Village Board

VILLAGE OF HORTONVILLE VILLAGE BOARD FEBRUARY 15, 2024 MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MARCH 7, 2024 President Jeanne Bellile called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center at 531 N. Nash St., Hortonville, Wisconsin. Trustees present: Grace Abitz (by phone), Pat Lund-Moe, Jim Moeller, Jane Olk, Shauna Keel, and Julie Arendt Vanden Heuvel. Trustees absent: Officials/Staff present: Administrator Nathan Treadwell, Clerk-Treasurer Jane Booth, Director of Public Works Aaron Steber, Chief of Police Kristine Brownson and Attorney Ashley Lehocky. Officials excused: Library Director Alexandrea Krause Consent Agenda Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Olk] to approve holding out in the presentation of accounts, Immels invoice and the Kemira invoice. Roll call vote, 6 ayes,1 Abstain (Lund-Moe), 0 nays, motion carried. A. February 1, 2024 Regular Board meeting minutes B. Presentation of accounts and other claims against the Village Agenda Changes None Public Hearing Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Lund-Moe] to open the public hearing for special assessment for street construction for alley #3. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Bob Riemer, 339 S Mill Street, said that normally from what I understand when you go out for a bid, the job has to be done the way the bid says. Well, they didn’t do that, they shorted 80 ton of gravel, and the black top they put on is the under coat and not topcoat. They did a terrific job on the dig out for the landscaping. No turf damage the landscaping was a joke, they made it worse than what it was, and there was no way they spent over $1,000 on what they did, and I don’t think it is right to bill a property owner the entire amount. Collette Riemer, 339 S Mill, said that my biggest thing was on the morning of October 18, they did everything when the ground was wet, there were puddles all over. After they got done, it looked nice. When they came back in December, it was a real piss poor job. The topsoil that is all over the road, they put topsoil on the black top and then sprinkled seed over it. It is not going to grow, not in December with two inches of snow on it. My bottom line is that in 40 years nothing has been done, and now we are expected to take 100 percent of the cost. I don’t think that it is fair. It is now a snowmobile trail, and I am not impressed with MCC. This is our money, and we would like it spent wisely if we have to spend it. John Van, 402 S Lincoln Street. I am the owner of John D Van Towing; I own a bunch of storage units and Land & Mountain in Menasha. I got to meet Nathan who was out there with me three times. This job was a disaster, restoration is not even close to 6, 000. I have pictures, I had my driveway done, I have red gravel, and they put in grey gravel. They moved it 50 feet into my driveway. It was about 7 inches of water, and I had to redo my driveway to get the water to run off my driveway. The snowmobile will tear that up. It is like number 3 grade blacktop. MCC has red and grey gravel. I rebuilt that driveway five years ago. Trustee Moeller said that I know there is a snowmobile marker up there. To my knowledge the snowmobile hasn’t gone down there in a really long time. I think the snowmobile club never took the sign down. I don’t expect you to see snowmobiles running down that road. I thought they were coming back in the spring to do the landscaping. DPW Director said that they tried to put some in at the end to finish the project. I think what we can do is have our guys go out there and look at it in the spring and fix it to better standards. John Van said it will be a bigger job because you will have to pull everything out. They were there a very short time, and it was terrible. DPW Director Steber asked why they would have to pull everything out. John Van said that they put it on top of sod two inches down and that is going to rot. Chief of Police Brownson said that she took down the snowmobile markers this past Monday because someone had vandalized them. The snowmobile club is looking to put them back up. That is a trail that comes off the lake. DPW Director Steber said that he can have our guys fix this and he will take a look at the specs and make sure they did it to the specs. Steber said that there are contingencies, and he will deal with them. He also stated that they should have done the job according to the specifications in the plan and if they didn’t, we can go back and have recourse with that. Close the public hearing Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Olk] to close the public hearing. Unanimous voice vote, motion carried. Preregistered Citizens to be heard Jason Abendschein, 530 Golf Side Court, and I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am a candidate for the Village Board. My family and I moved here three years ago, and we have fallen in love with this community, and I want to see it prosper. The reason I am running for the board is I want to give back to the community. We are looking forward to the splash pad in Alonzo Park. We are here for the long haul. We have a two-year-old son, and I want to continue moving forward with these great things and make the Village a better place. Thank you for your time, nice to meet you all. Bob Jewell, 205 Oak Knoll Court, I am also a candidate for the Village Board. I have lived here a short time, but I have connections here for over 40 years with family members. I have a daughter who is a teacher here in Hortonville, I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and I would appreciate your support. Committee Reports Library Board – There was a meeting at the end of January. We made 2023 budget line adjustments. The next meeting will be February 27. Unfinished Business from previous meetings None New Business Discussion and possible action on Resolution R-8-24 Alley #3 Special Assessment Administrator Treadwell said that you should have 2 final special assessments in your packet. One is for all the costs to the residents; the other is for the village taking the larger portion which is basically what we can afford without dipping into the amounts for Mill Street. Attorney Lehocky said that once you take final action, a lien is placed on the property. What I am hearing is that we are having the contractors come back and do some additional work, what I am not hearing is that we will be getting some sort of refund. Trustee Abitz said that after hearing how the project went it sounds like the work isn’t complete and asked if this could wait until it is complete before assessments are assigned? Attorney Lehocky said that you can certainly wait until assessments need to occur within a reasonable amount of time. Understanding that the price is the price, I don’t know what would change. Trustee Abitz asked if the contractors knew it was a snowmobile trail? Trustee Moeller said that we as a board should look at that before next winter. Trustee Keel said she wouldn’t mind moving the date out a couple of months for their comfort of seeing the progress that is going to happen. I realize the dollar amount isn’t going to change. Discussion ensued. Motion [Moeller/Olk] to approve n R-08-24 with the assessment amount total of $10, 000 and changing the date to June 19, 2024 and with the same installments. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried Discussion and possible action on Otto Miller Park Master Plan contract with Martenson and Eisele DPW Steber said that this master plan was created to make sure everyone is on the same page and to get a consistent long-term vision as to where the park wants to go. This is the second phase, Martenson is creating a master plan working with the village, the school district, the booster clubs, and Hortonville Youth Sports, just to make sure everyone is on the same page. This would be getting a consistent long-term vision for this area for where the park wants to go. Trustee Lund-Moe asked if the cost is all on the village or is it divided amongst all? DPW Director Steber said no, the village is paying for this plan. The implementation of the upgrades outlined in the plan will be on the project partners. Trustee Olk asked about the grant funding part of it and if they don’t do it. DPW Director Steber said we aren’t there yet, and that will be done in the future jointly. Motion [Moeller/Olk] to approve the agreement for professional services for Martenson and Eisele, Inc. in the amount not to exceed $24,745. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Immel’s Invoice for Hydrant Replacement DPW Steber said that at the last meeting I reported on the water leak and when we opened up the hydrant it completely cracked, and we had to do an emergency fire hydrant replacement. This is the cost for that emergency replacement. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Lund-Moe] to approve and pay the Immel Invoice in the amount of $9,600 for Hydrant Replacement during the water leak on Giese Street. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Kemira Invoice DPW Steber said that this is an invoice for our ferric that we use at the plant to take phosphorus out of our affluent wastewater. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Keel] to approve and pay the invoice from Kemira Water Solutions in the amount of $11,778.06. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Summer Rec Fees Administrator Treadwell said that the Park & Recreation Director Siri Claybaugh is here to explain the increase in summer rec fees. Hi, I am Siri Claybaugh, and I am the director of Hortonville Recreation. Currently I am a senior at St. Norbert College for elementary education. I started working rec at sixteen for two summers. Following that I was the assistant director for Tony Fannin for two years. Last year I took over as director after the July 4th break. This will be my first year planning the program and I am very excited. The tentative calendar is already set for Hortonville Rec, the Brewers tickets have been purchased and we are finalizing dates for other field trips. I plan to pursue a few grants for transportation fees. I would like to increase the cost of registration because I want to include program T-shirts and reuseable water bottles with the registration fees. The program t- shirts will increase visibility on field trips and the water bottles will cut down on garbage in the park. The fees were previously $150.00 for residents and $225.00 for nonresidents. I would like to increase the fees by $50.00. I will also be seeking out sponsorships for the T-shirts and the water bottles. I would like all sponsorships to remain in the rec program. President Bellile said that this is very reasonable. Motion [Lund-Moe/Arendt Vanden Heuvel] to raise the Summer Rec Fees to the suggested amount of $200.00 for residents and $275.00 for nonresidents. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried Discussion and possible action on O-3-24 Repealing of Utility Special Assessment Ordinance Administrator Treadwell said that a few years ago, we removed the Street Assessment one and this one was buried in our utility. The idea is to remove this as well. This doesn’t affect the ability to put special assessments on for utilities, it is just another constraint around that. Motion [Moeller/Arendt Vanden Heuvel] to approve O-3-24 Repealing chapter 42 article 2 of Utility Special Assessment. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried Discussion and possible action on Resolution R-05-24 2023 Final Budget Amendments Administrator Treadwell said that this is basically the cleanup for our general fund. This balances our budget. The village came in positive again this year. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Moeller] to approve resolution R-05-24 the 2023 Final Budget Amendments. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried Discussion and possible action on Resolution R-06-24 Amending Personnel Manual Administrator Treadwell said that this is basically a change this year to amend the embroidered clothing for employees that don’t have a clothing allowance to a fiscal year instead of employee anniversary date. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Keel] to approve Resolution R-06-24 amending the Personnel Manual. Unanimous voice vote, motion carried Discussion and possible action on Resolution R-07-24 Amending 2024 Budget Hometown Holiday Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Moeller] to approve Resolution R-07-24 amending the 2024 Budget for Hometown Holiday. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried Discussion and possible action on setting up Public Safety meeting. Next Public Safety meeting will be held on April 9th at 6:00 pm. Discussion and possible action on setting up COW for Discussion on Multiuse pathway in Downtown Next COW will be held on March 7th at 5:00 pm. Discussion and possible action on setting up Public Works meeting Next Public Works Committee meeting will be March 21 at 5:30 pm. Discussion on public parking permits Administrator Treadwell said that this was from the guy that came to the last meeting and wanted to park during the winter on the streets. Chief of Police Brownson said she had a phone conversation with them. If someone calls and they need parking on village streets we take that one person at a time. My opinion is that they can call for permission and we can grant them permission. Trustee Moeller said that he sees it as a cost thing and as an inconvenience for the person that wants to park. I don’t like the idea of a permit which was brought up at the last meeting. Report of Village Officials Clerk-Treasurer: The report is in the packet. Director of Public Works: The report is in the packet. I will be out next week on vacation. Chief of Police: The report is in the packet. I would also like to report that our new officer Stephens is out on his own because he is done with his training. I have ordered a new squad, and it should be here by October. We moved the speed board closer into town on Nye Street. My Administrative Assistant will be gone all next week. Library Director: There is a new book group starting on February 22 targeting people that like action and suspense novels. The Seuss Spectacular is on Saturday, March 2. Attorney: Nothing Administrator: My report was sent out. Working with a few different developers. I did have to send out notices to a few industrial park businesses who were outside of our covenants. Any other miscellaneous topics for future discussion President Bellile would like a discussion of the Government 101 class that the LWM puts on for new board members. Trustee Lund-Moe was wondering if we could look at the sound system as it is very hard to hear if you are in the audience, and amongst the board members. Communications and Miscellaneous Business Black Otter Lake District news: Meeting was held on Tuesday; February 12 and we have a new BOLD logo, and it will be going out on letterhead. Aaron put out an RFP for BOLD. DPW Director Steber said we are looking at the entire watershed that feeds into the lake because those are the 3 main drivers contributing to the water quality. Proposals are due by the end of March. Saturday, May 4 is lake clean up day. Next meeting is April 3 at 5:30 pm. Building permit report: None Hortonville-Hortonia Fire District news: None Gold Cross Ambulance run reports and news: The January run report was submitted. Hortonville Civic Association: Nothing new Senior Activities Committee: We met last Thursday and on Monday we had coffee and conversation with Courtney, a physical therapist discussing arthritis. March 4th is a potluck and movie. Prepping for Senior Autumn fest in October. Comments and suggestions from citizens present A resident asked what the Interest rate would be on the Special Assessment Alley #3. Motion to go into Closed Session Motion [Lund-Moe/Keel] to go into closed session under State Statute Section 19.85 (1)(g) “Conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved.” AND State Statute 19.85(1)(e) “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, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Board to return to Open Session Motion [Keel/Arendt Vanden Heuvel] to return to open session at 8:20 p.m. Roll call vote,7 nays, 0 nays, motion carried. Any action on matters discussed in Closed Session None Adjournment Motion [Keel/Moeller] to adjourn. Unanimous voice vote, motion carried. The Board adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Minutes submitted by, Jane Booth, WCMC Village Clerk/Treasurer