MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 28, 2005
Chairman Gene Ratzel called the meeting to order at 5:15PM.
Members of the board present: Chairman Gene Ratzel; Supervisors Dave Scharlau, Jack Meinke and Chris Webb (5:30PM). Also present were the Clerk Lu Peet, Deputy Clerk Elaine Brustad and Donna Porter. Absent: Supervisor Dixie Chermack (Illness)
Ratzel read the notice and agenda as follows:
Special Town Board Meeting Monday February 28, 2005 5:00PM at the Town Hall
The Town Board of the Town of Barnes will meet on Monday February 28, 2005 at 5:00PM.
Agenda Items
1. Insurance Issues-Agents to present policies-board decisions on policies
2. Ambulance Billing Issues
3. Driveway Ordinance Information
4. Ambulance Investment Fund Issues
5. Set date for pre bid road construction meeting
Motion (Scharlau / Meinke) to approve the notice and agenda as read. Motion carried.
1. Insurance Issues-Doug Ecklund of Wausau Insurance was present to go over the Wausau policy. Harold Gerrits of Country Insurance and Financial Services had sent a policy proposal to the town. Each board member was given a copy of Gerrits�s proposal to look over. The board compared the two policies. Ecklund said that our total policy was down from last year even though the town had to add the Employment Practices Insurance. There was discussion on why Wausau�s Workman�s Comp was higher than Gerrits�s as this should be a standard amount. This question was addressed to Ecklund who said that Wausau gave us the quote based on last year�s figures with a .81 ratio. He said that this figure could change when the audit is done. There was discussion on some of the areas that were not covered under Mr. Gerrits�s package. There was discussion on the difference in the auto policies. Gerrits�s proposed amount was about $3,000.00 less. Also the liability was about $700.00 less. The board decided that there was not enough information on this policy to tell if this covered the same items as Wausau�s. The rest of the policy was fairly similar in the amounts quoted. The town would have to get the extra Law Enforcement Liability Insurance with a minimum cost of $2,500.00 on the Gerrits proposal. After further discussion, the board decided to continue with Wausau for our main insurance. It was noted that Mr. Ecklund and other staff at Wausau had been very helpful and available in the past. Mr. Gerrits is from the Menomonee Falls area in the southern part of the state. This was a big factor in the decision to stay with Wausau. Motion (Meinke / Webb) to accept the insurance proposal from Wausau Insurance. Roll call vote was taken: Webb, Yes; Meinke, Yes; Scharlau, Yes and Ratzel, Yes. Motion carried. Ecklund will get together with the clerk to get everything signed. The clerk will contact Mr. Gerrits in the morning to let him know of the board�s decision.
2. Ambulance Billing Issues- The clerk went over the request from United Heathcare to reduce a bill for a recent ambulance run. There was discussion on whose responsibility it was to ok or deny these kinds of claims. It was decided that it would be the board�s decision. There was discussion that the Town of Barnes was very reasonable on its ambulance cost compared to most services and that the supplies are billed out also. The board felt that the bill should not be reduced. There was discussion that the board should make sure it understands how the billing procedure works. Motion (Webb / Scharlau) not to make the adjustment to this bill. Motion carried. The clerk will contact United Healthcare to let them know of this decision.
3. Driveway Ordinance Information- Chermack had prepared a letter to the other board members about the driveway ordinance issue. Chermack had spoken to Dick Compton, a member of the Bayfield County Zoning Board. Compton said that there was discussion at the county level about having a county wide driveway ordinance. Compton has approached Karl Kastrosky, Bayfield County Zoning Administrator, with this idea. Kastrosky is in favor of working on such an ordinance. Compton�s idea is to have a two part ordinance. One part would be the permit for a driveway and the second part would be the permit for the construction of a new house, shed, etc. The letter explained that Compton wanted Chermack to run this by the board because Barnes is so active [in the building area] and that the Town Board of Barnes is progressive and on top of the issues. Compton felt the county needs to work more closely with the towns and have better communications and more town input. Chermack thought that the two- part ordinance was a good idea also. Mr. Compton will be on the March agenda for this issue and will explain it further. Compton will take questions and concerns from us on this ordinance. Webb said that she had also spoken with Mr. Compton on this. There should be some county wide standards. Webb also spoke about the Town of Cable�s driveway policy. This has been sent to the county and it has to have some refinements made to it. It was decided to table this discussion until the March meeting when we will have gotten more information from the county on this. Meinke had a question if fees would be assessed. Meinke said that there had been discussion on the driveway issues at the Wildfire Protection Plan meeting held on the 17th of February. It would be hard to enforce the issue. There was discussion that if the people would not comply with the ordinance, then they could be denied emergency services protection, if the emergency vehicles were unable to get into the driveway. There was concern about the access at the road. We need to educate the people.
4. Ambulance Investment Fund Issues-The Clerk said that she had contacted the CPA on the plan. The CPA said that the funds should be dispersed from the fund to all of the people and that we should not put more into the fund. This would be paid out as payroll and taxes would be taken out as well. The payment for attending meetings, etc. would have to be paid out monthly as wages. The Ambulance Department will have to go over all of the records of the participants and then the clerk will disperse the money accordingly. There was discussion if this money could to go into a LOSA fund. Donna Porter said that it was discussed by the department members and most thought that they were too old to start with this LOSA fund. They would not receive the benefits from it, as you have to have so many years into the plan. It is expensive for the town to buy back the years of service. Webb said that there was going to be a restructuring of the pay schedule. There may be some changes to the pay for meetings attended and runs. There may be paid signup. This is all under consideration at this time. Webb didn�t know how it would work out. Meinke said that the town wanted to do something for the members as they deserve something. This was also to be an incentive to get new recruits. Ratzel asked if there was any other way to do this. It looked like payout was the only option at this time. Motion (Webb / Meinke) to disperse the funds in the Ambulance Investment Fund Account and any other money that was to be put into the account for last year�s meetings. There was discussion on if this would be paid out as payroll. Yes it would. Roll call vote was taken: Webb, Yes; Meinke, Yes; Scharlau, Yes and Ratzel, Yes. Motion carried. The clerk will get the records together and work out the payments with the Ambulance Director.
5. Set Date for Pre Road Construction Meeting- There was discussion that this meeting with the road construction people had to be set soon so the bids can be back by May. This meeting will allow all contractors to be on the same page. The 21st of March was set as the date. The meeting will be held at the Barnes Town Hall at 6:00PM. The specifications and other roadwork requirements will be set up for this meeting so that all contractors will have the information that night. The clerk will get the notice out.
Webb said that she would not be able to attend the March 15, 2005 regular town board meeting as she will be out of town.
Motion (Scharlau / Ratzel) to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucille J. Peet
Barnes Town Clerk
Dated this 6th day of March 2005