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TOWN OF ROCHESTER Link to Town Board Meetings
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Link to Town Board Meetings |
January 10, 2005 REGULAR BOARD MEETING 7:30 p.m.
Meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with Gary Beck, Paul Beere and Mike Weinkauf present.
Betty Novy, Clerk-Treasurer; and Christopher Birkett, Public Works Supervisor, were also present.
Mike moved, 2nd by Gary to approve minutes of the December 10 & 13, 2004 meetings as printed. Motion carried.
Gary moved, 2nd by Mike to approve January disbursements as follows. Motion carried.
Town General Fund Disbursements:
Rochester Sewer Utility District #1 Disbursements:
Treasurer’s Report. Betty read the Treasurer’s report as follows.
Public Works Department. Gary Beck welcomed Christopher Birkett as the new Public Works Supervisor. Chris reported on his training period with Gary Chart. He is comfortable with most aspects of the job and is gaining experience with snowplow procedures. He moved the Town’s road maintenance supplies to his place and is in the process of creating a sign inventory.
Sheriff’s Department. Sergeant Kacmarcik reported statistics were not yet available for December due to year-end processing. The formal report will be available in February. Deputy Prochaska reported December as a quiet month. There were no problems with kids over winter break. Snow caused a few accidents on county highways. There have been several incidences of snowmobiles falling through ice after a brief warm up. Those present were cautioned to stay off the ice. Sergeant Kacmarcik reported on complaints received from residents about snowmobile traffic. Sheriff’s Department staff are aware of the problem and are watching the area.
Mike questioned a recent citation issued against the Kossow property citing the Town’s junk ordinance. Deputy Prochaska explained Racine County Zoning received an anonymous complaint regarding operation of a scrap metal business on the Kossow property. Zoning requested Deputy Prochaska investigate the complaint and enforce applicable Town ordinances before they would follow up with zoning enforcement. Deputy Prochaska reported to the Board back in October that oil, gasoline, tires, and scrap metal were found on the property. Environmental concerns were referred to the Department of Natural Resources. Those violations were cleaned up. In regards to junk ordinance violations, Deputy Prochaska inspected the property October 11th and spoke with Mr. Kossow about the violations and his need to clean up the property. He then followed up with written notice (via Certified Letter) on the 12th. The notice was receipted October 27th. Mr. Kossow was given 60 days to clean up the property. He noted no attempt by Mr. Kossow to contact him during that time. Deputy Prochaska followed up on December 27th and found scrap metal still piled on the property. Mr. Kossow informed him he had been given a 30-day extension. Deputy Prochaska had no knowledge of this. Mr. Kossow had not made any attempt to contact him since the notice of violation was sent. Mr. Kossow, who was present in the audience, accused Deputy Prochaska of treating him unfairly and challenged the ordinance’s definition of junk. He indicated the scrap metal had monetary value and therefore could not be considered junk. Gary Beck noted operation of a scrap metal business is not allowable in an agriculturally zoned district. Mr. Kossow was informed that a citation was issued and the place to argue the citation is in court. The court date was listed on the citation.
Annual Visit: Sheriff Bob Carlson, Racine County Sheriff’s Department
Sheriff Carlson was not able to make the meeting.
Engineering proposals for 2005 road projects:
Two proposals were received for engineering design and construction inspection services to resurface Fox View Drive, Ridge Line Road and Abbey Lane.
Sarah Tomczyk, Crispell-Snyder Engineering, explained the firm’s proposal of $7,000.00 for design services and $5-7,000.00 for construction related services. She stated construction oversight is variable due to unforeseen problems that can occur in the field and with contractors. They bill hourly rates for that portion of the project. They do not feel soil borings are necessary for this project and do not recommend the Town incur the additional cost.
John Tierney, Baxter-Woodman Engineering, explained the firm’s proposal of $4,000.00 for design services; and a “not to exceed” amount of $5,000.00 for construction services. John reiterated Sarah’s comments regarding the many variables to construction oversight. Actual costs are based on hourly billing rates. If the “not to exceed” limit is approached, they will report any problems to the Board before proceeding any further. Baxter-Woodman recommends soil borings be performed and will work with the Town to obtain competitive bids on that portion of the project. An estimate of $1,000.00 for a geotechnical consultant was given (to perform borings). John recommended soil borings every three to five hundred feet to determine what type of base is under the roads; and what resurfacing method will work best.
When asked hourly consulting charges, John indicated his services are billed out at $98.00 per hour; Sarah stated her services are billed at $77.00 per hour.
It was unknown if Triad Engineering prepared a proposal. One had not been received in time for the meeting. Mike moved, 2nd by Paul to table the item until the February meeting. Motion carried.
House numbering system proposal: Lange Enterprises
A proposal was provided based on specifications decided at the December meeting. Gary moved, 2nd by Mike to table any action on the item until a contract is provided with solid prices for steel posts. Motion carried.
Request for cost reimbursement - Camelback Farms Subdivision
Paul moved, 2nd by Mike to release $2,709.00 to Camelback Farms Development as reimbursement for the additional ½ inch of shouldering material required to install final road surfaces in the subdivision. Motion carried.
Follow up issues: N. Honey Lake Road project
Betty explained two considerations the Board delayed until after the N. Honey Lake Road reconstruction project was done.
One was whether to reduce the speed limit on the road. Prior to reconstruction, residents requested this be done. Deputy Prochaska was questioned on whether he felt a speed limit reduction was necessary. He reported three accidents within a month of the new road opening; all in the vicinity of the first curve traveling north from Burlington. He discounted one incident, however, as the driver was driving recklessly regardless of road conditions. Other than that, he has had not complaints about speeding on the road. Sgt. Kacmarcik recommended a speed trailer be placed on the road in Spring; this would document actual speeds and provide a traffic count. The area of “S” curves was identified as a place where reduced speeds would be beneficial. Chris Birkett was directed to check with Racine County Public Works and the Town of Burlington to determine posting requirements for a cautionary speed limit on the curve signs.
The second item was cutting back brush at the intersection of N. Honey Lake and Academy Roads. This was considered prior to the project, but delayed until final road configuration was known. Dave Oldenburg is the owner of the property where overgrowth was identified as a problem. He was contacted previously and stated he would allow the Town to cut back some of the growth on his property to improve visibility, but wanted to be involved in identifying the limits of brush removal. Chris stated he would work with Mr. Oldenburg to trim back the growth. He will then get quotes on removal.
Direction for referendum/ consolidation question: April ballot
Betty reported the deadline for placing an advisory referendum question on Town/Village consolidation on the April Ballot is February 15. Board members identified the need to educate citizens on the topic before the election, identifying pros and cons of consolidation. They also discussed the need to clarify whether residents still wish the Boards to pursue the issue before spending additional time and money on the process. Consensus of the Board was to meet with the Plan Commission and come up with a list of questions they feel residents need answered for use in preparing an educational mailer on consolidation. The Clerk is to direct Atty. John Hotvedt to draft several options to the referendum question for the ballot and present those at the meeting.
Plan Commission Appointment
Gary appointed James Pluta, 2410 Beck Drive, to the Plan Commission for a three-year term beginning January of 2005 and expiring December of 2007.
Application for Operator’s License: Vikki Wendling
Betty reported a responsible beverage server’s course completion certificate was submitted with Vikki’s application. Her background check was clean. Mike moved, 2nd by Gary to approve an operator’s license for Vikki Wendling. Motion carried.
Period for Public Comment. There was none.
Paul moved, 2nd by Mike to adjourn at 9:00 p.m. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted:
Betty J. Novy Clerk-Treasurer
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