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2010 Town Board Meeting Minutes
> Regular Town Board Meeting January 19, 2010
Regular Town Board Meeting January 19, 2010
MINUTES OF THR REGULAR BOARD MEETING JANUARY 19, 2010 Chairperson Lu Peet called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:33PM. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited. Peet asked for a Roll Call to establish a quorum. Roll call was taken and all were present except Donna Porter, who was on vacation. Clerk-Treasurer Brustad verified the Public Notice was posted as required. Peet asked for a motion to approve the January Agenda, approve the minutes of the last regular board meeting and a motion to dispense with reading of the minutes. Motion (Webb/Meinke) to approve the agenda for January, the minutes of the last RegularTown Board meeting and to dispense with the reading of those minutes. Motion carried. The agenda is as follows: NOTICE TOWN OF BARNES REGULAR BOARD MEETING JANUARY 19, 2010 at 6:30PM AGENDA Call the Regular Board Meeting to order Pledge Allegiance to the Flag Roll Call to establish a quorum/Verification of Public Notice Motion to approve the January Agenda, approve minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting and Motion to dispense with reading of the minutes. Treasurer’s Report Voucher’s Approval Clerk Correspondence Approval of reimbursement of $61.00 per month for health insurance coverage for Clerk’s spouse for 2010 Department Head Reports: Highway Approve bid for purchase of tractor Cemetery Fire and Ambulance Department Discussion on paying a per diem for cancelled training classes Approve new firefighter application by Zachary Zepczyk Constable Committee Reports Approval of work to be done in the hall per Maintenance Committee’s recommendations Land Use Planning Commission Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda Zoning: 1) Conditional Use Application request by Nathan Ward, agent, to construct a 199 foot communications tower for wireless communications for Verizon Wireless on property owned by Kathleen Senske in Section 21, Township 44 north, range 9 W , approximately .3 miles south of South Shore Road in Barnes 2) Conditional Use Application request by Nathan Ward, agent, to construct a 199 foot communications tower for wireless communications for Verizon Wireless on property owned by Porcupine Inn, Inc., at 42630 State Highway 27 in the Town of Barnes Jim Crandall, Bayfield County Supervisor, to speak on CountyGovernment Mike Furtak, to speak on BayfieldCounty’s Land Use Plan Resolution to Oppose DORCounty Assessment Proposal Issues Timeline Update All Department Heads are encouraged to be at the Regular Board Meetings All Department Heads and Committee Heads are to submit a written report to the clerk by Friday evening prior to the Board Meeting. The Town Board reserves the right to solicit information from Department heads and Committee heads only, without opening the floor to discussion. Any persons requiring special needs for handicap services please contact the Clerk-Treasurer Elaine J. Brustad Barnes Town Clerk-Treasurer Dated this 18th day of January, 2010 Treasurer’s Report
Motion ( Meinke/Webb ) to approve the Treasurer’s report as read. Motion carried. Voucher’s Approval Motion ( McGee/Meinke) to approve the voucher’s as presented. Motion carried. Clerk Correspondence Brustad received 1 Notice to Cut on property owned by Tom Larson, Section 24, Township 45North, Range 9 West. Brustad read a letter received back from Paul M. Halverson, the Douglas County Highway Commissioner in response to the letter sent by the board on the condition of County Highway Y. He stated the County is very aware of existing conditions of their roadways, and feel there are far worse roads than County Highway Y. At the present time there are no plans to reconstruct the road, only continue to fix potholes and routine maintenance. Brustad read a brochure proclaiming June 12th, 2010 as Firewise Fun Day in HighlandTownship. For information you can call Marvin Landreth at 715-374-2003 or 715-816-4185. Approval of reimbursement of $61.00 per month for health insurance coverage for Clerk’s spouse for 2010 This was previously discussed and tentatively approved. The amount is much less than if the town continued to insure him through their present insurance company. Motion ( McGee/Webb) to approve reimbursement of $61.00 per month for 2010 for health insurance coverage for the Clerk’s spouse. Roll call vote taken and all present responded yes. Motion carried. Department Head Reports: Highway Winter’s finally here for good, we have had 4 full snow plows already this year, including one the day before Christmas, and one the day after. There were only three full plows all of last winter. The first week in January, the grader was sent into Potawotomi for three days to widen out the roads and intersections. Since that time, the grader has been scraping and winging major blacktops. 350 ton of sand and salt, or about 8000 dollars worth, has been deposited on blacktop roads since the Christmas storm to combat the rain received Christmas Eve. At the present rate of use, we will be over budget for the 010 year. Diesel fuel usage has nearly doubled from the same time frame last winter. Being only 1/3 of the way through winter, this area will probably be over budget as well. Mailboxes and Driveways. The Town snowplows have no liability for either when plowing snow. This is a standard policy statewide. It is the property owner’s responsibility to remove snow from around the mailbox and the driveway area. If your private snowplower gets to your driveway before the Town road gets plowed, he has the responsibility to plow down the road a short distance in the direction the plow comes from. This gives the Town plow room to empty before it gets to your driveway, and does not plug up your driveway. The same is true for your mailbox. Approve bid for purchase of tractor Jerry had provided the Board with 3 separate bids for a John Deere tractor. Tractor Central in Cameron’s bid was $8,320.01, Northland Lawn and Sport in Mason’s bid was $7,783.00 and the lowest bid was from Duluth Lawn and Sport for $7,589.00. Motion ( Webb/Meinke) to approve the purchase of a John Deere tractor from Duluth Lawn and Sport for $7,589.00. Roll call vote taken and all present responded yes. Motion carried. Cemetery Sexton Bud Pease reported there was no activity during the last month at the Cemetery. Fire and Ambulance Department The ambulance department has had 6 calls, five were transported to Hayward and 1 transported to St Mary’s in Duluth. Three new EMT students have completed their WITC training and are waiting to complete the National Registry written and practical test. They are Deanna Hughes, Irene Wells, and Benjamin Glinski. Robin and Brett Friermood attended the Arrowhead EMS conference in Duluth. The Fire Department has responded to one call since the last meeting, a motor vehicle accident where the vehicle drove into a building. There was no damage to the vehicle, although the building was damaged. The fire department conducted ice rescue training last weekend. Mitch McGee attended the town board meeting in the Town of Highland. The board didn’t understand what I was requesting so Mitch and I will sit down and type a letter up that hopefully will better explain the problem. Although they pay a yearly fee, it doesn’t cover the bill we get if we use Gold Cross for an intercept. I am in the process of contacting people that were on the Fire Department but have not been active in the past year. I will get their equipment back from them or see what their intentions are and at the next board meeting will have a new active roster prepared. Discussion on paying a per diem for cancelled training classes Renz said this came up last month when a class was cancelled in Hayward. He said normally he would pay for the mileage but not a per diem for the class if it was cancelled. He doesn’t count time spent traveling to a from a class when paying a per diem so it should not be paid. He wanted to make sure the Board was in agreement. Motion (McGee/Webb) to not pay a per diem for a cancelled training class and support Tom on his policy decision. Motion carried. Approve new firefighter application by Zachary Zepczyk Tom said Zak is already an employee, he is plowing snow as needed. Motion ( Webb/Meinke) to Zachary Zepcyzk as a firefighter trainee. Motion carried. Constable O’Keefe had 4 alarms from the sheriff, 3 ATV complaints, 2 animal complaints1 trespass complaint, (ice fisherman coming on private property, 1 fireworks complaint. Committee Reports The Town Hall Maintenance committee met and presented the Board with their recommendations. The Committee recommended the following work to be done along with the installation of a new furnace, which was previously approved by the Board: 1. Do a general clean-up and prep in the crawl space prior to installation of the furnace and new ductwork, including smoothing out or removing the dirt piles and concrete. 2. Remove unneeded electrical and plumbing that has accumulated over the years. 3. Properly support/hang the remaining electrical and plumbing. 4. Remove additional trash, do general clean-up of the crawl space. 5. Install necessary support walls under the floor as may be required. Recommended sequence of work to be performed: 1. Smooth out/remove the dirt and concrete 2. Remove/straighten out plumbing and electrical 3. Cut necessary holes for the ductwork 4. Dig out around foundation for insulation 5. Spray foam the foundation 6. Install any needed support walls in the crawl space 7. Install the new furnace and ductwork 8. Complete the build-out to enclose the new ductwork where necessary. Approximate costs for 1-4, 6 & 8 $4,800.00 Approximate cost for 5 $2,200.00 Costs for 7 $4,965.00 10% contingency $1,200.00 $13,265.00 Motion (McGee/Webb) to approve step 5, spray foam insulation for estimated amount of $2,200.00, plus 10% contingency if needed. Roll call vote taken, all present responded yes. Motion carried. Motion (Meinke/Webb) to approve Steve Hunter to do Steps 1-4, 6 and 8 for a total of $4,800.00. Roll call vote taken and all present responded with a yes. Motion carried. Jerry Witt will oversee the project. Land Use Planning Commission Dave Pease spoke on the two requests they reviewed at their meeting that afternoon. Some of the questions asked at their meeting included if there would be lights on the towers. It would be unlikely there would be lights on either, these are under 200 feet so do not require lights. Pease said the Commission recommended approval of both towers as the requests comply with the land use plan. Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda Rev Henry Aukee asked what the radius of coverage the towers would be at. Nathan Ward of Verizon said those two would be around 6 miles a piece, they also planned on putting in a larger tower in SawyerCounty by NelsonLake that would then have coverage from here to Hayward. Zoning: 1 Conditional Use Application request by Nathan Ward, agent, to construct a 199 foot communications tower for wireless communications for Verizon Wireless on property owned by Kathleen Senske in Section 21, Township 44 north, range 9 W , approximately .3 miles south of South Shore Road in Barnes Motion (Webb/McGee) to approve the 199 foot communication tower on property owned by Kathleen Senske, Section 21, Township 44 north, Range 9 West. Motion carried. Motion(Webb/McGee) to open the floor for discussion. Motion carried. Jon Harkness said the Property Owners Association members are in support of these towers as most are in agreement that we need the cell coverage in the area for safety and convenience, but kudos to Bayfield County Zoning for their foresight to limit the height of these towers so we are not looking at lights in the distance everywhere. Nathan Ward said the height limit imposed by the BayfieldCounty ordinance will make it so the towers will not need lighting. Other questions asked by Board members were if Verizon would be planning on going on A T & T’s tower in Highland. Ward said that would be the most likely place to go next as it is the best spot in that area to continue coverage for our area. Harkness wanted to know what would happen if and when satellite coverage took over, would they be responsible for dismantling these towers. Ward said the BayfieldCounty ordinance is very specific that they will have to post a bond for that very purpose if and when they would want to abandon the towers. On these towers they plan on being up and running by late spring or early summer. Ward also said Verizon will have available with these towers also the capability for high speed access to the internet. Motion ( Webb/McGee) to close the floor for discussion. Motion carried. 2 Conditional Use Application request by Nathan Ward, agent, to construct a 199 foot communications tower for wireless communications for Verizon Wireless on property owned by Porcupine Inn, Inc., at 42630 State Highway 27 in the Town of Barnes Motion ( McGee/Meinke) to approve the Conditional Use Application to construct a 199 foot communications tower on property owned by Porcupine Inn, Inc. at 46230 State Highway 27. Motion carried. Jim Crandall, Bayfield County Supervisor, to speak on County Government Jim Crandall, our representative in the Board of Supervisors talked on the County’s budget, which decreased from 2009 to 2010, and where the money is spent at the County level. Some of the biggest monies allocated are to the General fund, which encompasses the Sheriff’s Department, Forestry, Land Conservation and Zoning along with other smaller departments. Human Services takes a chunk also, with programs for the disabled, the elderly and children. He stated BayfieldCounty has always taken care of their elderly, and disabled, much more so than adjoining counties. Next is the highway department. Forestry brings in the largest amount of revenue in the General fund with forest crop sales. Human Services brings in a lot also, but needs quite a bit to function. He also brought a handout of BayfieldCounty taxes by taxing jurisdiction for 2008. Barnes was by far the largest in the county with approximately 13% of their tax revenue coming from Barnes. Jim also talked briefly this being a census year the jurisdiction could change for CountySupervisors, but he felt the number (13) would remain the same no matter what. Some of the committee he is on at the county level is Health and Human Services, highway, library, and Aquatic Invasive species. Mike Furtak, to speak on BayfieldCounty’s Land Use Plan Mike reported the County has adopted their Land Use Plan, along with 11 other towns. With these other municipalities it allowed us to use common language so as not to confuse land use designations. The Town of Barnes adopted their plan a few years ago; this common language for land use designations was not available at that time so the County is seeking to have the Plan Commission amend the plan to be consistent with the County’s language. Mike will work with the Plan Commission to ensure this gets done. He talked with the Plan Commission members and would like to have them meet on Tuesdays when he is in Barnes and will be working with them to get this all done. Also, the County received a grant through the Department of Administration for their plan, and the grant says the all the municipalities not included in the grant but within the County need to prepare a Resolution saying the Town supports the County’s Land Use Plan. The County will also adopt our plan but only after the language in our plan is amended to mesh with the County’s plan. He handed out a list of the various zoning categories that will have to be addressed when amending our plan. Mike ended by saying he was very happy with our Plan Commission and the Town of Barnes because we do such a great job in making sure the decisions made by the Town Board are consistent with the Land Use Plan. Resolution to Oppose DORCounty Assessment Proposal The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is trying to introduce a bill to go to county-wide assessment which would greatly reduce the power the municipality has to keep taxes low. Motion ( Meinke/Webb) to approve the Resolution R# 10-01 as read. Motion carried. The resolution is as follows: Resolution # 10-01 Opposing the DOR’s CountyAssessment Proposal Whereas, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) proposes to change from municipal assessment to county assessment of real and personal property; Whereas, moving the assessment from the town, village and city level to the county will take away local control and increase costs to the taxpayers; Whereas, DOR acknowledges the costs of a county assessment system will be on average $25.00 per parcel statewide, which will be a significant increase in property taxes from the county level at a time when increased property taxes are already a burden; Whereas, property owners will lose the convenience of open book and board of review proceedings in their own municipality by having to travel to county sites for open book and board of review; Whereas, the DOR proposal will provide little oversight over county assessment practices and no appeal rights of individual towns, villages, and cities of their municipal full value as determined by the county assessment; Whereas, the DOR has expressed concern over some local assessment practices and other issues such as assessor certification and performances that can be addressed under the current municipal assessment system without mandating a county assessment system; Whereas, the DOR proposal for “single value” assessment may reduce state costs for state equalization between municipal assessing districts, however there is no showing that “single value” assessment is required in Wisconsin, nor that the change to county assessment without state equalization will in fact bring more uniformity and equity to assessment practices; Whereas, if valid concerns exist over current assessment practices of municipal assessment, these issues should be studied by the various interested stakeholders including local governments and assessors to determine if changes to municipal assessment practices could be implemented to improve the current system rather than blindly mandate county assessment; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Barnes,in BayfieldCounty, does hereby oppose the implementation of county assessment in Wisconsin; FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the State of Wisconsin, local governments and other stakeholders should study what changes, if any are found necessary, can be implemented to improve municipal assessment practices without necessarily eliminating the current system. Adopted this 19th day of January, 2010, by the Town Board of the Town of Barnes, BayfieldCounty. ________________________________ _________________________________ Lu Peet – Town Chairperson Christine Webb – Supervisor ________________________________ __________________________________ Jack Meinke – Supervisor Donna Porter – Supervisor ________________________________ Mitch McGee – Supervisor Adopted: January 19, 2010 Posted: _____________ Attest: _______________________________________ Elaine J. Brustad – Town Clerk-Treasurer The Resolution will be posted as required and sent to the WTA plus state representatives. Issues Timeline Update All items are a work in progress, Mike Furtak is working on the two zoning items up for renewal this month. Motion (Webb/McGee) to adjourn the RegularTown Board meeting of January 18, 2010. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:20PM. Respectfully Submitted, Elaine J. Brustad, Clerk-Treasurer dated this 5th day of February, 2010 |
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