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, August 2, 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, Terry Berndt, Kimmie Kongslie, and Amy Maier. Motion made by Drinkwater/Zacharias to approve the agenda as printed. Motion made by Rozek/O’Brien to accept the minutes of the July 5, 2023 regular board meeting as printed. Motion made by O’Brien/Sorensen to approve the Treasurer’s Report as printed. All motions carried. Citizen Inquiries: None. New Business: Jason Zacharias addressed the Board regarding community usage of red bridge. A canopy was recently set up on Chauncey St. by recreational users, and they were advised by the Sheriff’s Department to remove it. President Meyer stated the Board will contact the Public Works Department to see if there has been any response from Alliant Energy regarding their property near the bridge. President Meyer referred the Board to correspondence the Village received from the Wisconsin Department of Administration regarding the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) application for the proposed concession stand project. The Village has not been selected. It is still possible for a late approval, if funds from approved projects are left remaining. Late approvals are usually awarded in the fall of each year. General Engineering Company will be contacted to obtain further details on the possibility and also for the engineering plans that were submitted with the application. A special board meeting was scheduled for Monday, August 28th at 3:30 PM for the purpose of interviewing candidates for the Office of Village Assessor position. Jason Zacharias departed at 6:58 PM. There was no building permit report to be reviewed. There were no license applications to be approved. Terry Berndt departed at 7:02 PM. Committee Reports: Healthy Communities Healthy Youth (HCHY) Report-Trustee Rozek stated an alcohol compliance meeting, with the two new officers, was held on July 12th. They have both been updated to review their expectations and protocol. An HCHY coalition meeting was also held July 12th. HCHY will have a booth at the Brakebush health fair, which is being held August 30th. A meeting will be held September 20th to elect new officers. Public Safety-Chairman Sorensen advised he reviewed the safety policy information sent from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance and gave a brief synopsis of its contents. Municipal Court-Trustee Sorensen stated the Clerk set a budget meeting for September 20th. The Committee will be discussing the possibility of returning the stipends to the participating municipalities that paid them, preparing the budget, employee wages, and possibly depositing funds into the Local Government Investment Pool. Police Report-The monthly police report prepared by Chief Kowalski was distributed. Chief Kowalski reported he has been following up on resident contacts. On Saturday, August 19th, the Village is participating in the Touch a Truck event in Montello. Park & Recreation-Chairperson Drinkwater stated the flagpole light and the outside light of the cold-storage building have been replaced. A GFI receptacle in the large pavilion will be replaced and have a safety cover installed. The equipment storage closet in the cold-storage building has been cleaned out by the coaches, and all of the lighting has been repaired. Trustee Zacharias mentioned there is a maple tree near the volleyball court that may need to come down, the gate on the tennis court needs to be adjusted, and the park restrooms need to be opened on a regular basis. Library Report-Trustee Drinkwater advised there were nine new patrons. The Summer Reading Program ends Friday and was very successful. The Book Club continues to grow with passive members increasing. Adult and kid programs are being planned for the fall, including paint classes, macrame, knitting, crocheting, etc. A seed exchange program may be developed, due to a large seed packet donation. The Director has started a home delivery program to cater to people who absolutely cannot get to the library due to medical or other serious reasons. The large print rotation response has been very significant and rotates every sixty days. Training sessions have been productive and one that is coming up for September 19th about the Solar System/Eclipses will be paid for by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and a supplement from the NASA@MyLibrary project. Registration for classes is now Page 1 of 2 August 2, 2023 open, and the Director can sign up for the classes she needs. The classes will cost $850.00. Funds are built into the library budget for this, but it is possible the library may get reimbursed. Public Works-Chairman O’Brien reported there was no Committee meeting this past month and read a report prepared by Director Mullens on the recent activities of the Public Works Department. Six thousand feet of sewer line have been flushed by the fire truck. Three thousand feet of sewer lines have been televised, and eight manholes were inspected. There was some root build-up in one manhole that has been cleaned out and sprayed with foaming root killer. The belt on the chipper broke, and its replacement is on backorder. A transducer failed at the Ormsby St. lift station. It was approximately fifteen years old. It has been replaced and is now working properly. B & M Technical Services is working on the SCADA system. The Village is receiving communication errors for the lift stations and the wastewater treatment plant because of overgrown trees. Stronger antennas will be installed and raised. All of the locks at the lift stations, panel boxes, influent and effluent controls, and access doors have been changed to a universal key system. The battery back-up packs have been replaced in four lift stations. All three speed signs share the same key now, as well. Some additional railroad crossing signs have been put up on S. Depot St. to improve traffic visibility and awareness, and we’re still waiting on one “no parking” sign for W. Chauncey St. The Prison Community Service Program is officially closed, and the Village may no longer receive labor assistance from them for municipal projects. The maintenance shop portion of the Village Hall will be washed and scraped in preparation of the new paint. 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 Sorensen/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 members, departed the Council Room. The Closed session began at 7:55 PM, with only the Village Board members present. The office of the Village Clerk was discussed. Motion made in closed session by Sorensen/O’Brien to reconvene to open session. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all present voting aye. The Board returned to open session at 8:30 PM with all board members, the Village Clerk-Treasurer, Amy Maier, and Kimmie Kongslie in attendance. No action was taken on any discussion in closed session. Motion made by Rozek/Drinkwater to approve payment of vouchers presented. Motion carried. The minutes of this meeting were read by the Village Clerk. Motion made by Sorensen/Rozek to adjourn at 8:37 PM. Motion carried. ____________________________________ Shannon McMullin, Clerk-Treasurer Village of Oxford Marquette County, Wisconsin Page 2 of 2