Welcome to Orrock Township

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2023

March 22, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

April 12, 2023 - 4PM

Local Board of Appeal and Equalization Meeting

April 26, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

May 24, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

June 28, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

July 26, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

August 23, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

September 27, 2023 - 7PM Board

October 25, 2023 - 7PM Board Meeting

November 29, 2023 - 7PM Board

December 27, 2023 - 7PM Board 

2023 Recycle Day is Saturday, May 20th from 8AM to 1PM at the Town of Big Lake Maintenance Building.  Postcards will be mailed out to residents mid-April.  Contact the clerk if you do not receive a postcard and wish to receive one.

2023 LOCAL BOARD OF APPEAL AND EQUALIZATION MEETING

Important Information Regarding Assessment and Classification of Property
This may affect your 2024 property taxes.

Notice is hereby given: The Local Board of Appeal and Equalization,

for Orrock Township, County of Sherburne and State of Minnesota,

shall meet at the Orrock Town Hall, 26401 180th St NW Big Lake, MN, 55309

Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 4:00 PM.

The purpose of this meeting is to determine whether property in the jurisdiction has been properly valued and classified by the Assessor.

If you believe the value or classification of your property is incorrect, please contact Sherburne County Assessor’s office to discuss your concerns. If you disagree with the valuation or classification after speaking with the County Assessor, you may appear before the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization. The Local Board of Appeal and Equalization will review your assessments and may make corrections as needed. Generally, you must appeal to the local board before appealing to Sherburne County Board of Appeal and Equalization.

Operations will normally begin when an accumulation of two inches or more AND snow has stopped falling.  Under certain circumstances, the Town Road Authority may dispatch equipment when these criteria are not met.

Despite the efforts of Township Maintenance, roads may have slippery areas.  Be aware of this and always drive cautiously.  The ability of salt to melt road ice reduces as the temperature drops, and shaded roads tend to stay icy longer.

Orrock  Township is responsible for approximately forty-seven (47) miles of roadways.  Residents shall NOT attempt to stop equipment operators,  approach snow removal equipment or impede snow removal in any manner.   Stopping plows to discuss your concerns is counter-productive to getting the 47 miles of Town roads cleared, a safety hazard to you, the  plow operator and the traveling public.

Concerns about the manner in which the road is being plowed, delivery of ice control products or other comments are to be directed to the Town’s Road Authority.

The primary goal of plowing is to remove snow from the streets so that the road is open to vehicular traffic.   Plows typically push snow to the right of the travel lane and the driver cannot stop or raise the plow at each driveway as this would leave a pile of snow in the roadway.  Clear an area for the snow pushed by the plow next to your driveway and near the road.  This gives the plows a place to push the snow.

PLOWING ACROSS ROADS

As a reminder,   

Per MN Statute 160.2715a1, it is unlawful to push or plow snow into or across any public road. When clearing snow from your driveways, snow must be directed onto your own property. Exercise caution in following or approaching plow trucks. Snowplows are not as maneuverable as smaller vehicles. Violators can be cited. Snow piles left on or near the side of the road create a hazard to all vehicles including plow equipment. 

 Residents are reminded to remove parked vehicles from the roadways during the winter months. According to Orrock Township’s Winter Parking Ordinance, it is unlawful to stop, park or stand any vehicle or parts thereof, on any roadway within the Township between November 1st and April 15th. Any vehicle or parts thereof left on any road, street, highway or thoroughfare in the Township in such a way as to impede the performance of any Town, City, County and/or State snowplow will be subject to the penalty provision of this Ordinance.

It is the policy of Orrock Township that the standard construction for supporting mailboxes is the swing-away mailbox support. If your mailbox is put in according to township standards and damaged during township maintenance activities, it may be repaired/replaced as needed by contacting the township. 

SwingSafe Mailbox supports are available for purchase from the township.  The price is $102 and does not include the mailbox.

What is Adopt a Storm Drain?

Everything that enters our storm drains gets transported to our waterways! This includes pollutants such as garbage, grass clippings, leaves, salt and oil. These types of pollutants can harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, foul drinking water supplies, and make recreational areas unsafe and unpleasant. The program asks volunteers to clear their adopted storm drains and the surrounding area on a regular basis. Report what you collected and the amount so we can monitor the overall effects the program is having. Adopt A Storm Drain Today! 

The four public compost sites located in Sherburne County are now gated and locked and require all users to obtain a key-card to access each site. All residents of Sherburne County are eligible to obtain a free key-card.

You may pick up your free key-card at one of the following locations:

Becker City Hall

 Big Lake City Hall

Elk River City Hall

Elk River Maintenance Facility

Zimmerman City Hall