simultaneously for ease of scheduling and process. It should also be noted that general approval was granted for this project by all members of the supervisory board in private conversation & discussion over the course of the month of April.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
1) Chairman Mike Metcalf reported that the current fire truck loan has been moved from semi-annual payments to monthly payments. He also reported that in order to properly restructure the township’s debt, a debt-consolidation loan of $235,000 with a 10-year term from Community Bank must be secured. Supervisor Josh Fornengo motioned to approve securing the debt-consolidation loan. Supervisor Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
2) In lieu of the incident regarding damage done to the 2 headstones at Hillcrest Cemetery, a discussion took place over liability concerns for the township over such events as well as possible future incidents. Chairman Mike Metcalf then requested that our contractors providing mowing and trimming services for Hillcrest Cemetery and the Northland Community Center, Larry Kern and Matt Holter, respectively, produce copies of their statements of liability insurance and other related documentation for the township at their earliest convenience. Clerk Ryan Brennan will contact the respective parties and collect the documentation requested.
3) Clerk Ryan Brennan presented quotes he obtained from prospective papers located outside Burnett County to publish our help-wanted advertisements for filling the roads/maintenance position and discussed them with the supervisory board. While we declined to proceed with quotes provided by the Duluth News Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press which proved to be too expensive, general approval was given to Northstar Media’s quote to publish in 3 popular papers with a coverage area extending from Hinckley to Moose Lake at an affordable rate: The Evergreen, The North Pine County News, and The Moose Lake Gazette. Depending on the amount of applications received regarding the position, the quote provided by the Duluth News Tribune may be given further consideration at a later time.
4) Clerk Ryan Brennan elaborated further upon the designed ordinance signage discussed earlier in the meeting and discussed the prospect of purchasing 2, 2’ x 4’, Alumacore signs with BuildASign: 1 for Big McGraw Lake and 1 for Little McGraw Lake. Due to a substantial discount offered for purchases of quantity provided by the vendor, only general approval from the supervisory board was necessary to proceed with the purchase, which was thereby granted.
5) Dean & Dori Willett discussed recent issues concerning excessive and prolonged noise from bear-hunting dogs currently being trained for bear hunting season later in the year. The county commissioner has already been contacted, but it would seem there is little assistance they could provide at this time. Chairman Mike Metcalf offered to send a letter to the offending parties as a courtesy reminder to refrain from disturbing local residents.
6) Clerk Ryan Brennan will utilize his expertise in the creation of a calendar of events for the NCC to be posted on the township website. This will allow prospective users to efficiently coordinate plans for their events in advance and ensure effective tracking of all reservations.
7) Discussion on the township’s driveway ordinance has been tabled until the next town board meeting due to time constraints.
V. CLOSING
REVIEW OF PROJECTS: Chairman Mike Metcalf reviewed current projects as well as assignments and follow-ups to the old and new business items listed above.
ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON THE MAY AGENDA:
1) Review of driveway ordinance
2) Update on status of applications for road/maintenance position
3) X
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS: Clerk Ryan Brennan requested that interested parties continue to send him reservation requests for the NCC by email in order to track them effectively and keep the reservation calendar up to date.
ADJOURNMENT: Supervisor Josh Fornengo motioned to adjourn at 9:11 p.m. Supervisor Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved. Meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Ryan W. Brennan, Town Clerk
Signed and dated this 14th day of May, 2025
By: __________________________________________
Chairman, Mike Metcalf