Sunnarborg appointed to Thomson board - again

The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors appointed David Sunnarborg to fill the vacancy on the board at its meeting Jan. 5, following more than four months of an empty seat and controversy surrounding the original appointment process.

Sunnarborg’s appointment by the board followed his resignation in mid-December in order to allow the board to reset its appointment process.

The Minnesota Department of Administration ruled in December that the board violated open meeting law in September during the process which led to Sunnarborg being appointed the first time.

The board reopened applications to fill the vacancy following Sunnarborg’s resignation on Dec. 8. Only two other candidates, Eric Rish and Gary Bonneville, expressed interest in renewed consideration from the board. None of them filled out the application questionnaire originally requested for the second go-round.

“Since all three candidates were interviewed on Nov. 17, they were given the option of completing the questionnaire if they felt there was a need to expand on their answers given previously,” a board letter said in the Jan. 5 agenda packet. “All three felt the initial interview answers were sufficient.”

Rish and Bonneville were the two candidates who made it to the final interview stage in the previous appointment process along with Sunnarborg.

Originally, the board had dismissed three other candidates in closed session in September, violating open meeting law by not posting all candidates’ names on its agenda or conducting its decision-making for a public seat in open meeting. None of the dismissed candidates were offered interviews, and none applied during the second attempt to fill the seat.

The Pine Knot News identified and reported on the violations in the original process, while also financing a review from the Department of Administration, which ruled in December the board was in violation, sparking the reset.

Attorneys for the township mostly denied wrongdoing throughout the process, but capitulated to the new process after Sunnarborg resigned. The Department of Administration’s ruling was nonbinding, meaning there were no penalties or forced corrections.

Sunnarborg’s term will run until the 2024 election.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of a new fire truck for the Esko fire department. The purchase of the truck has been budgeted for by the township, according to fire chief Kyle Gustafson, but prices are likely to go up due to inflation.

After reviewing multiple bids, the board approved the purchase of a truck not to exceed the budgeted amount of $390,000. The supplier selected by the board is estimating the truck will be completed in April 2024 and will cost around $310,000, but the price is subject to go up.

The board will be holding a public hearing regarding private road and private shared driveways ordinances at 5 p.m. Jan. 26. Draft copies of the proposed ordinances are available for viewing on the township’s website.

The annual town meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. March 14.

The board meets on the first and third Thursday of each month.

Pine Knot reporter Brady Slater contributed to this report.