Committee of the Whole

CITY OF AMERY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE PROCEEDINGS September 21st, 2021 The Committee of the Whole of the City of Amery met on Tuesday – September 21st, 2021 at City Hall and via Zoom. Council President, Chad Leonard called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. Present: Council President, Chad Leonard; Mayor, Paul Isakson; and Alderpersons, Tim Strohbusch; Rick Van Blaricom; Sarah Flanum; and Eric Elkin. Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator, Patty Bjorklund; City Clerk-Treasurer, Ben Jansen; and Administrative Assistant, Taylor Larson. Staff Absent: Police Chief, Tom Marson; Public Works Director, Jeff Mahoney; and Library Director, Amy Stormberg. Others Present: Larry Stelter; Eric Barclay – MSA; Amery Area Library Board President, Ashley Long; and IFLS Director, John Thompson. Public Comment – Eric Barclay of MSA was present to give an update on the Keller Avenue Project. He stated that MSA would like to have a block party of sorts to celebrate the reopening of Keller Avenue in October. Alderperson, Van Blaricom; expressed his desire to see the City kick in some money for the celebration. Mayor Isakson took some time to speak about this year’s Fall Festival Celebration. He thanked the Public Works Crew and the Police Department for all their hard work in making it possible. Department Head Reports – Reports were heard from Administrator, Bjorklund; and Clerk-Treasurer, Jansen. Ordinances: 13-2021 – Fire Inspections; 14-2021 – Abandoned Vehicles; and 15-2021 – City Officers. The first ordinance presented, 13-2021, governs fire inspections within the Fire Department’s jurisdiction. The Fire Chief has spoken at length about his desire to move to once a year inspections on all buildings that are not state mandated or adjacent to each other. In this ordinance shared wall properties and state mandated inspections would still be performed twice a year. Alderperson, Strohbusch; stated that he would prefer to stay at twice a year inspections. Motion by Flanum; seconded by Isakson; to forward Ordinance 13-2021 – Fire Inspections to Council as written. Ayes – 5 Nays – 1 Motion Carried. Ordinance 14-2021 concerns abandoned/junk vehicles within the City. The passage of this has been recommended by Police Chief, Marson to help his department clean up different lots around the City. Council President, Leonard; noted that the 10 day limit on vehicles not moving seems severe and could easily be applied to many people that have multiple vehicles. Alderperson, Strohbusch; stated that a licensed and operational provision should be included. The Ordinance was sent back to City staff for more revisions. Ordinance 15-2021 addresses the changes to City staff and the splitting up of the Administrator and Clerk-Treasurer roles. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Isakson; to forward Ordinance 15-2021 to Council as written. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Resolution 16-2021 – Redistrict Ward Boundaries. Due to the Census the City must address its electoral wards. The populations in the different wards did not change drastically and therefore the ward boundaries did not change. 1 Motion by Flanum; seconded by Isakson; to forward Resolution 16-2021 to Council as written. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. South Industrial Park Update. Erik Henningsgard was present to discuss the status of the South Industrial Park Project. It is currently ready to be set to bid and it is Erik’s recommendation that we send it out immediately rather than wait until the winter. The question now is whether to bid it as one segment or both. Erik recommends that the bid be for both segments. Motion by Elkin; seconded by Strohbusch; to recommend to Council that the project be sent to bid this fall. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Direction for Change Order Regarding Curb on Keller Ave. Eric Barclay was also present to speak on this topic. Upon inspection of the repoured curb on Keller Ave it was discovered that the downtown section is approx. ½ to ¾ of an inch too thin. This is the 2nd time that the curb was not poured correctly. The first time the City received a 22% savings per lineal foot. The recommended discount for this instance is between 25-30 percent. Motion by Elkin; seconded by Van Blaricom; to offer a 25% reduction in cost to the Concrete Contractor. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. City Center Outdoor Signage. This topic was brought forward purely for discussion. The new City Center has not yet had any signage plans for the exterior of the building. The Committee was given two preliminary quotes from different businesses. Alderson Flanum and Mayor Isakson expressed their desire to see a local company do the work. Schedule of Fees. This item was brought to the committee because of changes that will be made to it should Ordinance 13-2021 pass. All of the municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Fire Department have imposed a $100 fee for a failed fire re-inspection and for every subsequent failed re-inspection. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Elkin; to recommend the Schedule of Fees to Council as presented. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Library Move Costs to New City Center. Library Board President Ashley Long had created a spreadsheet that showed the different options and costs for the library move. She stated that the Library would prefer to have a move that would result in the least amount of disruption to their services. Council President, Leonard; asked what the Library was ultimately asking for prompting the question as to who is actually in charge of the move. Alderperson, Strohbusch; stated that the Committee was not looking at the issue in that way and that maybe more time is needed to think about this issue. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Van Blaricom; to table the discussion until the October Council Meeting. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Charging Stations for Electric Cars. This topic was brought forward by Council President, Leonard in regard to the City’s funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. He just wanted to start the discussion about possible uses and that maybe charging stations could be an option for the City to pursue as there are no stations between New Richmond and Hayward. 2 Designation of Safe Exchange Spot in the City. This topic was also brought forward by Council President, Leonard; as discussions about the City Center Project have taken place. This type of place has been seen in different municipalities as a place for separated parents to exchange children or for people buying things on craigslist to meet. The City Center near the police garage was suggested as a suitable location but no action was taken at this time. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Van Blaricom; to go into closed session at 6:35 P.M. under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)E – Police Union Negotiations. Deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session. Roll Call Vote Ayes – Strohbusch, Van Blaricom, Leonard, Flanum, Isakson, Elkin. Nays – None Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Elkin; to reconvene into open session at 7:00 P.M. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Elkin; to adjourn at 7:00 P.M. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried Respectfully Submitted, Ben Jansen, MPA Clerk-Treasurer September 23rd, 2021 3