MINUTES OF THE REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING

 OF AUGUST 16, 2005

 

 

 

Chairman Dick Collyard called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.

The Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Roll call to establish a quorum was called: Collyard-present, Meinke-present, Porter-present, Webb-present, Chermack-present. Quorum established.

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

Motion(Porter/Meinke) to approve the minutes of the Last Regular Board meeting and to dispense with the reading of the minutes. Motion carried.

 

Treasurer’s Report

Clerk-Treasurer Elaine Brustad read the Treasurer’s Report as follows:

August 16, 2005 Town Board Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treasurers Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Checking Balance from last meeting

 

$133,370.47

Receipts 16458-16484

 

 

$185,310.44

Check #'s 19524-19643

 

 

($434,959.25)

July Tax Payment & other direct payments

 

($7,833.41)

Voided Cks from July 19477,19470

 

$75.04

Service Charge July

 

 

 

($8.10)

Interest Earned July

 

 

 

$77.99

Transfer from Tax Savings Account

 

$150,000.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHECKING BALANCE

 

$26,015.68

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highway Dept. Sinking Fund

 

 

$1,064.91

BES Sinking Fund

 

 

 

$16,099.96

Park Savings

deposits $290.00

 

$11,193.52

Ski Trail Savings

 

 

 

$501.12

Parade-Event-Calender Fund

 

 

$1,828.85

Skate Park Savings

opened 8-2-05

 

$450.19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL ALL ACCOUNTS

 

$57,154.23

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Motion(Chermack/Porter) to approve the vouchers. Motion carried.

 

Clerk Correspondence

Brustad said she had received the Preliminary Estimate from the Wisconsin Department of Administration of the January 1, 2005 population.  It was 662.  Brustad felt the estimate was low, considering the Town has 644 current registered voters, of which 590 voted during  the last Presidential election in November, 2004.  She also said she called the Drummond School and they had 74 students from Barnes registered.  She spoke with Lu Peet, the past clerk,  and she too thought there was a need to challenge the finding. Webb stated she thought this was important to do so because the State uses this number to calculate the state’s shared tax distribution. The Board agreed the Clerk should fill out the “challenge return form” and send it back to the state.

Brustad then read a letter from Nathan Judnic of the State Elections Board regarding a resolution to allow the clerk on behalf of the municipality to deal with the State in the implementation of the SVRS without having to have every single action or decision with respect to the Statewide Voter Registration System be approved by the full board.  Discussion followed. Brustad read the sample resolution for the Board members. Motion (Chermack/Webb) to approve the resolution as read. Motion carried. The Clerk will prepare the Resolution and have the Board sign.

Brustad then read parts of a letter from Connie Balcom protesting the Ordinance change for waterskiing and personal watercraft hours from 5:00PM to 6:00PM.  Connie was asking why the public wasn’t informed of the change, why the Board didn’t involve the Property Owners association and requested a new “well-publicized” Town meeting to discuss returning to the old hours.  Brustad had copied for the Board the meeting minutes in which the ordinance was discussed.  She told the Board the Notice for the meeting had been properly posted and a copy of the Notice was in the file.  The Special Town Board meeting in which it was discussed was open to the Public and complied with the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law.

  

Department Head Reports

     Highway – Jerry Witt  We have been continually mowing and brushing roadsides throughout the town. The bridge inspection report has been received from Cedar Corporation. There were no major concerns on the South Shore Drive Bridge where the locks and dam is. The marker signs on the other three bridges have been raised as requested. River road bridge has major rot on a timber cap.  Cedar Corp. recommends replacement in the near future and weekly inspection for any signs of crushing until it is replaced.  Outlet Bay road bridge needs rail replacement.  Corrosion loss on the outside girders make it impractical to repair or replace the existing railing.  Both Outlet Bay Road and Lake Road bridges need to be wedged to reduce traffic impact.  We have received some rainfall and have been grading the improved gravel roads.  When it is too dry to grade gravel we have been grading sand roads.  Ten stop signs have been installed in the northwest corner of Potawatomi to go along with the new gravel roads that have ben completed.  The Cranberry Lake Road project has just been completed.  He thought it turned out very well.  It has a safe intersection on Denver Road, fairly adequate drainage, and sould be easy to maintain. Scott Construction is working on the southern portion of Pease Road and should be done this week.  The crack sealing work being done by Bergman Companies should be in progress this week.

     Cemetery – Bud Pease’s report stated on July 30th Charles Norton was interred in the Norton lot of block 1, lot 9, site 14.  The VFW installed a foot stone on the Drinkwine lot for Thomas Drinkwine on August 2nd. There was no other activity.

      Fire Department- Tom Renz. There was 1 fire in Highland, the new jackets for the fire department and ambulance department have come in, they were purchased with fund raiser money.  With the purchase order system in place he wanted to let the Board know he would need a new set of gear for the new firefighter if the board would approve the hiring of him.  The cost would be over the $1,500.00 limit so he would need Board approval before it was ordered.

     Ambulance Department – Del Jerome : There was 6 calls since the last meeting, 5 were ambulance medical calls and 1 we went to a tree fire with the Fire Department.  He is working on getting 4 new people taking the EMT class. Most of the current EMT’s will have to take their refresher this year. He is making sure they divide the classes up between them so the town is covered while half go to one class.

     Constable Report- Constable Mike O’Keefe would be late this evening so the clerk read his report as follows: 4 alarms from Sheriff, 15 ATV complaints(3 citations), 12 personal watercraft complaints, 5 on the Upper, 7 on the Middle, 2 assist motorist, 1 deer hit, 2 fireworks complaints. There were 3 excessive noise complaints (dogs) for a total of 39. Total miles-640, total fuel used 35 gallons.

Committee Reports-  The Land Use Committee meeting is changed and will be meeting August 31st.

Dave Thorson was asked to give a brief update of the Eurasian Water Milfoil Committee. Thorson said the Ad Hoc committee had met 7-27, and was meeting again tomorrow on the 17th. The “Clean Boats Clean Waters” program has been successful, with 836 boats checked.  There are two more big weekends left, Labor Day and then the Musky Tournament in October.  The signs are up at the boat landings around Barnes and Highland.  He wanted to thank all the people associated with that.  The Conservation Club put up the signs, 18 total.  The field work is done with 27 lakes checked in the area. No Eurasian Water Milfoil was found in the other lakes. The survey crew is now transmitting the information to the DNR.  The contributed hours are much larger than expected, with a total so far of 1842, and it should be over 2000 when finished.  John Kudlas is currently working on a report of the findings.  We will need to determine an action plan for Tomahawk and Sand Bar lakes, which will be addressed in a new grant. The grant application deadline is February 1st giving the committee plenty of time to determine an action plan.  They hope to have a public forum in the coming weeks.  Supervisor Webb asked that since the town would not receive the balance of the grant until the study is over, when would that be?  Thorson said when the report goes to the state, and also after a public forum is held, so most likely in September sometime.

 

Skate Park  Grant Approval – Clerk Brustad had prepared the grant application on behalf of the Recreation Committee. The application is for $25,000.00, and the kids will have to match that amount in order to receive a grant.  The clerk said there are donation jars around town and you can also donate money at the Town Hall. The next Recreation Committee meeting is September 13th and if anyone is interested in joining the Committee please try to attend that meeting.

Motion (Webb/Meinke) to sign the completed Skate Park Grant application for $25,000.00. Motion carried.

 

Select Ad Hoc Committee for Website Content – Clerk Brustad reported on the need for a committee to set guidelines for the web page content.  Any interested persons should contact her at the Hall.  She said currently Ron Pearson, Gene Miller, and herself were putting content on the website, they do not have a meeting date set yet.  

 

Contest to Design New Letterhead- Clerk Brustad read a letter from Lu Peet regarding the design contest.

The Town of Barnes will be holding a contest for the design of a new Town of Barnes Letterhead. The contest will run from August 16, 2005 through November 1, 2005 at 5:00PM. The contest is opened to everyone and every age. There is no limit on the number of design submissions.

At the present time the Town is using the Centennial Logo, but after the first of the year 2006, a new letterhead will be used. The design should convey the spirit of the Town of Barnes and should be appropriate for use on all Town of Barnes correspondence and paperwork. Part of the letterhead may also be used as an address feature on envelopes. The designs may include colors, but this is not necessary.

All designs must be submitted to the clerk by November 1, 2005. Please include your name and phone number along with your design(s).

There will be a prize awarded to the winner. The design will be chosen by the Board in November and announced at the regular November Town Board meeting. All submitted designs will become the property of the Town of Barnes. A Notice of this contest will be posted around town and will be published in the Northwoods Shopper.

For more information, please contact the Clerk/ Treasurer or any of the town board members.

All entries should be sent to or hand delivered to:

Clerk / Treasurer Town of Barnes

3360 CTY HWY N

Barnes, WI 54873

 

Approval for gravel purchase in the amount of $23,750.00 from Kraemer Companies- Chairman Collyard reported the Contractors would be needing more gravel than what is at the Del Jerome Pit to finish the roads.  Kraemer Companies give him a bid of 5000 yards for $4.50 per yard.

Motion(Porter/Chermack) to approve the purchase of 5000 yards of gravel for $4.75 per yard from Kraemer Companies in the amount of $23,750.00. Roll call vote taken: Chermack-yes, Meinke-yes, Webb-yes, Porter-yes, Collyard-yes. Motion carried. Collyard also mentioned the need to have the Lake Road Bridge wedged before it is sealcoated, Chermack said it would have to be put on a Special meeting’s agenda as it was not on the agenda for tonight. It will be added to the next Special Board Meeting’s agenda.

 

Town Hall Central Air Conditioner Proposal- Collyard said he was planning on purchasing two window air conditioners for the Hall as it had been so hot in there especially this summer.  The Seniors are in the Hall each day for meals, plus there are numerous organizations and committees who meet in the Hall regularly. He had recently received a proposal for a central air conditional unit from Arch Heating and Cooling and would be bringing that up again during budget meetings. It was not in the budget for 2005. 

Fireworks Permits-Display Hours, Possible new Ordinance- Collyard said he would like to organize an Ad Hoc Committee for the purpose of studying the possibility of a Fireworks Ordinance which would then be in place for next year.  The ordinance could then be posted for people to see next summer when fireworks are mostly used.  He asked that the fire chief, the constable, himself and anyone else interested in getting on the committee to get together next week.  The meeting was set for 10:00AM next Monday, August 22nd.  Any interested persons wanting to participate should contact the Clerk.    

 

Easement Request Farrel Property on Lake Road – Supervisor Webb abstained and left the table.

The Clerk said there was a request from Dick Webb of Masterjohn Realty to change the current personal easement that is in place for the Farrel’s to allow a new owner to have the same rights.  The Farrel’s property is listed for sale by Masterjohn Realty, and a potential buyer would need the same rights for ingress and egress. Motion(Chermack/Porter) to make an easement to the new owners only until such time as the Town would sell the property and no additional buildings are to be placed on the town property. Discussion followed. Motion(Chermack/Meinke) to open the floor for discussion. Motion carried.  Dick Webb said the property had been used for a driveway for at least 50 years. In 1999, the Farrel’s asked the Board for a written easement to continue using the driveway.  He suggested a permanent easement be written for use of the driveway.  If the property was to be sold, it would have to wait until an annual meeting. A permanent easement goes with the land, and if the property was sold later on it would be sold with the recorded easement on it.

Motion(Chermack/Porter) to close the floor. Motion carried Chermack asked to amend her original motion with Porter agreeing to the amendment. The new amended motion as stated by Chermack was:

Motion (Chermack/Porter)to allow a permanent easement to be written on the property located in the NE1/4 of the SE1/4 of Section 7, Township 44 North, Range 9 West in the Town of Barnes, Bayfield County, Wisconsin. Motion carried.

 

Easement Request Chequamegon Communications Cooperative-Ellison Lake Road and Moore Road.  Supervisor Webb wished to abstain from this item also.  The Board had previously read the copies of the Easement request.  Collyard mentioned he spoke with the Engineer from Chequamegon Telephone and wanted to make sure they stayed back far enough from the roadway so as not to obstruct the view or hinder snowplowing or mowing operations. Motion (Porter/ Chermack) to sell the easement to Chequamegon Communications Cooperative for $300.00 for a 30’x30’ area for a DSA cabinet. Motion carried.

 

Zoning 1) Conditional Use Application for 10 unit PUD on the Harold Ecton Property.

Motion by Porter to disapprove the Conditional Use Permit for a 10 Unit PUD on Bony Lake. No Second was made, motion failed.

Motion(Chermack/Meinke) to approve the Harold Ecton, Owner, and David Swan, agent, Conditional Use Permit for a planned unit development for 7 individual units and 2 accessory structures, on Lot 4 of the 9.8 acre parcel on Bony Lake with the following attached conditions listed in Document C:

1)         Shoreland Restoration, Rain Gardens and Other Environmental Issues A through L

2)         Building and Ownership issues: A through G

3)         Lake Use: A and B

Lot 3 should not be developed and would go into a conservancy. See attached copy of Document C as referenced.

There was discussion from Board members. Chermack said that based on the County Regulations she said her motion was a way of controlling what could be placed on the property and where.  She talked about the Land Use survey also as a way of determining what the majority of people wanted in the town.  The conditional use permit would be closely watched she was assured by Mike Furtak of Zoning.  Porter said they could place 6 houses 75 feet from the lake as opposed to the 7 unit PUD 200 feet from the lake that Chermack had proposed.  Meinke said it should also be noted that the water issues, with the number of docks and so forth should not enter into their decision making because that would be addressed later by the DNR.  Collyard felt it had been a long two months of agonizing over this issue by all the Board members and this motion he thought would be a good compromise and would be best for the lake. Webb felt the lake would be better off in the long run with the restoration of the frontage as proposed, and that we need as much of a buffer as possible between developement there and the lake. Webb then called for the question.  Clerk Brustad read the motion again to the Board.  Roll call vote taken: Porter-yes, Chermack-yes, Meinke-yes, Webb-yes, Collyard-yes. Motion carried.

                    

Zoning          2)     District map amendment (rezone) for Strunztgarten, Don Zigman, agent

Motion(Porter/Webb)to approve the zoning change from R-2 to R-3. Discussion followed. Motion Chermack/Porter) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried.  Don Zigman spoke about the zoning application and that it was incorrect.  He said application inferred the change requested was for the total 19.23 acre parcel when in fact it was only a portion of the parcel, about 7 acres. Others in the community spoke against the rezoning change. Collyard asked Zigman if it wouldn’t be better to rezone the other part of the parcel to R-2, instead of changing this piece to R-3 to allow for larger parcels as was on the neighboring parcel. Motion (Chermack/Webb) to close the floor to discussion.  Chermack called for the question. Roll call vote taken: Chermack-no, Porter-no, Meinke-no, Webb-no, Collyard-no. Motion failed. Rezone not approved.

 

Public Comment Session- 5 minute limit for those not on the Agenda-

Butch Kofal speaking for the Conservation Club, asked for Board permission to construct two targets for bow and arrow practice at the rifle range. This will be added to the agenda for the next Special Board Meeting possibly next week for Board Approval.

Dot Zumwalt wanted to thank the Town for sending Jerry Witt out to take care of Jim Miller Road. She also asked the Board to consider paving the road in the near future.

David Swan spoke about the wetlands delineation report that he felt should have been sent to the Town Board. The county had received copies of it and he assumed the board also did. Swan said he had hired the best Engineering firm in the Midwest and the report states they are not touching wetlands. He also wanted to say that he had worked on a previous project where the DNR had told him that if he wanted to do a project that would have a zero impact on the environment he just needed to do rain gardens and move the houses back 50 feet. He finished by telling everyone that he tried to do this project the right way and he felt very bad for putting the board members through all of this. He thanked the board for their time and understanding.  

 

Tom Johnson spoke on the PUD regarding Mr. Swan’s statements, saying there would be professional testimony regarding the delineation, that the report is just a summary of wetland delineation and not anywhere near what the municipalities usually receive. Mr. Johnson said he appreciated the work the board has gone through and that is it a difficult matter and it has been gone through with thoroughness.  He thanked the Board on behalf of the Save Our Lakes Association.

 

Issues Timeline Update- Dixie Chermack – Regarding A) Driveway Ordinance it was felt to take that issue off the timeline for now until further notice from the County. B) Weight Limits could be taken off as they are done. C) Transfer Site will be addressed at budget time. D) Road Sign Replacement is always going to be ongoing so should be taken off. E) Assessor- ads are in the local papers this week and next, Clerk has received approximately 5 bids so far. F) Town land owned – no action taken. G) Town letterhead was addressed at this meeting, H) Website updates, will go to committee. I) Abandon Roads will be left on. J) Rustic Road Committee, will get a report from Sharon Moen when she has something to report on, Meinke said she will be meeting with Town of Drummond this month. K) Barnes Recycling can be removed. L) fireworks permits will be going to committee. Section II –Ambulance Department can be taken off. Section III – Fire Department-Renz and Webb will get together to go over the Ambulance Dept. policies to develop a policy for the Fire Dept. B) Landing Zone will be taken off.  Section IV-Jim Miller subdivision- The Clerk is to check with Attorney Carlson about any updates. Section V- Upper and Middle Eau Claire Bridge Pilings- will temporarily fix Middle, Jerry is working on building something for this. The Upper has been fixed for this year. Section VI- Recreation Committee A) Skate Park- the grant has been signed and efforts are in progress.  B) Tennis Courts-cracksealing has not yet been done.  Webb asked to have put on the Timeline the “Contractor Road Damage letter or Ordinance. Clerk to check with town of Lincoln regarding their new ordinance for that and also check with the Attorney. 

 

Board Member Reports-

      Dixie Chermack- Nothing more.

      Donna Porter – asked about the survey results that Jerry Witt had given the Board members to fill out. Jerry had left the meeting but Collyard would ask him about it tomorrow.

      Jack Meinke – Nothing more to add

      Chris Webb – Nothing more to add

      Dick Collyard – Nothing more to add

Motion (Webb/Porter) to adjourn the regular session and go into closed session pursuant to State Statute19.85(b) and (c) for considering employment in the fire department.  Roll call vote taken Webb-yes, Meinke-yes, Porter-yes, Chermack-yes, Collyard-yes. Motion carried. Open session was adjourned at 9:35 PM.

 

Minutes of the Closed Session

Closed Session was called to order at 9:40PM by Chairman Collyard. Board Members Collyard, Chermack, Webb, Meinke, and Porter were present. Clerk-Treasurer Brustad was also present as well as Fire Chief Tom Renz.  Discussion followed regarding the hiring of a new fire fighter trainee. There were no decisions made in Closed Session.  Motion (Chermack/Porter) to adjourn the closed session and return to open session. Motion carried.

Minutes of the Reconvened Open Session

Chairman Colyard called the session to order at 9:50PM. Motion (Chermack/Porter) to accept the new firefighter Ken Wilk. Motion carried.  

Motion (Webb/Porter) to allow the Fire Chief to purchase new gear for the new firefighter. Motion carried.

 

There was no other business to discuss. Motion (Porter/Webb) to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 PM.

 

Respectfully Submitted,


Elaine J. Brustad,

Barnes Town Clerk-Treasurer

Dated this 22nd Day of August, 2005