Homer Township Board Regular Meeting Minutes

April 13, 2026 at 5:30 pm

Location: Homer Town Hall

Board Members in Attendance: Chairman Harlan Larsen, Supervisor Gordy Nagle, Supervisor Adam Carlson joined the meeting at 6:03pm, Clerk Charlotte Roraff.

Absent: Treasurer Kim Skappel, Supervisor Adam Carlson absent from start of meeting until 6:03pm.

Meeting was called to order by H. Larsen at 5:30pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Prior meeting minutes were read by C. Roraff. G. Nagle made a motion to accept the minutes as read. H. Larsen seconded. Motion carried.

Meeting agenda was reviewed. G. Nagle made a motion to add the review of rock bids to the agenda under 6b Road Report. H. Larsen seconded. Motion carried.

Public comments started. Rick Thorn, Lora Sturm, Skip Ellings, Mike Steinfeldt and Joe Neumann all made comments.

C. Roraff presented the Homer Township rate changes that were voted on at the Annual Meeting: Gopher Bounty remains at $3.00, Township wage to $25.00 per hour, Tractor/Bobcat rate to $70.00 per hour, Equipment Operator to $40.00 per hour and Chain Saw rate to $25.00 per hour. G. Nagle made a motion to accept the rate changes as presented. H. Larsen seconded. Vote taken, 2 in favor. Motion carried.

C. Roraff presented the draft of the Ridgeway Fire Department Agreement which was forwarded by Pleasant Hill Township. Initial review raised questions of what was involved in the advisory committee and the desire to change the language to reflect a 2 (two) year contract length with specific language outlining payments. Supervisors will review and bring desired changes to the next meeting. C. Roraff will reach out and get information on the advisory board commitment.

G. Nagle received an email and H. Larsen received a phone call from Richard Slabaugh who is requesting the Township vacate the cartway that runs through the 4 (four) lots they own. They plan to build a personal residence on the lots and the cartway is where they would like to build the garage. Discussion was had regarding the cartway and if part of it was vacated in the 1970’s or 80’s and if the recording was done. More information will need to be obtained regarding what portion is or isn’t vacated, was it properly vacated and options for the Township to vacate the entire cartway. G. Nagle will forward the request to the Township Attorney and ask him to look into what is or isn’t recorded and what the options would be for vacating all or part of the cartway. No further action taken at this time. 

G. Nagle received bids from Tyler Bergler and Joe Neumann for lawncare at the Town Hall over the summer. The bid from Tyler Bergler was for $120.00 per time and the bid from Joe Neumann was for $125.00 per time. Tyler did not forward liability insurance information as requested and we would just need to update Joe’s insurance which is on file so G. Nagle made a motion to accept the bid from Joe Neumann for $125.00 per time. H. Larsen seconded. Vote taken, 2 in favor. Motion carried. C. Roraff requested Joe Neumann submit his updated insurance certificate. Once she has that, she will update the contract and forward to Joe for review and signature.

C. Roraff said Supervisor A. Carlson was contacted with a request to look at the handrails on the front steps to address improvements for safety. The lower section only has handrails on one side and the upper section has handrails that are too low since they were originally designed for children. Discussion was had. The supervisors will look at the railings and review what may be able to be done to address the concerns keeping in mind alterations would need to be up to code and ADA compliance and could require work to not just the railings to meet code.

G. Nagle had prepared a list of approximately 10 miles of Township roads which he felt would be good candidates to start sealcoating. He contacted the company that presented to the board last fall to inquire if pricing had changed and they indicated it has not changed. He said the company also indicated there would be an opportunity for pricing break up to $10,000 per mile for volume. Additionally, the pricing is based on a 20 foot wide road and the cost would be prorated for roads less than 20 foot wide.

At this point, Supervisor A. Carlson joined the meeting returning from an emergency call.

Discussion continued regarding the seal coating of the gravel roads. The list of roads was reviewed and prep work discussed for roads that may need it. G. Nagle made the proposal to put the list of approximately 10 miles of Township roads out to bid and then decide how much of the list the board would like to move forward with. H. Larsen expressed some concerns on specific roads. Further discussion was had on roads that were not currently under consideration and would need significant prep work. G. Nagle made a motion to get bids for sealcoating on the approximately 10 miles of roads for review by the board. H. Larsen asked if we could also bid blacktop. G. Nagle amended his motion to get bids for sealcoating and blacktop on the approximately 10 miles of roads so the board can review and do cost comparison. A. Carlson seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion passed. C. Roraff indicated she will need to publish a notice for sealed bids and she will prepare and publish the notice. Bids will be presented to the board at the June meeting. G. Nagle will help work on the preparation of the bid packet for the bidding contractors.

C. Roraff opened the rock quote received from Milestone. They quoted $13.08 per ton for rock delivered and spread on the road; rock picked up at the quarry was quoted at $10.50. Last year, the cost was $12.55 per ton delivered. G. Nagle made a motion to accept the rock quote from Milestone. A. Carlson seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion passed. C. Roraff will send a copy of the signed proposal to Milestone.

H. Larsen reported that pretty much everything is graded at this point. A. Carlson said the spot at the top of Whetstone Hill that they have been watching should get some patching along with an area just south of that hole. There is still concern of a collapsed culvert in that spot. Additionally, there is some crack sealing needed at the top of Pickwick Hill and a couple of cracks on the top of Husman as well to be addressed. 

G. Nagle gave an update on the Pickwick Fire Department transfer discussion. He attended the recent Pickwick Fire Department board meeting, but couldn’t address any of the fire department’s questions because they were questions we would refer to the Township Attorney. Chief Zimmerman indicated the fire department board will discuss more at their next board meeting, but there are concerns regarding the expense of the fire department hiring a lawyer to advise them. G. Nagle indicated the Township board would need a response to the questions presented in the memo from the Township Attorney before any other Township discussion could occur. A. Carlson made a motion to table this issue until Pickwick Fire Department can submit their response, this makes it clear to the Township residents no actions are being taken until a response is received. G. Nagle seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Motion passed.

Pickwick Fire Chief Zimmerman gave a brief update. They are looking to do some open house events to get more of the Township residents to see the state of the current fire station and bring awareness to the need to build and enhance fundraising. May 2nd they will be hosting a Porkchop Dinner in Pickwick. They have been out on several calls recently as well as assisting with a search on the river. Recent department training included LP awareness training.

G. Nagle made a motion to adjourn the meeting. A. Carlson seconded. Vote taken, 3 in favor. Meeting adjourned at 7:03pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charlotte Roraff

Homer Township Clerk