Town Meeting Minutes | May 10, 2021

MAY 10, 2021  MONTHLY MEETING

The monthly town board meeting for the Town of Cedar Lake was held on Monday, May 10, 2021 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. There were 22 persons and 1 present by Zoom.  The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved by Kory with Ken second and all approved.

Under public input, Gary Garbe was present to request items for the July 4th parade. Some items include closure of Swamp Rd. for 5K Run, the use of the park for fireworks, allow Scott to cut the grass as needed for parking, parade and fireworks, trailer for raffle board, town hall use for bake sale. Parade lineup will be taken care of by Mary Hele, Alicia Eppley will be in charge of the 5K Run. The next parade meeting will be May, 22 at 9 AM at Cedar Lake Grill. Volunteers are needed.

Ken spoke about the usage of the Town website. At this time there appeared to be 526 persons who visited the website during the month of April. So, it is very important that all items be posted on the website.

The financial report was given by Gladys Roux, treasurer. The clerk balanced with the treasurer and all accounts. ASked if the Town had received personal property aids from the State. Yes, in May.

Next Kory spoke about the past month’s road activities. There have been no major breakdowns this month. A spreadsheet which Kory has made for tracking summer projects and cost was shown. Talking with the County, Methil should be done at the cost of $185000 without the striping. With the crack filling, the board gives the county a dollar amount and they do what they can get done for that amount. As to the repair work, primarily culverts on Methil and others due to maintenance. Culvert #13 may apply for county aid which would be 80 % of that project paid by them. Not touching the reserve funds, the total estimate is $498968 with the budget of $470200. Adjustments may be made as needed throughout the season.

Tony had a call from a citizen who lives on Minnow Lake Rd. wondering if the blacktop would be replaced where culvert was exchanged. Scott will do that this summer.

As the BFCESD meeting will be this Thursday,May 13, there is no report at this time. No agenda has been provided at this point. There will be an election of officers for the commission. Tony and Mike will attend. Ken had a letter from Northwest Builders, dated Nov. 8, 2017 and signed by Don Bergstrom on Nov. 16, 2017. No update at this time as to what will be going forward. Board feels that the commission should cut their losses and move on. Board feels that Northwest Builders has taken advantage of the commission. The money had been authorized and signed for by someone who had not been authorized to spend that money.

A letter from Wiley Attorney @ Law Offices was read. Letters were sent to Mike Klutho, C. Thomas Dow and Mike & Deanna Hessling regarding the County Hwy V and State Hwy 48 landing. Discussion was made by Mike Hessling, saying that he has concerns with the wording of the document. It does not delineate  between ownership and Right of Way. All agree on the outcome, but feel that the wording needs to be reflected in the document. A motion was made by Ken to table this until next month when the wording is more clear. This was seconded by Kory Weiss.

Ken; Aye, Tony; Aye, Kory: Aye. Mike Klutho stated that everyone is on the same page just needs to get documented. A conference call will be set up with the appropriate players and the attorney to make this happen.

Tony would like Scott to order signage for the boat landing and a road sign post for Hwy. 48.

Under new business, representatives( Scott , David Scott & Mick Benik) from S & K TV Systems appeared to explain the upgrades they are doing with their broadband to the area. Mick Benik spoke of working at doubling the speeds and will upgrade these speeds by the end of summer. Gladys asked if S & K is now working in the Loch Lomond Area. Yes, that area is considered a large node and they will be making smaller nodes to increase speed. They have been a local company in the area for 30 yrs.in the Holcombe, Mikana, Birchwood, Raddison, Exeland area.

Tony wanted to mention that the customer service is great with S & K, as you get a real person and the technician  appears promptly to address the issue. He feels that this is a big point.

Kory asked where they are working at this time. They have started by the Beach Club as they have not received permits from the State for Hwy. 48 & V. Both the upload and the download speed will increase when completed. Ken thanked all for attending and answering questions. He stated that the Town remains neutral in this matter.

Tony spoke about creating a committee to plan improvements for the public boat landing. Tony has asked Mike Hessling to take on the chairman of this committee. After some discussion, it was decided that Deanna Hessling would take over this position as she is already working with the DNR on some other projects. Ken instructed that the committee would need to be run like a regular town meeting with notices and minutes.  Ken made the motion to appoint Deanna Hessling as committee chair. This was seconded by Tony and approved by all.  Deanna has contacts with the Red Cedar Lakes Association.

Next on the agenda is the discussion regarding a raise for the poll workers for elections. The last raise was in 2006 to $8.50 per hour. An email was sent out to other municipalities to inquire  what others are paying. Twenty-four municipalities responded including us with pay per hour running from $8.50 thru $15.00. One paid $125.00 for poll workers and $135.00 for chief inspectors for all day. Another raised last 11/2020 of $13.50 for poll workers and $15.00 for chief inspectors, one proposing $12.00 and $15.00. After some discussion, a motion was made by Ken to raise all poll workers and chief inspectors to $15 per hour beginning with the next election.  Kory seconded and all approved.

Jason Craig appeared to request a tourist rooming house for 2855 29th Ave, Tagalong, Birchwood in the condos. Dirk Vanderbent is the local person who would take care of this rental. Jason understands that all Barron County rules would need to be followed. As he did not have the form for the county, the board signed no objections to this on the town form for him to take to the county. If the county form needs to be signed, Ken will sign. Ken made the motion to approve the Tourist Rooming House for Jason Craig. This was seconded by Kory and approved by all.

Under correspondence received, Ken spoke about a Recycle Memorandum from Barron Co. It seems pretty clear. The proposed hours are Mon, Tues, Wed. from 3:00 to 5:30 and Sundays 2:00 to 5:30. The county is looking for volunteers to man the site along with a person hired by the county. Jenifer suggested contacting community service people to assist as they need to earn their hours.

The AED/CPRtraining will be held on May 26, 2021 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the town hall. There are 12 students enrolled at this time.

Deputy Sheriff Jeff Wolffe, Barron Co. Recreational Officer, reached out to discuss some new ATV/UTV trails in the Town of Cedar Lake. as they are receiving a grant of $90,000 for trail development . Construction joining the existing David Moin Trail will begin after July 1, 2021.

Ken said that  information regarding American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funding is is trickling in a little at a time. We have been told that we should receive about $92,000, which we have from FY 2022 thru 2024 to spend these funds. So, need to find projects ready to go when funds come in. One could be the boat landing at State Hwy 48 and County Hwy V.

Kory has contacted Cintas so that we are put on permanent hold until and if the town contacts them again for uniforms rental and cleaning.

Maryhelen received the renewal for the treasurer’s bond, notice of personal property tax aid, letter from Northern Aquatic Services explaining treatment of nuisance exotic plant species in Balsam, Red Cedar and Hemlock Lakes this summer.

Ken reminded the board that  Jerry Frazier has until May 15, 2021 to remove personal property and complete the fence on the southside of his property.

Tony made the motion to pay the bills and adjourn the meeting. This was seconded by Kory and approved by all. (8:20)