City Council

Town of Vermont Board Meeting October 9, 2023 Vermont Town Hall 4017 County Rd JJ, Black Earth WI 53515 7:00 P.M. To Join the meeting by phone: +1 347-896-0991 PIN: 481 262 925# In attendance: Karen, Doug, Alex, Nick, Kirk 1. Approval of agenda Karen called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Doug made a motion to approve the agenda. Agenda approved 5-0. 2. Approval of September minutes Karen made a motion to approve the September minutes. Motion carried 5-0 3. Chairman's report and acknowledgments Nothing to report 4. Citizens’ Input Barbara Borns came to speak about the Black Earth Creek Watershed Association board. Dane county is expanding the public fishery area and has purchased some additional land. Paulette Glunn from Northwest Dane Senior Services was also on hand to speak about their funding request. 5. Treasurer’s report Not a lot of activity this month. We did get the payment for the special assessments. Total balance of $337,000. We have everything for the year except for the fourth quarter transportation. Alex made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion carried 5-0. 6. Clerk’s report We wrote the check this month for the salt for the year, $22,114.69 and also paid the 3rd quarter for Black Earth Fire. Doug made a motion to approve the clerk’s report. Motion carried 5-0. 7. Payment of bills Doug made a motion to approve the payment of the bills. Motion carried 5-0. 8. Patrolman Report, Mt. Horeb Fire Department, Black Earth Fire District and District 1 EMS Reports Jack is working on the last round of mowing and has the salt in the shed for winter. The new 550 is still waiting on one last part, and we can’t take delivery yet. Mount Horeb Fire budget meeting was last month and the budget passed 8-0. Union contract negotiations continue. Next July there will be a meeting for all municipalities to discuss budget planning. Black Earth fire has a 4.5% increase in budget, but because of the equalized value, it will be about a 500 dollar increase for Vermont.  9. Health insurance 88% premium rule discussion and possible decision regarding employee benefits It was brought to the attention of the town that the way we have been paying a portion of Jack’s health insurance was out of line with state law. Katie walked through the 88% rule for calculating the town share of the health insurance. The town will contribute the 88% amount beginning Jan 2024 and reopen Jack’s contract next month to make clarifications to the language regarding benefits. 10. 2024 Budget and Reserve discussion Heather walked through a preliminary view of the 2024 budget. The board discussed various tweaks to the expense side based on projected needs. The board agreed to keep the current Bobcat rather than trading it in. The board also decided to remove the line item for spraying for garlic mustard. The board put 104,000 into reserve for the replacement of Bohn Road Bridge. 11. Bohn Road Bridge project funding update and discussion Kirk and Doug will dig into this a bit more. We do not have any answer from the county yet. 12. Black Earth Fire and District 1 EMS/ Public Safety Spending discussion The board continued to discuss the idea of Black Earth Fire, District 1 and Mazo combining into one district. Karen reached out to the town chairs to discuss District 1, but was not able to set up a meeting. The board discussed strategies for getting more interest in the topic in the area. 13. Consideration and possible approval of planning commission request for assistance from the Town Board to assist landowners who want to construct an Agriculture Accessory Building to support Forest Management to get approval from County Zoning Nick made a motion to approve the request for assistance from the Town Board to assist Mr Underwood who wants to construct an Agriculture Accessory Building to support Forest Management to get approval from County Zoning. Motion passed 5-0. Katie will send the motion to Roger Lane and copy Tim and Karen. 14. Discussion and possible appointment of a board subcommittee to compose the survey regarding ATV use on town roads Karen appointed Alex, Tim and Doug to compose the survey questions. Katie will check on postal requirements. 15. Then and Now Book Printing David spoke about options for printing the Then and Now book for the consideration of the board. 16. Agenda items for November  Public Budget Hearing (post for 6:30 before the board meeting) Contract review re: health insurance Document Retention ATV survey Fire District Bohn Road Bridge Road bid opening 15. Adjournment Doug made a motion to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0 Meeting adjourned at 9:55