MINUTES OF THE REGULAR TOWN
BOARD MEETING
Chairman
Gene Ratzel called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.
The
Pledge of Allegiance was said.
Ratzel
read the December Amended Agenda as follows:
Approve
the December Amended Agenda
Approve
the Minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting
Treasurer’s
Report
Voucher’s
Approval
Clerk
/ Correspondence
License
Application-1-year
Operator’s Licenses-Scott Ruhman, Kathy Gatzke and Debbie Oberholtzer
Contract
for Service-New Copy Machine- Approval to contract for this service
Zoning-Brad Brunner-Sunset Resort
Road-Special Use Permit to operate a Construction/ General
Contracting Business
Mid
America Planning Association-Wisconsin Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Law
and Grant
Program.
Decide whether to adopt.
Barnes
Area Development Corporation-Funding for grants
Appointed
Clerk and Appointed Treasurer - Create Ordinance to Change These Positions
Enforcement
and Penalties Ordinance-Decide on which options to use for existing ordinances
Employee
Handbook for Town of Barnes – Updates
DSL
Line for Town-Discussion
on getting this service
Ordinances-Set Date for All-Board Review
of Ordinances
Public
Comment Session- 5-Minute Limit for Those not on Agenda
Cemetery
Committee-Bud
Pease
Comprehensive
Land Use Planning Committee-Updates
BADC-Updates
Department
Head Reports
Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve the December Agenda. Motion
carried.
Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to approve the Minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting as presented. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s
Report-
Treasurer Debbie Sesko gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:
Checking Balance from Last Meeting $ 244,150.96
Receipts # 15942-# 15960 $
8,360.57
Checks # 17298 to #17387 $ (29,630.73)
November EFTPS $
(3,525.38)
November Interest $
95.45
November Service Charge $
(17.90)
Transfer from Tax Savings (Balance from 2002) $ 1,276.06
Checking Balance $ 220,709.03
Ambulance Department Investment Fund $
1,808.75
Highway Department Sinking Fund $
70,163.19
BES Sinking Fund $
5,434.42
Park Savings -Receipt # 15942 $256.50 $
8,199.55
Ski Trail Savings $
114.31
Parade-Event Calendar Fund-Receipt # 15960
$500.00 $
2,349.32
Balance All Accounts $ 308,778.57
Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the Treasurer’s Report as given. Motion carried.
Voucher’s
Approval -Motion (Chermack / Ratzel) to approve the Vouchers as
presented. Motion carried.
Ratzel
said he had a question on one of the vouchers, but that he would bring it up
later.
Clerk
/ Correspondence: One Intent-to-Cut for Perry and Genevieve Risberg from Blomberg Logging
of Ogema. Letter from Bayfield County Land Records for the town to update and
correct any inaccurate mapping information on town roads. The crew has
completed this and it has been returned. Letter from the Wisconsin Elections
Board- They will be coming to each county sometime during January, February and
March of 2004 to meet with the clerks and municipalities on the new Voter
Registration Law and the systems that are now in place.
License
Application1-Year
Operator’s Licenses for Scott Ruhman, Kathy Gatzke and Debbie Oberholtzer.Each
has completed his/her Responsible Beverage Server Class and has been checked
out. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the 1-Year Operator’s
License for Scott Ruhman, Kathy Gatzke and Debbie Oberholtzer. Motion carried.
Zoning- Brad Brunner-Sunset Resort
Road-Special Use Permit to operate a Construction / General Contracting
Business from that residence. The clerk read a letter from Roy G. Kiekhafer
from Beloit, WI. He has property across Bony Creek from the Sunset Condos. He
expressed his objection to the application indicating that the permit was
written in such a way as to allow construction materials and equipment to be
stored on the property. He felt that it would be noisy, inappropriate and
visually offensive and he hoped that the town board would deny the application.
Supervisor Meinke said that he had several areas of concern. 1.Recommend no
storage of equipment or materials in the open on the property. 2. No
fabrication on the site and 3. No storage of waste or refuse (no dumpster) on
the property. Chermack asked where this was. It is by the old Sunset Resort
across from Jim’s Bait. She asked about additional structures that he might
want to put up. Ratzel said that Mr. Brunner would have to meet zoning
requirements for this. Mr. Brunner said that he would have no objections to the
restrictions. There was discussion on this issue. Meinke said he was not
against the business, but wanted to see these restrictions on the application.
Several board members had discussed this with Mike Furtak from Zoning and Furtak
also recommended these covenants be added. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau)
to approve the application with the following conditions. 1. No open storage of
materials or equipment 2. No fabrication on site and 3. No storage of refuse or
dumpsters for waste on the site. Motion carried. The board signed
the application with the restrictions.
Contract
for Service-New Copy Machine- The clerk spoke on what the contract involved.
This is an optional item. Tri-State Business Systems would provide the
maintenance, servicing, parts and toner for $.012 per copy that will be billed
quarterly, with a minimum of 5,000 copies per quarter. The cost was estimated to be between $50.00
and $70.00 per quarter. The toner alone is about $90.00 and lasts about 6,000
copies. The board discussed this and decided to try it to see if it will work
out. If it doesn’t, we can opt out of the contract. Meinke said that the Barnes
Church had the same service from Tri-State and they were very happy with them.
The service was always prompt. Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve
contracting with Tri-State Business Systems for this service. Roll call vote
was taken: Meinke, yes; Scharlau, yes; Chermack, yes and Ratzel, yes. Motion
carried. The clerk will contact the representative from Tri-State
within the next 90 days to do the contract. The clerk sent $800.00 of her own
money as a down payment for the copier to insure us getting the price indicated
for the copier. The town will then reimburse the clerk when
the
new budget takes effect. Our old copier will stay with us. It still works, but
it is very hard to get parts. That is why we won’t sell it off. It will be the
town’s responsibility for the disposal of the old machine when it goes.
Mid
America Planning Association-Wisconsin Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Law
and Grant Program. Supervisor Chermack spoke on what the Barnes Comprehensive
Land Use Planning Committee recommended. She said that the committee felt that
this group represented special interest groups and that this law was not in the
best interest of the towns. The committee would not recommend the endorsement
of this law. Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to NOT endorse the Wisconsin
Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Law and Grant Program. Motion carried.
[At this time Fire Chief Tom Renz came in. He had requested to be heard at this time since he was on duty with the Sheriff’s Department tonight-The request was granted.]
Fire
Department Report- Chief Renz said that he had received the bill from the fire inspector
for the inspections of the businesses in the Town of Barnes. The department had
4 calls since the last meeting; 2- fire alarms, 1-glow in the sky and smell of
smoke, 1-chimney fire. Renz discussed the unauthorized use of town equipment
(radios). He also spoke on radios that may be out there being used by
unauthorized personnel. Ratzel said these issues should be checked out. There
was discussion on having a list with serial numbers for all radios and pagers
and any other equipment that is out with the various department members. The
Fire Department has given the board an inventory list with serial numbers. Renz
said that at the first meeting of the fire department in the new year, there
will be an inspection and check of all fire department equipment. Renz said he
had written letters to 3 persons to inform them that they will no longer be on
the Fire Department roster. These persons will be asked to return any equipment
that may have been issued to them. Renz said that these persons would be given
until January 1, 2004 to turn in any equipment. Ratzel said that the town must
keep abreast of this situation and asked for an assignment sheet that all of
the personnel would sign indicating that they have the equipment. There was
discussion on unauthorized conversations using the town radios. Ratzel said
that the sheriff’s department said unauthorized calls were not to be
allowed-that this interferes with real emergency calls coming in. Meinke asked
if the board could get a similar list of the ambulance department radios and
equipment. Ratzel said he would ask the
ambulance director for a report. The clerk will also look in her files for the
inventory lists. There may be one in the files. Renz said that this is the
first time this inspection and verification has been done. Colin Nowaczyk,
former fire chief, said there was no paper work from the past on this-that it
had never been done. Renz said that the new fire truck would be coming sometime
in February. Renz would like the Town Board to draw up a proclamation, or a
dedication, that the truck would be dedicated to all past, present and future
Veterans of Foreign Wars. Ratzel asked Renz to bring something back to the board
on this.
Barnes
Area Development Corporation-Funding for Grants-Ratzel asked the board to OK the
grant process for the BADC. The BADC is working with Cooper Engineering on
grants and it requires board approval for this. These grants at this time would
be mostly for infrastructure at the site on N.
Money is easier to get for this and there is a good chance BADC will get
a grant. Meinke said that Cooper was a good firm to work with. The town used
Cooper when the town had applied for the TRIP-D program for the Pease Road
project and would recommend them. Motion (Chermack / Ratzel) to allow
the BADC to use a firm such as Cooper or any other representatives that can
apply for funds for the BADC. Chermack had some questions on what
this would involve. Scharlau asked what it would cost the town. Ratzel said
this motion basically was to allow the firm to go ahead and write a simple
grant for infrastructure. Meinke said that the cost should be minimal, if there
is a cost for this initial grant. Chermack said that there was usually a
percentage of the grant money that was charged or a set flat fee. Ratzel said
this is just for a simple grant application. A roll call vote was
taken: Scharlau, yes; Chermack, yes [with reservations]; Meinke, yes and
Ratzel, yes. Motion carried. Ratzel said that Cooper had said that
they needed Town Board approval because town funds were involved. The board
will be kept informed on the grants.
Appointed
Clerk and Appointed Treasurer-Create ordinance to change these
positions-Updates-The clerk said she had spoken with the WTA’s attorney Carol
Nawrocki about the process. The board first must create an ordinance changing
the individual positions from elected to being appointed. At least 45 days
before the Spring Election to be held on April 6, 2004 the ordinance must be
published. Then a referendum vote is held at the Spring Election. If this
passes, then these position changes take effect at the end of the current term
for those offices and that would be April of 2006. If this referendum passes,
then the town may combine the two positions by Resolution at the Annual Meeting
a week after the Spring Election. Our attorney will draft the new ordinance for
the January meeting. Ratzel said the process starts with this ordinance, but
then is voted on by the people.
Enforcement
and Penalties Ordinance-Decide on which option to use for existing ordinances-Ratzel said in
correspondence from the attorney in November, she said some of our ordinances
have forfeitures or fines. We haven’t gone through each one to see if they have
forfeiture or not. She indicated that there were 3 ways to go: 1. the town can
go through each ordinance -each of the ordinances that are enforceable and
amend those that do not provide a penalty provision. Ratzel thought this would
be too cumbersome to go through and amend all those ordinances. 2. Specifically
itemize each ordinance which may be violated and determine what penalty would
be for that ordinance. This can also include provisions for a penalty on any
subsequent violation within a year or two years of conviction of a prior
violation. That one seems to be more a workable option for us. 3. Adapt a
penalty provision for any ordinance which does not already include a penalty
within the ordinance itself. One of the disadvantages of this provision is that
the town does not get to determine what ordinance violations may be more severe
or more serious and incorporate a higher monetary penalty to reflect that
philosophy. Ratzel said that he agreed with the attorney on that issue. Option
2 will probably the one we will want to schedule along with our other ordinance
activity and provide the penalty feature for our ordinances that way. Ratzel
said he would like to get this implemented sometime after the first of the
year. Chermack said we would be setting the meeting for the ordinances tonight.
She also said that most of ordinances already have a penalty and there is a
follow up of what’s going to happen if they don’t pay. There was discussion on who would do the enforcement and what
would be enforced-Keep it simple and not broaden the responsibilities. We only
have one person. But because our ordinances can only be enforced by our town
constable, that’s where our focus should be. Chermack said that more than one
person could be involved and it could get complicated.
Employee
Handbook for the Town of Barnes-Updates-The clerk said that Ms. Webb’s requested
this be held over for a decision until the January meeting as she could not be
here this evening and has not had a chance to look over some of the
information. The other board members
discussed various issues that they had with the document. Chermack had a
question on page 9-employee development and training-Town of Barnes management
may request an employee to participate in cross training to accommodate a
temporary need if the required skill is outside the employee’s initial job
description. As equipment, technology or the needs of the Town of Barnes
changes an employee may voluntarily participate in additional job training at
the Town of Barnes expense. Personal job skills training by an employee will be
at the employee’s expense. Ratzel said that if the job needed the additional
training the town would pay for the training-new equipment, etc. Personal job
skill improvement, such as that to advance in their position, would be paid for
by the employee. Chermack-Also on page 9-Employees Position Job Description.
She asked if there were written job descriptions and where are they. There are
written descriptions of all full time hourly employees and are in the clerk’s
office. These are the same ones that Vic Wekkin created. All of the employees
have seen them and have signed them. Page 10- Employer Rights and
Responsibilities. On the 4th sentence-to hire, promote, assign,
retain and terminate employees; to establish and enforce work rules and to
determine work schedules. Do we have work schedules? Ratzel said right now the
garage foreman assigns it. Under Job Performance and Appraisals do we have
evaluations or do we need new forms? Is everything included in these forms?
Ratzel said yes they are. Chermack had a question on time cards. Employees not
required or unable to use the Time Clock cards must submit in writing their
hours worked to the Town of Barnes Clerk and must be approved by the Town of
Barnes Board designate. Who would that be? Ratzel said the Transfer site worker
or
someone who does not have access to the building-no door code. The cleaning
person puts down her own time and turns it in. The clerk documents the file
clerk’s hours. Chermack also asked about the Work Code Guides. Are we using
this? Yes, since June or July of this year. The next issue was Overtime /
Compensatory Time. All compensatory time must be used within 90 days......and
must be used before December 31st. Use of compensatory time is at
the discretion of the Town of Barnes Board or designee. Who is this? Ratzel
said right now that would be the chairman. How would this be implemented?
Ratzel said it would all have to be documented. It has to be tracked. Ratzel
said that he has had dialog with the highway department. This is cumbersome and
should be left optional. It is not always feasible to take the time off. He
recommends that we change that to use it at the discretion of the Town Board or
designate. There was more discussion on this issue. Tom Renz said to just leave
it as is and any time left at the end would just be paid out as overtime to
clear out the year. You keep a tally of each employee. Len Schiller said that
he would be in favor of eliminating this issue all together. It has not been
used in the past. We don’t have a large enough crew for this. Ratzel agreed
with this. We’ll settle this at the next meeting. Meinke had a question on the
designate issue. You go from a five -man board decision to a one-man. This
could cause problems. It should go to the supervisor first. Should this be put
under this issue? Some actions can only be done by the Town Board unless it
designated. Most are not designated. Renz said that department heads should be
the first ones to address the issue. If it goes past this, then the Town Board
or designate will take action. Meinke said he had a problem with # 3-Corrective
Action (Suspension by the Town of Barnes Board or Designate) Ratzel said the
statues say that all actions must be done by the Town Board or it’s designate.
Chermack said that perhaps the statutes could be included in this. Renz asked
if the Fire and Ambulance Departments are under these same rules as they have
their own documents. This will be as an addendum to this. If this violates any
state laws, that will also supercede this. Schiller asked why his department
didn’t work the same way. The highway workers are at-will employees. The fire
and ambulance are paid volunteers. Meinke had a question on page 6-The Town of
Barnes Management, responsible for employees, is required to hold four safety
meetings each year. Is that a designate too? Ratzel said yes. The board is the
management. The wording will have to be worked out. Scharlau asked why the
corrective action has to be different between the different department heads.
Why can’t there be a standard set of rules for everyone? You can’t terminate
the volunteers-You can, but the application is a little different. We will run
this past the attorney. Donna Porter as designate for the Ambulance Department
said that the board has the final say. The Medical Director can also take the
license of a member. This issue will be postponed until the January meeting.
DSL
Line for the Town-Discussion on getting this service-Ratzel explained a little about the
DSL line. It would free up a line so that our messages can get through and the
fax can be accessed at all times even when the Internet is in use. The clerk
also called the phone company and had our Line1 be able to transfer to Line 2
if Line 1 is busy and if Line 2 is busy, then the voice mail will pick that up.
This will help a little with volume calling also. Webb spoke with the clerk by
phone this afternoon and said she would be looking at all of the lines that the
town has to see what is needed and what is not. She was for the new DSL line.
Ratzel was unsure of what the cost would be. For residential service this is
about $39.00 per month. He didn’t know what it would be for us. This will be
looked into. This will do much to improve communications. Chermack said she
knew hard it is sometimes to get through and would be for this new DSL line. Motion
(Chermack /
Scharlau) to go with the DSL line. A roll call vote was taken;
Scharlau, yes; Chermack, yes; Meinke, yes and Ratzel, yes. Motion carried. Webb will be asked to look
into the line issues.
Ordinances-Set date for all-board
review of ordinances-There was discussion on what date would be best. The date
would be set tentatively for Thursday January 8, 2004 at 6:00PM at the town
hall. This will be an
open
meeting.
Public Comment Session-5 Minute limit for anyone
not on agenda-Janine Watts asked if there was an update on the Steve Hanes
property on Highway 27 as far as cleaning up the property. Mike Furtak has
indicated that the county zoning has been working with Mr. Hanes on this.
Chermack said that the county only has enough money set aside {$25,000.00} to
go after one case a year. They have used up most of that
money on this issue. It is further along that what
is thought. There aren’t enough personnel to do all the work. Chermack said
that bill NR-115 addressed this kind of thing. The DNR is also involved with
this issue, but it
is very hard to get a hold of anyone Meinke said.
Dick Collyard suggested a written letter from the town to these agencies. This
letter would ask where the issue stands and to have a written confirmation from
them as to what is being done. The
clerk will check with Furtak on Tuesday.
Cemetery Committee-Bud Pease-Pease said that there was one
burial for Donald Kline on December 10, 2003. Other than that, there was no
activity and everything was fine. Pease did note that the flag at the cemetery
was removed as it was badly torn. There was a discussion on the flag. The clerk
will ask Dean Peet about getting a new one from the VFW. Pease asked if his
slot on the agenda could be moved closer to the beginning of the meeting. There
was discussion on the feasibility of just handing in a report. This was what
the original motion of 2000 set. This issue will be addressed at a later
meeting. After discussion, the board agreed to put the Cemetery Report, for
future meetings, after the Clerk’s Correspondence or after any License
Applications that need to be heard. Meinke asked about an issue. Meinke asked
how many veterans were buried in our cemetery. The county has some sort of
funds for the upkeep and maintenance of these graves, evidently. Pease said
that he would look into the matter once the snow cover is gone. The VFW may
also have this information. There are other veteran’s organizations also. There
was also a question on why the town does not plow the cemetery in the winter.
The roads are narrow and the gravesites could be damaged. The main drag in
could be plowed, but not the off roads. This will be looked at.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Updates-Chermack said that
26 people had met on
December 10th to fill envelops for the
survey being taken by Cedar Corporation for the Land Use Planning. 1675 surveys
were mailed out. Cedar Corporation said that so far 150 completed surveys have
been returned to them. There will be a press release to the Northwoods
Shopper and The County Journal letting all renters or other
interested parties know of the survey and where one could pick up a survey. The
next meeting of the CLUP will most likely be held on January 15, 2004 at the
hall.
Centennial Committee-There was no representative
from the committee in attendance. The clerk said that the committee meets the
third Thursday morning at Downtown Barnes at 9:00AM. They welcome all to attend
and contribute information. There was a bulletin included with the tax
statements that were sent out in December from the Centennial Committee.
Everyone is urged to read this insert and send back any information that they
may have for the Centennial Celebration or contact a Centennial Committee
member.
BADC-Updates-Meinke said that most of this was covered
in the earlier agenda item. The BADC met on the 4th of December and
had a representative from Cooper Engineering speak. There is no activity going
on at this time.
Department Head Reports:
Ambulance Report- Donna Porter was the representative for
Viola Friermood. She gave the following report prepared by Mrs. Friermood:
There were 3 calls since last meeting. 1-Mutual Aid
with Great Divide [4-car accident], 1 transport to Hayward and 1 to Duluth.
There was 1 call to look for a fire on Kelly Lake Road and then go to a chimney
fire on Lower Lake Road.
Mark Paulus from Physio Control checked 6 of the
defibs. The other 3 will be sent to him after we get loaners.
We had some of our 1250 radios set up with the
frequencies for the other county grant. I will take the other 2 to Superior
when I go up there. [Renz said that this was for emergency responses when
multiple agencies respond to the same scene-Incident Command Scene.]
Marilee (Ludgatis) quit the ambulance service, as
did Lynn Skandel. Both were for health problems.
We are looking for people who would like to be EMTs
or First Responders. Anyone interested contact Vi.
Viola S. Friermood, Ambulance Director
There was discussion on the issue of the ambulance
equipment and that the department should have a check and verification of all
equipment once a year like the Fire Department will have. Ratzel said he would
speak to the Ambulance Director about this issue. Porter said that with the
resignations of the 2 EMTs, there would possibly be equipment available that
could be used by the Fire Department or Ambulance Department for new recruits.
The equipment issued to these people will be called in. Porter also said that
she has 2 radios and that the Fire Department could have one of hers if they
need it. Meinke asked if there was anything we could do to get more recruits.
Donna Porter said that a while back there was an attempt to get more EMTs, etc.
by putting an article in the paper. This did not produce many responses she
said. Ratzel read the letter from our attorney concerning the Refusal of
Service form. All requests for attorney
reviews must go through the board first. There was a discussion on the Refusal
of Service form that Gene Miller has submitted to our attorney for review.
Ratzel said it was OK to have things like this go to the attorney, but this
should go through the board first, as the town pays for the costs of the
attorney. There was discussion on who had the authority to do this in the departments.
[The Fire Department Report was given
earlier]
Constable Report-Mike O’Keefe gave the following report:
There were 18 calls for the month. There were
several calls during deer season from the sheriff’s department, 2-Tresspassing,
3 –Alarms,5-closed area complaints, 2 assist motorists, 3-Respond with Fire
Department, 2 ATV complaints and 1 hit and run.
Ratzel asked what kind of ATV violations there were.
These were just to have them stay off the shoulders. The alarms were 2
break-ins in sheds, but the rest were no problems found.
Garage Report-Len Schiller: Schiller reported that 1 crew member
was off for 2 days due to an injury, but that he is back to work. The wheel
bearing went out on the 1997 dump truck. This was repaired. The plowing,
salting and sanding have been on- going. Ratzel said that the 1987 truck was
pushing the limits of its capabilities. There are problems with the clutch and
hydraulic system. Schiller said they try not to use this truck in the winter. There are other major issues with this
truck. There was a discussion on the driveway snowplowing and if there is a cut
off date when people can still sign up. There is nothing in writing that says
there is a cut off date, only a provision for additional fees. The board will
look at this issue at the January meeting and review the snowplowing agreement
and requirement form.
Board Member Reports-
Jack Meinke- He had nothing more to add except to thank those
who came tonight.
Chris Webb-Absent
Dave Scharlau-Scharlau said he had talked with Dale Brevak from
the county highway department about the South Shore Bridge issue. Nothing has
been done yet. The Federal Government hasn’t gotten back to them yet. As to the
Waterways issue at the River Road Bridge and the channels between the various
lakes, Birch and Middle and Bony, he has had no response back from the DNR. He
will try to contact Diane Dalton who is in charge of it to see if she has any
more on this.
Dixie Chermack- Chermack asked about the letter that the
board members had received from the residents on Witch’s Bay Road regarding
that road. She did not see this road on the road plan for 2004. Meinke asked if
she had gotten a copy of the new 5-year plan for town roads, as that was one of
the roads to be addressed. Chermack asked if there was any idea of when this
road would be done. Meinke said that the board should not make a time
commitment for these roads, as we don’t know what will happen. The town can’t
do all the roads in one year. He can figure out about what it will cost, but
the town can’t commit at this time. A lot depends on if we get the TRIP-D money
from the Pease Road. The town can send the people a letter to tell them how the
5-year plan works and what goals we have and what the criteria are for the
roads. Meinke
thought it was good that the people do get informed
on what’s happening and that the roads are getting consideration. Scharlau said
he had been questioned on the Tomahawk Lake Road to have some work done.
The letter from the people on Witch’s Bay Road said
that in spring the road was almost impassable. A lot of roads in town are bad
in spring.
Dave Scharlau-Scharlau said he had talked with Dale Brevak from
the county highway department about the South Shore Bridge issue. Nothing has
been done yet. The Federal Government hasn’t gotten back to them yet. As to the
Waterways issue at the River Road Bridge and the channels between the various
lakes, he has had no response back from the DNR. He will try to contact Diane
Dalton to see if she has any more on this.
Gene Ratzel-Ratzel spoke on some of the concerns he had with
the snow plowing. He hasn’t had a lot of calls. He reported that a school bus
had gotten stuck, but it was not on a town road but on a turn around. The
school was on the town about the plowing, however. Ratzel said it was not
possible to get all of the school bus routes and the main town roads done by
that early in the morning. He will be responding to the school administrator on
this issue. There was discussion on the school having the responsibility to
tell the drivers not to go on these roads. The decision comes from the
administrator, not the driver. The first snowstorm was a disaster because of
the kind of snow it was and the traffic that beat it down. We also had a driver
down because of injury. Many of the main roads had to be reworked because of
rutting. Schiller said each snowfall is different. Pease said that you’d never
solve the problem. You may help it, but you’ll not solve it. If there is a
medical situation the crew will stop what they are doing to open the road or
drive. People need to have their vehicle in good order and have good tires on
their vehicle.
Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to adjourn the
meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:37PM.
Members of the board in attendance: Chairman Gene Ratzel,
Supervisors Dave Scharlau, Dixie Chermack, and Jack Meinke. Also present were
the Treasurer Debbie Sesko and Clerk Lu Peet.
Absent: Chris Webb-Weather delay in Minneapolis.
Members of the community present: Donna Porter, Dick
Collyard, Janine Watts, Mike O’Keefe, Bud Pease, Colin Nowaczyk, Tom Renz,
Daryl Shemwell, Brad Brunner, Diane Rupnow, Bill Cirhan and Len Schiller. There
may have others not noted or signed in.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucille J. Peet
Barnes Town Clerk
Dated this 17th day of December 2003