Minutes: December 13, 2006

Village of Plain

Village Board Proceedings of December 13, 2006

The Regular Monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Plain was held at the Municipal Building on December 13, 2006.  The following members were present: William Gruber, President; David Buchanan; Kevin Kraemer; Gary Leeck; James Liegel; Harold Murry; and, Philip Studnicka, Trustees.

Others present: Jeff Nachreiner; Maureen Palmer, representing the Home News; Tom Meyer, Chief of Police; Nick Ruhland, Public Works Director; and, John Ruhland, Public Works Assistant.

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, December 11, 2006.  Notice was faxed to the Home News and the Baraboo News Republic on the same date.

The meeting was called to order by President Gruber at 7:35 p.m.

Murry motioned to approve the minutes of the November 8, 2006 regular meeting.  This was seconded by Liegel, and the motion carried unanimously.  Murry then motioned to approve the minutes of the November 30, 2006 Budget Hearing and Special Village Board meetings.  This was seconded by Liegel, and then carried unanimously. 

Jeff Nachreiner addressed the board concerning renovation to his building at 1190 Main Street.  This building currently has one apartment upstairs and a commercial unit downstairs where a daycare once operated.  He plans to add a second apartment on the first floor in the back.  With more than one residential unit, Multi-Family zoning ordinance states that 2 off-street parking stalls per unit must be provided.  Therefore, he needs to add 4 parking stalls.  Mr. Nachreiner explained to the board that he has two options for the parking stalls and plans to talk to the Building Inspector to see what choice would work best.  Overall, the parking situation will be better at the building for everyone involved. 

Public Works Department Report

Nick Ruhland presented estimates to the board for the inspection and cleaning of the Water Reservoir which is required every five years, which is due in 2007.  One more estimate is expected for this inspection.  The current low bid is $2,105.00.  Nick recommended to spend no more than $2,105.00 on the project.  Essentially, the objective is to accept the low bidder, depending on the final bid that is still anticipated.  Kraemer motioned to accept the recommendation of spending $2,105.00 or less on the inspection and cleaning of the Water Reservoir. This was seconded by Leeck, and then carried unanimously. 

A sewer main in the alley between Cherry Street and Oak Street had partially collapsed.  Public Works along with Bill Emer tried to repair it, but the problem was too major.  Prairie Plumbing was called to repair the sewer main.  The problem was fixed and it will most likely be expensive.

A street light across from Cenex on Highway 23 was backed over by a Schluter Construction semi driver and knocked it down.  Their insurance company will cover all expenses.  The pole was put up by Public Works.  Berry Electric will do the wiring.

Police Department Report

Chief Meyer presented the Case Report for November.  Chief Meyer has completed federally mandated training for Police Chiefs.  There are more training sessions to attend.  The squad car emergency lights needed to be repaired. The Spanish training by Chief Meyer is going well and has been used in traffic stops. 

Committee Reports

Streets - Studnicka

No Streets Committee report.

Water & Sewer and Cable TV - Liegel

No Cable TV report.

Water Pumpage for November:

Well No. 1:      313,100

            Well No. 2:   1,400,000

Total for November: 1,713,100 gallons, which was 921,900 gallons less than last year.

Two bacteria samples and two well samples were sent to the State Lab.  All tested safe.

            Monthly fluoride average: 1.02 p.p.m.

Wastewater Report for November:

            Influent Monthly Average B.O.D.:  236 mg/l

            Effluent Monthly Average B.O.D.:    10 Limit: 15 mg/l

            Influent Monthly Average T.S.S.:    213 mg/l

            Effluent Monthly Average T.S.S.:   11  Limit: 20 mg/l

Weekly Average Nitrogen Ammonia: 0.3644 mg/l         Limit:   6.0 mg/l

            Total gallons treated: 2,115,700

Building & Swimming Pool - Buchanan

No building permits were issued since the last meeting.

The Pool Committee will meet within the next couple of weeks to start planning the 2007 season.

Finance & Ordinance – Kraemer

The budget process is completed.  Everything was approved at the November 30, 2006 meetings.

No Ordinance Committee Report.

Police & Library Liaison - Leeck

The library’s circulation was up 12% in October from October of 2005.  The annual holiday open house was held on December 5, 2006.  On December 12, 2006 a presentation of digital photography took place.

Police squad car estimates were presented to the board.  The lowest bid was for a 2007 Chevrolet Impala in the amount of $19,990.00.  After much discussion concerning a trade-in value for the currently owned 2001 Chevrolet Impala, an estimate to transfer all the police equipment to the new squad car, and the cost of an extended warranty, Chief Meyer was asked to obtain all of the above information and to have a final dollar amount to present to the board at the January board meeting.  A sinking fund in the amount of $21,204.00 is available for this purchase.

Also presented by Police Committee Chairman Leeck was equipment plans for 2007.  A new radar is needed which will cost approximately $1,200.00.  Another proposal is to convert the current shotgun to a less-lethal gun.  This conversion consists of marking the gun as less-lethal and using either bean bag rounds or pepper spray projectile for less lethal situations.  This gun would then need to be replaced by a rifle for more lethal situations estimated to cost $900.00. Most Sauk County agencies have already converted.  The training at the county has been changed to this method as well.  In order to train officers properly, the Police Department will need to be consistent with the county’s training facility.  Another equipment upgrade desire is a digital camera.

Parks & Golf Course - Murry

No Parks Committee report.

No Golf Course Committee report.

Other Business

The diving board is out of code.  It is not deep enough for modern building codes.  The old diving boards were grand-fathered in.  Badger Swimpools will sell the Village the diving board, but refuses to install it for liability reasons. Applying for a code variance with the state has been proposed.  The Village’s insurance company recommended getting rid of the diving boards altogether because of liability concerns.  The Pool Committee will continue to look into options to make this work. 

Liegel motioned to purchase two new Wellhouse meters in the amount of $2,760.00 from Mid America Meter, Inc.  This was seconded by Studnicka, and then carried unanimously.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has mandated the Village to replace the salt shed door in 2007.  Murry motioned to install a new garage door on the salt shed in the amount of $1,245.00 as per an estimate provided by Jason Schluter Construction, LLC.  This was seconded by Buchanan, and then carried unanimously.

The windows on the north side of the Wastewater Treatment Plant are in need of replacement.  Liegel motioned to approve window replacement in the amount of $3,297.00 as per an estimate provided by Jason Schluter Construction, LLC.  This was seconded by Murry, and then carried unanimously.

During discussion regarding Village rates for private work preformed by Public Works it was pointed out that the Village’s rates are extremely outdated at $25.00 per hour for one man and one machine.  The Streets Committee was asked to discuss this and bring a recommendation to the board. 

Financial support for Police School Liaison Officer in River Valley schools was opposed because these funds have not been budgeted for and Townships were not asked to contribute.  Liegel motioned to deny the request from River Valley School District, this was seconded by Buchanan and carried unanimously. 

Buchanan motioned to set the date and time for the 2007 Village Caucus as Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.  This was seconded by Liegel, and then carried unanimously.  President Gruber then announced that he would not be rerunning for Village President.

Liegel motioned to accept the President’s appointments of election officials for the years 2007 and 2008.  This was seconded by Kraemer, and then carried unanimously.

The Clerk/Treasurer enlightened the board regarding the idea of sending Welcome Packages to new residents.  Leeck motioned to accept the proposal as presented.  This was seconded by Buchanan and it carried unanimously. 

Correspondence  

President Gruber will be attending a National Incident Management System training session on Friday, December 15, 2006.

Review and Audit of Invoices:

A motion to pay the monthly invoices as presented was made by Buchanan.  Studnicka seconded, and then the motion carried unanimously.

General Fund:             $25,768.69                                Water Utility:           $ 1,293.57

Library Fund:               $  1,436.75                                Sewer Department: $ 3,082.39

Capital Improv:           $57,193.00                                Golf Course:            $ 1,590.09

Wages and Reimbursements: $24,510.41

Leeck motioned to adjourn at 9:24 p.m.  This was seconded by Buchanan, and then the motion carried unanimously.

Sheila Tafs 

Clerk/Treasurer