THE EUREKA NEWS

             

                           

           

SPECIAL EUREKA TOWN BOARD MEETING - JULY 1, 2015 AT 6:00

      A special meeting of the Eureka Town Board will be held to consider the application for an accessory use "dry batch ready mix plant" by Windmill LLC.  A Public Hearing was held by the Planning Commission regarding Mr. Kenny Miller's application on June 10, 2015 ( the Public Hearing Planning Commission minutes, which include citizen comments, can be reviewed on the Eureka Website). The Planning Commission held a Special Meeting on June 23 to engage in discussion regarding the Public Hearing comments to develop the Findings of Facts and make a recommendation to the Town Board.

                                                                               

EUREKA PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING - JULY 2, 2015, AT 7:00                                                  

     The Eureka Planning Commission will meet on July 2, 2015,  to conduct a Public Hearing. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to consider the application by Kelly Aggregates, Inc. for an accessory use "dry ready mix plant." Citizens will be allowed to speak at the hearing and express their concerns or support of the application. If citizens are not able to attend the Public Hearing, they can submit written comments. It was agreed at the June 8, 2015, that Mr. Brosseth's documentation was submitted on May 14, 2015. 

 

     If citizens have a question regarding the history, reasons decisions were made, the questions asked and recommendations of the Township attorney, how Town Board and Planning Commission members voted, or the process utilized by the Planning Commission and Town Board to address the above applications, please review the following:  Town Board and Planning Commission meeting minutes, Special Meetings and Public Hearing minutes (Windmill LLC.) from November 2014 to present on the Eureka Township website.



                                                                 ENJOY A SAFE 4TH OF JULY!

                                                                                                  

HERE COMES THE SUN....

George Harrison aside, a "community solar farm/garden" could be coming to your neighborhood sometime in the future.

The Township Planning Commission has received inquiries of late concerning Eureka's permitting process for community solar farms from an energy company in San Francisco, CA. Individual Board members have also received informal inquiries on the subject from some landowners, presumably with prior contact with the CA company or others like it.

Although the first thought by some was "We don't allow them; there'd have to be a Ordinance Text Amendment request," further examination of the Ordinances, in particular Ordinance 3, Ch. 4, Section 13, B, 2, reveals the following:

2. Alternative Energy Systems 
All normal energy systems shall comply with State codes. To provide for new and innovative approaches to the generation of energy for use by residents, businesses and industry in the Township, exceptions may be made to height regulations, setback distances, lot coverage, accessory uses, and all other applicable Ordinance 3 Ch. 4 80 standards in all districts for proposed innovative energy systems, associated equipment and structures. All modifications will be made through a conditional use permit process. 

This has been a "hot" topic of late in the state as well, as evidenced by a few news articles provided below for your convenience:

Xcel Energy

PUC approval
Ecolab solar garden
Solar Power and "Generation Gap"

Such panels, of course, have been installed on warehouse and home rooftops, and bring to mind large-scale ground operations such as those in California or in Arizona deserts. This use could offer larger landowners in the Township an alternate source of income.

Questions/comments raised at the last Town Board Meeting included: 1) We need/want to keep the Township agricultural; 2) Could such a use be limited to less productive farmland, preserving the more fertile acreage for agriculture in the usual sense? 3) What have other communities near us done on this topic? 4) Is this something the Township should examine in detail before any applications come as this hasn't been done before?

As a result, the Board passed a moratorium on solar energy uses to allow time for study. Under State law, the moratorium is in place for six months and can be extended for another six months.

The Planning Commission was tasked with this effort.  How this might be accomplished is likely to be a matter of initial discussion at the next Commission meeting. Supervisor Jennings has already provided the Commission a copy of Empire Township's solar ordinance as information.

The Planning Commission is very busy lately! Aside from its usual duties, it has been tasked with the Comprehensive Plan Update, an examination in greater detail of the Transfer of Building Rights Ordinance and Procedure, the Re-codification of the Ordinances, and now the solar issue.

                        STAY TUNED!

ARE YOU BEING HEARD...CORRECTLY?

Those of you who have testified at public hearings: Have you ever given thought to whether or not your words have been correctly documented in the written record? While the Clerks do a very good job of rendering minutes, it might be worth your while to proof your comments in draft form before they are approved and become the official record.

Just a word or two inadvertently omitted--"not," for instance--can make a significant difference in perceived intent. Well, yah! But this has actually happened in the past! Once the minutes are approved, they stay the way they are. Something about the error could be mentioned in a subsequent meeting's minutes, but good luck in that ever really being connected and making an impact. In spite of all benign intentions of those involved. 

ad·mit

ədˈmit/

verb

1. 1.

   confess to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance.

   "the office finally admitted that several prisoners had been injured"

   synonyms:

   confess, acknowledge, own, concede, grant, accept, allow;

AND

con·fess

kənˈfes/

verb

1. admit or state that one has committed a crime or is at fault in some way.

   "he confessed that he had attacked the old man"

   synonyms:

   admit, acknowledge, reveal, disclose, divulge, avow, declare, profess;More

   • admit or acknowledge something reluctantly, typically because one feels slightly ashamed or embarrassed.

     "I must confess that I was slightly surprised"

In another example, Yours Truly once was characterized as having "admitted" something at a hearing. See above. WRONG! I stated something. Thankfully, I was involved in meetings, read the draft, and protested the slant. The Planning Commission heard me and changed the text. It is of note, however, that if I hadn't said something, I would have gone down in history so to speak with all the connotations attached. After all, who has the greatest interest in making sure the minutes are accurate when it comes to your testimony?

Words make a difference!

Now that you are informed of the opportunity to read the draft minutes and are afforded the opportunity to do so, whether online, at Town Hall, or on your requested hard copy, it would be a good thing to do after a public hearing at which you spoke. Since you are the speaker, it makes sense that you can always request that the audio recording be checked again if you have an objection. Of course, what you said, IS what you said.  

NOT JUST FOR BREAKFAST ANYMORE...

At last night's Town Board meeting, the Board adopted a policy or practice of posting draft minutes of meetings on the Town website as soon as the draft is finished by the Clerk.

This suggestion was brought up at the Round Table Meeting between the Board and the Planning Commission and was discussed again last night. Why is this of any significance?

Because the discussion made clear the public's opportunity and, indeed, right, under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) to access this information so as to be better updated sooner.

While the posting of any minutes on the Town's website is actually optional, it has been Eureka's practice to do so, enabling the public to more easily be informed of Township matters without having to attend each meeting. It is also helpful in researching how a particular matter was handled in the past, by going into the archives of minutes. 

What is now new is the posting of the draft minutes. In the past, the only draft minutes that have been posted were those from the Annual Meeting. These are not approved until the following year's Annual Meeting. It is important to be aware that draft minutes CAN and often DO change.  The minutes are not official until approved by the Board or the Commission. That is the reason for the large "watermark" saying "DRAFT" that goes across the pages diagonally.

What is not optional is the public's right to make a Data Practices request for (even) the draft minutes. Draft minutes and even the Clerk's notes in composing these minutes are considered to be public information under the MGDPA. 

As a member of the public, you can come in and "inspect" the draft minutes, that is, read them at Town Hall. You can also request paper copies of the draft minutes at $0.25 per page. (This amount is set by the law.) This is similar to requesting a copy of the audio recording of a meeting before it is destroyed upon approval of the minutes from that meeting. The destruction of the disc is in keeping with Eureka's retention policy filed with the State, as required. As long as the government document is in existence, you have a right to request a copy, generally speaking. (There are some exceptions to the MGDPA.)

So now there is even less reason to say, "I didn't know that! Why didn't somebody tell me?" (Heard from time to time at public meetings!)

                              BOTTOMS UP!