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*The board agreed to set a special election for the proposed aquatic park for Tuesday, April 20. (The city of Paynesville will also hold an election this same day. Pool story)

The city and the township have tentatively reached an agreement on the building and ownership of such a facility. Based on population figures, the city would pay for 62 percent of construction and the township for 38 percent, with a cap of $475,000 for the township.

The city council has approved this agreement, while the township is expected to approve it at their next meeting on Monday, March 8.

*The board declined a request by David Shay to open an abandoned road. Their attorney advised the board neither to open the road nor to allow a private citizen to open it.

Shay had argued that the township had maintained this road from the Shay property to Highway 23, but no legal records could be found to support the claim that it was a township road. According to neighbors, the road has been abandoned for over 25 years. The Shay property does have access via Roseville Road.

*The board discussed making a recommendation for the 2004 township levy. In March 2003, on the recommendation of the board, township voters at the annual meeting approved increasing the township levy by $59,000 to $390,000.

The township will start to receive this increased levy in 2004, and supervisors Pat Meagher and Don Pietsch felt like it should cover the township costs pretty well. But they also wanted to follow the residents' recommendations from last year - to raise the levy more gradually rather than in large jumps.

Meagher and Pietsch discussed a small increase in the levy for the revenue fund (which could be used as needed), possibly $5,000 which residents should not notice because it would be covered by the increase in the township's valuation this year. They instructed Wiese to determine the amount that their valuation rose in 2003 and to determine the amount that their tax levy could be raised without raising rates for township residents.

The board also will address this issue at their meeting on Monday, March 8.

*The board recommended re-zoning requests from Harlin and Sue Hecht and from Warren Nehring, who both own property between Highway 55 and 283rd Avenue. They both want to rezone the property from residential to commercial. The county will make the final decision on this.

*The board directed clerk Don Wiese to increase the insurance on the Koronis Civic Arena, the township hall, and the township maintenance hall to replacement value.

*The board rescinded its motion from January to accept property along Co. Rd. 20 from Mary Hahn, after Hahn indicated she did not want to give the property to the township.