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It’s up to the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings-Municipal Boundary Adjustment Unit now to finalize the dissolution of Lent Township.

Officials adopted the final resolution supporting the “orderly annexation” (merger) of the township with the City of Stacy at their meeting held May 23.  The exact date when Lent goes away and Stacy expands by thousands of acres— is up to the state unit and how quickly it  acts to accomplish the annexation.

One of the main items covered in the agreement was elections and the structure of the new city government moving forward.  

The election will be held for a new mayor and council within 45 to 60 days of the final decree.  Township Acting Clerk will be Tanya Smolke and she is responsible for administering this ballot.  The newly combined Stacy election judges are: Michelle Hayes, Veronica Schroeder and Richard Stiers.

The new city council will have four members, with voters asked to seat two from the annexed township area ward and two from the pre-merger traditional Stacy city ward.  Terms for council will be agreed upon under a formula that sets one position to expire the even numbered year  and one that expires the odd numbered year, both deadline dates the first business day in January.

The mayor is to be an at-large post, with a two year term.

Once the initial election has been held in the post annexation voting the city council has the option to vote to abolish the ward system by resolution and make seats at-large.

Building permits are the responsibility of Chisago County, but after a new council is in place the officials may provide for local permitting and administration.

Bonded debt owed and encumbered by the former township will be apportioned only to those township parcels entering Stacy within the orderly annexation area.  Otherwise the remainder of the accounts, public properties, taxes being collected become Stacy’s property.  Two sets of financial books will continue to be maintained until the first newly elected city council is seated and fiscal operations are fully combined.  No employee posts are to be eliminated (unless for cause) for a full year  from the annexation effective date.

Fire services are to continue to be available to the new city territory in its entirety, through Stacy-Lent Fire Department,  under current contract until January 1 2024.

While not addressed in the annexation agreement, both Stacy and the township area were protected by county law enforcement, patrol, investigative services and criminal prosecution.  

There is not a Stacy Police Dept.  In the newly drawn Stacy boundary use 9-1-1 for emergencies and county sheriff’s personnel will continue to provide response until or unless the new city council decides otherwise. 

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