Village Board

PROCEEDINGS OF THE OXFORD VILLAGE BOARD The Village Board of the Village of Oxford, Marquette County, Wisconsin met in regular session at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 in the Council Room of the Oxford Village Hall. The meeting was called to order by President Meyer with the Pledge of Allegiance. The following Board Members were present: Trustees Drinkwater, Rozek, Sorensen, Bohringer, Zacharias, and O’Brien. Also in attendance were Chief Kowalski, Jason Zacharias, Kathy Terwelp, Vivian Haase, Kay Walters, Janet Dean, Deb Walters, Terry Berndt, Duane Dornacker, Kimmie Kongslie, Amy Maier, Carla Falzone, Scott Streich, and Kathy Bush. Motion made by Rozek/Drinkwater to approve the agenda as printed. Motion made by Drinkwater/O’Brien to accept the minutes of the June 14, 2023 regular board meeting as printed. Motion made by Rozek/Drinkwater to accept the open and closed session minutes of the June 22, 2023 special board meeting as printed. Motion made by Drinkwater/Rozek to approve the Treasurer’s Report as printed. All motions carried. Citizen Inquiries: None. New Business: The Board reviewed village ordinance 22-30(c) relating to the use of amplifying devices. Per the ordinance, such devices may not be used past 10:00 PM without permission from the Village Board and may not in any circumstances be used past midnight. Consideration was given to businesses in the Local Business and Downtown Commercial zoning districts. Janet Dean informed the Board that bands at her business, Oxford Pub & Grub, generally do not play past 11:00 PM. The Board advised Ms. Dean to submit scheduled dates of music events that will extend past 10:00 PM. Ms. Dean stated the current dates scheduled but noted additional dates may be added. Motion made by O’Brien/Bohringer to preapprove a midnight curfew for band playing for the rest of July and also August and September (of 2023) for Janet Dean at Oxford Pub & Grub. Motion carried. The conditional use permit for the campground was discussed. Chief Kowalski informed the Board that some trailers in the campground appear to be set permanently, or long term, and he was inquiring if the Board wanted the Department to address registration, as the Department’s understanding is that the campground was intended for temporary sites only. The Board determined the issue was with unlicensed vehicles rather than the conditional use permit, itself. No action was taken on the conditional use permit matter, as Ms. Dean advised her campground renters are on a month-to-month basis. Trustee Sorensen advised the manager of the Oxford Senior Dining Site is requesting new chairs for the mealsite program. The manager was advised at the time of the request that funding for such a purchase was not budgeted for this year. Additionally, Trustee Sorensen pointed out that the majority of the seniors at the dining site are residents of other municipalities. President Meyer also advised that the existing chairs in the community room technically belong to the dining site. The mealsite program is requesting the Village apply for a grant from Marquette Adams Telephone Cooperative to purchase 20 chairs in the style of the photo presented to the Board. Kathy Terwelp stated she may have access to chairs to donate and will notify the Clerk. Motion made by Sorensen/O’Brien to authorize the Clerk to submit a grant application to Marquette Adams Telephone Cooperative for up to $4,000.00 to purchase chairs for the community room, if still necessary. Motion carried. Jason Zacharias addressed the Board to advise that there has been significant activity recently at red bridge, including kayaks and swimmers, etc., and the parking of vehicles near the bridge has become a hazard. His first request was to have the Village contact Alliant Energy to seek permission to use the area Alliant owns southwest of the bridge for recreational use. Trustee Sorensen suggested installing “no parking this side of street” signs on one side of the road to avoid parked vehicles impeding the flow of traffic on Chauncey St. Other suggestions made included pedestrian crossing signs and “no bicycles on bridge” signs. President Meyer stated he will have the Public Works Director contact Alliant Energy to inquire about the land and “no parking this side of street” signs will be placed on the south side of the road. Jason Zacharias provided an update to the Board on the Oxford Recreation Program. There were 44 participants with 6 coaches. Some park facility issues may need to be addressed next year. The closet in the cold-storage building, where the program’s equipment is stored, is full and contains outdated equipment. The program is requesting permission to dispose of unusable equipment and sell anything that isn’t needed. Motion Page 1 of 3 July 5, 2023 made by Drinkwater/Rozek for the program to dispose of unusable and surplus equipment appropriately. Motion carried. Correspondence received from the Village Attorney regarding the non-compliant accessory building issue was reviewed. The Attorney has suggested issuing citations for the non-compliance, after an additional attempt is made to resolve the matter. The building inspector will be advised to send another letter before citations are issued. The Board discussed if there were any updates to the safety policies. President Meyer advised that he and Trustee Sorensen attended a hazmat meeting. The Finance Committee will meet in August to review materials to be used in developing the updated safety and bloodborne pathogen policies and to address the development of an emergency policy. There was no building permit report to be reviewed. Operator license applications for Jenny May Petrie and Leona Allen-Harmeyer were presented. They both have either completed the Responsible Beverage Server Course or have submitted a copy of an existing operator license issued within the last two years and both have received Police Department recommendation. Motion made by Drinkwater/O’Brien to grant the licenses. Motion carried. Committee Reports: Healthy Communities Healthy Youth (HCHY) Report-Trustee Rozek stated an alcohol compliance meeting is scheduled for July 12th, and two officers have been assigned to conduct the underage service checks. Public Safety-Chairman Sorensen advised a meeting will be scheduled late August. Municipal Court-Trustee Sorensen stated the clerk has reported that the treasury is looking much better. The municipal court may look into joining the Local Government Investment Pool. It may be possible for the $1,000.00 stipends to be reimbursed to the municipalities that provided them. The Committee will need to meet to consider it. Hancock is still interested in joining and likely will by next spring. Police Report-The monthly police report prepared by Chief Kowalski was distributed. Chief Kowalski stated the 4th of July weekend was a fairly safe event. The Sheriff helped out again. A lost dog issue was resolved. Narcotics are becoming a more prevalent issue. Letters have been sent for grass length violations, and responses are coming in. Trustee Sorensen informed the Board that a portion of the state shared revenue increase may be required to be applied to public safety. Park & Recreation-Chairperson Drinkwater reported the 4th of July events completed with no damages to report. A big thank you was given to the Oxford Lions, the Oxford Fire Department, and the Village of Oxford for putting on an excellent event. President Meyer also thanked Jim White for his efforts in shuttling event attendees. Library Report-Trustee Drinkwater advised there were nine new patrons and twenty-two solid students in the summer program. The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program has started. The Director will be taking required courses in the fall and is applying for grants. The Board was encouraged to visit the library. Public Works-Chairman O’Brien reported that the stainless-steel influent cabinet was installed. There are some communication issues with the influent and effluent and the Fandrich and Wood streets lift stations due to foliage. The antennas will have to be adjusted. President Meyer announced that, per the agenda, a closed session is proposed to discuss employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility per Wis. Stat. § 19.85 (1)(c). Motion made by Drinkwater/Zacharias to move to closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.85 (1)(c) for the purpose of considering employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all present voting aye. All meeting attendees except the Village Board and Kimmie Kongslie departed the Council Room. The Closed session began at 8:07 PM with all Village Board members and Kimmie Kongslie present to discuss the deputy clerk-treasurer position. Motion made by Drinkwater/Sorensen to reconvene to open session. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all present voting aye. The Board returned to open session at 8:50 PM with all board members, the Village Clerk-Treasurer, Amy Maier, Kimmie Kongslie, and Kathy Terwelp in attendance. Page 2 of 3 July 5, 2023 Motion made by Sorensen/Zacharias to revise the wage scale chart to reflect the position title as deputy clerk-treasurer rather than deputy clerk and start both applicants at step four ($15.33) at an average of 8 hours each per week through the end of 2023. Motion carried. Kathy Terwelp departed at 9:00 PM Motion made by Rozek/O’Brien to approve payment of vouchers presented. Motion carried. The minutes of this meeting were read by the Village Clerk. Motion made by Rozek/Zacharias to adjourn at 9:24 PM. Motion carried. ____________________________________ Shannon McMullin, Clerk-Treasurer Village of Oxford Marquette County, Wisconsin Page 3 of 3