City Council

Town of St. Joseph - St. Croix County, WI Minutes of the Board of Review and Town Board Meeting St. Joseph Town Hall June 5, 2025 1. Convene the Board of Review: Call to order by the Town Chair Theresa Johnson at 6:02pm. Open Book will be held on June 12, 2025 from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and the Board of Review 2. Adjourn the Board of Review to June 19, 2025 at 6:00PM: MOTION to adjourn the Board of Review until June 19th (Kruse/Gavin). Motion carried. Call to Order by Chair Theresa Johnson at 6:04 pm Statement of Public Notice read by Clerk Roll Call: Chair Theresa Johnson, Dan Gavin, Richard Hailey, Justin Kruse, Chris Marshall, Attorney Nick Vivian. Not present: Engineer Lee Mann. Adoption of Agenda: MOTION to adopt the agenda as presented (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. Pledge of Allegiance recited Public Comment: None Business discussion and possible action on: 1. Bridge the Valley -Bike ride: MOTION to approve the Bridge the Valley bike ride on August 10 th (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 2. Chicken & Corn Feed, August 3, 2025 Willow River Saloon: MOTION to approve the Chicken and Corn Feed for August 3, 2025 (Marshall/Hailey). Motion carried. 3. Appointment to Finance Committee – Kathy Brakke: MOTION to appoint Kathy Brakke to our finance committee (Johnson/Marshall). Motion carried. 4. Don Anderson-amended CSM from May for an out lot PID: 030-2115-30-000/030-2115-40-000: MOTION to approve the CSM for Don Anderson for an out lot: PIDs: 030-2115-30-000 and 030- 2115-40-000. That out lot will have two notes: (1) it is not a buildable lot, and (2) that the ownership of out lot 1 belongs to the owner of Lot 1 CSM Vol. 6, pg 1594 (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 5. Divine Homes/Artisan Farms – reduction of letter of credit: Jeff Warren was present to discuss the reduction in the Letter of Credit to $41,270.40. MOTION to reduce the Letter of Credit to Divine Homes/Artisan Farms to $41,270.40 (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 6. Update on The Oaks development on 144th and cost sharing: Discussed the update to the cost sharing and an invoice that was not received by the Town. Will review after we receive the breakdown from Stantec. 7. St Croix Crossing a. Bypass and passing lanes on Hwy 35, concerns of neighbors: Tom Tierney and other neighbors spoke requesting help with the costs they are incurring regarding their properties and changes that need to be made to accommodate the bypass and passing lane. Nick Vivian believes that the Town does not have the authority to require the developer to pay for the removal of the fence or the relocation of the fence either to somewhere else in the right-of-way or out of the right-of-way. Theresa asked the developer if they could consider assisting the homeowner’s with a berm or trees, etc. b. Development Agreement: Nick Vivian discussed the Development Agreement and exhibits. Nick recommends approval of the Development Agreement. Discussion followed. MOTION to approve the Development Agreement between the Town of St. Joseph and Hitching Post Real Estate for the St Croix Crossing conditioned upon submission of all necessary documentation both from a legal perspective and a financial perspective to the Town before any work can begin (Gavin/Kruse). Motion carried. MOTION to move 10b to the table right now (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 8. Driveway on Auwatukee: Chris DeWuske and his wife were present to discuss the estimate received from Todd Tuma which includes a description of the work to be done. Discussion followed. MOTION to move forward on the Auwatukee project with Tuma Excavating for the closure of this driveway issue (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. MOTION to move the Fire Department to this point (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 9. Fire Department a. Buildout of Fire Hall: Discussed the status of the buildout and quotes received from electrician. b. New Firefighter – Brett Steffen: MOTION to hire new first responder Brett Steffen conditioned upon both physical and drug test (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. c. Appointment of Teri Kelly as Treasurer for the Fire Dept: MOTION to approve appointing Teri Kelly as Treasurer of the Fire Department (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. d. 501c3 status for Fire Department fundraising fund: Zac Spates discussed the Fire Department moving the volunteer fund account to a 501c3 status. Board discussion followed regarding parameters, limits on expenditures, public records law, and reasons for this change. MOTION to encourage the Fire Department to investigate the establishment of a 501c3 account for their fundraising fund and return to the Board with a more formal proposal or guidelines, expenses, and establishments of all necessary items to accomplish that (Gavin/Marshall). Motion carried. 7:00PM Public Hearing for Ordinance 2025 – 04 – Chapter 156 Signs: Chair Johnson opened the Public Hearing at 7:00 pm. Discussed the new laws regarding signs. Laurie DeRosier asked the question about the Town’s authority to monitor signs outside of the right-of-way. Jeff Carlson asked about the regulations the Town has regarding the signs. The only changes that have been made are in regards to content only. Any signs that are collected by the Town are put alongside the shed for 30 days. The Town does not have Town Officials who are looking for signs that are violating the ordinance. MOTION to close the Public Hearing (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. Public hearing closed at 7:16 pm. Engineer Lee Mann was present at 7:12 pm 10. Update to ordinances a. Approval of Ordinance 2025 – 04 - Chapter 156 – Signs: MOTION to approve Ordinance No. 2025-04 Chapter 156 Signs (Krurse/Marshall). Roll call: Justin Kruse-Aye, Theresa Johnson- Aye, Dan Gavin-Aye, Richard Hailey-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye. Motion carried. 11. Town Hall Building update: a. Pay Request #12 for building - $91,249.90: MOTION to approve Pay Request No 12 in the amount of $91,429.90 (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. b. St Croix Electric rebates: Justin Kruse discussed the conversation he had with Dairyland Power. They have requested copies of all invoices for purchases related to this request. c. Possible Change orders: There are none to be reviewed at this time. MOTION to approve putting in the requested plywood in the IT Room as requested by Tim Whiteside (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. d. Projected expenditures and available funds and timeline for construction: Discussed the spreadsheet regarding finances and the items ordered for the storeroom. Discussed the proposed sign board for the new building. MOTION to order the free standing enclosed outdoor bulletin board not to exceed the cost of $2,300 (Marshall/Kruse). Discussion followed. Motion carried.  e. Update on well testing and fire suppression system: Discussion will take place during the closed session. f. Using work crew from correctional facility for move on June 26. Discussed the work crew scheduled for June 26th. g. Move in dates and closing of offices: Discussed closing the office on June 25 th and June 26th. 7:30PM Operator Licenses: Lakeisha Marie Martin and Jermiah Potter were present to discuss their operator license applications. MOTION to approve the Renewal Operator Licenses for the term of one year from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 as posted on the agenda (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. MOTION to approve the Renewal Operator Licenses for the term of two years from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 as posted on the agenda (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. MOTION to approve the New Operator Licenses for the term of one year from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 as posted on the agenda (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. MOTION to approve the New Operator Licenses for the term of two years from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 as posted on the agenda (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 12. Public Works a. 2025 Road maintenance project update: Lee Mann discussed the project and the contracts have been signed by the Town Chair. i. Containment for rock from maintenance project: The containment project is expected to be finished on Friday, June 6th. b. Perch Lake Rd request for lowered speed limit: Discussed the speed limit request, State statutes regarding the speed limits, need for speed limits. MOTION to put speed limit signs that match the adjacent components of the Perch Lake Park down to 15 miles per hour (Kruse/Marshall). Discussion followed. Motion carried. MOTION to review the speed limits for the ordinance (Marshall/Gavin). Motion carried (Justin Kruse did not vote). c. WISLR update due December 2025: Discussed the WISLR update being performed by Stantec. Will delay WISLR discussion until July. 13. Addition of parking lots by the State Park on River Road and Trout Brook Rd.: Discussed the parking situation on Trout Brook Rd and potentially putting up no parking signs. 14. Plan Commission a. Junkyards and other chronic nuisances and enforcement issues: Discussed the new complaint regarding excavating on the shoreland which was given to Jay Kimble. b. Update Town Comprehensive Plan: Discussed the need for an update to the Comprehensive Plan. Lee Mann discussed his proposal. This will need to be verified as to the due date, expected January 1, 2026. c. Review and recommendation for CAFOS ordinance: Chair Johnson discussed the possible need for a CAFOS ordinance. Nick Vivian stated he has drafted a CAFO ordinance for another town and he would be willing to share it with us. MOTION to send a copy of the CAFO ordinances to the Plan Commission for review and for Nick to send us his copy (Johnson/Marshall). Motion carried. 15. Public Records Requests – progress and costs: Discussed the record request received from Sunlight Press which requested all notices, board packets, minutes for the Board and all committees. The County Corporate Counsel is reviewing and will send a response to the Clerk. 16. Purchase of 2 laptops for office: Discussed the need for the new laptops and the quote from SunnyLink for two Lenovo ThinkPads. MOTION to approve the purchase of two Lenovo laptops not to exceed $2,200 from SunnyLink (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 17. Review of outstanding building permits and action: Discussed the list of outstanding building permits we received from 18. Approval of liquor licenses for July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 – see attached: MOTION to approve the Renewal License Applications for Class “A” (Beer) and “Class A” (Liquor) from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 for B&L Liquor Store Inc., AMWEST, Inc. dba Bob & Steve’s BP, and  Consumer Cooperative Oil Company dba Hudson Cenex (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. MOTION to approve the Renewal License Applications for Class “B” (Beer) and “Class B” (Liquor) from July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 for Bass Lake Cheese Factory, Inc., Big Guy’s BBQ Roadhouse, Inc., The Eagle 18, Inc. dba White Eagle GC, LLC, Willow River Saloon, Inc., J4 Bar FD Stations dba The Next Stop (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 19. Cigarette, Tobacco, and Electronic Vaping Devices Licenses - see attached: MOTION to approve the Cigarette, Tobacco, and Electronic Vaping Devices for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 for B&L Liquor Store Inc., AMWEST, Inc. dba Bob & Steve’s BP, Consumer Cooperative Oil Company dba Hudson Cenex, Big Guy’s BBQ Roadhouse, Inc., The Eagle 18, Inc dba White Eagle GC, LLC, Willow River Saloon, Inc., J4 Bar FD Stations dba The Next Stop (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 20. Approval of Short-Term Rentals: MOTION for approval of short-term rentals to Don and Caroline Anderson, 1244 Hwy 35, Hudson WI; Clint Balfanz, 611 Old Mill Rd, Hudson, WI; Robert Gillespie, 1428 Hidden Oak Trail, New Richmond, WI; Allison Goebel/Scott Weber, 1236 Hwy 35N, Hudson WI; Steve Mohn, 355 145th Ave, Houlton, WI; Jaclyn Todd, 669 Walsh Rd, Hudson WI; Jeff & Ali Wendt, 1416 Ridge Run, New Richmond, WI (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 21. Approval of Town Board minutes – May 8: MOTION to approve the Town Board Minutes from May 8th at shown (Kruse/Marshall). Motion carried. 22. Budget, Invoices, checks and bank balances: MOTION to approve Check Nos. 25976 through 26037 and all fund transfers and payments for taxes (Johnson/Marshall). Motion carried. 23. MOTION to go into Closed Session under Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(g) and Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(e) and (1)(g) (Kruse/Marshall). Roll call: Richard Hailey-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye, Dan Gavin-Aye, Theresa Johnson-Aye, Justin Kruse-Aye. Motion carried. Closed Session: a. Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(g) – Conferring with legal counsel who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved. b. Cox Non Conforming structure c. Brewster claim d. Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(e) and (1)(g) - Deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session / Conferring with legal counsel who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved; e. Stantec Resolution regarding Well and Fire Suppression System 24. MOTION to go into Open Session (Kruse/Marshall). Roll call: Theresa Johnson-Aye, Justin Kruse- Aye, Dan Gavin-Aye, Richard Hailey-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye. Motion carried. 25. Adjournment: MOTION to adjourn at 9:38 pm (Gavin/Kruse). Motion carried. Minutes submitted by Teri Kelly.