Silver Creek Township approves mower purchase, road apron funding and postcards for annual meeting

The Silver Creek Township Board of Supervisors on Jan. 20 approved a set of routine expenditures and measures to prepare for road work and upcoming township outreach.

Chair Mike Helman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the board approved an amended agenda that added an annual meeting review. The board then approved the Jan. 6, 2026 minutes and accepted disbursements totaling $24,119.35; the motion to approve disbursements passed 3-0.

Clerk/treasurer items included notice that the 2025 audit had begun and that Helman would work with the interim clerk. The board approved purchase of a desktop computer to replace the clerk/treasurer laptop, authorizing $831.03 plus IT assistance to transfer files.

On maintenance matters the board approved purchase of a Schulte XH1500 Series 5 mower from Trueman Welters for $47,825.44. The board also directed staff to solicit bids for a rebuild of Baker Avenue so contractor quotes would be available before the end of February; once a contractor is chosen the board said it would clarify other 2026 road projects.

The board approved up to $16,000 to add aprons to township gravel roads in coordination with Wright County’s planned resurfacing of County Road 39 in 2026, an action the board said will help keep gravel on township roads.

In personnel and administrative business, the board reviewed applications for clerk/treasurer and scheduled candidate interviews to begin Jan. 23, 2026 with Chair Helman and Supervisor Andy Christensen on the panel. The board also approved posting an updated driveway permit application on the township website and following the current ordinance with fees.

The board set the board of audit for Feb. 10, 2026 at 6 p.m. at Silver Creek Township Hall. The clerk reported that West Central Sanitation responded to a letter from the township’s attorney and issued a refund to the township for fuel surcharges the company charged but had not listed in the contract; the refund amount was recorded in the meeting materials.

The board authorized spending up to $300 to buy two chair-moving dollies to protect the township floor and approved up to $750 to print and mail a postcard about the annual meeting from Monticello Printing. The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.; motions throughout the meeting carried unanimously, 3-0.

The board’s next scheduled public action is the board of audit on Feb. 10; interviews for the clerk/treasurer position will begin Jan. 23.