Town Meeting Minutes July 11, 2022
June 30, 2022 Special Meeting
A special meeting was held on Thursday, June 30, 2022,8:30 AM for the purpose of a liquor/beer license application which was received late from the Island of Happy Days, Stout’s Island. This application is for the licensing period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The agent applying for this license is Olivia Yonkers. Appearing were Ken Leners, Chairman, Supervisor, Tony Wolff and Clerk, Maryhelen Drew.
A motion was made by Ken to approve the renewal as submitted. Tony seconded the motion and all were in favor.
Ken made the motion to adjourn the meeting and all approved. (8:34)
July 11, 2022 Monthly Meeting
The monthly meeting of the town board of the Town of Cedar Lake was held on Monday, July 11, 2022 at 6:30 PM at the Cedar Lake Town Hall in Mikana. Present were Ken Leners, Chairman, Supervisors, Tony Wolff and Kory Weiss, Clerk, Maryhelen Drew and Treasurer, Gladys Roux. Present were 15 persons in the town hall and 10 attended by Zoom.
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance. The minutes from the previous meeting were read. Tony made the motion to approve the minutes as read. Kory seconded the motion and all approved.
Under public input, Mike Hessling reminded the Board of the statutes to repair/maintain boat landings. He wondered if there were funds available, maybe through the ARPA for the project. He emphasized that the land is and always will be open to all. Improvements should go according to statutes.
Next under public input, Ken would like to point out that there is misinformation in the minutes from last month regarding loss of shared revenue if we go forward with a fee for camp sites. Shared revenue would not be affected if an ordinance is adopted that establishes a campsite fee. Also, mis- information in that this situation does not pertain to the information supplied by Gladys, treasurer, at the last meeting. Tony asked if this was in regard to taxing property which Gladys had read last month from a WTA attorney. Ken said that the information that Gladys provided did not pertain to the potential Ordinance governing recreational residential dwellings in the Town of Cedar Lake as the response from the WTA attorney addressed personal property (tent, RV, camper trailer, etc.), not real property (land parcels). Gladys asked if a fee was not a tax? Ken then went over the ordinance draft. The question as to why hold a referendum when there is a difference of opinion from attorneys was determined to be irrelevant as the information provided by Gladys did not pertain to the proposed ordinance. There followed discussion with Kory stating that it must be made clear that all attorneys are answering the same question.
Gladys then gave the financial report for the past month. The Town has received the second half of the ARPA from the Federal Government in the amount of $49351.22. The treasurer balances with all bank accounts as well as the clerk.
Ken went on to discuss the status of the budget at the end of the second quarter. The Town received disaster funds from the state to help with the culvert on Methil Drive last year. Ken then discussed the disbursements. Kory then spoke about the road projects for this year. The LRIP project application only offered $17277.68 for assistance in a road project where the town would need to supply $215222.32 to complete the project, 1.7 mile. The figures for Lemler Road are $2275.33 per mile with a total of $398000. It appears that this project is up about $40000.00 from 2021. Kory wanted to know what answer to give the county on this project. The Town would be able to carry a balance due for the county into 2023 without paying interest on the project. As the county buys from Monarch Paving, the board must approve the bid from Monarch. A motion was made by Kory to accept the asphalt pricing from Monarch for the Lemler Rd. project. Ken seconded. Roll call vote: Kory, Yes: Ken,Yes: Tony, yes.
The next item on the budget brought up for discussion is regarding the life of the vehicles. Asked Kory when we should move forward on new purchases. If we needed to replace, Kory suggested the 2015 dump truck be replaced. It was decided that the town would pay off the existing loans before buying new equipment.
The next item on the agenda was discussion of road projects. Most have already been discussed in the previous discussion. There have been storms to clean up after, and grading of gravel roads has been delayed due to current drought conditions.
Tony had a note that Tom Nanstad was wondering why main street did not have “no parking signs”. Kory had the original map of the parade committee’s original plan for the signs. It is decided that going forward the parade committee would need to make all their requests in writing so there is no confusion. The “no parking” signs have all been taken down and are stored.
Kory had a discussion with a resident asking why the town does not have Christmas decorations. This was due to a letter which had been sent to all to remove all items on the Xcel Energy poles. Kory has credible information that we can have the decorations installed again. The last time we installed them, we rented a lift to complete the right way. This will be discussed later in the fall.
Next on the agenda is Mike Hessling with the update from the BFCESD. The next meeting will be on Thursday, July 15 in Birchwood. Even though there has not been a meeting since the Town’s last meeting, there are a few updates. Bids will be accepted and opened by 2 PM on July 21 for bid packages for the new building. There will be a closed session to award contractors the 16 work packages. Kory asked why it would be a closed session? Mike said that it would enable the committee to discuss information which could sway the bidding process. It was suggested that there be open discussion allowed regarding contractors. Mike said he would take this very valid question back to the committee regarding the closed session.
The building schedule is weeks away from groundbreaking . The hope is that the completion date will be May 2023. The committee will use the private funds first to pay as the construction continues,using municipal funds next. There are still donations coming in at this time.
There was no new business for this meeting.
Under old business, Tony spoke about the slats on the fence around the recycling. The cost is $5000 from the people who installed the fence. The county questioned whether the town would contribute. A second bid from a different company was $2000 difference. It was suggested that if the slats had not been agreed to in the first place, we would not have approved the recycle bin here. Tony said that they have ordered the slats and they will be installed in September by the county.
A discussion was held regarding the Jiffy Biffy and the continued cleaning through the month of Sept. They will be contacted.
Under correspondence, Gladys had none. An email had been received by the clerk regarding a tourist rooming house. When she was told she would have to appear before the town board, the clerk was told no action was needed by the town board. Wanted to make the Board aware of this new development with the county. Jon Small was called regarding his bill for a culvert from 12/6/2021. He informed the clerk that the bill had been sent to the wrong address. A new bill was sent.
The clerk also received a letter from the Barron County Farm Bureau. It appears that several ordinances have been approved in Polk and Burnett Co. regarding limiting farm operating hours from 9AM to 5PM M-F. And all motorized vehicles from the farm must be sanitized. A public meeting was held on Jun 23, 2022. Every county and town boards need to be aware and on high alert as to what is going on.
Tony will contact the county zoning office regarding the supposed changes to the Tourist Rooming House.
Kory has been in contact with Republic Services regarding the cost of the garbage pickup as he had answered during a survey that the service was very low. This caused a call from a manager when Kory explained that the company did a very poor job of tracking bills. There will be a pricing adjustment. Kory was also given a direct phone number in case of further questions.Kory is not optimistic due to past history with the company.
Kory then spoke about meeting with Tom Clemmons regarding the town’s insurance. The renewal will be around the first of August. Kory had forms to sign that the town board rejected the following three items: 1. Auto med. payment(duplicate of insurance. 2. Injunctive relief if sued, this would fill a small void in legal fees. 3. Identity theft policy, feel this is unnecessary. The board agreed to sign to decline all of these coverages. Adjustments to the policies were made based on construction costs. The blanket to cover all buildings is $2.¼ million.
Kory will call and get current rates for propane so a decision may be made for propane for next winter.
Ken spoke about 1 acre of land which the town owns at the beginning of the Swamp Road, Most of the Board didn’t realize this was owned by the town. There followed some discussion of the use of this land and if the town needs to retain this parcel. At one time, when we had the old shop, this area was used to store unused plows and other big items.
Tony gave a bit of history regarding the parcel of land behind the schoolhouse to Hwy. 48. As the town had closed the two roads which had given access to this property, it is a landlocked parcel. Mr. Roen, owner of that parcel, is wanting to sell the property but would like access to that parcel. Tony will recuse from this decision. The land had been donated to the town by Howard Halverson many years ago, so no money was paid for this. If the board votes to transfer the land to Mr. Roen, it appears that the same process would need to occur as when the alleys were abandoned in the village. Ken will check with WTA on how to transfer the land.
A discussion was had regarding the cleaning of the town hall by Triple A. They scrubbed the rug and all the roller chairs, but missed the office. The toilets continue to be a problem which seems to not get solved. It was suggested to find out what other towns do for cleaning in their town halls.
Ken made the motion to adjourn and pay the bills. This was seconded by Kory and approved by all. (8:10)