Village Board

EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD MINUTES February 3, 2020 Page 1 of 5 Call Meeting to Order; Pledge of Allegiance Administrator Suhm verified the meeting was posted according to law. Roll Call: President Seager called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: President Scott Seager, Trustees John Alexander, Alexander Alger, Alan Boyes, Mary Nugent, Matt Johnson and Forty Renucci Excused: Youth in Government Representative Madeline Otto Others: Chief Swendrowski, DPW Director Equitz, Administrator Suhm, Attorney Pruitt, Clerk Alexander, Youth in Government Representative Michael Rosin Citizen Participation Steve Kuhl, 2905 North Shore Dr., spoke regarding the cattail eradication, concerns about the effects of chemical eradication, incorporating digging of cattails into the landscaping plan and the overall vision for this area and the cost to achieve a viable community asset. Val Aide, 3050 South St., praised the St. Peters Brickbusters presentation that was given at the January 20, 2020 meeting. She questioned several points of research on the impoundment project, expressed her concern on the use of both chemical application and burning, and questioned if the removal of the dam should be reconsidered. Pastor Simone Nathan, 3133 Wetland Way, expressed concern about the possibility chemical treatments and health concerns and would like other options to be considered. Consent Agenda 1. Approval Minutes – 1/20/2020 2. Consider approval of Parade Permit to American Legion, Memorial Day Parade & Festivities, May 25, 2020 and waive all fees. ($25 parade fee, $30 Sound System Rental, $300 Sound System Refundable Deposit and any applicable Special Event Fees) 3. Consider approval of Special Event application, Antique Motorcycle Club of America National Road Run, Thursday, August 13, 2020, Village Square Park, 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. 4. Consider approval of Sidewalk Dining Application from East Troy Brewery 5. Consider approval of Sidewalk Dining Application from 2894 on Main 6. Consider approval of Lease Assignment for Hangar F-2 to Scott and Lori McLain (Hangar F-3) 7. Consider approval of Change in Agent for Liquor License ALB-04-2019/2020 Kwik Trip Inc. to Amanda R. Ward (no packet materials) Motion by Trustee Alexander, second by Trustee Nugent, to approve. Trustee Boyes was pleased to note that the special event applications were complete submittals. Advisory – Motion carried, Board – Motion carried Miscellaneous Business 1. Presentation and discussion of cattail assessment report (informational only) Andy Nelson, Natural Resource Innovations, presented his assessments and options for vegetation management. He addressed comments and concerns voiced earlier during Citizen Participation. His assessment included that: • The cattail growth is a concern and deemed robust. • There is a mix of vegetation, but the cattails have begun to form a canopy which will block out other species. • The rich soil, amount of sediment and area hydrology provide a favorable growth area for cattails. • The cattails already had a foothold with a large seed and root bed in the area which allowed for their growth which has brought the current situation.  EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD MINUTES February 3, 2020 Page 2 of 5 • Cattails need to grow in wetlands, mud flats or water up to 4’ deep and this area is the perfect mix. • Research has shown that cattail beds can expand horizontally at a rate of 30-50’ per year. • There has been a vast amount of research on cattails because it is such a challenging plant • There will continue to be areas of wetlands and cattails will persist long-term where the water table is less than 18” from the surface without intervention. Mr. Nelson reviewed his professional experience of 30 years in public and private land management, including about 30,000 acres of state land in Wisconsin that included the Horicon Marsh area. He has been involved in different management strategies including chemical applications, grazing, crushing/mowing and burning. He noted that his company does not offer the services of eradication, only the assessment and suggestions on management methods. He stated this area will require a multi-step process and/or multi options to control the growth. The cattail root system holds the energy stores and the goal of eradication is to exhaust the plants resources. This area could be burned at any time to remove biomass, or bulk of material, in the area. The bulk of material in the root mass and stem will complicate the soil compacting and the grading of the area for remediation if not removed. Burning will not kill the cattails but will help clear material/debris and make a great growing area in the future. After burning would provide a window for work in the area, such as changing the grade and the stream bed, where cattail growth will be in the future. There will always be some cattails but without persistent management and/or herbicide application there will be a substantial growth of cattails. Mr. Nelson understands the anxiety associated with herbicide application and discussed his experience and points of this type of application: • In Mr. Nelson’s experience the use of glyphosate and emasphere herbicide delivers 99% control with one treatment of the treatment area. • Treatments using ground-based sprayers from trac type machines, such as a MarshMaster, did not produce results that were as complete due to the density of the stems. • Other application methods were discussed and the major drawback of the soft soil conditions in the area that would prevent successful application of the herbicide. • The discussion also included aerial application by helicopter. o A third-party is contracted for the application o The area is defined with GPS coordinates to program the treatment area boundaries and to avoid desirable vegetation. o They have a very narrow window of conditions that are acceptable for this type of application including weather conditions, time of day and wind conditions. o There are also very tight parameters for the spray conditions with the spray nozzles sprayed straight down to avoid drift or overspray. o In testing the precision of this type of treatment in other areas Mr. Nelson had not seen evidence of incidental damage including mortality of fish and wildlife and with an application accuracy of plus or minus 12”. o An aerial spraying application in this area would have a natural buffer of about 30’-50’ from tree cover. o The herbicides discussed are not very effective on woody species of trees and shrubs. He would envision this project would be accomplished by to setting GPS points to define project area.  EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD MINUTES February 3, 2020 Page 3 of 5 o While some good plants would be adversely affected with an herbicide treatment, it is his opinion that there is a large seed bank and these plants would reemerge in the future. President Seager explained that prior to the rain event in 2017, the Village worked with the DNR and looked at cattail management due to the cattail growth after the draw down that the DNR had required. One of the suggestions was flooding the cattails and there was hope that the rain event would be a solution but that was not the case. As that is not an option now, it appears the choices include burning, excavation or spraying. President Seager asked if Mr. Nelson considered excavation a feasible option for our scenario. Mr. Nelson discussed excavating cattails: • Would eradicate them from that area. • He cautioned that cattails are very good at re-establishing themselves. • A treatment area adjacent to existing cattails should have the final grade 12-18” from the water table surface • Cattails will regenerate and recolonize if the final grade is less than 12-18” from the water table surface because while they do not have a deep root mass, only about 8”-12” deep, they have a wide root system Mr. Nelson outlined how this project may progress: • Begin with a maximum treatment eradication event. • Then the grading would be done, making some of the area higher ground and able to be mowed. The lower, wetter areas may need future management if cattails are not desired there. • The best time for a chemical treatment would be mid-to-late August. • A burn 3-4 weeks after treatment would remove the mass. • An option to hedge against poor access and undesirable vegetation returning is to plant a cover crop seeding of millet, oats or rye after the burn to improve access and block the cattail seeds. o This cover crop would provide competition for undesirable plants from growing and would be removed by the landscaping done in the reconstruction area. • As soon as the area dried out in the spring move forward with the final revegetation plan. • Future management would include changing the grade and hydrology of the area to enable crews to mow or use grass trimmers as needed. • When doing channel reconstruction, work is being done at the lowest point of the area and construction challenges should expected. Long-term changes in hydrology is the number one difference maker for this site. As the stream is reconstructed and the new grade is established, naturally and with the reconstruction, the water table on the site will lower. The excavation done as part of the channel reconstruction process will also raise more areas above the water table. The more dirt over the water table makes the area less hospitable to cattails. The question was asked if an herbicide spray treatment followed by burning was done would there be an issue with the smoke from that burn carrying any of the herbicide material into the surrounding air. Mr. Nelson discussed that the half-life of the chemical is relatively quick and depends on the makeup of the site. The half-life can be as short as 2 days so after the 3-4 weeks there should have several half-life cycles. While he couldn’t provide an exact answer for any chemical compound within the smoke his experience  EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD MINUTES February 3, 2020 Page 4 of 5 with burning would expect the distribution of the smoke to likely fall outside of the treatment area and adjacent properties. Discussion of cutting cattails prior to use of a ground application of herbicide included the types of equipment that would be needed. The challenge is that wetlands are soft, weak soils. The most effective equipment would probably be a skid steer posi-trac with rubber treads and a front mounted mower or a MarshMaster machine with rear mounted mower deck. If it were a dry summer a tractor or ATV may be able to be used but the soils would be a challenge. Once the cattails were cut, sprayers could be mounted on a MarshMaster or ATV. It was also confirmed that the stalks do not need to be upright for application success, but the suggestion was to wait at least a week between mowing and spraying. President Seager suggested bringing this topic to a COW with the community able to ask questions and bring their knowledge and resources. Mr. Nelson agreed to attend and understands not only the concerns residents may have but also the experience and knowledge that they have from living in the area. Having the Village Engineer attend that COW would also be beneficial. Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Renucci, to present this topic at a Committee of the Whole with Mr. Nelson and the Village Engineer, Tim Lynch. DPW Equitz suggested that it would be appropriate to schedule that meeting once the removal permit is received. Advisory – Motion carried, Board – Motion carried 2. Presentation and consideration of sewer rate study Motion by Trustee Nugent, second by Trustee Johnson, to table this item. Advisory – Motion carried, Board – Motion carried 3. Discussion/Consideration of Library Impact Fees Update and Legal Opinion Attorney Pruitt explained that there are unused impact fees that need to be spent by May 20, 2020. He referred to the 2007 Impact Needs Study that identified two uses – construction of a new library or an expansion of the existing library. Should it be desired to utilize the funds for other purposes the Impact Needs Study would need to be updated, a public hearing would need to be held, the ordinance would be amended and that would update the fee amount. Other options would be to use up to 10% of the expected capital cost on professional, legal, engineering fees. A higher percentage could be used if it was proven necessary. Administrator Suhm discussed the planning process for the library and if the project is to a point that the funds could be used for engineering or architectural plans/designs. It is unclear if the funds could be used for engineering services for utilities to the location for the library. Discussion included the timing required to update the needs study, hold the public hearing and identify the need for engineering of utilities; the option of returning the funds; the needs assessment that was done in 2015; where the Tri Troy discussions are on this topic; changes in the statutes affecting this; and that the funds would be required to be spent within the municipality that collected them. Motion by Trustee Johnson, second by Trustee Boyes, to table this item and include it on the next Tri-Troy and Village Board agendas. Advisory – Motion carried, Board – Motion carried 4. Sidewalk Update – DPW Equitz (verbal – no packet materials) DPW Equitz reported that Village Engineer, Tim Lynch, has met with the contractor and made progress. Mr. Lynch hopes to bring a change order to the next meeting for Board consideration. There are still some areas that need to be remeasured and there are no expected repairs until spring. Discussion included  EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD MINUTES February 3, 2020 Page 5 of 5 continuation with this contractor for the last piece of sidewalk as it is the most challenging. DPW Equitz is concerned that the bid received is not realistic and the project would require additional inspections. Ordinances & Resolution 1. Resolution 2020-03 – Modifying the access restriction on Certified Survey Map 3141 involving property in the Village of East Troy Motion by Trustee Johnson, second by Trustee Alexander, to approve Resolution 2020-03. Advisory – Motion carried, Board – Motion carried Reports 1. 2019 Room Tax Report 2. ETAESD Minutes – 12/10/2019 3. Parks & Recreation 2019 Annual Report 4. Airport Manager’s 4th Quarter 2019 Report – Walter Watkins was present to answer questions. Discussion included the possibility of installing security cameras at the gates and dumpster areas; increasing the visibility of the AirNav link on the Airport tab of the Village’s website; fuel sales and pricing; using fuel sales as an indicator of airport usage; other measurements of airport usage including take-offs/landings information and how that may be obtained; aging infrastructure 5. Fuel Sales Update Closed session Motion by President Seager, second by Trustee Johnson, to adjourn to closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(e) for the purpose of conduction other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session (Police Union Contract, Preliminary Development Negotiations) Motion carried on a roll call vote: President Seager Y Trustee Alexander Y Trustee Alger Y Trustee Boyes Y Trustee Johnson Y Trustee Nugent Y Trustee Renucci Y Reconvene in Open Session No action taken Adjourn Motion by Trustee Johnson, second by Trustee Alexander, to adjourn at 9:22 p.m. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Lorri Alexander Clerk