Minnesota Association of Townships Annual Meeting

The Minnesota Association of Townships Annual Meeting will be held November 15-17, 2018 at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth. I suspect that citizens that live in towns and cities do not know much about township government. However, those that live in rural areas do know about township government and who their township board members are! In the past it seemed the major role of Township supervisors was to maintain the gravel township roads, bridges, and culverts.

Maintaining township roads meant applications of gravel, having someone with a road grader level them and plowing snow in the winter. This has become a more difficult task with today's farm equipment. I am sure most township roads were not designed to carry semi loads of grain, feed for livestock, and large combines not to mention manure tanks. More recently some township supervisors have campaigned and gotten elected being opposed to livestock feedlots.

Some township governments have adapted their own Feedlot Ordinances. Personally, I feel that should be left to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Does a township board have the expertise, or have the resources to hire engineers to know how a concrete pit should be built?