Town Board Meeting January 10, 2008

Chairperson Ray Knapp convened the Regular Town Board Meeting on Thursday, January 10, 2008, at 7:00, p.m.  Supervisors Dan Pearson, Jan Cuccia, and Gloria Wahrenbrock were present.  Fritz Anding was absent.

 

The following people signed the attendance sheet:  Mel Hermansen, Cyril Cernohous Steven Canniff, Charlie Macdonell, Jill Berke and Brian Schwab.  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 December 13, 2007 Town Board meeting had been distributed to the board.  Jan Cuccia to moved to approve the Town Board meeting minutes of December 13, 2007, seconded by Dan Pearson.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

CITIZEN INPUT – Mark Gherty announced he is running for the Branch 4 Circuit Court Judge in St. Croix County.  He gave a brief history of his experience and asked for voter’s support in the February Primary.

 

Resident Steve Canniff was concerned that the Town Board might not approve a fireworks permit for him in July since they didn’t approve his application for New Year’s Eve.  He distributed copies of part of Wisconsin State Statute 167 to the board to support his claim that the town could not be held liable for damage caused by fireworks solely because the town issued the permit.  Fireworks permits will be put on the March Town Board agenda.

 

PARK BOARD REPORT – Bob Heise, St. Croix County Bike Trail Committee, reviewed the proposed Bike Trail map complied by the committee.  The map shows the proposed bike trails that the committee would like municipalities to take into consideration when reconstructing roads.  Also, acknowledging trails in an approved plan helps in obtaining possible grants.  The town board gave its consensus support to the work done by the SCBTC.  The county will hold a public hearing on the proposed map on January 31st.  J. Cuccia agreed to attend the hearing on behalf of the town.

 

PLAN COMMISSION REPORT – Copies of the Plan Commission minutes had been distributed to the board.  R. Knapp offered a brief overview and noted that there were no significant issue for the town board to be apprised of.

 

CONSTABLE & SHERIFF REPORTS – Copies of the Constable Report for December and the Sheriff’s reports for November and December were distributed to the board.  Constable Mel Hermansen stated that the parks have been pretty quiet and didn’t have any concerns to report.  R. Knapp will talk to the Sheriff’s Department regarding the impact their rate increase will have on the number of contracted hours.

 

SPEED LIMIT MAP – D. Pearson moved to table the speed limit map until next month, seconded by Gloria Wahrenbrock.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

UTILITY PERMITS:  None.  R. Knapp directed Cedar Corp. to give Comcast until Monday to submit a complete application to the town or incur daily fines. 

 

REVIEW OF 2008 REVALUATION PROCESS – Roger Koski, Bowmar Appraisals, Inc. spoke to the board about the 2008 Revaluation schedule.  He explained it is really tough to do a revaluation in the falling market that is being experienced across the state.  Roger noted that he has asked state officials for their input on how to best proceed with revaluations during 2008.  . To date, about 20% of the field work has been completed.  He recommended waiting until August 2008 to start doing the rest of the field work.  After the field work has been completed they would do call backs, finishing up in the spring of 2009.  The contract payments would be adjusted for the scheduling change.  After a lengthy discussion on the housing market and its impact on assessed values, D. Pearson moved to extend the revaluation process into 2009, seconded by J. Cuccia.  Motion passed, all in favor.  R. Koski will send the town a revised payment schedule. 

 

BUILDING PERMITS:  The following permits were submitted by the Building Inspector and reviewed by the town board.

PERMIT #

APPLICANT

ADDRESS

PROJECT

07-207

Mike Nelson

421 New Century Dr

Addition/Alteration

07-210

MW Johnson

419 Jordyn Ln

New Home

07-212

Virgil Nylander

61 Riverside Dr

Fireplace

 

 

 

 

 

DRIVEWAY PERMITS – The following permits were submitted by the Building Inspector and reviewed by the town board.

07-124

MW Johnson

419 Jordyn Ln

 

 

 

 

DISCUSS & CONSIDER 2008 FIRE PROTECTION CONTRACTS – CITY OF HUDSON – S Provos explained that the City of Hudson had estimated the amount of the 2008 Fire Contract would be $52,400 and that is what the town budgeted.  The actual contracted amount is $55,319.  D. Pearson moved to approve the Hudson Fire Protection Contract of $55,319 for 2008, seconded by J. Cuccia.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

CODE BOOK PROJECT UPDATE – Will be discussed next month.

 

DISCUSS & CONSIDER REIMBURSEMENT FOR GENERAL EXPENDITURES -  R. Knapp explained that the IRS mileage reimbursement increased from $.485/mile to $.515/mile.  He asked the other board members to consider what rate they thought the town should be paying for mileage.  A rate increase was not taken into consideration when computing the constable budget for 2008.  J. Cuccia stated that she felt the town should be a good employer and adopt the IRS rate.  She suggested looking at the constable budget and either find ways to increase it or ways to reduce the number of miles the constables drive.  The Town Board consensus was to continue to reimburse for mileage at the IRS mileage rate.

 

MOBILE HOME COURT LICENSES – S. Provos stated that all three mobile home courts had submitted the necessary applications and bonds for license renewal.  D. Pearson questioned whether the board should be doing some kind of inspection prior to approving the annual licenses.  After a brief discussion, board members decided that they would inspect the mobile home courts during the annual road tour.  D. Pearson moved to approve the licenses for Hilltop Partnership, Troy Glen Court and Fox Court and to let them know that the Town Board will be inspecting them during the annual road tour in April and letting them know what they find.  Seconded by J. Cuccia.  Motion passed, all in favor.  S. Provos will let the Mobile Home Courts know about the inspection and will also send them a current copy of the town’s Mobile Home Court ordinance.

 

ROAD CREW CONTRACT REVIEW – The board took a brief recess while S. Provos got copies of the contract.  R. Knapp explained that he and Fritz Anding met with the road crew to review the contract.  The proposed increase is approximately 4%.  It includes an additional $100/month contribution toward a self-directed retirement account, a increase in salary from $41,496 to $42,216 for Gary Parent and an increase in salary from $39,832 to $40,552 for Al Hanson.  J. Cuccia moved to approve the Employment Contract for Gary Parent and Al Hanson and thanked the Negotiation Committee for a good job, seconded by D. Pearson.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

CLERK/TREASURER REPORT – Copies of the cash reconciliation, budget summary and impact fees collected were distributed to the Board.  The board briefly discussed amendments and transfers to the 2007 budget.  S. Provos will make the necessary adjustments and present them to the board for review next month.

 

BILLS: Checks numbered 020720 – 020778 and the Elan bill were presented in the amount of $466,531.99.  G. Wahrenbrock moved to approve bills 020720 – 020778, including the Elan bill of $867.18 for a total of $466,531.99, seconded by J. Cuccia.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

CORRESPONDENCE –

G. Wahrenbrock stated that she has been getting calls about Comcast and what they’re doing in the town.  R. Knapp referred to his comments made during utility permits.. 

 

R. Knapp had emailed the board members a rough draft of the CZC Guidance Memorandum.  The board briefly discussed the memo and decided that J. Cuccia and Charlie Macdonell will make revisions and bring it back for town board consideration next month.  Updated copies will be distributed to the board prior to the meeting.

 

R. Knapp had asked Gwen Kuchevar, town attorney for a summary of costs for the Madsen case.  She provided him with the costs for about the last year.  S. Provos will summarize the costs prior to that and also calculate the engineering costs.

 

Resident John Hamann, sent a letter to the town voicing his concerns on how the Plainview Drive road construction project has been handled.  Board members were each given a copy of the letter.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS –

R. Knapp distributed copies of the Intergovernmental Advisory meeting agenda scheduled for Monday January 28 at 7:00pm at Hudson City Hall.

 

St. Croix EMS Committee will be meeting at 5:30 on January 28th.

 

J. Cuccia reminded board members that the next newsletter is due to go out at the end of February, so articles should be submitted to her by early February.

 

J. Cuccia moved to adjourn, seconded by G. Wahrenbrock.  Motion passed, all in favor.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

 

These minutes were taken at a meeting

of the Troy Town Board held on the

10th day of January, 2008.

 

________________________

Sharon Provos, Clerk/Treasurer