City Council

Town of St. Joseph ‐ St. Croix County, WI Minutes of the Town Board Meeting St. Joseph Town Hall November 9, 2023 Call to Order by Chair Johnson at 6:00 pm Statement of Public Notice read by Clerk Roll Call: Chair Theresa Johnson, Laurie DeRosier, Matt Moore, Chris Marshall, Justin Kruse, Engineer Kellie Schlegel, Attorney Nick Vivian Adoption of Agenda: MOTION to adopt the agenda as presented (Marshall/Moore). Motion carried. Pledge of Allegiance recited Public Comment: Suzanne impressive new website; Darla Meyers commented on a public record request that she had submitted which pertained to a prior public comment. Business discussion and possible action on: 1. Steve Vader – 144th Ave upgrade to town standards – costs, responsibilities: Doug Zahler and Steve Vader appeared to discuss the upgrade from a 4-lot minor to an 8-lot major. Kellie Schlegel discussed the cost breakdown and Geotech proposal for soil borings. MOTION to approve for soil borings for Steve Vader and potential cost sharing on rebuilding that road (Marshall/Moore). Motion carried. Discussion followed. 2. CSM - TW Equities – Hwy 35- Houlton, Wi PID 030-2049-80-000: Doug Zahler presented a revised Certified Survey Map and discussed the changes. Outlot 1 will be co-owned by the owners of Lot 1 and Lot 2. Discussed the access to the property and issues. Outlot 1 is not buildable. Discussed potential trail segment on the lots, County will have to determine if they want to reserve the trail segment portion. Marg Siebenaler questioned the trail, which she stated was a ravine, and expressed being against anything being built. MOTION to approve the CSM for TW Equities, PID# 030-2049-80-000 with two notations to St. Croix County: 1-to make County aware if they want to make additional right-of-way for their bike trail off Hwy 35 and 2-that they take a look at the ravine and to not allow any motorized vehicle traffic down the ravine (Johnson/DeRosier). Motion carried. 3. Dedicated Animal Control – Review and contract renewal: Darel Hall was present to discuss the past six months of animal control in the Town, dog licenses, and other work in the Town. Darel is trying to get in touch with the Mobile Home Park owner to work on licensing practices. MOTION to continue business with Dedicated Animal Control through January 2025 (Marshall/Moore). Discussion followed. Motion carried. 4. 7:00PM Public Hearing Steve Vader rezoning- 360 144th Ave- change to Dec 14: Move public hearing to December 14th at 7:00 pm. 5. 7:15PM Public Hearing for Needs Assessment: Theresa Johnson discussed the needs assessment regarding trail segment 4A2. The Plan Commission and Town Board have approved this Needs Assessment regarding impact fees assessed to new home builders, and new commercial properties. Public comment: Matt Dudley, resident, discussed the concerns by the residents of trail lines stating the lines appear to go through their properties. Chair Johnson discussed the TAP grant potential, which did not move forward. The impact fees will be assessed to help build segment 4A2. Jessica Alenov, resident, stated she was concerned about the map lines going through their properties. She discussed all trails would be on the Town’s right-of-way and not on private property. The lines were put on for future possible subdivisions and discussions with developers at the time of subdividing. Bob Shimon, discussed the map and that it should be changed to not include lines on private property. Discussed other hiking trails in the area. Stated that perhaps a referendum should be initiated to hear the Town opinion. Kurt Jacobson, resident, discussed segment 4A2 and why it did not go through Anderson Scout Camp Road. Somerset had come to the Town of St. Joseph to create the current new plan on Kriesel Road. Pete Melnov asked about the lines on the map. Chair Johnson stated she would send this map back to the Parks Committee to re-discuss the map lines. Chair Johnson asked if there were any additional comments. MOTION to close the public hearing (Johnson/Marshall). Motion carried. 6. Town hall Building with costs, timelines, loan, next steps: Brian Reilly, Ehlers, is online and discussed the proposed bank loan bids, the rates, the differences between the bids, and future refinancing. Discussed that the Board will not approve a loan at the November 14th meeting but will approve Ehlers moving forward. Discussion followed regarding First State Bank and Trust being the bid to move forward with in the process. 7. Scope of services for road connections on west side of Town: Phil Carlson, Stantec, discussed the scope of services plan and the potential intersection ideas. Stated the Town will do well to have lines on the map for potential future subdivisions. The Board would adopt the plan as an official subdivision map for future reserved intersections. A public hearing would be necessary to adopt the plan. Discussed DOT approval process. Jay Kimble encouraged the Board to move forward with this process and stated that the Comprehensive Plan would need to be updated. MOTION to go ahead with this interchange study and planning that was submitted in the meeting, that an additional $8,000-$10,000 would be needed. I ask that no additional bills be received on this until the beginning of the year (Johnson/Moore). Motion carried. 8. Major Road Project a. Update on Church St Project and pay requests: Kellie Schlegel stated they are substantially completed on the project and there are no pay requests at this time. 9. Public Works a. Update on tractor mowing: Chris Marshall stated the mowing is going well and they will continue to mow until it snows. Chair Johnson stated she was approached by another adjoining Town asking to hire our drivers and tractors to mow a portion of their Town. Discussion followed. b. Quote for tractor tires: Discussed the quote and stated we would send our tax-exempt certificate with the check. c. ROW construction problems by utility contractor: Discussed the retention pond that was destroyed by a utility company. Stantec is working on this project. d. Speed limits on Pine View Trail: Discussed the speed studies performed on Pine View Trail. There does not appear to be an issue at this time. 10. Parks, Trails and Recreation a. Update on Playground: Pat Tuma discussed the playground status and the slide progress. She thanks Chris Marshall, Mark Vanasse, Kyle Lindstrom, and the volunteers who have helped work on the slide. b. Outdoor Recreation Plan: We have received the final Outdoor Recreation Plan. The PTR Committee will review at their next meeting on November 15th. c. Creating a Fall Festival Committee: Pat Tuma discussed the need for a Fall Festival Committee be created that is not a sub-committee of the Parks Committee to become more of a Town committee. Discussed how to recruit more people to become a part of the committee. Discussed the logistics of this potential committee. The Parks Committee will bring something to the December meeting. d. Complaint on fence at the Preserve: Laurie DeRosier discussed the conversations she had with the gentleman who complained about his fence and signs being destroyed. 11. Plan Commission a. Junkyards and other chronic nuisances and enforcement issues 1. Campgrounds: will have a discussion at the next Board meeting in December. 2. Rolling Hills Trail junkyard: will have a discussion at the next Board meeting December. 3. Burning of toxic materials off of 37th Street: Nick has not received any additional information on this issue. There is nothing further on this item at this time. 4. Fire at 1146 Hwy 35 with multiple vehicles and diesel fuel contamination: Nick Vivian and Jay Kimble are working together to write a letter regarding this property. 5. Other enforcement issues: no additional issues. b. Chapter 101 Fees – needs assessment: Discussion followed about the needs assessment. MOTION to approve Chapter 101 Fees Needs Assessment (Kruse/DeRosier). Roll Call: Matt Moore-Aye, Justin Kruse-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye, Theresa Johnson-Aye, Laurie DeRosier- Aye. Motion carried. c. Update to ordinances: Will address updates at the next Board meeting in December. 12. Technology Committee a. Changing from Google Drive to Synology: Tim Whiteside is still working on the setup for Synology. The Technology Committee will test it to see how if it will work for the Town.  Discussed the safety concerns. Discussed the costs of Synology vs. Google Drive. 13. Update on maintenance issues a. Repair to plumbing for Fire Hall: Zac has no additional information at this time. 14. Grant letter for Senior Center: Laurie DeRosier discussed the email received and asked how it is a grant, and can we donate tax dollars to this cause. We have not sent anything to them in a few years due. MOTION that we do not fund the grant for the senior center request for funds (DeRosier/Kruse). Motion carried. 15. ARPA funding and approval of expenditures a. Approval of ARPA projects for the Town: nothing to approve at this meeting. 16. Personal Property Tax Forgiveness: Discussed the two personal property amounts on the list for Praxair Distribution and American Bottling Company. MOTION to forgive the personal property tax amounts that is on this list for Praxair Distribution and American Bottling Company (Johnson/Moore). Motion carried. 17. Reimbursement to Fire Chief for cell phone usage: MOTION to reimburse the Fire Chief for use of his cell phone for 75% of the $45.00 (Marshall/DeRosier). Motion carried. 18. A & S Insurance Proposal: Discussed the proposed updates to the insurance. MOTION that moving forward effective January 1, 2024 with Quote 245468 for 50,000 loss of $500/$500 weekly income (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 19. Employment application – Fire Dept: a. Andrew Huf b. Matt Dudley c. John Shackle d. Ethan Bahe e. Brandon D’Andrea f. Marc Kupka g. Nicole Fortune MOTION to approve employment for St. Joseph Fire Department for Andrew Huf, Matt Dudley, John Shackle, Ethan Bahe, Brandon D’Andrea, Marc Kupka, Nicole Fortune (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 20. Public Records Requests – progress and costs: The Clerk will update the public record chart and will present it to the Board the following week. Nick Vivian discussed the proposed public record policy process and the reason this policy is necessary. Darla Meyers commented on her prior request and how her request could be revised to provide the information requested. Nick stated that requests need to be as specific as possible, not to interpret what is being requested. Discussed the current process of sending all requests to the attorney for review. 21. Approval of Town Board minutes – October 12, October 17 and October 25: MOTION to approve the Town Board minutes for the dates of October 12, October 17, and October 25 (DeRosier/Moore). Motion carried. 22. Budget, Invoices, and bank balances: Check No. 24501 has been withheld and the Emmeck check is being withheld until a W-9 is received. The John Roy check will be held until we confirm work is completed. MOTION to approve checks starting with nos. 24496 through 24561, with the following: Check no. 24501 is not being approved at this time, check no. 24561 will be held until he produces his W-9, and John Roy check no. 24558 will be held until work is completed and until he has a current W-9 (Johnson/Moore). Motion carried. Discussed a comparison of the City of Hudson’s Levy’s Impact on Properties and would like to receive a similar document for the Town of St. Joseph from Ehlers. This type of document could potentially be inserted into the newsletter. 23. Items for the next Town Board Agenda or committee agendas: Adjustment to Budget, Steve Vader Rezone 24. Adjournment: MOTION to adjourn at 9:09 pm (Moore/Kruse). Motion carried. Minutes submitted by Teri Kelly