Monthly Meeting Minutes I February 13, 2023

The monthly meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cedar Lake met at the Cedar Lake Town Hall in Mikana on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at 6:30 PM.  Present were Ken Leners, Chairman, supervisors Tony Wolf and Kory Weiss, Clerk Maryhelen Drew, and treasurer Gladys Roux. There were nine other people present. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

• The minutes of the previous monthly meeting were read and approved, with one amended changing Kory’s last name. These were approved by Kory and seconded by Tony.
• As there was no public input, Gladys gave the financial report for January. All accounts are balanced with the bank as well as the clerk. Kory asked if there were deadlines for paying the schools.  Yes, but Gladys holds the funds until necessary to send to be able to gain interest. Kory wondered what is budgeted on the budget each year for interest. We have budgeted that very low for many years, as this is a guess.
• The next item for discussion was the past month’s road work. Kory said it had been pretty quiet. An email had been received from the State regarding funds available for bridge work. We do not have any bridges on the State list to be funded. The one bridge in mind is the bridge by Tagalong, as it’s still a wood bridge.
• Scott had gotten an estimate for a new power washer. It could cost as much as $8000 to upgrade. At this point, we will hold on to this one as long as possible.
• Kory has been in contact with Xcel Energy regarding the streetlight by the town hall as well as the damage caused by downed power lines. He will file the claim working with Mark Servi regarding costs for this repair.
• Weight limits will be posted on the website when they go on the roads. Kory is curious to see how Swamp Rd. holds up this spring.
• All vehicles are working. There have been a few requests for street and fire signs which will need to wait until the ground thaws.
• Next is the report for the BFCESD report. As Mike Hessling is absent, Ken will review the information Mike emailed. Kory wondered if the golf tournament would be 2 man teams or 4? Not sure at this point.
• June Babineau mentioned that she had gone to the BFCESD website, and minutes have not  been posted since 2020.
• Tony mentioned that more of the building is up, and Ken said everything is on schedule for mid–May completion.
• Next on the agenda is the report of the Cedar Lake Fireworks Fund. Tony has good news! The necessary funds in the amount of $19,600 have been received from several generous community members and a services contract has been awarded.  This will make the 2023 fireworks great. He is continuing to look for donations for 2024. He is talking to the web design people about putting a link on the bottom of the  July 4th website to make payments for this fund. These payments would be gathered by a 3rd party and deposited into our account.
• A couple of weeks ago, Tony had gone to Hudson, WI where he did some training for setting off the fireworks. He is in the process of getting his certification to set off fireworks. If he can do this, he will donate his time to this event. Kory asked if he was trained would the insurance cover him? The insurance through the fireworks company would protect him.  Ken wondered if it would be wise to get an alternative person to become certified  as well. Tony said that anyone interested in doing this should contact the company.
• Next on the agenda is the deputy clerk position. Brandon Willger will be taking the position. The Board needs to discuss the salary, which they will do in a closed session. The compensation has been determined at budget time, but should it be paid monthly or hourly?  Ken made a motion to discuss the salary in a closed session under #12 on the agenda. Roll call vote: Ken, yes: Kory, yes: Tony, Yes.
• Next on the agenda was the discussion of the dates for the Open Book and Board of Review. Randy Prochnow, the assessor, suggested the following dates, and Ken made a motion to approve: Open book would be held on Monday, Apr 3, 2023 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM with Board of Review on Monday, Apr 24, 2023 from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Kory seconded. There was no further discussion. Roll call vote: Ken, yes: Kory, yes : Tony, yes. Motion carried. I need to check to see what the certifications are for those attending the Board of Review.
• As the Budget resolution for 2022 has not been received from the accountant, this will be on the March agenda.
• Next, Tony spoke about the updates which are being made to the website. Three columns have been created, hopefully, so items will be easier to locate. He showed that if you click on July 4th there is a fireworks show. There will also be a donation button at this site.
• Next was correspondence received during the month. Gladys received a request for weight limits from Lake Area Sanitation. Maryhelen had a letter from WTA encouraging more officials to attend meetings so all legislators and senators would know the towns are serious about our needs. A notice of a tourist rooming house on 2572 28 ¼ Street, Birchwood, by Kristan Campbell and Larry Cuneo. A notice from the DNR regarding the new pier       for the Loch Lomond Beach Club, was presented by Angie Dubberke. I also received a letter from Northwoods Technical College looking for Board members.
• Tony spoke about the water leak in the town hall found by Paul’s Sheet Metal. It seems that the insulation on the outside wall wasn’t sufficient enough so, a pipe froze and broke. The water was going over the electrical box. Up until this time, the room must have been warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing. So, Tony got a hold of a plumber, Ross Plumbing, to fix the leak and Meyers  Electric to fix the electrical box. Tony spray-foamed the outside wall and added fiberglass insulation to insulate better. Part of the ceiling came down during this process. The Board will need to discuss the future of the basement.
• As Kory had no correspondence, Ken spoke about an email he received from Tom Goodwin regarding  a Re-elect Tony Wolff Facebook post which had some discussion regarding the Woods Property Owners Association (WPOA) and how it was incorrect. Also, he felt that Gladys as a Board member, should not be allowed to comment on any of these items as she is a board member. Tony asked to have his response to the email put on the agenda in March so that he could address the public on the specifics of the complaint.
• Maryhelen said that the town hall would be used by Deanna Hargrave on Feb. 25th. The clerk will be gone from Feb. 18th thru March 5th.
• All the claims were presented and paid with a motion made by Tony to adjourn and seconded by Kory.  (7:33)
• The Town Board went into a closed session to discuss the salary for the deputy clerk. Tony made the motion to pay $25 per hour, not to exceed the budgeted amount for the year of $10,000 for 2023. Ken seconded. Roll call vote: Ken, yes: Kory, yes: Tony, yes. Adjourned into open session at 7:45
• Brandon joined the Board and was told of the $25 per hour, which he accepted. He will keep track of hours and duties—Brandon then took the oath of office.
• Tony made the motion to adjourn this open session and go into a closed session. Kory seconded, and all were in favor.
• The closed session was held at 8:09 to discuss the letter from the Town’s attorney regarding claims. The Town Board decided to concur with the Attorney’s recommendation.  Motion to adjourn the closed session was made by Ken, seconded by Kory, and approved by all. (8:50)

This meeting was noticed at Cedar Lake Grill, Bear Trap, Red Cedar Store, town hall, website, and Loch Lomond Beach Club.