for July 21st, 2025, Whitebear Township to order. First item on the agenda is to approve the agenda. Pat, any changes? Yeah, Mr. Chair pleases the board, please take into consideration swapping open time to happen before close session so as to accommodate our guests this evening. Okay. Make a motion to do that. I'll make a motion to uh approve uh town clerk's motion. I'll second that. So, we'll do that just ahead of the close session for one visit. Get on your way. Still have to vote on that. By the way, you do. All in favor? All in favor? I I Thank you. Our next item on the agenda is to approve of payment of bills. I've signed off on those, Beth. Have you looked at those? I have. Should I make the motion to approve the bills? Yes, please. All right. I make that motion to approve uh payment of the bills. I'll second that motion to approve payment of the bills. All in favor? I I. Next is the approval of the prior meeting minutes. Uh, let's see. That is of July 7th, 2025 meeting. Did you I did approve it. I didn't find anything that I was concerned with. Okay. I saw nothing either. I'd like a motion to approve the minutes from the July 7th, 2025 meeting. I'll make that motion. I'll second that. All in favor? I I Next item on our agenda is the consent agenda. Uh Beth, do you have anything you'd like to pull from that? I asked my question and I'm good. Okay. Uh I would like to re to pull item 5C, the improvement and utility revenue bond for little further discussion. That's it. So would you like to I'll uh make a motion to remove item C from the consent agenda and otherwise approved. I'll second that motion. All in favor? I I All right. Uh so the the issue that I'd like to talk just like that for the public to hear what this is really about. So Pat, will you take that? Sure. Um just got a little summary here and then if uh pleases the board engage in further discussion. Um these are appearing on our agenda this evening because the town engineer estimated that the road projects for 2025 will cost just under $5.1 million. And to pay for these projects, town needs to issue bonds and the first step is for the board to pass the attached resolution authorizing the sale of bonds. Town is proposing to issue 4 uh 625 million in bonds at an estimated interest rate of 3.8% for 10 years. And the bonds will be paid off using a combination of water, sanitary sewer, storm water, special assessment, and property taxes. Um, based on town policy, the town is using $340,000 of the state's $7 million infrastructure fund to lower the estimated tax levy needed to make the annual debt payment, which will save town uh taxpayers approximately $467,000 uh over 10 years. If approved tonight, the actual sale would occur on August 18th with the town receiving the proceeds from the sale no later than September 18th. So this this is really a normal uh piece of the process on our road projects. If we have to if we don't have enough money to pay for them, we have to bond. Correct. This is that's how we've executed our last four uh road projects. And the addition in this particular item is that we now have some funds that were dedicated uh for road projects and we're applying for our formula for that. Uh, yes. And thank you to the Minnesota State Legislature as well as our Senate Representative Heather Gustoson. Okay. Any questions, Beth? Nope. Answered mine. Um, so we need a motion to approve that then. Okay, I'll make that motion to approve um the um improvement of utility revenue bonds. I'll second that. All in favor? I I Okay. So, is that in the packet to be signed? And you'll have the chair sign that. Okay. Good. All right. Next item is old business. There is none. Next item is a public hearing. We have none tonight. Uh, next item is new business and we have none tonight. And so, now we're down to the uh open time that uh you're here to talk about. I told you it'd be fast. I didn't even have time to get nervous. So, no, I'm not nervous. Okay. You need to step up to the microphone, state your name and address, and then uh tell us why you're here. Okay. Is this all right? Yeah. Mhm. My name is Margaret Brian. Um I live at 5266 Northwest Avenue and I've lived there for 52 years. So across the street is the house on 25372nd Street which um has been empty for six plus years I believe. You probably know something about this property. So I've talked to um Mike Johnson because he stops by. I call him when uh someone breaks in or someone shows up um to do something. you know, he's trying to stay on top of it. Um, I'm just so sick and tired of looking at that house. I have people stop I'm working out in my yard and people stop and say, "How can you stand that?" And it's like, "Well, I don't have a choice." You know, um, I want to know what is happening with that house. It supposedly was going to be torn down last October and then I believe that the company that owns the house um it first went into foreclosure and then it was purchased by a company that turns houses into rentals. I believe that's what I heard. Um and uh then their their uh company got attorneys involved. So according to Mike that kind of slowed things down again. I just wondering what is the process and and is there ever going to not only that that's only about I'm not sure the six plus years that it's been empty but for the 30ome years before that so I moved in in 1973 in 19 84 or five this family moved in and the whole entire yard was cars, trucks, snowmobiles, boats, any kind of equipment you could think of. Even a dump truck that the owner put um deal what do you call that? Collector plates on. I mean, it sat there that long. And the township would try to get him to clean it up. He'd sort of clean it up and it would be right back to where it was. Then he moves when they lost the house, he moves his grandson in and it became a drug house for about a year, you know. So I'm very frustrated and I think that's all I have to say. Um I I can tell you that just so I got the right house. It's the corner of Second and Northwest, right? Yeah. I'm the other one. So when I tell people I live on the corner, I say I'm not the garb I call it the garbage house. Understood. U I I can only say that. Yes, we are aware of it. We've been working on it. And Chad, do you have anything from a legal perspective that you and Mike can Well, we've been trying to get an inspection done and they keep saying they'll cooperate. An inspection? Well, see, the process is this. Be Mike, the process if to before we can declare a building a hazardous building, we have to be able to list what has to be repaired. I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time hearing you. Okay. I is I I'll talk up. Okay. Before we can declare before the town can declare a home a hazardous structure, it has to list it has to adopt a resol an a resolution listing what has to be fixed. And Mike has been trying to get in there and we keep you know the the attorney says keeps promising everyone keeps promising we'll cooperate so we can get in the property and he actually physically go in. Yes. And why can't they they are they not allowed to go in legally? Exactly right. You can only go in on two under two conditions or two situations. One, with the owner's permission. Two, we have an administrative search warrant. And the administrative search warrant is only issued after a hearing occurs. And you have to notify the owner of the hearing. And they keep saying they'll cooperate. They haven't apparently. Um, I talked to Mike on, you know, Mike and I talk about on a regular basis and he I thought it was already determined that it was hazardous or non you no one was able to live in it. Well, we have still have to list what has to be repaired because what happens is this. The board would adopt a resolution declaring it to be a hazardous structure and listing what has to be repaired and then they have to give the owner a reasonable time normally 30 days or so to come in and at least apply for permits and and get get a schedule to repair the property. And so it's important we have a list of what has to be done to it. Now, if Mike states that the property is un is unrepable, should be demolished, then we'll have to adopt that adopt that resolution. But I have a problem with that because again, the statute says you're supposed to give them a list of what has to be repaired before they can before you can tear the house down. All of the above. Yeah. Well, have we applied for the the would you say a administrative search warrant? Yeah. No, we haven't because every time we we uh get ready to do so, the owner the owner's attorney says, "Oh, no, don't worry. We'll we'll cooperate with you. We'll let you look at." So, we just we just need to get it done. Yeah. So, done with them. You We have a other situation, other town uh residents or properties in this township that have similar that some have taken seven years just once we get into the legal process. for the reasons that that he said the courts are are not really too interested in assisting us and they want cooperation and so it gets kind of slowed down and they don't do things in 30 days. That's not an that's not the right answer but but we are aware of it and it is marked not fit for human human habitat. I I know it. He posted that because they almost dropped off. They didn't drop off. They dumped a trailer load of brush and I almost got run over in the process. That was not funny, you know. Um because I do keep an eye on the property and I saw the garage door was open because it's easy to get in the house. There's nothing locked. And um they back up with this trailer full of brush. No, I it was a cover trailer covered and I I'm like, "Wonder what's going on?" So, I walked over and as I got to the driveway, I said, "Um, can I ask what you're doing here?" And this guy started to babble about he's dropping something off for this guy. And I'm on the phone with him right now. And I had to jump out of the way as they took off. Well, they when they saw me coming, they jumped. Three of them jumped in the car, took off with the trailer and left the tailgate of the trailer there. I uncover I looked under the tarp and it was just a bunch of brush. So I think the township must have taken care of that because it disappeared. Yeah. But it it's just another Yeah. So the process we've gone through it twice already and after we start the action that we still have to get a court order ordering the property to be demolished but every time the times we've done that the court will give them well the Stillwater house they gave them um four months to fix the place up and when it didn't occur after 4 months then we could apply for a court order to demolish the place. It's not a quick process. Well, I I'm understanding that. Yeah. Um Okay. So, to be continued. To be continued. You can come back anytime in open time and be a scold if you'd like. Thanks for listening to me. No, no, I understand. I was I was up here like this um not long ago up in we have a cabin in Aken County and I applied for a conditional use permit because I wanted to open a little shop, antique shop and uh they told me, you know, they're just going to push this through. No problem. No problem. And come the night of the meeting, all these neighbors showed up. They sent out letters all the way down the south end to roads we don't even share. you know, people I didn't know and it was a massacre. I was nervous then. So, this was nothing. I think what what Chad has told us over the last few years as we've struggled through these properties that we've tried to clean up is that the courts are very touchy about property rights. It's tough for a municipality, a township, or any form of government to intervene on somebody else's property. You know, I'm surprised that there isn't more concern for safety, you know, kids that get in there. I we we agree with you totally. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you very much for listening. So, Patrick, would you put that on the exact meeting just so we can discuss it again and maybe next steps give Mike some direction and already got it down. Perfect. Okay. So, is anybody else here for open time? I I do see none. Um are we'll go be going into close session. So, anybody in the audience will have to leave. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Well, thank you. Y and good luck with that. But speaking my mind kind of helps a little, you know. No, I have some fast growing bushes I'm trying to get rid of out of my yard. I'm happy to fast growing bushes that'll just, you know, Well, this stuff is growing a lot. Okay. But it's not in It's more like a haunted house than a pretty Hey, these will grow and they'll just cover it all and then you get nice white flowers. Okay. Thanks again. You're welcome. Byebye. So, we're going to need a motion to go into close session. Correct. Yes. And you'll tell us the you'll tell us the topic. Well, make this wiper lake lawsuit. It's a Weaper Lake lawsuit. Okay. We're uh now going into close session to discuss I need a motion to discuss u the Lake Bear Lake uh lake level lawsuit. I'll make that motion. I'll second that. All in favor? All in favor? I I I'm so used to you being the Okay. I'd like to make a motion to come out of the closed session where we were discussing the lake level lawsuit. I'll second. All in favor? I I uh Chad, would you summarize? Yes. The board was discussing the was reviewing the court of appeals decision uh that came down in July 14th, 2025 regarding the administrative law judge's decision on the challenges by White Bear Lake, Hugo, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Stillwater, Vadness Heights, and Lino Lake concerning the um the amendments to their well permits. Okay. Thank you, Chad. Thank you, Chad. Uh, now we is there any added agenda items that we did not? Okay. Uh, I make a motion to receive materials, agenda, materials and supplements. So moved. Second. All in favor? All in favor? I. Making a motion to adjourn. So moved. All in favor? All in favor at 7:45 p.m. I Thank you, board.