Town Monthly Meeting Minutes| August 8, 2022
August 8, 2022 MONTHLY MEETING
The monthly meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cedar Lake was held on Monday, August 8,2022 at the Cedar Lake Town Hall in Mikana. Present were Ken Leners, Ch irman, Tony Wolff and Kory Weiss, Supervisors, Maryhelen Drew, Clerk and Gladys Roux, Treasurer. There were 18 people present. No zoom for this meeting.
The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance. The minutes from the previous meeting were read. Kory corrected the cost of Lemler Rd. to the amount of $227,533. Tony approved the minutes with the correction, Ken seconded and all approved the motion.
Under public input, Gladys received a call back from the attorney she had spoken with and changed his mind regarding the fee for recreational homes & vehicles. It appears that under 66.0435(9) this is allowed. Her concern is that the town could get sued. We have insurance but would increase the cost if we needed to use it.
Gladys then gave the financial report for the past month. The total available funds at the end of last month was $353765.88 in all the accounts. The clerk balanced as well.
Kory then spoke about the past month’s road activities. Not much happened. The county was going to start on Lemler Rd. after Labor Day, but began the project now. At this time, there are no plans to close the road. Kory has heard nothing in regard to Swamp Rd.
Kory asked the Board what their thoughts were regarding the brush pile in the gravel pit. Scott takes a lot of time to maintain. We could close the pit and monitor it or keep it closed. Another route could be starting another pile and continuing to have Bull Doz to push back. After some discussion, it was decided that this item would be addressed when the letter went out with the taxes. Also, make 2 piles and see how the rest of the summer goes. This brush pile was to be used for storm debris not lot cleaning. There should never be any stumps. There are signs posted at the site, but most people don’t read signs. It is possible that LLBC would come up with a plan for lot clearing. Doug Fischer will talk with them. Tony will put on the website that it is to be used for storm cleanup only. This will be monitored.
Next Mike Hessling gave the update for the Birchwood Four Corners Emergency Services Dist. with highlights from the July 14th meeting. The audit for the year will be presented at the next meeting. They have accepted the hovercraft which had been donated, with no decision made to repair and put in service at this time. The golf outing for the Jon Sleik Memorial has been scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25 at Tagalong. There will be items for raffle. Still working with Cheers regarding the food.
The committee will be working on the FY23 Budget August 11 with hopes of getting to the municipalities before their budget planning.
A meeting was held on Jul 21, 2022 with the building and fundraising committees to open all bids received for the new building. They met on July 27th and selected the winning bidders. The final amount on the signed contract is $2,468,697.87. All bids are firm. The dirt moving has been stalled due to some permits needed from the Village of Birchwood. A meeting will be on Aug. 21st to gain these permits. The actual dirt moving will begin on Aug 22, 2022 , with planned completion of May 19, 2023. Antczack was awarded the dirt moving contract.
There will be a change in the bylaws to accommodate an auxiliary for the BFCESD. At this time the only organization that has the ability to create scholarships is the Fire Dept. Ken asked if the blacktopping, landscaping, furnishings had been included in the bid for the new building. Mike said, hopefully they will be able to use most of the furnishings they already have. But these items are not included in the bid. Plan on using funds from the main account. it may be considered to take the cost of a new generator from the building fund. The only concern that Mike has at this point is the cost of the blacktop due to the fluctuating cost of oil. Monarch was not willing to lock in a bid at this time.
Ken thanked Mike and all who have worked on this plan for the last 12 months for doing a great job. Tony asked if the golf tournament had been posted on the BFCESD website? Yes. is the auxiliary just a fundraising arm of the organization? It will be the support between the fire fighters, Emt’s and all 7 municipalities. If it was in existence at this time it would be in charge of the golf tournament.
The next discussion was regarding the parcel, 010a2100-10001 on the Swamp Road. This piece had been donated to the town by Howard Halverson. As the town does not have a need for use of it, a discussion was held regarding Mr. Ken Roen’s request to acquire this parcel for access to his parcels. He has an opportunity to sell his property, which he has owned for many years and would like a second entrance beside the one on Hwy. 48. Most of the land is very swampy.
Ken L has 3 ways suggested by the WT to handle this. a The Board would decide to do nothing and retain the property. 2. List with a realtor. 3. Convey the land to Mr. Roen. Kory asked if the electric company had an easement across his property? Mr. Roen stated that he is not aware of any easements. There followed much discussion. Ken L. has concerns that this could cause a potential situation as we have been contacted many times to sell outlots on the lake. Kory feels that this would be like abandoning the alleyways. Much discussion followed. Don Halverson asked what would happen if the neighbors showed an interest in purchasing this lot? There are two people next to this parcel, Frambs and Mancel. After all discussion, Kory made the motion that the Town move ahead to convey parcel #0101,22100e10-001on the swamp road. This was seconded by Ken L. Roll call vote: Ken, yes: Tony, abstain, Kory, yes. We will try to keep the ball rolling. As there was no new business, the board went onto correspondence received during the month Gladys had received information regarding the new tax program which will be implemented this year. It appears that she will need to attend 3 or 4 hours of training by webinars.
Tony had contacted the zoning office in regard to Tourist Rooming Homes. In the past, the county had not been going by the state statutes. The Town cannot deny these rental properties. Therefore, we will no longer have forms to complete for this. The county also cannot prohibit them as long as all the rules are followed. The Sheriff’s Dept. pulls the license if the laws are violated.
Tony has been contacted by the UDC Inspector regarding building going on at Foust island which had been purchased by John Rupp. The only permit on file is a septic permit. No permits for any construction. There is major renovation in progress. Our inspector determined all this work has been done without applications for permits. So, Scott Schieflebein visited and informed Mr. Rupp of all the permits that are required before work can continue going forward. Scott informed Tony of other construction going on in the township without permits being obtained. This can’t be allowed to continue. Gladys asked if there were fines issued? Nothing has been done yet. The building is still very open so all the plumbing and electric will be able to be inspected. Scott will be following up on this project.
Ken L. mentioned that he had received an email from Mr. Rupp regarding improvements to the public boat landing at 48 and Hwy V. Considering Deanna Hessling is the chair of the project, the board will not do anything at this time without her input.
Kory had a noise complaint from a person about music from the Pump House at 3:30 on Sunday. This music had stopped by 4:30. Ken asked who would be attending the fall workshop given by the WTA on Sept.12th. Let Maryhelen know so registrations can be completed.
Ken asked Maryhelen to contact the county clerk for the deadline for a referendum to be to their office for the November election. Kory is working on prices for propane. It seems to be on the decline. Ken made the motion to adjourn and pay the bills. This was seconded by Kory and approved by all. (8:00)