Annual meeting resolutions: Litigation, nonconforming uses, citizen comments at monthly meetings

Three Resolutions were presented  by Greenvale Township citizens for approval by the electors present at the March 11, 2025 Annual Meeting. They have been abbreviated for this posting. Copies of the complete resolutions can be provided to you by our Township Clerk. Resolutions that are approved at the Annual Meeting are nonbinding suggestions or requests that are forwarded to the Town Board of Supervisors. The Town Board can agree with them and make them legally binding or it can ignor them. Stay tuned in the coming months to see if the Board acts on any of the following resolutions.

RESOLUTION #1

The litigation against Mr. Greg Langer and Mr. Linus Langer

Because our Township taxes have increased, because the General Fund disbursements during the lawsuit years has been five times what the levy was, and much of this was legal expenses, and because in 2024 a Dakota County judge ruled to dismiss the lawsuit brought forward by our Town Board, ruling against the Township, and because the Township has not shown that it has not been able to conduct business and the Township has not been harmed due to any action or inaction of the defendant, and because the Town Board voted to continue forward with a lost lawsuit by appealing to the State Court of Appeals as we continue to pay the bill,

Be it Resolved that we, the residents of Greenvale Township, ask the Board of Supervisors to cease and desist all further pursuit of the civil lawsuit against Mr. Langer and Mr. Langer.

A "yes" vote means that you desire the lawsuit to be dropped.

Resolution approved by voice vote.

RESOLUTION #2

Nonconforming business activities in the township

In January 2024 the Greenvale Town Board, directed by the Township Planning Commission, removed decades-old protection language in the Township's ordinances that protected

the Township's people from nonconforming uses. The wording said: "Prohibited Uses: All uses not specifically listed as permitted accessory or permitted with an interim use permit shall be considered prohibited." Whereas the wording removal opened the Town and it's people up to time, monetary and health cost as demonstrated by the Carr's Tree Service matter of 2024 and as the wording removal ultimately did more damage to our Town, its finances and its general welfare.

Be it resolved that we, the residents of Greenvale Township, hereby move to direct the Board of Supervisors to direct the Planning Commission to add back this protection language into the Greenvale ordinances so that Greenvale is protected once again from nonagricultural businesses and or uses trying to locate here.

A "yes" vote is in favor of returning the former noncomforming uses language back into the township ordinances.

Resolution approved by voice vote.

RESOLUTION #3

Citizen comments at monthly Board of Supervisors meetings

Toward the end of 2024 the Greenvale Town Board stopped including citizen comments in the monthly Town Board meeting minutes. Meeting Minutes are the sole legal record of the Town's activities and proceedings. Citizens are still permitted to speak at the monthly meetings, however their remarks are no longer recorded in the legal records of the Town. The change prevents an elected official from following up adequately with a citizen on their concerns or ideas.

Be it resolved that we, the residents of Greenvale Township, hereby move to direct the Board of Supervisors to direct the Town Clerk to put citizens comments back into the Board's monthly meeting minutes and to move the Citizen Comment part of the agenda closer to the beginning of each meeting.

A vote "yes" is to return to recording citizen comments in monthly meeting minutes.

Resolution approved by voice vote.