TOWN OF ROCHESTER
Racine County, Wisconsin
Municipal Office Phone:  (262) 534-5742;  Facsimile:  (262) 534-4084
Mailing Address:  203 W. Main Street, P.O. Box 352, Rochester, WI  53167

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FEBRUARY 11, 2008                       REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

Meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with Gary Beck, Paul Beere and Mike Weinkauf present.

Betty Novy, Clerk-Treasurer; Christopher Birkett, Public Works Supervisor; and John Tierney, Engineer; were also present.  

Pledge of Allegiance. 

Mike moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve minutes of the January 9 & 14, 2008 meetings.   Motion carried.

Paul moved, 2^nd by Gary to approve February disbursements as follows.   Motion carried.

Town General Fund Disbursements:

Rochester Sewer Utility District #1 Disbursements:

Treasurer’s Report.   Betty read the report as follows: 

Betty reported closing out tax collections through the end of January.   $925,000 will be distributed to the different tax districts by February 20^th.   December snowplowing costs put the Town $21,000 over total costs anticipated for 2007.  This will negatively impact Town general funds.  Costs through February 10, 2008 are already approaching 2008’s total budget.   When the winter season is over, budget amendments will be necessary.

Sheriff’s Department.  A written report was submitted showing the following statistics for January:  three accidents; nine speeding citations, eleven traffic citations, five parking citations and twenty-two warnings were issued.  Complaint statistics were as follows:  eighteen complaints originated through calls directly to the Sheriff’s Department; Deputy Prochaska assisted with thirteen additional complaints, originated thirteen on his own and performed follow up on three.  He reported eighteen work days, 148.75 hours and 1,598 miles driven.  One foot patrol was conducted. 

Sergeant Kacmarcik reported a $.03 per hour decrease in contract costs due to some insurance changes made by the department.  The 2009 contract will reflect these savings.  Chris Birkett reported problems with snowmobiles packing snow in the right of way on Oak Knoll Road.  Sgt. Kacmarcik will report the problem for extra attention.

Public Works Department.   Christopher Birkett’s written report was reviewed as follows:   

• Lift Station- Monthly exercise of lift station valves and generator. 

• Roads.   Lots of snow events.  Salt supply is in question.  Chris is following the County’s lead on limiting use.  One application at the beginning of storm, one application at the end.  The problem is with low accumulation events.  The options are to  1.)  incorporate sand into our response.  2.)  wait for the end of the snowfall; or  3.)  rely on mechanical removal only with exception of hills and curves, stop signs and intersections.

Chris indicated the County is now going to a sand/salt mix.  The cost will be reduced to $12 a ton for this material.  Mike Weinkauf questioned the use of lime.   It may be considered if Racine County cuts off salt supply to municipalities. 

Engineering Report.  John Tierney’s report was reviewed as follows:

Evergreen Drive Reconstruction:  Parking Stall Options

John Tierney provided an exhibit detailing possible parking stall configurations for Evergreen Drive.  If a side driveway to Freddy Bears Antique Mall (2819 Beck Drive) is abandoned, it would provide one additional on street parking space.   An aerial view showed four access points currently utilized by the establishment.  However, only two offer direct access.   John suggested a possible cross-access easement between Freddy Bears and Maas & Sons (2807 Beck Drive).  There is no separation between the two parcels and the access is currently used by both establishments.  Consensus of the Board was for John to contact the owners of the establishment to determine whether they have any objections to closing the side driveway.

Letter of Credit Reduction:  Coyote Territory Subdivision

John Tierney recommended reducing Coyote Territory’s letter of credit $122,835.25 to maintain a balance of $103,078.  Mike moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve the reduction.  Motion carried.

Amendments to Declaration of Restrictions, Covenants and Easements for Rookery Landing Estates East and West Subdivisions

Betty reported the proposed amendments increase minimum house sizes, require that driveways be hard surfaced, and impose lawn maintenance requirements for the development.  Mike moved, 2^nd by Gary to approve the amendments.  Motion carried.

Survey and Foundation Elevation Requirements for New Construction

Betty reported on communication between John Tierney and the building inspector regarding survey and/or top of foundation elevation review requirements for new construction.  Currently, the Town building inspector only reviews elevations when a subdivision grading plan is provided.  On parcels with no grading plan, there is no review.  John indicated topographical survey review by the engineering firm could help safeguard against drainage problems both for new construction and adjacent properties.    Consensus of the Board was for John to further discuss this concept with the building inspector to determine what review requirements might be imposed.  John is then to provide a recommendation on this topic.

Contract for Recurring Engineering Services:  Baxter-Woodman Engineering

Baxter-Woodman disputed three of  Town Attorney John Hotvedt’s requests for text and/or sectional changes to the agreement.  The Board reviewed the Town Attorney’s response to the disputed changes.    The first issue identified substitution of the word “and” for “or” in the forth line of paragraph 3.3.  Atty. Hotvedt insisted the word “or” be put back in the section.  The second issue was removal of the second paragraph in section 3.3, beginning “In the event claims, losses….”.  Atty. Hotvedt indicated a court would decide comparative negligence and did not object to retaining the paragraph in the agreement.  The third issue was removal of provision 3.5 in its entirety.   Atty. Hotvedt insisted the section be removed.   Consensus of the Board was to uphold the Town Attorney’s requests for changes to paragraph 3.3 and removal of provision 3.5.  The second paragraph in section 3.3 can be retained.  John Tierney will take this information back to Baxter-Woodman. 

Composition of Interim Village Board (for inclusion in Consolidation Ordinance)

Betty reported on Village Board consideration of voting provisions for a Joint Board during the interim period between passage of the consolidation referendum and election of a new Village Board.  The Village Board would like the consolidation ordinance re-written so that during the interim period: 

1. the Village Board continues to handle Village business and the Town Board continues to handle Town business until April of 2009 when a new Village Board is elected from the combined community;

2. Joint Plan Commission and Finance Committees are formed to jointly manage those functions;

3. Joint Town/Village Board meetings are held as needed to handle business of a joint nature during the interim period, and votes of the Joint Board are counted as follows:

1. Village Board- the consolidated vote- Aye or Nay- equals one vote

2. Town Board- the consolidated vote- Aye or Nay- equals one vote

3. The Town Chairman’s vote breaks any ties.

4. a moratorium on new development is imposed so that any pending developments reach conclusion before a new village board is set in place.

Gary moved, 2^nd by Paul to go on record approving this method of handling the interim period.  Motion carried.

Kennel License Renewal to keep six dogs:  Michael & Catherine Los, 401 N River Road

Betty reported on Deputy Prochaska’s review of the application.  While he did not physically visit the property, he did contact the applicant to verify nothing had changed since his last inspection.  He also found no complaints regarding this license and recommended approval.  Mike moved, 2^nd by Gary to approve renewal of the kennel license for Michael and Catherine Los to keep six dogs at 401 N. River Road.  Motion carried.

Application for Operator’s License:  Susan J Troelsen

Betty reported no violations on Susan’s background check.  Her responsible beverage server’s course completion certificate was submitted with the application.  Gary moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve an operator’s license for Susan Troelsen.  Motion carried.

Spring Newsletter presented for additions or corrections

Betty reported a front page article for consolidation will be drafted when closer to the print date so details can be accurately reported.  Consensus of the Board was to approve the rest of the newsletter for distribution. 

Period for Public Comment.

Gary reported on Runzheimer International’s offer to pay for two score boards for the Waterford High School Softball league.  The offer was originally intended for Case-Eagle Park diamonds, but now may be shifted to some new fields planned for construction behind Woodfield Elementary.  More will be known when plans for the new diamonds are finalized.  Mike reported on conversations with Dionn Dassow and his neighbor regarding proposed construction of a pond on his property.  While the Town originally approved the pond permit application, Racine County denied it due to design concerns.  Mike indicated Dionn may be calling John Tierney regarding design problems.

Mike moved, 2^nd by Gary to adjourn at 8:54 p.m.  Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty J. Novy, CMC

Clerk-Treasurer

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