Chairman
Ratzel called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.
The Pledge
Allegiance to the Flag was said.
Chairman
Ratzel read the Amended Agenda as Follows:
Amended Agenda
Call the meeting to order
Pledge Allegiance to the
Flag
Approve the January Agenda
Approve the Minutes of the
Last Regular Board Meeting
Treasurer’s Report
Voucher’s Approval
Clerk / Correspondence
Change Date of February Town
Board Meeting-Primary Election Day is that day
Zoning- 1.Flora
Oberholtzer-Operate a home-based small engine, mostly marine, repair business
and boat storage; request 2
on-premise and 2 off-premise signs.2. Brad Brunner-Board of
Appeals (Variance) to build a
garage for residential storage-Sunset Condominiums
Appointed Clerk and Appointed
Treasurer-Create ordinance to change these positions
Potawatomi Property Issues-Updates
Employee Handbook for Town
of Barnes-Updates
Resolution for the
Establishment of a Public Participation Procedure for Comprehensive Plan
Resolution for the
Authorization of the Application for Lake Planning Grant
Snow Plow Issues-Len Schiller
Web Site Issues
Fire Department-New member
Public Comment Session-5
Minute limit for those not on agenda
Cemetery Committee-Bud Pease
Comprehensive Land Use
Planning Committee-Updates
Centennial Committee-Updates
BADC-Updates
Department head reports-
Board member reports
Motion (Webb / Chermack) to approve the January
Amended Agenda as read. Motion carried.
Motion (Chermack / Scharlau) to approve the Minutes
of the Last Regular Town Board Meeting. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s
Report –Treasurer
Sesko gave the Treasurer’s Report as follows:
Checking Balance from last
meeting $ 220,709.03
Receipts # 15961-# 15985 $
72,379.24
Checks # 17388-# 17498 $ (81,425.57)
December Federal Payment
(EFTPS) $
(3,596.50)
December Interest $ 102.29
December Service Charge $ (16.30)
Transfer from Tax Checking
(To clear account) $ 151.59
Checking
Balance $ 208,303.78
Ambulance Department
Investment Fund-Receipt # 15974 $3.42 $
1,812.17
Highway Department Sinking
Fund-Receipt # 15976 $132.64 $
70,295.83
BES Sinking Fund-Receipt
#15975 $10.32 $
7,715.09
Park Savings-Receipt # 15978
$15.10 $
8,214.65
Ski Trail Savings-Receipt #
15973, 15977 and 15981 $66.87 $
181.18
Parade-Event Calendar
Fund-Receipt # 15979 $3.65
Balance all
Accounts $ 298,875.67
Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to approve the
Treasurer’s Report as presented. Chermack had a question on
the receipt numbers for the
Ski Trail Fund. Sesko said that
there were three of them-#15973, #15977 and #15981. Motion carried.
Treasurer Sesko had several items for the board’s
approval.
The treasurer will take care
of these matters
Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve the vouchers as presented. Motion carried.
Clerk /
Correspondence
!!!!!!****************************************!!!!!!
9. Don’t forget about the Primary
Election to be held on Tuesday February 17, 2004. This will be the
Presidential Preference Primary. There are no local offices up for primary this
year. If anyone needs to vote by absentee ballot, they are requested to
notify the clerk in writing and she will send out the ballots to you. All
ballots MUST be received back by the 17th of February to be counted.
Any ballots that arrive after that date will be rejected.
Change Date of
February Town Board Meeting-Because the Primary Election Day is the same day as our regularly
scheduled town board meeting, the board must decide on a new meeting date.
Motion (Chermack / Webb) to approve the change of
date for the February meeting to Thursday February 12, 2004 at 6:30PM. Motion
carried.
Cemetery
Committee-Bud
Pease (This report has been switched to this location on the agenda at the
request of Mr. Pease. It will, from now on, be on the agenda in this time
slot.) Pease said that there was one burial in December. Mr. Ernie Wolters,
formerly of Point O Pines Resort in Barnes, was interred in December. A new
flag, donated by the VFW, was put up to replace the torn one. All else is good
Mr. Pease reported. Ratzel had a question on plowing and opening up the roads
in the cemetery. Pease said that they only keep open the main drive in and open
up roads only to where there would be a burial. This is to prevent damage to
the cemetery. The road crew will try to keep the main road accessible. Chermack
said that if someone wants to go to a site, they have to walk in? The answer
was yes, but that the main roads would be open.
Zoning- 1.Flora Oberholtzer-Operate
a home-based small engine, mostly marine, repair business and boat storage;
request 2 on-premise and 2 off-premise signs. The Oberholtzers were not
present. The board members are familiar with the location. Chermack had several
questions that she needed answered.
Chermack had several conditions she would like added
to the board’s response to zoning:
Chermack also had a question on the 24’ x 24’
residential pole building that was listed on the proposed site map. Webb said
that the request didn’t seem complete, because it did not indicate this
building on the permit.
Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to open the floor to
discussion. Motion carried. There was discussion on these issues. Mike Furtak
from zoning said that this 24’ x 24’ building was not part of the issue here.
Jon Harkness felt that the people who bring these zoning requests to the board
should be present to answer any questions that the board might have. The board
or any other person should not be an advocate for someone else’s permit. The
board should table the issue until the people are here to represent themselves.
Ratzel asked Furtak what was the correct way to go about this. Furtak said that
the meeting had to be properly noticed (which it had been) and that the board
could request the person to be there. Then if the board wants to ask questions,
the people would be able to respond. Tom Renz had concerns about what was being
stored in these buildings. He does not want any surprises if there is a fire,
such as hazardous chemicals. Furtak said this could be made a condition of the
appeal. It would have to be applied equally to everyone. Furtak said he was not
here as an advocate for this permit, but for another reason. Webb asked why the
boats needed to be shrink wrapped when they would be under cover. It
was noted that the boats would be out in the open. Motion
(Webb / Chermack) to close the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Ratzel
said he would agree to a postponement of this issue. Motion (Webb / Chermack) to
postpone this zoning item until the next meeting. Motion carried. The
clerk will send the copy of the zoning request with the board’s remarks to the
Zoning Office. Ms. Oberholtzer will be contacted as to this matter.
2.Brad Brunner-Board of Appeals (Variance) to build a
24’X24’ garage for residential storage-Sunset Condominiums by Bony Creek.
Scharlau asked if this was the same issue as last month. No, it is an
additional building. Chermack had a question on the construction of the
building. Would it be in keeping with the “north woods” image? Yes, it will
look like the lodge. Webb asked if there was any negative feedback from the
surrounding property owners. The clerk said she had received several letters
from adjoining property owners giving their full approval. She read from
portions of them. Mike Furtak from zoning said that there would be a 5’ setback
from the lot line instead of 10’ and a 50’ setback from Bony Creek instead of
100’. Meinke said that that building is set back further than other buildings
there now. Motion (Chermack /
Scharlau) to approve the Board of Appeals variance for Brad Brunner to build a
garage for residential storage in the Sunset Condominiums on Bony Creek with no
further conditions. Motion carried. The clerk will fax the information to the zoning office in the morning
and then send the physical copies to them by regular mail. Furtak said that the
county usually would let the town give their opinions, but after the second meeting
and no answers, the county does was it has to do. The board signed the Bruner request. Only Ratzel and the clerk
signed the Oberholtzer permit request pending further investigation by the
board.
Appointed
Clerk and Appointed Treasurer-Create ordinance to change these positions. There
was a little discussion on this issue. Ratzel said the main concerns were that
someone competent to hold the job would be chosen for the job and also there
would be more continuity for the operations of the town. The attorney has
redone the ordinance to state that the Clerk position and the Treasurer
position are to be appointed positions and not elected. The ordinance will be
posted and published accordance to state statutes. This has to be with the
deadline of 45 days before the Spring Election when this issue will be on a
referendum for the people to vote on. The combining of the two offices could be
then done by resolution at the Annual Meeting held one week later, if
necessary. This would create a position that would pay a viable wage to attract
a qualified person. Motion (Webb /
Chermack) to approve the Ordinance for Appointed Clerk and Appointed Treasurer.
Motion carried. The board
members signed the ordinance and the clerk attested the signing. The clerk will
publish and post the ordinance the week of January 26, 2004.
Potawatomi
Property Issues-Updates. Ratzel said that the attorney has said that this issue would
have to be brought before the electors at the Annual Meeting on April 13, 2004,
as it has to do with the transfer of town lands, by resolution. Anyone can
bring a resolution to the Special Town Meeting or Annual Meeting. Webb asked if
it had to be published in the paper. It is only a resolution. Motion
(Webb / Scharlau) to open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Dawn
Pittman from the Potawatomi Property Owners Association asked if this step has
to be taken first? Ratzel said that approval from the electors has to happen
first. Then a court date can be set. This whole process could take several
months. Webb said it could have come up at the Special Town Meeting that was
held in November, but the resolution was not presented to the electors at that
time. Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to close the floor to discussion.
Motion carried.
Employee
Handbook for Town of Barnes-Updates. Ratzel had given a copy of the latest draft
of the handbook to all supervisors today. There have been some grammar changes
and also some other minor information changes, such as adding the required
employee forms to the handbook in an addendum. The entire handbook has been
sent to the attorney for legal review. It is hoped that it will be back in time
for the board to make a final decision on this issue at the special town board
meeting that will be held on January 29, 2004 for ordinance review and also for
this issue. The town has to have this document to deal with issues that come up
in the town. The board will postpone this decision until the meeting on the 29th
(or later if the attorney does not get back to us by then).
Resolution for
the Establishment of a Public Participation Procedure for Comprehensive Plan- (A
copy of the resolution in its entirety, can be viewed at the town office or a
copy obtained from the clerk.) This resolution needs to be adopted for the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan so that they can proceed with the Public
Participation
requirement for the plan.
Chermack read the resolution. Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to
adopt the Resolution Establishing Public Participation Procedures for
Comprehensive Land Use Plan as read. There
was discussion on the number of people that had been contacted or that had
expressed an interest in being on this board. There are 30 people who will sit
on the Citizens Advisory Board. These people are made up from the clubs and
businesses and other interested people. Motion carried.
Resolution for
the Authorization of the Application for Lake Planning Grant- (A
copy of the resolution in its entirety can be viewed at the town office or a
copy may be obtained from the clerk.) Chermack read the resolution. She said
that the committee was in the process of applying for a grant. Scharlau said
that the Lake Grant was probably the only one that we would get. It is due in
by the 1st of February. The money would come in April and May. Motion (Scharlau / Webb) to accept the Resolution
Authorizing Application for Lake Management Planning Grant. Motion carried.
The board signed both resolutions. These will both be sent to Cedar
Corporation, the Land Use Planning consultants.
Snow Plow
Issues-Len
Schiller asked the board to consider enacting a cut-off date on the snow
plowing agreement. Now there is none, just an additional late fee, if not paid
by the due date. Schiller said that the reason
for this cut-off was that the crew has no idea what
may lie under the snow. The snow could also accumulate to a very deep amount,
mixed with ice, and this could damage the town’s equipment. It also is extra work
for the clerk to create new lists. Schiller requested that the board approve
that no more new requests be honored after the 20th of January of
this year and that in future agreements the cut-off date should be December 15
of that year. Motion (Meinke / Scharlau) to accept the proposal for the
immediate cut-off date for this year of January 21, 2004 for new snow plowing
requests and that hereafter, the cut-off date for applications would be
December 15th of that year. The late fee would be in effect after
the 1st of November. Motion carried.
Web Site
Issues- Chairman Ratzel gave a progress report on the web
site issue. The board needs more information on this. He will be meeting with
Paul LaLiberte, Dave Thorson and Gene Miller on Thursday to go over some
options. He asked the board if they wanted to be more involved in this or just
have the final say in this matter before money is spent. Webb felt that the
board just needed to see, more or less, the finished product. All were in
agreement that this issue needs to be resolved soon as there are many town
issues that should be put up on the web site. Webb said that we have to come up
with a plan. Chermack said that the Planning Committee wants to post the
results of the Land Use Survey that was recently completed and that they are
planning a link or article on this and that they need a contact person. The
Centennial Committee is also in need of putting items on the web site as soon
as possible. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to
open the floor to discussion. Motion carried. Jon
Harkness wanted an issue clarified about the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and
Comprehensive Plan issues. Chermack said it should always be referred to as the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan, not Comprehensive Plan. We have to be consistent
in our wording of this. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to
close the floor to discussion. Motion carried.
Fire
Department- New
member. Fire Chief Tom Renz asked the board to approve John Prohaska as a new
member of the Fire Department. He has completed Entry Level Fire Fighter, at
the least, and is also a First Responder. He is now a member of the Town of
Highland Fire Department, but wants to join the Barnes department as well. He
has been to several of our fires already. His background check has been
completed. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) to approve John Prohaska as the
new member of the fire department. Motion carried.
Public Comment
Session- 5
Minute limit for those not on agenda. John Hawksford, a candidate for
the seat on the County Board for the Barnes / Drummond district now held by
incumbent Neil Paulson, introduced himself and gave a brief statement on his
qualifications. Mike Furtak spoke on the Uniform Dwelling Code. He said
that in the past those towns under 2500 in population were able to opt out of
this requirement. Now the town will have to do something. There are basically
four ways that the town can go:
Furtak requested that the town NOT use the county,
as it does not have the staffing to accomplish this enforcement. Dave Pease
said that the town board opted out of this several years ago when it was still
optional. The cost would be about $500.00 to $1,000.00 per home. The cost could
be put to the homeowners. Scharlau asked what kind of time frame there would be
for the homeowner or construction company. It is still in the planning phase
Furtak said. There are not many people who do this kind of work. Dawn Pittman
asked about the ice rink in back of the town hall. Webb said that at the one of
the budget meetings, the rink was discussed and that the board decided not to
repair the rink now, but wait until the weather warms up. Webb did not think
that there was a decision not to flood the rink, however. Tom Renz had
indicated that he would flood the rink. There was a problem with a frozen
system when he went to do it and Paul Anderson Well Service had to be called in
for repairs. This water system also is for filling the fire trucks. There was
discussion on where the monetary responsibility would go. It will be split
between the Recreation Department and the Fire Department.
Comprehensive Land Use Planning Committee-Updates. Dave Pease said that the
committee had met and had sent out all of the surveys last month. Most have
been sent back to Cedar Corporation for compilation (about 800). There will be
a meeting on February 18, 2004 to discuss this. The Public Participation
Committee will be in place then also. It will be made up of community members.
The process is going well. When we get the results of the survey back, we
should be able to go forward in this.
Centennial
Committee-Updates.
Judi Scholz reported that the Centennial Committee was very busy planning the
party for the Centennial Celebration. The dates have been set as follows: May
11, 2005 will be the Founder’s day dinner with some political figures
proclaiming that Barnes is 100 years old. There will be a bell ringing and that
will open our year of celebration. The big celebration will be held on June 24th,
25th and 26th of 2005. Friday night will be the opening
ceremonies. The museum will open, temporarily stored in the town hall, to
display artifacts and information, through the 4th of July. There
will be a historical program consisting of song and dance on the 100 years of
Barnes history. Saturday will have lots of activity include a living history
reenactment, kids old-fashioned games, a bike ride in the morning, a beard
growing contest, a tour of historic sites, other interesting exhibits, a
community picnic and a street dance at night. There will be an ecumenical
worship service on Sunday morning and a closing ceremony and time capsule
burial and the ending bell ringing ceremony. Scholz said that there were long
range plans for the future, to have a book and historical museum for the town.
It has purchased a file cabinet to adequately store the items for now. They
have also received their first donation. Ratzel said that he had heard about a
time capsule that may have been buried in the early 1900’s. Scholz did not know
if there was one, but would investigate this. Ratzel also asked if there was a
reason why the celebration would be held the last of June, instead of the 4th
of July weekend. Scholz said that this was mostly on the requests of the
business owners. This would extend the celebration and economic impact for the
community.
BADC-Updates. Ratzel said that
Art Smith has to contact the county on trying to make County Highway N a
12-month road. Neil Paulson said that the BADC should send a letter to the
county board to this effect. The Barnes Area Development Corporation has given
its financial report to the town board as requested.
Department
head reports-
Fire
Department-Tom Renz. The department has given the yearly report
to the board for 2003 fires and runs and meetings for the LOSA report. Webb
asked if he had done the qualifications workup on the members for LOSA. He has
done this and has turned the papers into the clerk. Chief Renz reported that
the department had been to a fire this morning-mostly smoke damage. He has
talked to Elite on the new fire truck. All of the parts have been ordered. They
will in start 5-10 days and the truck will be completed in about 8 weeks. It
will then be on display at the Fire Convention to be held in Stevens Point. The
department will take over the truck from there. As far as the 4th of
July Fireworks go, Renz has spoken with Bob Wolters. He is a licensed pyro tec.
His suppliers give him a rebate, which he uses to buy more fireworks. Ratzel
asked where the fire department got the water from this morning? They did not
use any water this morning. Ratzel also asked why the Town of Clover got such a
nice grant from FEMA for their fire department ($250,000.00). Renz said that
their department was in worse shape than ours was. They are in a depressed area
and a ways from other towns. Our department hasn’t heard back from FEMA yet, so
there is still a chance we might get a grant. Chermack asked if
the chief had completed
the inspection of all fire department equipment as requested be done the first
of the year. Renz said that this was going to be done at the meeting to be held
on Wednesday night of this week. She also asked about the assignment sheets for
the radios and pager that are out. This will also be done on Wednesday night.
She asked if he was going to have a copy of the proclamation for the new fire
truck. He said he would have it done.
Ambulance
Department-Viola Friermood. In the absence of the Ambulance
Director, Vi Friermood, Donna Porter gave the following report:
There were two calls-one fire and one transfer. The three
defibs that were left to be sent out for maintenance have been sent out. Three
members of the department went to the Arrowhead Conference in Duluth in January
and four are going to go to the conference in Milwaukee at the end of January.
Vi Friermood, Ambulance Director. The Ambulance Department was requested to
produce a record of the radios and pagers that are out to them. The Ambulance
Department was asked to turn in its reports on meeting attendance so that the
Ambulance Investment Plan could be paid out for 2003. Porter said she would
give this information to Viola.
Constable- Mike
O’Keefe. The constable called the clerk early in the day to say he was sick. He
gave the following report to the clerk to present: 2 alarms in response from
the Sheriff’s Department (homeowner’s requests), 6 snowmobile / ATV incidents
(speeding / people on private property), 2 cars in the ditch (assist motorists)
and 1 deer hit. There were a total of 11 calls.
Garage Foreman-Len Schiller-Schiller said that in addition to the regular winter
activities, the crew and Gene Ratzel assisted at the Transfer Site while Tom
Pieters was on vacation. The compactor broke down and had to be repaired. It is
now up and running. The new bags that were ordered for the Transfer Site have
been delivered. A new shipment (3 loads) of salt and sand was delivered for the
highway department, as they were running out. Schiller wanted the people to
know that salt and sand do not work well under 20 degrees. Schiller discussed
the pump house at the rear of the town hall area. He said that there are three
wells that service the town hall and town garages and park. The valve was frozen
and broken at the rink area pump house. There is a 1,000-gallon tank there.
There is a heater inside of the pump house, but it appears that the heater was
not turned on. It may have been turned off for the summer, he didn’t know. He
will keep a close eye on the pump house. The door is kept locked. The breaker
had to be replaced. The dry wall is saturated. The insulation is also wet. The
building does need to be upgraded he said. It needs insulation and a new heater
with a fan. Schiller asked the board to assign responsibility for this
building, the fire department or the garage or recreation department. Webb
asked about the ice rink, on whether to replace the boards or just flood it
like other communities do. There was discussion on just taking the boards out
this summer and just flooding the area for the ice rink. Also, would it be a
good idea to rip out the concrete. Scharlau said that it would be very
expensive to remove the concrete. It would also be pricey to repair it.
Skateboarders do use it in the warm months. The fire department can flood the
rink. In the past volunteers kept the ice shoveled off. When Henry was working,
he took care of this, but there is no one to do it now. Meinke said that the
people who had called him on this issue were willing to help out. The issue of
the rink will be put on the agenda at a later date in spring. Webb said that
there must have been some miscommunication at the meeting on the rink issue.
The cost to repair the valves, etc. will be splint up between the fire and
recreation department budgets. Schiller also said that a new float should be
put in the big tank.
Board member
reports
Jack Meinke-Meinke
had nothing new to add, but thanked everyone for coming out on this cold night.
Chris Webb-Webb
had one question on resolutions. Is there a record of all of them? The clerk
said that all of the resolutions that have been passed since she has been clerk
are in order and are in the Resolutions Book.
Dixie
Chermack-Chermack asked Webb about the DSL line. Webb said
she would look into it in the morning. She will also take a look at our
existing lines to make sure we do not have excessive lines into the hall or
garage or ambulance area. Chermack brought up the Hanes property on 27. Where
are we on that? Meinke said that there is communication from zoning on it and
it is being worked on. It’s in the works, but who knows when it will be
finished. Chermack asked about the list of radios from the Ambulance
Department-have we got one yet?
Renz said that he had his
list, but did not have the Ambulance list. Ratzel said that this is why the
department heads should be at the meetings, to answer these kinds of questions.
Meinke said that these radios are expensive and there should be an accurate
account of where they are. Gene Miller suggested contacting DSC Wireless to see
if they had a list of our radio serial numbers. The equipment issue will be put
on as an agenda item at a future meeting. Chermack reminded the board of the
WTA district meeting on February 28th. Also the same meeting will be
held in April in Cumberland, if you can’t make the Hayward meeting. The board
is to let the clerk know who is going to go so she can sign them up. There was
a discussion if Marilee Ludgatis was still a member of the Ambulance
Department. At the last meeting it was noted that she was quitting the
department because of health reasons. The board will inquire into this.
Chermack asked about the dumpster situation. Scharlau said that the board would
have to check on the price and compare the costs. There was no contract between
MDC Recycling and the town. Bob Wolters will be checked out as well as the
Nedland Corporation as another source for this. This issue will be put on the
February agenda. Chermack said that Sawyer County would have six cars up for
sale at the end of January. Should she keep her eyes opened for a car for the
constable?
Dave Scharlau-
Scharlau asked if a letter had been sent to WITC regarding classes for
EMT’s that could be held here in town or in the area. The clerk said that she
had sent the letter. She asked that WITC contact Viola, Peggy or Del Jerome
about this. Scharlau asked if we knew what size dumpster we need. This will
have to be looked at also.
Gene Ratzel-Ratzel
had one issue. The icy conditions of a few weeks ago caused lots of problems on
the roads in town. We have made a special effort to be sure to get out and sand
the worst area. We can’t sand all of the roads. If you know of a problem area,
please let us know so we can get some sand on them- just drive a little slower
and be careful. Ratzel said that he had gotten some strong remarks on the
taxes, but that he would be addressing these on a personal basis.
Motion
(Meinke / Scharlau) to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The
meeting was adjourned at 9:00PM.
Members of the board
present: Chairman Gene Ratzel, Supervisors Jack Meinke, Chris Webb, Dixie
Chermack and Dave Scharlau. Also present were the Treasurer Debbie Sesko and
Clerk Lu Peet.
Department Heads in
attendance: Fire Chief Tom Renz, Cemetery Sexton Bud Pease and Garage Foreman
Len Schiller. Absent were Constable Mike O’Keefe (illness) and Ambulance
Director Viola Friermood.
Members of the community
present: Donna S. Porter, David Pease, John Hawksford, Jon Harkness, Buzzy
Harkness, Brett Harper, Diane Rupnow, Brad Bruner, Dick Collyard, Dawn N.
Pittman, Greta Pittman, Judi Scholz, Jack Scholz, Mike Furtak, Gerald
Gustafson, Gene Miller and Mitch McGee. There may have been others in
attendance not noted or signed in.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucille J. Peet
Barnes Town Clerk
Dated this 24th
day of January 2004