Minutes: July 8, 2009
Village Board Proceedings of July 8, 2009
The Regular Monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Plain was held at the Municipal Building on July 8, 2009. The meeting was called to order by President Ellenbolt at 7:30 p.m.
Roll Call: Raymond Ellenbolt, President; David Buchanan; Robert Jewell; James Liegel; Duane Meise; Robert Neuheisel; and, Merry Lynn Riek, Trustees.
Others present: Josh Straka of Strand Associates, Inc.; Gail Towers MacAskill from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce; Dave Lins; Gary Ilminen of the Home News; Officer Marty Prem; and, Nick Ruhland, Public Works Director.
Notice of this meeting, along with the agenda, was posted at the following locations in the Village of Plain: the Municipal Building; the Plain Post Office; and, The Peoples Community Bank on Monday, July 6, 2009. Notice was emailed to the Home News and the Baraboo News Republic on the same date.
Buchanan motioned to approve the June 10, 2009 Regular board meeting. This was seconded by Meise and carried unanimously. Meise then motioned to approve the July 1, 2009 Special Board meeting. This was seconded by Neuheisel and carried unanimously.
Josh Straka of Strand Associates, Inc. and Gail Towers MacAskill from the WI Dept. of Commerce addressed the board regarding the
Buchanan was concerned at about the estimate for the building only at $225. In his experience LEED buildings have been in the range of $280-$300. It was explained that this is not a high end office building that is why it is figured lower. The goal is to have the building LEED certified. Considering Plain’s location, LEED certified silver is attainable; LEED certified gold may be a stretch.
There will be a contract with the EDA. There is a 20 year time restraint for the building to be used for its intended use. This is designed for economic public use. It can be open to the public for other uses. The intent of the building needs to be sustainable.
The application process will take four to six months. The Village will be reimbursed as the bills are paid. There are strings attached to both of the funding sources. The EDA Federal money requires open procurement, public RFP, buy American, and local products for the LEED certification. The CDBG-R grant requires the project to be completed by September of 2010.
Vandewalle and Associates, Inc. will be putting together a budget for the Village for this facility. Contingent on the amount of usage, Vandewalle will determine what the user fee should approximately be.
Straka stated that some costs were added to the original infrastructure development estimate. A water line loop back to St. Luke’s Avenue, a fiber optics cable running along Highway 23 needs to be lowered will cost $61,000 and these items can be written into the grant. Until the contract is signed the Village is not committed.
Meise motioned to proceed with the project. Riek seconded the motion and carried unanimously.
Straka added additional updates as to his progress. The floodplain analysis is adequate for the WI DNR. The WI DOT is satisfied with the access across from Kraemer Avenue. They are concerned about snow blowing across the highway with the hill gone. With Federal dollars there is compliance reporting. It is not anticipated that there are significant hoops to jump through. Maintenance of the building is not funded by this grant. It will not take a significant amount of custodial help. The management of the building is not an executive position. They will deal with the various tenants.
Police Department Report
Officer Marty Prem presented a report from the Spring Green Police Department. The worst area for speeding violations is Main Street coming in from the east. There have been speeding tickets issued, dog citations issued, minor thefts and juvenile misbehavior. It has been explained to people that the Village of Plain car is not patrolling in Spring Green, just taking the car there for storage.
Public Works Department Report
Nick Ruhland has received complaints about the pool and the rec program in regards to problems with policies. The committees have been notified and it has been taken care of.
Public Works has repaired a broken sewer main behind Felix Ring’s home.
Nick is researching a cheaper alternative for updating the pool drain. The specks from the federal government are constantly changing. The alternative is a fiber glass grate installed in the existing drain versus ripping out the drains and replacing them. The pool has minimal flat space on the bottom of the pool and could present a problem.
Committee Reports
Building & Swimming Pool – Buchanan
The Pool Committee has addressed the leadership issue at the pool.
The Building Committee sent a letter to Biggers for the maximum fine for not being in compliance for his driveway. There are concerns of properties not mowing lawns. The Building Committee to check into this situation.
Police – Meise
No Police Committee report.
Golf & Parks – Neuheisel
The Parks Committee will discuss the Park Master Plan on July 20th with the Pool and Finance Committees. The Park will then meet to discuss the Rec Program and 2010 budget
Neuheisel met with Jeff Jelinek from Sauk County Emergency Government. He is in need of Plain’s Emergency Plan. Nick does have an outdated plan.
No Golf Course Committee Report.
Finance & Library Liaison – Riek
The Finance Committee provided budget worksheets to all the Committee Chairs. The budgets are due by July 22nd. On July 29th, Committee Chairs will meet with the Finance Committee to review their budgets. The Finance Committee recommends a 0-2% increase with an emphasis on the 0%. Again this year, it is a zero-budgeting stand point, start with zero and decide what is needed. Look at each individual account in detail.
The Library board did meet.
Water & Sewer - Liegel
Water Pumpage for June:
Well No. 1: 654,000
Well No. 2: 2,303,000
Total for June: 2,957,000 gallons, which was 235,000 gallons less than last year.
Two bacteria samples were sent to the State Lab. Both samples tested safe.
Monthly fluoride average: 1.05 p.p.m.
Wastewater Report for June:
Influent Monthly Average B.O.D.: 129 mg/l
Effluent Monthly Average B.O.D.: 10 Limit: 15 mg/l
Influent Monthly Average T.S.S.: 181 mg/l
Effluent Monthly Average T.S.S.: 12 Limit: 20 mg/l
Monthly Average Nitrogen Ammonia: .294 mg/l
Limit: 20.0 mg/l Monthly
29.0 mg/l Daily
Total gallons treated: 3,007,000
Streets & Ordinance – Jewell
There are street storm sewer lines that need to be relined. There is a business out of Portage that does this. Maple Street needs to be completely replaced.
The crosswalks are in progress of being painted. The idea of yield to pedestrian signs or triangles on the centerline was discussed. These signs are expensive. There are already lime green signs placed on the side of the road.
A preconference meeting was held on July 1st for the Cedar Street reconstruction. The start date for Cedar Street is July 13, 2009.
After budgeting season is over the Ordinance Committee needs to review the sewer ordinance. Other suggestions of changes needed were noted: sidewalk ordinance and semi trailer parking on village streets.
Buchanan asked if there were any updates on the Main Street Wall. The case is still being reviewed in Sauk County court. Buchanan also suggested that attractive street lights for Main Street should be looked into.
Other Business
The Spring Green Police Department contract expires July 29, 2009. The Village is still in need of police services since there has been no conclusion with the courts. Meise motioned to contract with SGPD for another three months. This was seconded by Jewell and carried unanimously.
President Ellenbolt noted that the Wendorff Assessing contract expired in June. Currently, the Village does not have an Assessor. There has only been one Board of Review complaint in the past four years. Her price is reasonable. Spring Green is very happy with her. The Village’s ratio is back up to 100%, so a revaluation does not have to be done any time soon. The time to change would be when the Village is ready for a revaluation. Ellenbolt motioned to sign the one year contract and have Trustee Buchanan have an ad ready by May 1st to advertise next year. This was seconded by Meise. Roll call vote: Ellenbolt – Yes; Buchanan – No; Jewell – Yes; Liegel – No; Meise – Yes; Neuheisel – Yes; Riek – Yes. The motion carried.
A motion to grant approval for an operator’s license for Mary C. Brey was made by Liegel and seconded by Jewell. The motion carried unanimously.
Correspondence
The Village received a letter from General Engineering claiming no fault in an easement not noted on the CSM for the Randy Liegel property purchase. Verizon has an easement for fiber optics that runs along Highway 23. Apparently, it is not required for easements to be on a CSM.
Review and Audit of Invoices:
A motion to pay the monthly invoices as presented was made by Meise. Buchanan seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
General Fund | $32,059.02 | Water Utility | $3,762.05 | ||
Library Fund | $2,248.35 | Sewer Department | $7,736.55 | ||
Debt Services | $13,964.69 | Golf Course | $2,397.16 | ||
Wage Reimbursements: | $21,262.06 | ||||
Liegel motioned to adjourn at 9:05 p.m. This was seconded by Meise, and the motion carried unanimously.
Sheila Tafs
Clerk/Treasurer