MINUTES OF THE REGULAR TOWN BOARD
MEETING
OF JUNE 17, 2003
Chairman
Gene Ratzel called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.
The
Pledge of Allegiance was said.
The
June Amended Agenda was read as follows:
Call
the meeting to order
Pledge
Allegiance to the Flag
Approve
the May Agenda
Approve
the Minutes of the Last Regular Town Board Meeting
Treasurer’s
report
Clerk
/ Correspondence
License
Application-Liquor
Licenses-Class B Beer and Class B Liquor (Combined)-1. Alibis Resort 2.
Enchanted Inn 3. RC’s Decoy Inn 4. Buck N Bass 5. Sage’s Saloon 6. Northwood’s Tap 7. Downtown Barnes 8. Cabin Store. Class A Beer and Class A
Liquor (Combined)-Friermood’s Spur. Class A Beer-Jim’s Bait and Sport Shop.
Operator’s Licenses-1-year-Rose Skinner, Brent Winch, Claudine Hoover, Jim
Nieckula, Gary Bergman, Lisa Puckett, Tracey Levy, Nancy Loughren, Tracy Roehr,
Ed Roehr, Jr., Cari Gorud, Karen Rutzen and Jim Freese. 2-year Operator’s
Licenses-Colleen Ruhman, Louie Draganowski (needs Responsible Beverage Server
Course) and Gary Larson.
Contract for Waste Management-Sign contract for coming year
Bridge
Work-Future
work for South Shore Bridge-Sign application for Local Bridge Rehab and
Replacement Funding. Discuss and decide what weight limits for River Road
bridge
ATV
Trail Access-George
Urban
Town
Ordinances-Signs
Ken Hailey
Zoning-1.Rucker-Moore Road, walking
trail 2. Buck N Bass- expand
resort building 3.Murphy-Porcupine Trail, temporary use of RV during
building process 4. Laberdie-Badger Trail, place 1973 mobile home on
property 5. Hoyt-Call O Wild Road, put 1981 mobile home, sewer, water in
F1 zoned land 6. Kernan-Moen Road, Build residence in F 1 zoned land
Potawatomi
Land Issues-Dawn
Pittman
Cemetery
Committee-Bud
Pease
BADC-Updates
Comprehensive
Land Use Planning Committee-Updates
Department
Head Reports
Board
Member Reports
The
month noted in the agenda was May. This was changed to June. The chairman also
asked to have the agenda item regarding zoning moved to the beginning of the
meeting to accommodate the County Zoning meeting that is being held at the same
time our meeting is held. The results will then be faxed to the county. Zoning
will follow the clerk’s correspondence.
Motion
(Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the change of the location of zoning on the
agenda to the first part of the meeting.
Motion carried.
Motion
(Chermack / Scharlau) to approve the June amended agenda with the changes.
Motion carried
Motion
(Webb / Meinke) to approve the minutes of the last regular town board meeting
as presented. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s
Report-
Treasurer Debbie Sesko gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:
Checking Balance from last meeting $ 69,600.20
Receipts # 15774-# 15798 $ 22,117.98
Checks # 16666-# 16768 $
(42,302.82)
May EFTPS $ (3,977.30)
May Interest $ 41.17
May Service Charge $ (19.15)
Automatic Withdrawal- Insurance Payment $ (6,255.68)
Check # 16459 Void $ 13.35
Checking Balance $ 39,217.75
Ambulance Department Investment Fund $
1,800.89
Highway Department Sinking Fund $ 69,858.04
Highway Department Operational Fund $
1,008.45
BES Sinking Fund $ 48,851.58
BES Operational Fund $ 1,006.94
Park Savings-Receipt # 15770 $138.00 $
9,571.49
Ski Trail Savings-Receipt # 15757 $30.00 $
1,615.16
Parade/ Event Calendar Fund $ 2,616.51
Balance All
Accounts $ 175,546.81
Treasurer Sesko then presented a plan to change the
way the accounts are done. She said that at the next meeting the board should
approve the deleting of the highway operational and the BES operational
accounts and just have them as sub accounts under the general fund, as this is
where everything for these accounts is paid out of anyway. This is by
recommendation of our CPA firm. The other special funds will remain as they are
now. The money will be left in the accounts until the quarterly interest is set
at the end of June. The board will take this up at the next meeting in July.
Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to
approve the Treasurer’s Report as given. Motion carried
Voucher Approval-Motion (Chermack / Meinke)
to approve the vouchers as presented. Motion carried.
Clerk / Correspondence-There were 6 Intent To
Cut permits: 5 were for Plum Creek Timberland for Plum Creek Lands and one
was for Sherlyn Wilkinson / Paszak by Robert Paszak. The clerk read from
the Waste Tire Collection letter from the
county. The dates for collection are Wednesdays June 18 and June 25, from
3:00PM to 7:00PM and Saturdays June 21 and June 28, from 9:00AM to 3:00PM. The
sites for collection are as follows:
BRB
Recycling Center-Russell
Bayfield
County Highway Department Storage Area-Washburn
Iron
River Recycling Center-Iron River
Mason
Area SW District Recycling Center-Mason
Town
of Drummond Recycling Center-Drummond
Town
of Namakagon Recycling Center-Namakagon.
Only
tires WITHOUT RIMS will be accepted. Bring proof of county
residency.
Auto,
light truck, large truck, tractor and other oversized tires accepted.
Tires
collected through this program will be shredded and used as a fuel supplement
or recycled into other rubber products. For more information call 715-373-6104.
There was a notice of the County Zoning Committee’s Public Hearing on
Dog Kennels that was held June 17, 2003. The WisDOT sent an application to all
towns to inform them of flood aids available. The clerk spoke on fireworks
and who was allowed to get a permit. All information must be given on the
permit. Only organizations or groups should be given the permits according to
the Wisconsin Towns Association Attorney Carol Nawrocki. The issue of such
permits is up to the discretion of the town chairman. There was one bid for the
ski trail groomer, but it was received after the agenda was posted so it will
be taken up at the July regular town board meeting.
Zoning-1. Rucker-Moore
Road, Walking Trail-The party would have to skirt the wetlands area
according to zoning, but otherwise zoning sees no problems. Motion
(Scharlau / Chermack) to approve the walking trail for Mr. Rucker no
restrictions from the board other than not to go through the wetlands. Motion
carried. 2. Buck N Bass Resort- expand resort building. Motion
(Scharlau / Chermack) to approve the request with no other restrictions from
the board. Motion carried. 3.
Murphy-Porcupine Trail, Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the request
with the added provision that there would be a 2-year time limit with the board
reviewing the situation in 18 months. There was discussion on where
they were at on building. It was not started yet. Chermack said they were over
the time limit for doing something and built a very nice privy that may
indicate they are not moving forward with the process, so she would like to see
a 1-year time limit. They did not come to us with some sort of time frame. Webb
said that it takes time to get things done, but we could do a check on it in 18
months. Motion carried. 4. Hoyt-Call O Wild Road, Move a
house trailer (1981) on F 1 land, put in sewer and water on F 1 (Forestry 1)
zoned land. It is not on the lake side of the road. Motion (Scharlau /
Chermack) to approve the placing of the 1981 trailer home with sewer and water
on F1 land. Motion carried.
5. Laberdie- Badger Trail, Place a 1973 mobile home on
property. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to decline the application for
placing a 1973 trailer on the property.(Motion carried after the discussion). There
was discussion on what time frame there was for this property. Motion
(Chermack / Meinke) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Mr.
Laberdie spoke on his request. He agreed that he had gone about the process in
the wrong way. There was discussion on the issue of the trailer being a 1973
trailer. The county ordinance says that trailers must be 1976 or newer. He has
removed the other old trailer that was there. He indicated that he would be
upgrading at a later date, but that there was not a date set at this time. He
said they would be selling their home in Superior where they live now, in the
future, but this was not done yet. It was suggested that the party try to sell
the old trailer and then get a newer one that would conform with zoning. Ratzel
said that there wasn’t much information on this trailer for the board to look
at. Motion (Webb / Chermack) to close the floor to discussion. Motion
carried. The above motion was approved to decline the application. 6.
Kernan-Moen Road, Build a residence in F 1 (Forestry 1) zoned land served
by a sanitary system. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the
placing of a residence with a sanitary system in F 1 land with no further
restrictions by the board. Motion carried. These requests were then
faxed up to the county board meeting.
License Applications-Liquor Licenses-Class B
Liquor and Class B Beer Combined-1. Alibis Resort 2. Enchanted Inn 3. RC’s
Decoy Inn 4. Buck N Bass Resort 5. Sage’s Saloon 6. Northwood’s Tap 7. Downtown
Barnes 8.Cabin Store. Class A Beer and Class A Liquor Combined-
Friermood’s Spur. Class A Beer-Jim’s Bait and Sport Shop. The clerk said she had gotten a statement from
Leamon Mercantile about an unpaid liquor bill from Buck N Bass, but that has
now been paid. The clerk indicated that no license will be issued until all
fees and any past due taxes and other unpaid items are taken care of. This is
due on June 30, 2003. Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve the
licenses as presented. Motion carried.
Operator’s Licenses-1-year License-The clerk said there were two changes in the list.
Lisa Puckett has decided to seek employment elsewhere and is not going to renew
her license and Tracey Levy has decided to get a two-year license. Rose
Skinner, Brent Winch, Claudine Hoover, Jim Nieckula, Gary Bergman, Nancy
Loughren, Tracy Roehr, Ed Roehr, Jr., Cari Gorud, Karen Rutzen and Jim Freese. 2-year
License-Tracey Levy, Colleen Ruhman, Louie Draganowski and Gary Larson. The clerk indicated that Mr. Draganowski needed to
complete the Responsible Beverage Server Class before he can obtain a regular
license. He will be issued a temporary license until then. The licensees have
been checked out with the State of Wisconsin Criminal Justice system. Motion
(Webb / Meinke) to approve the licenses with the noted provision. Motion
carried.
Anyone not on agenda-5 minutes- John Kudlas spoke on the request for a town cleanup to coincide with
the centennial preparations. The board should consider looking at places that
are requesting permits to see if they need to be cleaned up before issuing the
permits. This issue will be put on the July agenda. There was more discussion
on the ATV situation in the Potawatomi area. Kudlas said he did not take any
sides on the issue until this past week when there were many problems. Kudlas
asked their board for a moratorium on any more additional trails. They have
also asked the ATV club to monitor ATV usage. The bad ones are giving all of
the ATV riders a black eye. Dawn Pittman showed map of pro and con responses on
the Potawatomi survey for ATV activity. Kudlas gave the map to the board. Marty
Moran stated that the bylaws of the Potawatomi are not filed with the county so
they do not have a bearing on anything. At this point Ratzel asked that further
discussion on this be halted. Welhaven said that there are covenants in place
and that both parties are half right. They are in the process of revising the
covenants and hopes that some agreement can be made to aid both sides. Ratzel
said the board would look into this issue further. Chermack said that at the
Bi-County meeting held several weeks ago, there was discussion on the issue of
ATV access. There is an item up for vote in Madison on whether the ATV’s will
have the same access rights that the snowmobiles have now and that at this time
there has been no decision.
Contract for Waste Management-Sign contract for year for dumpster at Peninsula Road boat landing.
Ratzel mentioned that there was a satellite toilet and dumpster placed at that
landing. Webb asked what cost was involved with the contract and what time
frame. The fee is $95.00 per month and it will be tried from Memorial Day to
Labor Day. Ratzel said he has checked this site on a regular basis and so far
it is working out all right. The clerk said she had also gotten the bill on the
satellite, which is $100.00. The satellite at the transfer site was bought for
$200.00. Meinke asked if anyone had
requested the satellites for the 4th of July. The clerk will check on it. Motion
(Chermack / Meinke) to approve the contract with Waste Management for the
dumpster at the Peninsula Road boat landing. Motion carried.
Bridge Work-Future work
for South Shore Road bridge-Sign application for Local Bridge Rehab and
Replacement Funding. Discuss and decide on weight limits for River Road bridge.
Dave Scharlau discussed the application for funds for 2006 from the DOT. Four
Star Construction gave the town a proposal of $143,000.00 for repair of the
bridge. This figure was inflated to account for future price increases. We
needed a proposal to submit with the application. Right now the problems at the
South Shore bridge have been getting
worse. The town may have to do some temporary repairs. He felt an engineer
should come out and look at the bridge again to see if it is safe and if 2006
will be too late for repairs. Ratzel asked if Scharlau felt there was a public
safety issue. Scharlau indicated that this is why we need to have it looked at.
There was discussion on how the bridge could be repaired. If there is a heavy
rain, it may deteriorate it further. Webb said we should get more information
and see if the state or county could come and look at the bridge at no cost to
us and then we can bring back the information to the next meeting. Chermack
said she had taken pictures of the bridge in September of 2002 and that they
were on file in the clerk’s office. Dan Carthel, an engineer, will be
contacted. As far as River Road is
concerned, Len Schiller said that weight limit signs had already been posted
for 10- ton weight limit. Meinke said
that DNR permits need to
be obtained before any work can start. There is a proposal out already and they
were just waiting for the permits to be gotten.
ATV Trail Access-George
Urban-He presented a proposed map that he had done on ATV trails. He suggested
connecting some of the roads discussed, as that may help with the problems in
Potawatomi. He said his proposal fit in
with the area on the Potawatomi map that was in favor of ATV trails. He also
said he would be willing to put the signs up on the trails. Ratzel said it was
an issue that needs to be resolved.
Town Ordinances-Signs-Ken
Hailey-Mr. Hailey asked where signs like realty signs, etc. could be placed. He
indicated that he has had a problem with his realty signs being removed against
his wishes. Does the town have a sign ordinance? It was noted that the county
zoning has the sign ordinance and that it regulates how far from the right of
way a sign must be. If a sign is placed on personal property, the consent of
that owner is necessary before placing on sign on that property. The attorney
has indicated that this issue is a matter between the parties involved and is
not a town matter.
Potawatomi Land Issues-Dawn
Pittman-There was discussion on what the town has found in its records as far
as accepting these lands. No information could be found in the minutes
indicating that the town had ever accepted these lands. [The clerk read the
statement from the last meeting.] The attorney said he would get together a
proposal for the town to convey these lands to the Potawatomi. This will be on
the July agenda.
Cemetery Committee-Bud
Pease- Mr. Pease was unable to attend the meeting this evening. Chermack said
that the committee was re mapping the cemetery. They were working to correct
some problems at the cemetery also.
BADC-Updates- Gene
Ratzel spoke for the group. There has been no activity since the last meeting.
Steve Schraufnagel, a design engineer from Ashland, was going to lay out a
design for the park. Lu Peet indicated that the corporation had received a bill
from Mr. Schraufnagel for work already done.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee- Updates-Dave Pease, chairman for the committee
gave the report. He said that the committee was going to go over and revise the
language of the contract with MSA at a meeting to be held on June 18th.
He hoped to have the results by the July board meeting.
Department Head Reports-
Ambulance Department-The
clerk read the report from the ambulance director, as she could not be present
at the meeting.
We had 6 calls since the
last board meeting.
2 intercepts with
helicopter
2 transports to Duluth
2 no transports
We had Crime Scene
training
We had our helicopter
training
Working on the 4th
of July Fund Raiser
Viola went to meeting
put on by the sheriff’s department about the new dispatch center.
Viola S.
Friermood-Ambulance Director
Fire Department-There
was no one here from the fire department and no report was turned in.
Highway garage-Len
Schiller said that the crew had graveled the Martin Road and Pease Resort Road,
widened and ditched them. The tire had to be replaced on the ’97 dump truck.
The 10-ton weight limit
signs have been placed
at the River Road bridge. The crosswalk on Lake Road by the VFW and the
intersection stop areas have been painted. The crew has been grading and
repairing the rest of the roads. The work was still going on remodeling the
town garage as well as the operations of the garage. The garage now has an e-mail address. It is [email protected]. This is
set up so that if there is an issue, you can contact the garage directly.
Letters were sent to the property owners on several roads that are going to be
worked on this summer [Wallman Road, Clearwater Road and Clearwater Court].
This was done as a courtesy to the property owners so they will know if there
will be possible delays in getting in or out of their road. Other roads that
will be worked on are Lower Lake Road, Lynx, Silver Wolf and Broken Arrow loop
and a short stretch of Island Lake Road between Little Island and Island Drive.
The entire Island Circle Drive and Red Oak Drive will be paved with hot mix and
shouldered. The minutes of the two road meeting will be also be available for
the public to read. Schiller also added that work would be done on the Moore
Road by Little Island Road.
Constable-The constable
was unable to attend the meeting, but had submitted a report to the clerk.
O’Keefe said he had 12 calls for the month; 7 were for ATV violations, 2 deer
hits, 1 alarm, 1 assist motorist and 1 follow the ambulance call. Mike
O’Keefe-Constable
Board Member Reports-Dave
Scharlau-He did not have a lot. The ATV issues
could be brought to the Lake County ATV club for them to look at.
Dixie Chermack-She had
nothing to add.
Jack Meinke-Meinke
wanted to thank Dean and Lu Peet for their work in putting in the landscaping
by the hall. Ratzel also wanted to put in a word of thanks to the town crew for
getting the old plantings out.
Chris Webb-Webb asked
how the ordinances were coming along. She wants to get to work on them with
Chermack. The clerk said she was scanning them.
Gene Ratzel-Ratzel said
that a lot of roadwork was being done. The board had met and had decided on the
contracts for the roadwork for the year. A lot of headway has been made. Gene
has a new program that we might use, but he has to see how it will work first.
We are trying to get our ordinances into permanent storage. We would like to
get it in PDF format where we can search by words. We need to get our
ordinances in order. Scharlau reminded Ratzel that the application for the
bridge work had to signed and sent in right away.
Motion (Chermack / Meinke) to adjourn the regular
board meeting. Motion carried. The meeting
was adjourned at 7:50PM
Members of the community present were Ken Hailey, Ida Moran, Marty Moran, George Urban, Janette Laberdie, Tom Laberdie, Dawn Pittman, Greta Pittman, Lisa Pittman, John Kudlas, Jean Walstad, Len Walstad, Ron Welhaven, George Lanphear, Dave Webb, Ed Erickson, Ray Betz, Sue Betz, David Pease, Ron Moen, Steve Hunter, Mitch McGee, Leigh Jordahl, George Martin, Lori McCaske, Kevin Murphy, Marcia Wellnitz and Len Schiller. There may have been others present who were not signed in or noted.
Respectfully
submitted,
Lucille
J. Peet
Barnes
Town Clerk
Dated
this 22nd day of June 2003