TOWN OF
Tuesday, July
1, 2008
(Notice
posted 3 places in the town.)
CALL TO ORDER:
The Town Board Meeting was called to order by Town Chairman Bernard Bergman at
7:00 P.M.
Val
Bremanis present. Additional attendance 18 per register.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Town Chairman Bernard Bergman led the group in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
AGENDA: Balcsik/McCann motion to approve the agenda;
motion carried..
MINUTES: Balcsik/McCann
motion to approve the minutes of the June
3, 2008 Regular Town Board Meeting and the
June 25, 2008
Special Town Board Meeting; motion carried.
TREASURER'S REPORT: McCann/Balcsik motion to approve the
Treasurer’s Report as presented, subject to audit; carried.
Beginning balance for the month was $ 862,088.66 and the ending balance
was $ 828,844.45.
Bremanis also presented a detailed accounting of current loan balances,
and corresponding 2008 and
2009 debt service payments.
OPEN TO THE FLOOR – PUBLIC
COMMENTS:
Steve Trainor stated that there have been too many special
town board meetings, and that some of the items on the agenda of the last
special meeting could have been delayed until the regular town board meeting.
Jan Newsome apologized
for her incorrect statement last month concerning the annual town meeting. She
does request that the wording of her motion at the annual meeting concerning
the town hall addition plans be corrected and updated in the unapproved annual
meeting minutes.
Dean Nesley re-stated
his feeling that spending rec money on a bicycle trail is still a good idea.
Fred Anderson stated
his concern about large current loan amounts and other planned projects that
may require additional loans.
Charles McDermott stated that over the previous several years, money has been set aside
for some of the planned projects.
Andy Bremanis
stated his feeling that our biggest problem is our infrastructure, that we need
to look at the community and work together to take care of the roads and our
neighbors.
Neil Ruhman stated
his concern about too many projects, and that the town should only buy one
thing at a time.
McCann stated that there have been a lot of recent requests for information that have taken a great deal of time for the Town Clerk. He would like to put on next months agenda a discussion about updating our charges for records and research.
Bergman stated that, contrary to comments made at the last Special Town Board Meeting, it is legal for the Town Board to vote in closed session, as long as the voting is an integral part of the deliberation process during that closed meeting.
Balcsik stated that due to comments regarding his mileage, he will from now on have the highway crew go out and work on road problems instead of going out himself.
ORGANIZATION
REPORTS:
Town Roads: Balcsik stated that the
crew has started mowing and patching. They will start work on
week.
Fire Department: Michalek reported 1
brush fire, 1 structure fire, and 4 medical. The Open House was a great
success.
Constable: No report.
Gordon-Wascott
ambulance should be
delivered around August 6; a joint meeting with Gordon is needed before then to
discuss payment for it.
Transfer Station: McCann again stated that he would like to move toward having more of a
full-service facility.
Cemetery: Balcsik reported that the committee is working
on getting the new section going; next meeting is July 15.
Plan Commission: Patti McDermott stated that the commission is
working on goals and the centennial plans; next meeting is
July 31.
Parks & Rec Committee: Jon Meteraud stated that the committee
is waiting for GIS maps and other information from the DNR
regarding the Crabb
property. The next meeting is July 14.
Building Committee: Charles McDermott stated that the committee has
started working with C&S Design Engineering on the
plans for the proposed Town
Hall addition, at this point supplying site plan information. The committee
would like to have their
next meeting be a joint
meeting with the Community Club. There has also finally been communication from
Dave Hansen, the
owner of the lot across from
the Town Hall.
Commission, and the Zoning
Committee. She also attended Land Conservation Training in
OLD BUSINESS:
ROAD NAMING Douglas County Zoning has recommended that the town give a name to the east-west access easement extending
from
with a name for this road; motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
PARKS & REC The Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee has submitted the following recommendations to the Town Board:
RECOMM 1) The town should collaborate with the DNR to
clean-up and maintain rustic walking trails on the state-owned
Crabb property. 2) The
current parking area just east and down the hill from the Town Hall should be
leveled
and
improved to provide a parking area for ATV, snowmobile, and park-and-ride
users. Improvement may
include
additional lighting, if deemed appropriate, and signage for proper use. 3) The
Town should develop a
playground
area with safe and durable playsets in the proximity of the Town Hall. 4)
Brochures and signage
require
updating to inform town residents and other users of the Parks and Recreation
resources available in
Wascott
and in nearby communities (such as public swimming beaches at
Mary Lou Bergman stated that mini-grants are available through the
county for items such as these. McCann
stated that this is a good selection of items. Bergman/Balcsik motion
that the committee proceed with further
research on these items, obtain costs, research grant availability, and
bring the information back to the Town
Board; motion
carried.
GRADER The Town has received a quote from Fabco for a 2003 Caterpillar 140H Grader with 2153 hours on it. The quote
is for a selling price of $ 179,000, less trade-in allowance of $ 76,500, for a net price of $ 102,500. This would
be a $ 77,000 savings over a new grader. This unit has been here for a demo and 2 out of 3 of the highway crew
are pleased with it. Balcsik/Bergman motion to proceed with purchasing this grader, to negotiate regarding the
price and warranty, and to make the best financial deal we can; motion carried. McCann volunteered to handle
the negotiations with Fabco.
CONSTABLE Howard Copeland has verbally resigned as Town Constable. The Town Board wishes to have a written
resignation before proceeding further. This will be on the agenda for the next regular or special Town Board
Meeting.
ZONING Application by
Balcsik/McCann
motion to deny this application on the recommendation of the Plan Commission
that it be
denied since it is not consistent with the town’s projected future land
use as suggested on the Future Land Use
Map, Map 9.1 B of the Wascott Comprehensive Plan; motion carried.
BOARD OF Application by Conrad &
Kathryn Grev for an area variance to allow structural modification to a legal
ADJ pre-existing
building in excess of the 33% allowed, and replace decks to be voluntarily
demolished.
McCann/Balcsik motion that the town does not
have any problem with application, noting that the work is
basically repair and replacement of rotted or weak construction, that
nothing new is being added, and that the
footprint is not being changed; motion carried.
BP RENTAL
Balcsik/McCann motion to approve the
Thursdays through end of September; motion carried.
OPER LIC McCann/Balcsik
motion to approve new Operator License for Linda Stopinski ; motion carried.
McCann/Balcsik motion to approve Operator License renewal for Richard
Boop; motion carried.
GUESTS ON THE AGENDA: None.
CORRESPONDENCE: Gordon-Wascott
Wascott Volunteer Fire Department Financial Report
PAY BILLS: The Board approved all bills submitted for
payment (checks # 18241 through #18304).
ADJOURNMENT: McCann/Balcsik motion to adjourn at 8:50
P.M.; motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
_________________________________
Val
Bremanis – Town Clerk/Treasurer