Town of Blooming Grove Board June 8, 2004 Meeting Minutes

Chairman Anderson called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Board members in attendance were: Chair Anderson, Supervisor Linzmeier, Supervisor Johnson, Supervisor Stube and Supervisor Berg. A full quorum was noted.

Others in attendance were: Deborah Sellers, Wayne Hemberger, Glenn Linzmeier, Kristin Arsenault, Bill Blatterman, Alice Blatterman, and Mike Wolf. It was noted that Audrey Rue was attending the 20 th Anniversary remembrance of the Barneveld tornado, and therefore was unable to attend tonight's meeting.

Chair Anderson asked those in attendance to sign in on the sheet provided.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Meeting Acknowledgment: It was noted the board meeting had been properly posted in the towns' five posting locations.

Meeting Agenda Review: The agenda was reviewed. The only change was to move Public Comment to the beginning.

Public Comment

Wayne Hemberger thanked the Town for the letter that was sent to the City regarding the stormwater runoff problems on Sprecher Road . He said that it has been cleaned up almost to the point of being the way it was before, and he said a person is coming back tomorrow to do some more cleaning up. He suggested the Town may wish to send a thank you letter to those responsible for the clean up. Chair Anderson then gave Mr. Hemberger a copy of Audrey's letter to RG Huston relating to the Sprecher Road construction situation.

Deborah Sellers asked when the Town will mow the area on Commercial off of Highway 30 again. Mike Wolf said he would pass this information on to the Public Works department.

Deborah Sellers asked about the maintenance of Rethke Avenue . Mike Wolf replied that the Town cannot legally fix that road in any way, because it is City of Madison property. He went on to say the Town exerts its influence as much as possible to encourage the City to fix that road. The City won't fully repave the road until and unless curb and gutter is a part of the project.

Communication Items

Public Works Report: Mike Wolf reported that Audrey will be meeting with RG Huston, Scott from S.E.H., and Derick Babler, to discuss the Sprecher Road construction issues. That meeting will take place sometime within the next week.

Fire Department Report: Chief Linzmeier noted the Extrication Competition that took place this last Saturday was successful. The Blooming Grove Fire Department finished in the middle of the pack, but it was a good training and learning exercise for them and the other departments that took part.

Town Board Reports: Chair Anderson mentioned that the two proposed power line routes that ATC is considering may have the lines buried in and around Cottage Grove Road or Sprecher Road . ATC is hosting public hearings at Harley-Davidson on Monday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 23. The Town Board agreed that they may want to have its own public hearing on this issue. This will be a Discussion/Action item on the June 22 Town Board agenda.

Supervisor Berg suggested that TIF be put on the Plan Commission agenda for June 15, and Supervisor Johnson agreed.

Communication Items Listed on Agendas: Mike explained that the Attorney General's legal opinion is that agendas should not have open-ended listings such as “Communication Items” or “Operations Reports”. Chair Stube stated that she had talked with a Board member from another town who said they don't even have “Public Comments” on their agenda, for the same reason. Mike replied that the Attorney General's opinion was that “Public Comments” were OK to have on an agenda, but that the Chair should limit discussion, and make sure there are no decisions made – otherwise the topic should be placed on a future agenda. Supervisor Johnson stated that this was, in itself, a topic that should be an agenda item. It was agreed that this issue would be placed on a future Board agenda.

Discussion/Decision Items

Plan Commission Manual Updates: Supervisor Berg observed that given the proposal being made by the Plan Commission, the terms of Plan Commission members would become semi-permanent. Supervisor Stube recommended that there be a posting every year, regardless of whether current members decide to stay on or not. Supervisor Johnson agreed. Chair Anderson made a motion to approve the Plan Commission Manual Updates presented, with the exception that one more step be added to the reappointment process – that being the posting of the position that Supervisor Stube had requested. The motion was seconded by Supervisor Johnson, and the motion passed unanimously.

Possible Resolution for Reserve Liquor License: Bob Oyler explained that he had already paid $10,000 for the original license, and he was hoping not to have to pay it again for what amounts to a name change. Supervisor Berg asked what would happen if Queen Anne's (the entity to which the license will go) moved – specifically, would the license go with them? Mike said that the license is site-specific. Dwight Johnson made a motion to amend Ordinance 7.01 as presented, to include a $10,000 Economic Development Grant for Reserve B licenses. Chair Anderson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Insurance Renewal Proposal: Mike reported that he, Glenn Linzmeier and Audrey Rue have been working many hours on this issue. Unfortunately at this time we do not have enough information to make a recommendation to the Board. Given that the renewal date is this Friday, either the Board would have to allow these three individuals to make the decision, or the Board would have to reconvene to make the decision late Thursday or Friday. There was concern expressed about whether the Board should make the final determination. Chair Anderson made a motion to allow Mike, Glenn and Audrey to make the decision on behalf of the Board. Supervisor Johnson seconded. The motion passed with Chair Anderson, Supervisor Johnson, and Supervisor Stube voting for it, and Supervisor Berg and Supervisor Linzmeier voting against it.

BUILD Grant: Mike stated that this was being worked on, and that the deadline for mailing it is this Thursday. He said he needed three things from the Board in order to submit the grant application. First, to pass Resolution 2004.03, which approves up to $3,000 of Town money for the planning process. Secondly, to determine a contact person for this project. Third, to determine a steering committee for the project. After some discussion, it was decided that the Plan Commission would determine the makeup of the steering committee, and Mike would be the contact person. Supervisor Johnson made a motion to approve resolution 2004.03, and Supervisor Linzmeier seconded it. The motion passed unanimously.

Vacating Old Meier Road : Chair Anderson stated that the City of Madison has agreed to vacate their portion of the road, pending the same from the Town. He also noted that a precedent was set last year that residents pay for the attorney fees involved in the vacation process. There was some discussion with Alice Blatterman, Bill Blatterman, and Kris Arsenault about when this last took place and the process involved. It was decided in the end that the office staff would send information to the Blattermans and Ms. Arsenault, to include the legal costs incurred last time this happened, the process involved, the name of the attorney used, and the names of the two residents involved last time. Chair Anderson made a motion to defer this issue until we hear again from the Blattermans or Ms. Arsenault. Supervisor Johnson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Clerk to Attend Conferences: Chair Anderson made a motion to approve of Audrey Rue's attendance at the Municipal Clerks Conference in August, and the Towns Association Conference in October, and to approve the Town of Blooming Grove's payment of the higher of the two attendance fees (based on the fact that the Town of Brigham will pay for the other, and that the Town of Brigham paid the higher fee last year). Supervisor Johnson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Time Limit on Discussion Items: Chair Anderson thought the Board may wish to consider limiting discussion on items to a certain amount of time. There was a concensus among other Board members that they would prefer not to do this. However, Supervisor Berg said there was a way of using Roberts Rules of Order to bring conclusion to a discussion. He asked that the Office Staff look into this, and provide that information to the Board.

Future Agenda Item - Form C Training: The question before the Board is whether they would like to have more detailed knowledge of Form C. It was pointed out that the information on the form comes directly from our budget and budget reports. It was agreed upon that Form C training doesn't need to be done, nor does it need to be put on a future agenda for discussion. However, Supervisor Berg asked Mike if he would call the Department of Revenue (who receives all Towns' Form Cs) to see if we could get detailed account-line information from them. This information could help the Town in future decision-making. Mike will do this, and get back to the Board with the information.

Meeting Minutes Approval: Supervisor Johnson made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 25, 2004 Board meeting, with the following changes:

•  add the word “cost” between “County” and “esimates” on page two

•  change “Sewer Site” to “Madison Metropolitan Sewer District Site” on page two

•  add a notation that the specific roads approved for repair will be listed on the Town's website

Supervisor Berg seconded the motion, and it passed 4-0 with Supervisor Stube abstaining.

Approval of Vouchers: Supervisor Berg asked about legal fees in 2004. Mike replied that the Board may wish to have this on a future agenda as a discussion item, since there is a very good chance legal fees will exceed the budgeted amount by year-end. Supervisor Berg made a motion to put this issue on the June 22 agenda. Supervisor Johnson seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Adjournment: Chair Anderson made a motion to adjourn at 8:05 PM. Supervisor Linzmeier seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mike Wolf Deputy Clerk/Treasurer/Administrator