MINUTES OF THE REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING

OF APRIL 20, 2004

 

Chairman Gene Ratzel called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

 

Chairman Ratzel read the April Amended Agenda as follows:

AMENDED AGENDA

Call the Meeting to Order

Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

Approve the April Amended Agenda

Approve the Minutes of the Last Regular Town Board Meeting

Treasurer’s Report

Voucher’s Approval

Clerk / Correspondence

Amend November 18, 2003 Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes

Liquor Licenses-Applications for 2- year Operator’s License for Gene Ratzel, Angela Arseneau and Mike Somsen-Original Alcohol Beverage License Application for Homestead Station and Store/GMB Enterprises-Gene Ratzel Agent

Department Head Reports

          Cemetery Report -Bud Pease

          Ambulance Department-Viola Friermood

          Fire Department-Tom Renz

          Constable-Mike O’Keefe

          Garage-Len Schiller

Bayfield County Emergency Government-OK 911 system

Fire Department-Approval of SOG #13-1 to be included into the SOGs already approved by the Town Board. Permission to put water tank on town land at the rifle range

Zoning-Informational Discussion

Ordinance-Updates and passage of Clerk / Treasurer Combined Position.

Ambulance Investment Plan-Discussion

Web Site- Updates and decisions

Private Roads-Town policy for emergency situations for road maintenance-private roads / driveways

Town Beautification-Dixie Chermack

Municipal Clerk Recognition-Letter

Public Comment Session-5 Minute limit for those not on the agenda

Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Updates-Lake Planning Grant

Centennial Committee-Updates

BADC-Barnes Area Development Corporation-Updates

Board Member Reports

 

The board will adjourn the regular session to go into closed session pursuant to State Statute 19.85 b. and c. for the purposes of discipline, considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. The board will the reconvene immediately to the regular session.

 

Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve the April Amended Agenda. Motion carried.

 

Motion (Meinke / Chermack) to approve the Minutes of the Last Regular Town Board Meeting. Motion carried.

 

Treasurer’s Report- Treasurer Debbie Sesko gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:

 

                  Checking Balance from the Last Meeting     $          200,209.69

Receipts # 16038-# 16044                                              $              1,103.45

Checks # 17822-# 17836                                               $          (17,118.98)

Check # 17790 04/06/2004 Returned Voided                   $                     7.92

                  Checking Balance                                       $          184,202.08

Ambulance Department Investment Fund                       $              2,826.16

Highway Department Sinking Fund                                 $            85,440.16

BES Sinking Fund                                                          $            22,742.45

Park Savings                                                                 $              8,609.33

Ski Trail savings                                                            $                 181.50

Parade-Event Calendar Fund                                         $              2,209.25

                  Balance all Accounts                                   $          306,210.93

 

Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to approve the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Motion carried.

 

Vouchers Approval

Motion (Webb / Chermack) to approve the Vouchers as presented. Motion carried.

 

Clerk / Correspondence-Clerk           Peet reported on the following correspondence:

  1. 9 Intents to Cut from Plum Creek Timberlands for Plum Creek Timberlands in various locations in town and 1 Intent to Cut from Jeffrey and Martha Smith of Barnes Road by Bell Timber of Hayward.
  2. Notice of Hazardous Waste Collection at our Transfer Site to be held on June 3, 2004 from 3:00PM until 4:30PM. Notices will be posted and put in the paper.
  3. Notice from the County that they will not accept the inspection process for the Uniform Dwelling Code and will send it back to the State.
  4. Notice from Bayfield County Zoning Committee for the meeting held on April 15, 2004.
  5. Notices from the Bayfield County Board of Supervisors for the meetings of March 30, 2004 and April 20, 2004.
  6. Notice from the Town of Drummond that they have a truck for sale.
  7. Letter from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources that the Lake Planning Grant Application was approved for the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Dixie Chermack will have more information on this in her report.
  8. Letter from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation that the TRIP-D Fund Application was turned down for the Pease Road project. This means the town will not get $100,000.00 for this project.

 

Amend the November 18, 2003 Regular Town Board Minutes- Clerk Peet asked the Town Board to amend the section on the18 parcels of land in the Potawatomi to read as follows: 9. 004.1300.08 Lot 37 in the Plat of Pawnee Silverwolf Drive Vol. 5, Page 53 instead of  004.1300.09.

 

Motion (Meinke/ Chermack) to amend the November 18, 2003 Minutes of the Regular Town Board Meeting to read as 9. 004.1300.08 Lot 37 in the Plat of Pawnee Silverwolf Drive Vol. 5, Page. 53. Motion carried.

 

Liquor Licenses-Application for 2-year Operator Licenses for Gene Ratzel, Angela Arseneau and Mike Somsen. Clerk Peet reported that the 3 applicants have had their background check done and that the Responsible Beverage Server Course will be completed shortly. Until the course is completed, the licenses will be Provisional.

Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to approve the 2-year Operator License for Gene Ratzel, Angela Arseneau and Mike Somsen. Motion carried. Chairman Ratzel recused himself from the vote.

 

Application for an Original Class A Beer and Class A Liquor License for Homestead Station and Store-Gene Ratzel-Agent by GMB Enterprises.  Clerk Peet reported that all forms and information sheets and publications have been completed and are in order. Webb asked what an Original Beverage License was. Clerk Peet said that an Original License is issued when there is a change of ownership or agent. Otherwise it is issued as a Renewal License.

Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to approve the Original Application for Class A Beer and Class A Liquor Beverage License for Homestead Station and Store by GMB Enterprises-Gene Ratzel Agent. Motion carried. Chairman Gene Ratzel recused himself from the vote.

 

Department Head Reports:

Cemetery Committee-Bud Pease reported that there would be the burial of Tom Drinkwine on Wednesday

April 21, 2004. There would also be a family burial ceremony for the Norton family on Saturday April 24, 2004. Pease said that he has gotten the figures for the amount spent this past year for the Cemetery so that this can be reported to the Veteran’s Service Officer for Bayfield County for Perpetual Care for the veterans’ graves in our cemetery. There are 66 veterans’ graves in our cemetery. The amount of veterans’ graves divided into the total eligible expenditures comes to $675.00 per year. Meinke said that he had already taken care of contacting the agency. Meinke will get the name to Bud. Ratzel asked Pease what condition the cemetery was in after the winter. Pease said that there was a little repair and maintenance that had to be done.

Ambulance Department- Donna Porter gave the department report as follows: There were 4 runs since last

month. Ratzel asked if Donna had given the report last month. Donna gave the report at the Annual Meeting, but Viola gave the report at the March meeting.

      Fire Department- Fire Chief Tom Renz reported that he had just gotten back from Shawano, WI for his inspection of the new fire truck. There was one small issue that was then taken care of. The truck was going to then be painted. They will check it all out to be sure everything is OK. Renz passed around pictures of the new truck for the board and audience to see. The new truck should be here about the second week of May 2004. The department had 1 alarm since the last meeting.

Constable Report- Mike O’Keefe indicated that he could be late so Clerk Peet gave the Constable’s Report

as follows: There were 6 alarms from the sheriff’s department, 2 deer hits, 3 assist motorists, 1 break-in, 5 ATV calls for a total of 17 calls for the month.

Garage-Len Schiller reported that the crew was switching over all of the equipment from winter to summer

mode. There has been some remodeling work done at the shop. The crew has been grading the roads and sweeping the intersections. Arch Heating has installed the new exhaust fan system and it is working well.

The crew has been mowing the brush on Smith Lake Road, Hans Road, Witch’s Bay Road and Sweet Lake Road. The crew had to repair the compactor again. It took them all day to do the labor, but it was completed with only some steel needed for fixing it. Signs have been replaced and some new signs have been installed around town. The Denver Road repairs were done.

On May 1, 2004 the Transfer Site will start will start accepting scrap metal and appliances. There would be a notice posted and in the paper for this. There was discussion on who would be the vendor for the scrap metal. Scharlau said that there was not enough data available to make a decision to change vendors, so the town will stay with MDC Recycling for this year. Ratzel said that there were some up front costs that were not in the budget. Webb said we should look at alternatives. The clerk said MDC Recycling charged $150.00 per trailer and then there was a fee for each appliance, tire, etc. The fee the town charges for the disposal of these items helps defray the cost. Len Schiller or Tom Pieters would contact Mr. Poppe on this. Meinke asked if there would be a free tire collection day this year. The county has not put out the word yet on a date so far.

Schiller said that the Highway Department had about 100 -150 yards of reclaimed sand. This sand was from the removal of the underground tanks. The sand is not contaminated. It is being stored at the town’s clay pit. This would be on a first come-first serve basis. The hole would be used as a stump dump for the Highway Department’s work only and would not be a commercial stump dump. Schiller said that last summer they were able to bury most of the stumps on the sites they were working on. There was some discussion on the old stump dump. Chermack asked if the board needed to make a motion to give the sand away. Schiller said it would be nice if they would do that. Webb said that there should be a motion. The clerk noted that this was not a

actionable motion as it was not on the agenda this evening. There would be no money involved so the board felt that Schiller could just clean up that spot and do what was necessary to get it ready for the stumps without a motion.

Schiller asked the town board to consider getting some part- time help for this summer. Tom Pieters has indicated that he does not want to work every weekend at the Transfer Site and that he does not want to work

full time. The work would include hours at the Transfer site, upkeep and mowing for the parks and the cemetery and other miscellaneous jobs. Webb said that if we are going to consider hiring someone, we have to place an ad in the paper so that candidates wanting the job would have the opportunity to apply. Ratzel said that there should be a motion to that effect. The clerk again noted that this issue was not on the agenda and could not be be voted on. The issue could be discussed in the closed session as that is the State Statute involved for that session. Any motion would have to come back to the open reconvened session however, as decisions may not be made in closed session. Ratzel said that this would be deferred to the closed session.

Kraemer Corporation is coming to crush gravel soon and Schiller would like the board’s OK to get some crushed for the town. The town has ample gravel for this year’s projects, but it would take a half to two thirds, leaving little left for any other demands. The crusher only comes around when they can schedule it. The cost is $4.75 per yard as opposed to $4.50 last time. Schiller has spoken with Mr. Osegard and the payment can be deferred until 2005. If all of the road issues are going to be addressed, the town will need more gravel.  Ratzel asked what time frame was involved. Schiller said we had a little time yet as it will probably be late spring or early summer before they can come. Ratzel said that the board would have to have a special town board meeting to take care of some of these items that can’t wait until the May meeting. Webb said last year the town spent $50,000.00 on salt, sand and gravel. The budget for this year is $45,000.00. Ratzel said that here are some critical road issues in town that need to be done and that will eat all of that up, plus. The Pease Road project would need gravel for the shouldering. Webb said that the roads have to be graveled and crowned and done correctly rather than blacktopped. Schiller said that 10,000 yards of gravel would be $47,500.00, 12,000 yards is $57,000.00 and 15,000 yards is $71,250.00 at the rate given by Mr. Osegard. Scharlau said that as long as they are here, we should get enough crushed. Webb said we would need another meeting on this. Schiller suggested that we get at least 10,000 yards.

Schiller asked the board to approve the purchase of an industrial type battery charger. The Fire Department would be willing to share the cost of this equipment as the Fire Department has a need for this equipment also. Schiller had done some investigating and the cost for the right equipment is about $400.00 or less. The clerk again noted that this could not have a motion as it is not on the agenda. There was discussion on money that was spent on the pressure washer that was OK’d at the last meeting. That was probably not the right way to do that. Renz said that if it was coming out of their budgets, then there would not have to be a motion to spend it. There would be no need for the board’s OK on this. (At this time Jon Harkness raised a Point of Order from the floor as to whether we had a parliamentarian.) This deals with a procedural manner and if there was a parliamentarian, he could decide if these requests for a motion were in order or not in order. There was a heated discussion on the issues involved and that the department heads should have seen to it that these issues were given to the board in writing so they could be included on the agenda. Ratzel said that the board will look into this and make sure we do it right next time. Schiller said that the issue of the battery charger was brought up at the last meeting, but it was not on the agenda. There was more discussion that the departments could spend the money in their budgets as needed as it was already budgeted and that a board decision was not warranted on this.

There was discussion if the town was going to have the portable facilities and dumpster again this year at the boat landing on Peninsula Road as both were well used last summer. Yes, these items would be placed there again this summer. Meinke said that the residents felt it was a good thing .Tom Pieters would monitor them over the course of the summer.

Webb brought up a discussion on town signs and if they were being put up promptly. Some of the signs have been missing for up to nine months. With 9-1-1 coming in, these signs are very important. Ratzel said decisions must be made on how quickly we need to get the signs up. Schiller said that he often has to wait to place orders until he has enough signs to order. Some signs are ordered in multiples as they are ones that always seem to be taken. The signs are expensive.

 

Bayfield County Emergency Government-Clerk Peet read the Joint Powers Agreement for the 9-1-1 System for Bayfield County. This agreement must be entered into by public agencies combining to implement a 9-1-1 system. When all agreements are received, the Bayfield County Board Chair and Clerk will sign the agreements so they all become valid at the same time.

Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to approve the signing of the Bayfield County Emergency 9-1-1 System letter. Motion carried. Chairman Ratzel and Clerk Peet signed the document. The clerk will mail this to the county.

 

Fire Department-Chief Tom Renz asked the board to approve the addition of SOG 13-1(Suggested Operations Guidelines) to those SOG’s already approved by the board at the meeting on March 18, 2003. A copy of SOG 13-1 had been given to the board for review. Chermack mentioned a typo on the last page. This should read backing instead of baking. Renz said that this addition was needed to protect the town and him for any liability issues that could arise from these issues. Meinke said that he had read it and it was good. Chermack asked if something similar should be included in the Ambulance Department regulations. Ratzel felt that it should be done there also. The concerns are in regard to emergency lights and operating emergency vehicles within the law. You have to stay within the law even though you are on an emergency.

Motion (Webb / Meinke) to approve the SOG 13-1 addition to the SOG’s already approved by the board on March 18, 2003. Motion carried.

Renz asked the board to approve the placement of a water tank on town property at the rifle range. The tank would hold 11,000 gallons of water and would provide a need for water in that part of town in case of a fire. Del Jerome would set the tank for a very minimal charge, just his gas usage. It does not require a special stand-it would just be in the ground with a pipe sticking out of it. Chermack asked how it would be filled. Renz said that the tank would have to be filled with the portable pumps from the department. Any water used would have to be replaced in the same manner. Scharlau said this would be an asset to that part of town and that we should get it.  Webb asked if the town would get a better fire rate. Renz said yes it would. Del Jerome will take care of hauling it and placing it. The town will reimburse him for his gas mileage.

Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to approve the placement of a water tank on town land at the rifle range. Motion carried.

 

Zoning-Dixie Chermack discussed the Buck N Bass issue that was before the County Zoning Public Hearing and Meeting of April 15, 2004 and how the process worked. This was for educational purposes for the board. Mr. Murphy of Buck N Bass was present to answer questions posed by the board. He is working on correcting all of the issues that are affecting the Buck N Bass so that he will be in compliance with zoning. There will be a review of these issues by zoning in sixty days.

Scharlau asked if the Herb Engler issue that had been postponed from the meeting of March 18, 2004.had been addressed. Chermack spoke on the letter that had been sent to Mr. Engler regarding the board’s concerns. Zoning had evidently already given out a permit for Mr. Engler as the time had passed for the board to respond. Ratzel asked about the timeliness of the zoning request. Chermack said that zoning had been made aware of the fact that the board had not received the request in a timely manner and that in the future zoning should get these issues to the board on time. There was no action taken on the Engler request that had been postponed from the March meeting, as it had already been OK’d by the county. Meinke said that it was good that the board had spoken with the contractor on the issues involved, as he does a lot of work in the Town of Barnes and is now aware of some of the question that could arise in the future. Mr. Furtak from zoning said that in the future the zoning department will try to get the requests to the board on time. No motion was in order as it was a done deal.

 

Ordinance-The Town Board was asked to adopt the passage of the Ordinance Establishing the Combined Office of Town Clerk / Town Treasurer that was voted on and passed by the Annual Meeting of the Electors on April 13, 2004.

Motion (Chermack / Webb) to adopt the passage of the Ordinance Establishing the Combined Office of Town Clerk / Town Treasurer. Motion carried. The members of the Town Board signed the Ordinance and the clerk attested the signing. The Ordinance will be posted and published in The County Journal the week of April 26,

2004. The Ordinance will become effective on the completion of the terms of the current clerk and treasurer in April 2005.

 

Ambulance Investment Plan-There was discussion on the Ambulance Investment Plan. The clerk said she had spoken with the Ambulance Director Viola Friermood. Mrs. Friermood said that there were not many members at the last meeting and that there was not a consensus of the whole department on this issue. Chermack went over the questions that the board was given to look at. Rtazel said that from the information presented to the board, it looked like the department did not have a consensus of opinion on what the members wanted to do. Webb said that the question came up a few months ago. Was the town going to continue to it the way it has been done for the past two years, paying $10.00 per meeting ,but putting into an investment account to pay out as a bonus or to have available if they decided to go into the state fund? There was a question if the board had wanted to continue that same policy this year. That’s when we worked out how much each member got last year so that we know how much each person has invested. Does the town board want to continue with this fund the way it has been done the past two years? If the answer is yes, then we have to let the Ambulance Department decide if they want continue with it. If they don’t want to continue, and we go along with that, then we just pay out what’s there. The town board has the decision on whether or not to do it. Scharlau asked if they took this in lieu of LOSA. Donna Porter said that some of the members who have been with the department for along time realize that they won’t get anything from the LOSA type of program, but that the money invested would go to the younger members. This was one of our other choices. There are no matching funds with this plan however. If a fund is set up for the department, would be distributed when the member left the service or retired? Webb said the money was paid to the fund to encourage members to attend the meetings. The director keeps track of the attendance at these meetings. This money coincides with what we pay out for LOSA. The interest earned is based on the portion each member has in the fund. It is kind of a reward for serving. Webb will get a copy to Donna on the figures.

Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to continue the Ambulance Investment plan as it is. Motion carried.

 

Web Site-Ratzel spoke on the web site issues. He said that Complete Computer Solutions-CCS, out of Hayward, had presented a package to the town. The cost would be about $1,000.00. This would include 4 hours of graphic development at $75.00 an hour, 6 hours of database development at $75.00 an hour and 5 hours of content layout at $50.00 an hour. This would include the initial training. The web site would stay with our current server. Gene Miller had also presented information from his son’s web site, www.webonthefly.com to Ratzel earlier. The sites would have similar data based formats. The Miller site would have to be redirected to a different server. Ratzel felt that it would be better to go with a company that was local. Paul LaLiberte from Gordon had also indicated earlier that he had some sort of program, but this was not available tonight. Ratzel said it was important for us to be able to do the changes and do them in a timely fashion. Our current site is a static site. That means that the web site provider must do the changes. The CCS site would be able to be changed by our people. CCS said it would train those people that would be involved in updating the site. With all of the issues coming up in Barnes, Ratzel said we need a site that can be updated quickly and easily. Chermack asked how long it would take for CCs to set up the web site after we decide. Ratzel said CCS indicated that it would be a week to 10 days. Meinke said our current site needed updating. Webb wanted to be sure we were comparing apples to apples. Gene Miller’s cost would be $500.00 for the software and that in his proposal, he would donate 165 hours for design work and to work with the town board to get it set up. CCS includes everything in one package and Webb thought it looked like a better deal and not having to moving the site would be a plus.

Motion (Chermack / Meinke) to accept CCS of Hayward as our web site provider. A roll call vote was taken: Scharlau, yes: Chermack, yes: Meinke, yes; Webb, yes, yes and Ratzel, yes. Motion carried. CCS will be the web site provider used by the town. Gene Miller said that he would still like to be part of the web page issue and help out. He wants the town to get a good site.

 

Private Roads-There was discussion on the town’s policy for maintenance of private roads and driveways in emergency situations. The issue came up when the spring thaw created some problems on a private road and driveway that is connected to a town road. The parties on that road had an emergency situation and the crew was

sent to help them out. There was discussion as to what constitutes a real emergency. Ratzel said it would be where an emergency vehicle or hospice couldn’t get in. To some it would be an inconvenience, but to others it would be an actual emergency situation. There was discussion on if the situations could be handled case by case. Webb said that according to State Statutes, the town is not legally able to this type of work and the town has to stick with the statutes. Webb said that the only way for the town to do this would be to set the amount that would be charged by a private concern for the work and the equipment used and then bill those people for that amount. This should to the attorney for clarification. Tom Renz said that the statutes define what an emergency is. Chermack said that if a person is in this situation, the town’s responsibility is just for the town road and that the people would be responsible to take care of their portion of the road. The town cannot do maintenance on the private sections. Webb said we need to clarify the description of an emergency. Chermack said that the town board would have to draft a letter explaining the town’s position that we are held responsible by State Statutes to only do the town’s portion of the road. Webb said that Len has had dialogue with the party, but that the board should follow up with a letter. Meinke said that we would have to mention that we are bound by the statutes.

 

Town Beautification-Dixie Chermack spoke on her proposal to have a beautification program for the town. She said she had spoken to the Gordon Garden Club about doing plantings around town or having the plants available for the local businesses from local businesses, to put out by their establishments, a package deal of some sort. The Gordon Garden Club indicated that this year was already set, but that they would consider doing something next year.  Webb suggested that Chermack go to the different businesses with the plan. Chermack also spoke on having banners or designed flags along N in the business district to enhance the area. Chermack said she had gotten some costs already, but that she will be getting more catalogues. From the first contacts, Chermack thought it would cost about $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 for 20 of the banners or flags and the holders. Chermack has already contacted Dahlberg Power Company about using their poles to place the banners on. Dahlberg said it would be OK as long as the banners were not put up higher than what the current flags are. The town would also have to file a letter with Dahlberg that Dahlberg would not be responsible for any injuries that might be received by those putting up the banners or flags, a hold harmless clause. Chermack said that according to the Comprehensive Land Use Survey, many of the people wanted to see some sort of downtown area defined. This would be the area from the Community Church to Northwood’s Tap. The suggestion was made to have a contest for design. The design for the banners should be kept simple and should be something the town could use for years to come. We should get the community involved. Meinke asked if there were existing banner designs we could use. Anyone wanting to help with this project should contact the board.

 

Municipal Clerk Recognition-Clerk Peet read the proclamation from the Wisconsin Municipal Clerk’s Association stating that the week of May 2-8, 2004 has been designated as Municipal Clerk’s Week, honoring all clerks for their contributions. Chairman Ratzel signed the proclamation.  The clerk said that some good information was included with the letter listing many of the duties of the municipal clerk. This would be a good list for the board to look at when forming their job description for the Appointed Clerk / Treasurer position.

 

Public Comment Session-Jon Harkness spoke. He wanted to apologize to the board and the 2 department heads for the earlier confrontation. Harkness said that the chief has done an excellent job. Harkness will direct a letter to the board on procedural practices. Harkness felt the attorney should be present at all of the meetings. Harkness said that the real reason he was speaking was on behalf of the Cranberry Road residents. They need gravel the entire length of the road, not just in the few spots that were filled in last year. The road is still full of ruts with deep sand in them. The road needs to have the side drainage areas cleaned out. The bottom line is that the vehicles are being torn apart. Harkness said that we are the richest town on the county. We should be using the tax money to fix our roads, to take care of the fundamentals of the roads. . (At this point Chermack reminded Mr. Harkness that he had been speaking for seven minutes.) He concluded his speech by saying we need to gravel our roads. We need qualified grader operators or need to train the workers that we have

Dick Collyard said that the board hired or appointed the department heads and they should be able to spend the money in their budget on what they feel is necessary without board approval. If there were a large item not expected or budgeted for, then the board would have to approve the expenditures. Collyard also spoke on the possibility of having a citizen’s Ad Hoc committee for input into the Appointed Clerk / Treasurer position. 

 

Fred Tinker spoke on the Lower Lake Road. He said it was the best it has ever been and he wanted to thank the town.

Earl Gregoire spoke on Eight Mile Lake Road and West Eight Mile Lake Road. The work done recently was good, but they can only do so much with how the roads are now and Gregoire gave some examples of the problems there. The problems are worst after the winter or when there is a heavy rain. The entire road is not at issue, but there are portions of the road that definitely need attention. Gregoire was concerned about emergency vehicles getting into areas on those roads. This could cause a liability issue if the problem is known and nothing is done about it. There was discussion on what the town is proposing for roadwork this year. Webb spoke on the Pease Road project and the town’s five year plan. The board needs to reevaluate some of the issues. Meinke spoke on some of the projected projects and what the priorities were. Our policy is to eventually upgrade all of the roads in town, but there are roads that have priorities. The school bus routes are some of them. We have to hold the line on our budget as well. Grading, graveling and ditching our roads are our highest priorities. Webb said we have to do the roads right with culverts and gravel and drainage.

Dave Thorson-Thorson spoke on the Northwest Wisconsin Lake Conference to be held at Telemark Resort on June 25, 2004. He invited all board members to attend. The cost is $40.00 per person. It is important for Barnes to have many attend as lake quality, lake stewardship and protection is a number one priority here. In reference to the Cranberry Lake Road issue, Thorson said that where the gravel was put down last fall, the first ¼ mile or so, the road is good, but at either end of that section it becomes muddy and full of ruts. If the gravel is done right, it really makes a difference. Thorson also commented on the brushing along Denver Road that was done last spring. He thought it looked very bad. The leaves will eventually hide some of the bad spots.

Dave Pease-Pease spoke on the road issue. Each citizen has to let the board know how important the roads are to them. Most of the tax money does not come back to the town. The board has tried to keep the taxes down, but the roads are important and if they need to budget more money for the roads, they should think about increasing the budget to do them.

Leslie Hall-Hall spoke on a zoning issue concerning pole buildings and the color of siding and roofs, etc. There are areas of town that look like warehouse districts.  She said that the color didn’t matter as much as having the shiny surfaces glaring at you. She said that the builders and contractors should be educated on using matte paint or materials.

Roseanne LeVoir-LeVoir said that on the road issue, all of the roads couldn’t be done in one year. The roads need more gravel. Is the board putting out bids for this gravel as it costs $45,000.00 to $50,000.00? Ms. LeVoir said that Dixie had a good idea to help beautify the town with banners. There are a few properties that need to be cleaned up and not treated like sacred cows. Len said that there is only one gravel crushing facility basically, in our area. The transportation of the gravel would be an issue. Kraemer has crushed for us at least 3-4 times

 

Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Dixie Chermack gave an update on what the committee has been doing. They had an Issues and Opportunities session at the last meeting. The next meeting will be the second Wednesday in May. All are welcome to come and share their thoughts and ideas. The town did get the Lakes grant of $27,000.00.

 

Centennial Committee- Judi Scholz had prepared a packet for the board members on what the Centennial Committee had done so far. Scholz said that the Centennial Committee would like a link to the town’s web site when it is up and running. Scholz spoke on “Living History” and that the committee is hoping to have this for the Barnes Centennial also. Scholz said that the committee meets the third Thursday of every month at Downtown Barnes. The meeting this month will be held on Thursday May 20, 2004 at 9:30AM. The meeting may be held earlier in the summer months. The committee has commissioned Dave Thorson to do a book. Both Dave Pease and Dave Thorson have worked very hard, as well as have George Martin, Judy Neider and so many other members of the committee. Scholz said she would be hosting a meeting at her house on May 14th, with Ellen Baker, a former curator with the Bong Memorial Center in Superior. Baker will present a seminar on how to conduct interviews and do oral histories. The Centennial Committee has set up the Barnes Historical Foundation at the State bank of Drummond for any donations. We are in the process of establishing a non profit organization. Scholz would contact the attorney to be sure everything is OK. Scholz thanked everyone who

donated items to the timeline. Everyone is urged to bring their items in. Meinke said that the he wanted all to know that the Sharptail Grouse picture was from all of the family of Sylvia Ellison. Judi said that there are stick notes for your convenience.

 

Dave Pease said that Dixie had covered all of the Comprehensive Land Use, but added that the Comprehensive Land Use Committee did get the Lake Planning Grant and will get $27,000.00. Ratzel said this was a nice surprise.

 

BADC-Barnes Area Development Corporation-Updates. Judy Neider said that the BADC has been working on their web site. The next regular meeting will be held next Thursday April 29, 2004 at 3:00PM and then there will be another meeting on May 5, 2004 at 9:00AM to continue work on the web site.

 

Board Member Reports:

Jack Meinke-Meinke had nothing more to add.

 

Chris Webb-Webb said the only issue that she had was the ordinances. The board has to sit down with the attorney and work out the issues. Webb will be contacting the attorney when the attorney returns to work.

 

Dixie Chermack-Chermack asked if a list had been made up for any projects that needed to be done in town. No, there is not a list yet. Webb asked Len if he had ever contacted the County and the Criminal Justice Board. Tom Renz said it had been taken care of. Chermack had some suggestions on what they may be able to do. Chermack said she wanted to thank Dean Peet for fixing the cabinets and the drawers in the copy room for free. Chermack also wanted to thank Dean and Lu Peet for rearranging the copy room and putting up the new locked cabinet. Judi Scholz will be putting up the new maps. Tom Pieters has painted that room and the rear hallway. Chermack said the room presents a good picture for those coming to the hall. The old cabinets should be re-stained or painted and this might be one of the projects to be done. Another project is cleaning the debris from the rear of the hall and Quonset area. Why not use the Community Service people to do these projects? Chermack asked the Fire Chief what he had decided to do about the old fire truck. Renz said he was still working on the specifications, but hadn’t wanted it done too soon as he didn’t know when the new truck would be delivered. Chermack spoke on spring clean up. She said various people and groups had been out along the roads cleaning up and she commended everyone who was doing their part to make Barnes look better. Chermack encourages all to do their part. Scholz said the Town Board should take care of the town’s property.

Dave Thorson said that the Property Owner’s Association does pickup and Meinke said that the church also does their share. Webb said it wouldn’t hurt to put up signs, etc. to let people know that April is spring cleanup month. Leslie Hall said that in the past the town had a special clean up day and it was a fun event. Donna Porter said that maybe Barnes should follow what the Town of Gordon does, have a Town clean up day and have food, etc. Everyone in town signs up for a certain section of road to do. You can do it whenever you want. The

Town then has one big feed.

 

Dave Scharlau-Scharlau said that there are still no permits for the River Road bridge repair. Scharlau asked if anyone was working on the Welcome to Barnes signs.

 

Gene Ratzel-The DSL is up and running and has been for awhile. We removed the third line in the office, the second line in the garage and we may call Chequamegon to see what it would cost to dig the line in underground for the DSL line there. There are still a few problems that have to be worked out. Ratzel said that there is an issue from Waste Management. When they pulled the compactor away they found some medical needles that had fallen on to the ground from a container. We have put up a sign that says that this is NOT where they are to be disposed of. We are also noting it here in the minutes. People cannot put these items in the regular trash.

 

Motion (Chermack / Meinke) to adjourn the regular session to go into closed session pursuant to State Statutes 19.85 b. and c. for the purposes of discipline, considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises

responsibility. A roll call vote was taken: Scharlau, yes; Chermack, yes; Meinke, yes; Webb, yes and Ratzel, yes. Motion carried. The board adjourned the regular session to go into closed session. The board will reconvene immediately back to open session upon adjourning the closed session. The regular session was adjourned at 9:20PM.

 

MINUTES OF THE CLOSED SESSION OF APRIL 20, 2004

 

Chairman Ratzel called the closed session to order at 9:23PM.

 

The board members discussed only the subject matter indicated by the State Statute 19.85 b. and c. The board will return to the open session for the actions to be taken on this discussion.

 

Motion (Webb / Chermack) to adjourn the closed session and return to the open session. Motion carried. The closed session was adjourned at 10:05PM.

 

MINUTES OF THE RECONVENED REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING

OF APRIL 20, 2004

 

Chairman Ratzel called the reconvened session of the regular town board meeting to order at 10:06PM.

 

Ratzel outlined the following plan of action:

  1. Contact the town’s attorney on the letter to be drafted and then sent to the employee.
  2. After discussion on the subject, the board set a meeting date of Monday May 4, 2004 (6:00PM) at the town hall to discuss the summer employment issue, the purchase of gravel and any other issue that was subject at this meeting. The agenda will be posted ahead of the meeting.
  3. Hourly wages, job descriptions and total hours of help needed will be established. The wages for temporary grader help will be set.

 

Motion (Chermack / Ratzel) to adjourn the reconvened session of the regular town board meeting. Motion carried. The reconvened regular town board meeting was adjourned at 10:10PM.

 

Members of the board in attendance: Chairman Gene Ratzel, Supervisors Dixie Chermack, Chris Webb, Jack Meinke and Dave Scharlau. Also present were Treasurer Debbie Sesko (not in attendance in the closed session) and Clerk Lu Peet.

Department Heads in attendance: Fire Chief Tom Renz, Constable Mike O’Keefe (arrived at approximately 7:15PM), Cemetery Sexton Bud Pease and Garage Foreman Len Schiller. Absent: Ambulance Director, Viola Friermood.

Members of the community present: David Pease, Donna Porter, Judy Neider, Earl Gregoire, Robert Borck, Dorothy Borck, Judi Scholz, Dick Collyard, Roseanne Ratzel-Levoir, Pat LeVoir, Jon Harkness, Kevin Murphy, Joan Tinker, Fred Tinker, George Martin, Brett Harper, Mitch McGee, J.B. Hammond, Lee Kuehling, Alice Kuehling and Leslie Hall. There may have been others not noted or signed in.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Lucille J. Peet

Barnes Town Clerk

Dated this 26th day of April 2004