MINUTES OF THE REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING

OF AUGUST 19, 2003

 

 

Chairman Gene Ratzel called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

 

The Chairman read the agenda as follows:

Agenda

Call the Meeting to Order

Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

Approve the August Agenda

Approve the Minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting

Treasurer’s Report

Voucher Approval

Clerk / Correspondence

License Application-1-year operator’s license for Juan Rivera

Anyone not on Agenda-5 Minutes

Discontinuance of Sweet Lake Road-Process

Warner Road-Discontinuance Process

Meyer-Worthington-June Burrows-Land –locked lots, easement, sale from town

VFW Post 8329-Presentation of check to Fire Department towards new truck

Review of Current Budget-Adjustments

Snow Plowing Issues-What will be the cost?

Constable Issues-Duties, fines, ticket process

ATV Signs-Road issues

Potawatomi Land Issues-18 parcel transfer

Ratification of the hiring of town employees

Expense Reimbursement Form for Town of Barnes

Employee Handbook for Town of Barnes

Return to Work-Physician to handle Town Employees

Cemetery Committee-Bud Pease

Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Discussion on Plan contracts and possible decision on Cedar Corporation’ contract for Town of Barnes Comprehensive Land Use Plan

BADC-Updates

Fire Department-Approve new fire department applicant

Department Head Reports

Board Member Reports

 

The board will adjourn the open session to into closed session pursuant to State Statute 19.85 1(b) and (c) for the purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation, discipline or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility.

The board will then reconvene immediately to the open session.

 

Motion (Chermack / Meinke) to approve the August agenda. Motion carried.

 

Motion ( Chermack/ Scharlau) to approve the Minutes of the Last Regular Board Meeting. There was a request by Chermack to amend the minutes as follows: In the Treasurer’s Report the figure should read $1,100.00- (to keep the account opened). Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to Amend the Minutes of the Last

Regular Board Meeting to read $1,100.00. Motion carried. Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to approve the Amended Minutes of the July Regular Board Meeting. Motion carried.

 

Treasurer’s Report-Treasurer Sesko gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:

 

                                   Checking Balance from last meeting                                $       107,369.29

 

Receipts # 15839-# 15864                                                                                  $       179,727.89

Checks # 16877-# 16991                                                                                   $       (268,679.96)

Transfers from Tax Savings to HWY and BES Operational and Parade Accts      $       262,034.33

July Interest                                                                                                      $               101.77

July Service Charge                                                                                           $               (20.70)

Automatic Withdrawal-July Insurance Payment                                                  $          (3,608.24)

 

                                     Checking Balance                                                        $       276,924.38

Ambulance Department Investment Fund                                                           $            1,805.34

Highway Department Sinking Fund                                                                     $          70,030.79

BES Sinking Fund                                                                                              $            5,422.38

Park Savings-Receipt # 15848 and # 15856-$379.80                                            $          10,147.32

Ski Trail Savings-Receipt # 15855 $1,091.00                                                       $            2,735.13

Parade-Event Calendar Fund                                                                             $            1,845.02

 

                                      Balance of all Accounts                                               $       368,910.36

 

Motion (Meinke / Webb) to approve the Treasurer’s Report as given. Motion carried.

 

Motion (Chermack / Webb) to approve the vouchers as presented. Motion carried.

 

Clerk / Correspondence- There was one Intent to Cut for Richard and Mary Sadenwasser (Holly Rd.) for Cobb Forestry.

There was a notice from M J Appraisal Services that the following dates are set: Friday September 12th, Notices in change of assessment sent out (up or down); Monday September 15th to Friday September 19th and Monday September 22nd-the assessor will be at the town hall to answer all

 phone calls, etc.; Tuesday September 23rd-Open Book at the Town Hall 9:00AM to 5:00PM; Thursday October 9th-Board of Review-5:00PM to 7:00PM at the Town Hall.

Waste Management sent the new costs for solid waste and recycling for the next year. Riegler’s sent a note of appreciation to the town and to Gregg Friermood for a good job on Silverwolf Dr., Lynx and Broken Arrow. There was a $200.00 donation from the Barnes Christian Women at the Barnes Community Church for the new fire truck. There was a letter from Governor Doyle on legislative actions.

The MFL-FCL apportionment letter came. (Forest Crop Lands) Bayfield County Board and Zoning sent notices of the upcoming meeting that will be held. Zoning also sent a notice that they have also disapproved the request for Laberdie Special Use Permit. The notices of several upcoming classes were received. The letter from Carthel Engineering was read concerning the bridge on South Shore Road.

The July School Levy Property Tax Credit Payment was sent. We got the State Equalized Value report. The Town of Barnes now has an equalized value of $224,403,000.00, up $37,980,500.00 from 2003.

 

License Application- 1-Year Operator’s License for Juan Rivera-Probationary-as he needs to take the Responsible Beverage Server Course. He has been checked out. Motion (Meinke / Webb) to approve the 1-Year License for Juan Rivera. Motion carried.

 

Anyone not on Agenda-5 Minutes- Mr. Lundberg asked about the bridge (Old Mud Lake Bridge) on Lake Road. A person cannot get under the bridge to go between the lakes with a pontoon because the concrete sides have buckled. Boats can still get through. There was discussion on this problem and what might have to be looked at in the future. Scharlau said the Conservation Club had helped Four Star Construction with this project a few years back and that the damage was most likely caused by the ice. Scharlau will look into this further, as will the rest of the board, as far as possibly budgeting money for this. All projects of this nature have to have DNR approval and that takes time. The permits can be started now, but work won’t be done at least until spring, if approved for budget and the DNR. Dave Thorson asked about the situation at the locks and dam between the Lower Eau Claire and Middle Eau Claire Lakes-will there be any upgrades there? Bayfield County owns the locks and dam. The town takes care of the bridge over the dam. The town has done minor repairs in the past, but it was the board’s recommendation that the county take care of the problems there. Neil Paulson, the County Board Representative for the Town of Barnes and Drummond, is aware of this problem. Thorson said there was a person, a volunteer, who is working with the county on the locks. Thorson also noted that vandals had caused problems in the past at the locks. Chermack said that someone has to keep on the county to repair the locks. Thorson said that the locks may have to be widened to accommodate the larger boats and this may cause the bridge to be lengthened as well. Mrs. Friermood said that a long time ago the town agreed to take care of some of the aspects of the locks for the county. The board, at a meeting this year, made a motion to let the county know that it was no longer going to take responsibility for the locks and dam. A letter was sent to the county. We have received no compensation for the work already done.

 

Sweet Lake Road-Discontinuance process- Ratzel gave a brief overview of the statutes that control the processes. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. There was discussion on what needed to be done yet to get the Sweet Lake Road discontinuance done. Mr. Zigman has gotten the six resident freeholders to sign for the discontinuance.  Mr. Zigman said that the receipts of the registered letters are the proof.  The board will meet on site at Sweet Lake Road on Monday September 8, 2003 at 9:00AM to read the proclamation and then come back to the hall to receive any objections from the public. The clerk will publish the appropriate notice in The County Journal as required, before the meeting. Ratzel said he had met with the attorney on this issue, but had not received much direction. Motion (Scharlau / Chermack) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried.

 

Warner Road-Discontinuance process-There was discussion from the board on how this issue came to be. Ratzel said that the residents on the road had contacted him. The Warner Road is .67 miles. He also indicated that there were several other roads that were on the list to be discontinued as well. Webb said that the residents would have to come to the board with their requests and have the precursory work done. Chermack said she would work with Don Zigman to get together a packet together for the people to use to get the process started. Scharlau said the Warner Road was a snowmobile access trail to the Sealy Fire Lane. The subject was tabled until the board hears further from the people.

 

Meyer-Worthington-June Burrows-Land-locked lots, easement, sale from the town- Ratzel said that the town owns all of the land surrounding Ms. Burrows’ land and she is definitely land-locked. Ms. Burrows is asking the town for a road easement to her property or have the town sell her some property. Ratzel said we have to be sure how the town got these lots and what can be done with them. The file documentation is what we need. The town does have a file cabinet full of deeds, but there are a lot to go through. The town never accepted the roads on the developer’s map. Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to open the floor to discussion.

 

Motion carried. There was discussion on how the land might be accessed. There is no road in the area from which to get an access. Len Schiller said that Fallin Road was not a town road, but it was a public road and she could possibly get access from there.  The town can give an easement. Ms. Burrows wants the town to put in a road. There was discussion on the issue of the town building roads. Webb said the board would take this issue under advisement. There was a question on how the town got the land in the first place.  Vi Friermood said that the county gave (or sold it to the town for a $1.00) for non- payment of taxes. The land is supposedly to be for recreational use only.  The county should have a record in the Register of Deeds office. This issue will be investigated further and was tabled until more information is available and ownership and use of these lands is established. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried.

 

VFW Post 8329-Presentation of check to the fire department for the new fire truck-VFW Commander Walt Kammeyer presented a ceremonial check to Fire Chief Tom Renz in the amount of $3,620.00. This money was raised at the benefit held on July 19, 2003. Commander Kammeyer said that many organizations had worked together to make the benefit a success. These groups included the VFW Auxiliary and the HCE, as well as the VFW Post. He thanked all of the people for their many donations.

 

Review of Current Budget Status-Adjustments-The board discussed the areas of the budget that were going to go over budget according to the statistics for the first 7 ½ months of the year. These areas were the Highway Department, the Fire Department and the Ambulance Department.

Chermack asked how the budget got so far out of line. When the budget was done last fall, the Fire and Ambulance Departments were both under the Barnes Emergency Services and were budgeted as one unit. After the board split the BES into the separate departments, the money was divided equally between the two departments, except as provided for in the budget. [The 2004 budget will show the new division, but this year there will be discrepancies in what is needed for the individual departments.] The wages for the BES were increased after the budget was completed. There also have been more emergency calls than anticipated.

The clerk said there needed to be a motion by the board to increase the budgeted expense for the Fire Department (BES) because of the purchase of the new fire truck that had not been budgeted for. The money will come from the BES Sinking Fund and the amount is $43, 550.00. Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to increase the budgeted expense for the BES [to reflect the new fire truck purchase down payment] for the amount of $43,550.00 to be taken from the BES Sinking Fund. Motion carried.

There was a discussion some areas where the money can be taken from such as Comprehensive Planning and Sanitation. There is more work here than can be done tonight. There was discussion on the other budget issues that have to be increased. Webb and Clerk Peet will get together on Saturday August 23, 2003 to see what money can be taken from different areas to make up for the shortfalls in the other departments in question. The clerk also needed a motion from the board to approve the additional budget expenses for the Recreation Department for the new playground equipment that was purchased. The money will be taken from the Park Savings Account. This was OK'd at the budget meeting last fall, but the amount was not included as part of the levied amount. Motion (Webb /Meinke) to increase the Recreation Department’s budgeted expenses to cover the cost of the new playground equipment with the funds to come from the Park Savings Account. Motion carried.

There was discussion on the Highway budget. Webb said the expenses have to be kept down. The roadwork still has to be paid for.  The total highway budget was $529,400.00 of which $15,000.00 went to the sinking fund. Ratzel asked if the roadwork that needs to be done has to be curtailed. The roads have been an issue in the Highway budget. Chermack said she had an issue on what was spent on the garage offices-about $8,000.00. Ratzel said it should have been budgeted several years ago. The statement was made that it was not included in the budget this year, however. Webb said there has to be better planning. Ratzel said it was a safety issue involved. There were roads that had to be taken care of that weren’t in the projected road plan.  These included Cranberry Lake Road and the Moore Road. Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Len Schiller, garage foreman, said that the town needs help with hauling the Page 5.                                                         REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 19, 2003                 gravel. Cranberry Lake Road is only a ¼ of a mile. The crew can do the spreading and grading, but it takes too much time for the small town trucks to haul the gravel. Del Jerome can do it for about $1,000.00 he said. The Moore Road is a more expensive project-about $10,000.00. There was discussion on what roads had to be taken care of this year and which ones could wait until they can be budgeted for next year or in the future. Schiller felt most of the roads, including Moore Road, could wait to be done in the spring. Meinke said he wanted to clarify the issue that past boards have just let the roads go. That is not the case. When he took on this program he tried to do it in a responsible manner. They looked at the roads that have been promised for so long- that have been neglected. They sat down with Len and did what they could do with the money available. If the problems weren’t addressed at the budget hearing, they didn’t know if there was a problem.  Then the roads can be entered into our five-year plan. We will study all of the road issues. The people have to let the board members know what problems are out there. Ratzel said that the issue is the small projects that are out there where the people can’t even get through the mud and the water. We have to look at what it costs every time we have to go to the roads-do the road the right way so we don’t have to keep going back. As soon as the data is on paper it will show how much it costs. Webb said the town should finish those roads that have been planned for and do any necessary repairs, but hold off with doing other roads and hold off on the spending to keep within the budget. Motion (Webb / Chermack) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried. There was discussion on the other budget issues that have to be looked at.

 

Snow Plowing Issues-What will be the cost? Len had prepared a spreadsheet on what it cost for two snow incidents this spring.  The snow season for the rest of the year will still have to come from this year’s budget. The clerk read the requirements and the costs from last year’s snow plowing agreement. Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to have the same agreement and costs as for 2002-2003 snow season. Motion carried. The clerk will put an ad in the Northwoods Shopper for two weeks for the agreement and it will also be put in the minutes that appear on the web page and also will be attached to the physical copies of the August Minutes. There will be no individual notices sent to those who have had their driveways plowed as has been done in the past. This was announced at last year’s meeting of August 2002. Anyone who wants the town to plow their driveway can request a form from the clerk’s office and she will send one out or one can fill one out from the paper or from the minutes and get it to the clerk before the deadline. There will be a $10.00 additional charge if the contract is received after November 1, 2003.

 

Constable Issues-Duties, fines, ticket process-Chairman Ratzel said that he had not heard back from the Attorney on the ordinance for the constable position. The board needs to know what is expected of the constable, what he is allowed to do and what powers he has. There was discussion on if the constable was legally allowed to carry a weapon. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Tom Renz, a member of the sheriff’s department said that the town constable’s position was changing from a “dog catcher” to more than that of a “police department”. The constable is the one who enforces the town’s ordinances, but can hold persons who violate other laws until the proper authorities can get there. Jet Ski, ATV and other town ordinances need to be enforced. The constable also needs to keep up on the training. Renz said that the person to contact is Dennis Hanson in the Department of Training and Standards in Madison to find out what is needed for the minimum requirements for the constable to be a trained as a law enforcement person. The ordinance has to be done so that the constable knows what is expected of him and what powers the board has given to him. Gene, Chris and Dixie will meet on Thursday August 28th at 6:00PM at the town hall to discuss the constable ordinance and duties. The clerk will post this meeting in advance, as it is an open meeting. Ratzel said the constable should be held accountable for what he does when he is on town constable business and should be available for calls. There was discussion on an appointed constable and an elected constable and the differences between the two. Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried.

 

 

ATV Signs-Road issues-The clerk asked if all of the board members had seen the e-mail from Dave Thorson. Yes. This had to do with the Property Owners Association’s position on ATV’s in the town. The issue was not part of this agenda item however. The main issue was signing the Barnes Road that is not a trail, but is used, illegally, by ATVs. Does the board want to do this? This is not a legal trail* and the ATVs should not be using this area. The board said that this should be enforced by the law enforcement agencies. Highway N falls under the county’s jurisdiction. Ratzel thought that the businesses wanted the trail opened up there. Other members of the board indicated this was not the case. Webb thought the issue should be brought up to the law enforcement agencies to enforce. Scharlau said that the ATV club wants to gate the trail. The people’s driveways are getting torn up. The board will leave it for now if the ATV club is going to gate it and look at it in a while. The request would be to notify the sheriff’s department by letter of the Barnes Road and N intersection infractions by the ATVs-to have it monitored. The clerk will draft a letter to that effect and send it to the sheriff’s department.*[Town Ordinance states Barnes Rd. is a legal ATV trail. Because it has not been “signed” it supposedly cannot be used as a trail. However, Board will investigate.]

Potawatomi Land Issues-18 parcel transfer-Ratzel said the board has not heard back from the attorney on this and that until it does it cannot proceed with the transfer. The board needs to make an action item for the issue we’re having with the attorney. The paper work is still not completed. [The clerk will draft a letter to the law firm about our concerns with how our legal affairs are being handled.] Ratzel apologized to Dawn Pittman for the delays. The issue will be on the September agenda.

 

Ratification of the hiring of Town Employees-Chermack said that after speaking with the Wisconsin Towns Association attorney, Carol Nawrocki, the board should make two motions. The first: Motion (Chermack / Meinke) to hire three part-time employees to ratify the previous action taken by the board. Motion carried. The second: Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to amend the budget to reflect that these wages will come from the Highway budget. Discussion was made on the subject. Ratzel said that they don’t just come from the Highway budget. Parks, Recreation, Transfer Site, Recycling, Cemetery as well as Highway are involved in the wages. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to amend the motion to state that the wages will be charged to the appropriate departments. Motion carried.

 

Expense Reimbursement Form for Town of Barnes-Ratzel talked about the form he has made up for the town for reimbursement of expenses. There may still be some changes made to this form, but this will the form to use in the future. This will cover mileage, meals, hotel/motel stays and other miscellaneous expenses to be reimbursed to the individual. There will be a detailed accounting of these expenses. The clerk can then pay the expenses from the form after a board member, the chairman or highway supervisor has initialed it.

 

Employee Handbook for Town of Barnes-Ratzel said he and Webb were still working on the handbook. There were issues that had to be added and changed. Ratzel will provide a copy when it is done for the whole board to go over. This will possibly be presented at the next meeting if it is completed at that time.

 

Employer Drug and Alcohol Policy-Document updating-Ratzel reported that he and the garage supervisor Len Schiller had attended the mandatory [Reasonable Suspicion] training in Green Bay last week. There have been several major changes in the past couple of years and instead of trying to redo our old policy, as we don’t know how it was generated, Ratzel bought a copy of a program that will help the town do a policy on this issue that is up to date and correct. The cost was $90.00, but he felt it was well worth the little cost in that it will facilitate the creation of the town’s policy.

 

Return to Work –Physician to handle Town Employees-Ratzel said the board should consider having a physician who would be available to give an opinion on if a worker is able to continue to do the work assigned. Webb asked if the board has the authority to do this. The town would have to pay for any physician’s bills if the town required this. Webb would prefer to see a policy that would have a certain set of

Circumstances where you must go see a physician and get a physician’s release to come back to work. Ratzel said he was thinking more in the area where a worker is working, but perhaps should not be. Meinke felt a person should be able to see his own physician but if required to see the town’s physician, the town would have to pay for it for a second opinion. Webb and Chermack said they would not want to work for a company that required this. Ratzel said it was a part of his former employment. This will be looked at as part of the handbook.

 

Cemetery Committee-Bud Pease-Pease was not in attendance so there was no cemetery report.

 

Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Discussion on Plan contracts and possible decision on Cedar Corporation’s contract for Town of Barnes Comprehensive Land Use Plan-Motion (Scharlau /Webb) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Chairman of the CLUPC Dave Pease reported on the committee’s actions. He said the committee had first agreed to go with MSA Professional Services. Chermack then gave a little background on what has happened. After failing to get a contract that was agreeable to the committee from MSA, the board asked Cedar Corporation and Stable Solutions to come back and give another interview. MSA also made an appearance for another interview. After listening to all of the firms, the committee decided on Cedar Corporation out of Menomonee, Wisconsin. Scharlau said that the cost could be anywhere from $37,000.00 for Option A which would be used if we get lake management grants. They are assuming we could get up to $30,000.00 in grants and out of that we would get 75% actual money. If that would work out as a plan, we would owe only $10,750.00.  If the town does not get any grants at all, we wouldn’t be going with the Lake Management Plan and it would cost us $27,000.00. Cedar Corporation will be putting in for the grants at a cost of $2,000.00. There will be an additional cost of $12,500.00 for the Lake Management Plan, if we go with plan A. The bottom line is that it will cost between $26,000.00 down to under $10,000.00 depending on the number of grants. Pease said that because of all of the problems with MSA, the town missed the deadline for grants for this year. He also said that Cedar Corporation has told the committee that there will be no expense until January of 2004. Marcia Wellnitz said that the cost could be even less, if more grants are obtained. Cedar Corporation has a good record of securing grants. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to accept the recommendations of the CLUPC and agree to go into the contract with Cedar Corporation. Roll call vote taken- Scharlau-yes, Chermack-yes, Meinke-yes, Webb-yes, Ratzel-yes. Motion carried. There will be a copy of the contract for our file and one for Cedar Corporation signed by the appropriate persons. The contract will be sent on to Cedar Corporation. Chermack said she would personally contact them. Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried.

 

BADC-Updates-Meinke said that they were still working on the web site. The BADC has been looking at a web site for a park located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that has many good features on it. These features could be incorporated into what we want to have. The BADC now has two new voting members, Lanny and Judy Neider. If there are any others that would like to join, please do so.

 

Fire Department-Approve new fire department applicant-Fire Chief Renz gave a brief resume` of the applicant James Prickett. Renz said that that the applicant has had previous fire fighting experience. Motion (Webb / Meinke) to approve the new fire department applicant, James Prickett. Motion carried.

 

Department Head Reports-

Ambulance Department- (Viola Friermood had to leave due to the heat. The clerk gave the report.)

We had 10 calls since the last board meeting.   

1 intercept with Gold Cross, 3 to Duluth, 5 to Hayward and 1 assist at car fire on 27.

The Ambulance Department is requesting that they be able to purchase a new lift cot with a battery.

Viola S. Friermood, Ambulance director

There was discussion on this issue. It was not an agenda item so there can be no action taken tonight. Meinke said that he had been at that ambulance meeting and was the guinea pig for the demonstration of the new cot. He indicated that there was not total agreement between all members if this was a needed item at this time or if there were other areas where the money could be used. Meinke felt this should be put off until the next budget year. Meinke said that if the demo were purchased, there would be a good savings on the cost. It would be $6,000.00 for the demo. Scharlau said the board should get the recommendations from the Ambulance Director who should work with the members of their department. Meinke and Chermack both said there should be some more study done on this purchase. Perhaps there are other firms who have the same type of equipment and we could get a bid. The Ambulance Director indicated that there were funds available from the Act 102 grants and that the rest would come out of the budget, about $2,500.00.

 

Fire Department-Chief Renz said they had one car fire on 27 since the last board meeting. He said he has been working with the clerk to get a minor wording change on the performance bond straightened out with Elite. Otherwise everything is set for the new fire truck. Renz also replied to the questions of overspending the budget. He said that some of the cost came from the gear purchased for the new firemen-$3,600.00. This was not an option he said. New air packs were also purchased, ½ of which were paid for out of the fire department special funds. He has been working on the budget requests for 2004. The department still is not up to standards.

Garage-Len Schiller reported that Arch Heating had installed the new heating system and would be back when it had to be fired up for the first time to adjust it if necessary. The loader batteries both had to be replaced, as they were old and worn out. As far as roads were concerned, Wallman Road was done and Clearwater was being worked on. They will be doing Lower Lake Road shortly. The paving is done on Red Oak and Island Lake Road. The shouldering has to be completed yet. Schiller said he had Northwoods Paving put down some large blacktop patches on George Lake Road- at hopefully no additional costs. George Lake Road was pave a long time ago and was seal coated about six years ago. The new playground equipment has come in and the crew is putting it together. This is not the priority at this time, so it may be a while before it is completely installed. It will require setting it in concrete. It is a permanent installation. The town is in need of more stop signs. The crew has replaced as many of the bad ones as possible. He does need more signs. He could use 50 more. He said he was already over budget on signs for this year, but the stop signs are a safety issue. Webb asked where he has put them. Schiller said he had put them in areas that did not have them, but needed them. Meinke said he had been around town and noticed the worst ones had been replaced. The signs could wait until next year, as it is cheaper to buy 50 or more at a time. More signs can be ordered to keep on hand if one is stolen or destroyed. Cranberry Lake Road-1/4 of a mile stretch- can be done for about $1,000.00, as it is just the one end and would be just the hauling of the gravel. Del Jerome does it for about the $1,000.00 figure. Moore Road is a more expensive project however. Schiller asked for permission to install brakes in the overhead doors (2 doors) so that the equipment can get into the garage without hitting the doors as they go back down a little after they are raised. The brakes would keep them up far enough so that the equipment will not touch them. The doors were replaced, but the brakes weren’t. Now the brakes are worn out. The new brakes will be retrofitted to the doors. The cost is about $387.00 a piece. Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to have the brakes installed on the two doors for a cost of $783.50. Motion carried.

 

Constable Report- [The report was omitted from the meeting. The constable was not in attendance, but he had given a report to the clerk as follows: The constable responded to 18 calls since the last meeting. There were 9 ATV incidents, 2 alarms, 2 assist motorists, 2 deer calls and 1 ATV crash.

Mike O’Keefe Barnes Town Constable]

 

Board member Reports: Jack Meinke-Jack reported that he told Frank from Northwoods Paving to do the patches on George Lake Road, just don’t go over the bid- and he didn’t get a “no”. We will see. Jack also wanted to thank everyone for coming out in the heat and humidity. Chris Webb- Nothing more. 

Dixie Chermack- Dixie wanted to let the board members know about all of the classes coming up. She would like to see the board members attend as many of these as possible. She also said that the WTA Convention in Green Bay in October is a very important one to go to. Education is very important. She would like to have more money budgeted for next year for such education. Dave Scharlau- Nothing more.

Gene Ratzel- Nothing more.

 

Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to adjourn the open session to go into closed session[ pursuant to State Statute 19.85 1(b) and (c) for the purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation, discipline or performance evaluation data of ant public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility]. Roll call vote was taken: Meinke-yes, Webb-yes, Chermack-yes, Scharlau-yes, Ratzel-yes. Motion carried. The board will then reconvene immediately to the open session.

The regular open session was adjourned at 9:25PM

 

MINUTES OF THE CLOSED SESSION OF AUGUST 19, 2003

Chairman Gene Ratzel called the closed session to order at 9:35PM in the clerk’s office.

 

Members present were the Chairman Gene Ratzel, Supervisors Jack Meinke, Dave Scharlau, Dixie Chermack and Chris Webb. Also present was the Clerk Lu Peet.

 

The only discussion was on the issues pursuant to the statute noted. There were no decisions made.

 

Motion (Webb / Chermack) to adjourn the closed session to return to the regularly called open town board meeting. Motion carried. The closed session was adjourned at 9:51PM.

 

Chairman Ratzel called the reconvened regularly called town board meeting back to order at 9:55PM in the main town hall. There were no members of the community present.

 

Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to send a letter of reprimand to the employee in question and have him sign it and put a copy in his file. Motion carried.

 

Motion (Webb / Chermack) to adjourn the reconvened regular town board meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:58PM.

 

Members of the board in attendance at the open meeting: Chairman Gene Ratzel, Supervisors Dixie Chermack, Chris Webb, Dave Scharlau and Jack Meinke. Also present were the Clerk Lu Peet and the Treasurer Debbie Sesko.

Members of the community present at the open meeting: Marcia Wellnitz, Linda Frank, Ted Caiazza, Don Zigman, Norb Kearns, Robert Lundberg, John Kudlas, Lee Wiesner, David Pease, Gerald Gustafson, Janine Watts, Dawn Pittman, Greta Pittman, Tom Renz, Vi Friermood, Dave Thorson, Sharon Moen, Tom Pieters and Len Schiller. There may have been others in attendance not noted or signed in.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Lucille J.Peet-Barnes Town Clerk

Dated this 20th day of August 2003

TOWN OF BARNES SNOWPLOWING AGREEMENT-WINTER OF 2003-2004

 

This agreement between the Town of Barnes and the undersigned property owner of the Town of Barnes is made as provided for by Wisconsin State Statutes.

The Town of Barnes will be snowplowing driveways for the 2003-2004 season. All conditions listed below must be met or the town will not plow these driveways. On all new contract applications, the town crew must inspect the driveways first, before they will be accepted for plowing. The fee must be paid and the agreement signed and on file with the town clerk before November 1, 2003. Only private driveways will be plowed. There will be no plowing of commercial lots or driveways.    

                                                                            FEES

Driveways up to 100' in length                              Fee if paid by November 1, 2003            $   80.00 

Driveways between 100' and 300' in length         Fee if paid by November 1, 2003            $ 120.00  

Driveways over 300' in length                                                                                             Fee if paid by November 1, 2003         $ 150.00

             There will be a charge of $10.00 added to these fees if paid after November 1, 2003.

 

                             THERE WILL BE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THESE RATES

 

The undersigned property owner also acknowledges the following:

Ø                                                                                 That all private driveway snowplowing is to be done after all of the public highways, school bus routes, and mail routes within the Town of Barnes have been plowed (or by exception as deemed necessary by the discretion of the board).

Ø                                                                                 That any property owner that does not live here full time must request the snowplowing at least three (3) working days in advance or have made other arrangements with the town or they will be billed for a special trip, plus the operator's time with a minimum of $50.00.

Ø                                                                                  

THE UNDERSIGNED PROPERTY OWNER AGREES TO:

Ø                                                                                 PROVIDE A DRIVEWAY OF AT LEAST 20 FEET  IN WIDTH WITH A SHOULDER WIDE ENOUGH TO PUT THE SNOW AND;

Ø                                                                                 A MINIMUM HEIGHT CLEARANCE OF 15 FEET,  WITH SNOW ON THE BRANCHES AND;

Ø                                                                                 AN ADEQUATE TURN AROUND SPACE FOR THE EQUIPMENT.

Ø                                                                                 THE DRIVEWAY MUST BE IN REASONABLY GOOD SHAPE WITH NO STUMPS, BRUSH, DEBRIS, LARGER ROCKS OR ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT MIGHT DAMAGE THE PLOW EQUIPMENT.

If your driveway does not meet these requirements, the Town of Barnes will not plow it. Any driveway with gated or chained entrances will not be plowed unless they are opened ahead of time, so that the operator does not have to open them. For more information you may contact the Town Office at 715-795-2782 Monday-Thursday -Friday from 8:00AM to 1:00PM and on Tuesday from 8:00AM to 4:00PM.ORThe Highway Garage Supervisor at 715-795-2573 after 7:00AM Monday through Friday

 

The Town of Barnes, its officials, and its employees will not be held liable for any

personal injury or property damage when the town is engaged in snowplowing.

 

PLEASE KEEP THIS LETTER FOR YOUR PERSONAL REFERRENCE AND RETURN THE APPLICATION,

 WHICH HAS BEEN INCLUDED WITH THIS LETTER, WITH ALL INFORMATION AND FEES TO:

 

TOWN OF BARNES-CLERK

3360 CO HWY N

BARNES, WI  54873-9515

 

 

TOWN OF BARNES        SNOWPLOWING AGREEMENT      WINTER 2003-2004

 

RETURN THIS COMPLETED FORM ALONG WITH ALL FEES TO:

TOWN OF BARNES-LUCILLE J. PEET-CLERK

3360 CO HWY N          

 BARNES, WI 54873-9515

 

I, the undersigned, request the driveway snowplowing service offered by the Town of Barnes for the 2002-2003 snowplowing season. I also hereby certify that all information is true and accurate and that my driveway conforms to all standard set by the town as listed in the agreement.

 

Signed:___________________________________________________   Date:_________________

 

                                                                            (If Available) - Barnes Phone #________________

 

___________________________________________________ Phone #: (         )_______________

            Print name on line above                                                                  ( Home Phone)

 

Mailing address:___________________________________________________________________

                                                                                       Street address

 

                          ________________________________________________________

                           City                                                        State                             Zip code

 

Barnes address to be plowed: ________________________________________________________

(Please use new 911 numbers if at all possible

 giving the road name and address)

 

Length of driveway: Please check one box.

  Driveway- under 100 feet $80.00

  Driveway- 100 feet to 300 feet $120.00

  Driveway-over 300 feet $150.00

          CHECK THIS BOX IF NEW CONTACT

Amount enclosed:_____________________________      Check #___________________

(Make all checks payable to: The Town of Barnes)

If not living here full time, indicate below the arrangements you would like to make for snow plowing.

Also anyone with  special instructions for the plow drivers should make a note of them in the space provided