Town Meeting Minutes | July 13, 2020
The monthly meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cedar Lake was held on Monday, July 13, 2020 at the Cedar Lake Town Hall in Mikana at 6:30 PM. Present was Ken Leners,Chairman, Tony Wolff and Kory Weiss, Supervisors, Maryhelen Drew, Clerk and Gladys Roux, Treasurer. Also 26 other persons attended.
The meeting began with the pledge of Allegiance. The minutes from the previous monthly meeting were read. These minutes were approved as read by Ken and seconded by Kory with approval by all.
Public input was next on the agenda. Norma Jankowski spoke about the Spirit of Mikana which was held on July 4th. There was a small group of kids, some bikes, UTV’s and walkers who started at the Old School House and walked to the parking lot by Cedar Lake Grill. Rose Loew sang the National Anthem at the Town Hall.
Harlan Strand wanted to know if Erin Road would be closed to atv/utv’s. Kory spoke about the complaints which the Board has received for that subdivision. Both Kory and Ken have spoken with several people to try to de-escalate the issue. Mostly noise and excessive speed. Scott doesn’t feel that the damage is any more than has been in the past. There is no action being taken at this time. We need to give it time. Everyone is watching the situation,Cedar Lake, Sheriff’s Dept. and the DNR. There didn’t seem to be any problems over July 4th.
Terry Bygd appeared stating that there is a lot of ATV/UTV use on the County Trail. He does wish that people would go more slowly. Terry did receive the letter from the Beach Club in regard to the use of ATV/UTV’s.
There followed much discussion. Harlan asked about the speed limits. Ken said that whatever is posted for vehicles is the same for atv/utv’s. After 4 seasons of atv/utv use the Town has had only one reportable accident.
Terry Bygd mentioned that the white lines on the roads going into the Beach Club were getting very faded. Kory stated that striping is scheduled for painting this year.
Terry also spoke about some nice pine trees which he had on his property that had gotten mowed up about 6 ft. by the town mower and ruined them. It was noted that it is the Town’s responsibility for safety on the roads. Discussion of the trees by the driveway which could be taken down.
Next under public input, Ken said that the Town of Cedar Lake website web page continues to increase. Google Analytics showed that over 1200 people accessed our website during the month of June alone. Average monthly hits exceed 300.
Gladys then gave the financial report for the month. The clerk balances with her as well as all the accounts at the Bank. Ken gave a quick update to the budget. He noted that the Town has credit at the Co. Hwy. Dept. in the amount of $53,360.00. Also, as we have not dispersed the funds for the BFCESD at this time, in the amount of $102,168.65. So that will come off the balance sheet. Money is on track with the budget for the year.
Kory then spoke about the past month’s road activities. The first round of mowing the ditches has been completed. The blacktop has been patched on Methil Dr. as well as Park Rd. County will be back to complete the blacktop on 27th Ave. The culvert issue on 30th Ave. has been
completed. Scott has ordered all fire signs,$7,500, for the town. Terry Bygd mentioned his sign was absent. White goods had 2 over full dumpsters. Another year maybe ask other Towns to participate in this drive. Next was the discussion regarding replacing culverts on Methil Dr. There was quite a bit of difference between the bids from the County and Bull Dozin. It looks like Bull Dozin is about $10,000 cheaper to install the culverts, 1 thru 10. It was recommended by Ken that if possible squeeze in the rest of the culverts this year as well. Need to put up notice regarding bids and road closures.
Next Kory & Scott had discussed the condition of the backhoe. They both feel that we should not invest in a new machine, but have the fluid leak repaired for about the cost of $8,000.Kory will talk with the other 2 towns to see if they could contribute, but there are funds in the budget. Scott had looked up the value in the blue book and found that it is still worth $25,000.
Scott and Kory decided to go ahead with the repair of Bolger’s Rd. this season as next year if we do 2 miles of asphalt it will be expensive. Ken mentioned that the Town of Doyle is building a new building and will probably be taking their second truck out of our shop, giving us more space.
Next, Ken talked about the BFCESD. The Ambulance has had 92 calls since Jan. 1 and the fire dept. has had 33 calls this year. The committee had presented the draft of bylaws for discussion. It is noted that Ken will be out of Town during the August town board and BFCESD meetings. Kory will need to Chair the Aug. monthly meeting and Tony will need to attend the next BFCESD
meeting.. One of the items discussed was adding a penalty for late payments to the District of assessments. Ken said that the Town of Cedar Lake will vote no on this matter. There followed much discussion with Linda Zillmer joining. Budgets for 2021, fire and ambulance were also discussed. It is noted that Bill Zimmer is now the head of the building committee.
Under old business, the Board discussed the recycle bins. Tony had met with Ray Zeman, Barron County Recycling, and the IT guy from the county to see if we could get a camera on the bins and would it work on our WIFI. It appears this will work. Discussion followed that where the recycle bins are now sitting would be a good permanent place with a fence around them. Kory asked if the bins had been emptied more often. No, but Loch Lomond Beach Club has their own bin now. Ken made a motion to make the current location the permanent location for the recycle bins. Kory seconded the motion. Roll call Vote: Ken, Aye: Tony, Aye: Kory, Aye.
Next topic is the discussion on the alley abandonment. Tony is recusing himself from this discussion and decision as he has a lot of family members who are affected by this decision. Kory is leaning towards abandonment. There was discussion mentioning a surveyor. Ken mentioned that the alley ways would not be improved. If there is property on the row,the person needs to be notified to move the item, by a certain date or it would be towed. Ken will talk with Gerry Frazier.
Ken made the motion to abandon the east/ west alleys with the exception of the alley behind the Town Hall, town to pay for surveying, marking the center of alleys. Kory
seconded the motion. Roll Call vote: Ken,Aye: Tony, Abstain:Kory, Aye. Clerk is to call Mike Clamer, north 40 Surveying, for an estimate of the cost.
A discussion regarding the nuisance properties followed with Ken stating that the deadline for compliance was Dec. 31,2019. An extension was given to both parties until June 30, 2020. Discussed fencing which had been placed by Gery Frazier in Mikana. He has a used metal fence on 2 sides and a wooden one on the third side. The Southside is still open. Ken had called the County enforcement person, Holt had been issued a permit from the county on Oct. 3, 2019 with the project being completed by Oct. 3, 2020. He does not need a new fence. The county has said that what he has completed is fine except for the south side. Scott Schieflebein, building inspector will inspect. There are boat trailers sitting on the Town property in front of the fence. It is possible that Jerry is waiting on the south side due to the alley decision being made by the Board. Jerry has complied with the county order. The Board will wait until the alley is surveyed before the $100 per day fine is implemented.
The other person, Terry Bydg also had an extension until June 30, 2020 as well. He has since brought in another truck as he collects old trucks. Terry has been working on cleaning up the yard, but he is only one person, according to him. The 3 lawnmowers were discussed and should be moved to an organized location. Town could haul these out for him. He says he uses all of them. Discussion continued as Ken reminded Terry that the fine is ticking away each day. Terry said he would not be able to afford the fine, but will do anything to work with
the Board. Terry mentioned that he had a garage in a box, he will be putting together. Ken said to complete the cleanup by next month and come back again as the fine is $100 per day. A question was asked if some of the debris could be brought to the Town burnpile. Kory said that we do not allow any construction materials.It was suggested that he could take things to the Sarona pit. Terry should continue to make things orderly. Kory said that the Board would re-evaluate next month to see the progress. Terry must also comply with the LLBC covenants. Ken said Terry has shown good improvement.
Ken next discussed the Emergency Operations Plan for the Sheriff’s Dept. There were very few changes in the plan. All Board members signed.
Next on the agenda is the request from Cedar Lake Grill to build a pavilion to the south of the building. As this would be a special exception the Town Board needs to vote on this. After explanations from the Saxinger’s, the Board approved the request. Roll call vote: Ken, Aye:Tony, Aye: Kory,Aye.
New insurance for the year Aug. 8, 2020 to Aug. 8, 2021 has arrived. Kory will go over the policies with Tom from Marsh Ins. Agency.
Kory had the agent take a look at the Town Hall roof to see if there was any damage from the hail storm on June 21st. At this point the damage is not severe enough for a claim. We would have up to 1 year to claim if it begins to leak.
Ken made the motion to pay the bills and adjourn the meeting. Kory seconded and all were in favor. (8:45)