Town of Blooming Grove Board Meeting Minutes – April 27, 2010

Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Board members in attendance were Chair Johnson, Supervisor Berg, Supervisor Linzmeier, and Supervisor Young. Supervisor McLaughlin was absent. Also in attendance were Clerk/Treasurer/Administrator Mike Wolf, Fire Chief Glenn Linzmeier, Public Works Supervisor Rick Konkel, and residents Deborah Sellers, Ed Brost, Dennis Moungey, Robert A. Johnson, Dick Riddle, Judy Riddle, Bill Elmore, Joan Elmore, Greg Schultz, Thomas Streber, and Michael Schuster.

The pledge of allegiance was recited. Chair Johnson asked if the meeting notice had been properly posted, and Mike Wolf stated it had been.

2a. Gravel in Town Right-of-Ways: Tom Streber produced a petition signed by many residents that had a concern about gravel removal. Supervisor Berg agreed with staff recommendation to not have the town remove the material, but did state the best solution was to minimize the gravel deposited there to begin with. All agreed that preventing the problem would be best, and Rick Konkel stated he would raise the blade to the extent practicable so as to minimize this problem moving forward.

2b. Amendment to Town Ordinance 4.01 to Allow for Snow Emergency: Supervisor Berg made a motion to approve the amendment to Town Ordinance 4.01 as presented. Supervisor Young seconded the motion, and it passed 4-0.

2c. Contract for Jenness Avenue Project: Chair Johnson made a motion to approve the Payne & Dolan bid for the Jenness Avenue road project as presented. Supervisor Young seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

2d. Contract for Sprecher Road Project: Chair Johnson made a motion to approve the Fahrner bid for the Sprecher Road road project as presented. Supervisor Linzmeier seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

2e. Delivery of EMS Services in 2011 and Beyond: Supervisor Berg expressed his concern about the numbers presented in the financial model by staff, especially the amount of revenue collected from run fees, and personnel expenses. Furthermore, Supervisor Berg suggested that Supervisor Linzmeier recuse herself from this discussion and subsequent vote.

Chair Johnson made a motion to approve the Memo of Understanding between the Town of Burke and the Town of Blooming Grove as presented. Supervisor Young seconded the motion, and it passed 2-1 (with Supervisor Berg voting against, and Supervisor Linzmeier abstaining).

Chair Johnson made a motion to approve the Memo of Understanding between the Town of Madison and the Town of Blooming Grove as presented. Supervisor Young seconded the motion, and it passed 2-1 (with Supervisor Berg voting against, and Supervisor Linzmeier abstaining).

2f. Building of New Fire Station: Chair Johnson made a motion to build a new fire station at a cost not to exceed $600,000. Supervisor Young seconded the motion, and it passed 2-1 (with Supervisor Berg voting against, and Supervisor Linzmeier abstaining).

Chair Johnson made a motion to appoint the following members to the Fire Station Building Committee: Glenn Linzmeier, Mike Wolf, Ken Norton, Mark McLaughlin (Dave Young alternate Board member), and Dean Larson. Supervisor Young seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

2g. Sale of Town Property at 5005 Allis Avenue : Supervisor Young made a motion to allow the Town Administrator to sell the 5005 Allis Avenue property owned by the town. Chair Johnson seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

2h. First Quarter Treasurer's Report: Mike Wolf reported that overall the Town is about 2% under budget through the first 3 months of the year.

2i. Approval of Loan for New Plow Truck: Chair Johnson made a motion to approve the loan resolution for $125,000 for the new plow truck as presented. Supervisor Linzmeier seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

2j. Awning for Front of Town Hall: Mike Wolf stated that prior to the awning being constructed, the town needs to mitigate the ice dam problem that has occurred on the town hall roof two of the past three years. After some discussion it was agreed upon that that should be done prior to any decision about the awning. No action was taken.

2k. DNR's Proposed Phosphorus Regulations: Supervisor Berg made a motion to have the Town Administrator send a letter to the DNR (using the template submitted to the Town by the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, minus the bullet point relating to point source trading). Supervisor Young seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

3a. Minutes of March 23, 2010 Town Board Meeting: Supervisor Berg made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 23, 2010 Town Board meeting as presented. Supervisor Young seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

3b. Minutes of April 13, 2010 Town Board Meeting: Supervisor Berg made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 13, 2010 Town Board meeting as presented. Supervisor Linzmeier seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

3c. Vouchers: Supervisor Young made a motion to approve the vouchers as presented. Chair Johnson seconded the motion and it passed 4-0.

4. Public Comment: Deborah Sellers said that it was noted at a previous meeting that the Parks Commission did not need to say the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings because they weren't a certain kind of committee or commission. She then contended that when she tried to bring up a topic at the last Parks Commission meeting, it wasn't able to be discussed because of the Open Meeting law. She asked what kind of committee doesn't require the Pledge of Allegiance, but does have to abide by Open Meeting laws.

Supervisor Berg reported that last Friday he went into the office to have a memo typed up and copies made which pertain to the opening of a Copps grocery store on Cottage Grove Road (a location formerly in the Town of Blooming Grove, now in the City of Madison ). He said Chris Astrella wouldn't do the work for him, without paying for time and materials. Supervisor Berg said that he had copies made at Kinko's, and would be submitting the bill to the town office for reimbursement. He said that if this was going to be an issue that it should be made a future Board agenda item.

Supervisor Berg then reported on the public meeting he attended about the Copps Grocery store.

5. Adjournment: Chair Johnson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Supervisor Linzmeier and passed 4-0 at 8:47pm.

Minutes written by Michael J. Wolf, Clerk