The March monthly meeting of the Farming Township Board was called to order by Dan Stommes at 8:00 pm. The flag pledge was said. All members were present. Also present were Dewey Klaphake, Dale Lange and Mike Schleper.
The February minutes were read. One correction was made: to note that the storage building owned by Evergreen Farms was converted to housing without a permit. Vernon Willenbring made a motion to accept the minutes with the correction, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
The Treasurer gave a financial report stating that the checking account balance was $310,194.60.
RE: Reorganization Meeting – It was decided to have the meeting on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 7:30 pm.
RE: Underground Electric – A request was received from Great River Energy about any restrictions, permits or fees the Township would have concerning underground electric lines. Discussion was held. It was decided to have them contact one of the Supervisors or come to the monthly Township meeting as additional information was needed.
RE: Spring Township Workshop – Board members were reminded of the workshop. They will be reimbursed for the workshop fee if they attend.
RE: Blading Quotes – It was decided to open blading quotes at the May monthly meeting.
The following warrants were examined, verified and ordered paid:
6542 Judy Bruemmer reimburse mileage/computer $ 86.00
6543 Sunny Brook Ent. blading guarantee 700.00
6544 Stearns Electric monthly electric bill 64.93
6545 Star Publications newspaper ads 127.98
6546 City of St. Martin fire protection 2016 5406.32
6547 M-R Sign Co. 911 sign 22.01
6548 COL Fire & Rescue fire protection Qtr 1 2017 1132.45
6549 Judy Bruemmer clerk wages 637.21
6550 Dewey Klaphake permit fees 33.40
6551 Dewey Klaphake zoning adm. wages 155.84
6552 Vernon Willenbring supervisor wages 387.87
6553 Daniel Stommes reimburse mileage 29.80
6554 Daniel Stommes supervisor wages 332.46
6555 Dave Robertson reimburse mileage 61.04
6556 City of Albany fire protection 16,329.00
6557 Dave Robertson supervisor wages 399.41
6558 Lange Trenching blacktop 648/repair 822 1470.00
6559 Duane Janssen treasurer wages 429.43
Total $ 27,805.15
Year-to-date Total $ 52,279.50
Vernon Willenbring made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 pm, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.

The February monthly board meeting of Farming Township was called to order by Dan Stommes at 8:00 pm. The flag pledge was said. All members were present. Also present were Dewey Klaphake, Dale Lange, John Blenker and Mike Schleper.
The January minutes were read. Vernon Willenbring made a motion to accept the minutes as read, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
Duane Janssen gave a financial report.
RE: Culvert repair – Dale Lange reported that repairs were done on the Mapleview Road culvert.
RE: Broadband – Discussion was held. It was decided that our area had adequate access.
RE: Farming Baseball Club, Inc. – Mike Schleper presented an application for a County On-Sale 3.2% Malt Liquor License. Discussion was held. Vernon Willenbring made a motion to approve the application, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
RE: Albany School Board Meeting – Dan Stommes reported that the construction is making headway and they are still under budget. Getting permits was the main reason for the lack of headway for a while.
RE: Emergency Management Grant Application – Dan Stommes and Dave Robertson reported they attended the informational meeting on the grant application process. Discussion was held. Dave Robertson made a motion to adopt a resolution to participate in the Stearns County Hazard Assistance Program, Vernon Willenbring seconded. All in favor, motion carried. Dan Stommes will take care of submitting the application.
RE: 223rd Ave – It was noted that the dip in the road was getting worse. Discussion was held. It was decided to have Lange Trenching to fill in the dip with material they thought would hold best and to put red flags on the road sign warning of the dip in the road.
RE: Evergreen Acres Farm – It was noted that there were no people residing in the storage building anymore. The building was converted to housing. However, no permits were issued for residency.
The following warrants were examined, verified and ordered paid:
6535 Wakefield Township COL Fire District Debt/interest $ 5145.69
6536 Stearns Cty Aud/Treas election equipment maintenance 394.00
6537 Star Publications newspaper ads 56.88
6538 MATIT twp insurance/bond 1445.00
6539 Stearns Electric monthly electric bill 64.93
6540 Sunny Brook Ent Inc snowplowing/guarantee 5405.00
6541 Lange Trenching culvert repair/Mapleview 480.20
Total $ 12,991.70 Year-to-date Total $ 24,474.35

Vernon Willenbring made a motion to recess the monthly meeting in order to hold the Board of Audit Meeting and the Budget Meeting at 8:55 pm. All in favor, motion carried.

Board of Audit Meeting 2.7.17
The Board of Audit Meeting was called to order by Dan Stommes at 9:00 pm. The Clerk and Treasurer presented their report. The Clerk noted that a $40 addition error was made in the February 2016 minutes which accounted for the difference in the year-end total. Dave Robertson made a motion to amend the December 2016 minutes to show the error, Vernon Willenbring seconded. All in favor, motion carried. It was decided to use the simpler listing of Disbursements and Receipts in the Annual Meeting packet. Dave Robertson made a motion to accept the report, Vernon Willenbring seconded. All in favor, motion carried. At 9:15 pm Vernon Willenbring made a motion to adjourn the Board of Audit Meeting, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
Budget Meeting 2.7.17
The Budget Meeting was called to order at 9:16 pm by Dan Stommes. Discussion was held. The budget was gone over and proposed amounts were set. Dave Robertson made a motion to approve the proposed budget, Vernon Willenbring seconded. All in favor, motion carried. At 9:40 pm Vernon Willenbring made a motion to adjourn the Budget Meeting, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
Recessed Board Meeting 2.7.17
At 9:42 pm Dan Stommes called the recessed February Board Meeting back to order.
RE: 911 Signs – It was noted that the sign on County Road 9 had been put up and the sign for Royal River Road had been received and would be put up also.
RE: Albany Fire Department – It was noted that the Fire Department meeting would be held in February.
At 9:45 pm Vernon Willenbring made a motion to adjourn the monthly meeting, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.

The October monthly meeting of the Farming Township Board was called to order by Dan Stommes at 8:00 pm. The flag pledge was said. All members were present. Also present were Dewey Klaphake, Dale Lange, John Blenker, Jerry Rausch and Dean Rausch.
The September minutes were read. Dave Robertson made a motion to accept the minutes as read, Vernon Willenbring seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
Treasurer Duane Janssen gave a financial report with $277,432.22 in the checking account.
RE: Marshfield Circle – Dale Lange reported that the problem caused by recent rains had been taken care of.
RE: Snow Removal Quotes – Snow Removal Quotes will be opened at the November Board Meeting. Lange Trenching stated that they were not interested in submitting a quote.
RE: General Election – Judy Bruemmer reported that the judges for the General Election will be the same as those used for the Primary Election. She has been contacting the judges to work up a schedule.
RE: Culvert on 218th Ave – Jerry Rausch stated that the field approach culvert needs to be replaced with a larger one to handle water. Discussion was held. The Board asked Lange Trenching to check into the matter. Vernon Willenbring made a motion to have Lange Trenching check the culvert and repair it if necessary, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.
RE: Dean Rausch Driveway Culvert – Dean Rausch and Jerry Rausch asked the Township to widen their driveway culvert to the Dean Rausch farm. Discussion was held. The Board stated that it was not a Township issue and that other residents had widened their driveway culverts on their own. The Township Board stated that Rausch could go ahead and repair the culvert if he wished and that any liability issues should be covered by the contractor hired by Rausch and would not be covered by the Township.
RE: Blading – Discussion was held on a few blading issues. It was stated that the rainy year had caused some of the issues.
RE: Zoning – Dewey Klaphake gave a short report on zoning issues.
RE: COL Fire District – Vernon Willenbring reported that the Budget Meeting for the Fire District will be held on Monday, December 12, 2016.
The following warrants were examined, verified and ordered paid:
6498 M-R Sign Inc. 911 sign $21.81
6499 Stearns Electric monthly electric bill 64.93
6500 US Treasury medicare/soc. security 511.22
6501 Lange Trenching rd rpr 2549.43/blading 1584 4133.43
6502 City of St. Martin fire protection ½ 2016 5535.68
Total $10,267.07
Year-to-date Total $231,816.86
At 8:50 pm, Vernon Willenbring made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Dave Robertson seconded. All in favor, motion carried.