Homer Township Board Annual Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2026 at 8pm

Location: Homer Town Hall

Board Members in Attendance: Chairman Harlan Larsen, Supervisor Adam Carlson, Supervisor Gordy Nagle, Treasurer Kim Skappel, Clerk Charlotte Roraff

Absent: None

Public Attendance: 35 township residents; 5 non-residents

Meeting was called to order by the Clerk, Charlotte Roraff, at 8:24pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Board of Canvass was called to order. Township election returns and abstract were reviewed. No concerns noted. Election results were announced by Kim Skappel. Total votes counted were 252. Town Clerk - Charlotte Roraff received 217 votes; 11 write in votes were received - Bea Salisbury received 5 votes, Amy Cordry received 2 votes, Rita Prodzinski received 1 vote, JoAn Moham received 1 vote, Jeanne Nelson received 1 vote and Cindy Harvey received 1 vote. Township Supervisor - Anna Driscoll received 94 votes, Harlen Larson received 155 votes. 

Copies of the prior year’s meeting minutes were passed around for review by meeting attendees.

Clerk Charlotte Roraff requested nominations for Moderator. Kim Skappel made a motion to nominate Adam Carlson; Gordon Nagle seconded. Michael Busch made a motion to nominate Charlotte Roraff; Adam Carlson seconded. Clerk Charlotte Roraff reminded the electors if she is elected moderator, someone else would need to take the minutes for the meeting. Adam Carlson, rescinded his second. No other nominations were made. Voice vote taken, motion carried. Adam Carlson elected as moderator.

Copies of the proposed Agenda were available at the beginning of the meeting. Adam Carlson announced the proposed Agenda. Stephen Gernes made a motion to approve the agenda as read; Gordon Nagle seconded; voice vote taken, motion carried. 

Board of Audit Report was read by Charlotte Roraff. No questions were voiced about the report as read.

Copies of the Pickwick Fire and Rescue 2025 Annual Report were available at the beginning of the meeting. Chief Adam Zimmerman gave a brief overview of the contents of the report. Pickwick Fire and Rescue responded to 96 calls in 2025. Expensive maintenance year in 2025; they had $29,000 in maintenance costs on the trucks alone. They were able to do enough fundraising to absorb the costs, but it is difficult to absorb those costs and continue to move forward. Mutual aid was rendered to almost every area around the department and when the big structure fire in Pickwick happened, other departments gave aid. Volunteerism in general is down and the mandates and restrictions are not getting any easier. They are always looking for volunteers to help. 

Dana Blong asked if most of the calls are medical. A majority, approximately 53% of them, were medical calls. In the past they have had as high as 70% or 80% medical calls. The area has been good as far as structure fires. Accident calls on Highway 61 are down considerably. 

Bea Salisbury asked if the fire department has a cushion since the balance sheet for the year showed the department was operating in the black, but it was very tight. Chief Zimmerman said the cushion was pretty much absorbed by the maintenance issues they had during the year. The trucks are getting older; the newest truck they have is a 2005. New turnout gear is required every 10 years and one set is about $3,500 (pants and coat only), boots are $330, helmet is $380, gloves are $150, hoods are $130, portable radios are almost $5,000, airpacks for structure fires are $10,000. They are still looking to build a new building, they already own the land in Pickwick for the structure, but they are still trying to get funding. 

Michael Busch asked if the $5,000 radio does anything different from a cell phone. Chief Zimmerman explained they operate under a statewide system that the radios need to be programmed to connect to.

Louis Born noted the insurance cost listed was about 10% of the fire department’s operating costs and asked if that is mostly for liability. Chief Zimmerman said the liability is a big part of it. They have done significant work over the last 10 years to get the amount lowered because it used to be a lot more. Louis Born asked if they get any help from the state as far as being self insured. Chief Zimmerman stated the best thing insurance wise would be to be absorbed by the Township and get in under the League of Townships insurance. He said Pickwick Fire Department is one of 8 fire departments in the State of Minnesota operating as a sole, non-profit fire corporation, a 501c3, and they contract out to Homer Township and Richmond Township. The rest of their funding comes from fundraisers, grants and donations.

Dana Blong asked if they get much money from insurance companies. Chief Zimmerman said they get very little anymore because your homeowners insurance normally only pay out to the mutual aid. The insurance companies assume the fire department is operated by the township and have taxes available to support the fire department.

Amy Cordry asked if homeowners insurance has a clause to pay for fire fighting. Chief Zimmerman stated that’s the insurance he was just referring to. The homeowners insurance is only paying up to $200 typically. 

No one from Ridgeway Fire was in attendance because they have to attend their Township’s Annual Meeting. Moderator Adam Carlson indicated he spoke to their Fire Chief today and they wanted to express their thanks for the increased allotment voted in at last year’s annual meeting.

Voting on Homer Township Rates and Levy for 2026 began.

Kim Skappel made a motion to keep the Gopher Bounty rate the same at $3.00; Skip Ellings seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Rhonda Hofer made a motion to increase the Township Wage to $25.00 per hour; Scott Roraff seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Skip Ellings made a motion to increase the Tractor/Bobcat rate to $70.00 per hour; Connan Wolf seconded. Bea Salisbury if the $60 per hour is a realistic amount or is inflation impacting it? Adam Carlson and Gordan Nagle stated the $60 is a very reasonable rate and the Township could not rent a bobcat for that amount. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Skip Ellings made a motion to increase the Equipment Operator rate to $40.00 per hour. Pat Prodzinski seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Kim Skappel made a motion to increase the Chain Saw rate to $25.00 per hour. Skip Ellings seconded. Call for discussion; no discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Pickwick Fire Department and Ridgeway Fire Department payments were set at last year’s meeting for a 2 year cycle. Pickwick Fire Department payment will be $44,000 for 2027. Ridgeway Fire Department payment will be $7,700 for 2027.

Bea Salisbury made a motion to keep the General Fund Levy to $50,000. Jim Driscoll seconded. Michael Busch asked if the General Fund will support the increases that were just voted in. Gordon Nagle said there is a balance available which should provide enough to support the increases. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried.

Bea Salisbury made a motion to keep the Fire Fund Levy at $51,700 which covers the total payments to Pickwick Fire and Ridgeway Fire. Gordon Nagle seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Michael Busch asked how much was spent on Road and Bridge last year. Bea Salisbury said the road report shows $121,000, but there were no major paving projects so it was a great year to build a little bit and have a little cushion. Pat Prodzinski asked how much it costs to do the chip sealing that the board is looking at. Gordon Nagle stated the company that came to present gave a price of $65,000 per mile. Pat Prodzinski asked if we needed to put money in the fund to try a couple miles. Gordon Nagle said we have the cushion to do that. Donald Roessler asked if we have enough cushion to cover the raises voted. Gordon Nagle stated yes, there is enough to cover the raises. Skip Ellings made a motion to increase the Road and Bridge Fund Levy at $225,000. Pat Prodzinski seconded. Amy Cordry asked why it was being raised, is that needed for those additional chip sealing roads. Anna Driscoll stated there is money in bank account, we ended year over $700,000 in bank so we don’t need to really raise anything. Call for discussion; no further discussion. A hand vote was taken, 24 in favor, 14 opposed, motion carried.

Charlotte Roraff made a motion for the Total Levy to be $326,700. Skip Ellings seconded. Voice vote, motion carried.

Charlotte made a motion that the legal newspaper be the Winona Post. Stephen Gernes seconded. Gordon Nagle asked if a digital billboard would be an option. Charlotte Roraff explained for publishing legal notices it has to be a legally recognized newspaper and the Winona Post offers the best coverage to residents. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Charlotte Roraff made a motion to keep the official posting sites to be Homer Townhall and Homer Township Website. Skip Ellings asked if we could add The Black Horse. Charlotte Roraff stated it’s not open yet so it can’t be an official site otherwise we’d be out of statutory requirement. Skip Ellings rescinded his request. Charlotte Roraff said she can put a posting up there once it’s open as a courtesy, but it’s best to not make it official because if someone takes it down then the Township isn’t out of statutory requirement. Gordon Nagle seconded the motion. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Skip Ellings made a motion to have the 2027 Annual Meeting at Homer Townhall at 8pm. Pat Prodzinski seconded. Call for discussion; no further discussion, voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Bea Salisbury made a motion to have a discussion about establishing a Capital Reserve Fund, the purpose of this fund would be to meet the deferred and ongoing maintenance needs of the Town Hall. This is not a new levy, it would simply be earmarking what would be available to the supervisors out of the existing funds, creating a more readily available way for them to see it. When residents have brought up things that really needed fixing, you’ve done the gutters, taken care of the doors and the chimney - aesthetically lacking, but it’s safe. So by designating a small amount it seems more pro-active than waiting for something to break. Dana Blong seconded. Michael Busch asked if there was an idea of how much money to put in it per year. Bea Salisbury said it could vary from year to year, if we put $40,000 to $50,000 initially it could fix railings, it could fix accessibility things. Moderator Adam Carlson advised we got ahead a bit and called for a voice vote to Bea’s motion to have a discussion. Voice vote taken, motion carried. Bea Salisbury said according to MN Statue  the electors have the power to set the levy, but they do not have the power to demand that supervisors do something with the funds. So her suggestion is to bring the taking care of the building to a more conscious level and having a plan laid out for what is done each year. If the funds run out, then any further things planned wouldn’t happen that year because the electors would have to assess and designate more money to the fund. Not doing more tax levy. Skip Ellings asked how would it be decided the amount you want to put in it to start. Bea Salisbury said based on the short list of safety repairs Joe Neumann has put together, maybe starting with $50,000. Stephen Gernes asked if the board had a rough estimate over the last 5 years, how much annual spend is on maintaining this building (Town Hall). Gordon Nagle said it was likely a few thousand, but not anywhere close to the suggested amount. Stephen Gernes said didn’t know if we’d need to create this fund because he thinks the board is taking care of it out of the General fund already and he does not see a need for this at all. Anna Driscoll said there is still deferred maintenance, never finished up the handicap accessibility in the back, windows are still boarded up, electrical work is needed, there are still things that need to be done, just because they aren’t doing them doesn’t mean they don’t need to be done. George Welshons asked how much money was earmarked back in the COVID days for the building. Kim Skappel thought the numbers were something like $115,000 to build a new building and $194,000 to refurbish or something. Amy Cordry asked if any of it was used on the building, specifically the COVID money. Gordon Nagle tried to clarify that the COVID money became available to also use on other things like roads not just the building. Kim Skappel said we were able put it into General Fund and that is where we have paid for the improvements to the Town Hall over the last few years. Bea Salisbury stated her request really is to have it earmarked for the building. Anna Driscoll also mentioned having cleaning of the building or shoveling of sidewalk in winter would be nice too if that could come out of the same fund too.

George Welshons made a motion that the money allocated during the COVID era, believe it was $140,000 be designated for the building use over the next 3 years, now if we’ve spent some money over the last few years we could take it off of that, so he proposed we put $50,000 this year, $50,000 next year and the balance on the third year. Discussion was had whether the motion could cover several years. Charlotte Roraff stated, the motion can be made, seconded and vote taken, but ultimately the board is the one with the power to allocate an amount. George Welshons amended his motion to allocate $50,000 over the next year and then it be reviewed next year, if we earmark $50,000 this year on maintenance and repairs on this building. Dana Blong seconded. Pat Prodzinski said he thought this discussion should have came up before the levy was set because this is another $50,000 added and where is it going to come from. Louis Born also asked where the $50,000 is coming from. Bea Salisbury said because the Supervisors have functioned so fiscally responsibly for so many years has a very secure balance, she would never suggest it if it would endanger other things, there is a generous balance to try this for a year. Adam Carlson asked if the money would only be for the Town Hall or if it could be for the Town Hall and the Maintenance Building. Bea Salisbury responded it could be for both buildings if both are Township buildings. Call for discussion; no further discussion. A hand vote was taken, 13 in favor, 28 opposed, motion failed.

Michael Busch made a motion that the public be allowed to participate in the monthly Township meetings. Anna Driscoll seconded. Gordon Nagle said we already have that during the sign up for public comment at the beginning of the meeting. Michael Busch said he doesn’t know what he wants to talk about until the meeting happens. Gordon Nagle said you have the opportunity to bring issues to a Supervisor for them to put it on the agenda if they want to. Adam Carlson clarified that the monthly meetings are not just a general open forum discussion because nothing would get done. Anna Driscoll asked if there was a way to open up topics for 5 minutes for public input during the meeting because once a decision is made by a board it’s done. Rebecca Church stated just so people understand, that’s not how boards work, we elected somebody to make a decision and sometimes your person doesn’t get elected, she understands that, but that’s not how boards work. There was additional discussion around how the board in recent meetings has asked more questions of the attendees, but those are initiated from the board and not the other way around. The board is available to take calls from residents, contact numbers are available on the website and posted at the Town Hall. There were meetings in the past which were very chaotic and the board does not want to go back to that. There was a 20 minute discussion. The Moderator decided this was not a motion to take a vote on because how the monthly meeting is run is solely under the board’s discretion, however, they will take all the ideas under advisement.

There was some confusion on a motion to adjourn, but ultimately the meeting stayed open.

Dana Blong made a motion that in the future, we turn around and get bids for tree work and mowing the ditches. Rita Prodzinski said most of the time the tree work is emergency work so how would could they get bids. Gordon Nagle added that under a certain dollar amount the board is not required to get bids, but he said the idea is something they can take into consideration for the future. Bea Salisbury asked if it would be appropriate for an individual or business to give the board information on the services they provide. Adam Carlson said the board would welcome any information like that so they can consider it for Township needs. Gordon Nagle suggested businesses could submit a spec sheet to the board to have. No second. No further discussion was had.

Anna Driscoll a motion to get an update on the status of the Pickwick Fire Department and Homer Township merger project. Pickwick Fire Department Chief Adam Zimmerman gave a brief update. The Township attorney provided the memo to the Township and the fire department and the fire department is still looking through it. The fire department has not reached back to the Township on any of the information in the memo yet. Joe Neumann asked if they are trying to build a new fire station in Pickwick as just a fire station. Chief Zimmerman stated they do not have the funds to build a fire station. Adam Carlson stated that everything that the board has discussed is in the meeting minutes and available on the website including the memo from the attorney, nothing outside of that has been done. The board is waiting for the fire department to finish their review and come back to the board with their questions or information from their attorney. Gordon Nagle said originally, Chief Zimmerman came to a board meeting and expressed it’s getting hard to operate and asked if there was any possibility of coming under the Township’s umbrella is some way. Things got heated in a couple monthly meetings so the board decided to have the Township attorney guide the way. Amy Cordry mentioned the meeting minutes talk about maybe owning the fire department and wondered if that’s the idea. Chief Zimmerman said, yes, that is the discussion because currently Pickwick is an independent fire department, but all the other fire departments in the surrounding area are owned and operated by their townships so this is what spurred the question of is this something we should look into and that’s all the farther we have gotten is to have the lawyers look at if this is an option and what to consider with that. Rebecca Church stated it sounds like the Township is looking to see if this even makes sense to look at this from their perspective and the fire department is looking to see if this makes sense from their perspective and that’s all the farther it is. Adam Carlson stated that is correct, we are not any farther than that. The 15 minute discussion was concluded.

Jim Driscoll made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dana Blong seconded. voice vote, motion carried unopposed.

Meeting adjourned at 9:46pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charlotte Roraff

Homer Township Clerk

_______________________________ _____________________________

Adam Carlson, Moderator Charlotte Roraff, Clerk

Minutes Read and Approved this ___________day of _________________, ___________