Committee of the Whole

MEETING MINUTES Village of Palmyra Committee of the Whole Meeting Monday January 15, 2024 6:00 pm Village Hall 100 W. Taft St. Palmyra, WI. The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Weiss. Roll call: Ball, Gorsegner, Kinjerski, Smith, Troiola, Weiss – present. Petruska excused. Also present: Scott Halbrucker, Scott Pavlock, Chris Mueller, Crystal Higbee Pledge of Allegiance Communications: President Weiss mentioned that the Lions Club Fisheree will be on Jan. 27th and looks like we might have ice. The food pantries are open. Chris Mueller, 123 Jefferson St., asked to speak concerning the Don Rutkowski request. He doesn’t agree with an individual getting a key to the fenced in area, also plowing shouldn’t be done because this individual has a large family there is a parking lot at the old DPW lot, and Mueller disagrees with the statement of the Lions club and the Chamber should not be allowed to use the building in the fenced in area. Both groups do a lot of good community service. President Weiss thanked Public Works for cleaning up all the snow we had. Department Reports: Building Inspection Clerk / Treasurer- taxes and auditor will coming next week. Library-written report submitted. Parks & Recreation Public Safety – Scott P. gave the Dec numbers 15 calls fire/rescue, structure fire was mutual aid, started the hiring process for 3 ft EMT’s, the Police initiated a snow emergency, 25 police policies that are required by statute are completed and will be on the village website, copies are available upon request and for the public. 93 police reports were filed in Dec., this is up 20% from last Dec. Public Works- there has been a lot of plowing. At least 100 residents push their snow out into the road and causes problems. We have Village Ordinances and state law that prohibit this. Scott P. said there were 5 parking tickets issued and half a dozen warnings. They notified a resident today of not clearing snow on their sidewalks. The mule died on sidewalk from pushing too much snow, not sure what’s wrong it will get looked at. The heater died at the water tower which caused the SCADA system to not work properly so he got another heater. There is a water main break on Bluff St. but water is going into the ditch which goes to Willow and Zinnia. Committee Reports: None Building Permits: None Old Business: 1. Gorsegner/Weiss motion to deny Don Rutkowski’s request to have access, parking, personal use and a key for the public works fenced area behind the old Village shop. Weiss says that the insurance company responded that this would be a liability issue for the Village and we would also be setting a precedent by allowing a resident this type of consideration. Both gates are now locked. Don Rutkowksi asks if the Board is going to make the Lions Club and Chamber remove  their items from the building in the fenced in area. Trustee Gorsegner said that isn’t what is on the agenda for discussion but as far as he is concerned, No. They will be allowed to continue to keep their property in this building. The Clerk mentioned that they have their own insurance. All ayes except Trustee Troiola voted nay. Motion carried. New Business: 1. Entire Committee of the Whole A. Ball/Smith motion to approve the Jan. 2, 2024 Village Board meeting minutes as presented. All ayes-motion carried. B. Gorsegner/Troiola motion to adopt Resolution 2024-02 to initiate discontinuance of a public way. This is a request from Mr. Dave Anich for a portion of an alley way on his property at 408 W. Wilson St. There are no easements that the Village has per Scott Halbrucker. The Village Attorney has reviewed everything. All ayes-motion carried. C. Discussion/possible action on our ongoing projects as follows: Blue Spring Lake Sewer Agreement- President Weiss says the BSLMD is still looking for some audit information that we don’t normally provide so Stan Riffle reached out to see if they will be willing to pay the entire cost of these “extra” items. Trustee Gorsegner agrees they should pay 100% of additional auditing fees. Emergency Management Plan and FEMA Training for Trustees-Scott Pavlock met with members of the County Sherriff’s Dept. Need to schedule a time to do an orientation and then begin training and formalized classes. Derrick Hurley can teach these classes. Scott will get back to the board with more information at a later date. 2. Budget & Finance Committee: Chairperson Troiola A. Troiola/Kinjerski motion to approve the payment of bills totaling $847,045.98 on the bill list and with the extras presented tonight to WE Energies, Delta Dental, Jefferson County Economic Development Consortium, First Citizens State Bank, and the Jefferson County Clerk for election envelopes. Roll call vote: Ball, Gorsegner, Kinjerski, Smith, Troiola, Weiss –aye. Motion carried. 3. Administration & Planning: Chairperson Petruska A. Smith/Gorsegner motion to approve Resolution 2024-01, Fee Schedule amendment to increase the code compliance fees. President Weiss mentioned that the paragraph beneath the compliance fees also needs to be changed to reflect the correct amounts for 2024. All ayes- motion carried. B. Discussion/possible action on an operator’s license for Raymond Barber. Chief Scott Pavlock is working on a background, but it is not completed. Gorsegner/Troiola motion to approve the operator’s license contingent on the background check coming back fine. All ayes-motion carried. Scott Halbrucker had one more item to report: the Hwy 59 dam project is on hold per DOT putting a hold on our permit to work in the road right of way during winter months. They won’t let us do the work until Spring, and the DNR won’t let us work in the Spring so the project won’t start until probably July and Michels Construction says summer wages are going to be higher. MSA was going to ask the DOT and Michaels about possibly detouring traffic for the one week of construction this winter. Gorsegner/Smith motion to adjourn at 6:30 pm. All ayes-motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Laurie Mueller, Village Clerk/Treasurer Minutes approved without corrections on Feb. 5, 2024