Kasson Township may consider reducing the size of its Planning Commission given the lack of applicants for vacant seats.

The board authorized Clerk Kathlyn Feys on Sept. 4 to advertise again for applicants for the seat vacated in December by Grayson East. Although the township board has repeatedly sought applications for the empty seat, there has been little or no interest.

The Kasson Township Planning Commission will
hold a public hearing on Monday, Sept. 24, to consider an
amendment to a gravel extraction permit for Elmer’s
Construction Engineering.
The planners will meet at 7 p.m. to consider the company’s
request to increase by 13.5 acres the 42.5-acre area now
identified for gravel extraction in the “Hulbert Pit,” located
on West Kasson Center Road.
The hearing is required as part of the township’s gravel
extraction ordinance.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to fill the seat,” Feys said. “Otherwise, we may have to consider making it smaller.”

Currently, Kasson has a 7-member Planning Commission with one vacancy. In November, the terms of two more members will be expiring.

In other business during the board’s rescheduled monthly meeting, members agreed to investigate the possibility of seeking a rate increase for the landfill impact fee paid to the township by Waste Management.

Since May 1991, the company has paid the township 10 cents for every cubic yard of waste that is deposited into the landfill, located on M-72 in Kasson Township. There has been no adjustment in the rate since the payments began, Feys said.

An estimated $25,000 to $30,000 in revenue to the township is generated annually by the impact fee, which is used to help fund fire and rescue services.