Town Meeting Minutes | July 8, 2019
The monthly meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cedar Lake was held on Monday, July 8, 2019 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 present were 13 other person. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The minutes from the previous meeting were read. The minutes were approved as read by Kory and seconded by Tony. Approved by all.
Under public input, Roger Roux spoke about how spectacular & beautiful fireworks were this year. The weather co-operated. All comments have been very positive. Lots of people in attendance.
Ken then explained that Rod & Debbie Megankurth are appearing to request a variance to build a garage on the west side of their cabin. The property is already out of compliance as the cabin was built 20ft. off the lot line instead of the regulation 30 ft.. They are applying to the county for a variance to build an attached garage to a house which is already out of compliance. After brief discussion, the Board approved and signed the paperwork for the county.
The next item is the financial report given by Gladys Roux, treasurer. She balances with all accounts as well as the clerk. Conversation was had regarding the Buckthorn Account and what would happen if no one stepped up to take over the project.
Ken then spoke about the WisDOT removing the ATV route signs, saying they are not allowed by the State. Also from the previous meeting, the Barron County Emergency Services document has been completed and returned to Mr. Judy at the county.
Ken then discussed the budget in detail as it is the end of the second quarter. Discussed refund of taxes which is due to overpayment of taxes made by mortgage companies. Labor costs include full and part time projections and will be less than planned. Discussed funds for road work for this season. Ken has talked with Denny Hennekens about taking down the old furnace in the Town Hall. Need to see if disconnected. Waiting for cost.
Kory then gave an update on the road activities. The water level at the dam is back to where it should be. The TRIPP project on Loch Lomond Blvd is almost completed now. County will do shouldering and may add other places. Mark Servi, Co. Hwy., will go with Scott to look at the culvert on Methil. Gravel hauling, to have a full lift to the roads, is about 50% completed. As there was extra money in the fund, the Board asked Bull Dozin the cost to fix a cul-de-sac. It would cost about $3750 to complete. Board said to go ahead with one cul-de-sac. Scott has been mowing and getting things ready for the 4th. He has taken personal time and personal equipment to do the parking lots for the parade.
Kory will be talking with the State in regard to people passing other vehicles on the Mikana bridge. Need to get the roadway south of the bridge striped as a no passing zone.
As Scott doesn’t have the man hours to complete all that needs doing for the Town, Ken had talked with Pat Netz in regard to helping during the summer hours. Pat said that he would consider helping with snow plowing. So, the position needs to be posted. Before posting, Board will take a look at the requirements. Liz Drew suggested that WITC has a Hands on Training where a person could be found.
The next item discussed was the process for fire numbers. Deb Truitt mentioned that their sign is peeling. Scott will take a look. There followed a discussion of the condition of signs.
Kory mentioned that the county would be out in July to inspect the Mikana dam. Hopefully the cable and the leveler will be installed at that time.
Ken George gave the report for the BFCESD. As the meeting is after our meeting there is not much to report. Ken spoke about the runs for June: Amb. runs 16, 61 last year: fire calls, 7,36 last yr. The organization has matching donation from a local couple. Jon and Ken G. are currently working on raising the other $500,000. They are hoping this can happen by the end of Aug. or Sept. the next step would be a meeting which each entity would need to hold within their district to explain and vote. So, they are hoping to tell the contractor to proceed in Oct. The longer the project waits, the more expensive it will become. The Dept. has received $50,000 from notices sent with the property taxes. This has been in the works for 15 yrs.
Ken Leners said that he would get together with Ken G. to discuss the retirement persons.
The next item on the agenda is a special meeting request. Ken G. explained that any time there is a major expenditure that needs to be approved by all entities. It calls for a 51% of those in attendance with majority of those attending approving. Ken L. mentioned that there needs to be by-laws. Motive to get them might be no by-laws, no money. Discussed tentative dates for a special meeting which could be held, Aug. 17th, Aug. 24th at 10:00 AM. We will wait until after Thursday’s BFCESD meeting to set the date. It must be a special meeting. Discussion followed with Kory saying not sure how the Board can vote to spend a ½ million without public saying OK. This should be done at an Annual Meeting/ More discussion regarding the timing of the money, may not be approved until after the Budget meeting for 2020.
Ken has received many calls regarding the tent in Mikana on main street. He has an appointment pending with the attorney. The tent would be an accessory structure for the piece of property. A letter will be sent to the landowner. It is recommended that the fine could be anywhere between $100 and $500 per day. This fine would go the the owner. Deb and Bucky Truitt have shown that they have a good plan to address their property and are showing progress. It is a lot of work and will take time. Ken appreciates communicating and working with property owners.
Kory had the bid for bridges from Fahrner. As they were the only bid submitted, the cost is $60,487.89 for all work which was posted in the paper. There will be a portion of this paid by Town of Oak Grove for a bridge cost-shared with them. Ken made a motion to accept the proposal as submitted by Fahrner. Tony seconded and all approved. This work will be done in 2020. Kory will review the entire contract before returning the signed copy.
Next on the agenda is the Disaster Damage Petition to be completed for the damage to the culvert on Park Rd. on May 20th, 2019. County Highway Commissioner Mark Servi and his team have helped to complete this form. The estimated cost appears to be $45,000 which the Town would be responsible for 20%. We also need to include Scott’s time and materials. The size of the replacement culvert has not been determined at this time. Kory asked if that area would be blacktopped at the same time? Yes, it is probably included in the estimate. Kory wondered if the county thought of all the lost revenue for them if the road had not been open for Memorial Day. Ken made a motion to adopt the petition for the State pursuant to s.86.34 Wisconsin Statutes. Kory seconded. Roll call vote:
Ken/yes: Kory/yes:Tony/yes. Ken will return the document to the county.
Next on the agenda is the proposal from Delmore Consulting for PAZER Rating Service. This report is due to the State DOT by Dec. 15th of each odd numbered year. The cost would be a total of $3,500. After some discussion, Ken made a motion to accept the proposal of $1,750 due at the time of signing, $1,750 due upon completion of report from Delmore Consulting. Kory seconded and all approved.
Next on the agenda is an application received by the clerk for appointment of a new agent for the Island of Happy Days liquor license. The person, Christine Pierce, has moved on to another position. The Island would like to appoint Christopher Gaylord as the new agent beginning ASAP. All Board members approved this change.
Kory had met with the Town’s insurance man to discuss the renewal of the insurance. There are no big changes. The rates went down due to the police being gone. This should go lower each year.
Tony spoke about the new lock on the front town hall door. There will be a key given out to those who use the Town Hall while the Board will use a code. He painted the Town Hall’s entrance door and the entry door on the garage as well.
The Board then discussed the possibility of installing cameras in/around the Town Hall. Tony would like to also put a keypad on the clerk’s door. After some discussion of the budget, it was determined to go ahead with these two projects.
Those of us going to the WTA Convention in October need to complete the form and return by Aug, so we can get this in on time.
Tony made a motion to adjourn and pay the bills. This was seconded by Kory and approved by all. (8:30)