Common Council Meeting

The Common Council met at City Hall in the City of Black River Falls on October 1, 2024 at 6:00 P.M. Alderpersons Gearing-Lancaster, Ammann, Peloquin, M. Rave, E. Rave, Dougherty, and Busse were present. Alderperson Wussow attended remotely via Zoom meetings. Mayor J. Eddy presided. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Dougherty, seconded by Alderperson E. Rave to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the September 18, 2024 Special Common Council meeting and approve as presented. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ CITIZENS IN ATTENDANCE There were 4 citizens in attendance for agenda items. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ COMMITTEE REPORTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Peloquin to place on file the minutes of the September 19, 2024 BID Board meeting. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Wussow, seconded by Alderperson Dougherty to place on file the minutes of the September 30, 2024 Utility Commission meeting. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Ammann, seconded by Alderperson M. Rave to approve the EMS Coordinator job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Busse, seconded by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster to approve the EMS Fleet Manager job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Dougherty, seconded by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster to approve the Emergency Medical Responder job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Ammann, seconded by Alderperson Busse to approve the Emergency Medical Technician job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Wussow, seconded by Alderperson Peloquin to approve the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Dougherty to approve the Paramedic job description. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Dougherty, seconded by Alderperson E. Rave to approve the request to hire three (3) additional full-time staff. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ There was discussion on the inquiry from the School District of Black River Falls as to whether or not the City would consider transferring the City’s share of ownership in the parcel that includes the School Forest to the District. Dr. Shelly Severson advised the Town of Albion has expressed interest in transferring their ownership to the District and the School Board asked her to reach out to the other three municipalities that share ownership in the property. Since then, the Town of Adams has also expressed interest in transferring their ownership to the district. Jan Rousey spoke in opposition to the transfer of ownership to the school district. Council members wanted additional time to gather feedback from their constituents and for the District to work with the City and the Town of Brockway and see what we can do. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Ammann, seconded by Alderperson Dougherty to table the discussion until the next Common Council meeting. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Jon Bingol and Ken Harwood from the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission presented a draft of the Public Transit Feasibility Study. Four pages with changes were distributed to the Council members. There was lengthy discussion on the options presented in the study. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Page 1 of 2 It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Dougherty to authorize the City Administrator to set a date for a public hearing for the purpose of discussion on the shared ride taxi service at the earliest known opportunity based on conversations with WisDOT. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Ammann, seconded by Alderperson Peloquin to approve ORDINANCE 891 related to changing Section 4(4.) of Charter Ordinance 824 to change the requirement to maintain four (4) limited terms part-time police officers to no minimum number of limited term part-time police officers. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ The City Administrator presented the 2025 proposed operating and capital budgets. As presented, general levy would be up $58,249 from 2024 to 6.60%, capital projects down $77,500 from 2024 or 14.09%, overall levy up $84,299 from 2024 or 3.69%, ERP – CPI came in at 3.20% - no concerns – leaving $54k on the table as presented, levy limit - $55k over allowable increase as presented, Contributing Factors: EMS Ambulance Fee $90,550 – new this year; Decrease in Revenues: Utilities PILOT payment down $60,000, Local Transportation Aid down $4,000, law/ordinance fines down $4,000, cable TV franchise fees down $5,000, vehicle registration revenue down $4,000, Total $77k down. Increase in some revenues: Shared Revenue and supplemental Shared Revenue up $15k, Connecting Hwy Aid up $8,000, interest income up $15k, total up $38k. Exempt PP Aid up $58k – but reduces the allowable increase on the Levy Limit Worksheet so net $0 effect. Department Heads did a great job submitting budgets near that 3% increase range. Other operating expenses up 5-10%. Capital Budget: Adjustments already made to compensate for new ambulance fee ($90,550): Street Department to capital reserves reduced $15k from $92k to $77k, Fire Department to capital reserves reduced $61,806 to $0, City Outlay for Library HVAC reduced $12k from $40k to $28k. Additional adjustments needed to get within levy limit: Reduce Street Department to capital reserves another $55k from $77k to $22k. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Busse to approve the application for Class A Beer Retailer License for Pilot Travel Centers, LLC for premises located at 780 State Highway 54 (Flying J Travel Center #756). Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ The 2023 Single Audit Report on federal and state awards was presented to Council members. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Wussow, seconded by Alderperson Dougherty to adjourn. Motion carried at 7:56pm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ A. Brad Chown City Administrator Page 2 of 2