Village Board February 7, 2012
VILLAGE BOARD
FEBRUARY 7, 2012
The Village Board of Combined Locks was called to order by President John Neumeier. Trustees in attendance included: Ruth Wulgaert, Rick Strick, Justin Krueger, Beth Sewall, and Sheila Schinke. Roger Kirch was absent.
Also in attendance were: Village Administrator Sean Hutchison, Fox Valley Metro Police Captain Scott Lund, Public Works Director Ryan Swick, Judy Hebbe of the Times Villager, residents Jim Ponto, Katie Haen, Bill Repulski, Dave Hopfensperger, and Racquel Giese, and Dave Wagner of Ehlers & Associates.
The first item on the agenda was to review the minutes and bills from the previous month. B. Sewall made a motion to approve the minutes with one minor change to the January 3, 2012 Village Board minutes. J. Krueger seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. R. Strick made a motion to approve the bills as presented. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of Resolution 2012-3 regarding $2,785,000 of general obligation refunding bonds. Mr. Dave Wagner reviewed the information that the Board has already initially agreed to. The long-term 2007 and 2008 and the short-term 2012 debt would be refinanced at a rate that could be 3% (not final at the time of this meeting). Refinancing this debt as suggested, keeps the debt levy at a more stable level of about $541,000 to $545,000 per year. The lower interest rate also saves money. The matter was discussed briefly. S. Schinke made a motion to approve Resolution 2012-3 as presented. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed with a roll call vote of six (6) ayes and one absence (R. Kirch).
The next item on the agenda was the Administrator’s report. He reported his activities throughout the month of January, including: reviewing recent election law changes, attending election training, sponsoring election training for poll workers, meeting with Kimberly Area School District representatives regarding recreation program options, working on the debt refinancing options, working with the Department of Revenue regarding the assessment question from Mr. Ed Klapps, and working on the Williams Street sanitary sewer project. The Administrator also explained that he will be attending a public finance seminar hosted by Ehlers & Associates on February 15th and 16th.
The next item on the agenda was the Police report. Captain Lund reported that 10 candidates for patrol officer positions are in the final interview stage. The vacant positions should be filled in March and into early April. Captain Lund explained that Chief Misselt is creating a standard monthly report that will be conducive to all three municipalities. Captain Lund reported that Officer Van Schyndel will handle the Combined Locks yard waste site complaints this year. Any questions regarding citations should be referred to him. Captain Lund also explained that the Annual Report will be forthcoming.
The next item on the agenda was Public Works Director’s report. The Director reported that December’s weather brought ten inches of snow as compared to 35 inches in 2011. The street crew was called out on several occasions to salt streets in January using about 40 tons. The Director found a salt supplier that sells the salt at a lower rate per ton and delivers it. It’s a savings of at least $7 per ton, and there is less labor involved. The street crew was able to continue tree pruning over the last month. There is still more to do. The crew was called to two (2) water breaks as compared to six (6) in 2011. The Director explained that he and Keith Weyenberg spent time preparing for the Williams Street sanitary sewer project. The street crew will continue patching streets, tree pruning, attend safety seminars, work on the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan, and prepare for the sewer monitoring projects. The Director explained that he will continue working on the several annual reports required by various state agencies.
The next item on the agenda was to consider a request from Katie Haen regarding modifying Ordinance Section 10-1-28(b): parking of vehicles over 13,000 pounds or 20 feet. Ms. Haen explained that her occupation is school bus driver. She has three (3) split shifts/routes. She would like the Board to consider allowing her to park the school bus in her driveway overnight during winter months when the temperature is low enough to require the bus to be plugged in. She explained that she parks the bus in the vacant lot by Kamps Bar or on the street between routes. Captain Lund reviewed a similar ordinance from the Village of Kimberly which allows for some consideration of school bus parking. He explained that the Police have not received an official complaint regarding Ms. Haen’s bus, but someone did call to get a copy of the ordinance, and someone did contact Ms. Haen’s employer about the bus parking. The matter was discussed. The consensus of Board opinion was to modify the ordinance to give some consideration for school bus parking. The Administrator was instructed to contact Captain Lund or Chief Misselt for help with the ordinance language.
The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of Resolution 2012-2; a preliminary resolution announcing the intent to assess costs of a sanitary sewer project. The Administrator reminded the Board that this preliminary resolution is a statutory requirement when assessing the costs of a project directly against the property owners. The preliminary ordinance outlines the requirement for a report to be available to the public detailing the plans and specifications, estimated costs of the entire project and estimated costs assessed to property owners. R. Wulgaert made a motion to approve Resolution 2012-2 as presented. R. Strick seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was to review the timeline for the Williams Street Sanitary Sewer Project. The Administrator explained that letters have already been sent to property owners to alert them of the project and televising laterals will begin soon. Bid documents will be ready by early March and advertising for bids will occur in mid-March. Public hearings are scheduled for 03/31/12 and 04/07/12. Bids will be opened on 04/10/12 with another public hearing scheduled for 04/17/12. The project is scheduled to start at the end of April.
The next item on the agenda was to discuss option for enhancing customer service hours in the Clerk’s Office. B. Sewall suggested having the Clerk’s Office open later into the evening at least one night per week. Via a discussion page on the Wisconsin City/County Management Association web site, the Administrator asked for feedback from other municipalities that have tried or that currently have extended hours. Four responses were received. Municipalities found that public use of the extended hours starts out strong, but dies out and there is little to no activity. It was noted that FVMPD also extended its hours for two months and also decided to change the hours back due to non-use. B. Sewall asked the Administrator to create a survey to get resident opinions on extended hours. The Administrator also explained that he would like to pursue offering on-line credit and debit card transactions as an option for enhanced customer service. Some of the surrounding municipalities already offer the service and believe it is worthwhile. The Administrator was instructed to follow-up on both items.
The next item on the agenda was to discuss options for short-term borrowing for cash flow purposes. The Administrator reminded the Board that the Village borrowed money from the Village of Kimberly in 2011 to cover the expenses from June to November. November is when the Village receives 75% of its shared revenue from the State of Wisconsin. The consensus of Board opinion was to move forward with the short-term borrowing. Information will be requested from the Village’s financial institutions and from the Village of Kimberly.
In other general business, a bartender license was approved for Meghan Jo Kuehl (Mill Town). The Administrator reminded the Board of the tri-village meeting scheduled for 02/14/12 regarding the FVMPD contract. The meeting will be closed session.
A motion to move into closed session per Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(c) to discuss issues relating to employment, promotion, compensation of employees resulting from implementation of employee reorganization was made and seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Action was expected following the closed session.
A motion to move back into open session was made, seconded and passed unanimously. A motion to reorganize administrative positions to reflect these job positions was made: Administrator/Director of Public Works, Clerk-Treasurer and Street Department Superintendent. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
R. Strick made a motion to adjourn the meeting. S. Schinke seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Village Board
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