Thomson Township: Candidate interviews set, selection process questioned

The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors announced plans to finally interview finalists for its vacant board seat, as the process for selecting those three final candidates is under scrutiny by the state of Minnesota.

The board will select one person to replace Jason Paulson, who resigned in August from the board with two years remaining on his term due to a busy work schedule as a pilot.

Six people initially applied for the opening, but township supervisors narrowed the applicant pool from six to three in a closed meeting Sept. 8, eliminating applicants Darla VanHeerde, John Bergman and Dan Belden from consideration. The finalists are Gary Bonneville, Eric Rish and David Sunnarborg.

The agenda for the Sept. 9 meeting gave the reason for closing the meeting as a “personnel issue,” which the Pine Knot News protested was a violation of Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law. In response, attorneys representing Thomson Township argued the board’s private discussion about the appointment to a public seat amounted to “sifting through protected employment applications.”

Last month, the Pine Knot News took the issue to the Minnesota Commissioner of Administration, a governmental department tasked with issuing advisory opinions regarding data practices and open meeting law violations. The township was notified via email on Nov. 1 that it had until the close of business on Nov. 15 to respond to the Department of Administration regarding the Pine Knot allegations. The Commissioner of Administration will issue an opinion no later than Dec. 20.

The Thomson Township meeting agenda for Nov. 3 did not include the letter from the commissioner in its list of correspondences, although board chair Ruth Janke said supervisors had read the letter.

Township supervisors also closed the Nov. 3 meeting without including the closed session on the formal agenda or giving advance notice. Janke explained the township’s attorney, David Pritchett, brought an issue regarding property negotiations to the board at the last minute, so the township was unable to post the closed meeting three days in advance. The real estate issue was the only thing discussed in the closed meeting, she said.

Janke and township clerk Rhonda Peleski confirmed Wednesday the board will be interviewing only the three finalists on Nov. 17. The supervisor finalist interviews — which are open to the public — will begin at 5:30 p.m., prior to the board’s scheduled meeting.

Randall Road update

Township officials updated residents on and around Randall Road at the regular meeting Thursday, Nov. 3.

Township engineer Joe Jurewicz reported the sewer line inspections for houses on Randall Road are finally being scheduled. This comes after residents were informed via letter from the township in July, informing them they were in violation of the township’s sewer ordinance and would need to take on the cost to fix it. A number of residents attended the board meeting in late July to express their concerns, and supervisors told them they would, “get the ball rolling” on the project.

Jurewicz and the town board struggled to find a new contractor to inspect the sewer lines, after the initial contractor backed out. Jurewicz apologized to the residents on Randall Road, stating: “I’m just glad to finally get this project going, and again I apologize for the delay.”

In other business, the board discussed the purchase of new permitting and utility billing software. The township’s current system was no longer working consistently and was creating more work for township employees. The new software will be paid for by user fees, such as building permit fees. The township will not have to increase its levy for the new service. The board approved the purchase and installation of the new software, dependent on township attorney Pritchett reviewing the contract agreement.

The board will meet on Nov. 17 for its next regular meeting. The meeting will adjourn at 7 p.m. to canvass the election ballots, making the results official.