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July 12, 2006 Minutes of Town Board Work Meeting
Minutes of Town Board Work Meeting of July 12, 2006
The regular monthly Town Board Work meeting was held in the Town Hall
after due notice had been posted.
Chair John Pelletier called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT:
Town Chair, John Pelletier Clerk, Colleen Endisch
Supervisor, Larry Malsch Treasurer, Shari Wisniewski
Supervisor, Dolores Nowak P.W. Foreman, Mike Petkoff
Supervisor, Wayne Polzin Attorney Steve Wassel
Supervisor, Bill Endisch Attorney Steve Harvey
Fire Chief, Gerald Edwards
Audience: 4 persons
Chair Pelletier declared that a quorum was present for doing
business.
Communications:
None
Comments and Suggestions of citizens present:
Old Business:
None
New Business:
a)Discussion on proposal of Workers Compensation Insurance coverage
commencing
August 1, 2006 (Wausau Business Insurance Company, James Veltman)
Mr. Veltman from Wausau Signature Agency explained to the board the
insurance proposal for Workers Compensation Insurance coverage. Mr.
Veltman explained how the premiums were calculated and identified the
advantages for using their agency, which resides in the Milwaukee
Office. Mr. Veltman explained the differences in the premium
discounts and recommends if approved he would recommend the town
selection the 10% Level Dividend. Mr. Veltman stated the Town
experience modification rate from last year was 1.37%, which is 37%
more than the average. He added the town’s most recent history is
driving up the rate, with an extremely large loss. Mr. Veltman said
his carrier looked at this as a fluke, not the average year for the
town. He said Wausau is primarily a Workers Compensation Carrier,
and the town would need to live with their sins for three years and
after that the town would see an improvement in their experience
rate. Mr. Veltman explained how rates are dictated by the State, and
every carrier will use the state rate, the differences lie in the
premium discount and a potential for a dividend. Mr. Veltman said he
likes to put all options on the table but would recommend the Town
selecting the 10% Level Dividend.
b)Discussion on proposal of Volunteer Firefighters Accident Insurance
commencing October 1, 2006 (Hartford, James Veltman)
Mr. Veltman said he would like to address this issue at a later date;
the expiration date comes up in October. Michelle Strauss from the
Horton Group responded the town has a three year policy which expires
in 2008 and the town was given a discount at premium for signing a
three year renewal. She said the penalty for breaking the agreement
would be approximately 10% of the unearned premium.
c)Discussion on proposal for Officer Liability and Employers Acts,
Property, Auto Liability, Auto Physical Damage, Crime, General
Liability, Law Enforcement Liability, Portable Equipment, Workers
Compensation Insurance Coverage commencing August 1, 2006 (The Horton
Group, Michelle Strauss)
Michelle Strauss from the Horton Group explained the insurance
coverage she was bidding on. She said the policy has guaranteed
replacement cost with no limits; Ms. Strauss went through each
category and explained the provisions of each section. Ms. Strauss
explained the blanket coverage of dishonesty does not include coverage
for those required to be bonded, the only limit available for them
would be $ 25,000, but said the bonds on them could be increased.
Attorney Wassel asked about sexual harassment suits, where this would
be covered and Ms. Strauss stated this is included in the liability
public entity package and the employment practices liability.
Attorney Wassel asked if he could have a copy of the policy. Ms.
Strauss would e-mail him the contract. Wassel asked about the
Employment practice Liability and Ms. Strauss explained it is a claim
made policy, with no retroactive date, so the policy has full prior
acts included. Chair Pelletier asked who the Town would be insured
with and Ms. Strauss responded AAIC, which is an A rated 15 Carrier.
Chair Pelletier thanked Ms. Strauss and told her the Town Board would
be voting to approve the insurance at the Board Meeting and if she was
available she was welcome to join the meeting.
d) Discussion on proposal for Volunteer Firefighter Accident
Insurance commencing October 1, 2006 (The Horton Group, Michelle
Strauss)
Michelle Strauss stated she would like an opportunity to meet with
the fire department, explain their current coverage and explain other
options that are available. She will be in touch to setup a meeting
with the membership.
e)Reports/ Discussion/agenda preparation of issues resulting from
monthly Committee Meetings
1.Administrative Committee
Supervisor Nowak reported an application for a Class “B” Beer License
had been applied for Fontana Ventures, LLC, Paul Demchenko, Agent.
Mr. Demchenko explained the roller rink is not generating enough
business and he is looking at using the facility as a banquet hall, to
rent out for parties. Mr. Demchenko also wanted a wine license but
was told the town couldn’t issue as he didn’t meet the requirement of
50% of his sales being for food. Supervisor Nowak said that she,
Supervisor Malsch and Chief Mayer looked at the facility to see where
the beer would be sold from and stored. Mr. Demchenko has agreed to
the restriction on his license that beer sales would only be for
private parties, which would be non-related to roller skating. This
license would go into effect for August 1, 2006. Clerk Endisch has
posted the legal notice for 7/13/06 edition and the administrative
committee is looking for the Town Board to approve based on the
serving condition with the later effective date.
The Insurance renewals that were previously discussed are being
recommended for approval from the Administrative Committee. This
should be an agenda item.
Supervisor Nowak informed the Board she and Treasurer Wisniewski
reviewed the Municipal Services Agreement for Westshire Farms. Nowak
described the procedure as: The Building Inspector provides
Wisniewski with the number of occupancy permits issued from the
previous year and after January 1, of each year she adjusted the
amount per unit based on the CPI increases. Supervisor Nowak stated
the committee reviewed the procedure and found no impropriety in the
procedure or process.
Attorney Wassel commented that when he asked the procedure to be
reviewed in no way was he suggesting there was any impropriety in the
procedure, but that the subject came up in the discussions with
himself, Supervisor Polzin and the Assessor. Wassel stated in
reviewing the agreement the question came up regarding the fee to be
charged in lieu of taxes for service like plowing of the two roads
that are there, what it costs to deliver to goods. Wassel added the
document does allow for review and thought it was a good time to look
at the document in it’s entirety to see if fair on both sides. Chair
Pelletier asked what the value of the homes are over there, Supervisor
Endisch said he wasn’t sure, he knows what he paid, but that was six
years ago. Pelletier stated he knows someone who recently purchased
and they paid approximately $ 170,000 and Endisch responded that
figure could also include any upgrades to the unit, such as a better
stove, carpet etc., things that wouldn’t affect the value of the
property. Wassel asked what their increase vs. the Town is.
Treasurer Wisniewski stated using the Town’s mill rate, the properties
would come up to a $ 160,000 per assess value of a unit. Supervisor
Polzin and Treasurer Wisniewski debated about the amount Westshire
Farms paid for last year and Treasurer Wisniewski explained they paid
approximately $ 74,000 in 2006 for a units based number calculated
from 2005, just like for a property tax calculation. Polzin stated
the budget sheets for each quarter don’t show the amounts; Wisniewski
explained it is an accrual at the end of the year and the 2005 audit
book reflects what we collect in 2006. Polzin stated he thinks the
number is wrong it should be $ 78,000. Wisniewski stated their
calculation are treated the same as real estate tax, where you pay in
arrears.
Supervisor Polzin stated he would like an agenda item to go over the
application form, how they became tax exempt and how it should be
reviewed. He feels that Westshire Farms is not following the
procedures in the document, that the CBRF Home was to built in the
Spring of 2006 and that there are people living over there that are
not fifty-five years of age. Supervisor Polzin commented he doesn’t
feel the Town Board is doing what they should regarding the Westshire
Property. He asked Chairman what is your job in this. Chair
Pelletier responded that the issue regarding Westshire is the job of
the State and the Assessor. Polzin asked if any of the board members
read their application for tax exemption. Chair Pelletier replied he
didn’t feel the Town Board had any level of interest in this. Polzin
asked, don’t you have any interest or is it because of not being
reelected. Pelletier responded he doesn’t give two damns about being
reelected; he has bigger issues to face like Mound Road, Shodeen etc.
Pelletier stated what Polzin is suggesting is demeaning to him and
that he is getting tired of this witch hunt. Pelletier told Polzin
that Polzin knows that it takes two votes to get an item on an agenda,
and he doesn’t see there being two votes to make that happen. Polzin
responded the 123 single family units are valued at $ 50 M; he can’t
understand why someone isn’t interested in this.
Chair Pelletier asked where the schools are with this and Polzin
responded the President of the School Board won’t become involved in
because he does the plumbing over at Westshire, and he told him that
himself. Chair Pelletier asked Polzin what the town’s options are;
are we saying the assessor isn’t doing his job, what is the mechanism
we should use. Attorney Wassel replied the assessor’s contract is up
for renewal; how do you determine how anyone has done their job.
Wassel told the board that when he, Polzin and the Assessor sat down
to talk about the issue, he did review the contract and he believes
the Assessor is doing his job. The whole Tax Exempt issue has been
challenged in court for these types of facilities and the courts have
sustained they are tax exempt. Until there is a change in the law
these facilities remain tax exempt. Wassel stated that in the past
whenever the Town put Westshire Farms on notice regarding any issue,
the owner fulfilled their obligation immediately.
Supervisor Nowak asked Supervisor Polzin if when he met with the
Assessor was this part of his discussion. Polzin responded this is
wrong, this exemption shouldn’t be done. Polzin stated he looked at
the files, made some copies and talked back and forth. Munson talked
about the principal and the philosophy rather than the nuts and bolts
of how he does a review each year. Attorney Wassel stated he didn’t
see anything unusual or inappropriate with what the Assessor did
nothing different than what he did with other assessments. Wassel
added that Keith Munson is the best assessor around and this has never
been a political issue before.
Supervisor Malsch stated the Town has no say; the say is within the
county and state. Attorney Wassel stated this is no different that
the State Statutes governing churches. Does the Town interview a
church that wants to build in the town and find out if the
minister/pastor is accredited or not and then determine if they are
tax exempt. That is not the Town’s responsibility. Chair Pelletier
stated he thinks the board has wasted enough time on this; we are just
spinning the wheel. Polzin responded he is not done with this yet and
the next issue he is going to tackle is TIF Districts. Pelletier
responded that Supervisor Polzin should run for a state office.
Supervisor Nowak pointed out the $ 1,000 increase in each year of the
proposed assessor contract. She added that National Appraisals is
requesting compensation of $ 10 for each parcel of land in excess of
25 parcels in a year and $ 40 per home/condo in excess of 25 per year.
Supervisors Nowak and Malsch are polling other municipalities to find
out if this is normal and if it is does Chair Pelletier feel we could
get this back from the developer. Supervisor Nowak will talk with
Keith Munson regarding the increase once she finds out the information
about other assessors. Supervisor Nowak will bring back this item to
the Board when more information is available.
Supervisor Nowak stated the General Business License was adopted in
2000 and has never been administered beyond the original mailing. The
Ordinance has no enforcement attached with it. When Clerk Endisch
looked at to do a mailing for the September effective date she had
many questions regarding what happens if the businesses don’t return
the form. Supervisor Nowak stated the Town Clerk would need to create
a list of the businesses, there is no information on file and then
with the ordinance having no regulation or enforcement, it is a
useless exercise of time and expense. Attorney Wassel stated that a
previous administration thought this would be a vehicle to get a floor
plan of each business for fire, police protection, but he does agree
there is no enforcement capability to. Supervisor Nowak asked that an
agenda item to repeal the business license process be put on the
agenda.
Supervisor Nowak explained that she and Supervisor Malsch are still
looking at the best possible use for the old Police Station for the
lowest cost. Nowak will report at a later date with more
information.
2.Economic Growth & Development
Supervisor Nowak informed the board the committee is still
working on the calendar. She and Supervisor Endisch are
meeting with Advance Printing next week. Nowak
has been scanning the pictures and ads for the calendar
into her computer. The Committee is
having a special meeting on July 24th to pick the
pictures for the calendar.
3.Emergency Government
No Meeting
4.Finance Committee
No Meeting – Treasurer Wisniewski commented that everyone needs to
start to think about their budgets.
5.Fire & Rescue Committee
Supervisor Polzin stated that Supervisor Nowak handled the EMS
contractual issue; she can explain where the process is. Supervisor
Nowak stated she briefly talked to EMS about charging for fire
responses. She said EMS has no problems billing anything to do with a
vehicle; typically they bill the auto insurance first and then the
county and/or state.
Supervisor Nowak explained the changes asked to be changed in the
ordinance, which will be an agenda item. She added all recommended
changes to the contract have been addressed. The Town needs to
identify what will go on the last page of the contract. The language
was discussed, Wassel’s office will review. Attorney Wassel stated a
clause needs to be added that EMS will not violate state and federal
regulations and Supervisor Nowak stated it was covered in the
contract. Two additional agenda items are the contract and the HIPA
regulations.
6.Lake Committee
Chair Pelletier explained the challenge on not being able to secure a
permit for the Brown’s Channel project until a site was designated. A
site was now approved and there will be additional engineering work to
be done and Liesch is asking for an additional fee for the incremental
work related to this. He is not sure this will be ready for the Board
Meeting but would like an agenda item to approve an amendment to the
contract with Liesch, for the professional services needed to start
the Brown’s Channel project.
7.Park & Tourism Committee
Supervisor Endisch stated he has applied to DNR to increase the
Launch Fees. The Park Committee and Park Contractor met regarding the
July 4th celebration, the good and bad. Two primary thing came up,
the need to have the Police Department to direct traffic after the
Fire Works and just more police presence, especially later in the
evening. There was one incident later in the evening, where a lot of
verbal exchange went on along with some shoving, the Police were
called. The Manager of the Elks club stated he didn’t have his final
numbers yet for the day, he is still getting in bills, will provide as
soon as he can.
Supervisor Endisch reported that Mr. Beers came to the Park Committee
Meeting and addressed the committee as to why they were considering
replacing him on the committee. Endisch responded that Mr. Beers had
been notified each month regarding the scheduled meetings, he did try
to contact him and Beer’s wife told him he was in California and
Endisch felt that he didn’t live up to his commitment to the
committee. Endisch added that in looking at Dick Hummel’s minutes he
was considering replacing him earlier in the year. Endisch said that
each committee member expressed their interest in Beer’s resigning;
for the good of the committee. Supervisor Polzin stated he thought he
should be replaced; Polzin added that after three meeting are missed a
replacement should be considered. Endisch stated the committee would
like to recommend that Beers be replaced by a resident, who is the
president of Central Printing. He has been both a Town Chair and
Supervisor in another municipality and has been a resident in Delavan
for seventeen years. Supervisor Polzin said he would support the
removal of Richard Beers.
Chair Pelletier asked Endisch about the fellow with the wood carvings
and displaying his wares at the park. Endisch explained that he
wanted to park his truck by the flag pole and Steve Shoff and
Supervisor Endisch told him he couldn’t advertise his business at the
entrance. Pelletier stated the park committee should work on some
written guideline for the park contractor to follow. Pelletier stated
that Brian Bishop called him and was very unhappy with the situation.
Endisch stated that next year the committee is contemplating having a
message board down by the boat launch area, on which they are
considering selling advertising.
Supervisor Polzin asked why the Town was advertising the Cities
Fireworks. Supervisor Malsch responded to let the citizens know what
else is going on in the area for the 4th of July. Supervisor Endisch
responded there was nothing else going on at that time to advertise.
8.Plan Commission
Chair Pelletier stated the Plan Commission approved increases to
their fee schedule a few months back and he needs to the Town Board to
approve. Attorney Wassel will write the ordinance to incorporate the
changes.
Chair Pelletier stated the Plan Commission is recommending the rezone
on property on Bailey and F, the old Sterken Farm, Centerville
Development. Pelletier explained the different zoning in the project
definition.
9.Police Committee
No Meeting
10.Public Works Committee
Chair Pelletier stated the committee discussed the Sunnyside Court
preliminary resolution outlining the project description. He didn’t
think this would be ready for the agenda.
At the June Town Board Meeting $ 30,000 was approved to purchase a
Back Hoe. Tom Thiele and Mike Petkoff looked at pieces of equipment
and were unable to find a used back hoe in good condition for $ 39,000
or less. They found a relatively new back hoe, for
$ 37,000, which won’t require a lot of immediate maintenance.
Petkoff and Thiele recommended they purchase this piece of equipment.
Supervisor Polzin called the company they were dealing with and
negotiated the price to
$ 34,400, and the dealer threw in an extra bucket. Chair Pelletier
said the P.W. Committee is recommending the Town purchase this
equipment. Pelletier added the monies could be moved from Public
Works Capitol Improvements to Equipment Replacement to cover the
additional cost. The resolution to do this should be placed on the
agenda.
Chair Pelletier reported the bid for the Woods Mower came in for more
than $ 10,000 and the Public Works Committee agreed they should
purchase it.
Chair Pelletier asked to have an agenda item authorizing the sale of
a 1974 Oshkosh Truck. Pelletier stated that Darien had been
interested in the truck, Mechanic, Tom Thiele will check with them to
see if still interested.
11.ETZ Committees
None
12.Other
The Town received correspondence from Independent Inspections
regarding the condemnation of the Funovitz property. Independent
Inspections is looking for Board action to authorize a raze order.
Attorney Harvey remarked there are thirteen violations currently
pending, he is trying to resolve all the tickets issued. This will be
an agenda item.
Clerk Endisch stated the Town needs to repeal and recreate section
1.07 (6) of the municipal code changing the poll hours to 7 am to 8
pm. This is based on stated mandated uniform hours.
Supervisor Polzin stated there was an article in the Town Association
Magazine regarding nuisance grass and how towns could deal with.
Clerk Endisch responded she issues the noxious weed notice every year
prior to May 1, 2006 as required. Chair Pelletier stated with a rural
community like we live in where people grow prairie grass, any
regulation is on this is difficult.
Treasurer Wisniewski asked Attorney Wassel about the settlement with
CK Recreations. Wassel responded their attorney say they have the
check, but he hasn’t seen it. He will check on.
Treasurer Wisniewski commented that the threshold for items to be put
out to bid has changed from $ 15,000 to $ 25,000.
Adjournment:
Supervisor Nowak made a motion to adjourn with a second from
Supervisor Endisch and the motion carried unanimously.
Chair Pelletier adjourned the meeting at 8:55 PM
ATTEST: APPROVED:
_____________________________ ______________________________
Colleen Endisch, Town Clerk John Pelletier,
Town Chair