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Supervisor Terry Sodeberg was elected as chair of the Town of Morse board of supervisors at a meeting on April 8.
The board returned to a full in-person situation for the first time in a year with the election of Mike Velcheff in March.
At times Bob Berrini was the only supervisor present at meetings with Soderberg appearing by Zoom.
The continuing saga of culverts on Schaeffer Road was again a topic of discussion.
There is a large beaver dam on private property that has twice let loose in recent years and caused the road to be closed. One time it nearly took out Hwy. 88.
The board will look to again meet with the property owner along with the city of Ely which has concerns about the water line that goes to Burntside Lake in that area.
Morse will also look to continue leasing land to T2 Towers under a revenue sharing agreement.
The two sides are looking to negotiate three consecutive 10-year leases but Morse has concerns over liability.
The Echo reported last week on discussions over the Ely area lodging tax and concerns there isn’t a system in place to pursue legal action against short term rental properties that aren’t paying.
In other business the board:
• Denied a request to remove a street light on West Shagawa Road over safety concerns.
• Approved sending letters of support for a Congressional Designated funding request for Highway 169 west of Ely.
• At the urging of Berrini, will send a letter to MNDOT on reducing the speed limit on Hwy. 169 at Robinson Lake to 50 miles per hour due to the number of accidents there and the closeness to the lake.
• Held a discussion with township resident Bill Erzar on concerns he has about roads in Romberg Acres. He said there are water problems that were caused by the buildup of the road and questioned how the road is positioned in the right of way. Soderberg said the township paid SEH to have the area surveyed.
• After voicing frustrations with Wells Fargo and their policies, voted to lease a safe deposit box from Frandsen Bank.
• At the urging of clerk Nick Wognum approved a resolution adopting the Minnesota Townships general records retention schedule. He said the township safe is bursting at the seams.
• Will look into a new option for cutting brush on township roads after receiving complaints from property owners. A test portion of Twin Lakes Road and Wolf Lake Road will give the board an idea of whether it will work or not.
• Set the annual Road Inspection for May 12 at 8 a.m.
• Approved raising salaries and hourly rates by three percent.
• Approved increasing the rate from $40 to $45 to pay for mowing around the town hall.
• Appointed Velcheff as the township’s road supervisor, a position held for many years by departed board member Len Cersine.
• Named the Ely Echo as the township’s official newspaper.
• Approved committee appointments including Soderberg to the joint powers lodging tax board, Berrini to the joint powers ambulance board with Velcheff as the alternate.
