September 1, 2009 Minutes

Town Roads and Right-of-Way Committee Minutes of Meeting Held September 1, 2009 at 1:30 PM

The meeting of the Town Roads and Right-of-Way Committee was called to order at 2:00 pm at the Barnes Town Hall on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

Roll Call was taken along with motion to dispense with the reading of minutes from the last meeting, with members Greg Martin, Mitch McGee, Jerry Witt, and Dick Webb. Also in attendance was Corporal Tom Renz of the Bayfield County Sheriffs Department.

The purpose of the meeting was stated as a discussion on requests received by the Town of Barnes Board to reduce speed limits on selected roads.

Discussion was held about legal limits and the difficulty for Town Boards to change the limits set by State Statute. Jerry had recently attended a meeting with State Officials and he shared some of that discussion with the rest of the members.

Requests have been received by the Town Board for lowering the speed limits on Birch Lake Road and Pennisula Road.

Discussion was held on the proper procedure to be followed for this type of Citizen Request. Further discussion will be held at the next meeting of the Committee.

1. Citizen Request is received by the Town Board in which a request to reduce speed on a specific road is discussed. 2. The Citizens Request should include any known facts concerning safety hazards, accidents, maintenance issues, number of complaints, etc. These facts must be able to be substantiated. 3. At a regular meeting, the Town Board will consider the request for discussion to determine if there is sufficient need to pass on the request to the Town Roads and Right-of-Way Committee for research and input. 4. If Citizen Request is passed onto the Town Roads and Right-of-Way Committee, the Committee is charged with researching the legalities, costs, signage, etc. and to give input to the Town Board. 5. The Town Board will make final decision on whether a speed limit will be changed on any town road.

The two requests received have been tabled for future discussions.

A motion was made by Dick Webb and seconded by Mitch McGee to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 pm. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 1:30 pm.