Town of Barnes
Town of Barnes, WI

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Home > Town Digital Library > Town Board Meeting Minutes > 2011 Town Board Meeting Minutes > December 20, 2011: Regular Monthly Board Meeting

December 20, 2011: Regular Monthly Board Meeting

Approved By Board

MINUTES OF THE TOWN OF BARNES

REGULAR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING

DECEMBER 20, 2011

At Barnes Town Hall

Chairperson Lu Peet called the Regular Board Meeting to order at 6:00PM. 

Roll Call taken:  McGee, Porter, Meinke, and Peet present, quorum established.  Webb absent [arrived 6:04PM].

Per agenda, Peet requested a motion to adjourn to a closed session.

Closed Session The Town Board of the Town of Barnes will meet in regular session to go into a closed session pursuant to State Statute 19.85(c)  “considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility.  The board will reconvene back to regular session immediately after wards.

Motion (Porter/Meinke) to go into closed session, Roll call vote taken:  all present responded yes.  Motion carried.    The Board adjourned to the Town Hall offices for closed session at 6:04PM.

 

Motion (Porter/Meinke) to Call the Regular Session back to order at 6:35PM;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag was recited.  Peet verified with Clerk-Treasurer Brustad that public notice for the meeting and the agenda had been posted as required.  Peet called for a motion to approve the minutes of the Last Regular Board meeting, dispense with reading of those minutes, and to approve the following December Agenda:

AGENDA

·         Call the Regular Town Board meeting to order at 6:00PM

·         Closed Session: The Town Board of the Town of Barnes will meet in regular session to go into a closed session pursuant to State Statute 19.85(c)  “considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility.  The board will reconvene to regular session immediately after the closed session.

·         Call Regular Session back to order at 6:30PM

·         Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

·         Roll Call to establish a quorum/Verification of Public Notice

·         Motion to approve the December Agenda, approve the minutes of the Last Regular Board meeting and a motion to dispense with reading of the minutes.

1.       Voucher’s Approval

2.       Treasurer’s Report

a.       Discussion and possible approval of refund per statute 74.35 as claim of unlawful taxes:  Randy and Colleen Gunderson of Boulder Lodge Retreat

3.       Clerk Correspondence         

a.       Approve 1 year contract with Steve Baldwin and appointment as Clerk-Treasurer

b.      Appointment of new poll workers for 2012-2013  with possible pay increase

c.       Approval of Florence Prickett as a Deputy Clerk

d.      Discussion and possible approval of Jeff Moravchik of Prudential Financial as new agent of record for the employee’s investment plan    

4.       Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda        

5.       Department Head Reports:

a.       Highway                                             

b.      Cemetery

c.       Fire and Ambulance Department

d.      Constable

6.       Committee Reports

7.       Approve Resolution amending Ordinance Chapter 11 Section 11-4 adding Kickapoo Trail as an approved route for ATV travel           

8.       Approve renewal of contract with TAK inspections as the Town’s UDC inspector

9.       Operators’ Licenses:

a.       2 year new license for Penny Paul

b.      1 year new license for Julia Babcock

10.   Issues Timeline Update       

11.   Adjourn

Motion (Porter / McGee) to approve the December Agenda, approve the minutes of the Last Regular Board meeting and to dispense with the reading of those minutes.  All responded Yes, Motion Carried.

 

1.       Voucher’s Approval

Motion (McGee / Porter) to approve the voucher’s as presented.  Motion carried.

 

2.      Treasurer’s Report:  Clerk-Treasurer Brustad read the following monthly Treasurer’s report.

 

Treasurers Report

 
   

General Fund

     

Checking Balance from last meeting

   

$17,363.15

Receipts

       

$25,689.20

Transfer from MM Acct

     

$75,000.00

Check #'s 26635-26704

     

($44,193.10)

Service Charge November

     

($16.39)

Interest Earned November

     

$3.09

 

CHECKING BALANCE

   

$73,845.95

           
   

Money Market

     

Money Market Gen'l Fund Balance from Last Meeting

 

$305,631.85

Check # 1190

       

($36,000.00)

Transfer to General Fund

     

($75,000.00)

Interest earned November

 

YTD Interest $926.59

$65.29

 

Sub-Total Money Market Gen'l Funds

 

$194,697.14

Highway Dept. Sinking Fund

     

$26,327.92

BES Sinking Fund

     

$40,464.05

Park Savings

 

Deposit $824.90

   

$12,542.96

Ski Trail Savings

     

$1,032.47

Building Maintenance & Repair Fund

   

$95,932.54

Bridges Maintenance Fund

     

$12,000.00

Waterways Maintenance Fund

   

$10,000.00

ACT 102 Fund

       

$1,296.67

Total all Money Market Funds

   

$394,293.75

           
   

Hayward Community Credit Union

 

Savings

 

Interest

0.77

November

$3,749.58

18 Month CD

 

Interest

47.53

November

$52,910.59

18 Month CD

 

Interest

206.79

November

$157,418.42

18 month CD

 

Interest

41.58

November

$106,538.14

18 month CD

 

Interest

107.18

November

$101,042.19

35 month CD

 

Interest

160.75

November

$101,342.44

     

YTD Interest $7,882.65

 

Total Hayward Community Credit Union

   

$523,001.36

 

TOTAL ALL ACCOUNTS

   

$991,141.06

           

Motion (Meinke/Porter) to approve the Treasurer’s report as read.  Motion carried.

 

a.      Discussion and possible approval of refund, per statute 74.35 as claim of unlawful taxes, to Randy and Colleen Gunderson of Boulder Lodge Retreat following discussion and review of assessor error.

Clerk-Treasurer Brustad reported that at the “Open Book Review’ conducted by Charlotte Johnson last year, the Gunderson’s filed a complaint  that Ms. Johnson had miscalculated their owner’s share of the jointly held Retreat; Ms. Johnson concurred that she had overcharged/listed their tax liability share and agreed to correct it.  However, she forgot to update this correction in her assessor file that she subsequently filed with the county.  Brustad researched the issue with Charlotte Johnson, Bayfield County and our current Assessor, Associated Appraisals.  All concurred that the error was made and the Gunderson’s should receive a refund from the town.  Associated will update and correct the Gunderson’s file with the proper value for going forward.

Motion ( Webb / Meinke ) to refund $1,598.56 to the Gunderson’s for the property taxes over-charge based upon the error by Charlotte Johnson, former Town Assessor.  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

3.      Clerk Correspondence   

a.                              Approve a 1 year contract with Steve Baldwin for his appointment as Town Clerk-Treasurer

Chairperson Lu Peet noted that this was the final town meeting and function for current Town Clerk-Treasurer, Elaine Brustad, who was retiring on Thursday, December 22nd.  Peet thanked Brustad for her 6 years of loyal dedicated service to the town and wished her well in her retirement.  Peet welcomed Stephen Baldwin, who has been working since August as the Deputy Clerk and requested a motion to approve his contract as the new Town Clerk-Treasurer effective December 23rd, 2011.

Motion (Porter / McGee) to approve the contract as submitted and appoint Stephen C. Baldwin as the Town Clerk-Treasurer as of December 23rd, 2011.   Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

b.      Appointment of new poll workers for 2012-2013 with possible pay increase

Based upon the applications received for the Town posting for poll workers for the new 2-year term, Clerk Brustad submitted the following townspeople for approval as Town Election Inspectors:

1.      ROSE BALDWIN

2.      LINDA FRANK

3.      JOANNE FREIMAN

4.      BEVERLY LOWERY

5.      DOROTHY MUELLER

6.      NOWACZYK, LINDA

7.      MARY SADENWASSER

Brustad also submitted the following townspeople and current ‘Chief Election Inspectors’ for approval and renewal for new 2-year terms:

1.      ROBERTA DELIZIO

2.      FLORENCE PRICKETT

Motion ( Webb / Meinke ) to appoint all poll workers as submitted and read for 2-year terms effective January 1st, 2012 through December 31st, 2013; Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

Brustad and Deputy Clerk Baldwin submitted to the Board for review a state-wide wage survey for Poll Workers obtained from the Wisconsin Clerks Association.  Brustad also surveyed the surrounding Towns of Iron River, Gordon, Wascott, Drummond and Cable and identified that our current wage of $7.35/hr. was below the state-wide average as well as the local norm.  Brustad recommended increasing Barnes Poll Workers wage.  Following Board discussion, Peet requested a motion to increase the poll workers wages to $8.50/hour  and $9.00/hour for the Chief Election Inspectors.

Motion ( Webb / Porter ) to increase hourly wages to $8.50/hour for Election Inspectors and $9.00/hour for Chief Election Inspectors;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

c.       Approval of Florence Prickett as a Deputy Clerk

Brustad reported that Roberta DeLizio, the current part-time Town Deputy Clerk, is on vacation until April and recommended appointing a second part-time Town Deputy Clerk so that there is coverage whenever needed.   She nominated Florence Prickett who had applied for the position.   

Motion (McGee / Porter) to approve Florence Prickett as a Deputy Town Clerk;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

d.      Discussion and possible approval of Jeff Moravchik of Prudential Financial as new agent of record for the employee’s investment plan    

Brustad reported that the Town’s current agent for our 457 retirement plan for full-time employees has been ill and is retiring.  She recommended Jeffrey Moravchik of Prudential, Ashland office, as the replacement; the town has worked with Jeff in the past and he is very professional and efficient.   

Motion ( Webb / Meinke ) to approve Jeffrey Moravchik of as new agent of record for the Town’s 457 investment plan for employees;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

 

 

4.      Public Comment Session – 3 Minute limit for those not on the agenda

  • Jon Harkness  wanted to thank Bob Lang for his time and effort in reviewing his property adjacent to town land and identifying property markers.  Likewise, Lang thanked Harkness for his diligence and assistance in reviewing both his and the town properties.

           

5.      Department Head Reports:

a.                              Highway - December Road Report

Winter is here, although we haven’t had an abundance of snow, the rest of the problems that go along with the season have arrived.  We’ve already used almost 300 tons of salt/sand or about 25% of our stockpile.  The auger type sanders that we have on the plow trucks now are working extremely well.

 

I would like to clarify that it is not our goal to achieve bare blacktop with our snow removal efforts.  Bare blacktop is impossible to maintain without pure salt, which is cost prohibitive.  We are trying to provide reasonable traction with sand on our snow and ice covered roads.  This is a much more environmentally friendly and cost effective way to provide safe driving conditions. 

 

The snowmobile and drag for the ski trail are serviced and ready to go.  Dave tried flooding the skating rink last Friday, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  Looking at the forecast, we will probably make another attempt starting Thursday, but it takes five or six flooding’s to make a decent surface, so it won’t be ready for the weekend.

 

In anticipation of our future road projects, Dave and I have been locating property markers in Potawatomi.  We have Pine Chip, Birch Tree Trail, Tall Timber Trail, a portion of Deerfoot Trail, East Wilderness Court, and Wilderness Court located so far.  If the weather continues, we will start on Lynx Road next.  In partnership with the Firewise Program we are hoping to use these roads as fire breaks as well as reconstructing the road beds and ditches to address the maintenance problems we continually have with them.

 

We also have a major problem with the intersection of Porcupine Trail where it intersects Lynx Road.  There is a very steep hill which is dangerous in the winter time and constantly washing out in the summer time.  A simple solution would be to close about 250 feet of the road.  We will create water berms to slow the water and allow it to soak in.  With the town board’s permission, I would like to start that process.

 

I have had a call from the DOT in regards to the condition of Rabbit Hutch road.  Kevin completed brushing it this week and we will have to prioritize it next summer.  I have already gotten permission from the County Forestry department to excavate sand to apply in the wetter areas of the road.

 

Jerry rebuilt the loader plow and converted the hook up to work with the new coupling system we ordered from Caterpillar.  He has also been transferring the brush clamps from the old John Deere loader to the CAT loader, and has now started building a set for the used bucket we acquired for the new coupling system.

 

I completed the WISLR and State Maps that are due in December.  We were notified that we did not receive Town Road Improvement Program funds for the 2012-2013 biennium, but we will be prioritized for the next go around in 2014-2015.

 

Respectfully submitted,            Bob Lang, Road & Property Foreman

                       

b.                              Cemetery

Dave Schiess, Town Cemetery Sexton, gave the following report:

  • 1 layout for a monument stone was filed by Pete & Shirley Mackey.
  • 1 burial occurred for Henry Norton.

Dave inquired if he needed committee or Board approval for the cemetery to pay $200. towards the new metal detector purchased by the Highway Department because it has and will be used to identify markers in the cemetery.  Following brief board discussion, Peet asked for a motion to authorize cemetery use and the allocation.

 Motion ( Webb / Meinke ) to approve use for the cemetery of the metal detector and allocate $200. From the cemetery budget to pay for it;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.   

 

c.                               Fire and Ambulance Departments

Since the last Town board meeting the ambulance has had 7 calls:

·         3  - Transport to Hayward

·         2 – Transports to St. Mary’s

·         1 – Barnes Fire Stand-by

·         1 - Patient deceasedigHH

 

 

There have been 3 Fire Calls:

·         1 – Mutual Aid Gordon

·         1 – Carbon Monoxide response

·         1 – Power line down

 

The Ambulance refresher is complete along with the CPR refresher.  As of this year National registry is going to be a requirement of the State so those who have let it lapse are now going to have to keep it up which is going to be an increase in training for additional 48 hours every two years. 

 

The Fire Department has purchased two more cold water suits for Ice rescue. 

 

I am switching computer programs.  The new one that I am going to is called emergency reporting and it is a monthly fee instead of a yearly fee we are paying now.  There is no software to install as it is a program that is accessed by the internet with no limited number of users.  The cost is the same to what we are paying now and is compatible to the National Fire reporting system and the Wisconsin Ambulance Run system so all would be able to be uploaded.

 

Thank you,       Thomas M. Renz, Barnes Fire Chief & Ambulance/EMS Director 

 

d.                              Constable – Peet read the following report from Constable Mike O’Keefe:

·         1 alarm

·         2 trespass complaints : hunter's on private property.

·         2 animal complaint's

·         10 check homes for out of town residents

 

6.      Committee Reports – There was no committee activity this month and no reports.

7.      Approve Resolution amending Ordinance Chapter 11 Section 11-4 adding Kickapoo Trail as an approved route for ATV travel       

Motion ( McGee / Meinke ) to amend the Town Ordinance, 11-4, and add Kickapoo Trail as an approved route for ATV travel;  All responded Yes, Motion carried.    

8.      Approve renewal of contract with TAK inspections as the Town’s UDC inspector

Motion (Meinke / McGee) to approve renewal of contract with TAK inspections as the Town’s UDC inspector;  All responded Yes, Motion carried.   

9.      Approve 2 New Operator’s Licenses to be Issued

a.      2 year new license for Penny Paul

Motion ( Porter / McGee ) to approve 2 year license for Penny Paul;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

b.      1 year new license for Julia Babcock

Brustad reported that the standard background check identified that there was an error on Babcock’s application who had not made full disclosure.  

Motion (Webb / Porter ) to amend the agenda motion to be that the Board requests Babcock to complete a full and accurate application prior to any license approval;  Roll call vote taken:  all responded yes.  Motion carried.

10.  Issues Timeline Update

The Board reviewed the issues timeline list and Peet requested that the revision of the Fireworks ordinance/Permit be added to the agenda for the January 2012 meeting.       

11.  Adjourn

Motion ( Meinke / Webb to adjourn the December 2011 Regular Town Board Meeting;  Motion Carried.            Meeting adjourned at 7:48PM.

 

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Stephen C. Baldwin, Barnes Town Clerk-Treasurer

Dated this 16th day of January, 2012

 

 
The notices, agendas, minutes and postings on the Town website are for informational purposes only. They may not be the most current version and therefore are NOT considered the official or legal copy.
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3360 County Highway N, Barnes, WI 54873

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