Town
Board Meeting December 13, 2007
Chairperson Ray Knapp convened the Regular Town Board Meeting on Thursday, December 13, 2007, at 7:00, p.m. Dan Pearson, Jan Cuccia, and Fritz Anding were present. Gloria Wahrenbrock arrived later.
The following people signed the attendance
sheet: Howard Cameron, Chuck Harris, Mel
Hermansen, Louie Filkins, Dennis Berke, Gary & Sue Sumner, Charlie
Macdonell, Steven Canniff, and Jill Berke.
Others were present who did not sign in.
R. Knapp invited those present to join in the
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
APPROVE
MINUTES - Minutes of the November 8, 2007 Town Board
meeting and November 13, 2007 Special Town Board meeting had been distributed
to the Board. Dan Pearson to moved to
approve the minutes as printed for the November 8th Town Board meeting,
seconded by Jan Cuccia. Motion passed,
all in favor.
D. Pearson to moved to approve the minutes from
the Special Town Board meeting of November 13th as printed, seconded by F.
Anding. Motion passed, all in favor.
CITIZEN
INPUT – Resident Mel Hermansen asked that the plow
drivers plow the shoulders out further, especially on Coulee Trail.
Howard Cameron and Chuck Harris are both running
for the 4th Branch Judge in
SET
CAUCUS DATE – D. Pearson moved to set the caucus date for
Saturday January 12th at 1:00p.m. with snow date of Saturday January
19th at 1:00 p.m., seconded by J. Cuccia. Motion passed, all in favor.
G. Wahrenbrock arrived.
DISCUSS
& CONSIDER PAINTING DONATION – MAE SUMNER FAMILY – D.
Pearson moved to accept the donation of the painting of the voting booths on
behalf of the Sumner family, seconded by J. Cuccia. Motion passed, all in favor.
PARK
BOARD REPORT – Copies of the Park Board meeting minutes had
been distributed to the board. Jill
Berke stated that the Park Board is recommending the appointment of Greg Small
to fill the Park Board vacancy left by Bruce Penman. J. Cuccia moved for Greg Small to fill the
Park Board member #2 vacancy, seconded by D. Pearson. Motion passed, all in favor. The term expires August 2010.
J. Berke explained that boulders were placed to
prevent snowmobilers from heading down to Pembles Access. No trees were removed and no digging was
necessary. The Park Board also approved
the mowing contract with Lawn Barbers for $5,541.10, which included a 5%
discount.
J. Berke reviewed a map complied by the St.
Croix County Bike Trail Committee. J.
Berke stated that the county is looking for some kind of preliminary feedback
from each municipality. The county will
then would proceed with public hearings and hope to have a final decision by
April. The Town Board acknowledged the
work done by the county and is supportive of bike trails within the town. As collector roads are rebuilt within the
town, the plan is for them to be 28’ wide with 22’ of blacktop to accommodate
pedestrian and bicycle safety. It was
unclear as to what kind of feedback the county was asking of the town, so it
was suggested that this be clarified and then the Town Board would take
appropriate action.
PLAN
COMMISSION REPORT – Copies of the Plan Commission minutes
had been distributed to the board.
PARK
BOARD BUDGET APPROVAL – Copies of the most recent Park Board
Budget were distributed to the board. Charlie Macdonell explained that if the Town
Board approves the submitted Park Board Budget, they won’t need to approve
individual Park Board expenditures through-out the year and that this was the
same procedure implemented for last year’s budget. The budget total is the same as what was
approved by the Town Board in November.
J. Cuccia moved to approve the 2008 line item budget as submitted by the
Park Board, seconded by D. Pearson.
Motion passed, all in favor.
CONSTABLE
& SHERIFF REPORTS – Copies of the Constable Report were
distributed to the board. The sheriff’s
report from October was also distributed to the board. Constable Mel Hermansen asked for board
direction in dealing with unlicensed dogs.
After a brief discussion, the board directed the constables to wait
until after the January 31st dog licensing deadline. If dogs are still unlicensed by mid-February
the constables should issue a warning letter, giving the residents 2 weeks to
license their dog. If they still have
not licensed their dogs after 2 weeks, a citation should be issued.
M. Hermansen is also concerned about people
driving around the gate at the recycling center during off hours. F. Anding will work with the recycling
employees to see what they think should be done to address the problem.
M. Hermansen also asked the board if they want
the constables and park ranger to continue to monitor Pembles Access on a daily
basis when it is closed for the season.
Board members suggested periodic rather than daily checks during the winter.
PERMIT
IN RIVERWAY TO CONSTRUCT A HOME AND RELATED CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED ACTIVITIES
– TERRY & PEGGY KINGSTON, 292 BRUGLER COURT –Maps
were distributed by Bruce Lenzen. The
map has been revised since the December 6, 2007 Plan Commission meeting. Rob Jones, Cedar Corp., stated that the
application had been discussed thoroughly at the Plan Commission meeting. He reviewed the comments from Cedar, Corp. in
their memo dated 12/6/07, the Plan Commission concerns and the cross-section
maps provided by Ogden Engineering. He
stated that following changes had been made to the revised map: the proposed building site had been moved so
that it is not touching the slope preservation zone, the structure’s height was
reduced by 9”, the erosion control measures have been moved out of the slope
preservation zone and no slopes greater than 12% would be disturbed. Cedar Corp. recommends approval based upon
the Plan Commission recommendations. The
Plan Commission approval was also contingent that all outstanding alleged
violations relating to vegetation management and tree cutting on the property
and the beach be resolved to the satisfaction of the Town, DNR and county prior
to the issuance of the building permit.
B. Lenzen feels he has satisfied the county requirements and provided a
letter from the county dated November 7, 2007, stating that: “the plantings on both the beach and home
site comply with the vegetative plan submitted earlier. To ensure compliance, I (the county) will
visit both sites in late spring/early summer of 2008 to verify the plantings
survived the winter.” He stated that any trees that die off during the
winter would be replaced. R. Knapp
emailed the Plan Commission’s recommendation to the DNR and Dan Baumann
responded that the DNR has no further concerns at this time.
After discussing the above issues, D. Pearson
moved to approve the building permit in the riverway for a house, excluding the
bridge, for Terry and Peggy Kingston, 292 Brugler Court, contingent that the
house meet the maximum height of 35 feet to the satisfaction of the town
engineer, that all outstanding alleged violations relating to vegetation
management and tree cutting on the property and the beach be resolved to the
satisfaction of the Town, DNR and county prior to the issuance of the building
permit, that all the associated erosion control measures will be located
outside of the slope preservation zone and that there will be no disturbance
within the slope preservation zone. Based
on these conditions, the Town Board finds that the project will preserve the
view and use of the river, is in compliance with the intent of the town’s
riverway ordinance, it will maintain the safe and healthful conditions in the
area, the project, as modified, will have minimal impact on water pollution and
soil erosion in the area and the location of the structures is in compliance
with town ordinances relating to floodways, flood plains, slope preservation
zones and blufflines, the property is adequately served by roads, will be
adequately served through a private wastewater treatment system to be approved
by the county and the use is compatible with adjoining properties, seconded by
G. Wahrenbrock. Friendly amendment to
add: “that the location of the home be no less than 8 feet to the northeast
away from the 12% slope area.” Motion
passed, all in favor.
To clarify the motion, the board will accept a
definitive letter from the county stating that the outstanding alleged
violations relating to vegetation management and tree cutting have been resolved
and the property is in compliance before a building permit will be issued.
UTILITY
PERMITS:
None. Cedar Corp. is trying to
track down Comcast to have them apply for a permit for the tubing they are
installing within the town.
BUILDING
PERMITS: The
following permits were submitted by the Building Inspector and reviewed by the
town board.
|
PERMIT # |
APPLICANT |
ADDRESS |
PROJECT |
|
07-184 |
|
Alteration |
|
|
07-197 |
Jim Grothaus |
New Home |
|
|
07-200 |
Paul Haskins |
|
Storage shed |
|
07-201 |
Dean Ladd |
414 Coulee Tr |
Addition |
|
07-203 |
Terry Bescup |
320 Meadow Ridge Cr |
New Home |
|
07-204 |
Roland Roe |
407 New Century |
Porch/deck |
|
07-205 |
Peter Thompson |
|
Deck |
|
07-206 |
David John |
|
Alteration |
|
07-208 |
Andy Murphy |
|
Fireplace |
|
|
|
|
|
DRIVEWAY
PERMITS – The following permits were submitted by the
Building Inspector and reviewed by the town board.
|
07-122 |
Jim Grothaus |
|
|
07-123 |
Terry Bescup |
|
R. Knapp received a violation letter from C.
Stoltz,
Per a meeting between Charlie Macdonell and Dan
Baumann, DNR, the erosion control measures the town intends to do near the boat
launch are covered under the original permit the town obtained when it
renovated the boat launch several years ago.
APPROVE TOWN CALENDAR – The following
additions/changes were made to the calendar:
1/12- Caucus, 2/28-mail newsletter, change annual road tour date from
4/5 to 4/19, 9/25-mail newsletter and 11/18-Budget meetings. J. Cuccia moved to adopt the Town 2008
Calendar as amended, seconded by F. Anding.
Motion passed, all in favor.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER 2008 AMBULANCE AND FIRE PROTECTION
CONTRACTS – CITY OF
ROAD CREW PERFORMANCE/CONTRACT REVIEW – D.
Pearson moved that Ray Knapp & Fritz Anding be a committee of two to review
the road crew performance/contract, seconded by F. Anding. Motion passed, all in favor.
CODE BOOK PROJECT UPDATE – Board
members received copies of the ordinance revisions. Mark Mitchell was on vacation and review of
ordinance revisions was postponed.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER AMERICAN RED CROSS EMERGENCY SHELTER
– Gary and Nancy Briske have written a letter to
the town board requesting that in the event of a disaster, the town board
consider allowing the town hall to be used as an emergency shelter. R. Knapp moved to authorize Sharon Provos to
contact the Red Cross and coordinate the potential use of the town hall as an
emergency shelter, seconded by J. Cuccia.
Motion passed, all in favor.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER NEW CONTRACT FOR LEGAL SERVICES – J.
Cuccia and F. Anding met with town attorney Gwen Kuchevar to review the
contract for legal services. They
summarized the meeting for the town board.
The board agreed that any town board member should be able to call the
attorney if they have a legal question.
Members of the Park Board should ask permission of their town board
representative before contacting the attorney directly and Plan Commission
member should get permission from the Plan Commission Chair. D. Pearson questioned why there is a minimum
set fee of $600 for a Developers Agreement and for a Conservation
Easement. He will talk to G. Kuchevar
about this and report back to the board next month. D. Pearson moved to accept the agreement on
Attorney’s Fees, seconded by J. Cuccia.
Motion passed, all in favor.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER FIREWORKS PERMIT – STEVE CANNIFF,
APPOINT ELECTION INSPECTORS – Copies
of the list of prospective election inspectors for 2008 – 2009 was provided to
the board.
CLERK/TREASURER
REPORT – Copies of the cash reconciliation, budget
summary and impact fees collected were distributed to the Board.
BILLS:
Checks numbered 020640 – 020719 and the Elan bill were presented in the amount
of $217,931.70. J. Cuccia moved to
approve checks 020640 – 020719, including the Elan bill of $129.65 for a total
of $217,931.70, seconded by F. Anding.
Motion passed, all in
R. Knapp reviewed the following correspondence
with the board”
There will be joint Town Board, Plan Commission
and Comprehensive Zoning Code Committee meeting on January 8, 2008 at 7:00p.m.
at the town hall.
Roger Koski would like to talk to the town board
regarding the 2008 revaluation and has requested it be put on the January
agenda.
The IRS has increased the mileage reimbursement
to 51½ cents. The board will discuss
this at their January meeting.
The Friends of St. Croix Home (FSCH) asked if
the town board would like one of their coalition members to speak at a town
board meeting regarding the sale/closure of the county nursing home. The board requested that
Joe Merchak has requested a refund of his
building permit fees and would like to have his property re-evaluated. R. Knapp will contact him.
St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department is raising
its rates from $48/hr to $62/hr. R.
Knapp will call them to discuss.
The WTA is holding Board of Review training
sessions in February and March. Board
members will check their calendars and coordinate with
COMMITTEE
REPORTS – None.
J. Cuccia moved to adjourn, seconded by F.
Anding. Motion passed, all in favor.
The meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m.
These minutes were taken at a meeting
of the Troy Town Board held on the
13th day of December, 2007.
__________________________________
__________________________________
Ray Knapp, Town Chairman