Village Board

VILLAGE OF HORTONVILLE VILLAGE BOARD MARCH 20, 2025 MEETING MINUTES APPROVED APRIL 3, 2025 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, Bob Jewell, Shauna Keel – arrived late, Jim Moeller available by phone, Jane Olk, and Julie Arendt Vanden Heuvel. Trustees absent: Officials/Staff present: Administrator Nathan Treadwell, Director of Public Works Aaron Steber, Chief of Police Brian Bahr, Attorney Ashley Lehocky and Deputy Clerk Treasurer Lauren Prochnow. Officials/Staff absent: Clerk-Treasurer Jane Booth, Library Director Alexandrea Krause Agenda Changes None. Consent Agenda Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Olk] to approve as outlined. Roll call vote, 6 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. A. March 6, 2025, Regular Board meeting minutes B. Presentation of accounts and other claims against the Village Preregistered Citizens to be heard None. Committee Reports None. Unfinished Business from previous meetings None. New Business Discussion and possible action on Arbor Day Proclamation President Bellile read the proclamation, stating that the week of April 20-26 as Hortonville Arbor Week. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Olk] to approve the week of April 20-26 for Arbor Day. Unanimous voice vote. Motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Main Street Road widths. Trustee Moeller looked at New London, I’ve talked to New London residents and in terms of emergency vehicles, it’s tight but passable. I’ve driven through New London with multiple vehicles, and almost clipped a vehicle going 20 mph, didn’t see someone until the last second. I don’t know if adding an extra 2 feet makes it significantly safer, but the general impression makes people go slower. Lost connection in and out for Trustee Moeller’s statements. Compacting everything to make everyone drive under the speed limit isn’t the right way to go about it. Trustee Arendt Vanden Heuvel stated she also went to New London and narrowest sidewalk was 11 ½ feet. Right away is the variable. I haven’t had issues but it’s slower when the buildings are taller. I’d be interested in what the engineers have to say regarding cost. McMahon – Ron Wolf addressed that trustee Moeller mentioned residents weren’t happy – we went back to the public informational meeting minutes for New London and actually most of the residents and businesses were in favor of a narrower alternative for the street, our plan has 41 feet, same as New London. People tend to drive at what they’re comfortable with. Studies show for every foot of width increase; people drive 3 mph faster. So that’s about 10-12% increase over the posted speed limit. We’re at 60 % into planning for the cost. Changing the roadway by a foot, 2 feet or 6 inches puts us back a bit and increases cost. Changing the roadway width at this point would push the project out of 2026. Studies show reducing traffic width in downtown area is a direction most municipalities are going with to put focus on pedestrian traffic. Example – N Main St in Oshkosh. On street parking is utilized significantly. Our narrow roadway could be as narrow as 35 and still meet requirements. Trustee Jewell said the other municipalities don’t have stop signs vs Hortonville, which does have stop signs. Administrator Treadwell said the cost is a concern, even if it’s 4% that’s $250,000 increase. Arendt Vanden Heuvel – is there a chance a business owner could be assessed for this? Treadwell – maybe, but until a decision is made, we aren’t definitively saying anything. President Bellile – When did we approve this? Treadwell – months ago, maybe October. There were different sections, we didn’t want to take away parking. President Bellile – Why can’t you change this if we changed this to 11.5 foot sidewalks? Why is this such a huge concern? McMahon – This is a long design process, we were at 30 percent plus with lane widths, one of the things we have to do is finalize plans, approve, easements, permitting, things that take time to alter. Dean Steingraber Hello, I’ve been sitting back and listening, and wanted to address some of this. We as a county highway department have wanted to listen and work with you and it’s been a long road. I’m jumping in here to talk about bidding it out. We have to go out and get everything from property owners, but it is at the intersection of Nash to get a better radius to get vehicles around the corner, the bridge, and not everyone is excited about getting easements , utility movement. We’re hear to listen and figure out what you want in the downtown. Balanced approach with road, pedestrian sidewalks, access to construction, we thought there was a decision that was made, and it was well thought out. Now there is a comparison, and maybe there is some disagreement. I’m from New London, it will look different to some, but I talk to a lot of people too and yes, it’s different but better for the businesses. It’s nice for walking but it’s good for driving too, it’s not a drag strip, but we’re not anticipating a lot of big machinery coming through. Arendt Vanden Heuvel - Our business owners and residents were such a big part in the planning, and walkability was such a big thing to them than an extra foot for a truck that wasn’t even needed. It would be a disservice to them. Jewell – if we’re comparing road widths, we’re wider than Oshkosh. Abitz – as a business owner, I’d want to see our downtown geared towards pedestrians, we’re going to be busy and that’s a wonderful thing to be accommodating. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Jewell] to keep the plan as designed. Roll call vote, 6 ayes, 1 nay (Moeller), motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Resolution R-7-25 – Alonzo Park Rental Fee Increase Treadwell – last meeting you discussed this and it’s being brought back, looking for the resolution and clarification on the costs. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Olk] to approve R-7-25 Resolution Amending Current Fee Schedule. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on Olk Street Lift Station Hydromatic Pump Replacement Quotes. DPW Steber – We have 3 different quotes here. 1 of 2 pumps in the lift station went out, both are 23 years old, this is to replace both pumps. The one from LW Allen only has a 1 year warranty. B&M is more expensive and has a design to eliminate clogging. Have used pumps in Nature’s Haven, Sean is here to discuss – we’ve had other brands of pumps, and switched to ShinMaywa from 40 hours a week to 4 hours a week. They’re about 10th of the size, really efficient, they’re worked on in-house locally with Hortonville staff and B&M staff, but that would be my recommendation. DPW – that would be my recommendation as well, this is something that could be there for the next 20 years, and we do have money in the budget for it. There is a 5-year warranty for it, 5 years or 10,000 hours. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Keel] to approve B&M Technical Services for the submersible pump in the amount of $18,441.00. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on 2025 Sewer Televising Quotes DPW Steber: Three quotes in the packet, we required to televise 10% of laterals annually, and my recommendation would be to go with Aqualis, which is the least expensive. Motion [Jewell, Arendt Vanden Heuvel] to choose Aqualis.in the amount of $11,841.72. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Discussion and possible action on 2025 miscellaneous projects; engineering contract DPW Steber – This is contract for the time and materials for MSA to help with 3 projects we need help with. John Street, bid package after baseball season, Treadwell-Olk Street lighting – in 2021 wiring was not changed out, so we need wiring changed out. Part of the idea was to get around tearing up everything so we’re looking at 3 poles to find the best way to fix with going the backside of the sidewalk and go across the sidewalk. The project is focusing on the engineering for it, which gives us an idea in the future how we go about it., and how we can work with the school on this. Grandview road urbanization of curb, gutter and sidewalk extended to new sidewalk. Pays for new engineering, get a bid out for it already, this is part of the TID so the TID will pay for it. Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Jewell] to approve the professional services agreement with MSA in the amount of $20,000. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. Report of Village Officials Clerk-Treasurer: The report is in the packet. Director of Public Works: The report is in the packet, quick note bug tussel is in the village to lay fiber optic. Chief of Police: The report is in the packet. Note there was an incident on N Greenville Elementary, we were very involved. Since we have the SRO contract with the Village I wanted to report that the SRO was there during it and heavily involved. The school was in lockdown, they were able to apprehend the person and everyone was safe. Arendt Vanden Heuvel – the intersection of Main and Nash - with spring break coming up, can we do extra patrol? It’s being treated like a roundabout. Chief Bahr – there are concerns from the crossing guards – a lot of violations. Biggest issue is safety. Short term plan, to get hours down there and feedback, it’s been talked about many times, lots of visibility issues. Enforcement to see what a week of heavier enforcement, social media, keep it at the forefront, get the word out. Looking at traffic, people approaching can see as everyone’s coming up so they roll through. That’s what we’d do for now. Any suggestions? There was conversation that when the lights were working was it better? No, because they’d run a yellow or red light. Abitz – can you paint the crosswalk lines thicker? Administrator Treadwell – we normally do what the DOT recommends, so we’re already following it. Chief Bahr – are other communities doing other things, we’d be open to suggestions. Library Director: The report is in the packet. Attorney: None. Working through zoning code update that Nathan provided, we’ll hopefully have some feedback for you soon. Administrator: The report is in the packet. Any other miscellaneous topics for future discussion None. Communications and Miscellaneous Business Black Otter Lake District news: None. Building permit report: None. Hortonville-Hortonia Fire District news: None. Gold Cross Ambulance run reports and news: The report was submitted, response times phenomenal. Hortonville Civic Association: None. Senior Activities Committee: Minutes from February and March meetings are in the packet. Comments and suggestions from citizens present None. Adjournment Motion [Jewell, Olk] to adjourn. Unanimous voice vote, motion carried. The Board adjourned at 6:49 p.m. Minutes submitted by, Lauren Prochnow Deputy Clerk/Treasurer