City Council

Town of St. Joseph - St. Croix County, WI Minutes for Town Board Meeting St. Joseph Town Hall July 10, 2025 Call to Order by Chair Theresa Johnson at 6:00 pm Statement of Public Notice read by Clerk Roll Call: Chair Theresa Johnson, Richard Hailey, Dan Gavin, Chris Marshall, Engineer Lee Mann, Attorney Nick Vivian. Online: Justin Kruse Adoption of Agenda: MOTION to adopt the agenda for July 10, 2025 (Marshall/Gavin). Motion carried. Pledge of Allegiance recited Public Comment: None Business discussion and possible action on: 1. Redeemer Lutheran Church – 1097 Scott Rd – Temporary Class B license September 2025: MOTION to approve Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1097 Scott Rd for Temporary Class B License for September 13, 2025 (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 2. Special Event & Permit for Small Assembly – Game Unlimited, 871 County Rd E, August 6-10, North Central Regional Championship: MOTION to approve Special Event & Permit for Small Assembly for Games Unlimited, 871 County Rd E, on August 6-10, 2025 (Marshall/Hailey). Motion carried. Justin Kruse present at 6:06 pm 3. Ben/Leah Murawski – 462 River Rd- Conditional Use Permit for Lawn service business: Ben and Leah Murawski were present to discuss the conditional use permit application. Discussed the parking situation and the brush pile. Also discussed the two drive MOTION to approve the conditional use permit for lawn service business for Ben and Leah Murawski at 462 River Road (Marshall/Hailey). Motion carried. 4. Nik’s Joint LLC – Liquor License Class ”B” beer and “Class B” liquor, Nikki Jacobson, Agent: Jamie Johnson, attorney for Nik’s Joint, Richard and Nicole Jacobson were present to discuss the application. Mr. Johnson discussed the map and layout of the premises, as well as the separation of the entities. Attorney Nick Vivian addressed the Board and discussed his memorandum reviewing the application. Board questioned the applicants and discussion followed. MOTION regarding Nik’s Joint LLC Liquor License Class “B” beer and “Class B” liquor for Nikki Jacobson, Agent. Motion is to deny the liquor license based on the language of Town Ordinance Chapter 153. The proposed operation is on the same premises as the sexually-oriented business operated as the Cajun Club is located and the Chair was uncomfortable moving forward with liquor license approval based on the Ordinance definition. She did not believe the owners of Nikki’s Joint and the Cajun met the basic burden of complying with the Town Ordinances governing their business up until now. Accordingly, it was her motion to deny as the Cajun Club public states hours of operation outside of the hours listed in the Town Ordinances. The Town ordinance says weekdays Sunday through Thursday they are supposed to be closed from 2:30 am to 8:00 am and they are open until 3:00 am and on Saturdays and Sundays they are supposed to be closed from 2:30 am to 8:00 am and they are open until 4:00 am. When given the opportunity to confirm compliance, the applicant did not answer or provide more information regarding the operating hours of the current business (Johnson/Kruse). Discussion followed with  the Town Board noting that the issuance of a license is a privilege not a right. The Board was concerned that a formal suite had not been established nor was the Board persuaded that the businesses would operate independently. The definition of premises in the Town Ordinance made it clear that the operation could not be permitted on the same grounds and the applicant’s arguments that the Cajun Club and tavern would function in separate units, not on the same grounds or appurtenances was unpersuasive. Roll Call: Justin Kruse-Aye, Theresa Johnson-Aye, Dan Gavin-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye, Richard Hailey-Aye. Motion carried. 5. Update on The Oaks development on 144th and cost sharing: Discussed the breakdown of the cost sharing and the agreement of the payment of $20,754.64 to be submitted to Steve Vader. 6. St Croix Crossing – update: Lee Mann stated the silt fence is in, tree clearing to start soon, earthwork next week, and the plan is for the road work to be completed the middle of August with the work on Highway 35 after that. 7. Houlton Mobile Home Park – license renewal: MOTION to approve the license renewal application for the Houlton Mobile Home Park (Gavin/Marshall). Motion carried. 8. Town Hall Building update a. Pay Request #13 for building $138,226.90: MOTION to approve Pay Request No. 13 to Berghammer Builders in the amount of $138,226.90 (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. b. St Croix Electric rebates: Justin Kruse stated he has sent an email to St. Croix Electric today. c. Possible Change orders: i. Additional 2 boxes of flooring: MOTION to approve ordering two additional boxes of flooring from Carpeting by Mike at a cost of $363.27 (Johnson/Marshall). Motion carried. ii. Well and Generator: No discussion at this time. iii. PCO 992-19 Revise location and provide power to hand dryers: Bruce Paulson confirmed there will be no charge for this change order. d. Projected expenditures and available funds and timeline for construction e. Update on well testing and fire suppression system f. Move in dates and closing of offices-July 22 and 23: The office will be open on Thursday, July 24th. g. Cleaning proposal for new hall: Discussed the cleaning proposal submitted to the Board. MOTION to approve Michelle Hillman’s responsibilities to clean the new Town Hall for the remainder of 2025 and the Board will review her at the beginning of 2026. This will be done on a bi-weekly schedule (Marshall/Gavin). Motion carried. h. Approval of quote for blinds: Theresa Johnson stated she will be looking into blinds and the costs associated with them. They will only be needed on the west windows and the one in the Clerk’s office. 9. Fire Department a. Costs for doors on Fire Hall: b. Laptop for Fire Dept: The Fire Chief stated he is due for a new laptop and he would like to have a docking station as well. MOTION that we approve the purchase of a laptop for the Fire Chief, including a docking station so he can take it wherever he wants (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 10. Public Works a. 2025 Road maintenance project update: Lee Mann stated the crack seal will start tomorrow or Monday; seal coat early August. b. Oversight of new roadway approvals in subdivisions by Public Works committee: Chris Marshall stated the Public Works Committee would like to discuss and be able to make recommendations to the Board. MOTION that we approve the ability to have oversight on new roadway projects and subdivisions by the Public Works Committee (Marshall/Gavin). Motion carried.  c. WISLR update due December 2025: Discussed the update and the delegation of the project. Lee Mann stated he would bring a proposal in August. d. Road damage on Perch Lake: Chris Marshall stated Midwest Gas has damaged the road and that he would like to have a professional fix the road. Richard Hailey stated Perch Lake Road was fixed. Chris Marshall will look and review. 11. Plan Commission a. Junkyards and other chronic nuisances and enforcement issues: Anton Rang stated there was no new information at this time. b. Update Town Comprehensive Plan: This will be continued to the August agenda. 12. Parks, Trails and Recreation a. Signage for Preserve on Valley View Dr.: Theresa Johnson stated there is not a bid at this time for the signs. This will be continued to the August agenda. 13. Public Records Requests – progress and costs: No new requests at this time. Discussed the Sunlight Report request, which turned out to be a scammer, cyber attacker. The Clerk has been advised to disregard and do not open any items from this group. 14. Quote for VPN for laptops: The Clerk stated Tim Whiteside has the VPN in place and would need to set it up on the laptops. At this time, the Clerk and Fire Chief would need access. 15. Review of expired building permits and action: Nick Vivian stated he would review the report and potentially create a template form letter which could be sent to expired permit owners, which would include penalties for not bringing permits up to date. 16. Operator Licenses: Richard Jacobson, Ava Young, Whitney Philippi: MOTION to approve the Operator Licenses for Richard Jacobson, Ava Young, Whitney Philippi (Marshall/Johnson). AMEND MOTION to remove Richard Jacobson from the motion (Marshall/Johnson). Motion carried. 17. Pioneer Cemetery on County RD V –maintenance: The person mowing has stopped mowing the Pioneer Cemetery. We will need to find out if there is an association involved with this cemetery. If we don’t hear from anyone within a year, the Town will need to take action. Laurie DeRosier believes it is a private, family-owned cemetery. Nick Vivian stated we will likely need to find the owner and have a deed signed over to the Town. 18. Signage for Maintenance Garage: The sign would be 3 x 5. MOTION to move forward with the purchase for the Bob Marty Maintenance Garage sign as proposed (Gavin/Kruse). Motion carried. 19. Approval of Town Board minutes – June 5, June 12, June 19, and June 25: MOTION to approve the Town Board minutes for June 5, June 12, June 19, and June 25 as presented (Gavin/Hailey). Motion carried. 20. Charlie O’Connell – collections for past due dog invoice: MOTION to send Charlie O’Connell to collections for past due dog invoice (Marshall/Kruse). Motion carried. 21. Budget, Invoices, checks and bank balances: The Wieser Concrete invoice included tax. The Clerk will create a new check without the tax. MOTION to approve Check Nos. 26038 through 26139 except for the Wieser Concrete Check No. 26102 which will be rewritten for the correct amount minus the sales tax (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 22. MOTION to go into Closed Session pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(e) and (1)(g) (Kruse/Marshall). Roll call: Richard Hailey-Aye, Theresa Johnson-Aye, Chris Marshall-Aye, Dan Gavin-Aye, Justin Kruse-Aye Motion carried. Closed Session: a. 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; i. Stantec Resolution regarding Well and Fire Suppression System  b. 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. i. Cox Non Conforming structure 23. MOTION to go into Open Session (Gavin/Johnson). Motion carried. Motions regarding any decision from closed session: MOTION authorizing our attorney to take legal action to enforce the issue we spoke about in closed session (Johnson/Kruse). Motion carried. 24. Items for the next Town Board Agenda or committee agendas: Parking on Perch Lake 25. Adjournment: MOTION to adjourn at 9:44 pm (Gavin/Kruse). Motion carried. Minutes submitted by Teri Kelly.