Town
Board Meeting February 11, 2010
Chairperson Ray
Knapp convened the Regular Town Board meeting on Thursday February 11, 2010, at
7:00 pm. Jan Cuccia, Gloria WahrenBrock,
and Brian Schwab were present. Dan
Pearson arrived later.
The following people signed the attendance sheet: Jill Berke,
Charlie Macdonell and Jason Kjos. 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 January 14, 2010 Town Board meeting had been distributed to the
board. J. Cuccia moved to approve the Town
Board minutes of January 14, 2010, seconded by B. Schwab. Motion passed, all in favor.
CITIZEN INPUT –None.
PARK BOARD REPORT – Copies
of the Park Board minutes and the Park Board Report had been distributed to the
board. Dan Pearson arrived. Jill Berke
summarized that the parks are receiving light usage as is normal this time of
year. Charlie
Macdonell will be applying for a Keep America Beautiful grant
for recycling containers on behalf of the parks. The Park Board has received a ball field
application from the River Falls Youth baseball organization and is expecting
to receive one from the Hudson Boosters.
The Park Board is still researching funding options for a bike path
along Glover Road.
PLAN COMMISSION
REPORT – Copies of the Plan Commission minutes were distributed to the
board. J. Cuccia explained that the Plan
Commission spent its February meeting reviewing the draft of the Comprehensive
Zoning Ordinance. March 15th is the deadline for the Plan Commission
and Town Board members to submit any suggestions or concerns they have regarding
the ordinance to C. Macdonell.
DISCUSS &
CONSIDER SPEED LIMIT ON OLD CTH M – R. Knapp explained that
the town had received a letter from residents Tim and Lori Nyberg asking that
the speed limit on Old CTH M be reduced from 55mph to 15mph. They are concerned for the safety of their
children when they are playing in their playground at 561 Old CTH M. Rob Jones, Cedar Corp., distributed copies of
a memo from Cedar Corp. regarding the speed limit on Old CTH M. He summarized by stating that Old CTH M is a
cul-de-sac which is approximately 22 feet wide and 1500 feet long. It is accessed by three driveways. If the road was to qualify as semi-urban, the
speed limit could be reduced to 35mph.
In order to qualify for semi-urban status, the road would have to have a
driveway spacing of 200ft or less in a 1000ft stretch, (or 5 driveways) which
it does not. The town has the authority
to reduce the speed limit by 10mph per state statute to 45mph. In order to enforce that 45mph speed limit,
signs would have to be erected. The
board is concerned that if 45mph signs are erected, speeds on the road may
increase because residents may not be aware that the speed limit on non-posted
town roads is 55mph, since it is not currently posted. Because of the two curves on the road and the
length of the road (1500ft) it would not be easy to actually reach speeds of 55mph
on the road. After discussing it, the
board consensus was to erect advisory signs on the curves on the road and not
reduce the current speed limit of 55mph.
The board also discussed the location of the Nyberg’s playground
equipment. It may be located within the
road right-of-way. The Town Board will
take a closer look at possible signage and right of way issues, during the
spring road tour. R. Knapp will write a
letter of explanation to the Nybergs.
UTILITY PERMITS: None.
BUILDING PERMITS: The following permits were submitted by the
building inspector and reviewed by the Town Board.
|
PERMIT #
|
APPLICANT
|
ADDRESS
|
PROJECT
|
|
10-101
|
Catherine Quinn
|
|
Repair
|
|
10-102
|
Dan Burger
|
|
Alteration
|
|
10-103
|
James Norris
|
|
HVAC/Electric
|
|
|
|
|
|
DRIVEWAY PERMITS –
None.
RESOLUTION OF
SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT – R.
Knapp briefly updated the board members on the status of the broadband grant
application. Baldwin Telecom (BT) will
be the grant applicant, not the town as was originally planned. The application is due by March 15th. The town will be paying the $25,000 fee to
U-reka Broadband Ventures for the stimulus application preparation and
submission. This fee would be refunded
to the town if the grant is awarded to BT.
The town’s other primary function will be to get letters of support for
the project from local entities. The
town is currently working with Baldwin Telecom to develop a Memorandum of
Understanding. BT has agreed that if it
receives the grant, it will bring broadband right to the home, at no cost to
the resident if they sign up for services.
If the resident does not want to sign up for the service at this time,
broadband could still be provided at a future date. Baldwin Telecom will have the right to choose
the installation route to the home. BT
plans call for completing at least 60% of the town within 2 years and 100%
installation within a 3 year period. R.
Knapp moved to approve the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 2010-02
Support for Broadband Deployment Project
WHEREAS,
the Town of Troy
has determined that the deployment of broadband high-speed Internet service is
critical to the employment, financial, educational and medical wellness of the
Town; and,
WHEREAS,
the Town of Troy has, without success, actively
pursued all financially viable alternatives that would bring critical broadband
services to the Town of Troy;
NOW
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Troy does fully support a
collaborative relationship with Baldwin Telecom, Incorporated to apply for
funding from the Rural Utility Service pursuant to the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, Broadband Initiative Program to facilitate the
deployment of broadband services to all town residences, businesses and
government facilities.
Seconded by B. Schwab.
Motion passed, all in favor.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER RESIDENT CONCERNS AT FOX TRAILER COURT – R. Knapp reminded the board of the concerns voiced by residents during Citizen Input at the November Town Board meeting. B. Schwab has been researching the issues since then. He stated that the residents have been pursuing the appropriate avenues available to them at this time. The town would have to create an ordinance and have the means to enforce it in order to provide further assistance to the tenants. Otherwise, it is a matter between landlord and tenant. The town’s building inspector, Brian Wert, does provide residents that call him with concerns, the phone numbers of tenant help lines in Madison. . B. Schwab had sample ordinances from area villages and cities. The board agreed that there was no easy answer to the problem. The board discussed the resources available, “grandfathered” properties, how to even identify the rental property within the town and how an ordinance would be enforced. After a lengthy discussion, the board decided to put its efforts into educating tenants about their rights and the resources currently available to them. B. Schwab will start gathering contact information and see who would be available/willing to come and talk to town residents at an educational session to be held sometime in August at the town hall. J. Cuccia volunteered to lay-out a brochure/packet that would contain the contact information available to help tenants resolve issues with their landlords.
DISCUSS & CONSIDER NOMINATION PAPERS VS TOWN CAUCUS – J. Cuccia distributed copies of a memo describing the difference between the caucus and nomination paper process. She and S. Provos were asked to research the process by the Town Board after electors expressed interest in the change at the April 2009 Annual Town Meeting. After talking to the Wisconsin Towns Association, it was determined that 75% of the towns in Wisconsin use the nomination paper process rather than a caucus. Most towns that switched to nomination papers did so at an annual meeting of the residents. If passed, it would take effect the following year. The board consensus was for J. Cuccia to put an article regarding changing to a nomination paper process, in the February newsletter and to draft a resolution that would be available at the Annual Meeting in April. It will also be placed on the Annual Meeting agenda.
AMEND PRIOR YEAR BUDGET – S. Provos presented a spreadsheet that moved $2,630 budgeted for culture, recreation and education in 2009 to public safety, as requested by the town board last month. J. Cuccia moved to adopt an amendment to the 2009 budget to move $2,630 from line item culture, recreation and education to public safety, seconded by B. Schwab. Motion passed, all in favor.
CONSTABLE &
SHERIFF REPORTS – Copies of the Constable report, Sheriff’s Report and the
Animal Control report were distributed to and reviewed by the board.
CLERK/TREASURER
REPORT – Copies of the cash
reconciliation, impact fee summary, legal and engineering fee summary and
budget summary were distributed to the board.
S. Provos explained to the board that
replacement parts for the office copier would no longer be available next
year. The copier will be 10 years old
and new replacement parts are no longer guaranteed after that date. She has received a quote from EO Johnson on
the cost to lease a newer machine and is wondering if the board would like her
to pursue it. Board consensus was to
contact several vendors and obtain pricing on the purchase or lease of a newer
copier.
BILLS: Checks
numbered 022345 – 022393 and the Elan bill were presented in the amount of $56,546.46. S. Provos explained
that the February Tax Settlement payments need to be sent out by February 20th.
She has not been able to get the
settlement amounts from the country treasurer so the checks haven’t been
printed yet. G. WahrenBrock moved to
approve checks starting at 022345 – 022393 and the Elan bill which totals $56,546.46,
and to approve all February Tax Settlement checks, seconded by B. Schwab. Motion passed, all in favor.
CORRESPONDENCE –
None of the Town Board members have completed Board of
Review training within the last two years.
At least one board member needs to be trained prior to the 2010 Board of
Review. There is training available at
the WTA meeting in Eau Claire
on 3/26/10. Since not all board members
can attend that training session, S. Provos
will check with the WTA and Wisline to see what other training options are
available.
Board members received a copy of a letter from the Troy
Township Shoreline Owners Alliance asking that the board create an “other”
statutory classification of real property.
This item will be placed on the March Town Board agenda. R. Knapp will contact assessor, Roger Koski regarding
this matter and will ask him to attend the March Town Board meeting to give a
brief summary of the 2009 revaluation and answer any board questions regarding
revaluation follow-up.
COMMITTEE REPORTS –
J. Cuccia gave a brief newsletter update.
R. Knapp, B. Schwab and G. WahrenBrock plan to attend the
St. Croix Economic Development Corp. Award Banquet on February 25th.
The Rural Fire Association will be meeting with the City of
River Falls on February 25th, to discuss the possible merging or sale
of the fire equipment owned by the Rural Fire Association to the city.
J. Cuccia moved to adjourn, seconded by G. WahrenBrock. Motion passed, all in favor.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
These minutes were taken at a meeting
of the Troy Town Board held on the
11th day of February 2010.
________________________
Sharon Provos, Clerk/Treasurer