Committee of the Whole

VILLAGE OF TWIN LAKES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES December 4, 2023 – 6:30 p.m. Village Hall, 105 E. Main Street, Twin Lakes, WI CALL TO ORDER BY TRUSTEE KAROW AT 6:30 PM/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/ROLL CALL: Present: Trustees Barb Andres, Bill Kaskin, Kevin Fitzgerald, Ken Perl, Aaron Karow, Sharon Bower. Absent: President Howard Skinner. Also Present: Administrator Laura Roesslein, Police Chief Katie Hall, Clerk Sabrina Waswo, Village Engineer Greg Droessler, Head Sewer Operator Greg Richter. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS. None. PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEE REPORTS TRUSTEE SHARON BOWER - ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, JUDICIARY, LICENSING Discussion regarding an original "Class B"/Class "B" Liquor & Fermented Malt Beverage License application submitted by Home Run Sports Bar Inc., doing business as Home Run Sports Bar, located at 200 E. Main St, Kanwal Singh, Agent. This applicant purchased the business from Mad Dan’s. They have passed the building and fire inspections and the background check was signed off by the Police Chief. Discussion regarding an original “Class B/Class “B” Liquor & Fermented Malt Beverage License Application submitted by George’s on the Lake LLC, doing business as George’s Pub and Grill, located at 402 S. Lake Ave, George Argiropoulos, Agent. This applicant purchased the business from the Beach Bar. They have passed the building and fire inspections and the background check was signed off by the Police Chief. TRUSTEE KEN PERL - POLICE, FIRE, LAKE CONTROL, PARKS AND BEACHES Discussion regarding the purchase of new phones for the Police Department. The Police Department proposes purchasing RingCentral phones for $8,594.23, replacing an outdated system with $6,000 in grant assistance. The current system is obsolete, susceptible to hacking, and lacks support. It currently costs $8,006 annually. RingCentral offers a simplified experience, enabling dispatch to work quickly under pressure. It facilitates easy call redirection to officers' cell phones, including an app for seamless integration. It allows flexibility, is non- proprietary, has automatic call recording, and provides 24/7 support. The Village’s IT, Jeff Miskie, also explored other companies—8x8, Vonage, and Zoom. RingCentral has the largest market share. The village would maintain Spectrum and TDS simultaneously for internet to enhance reliability. Village Hall also uses RingCentral. The contract, initially for two years, may be renegotiated for one year. The board expressed concerns about automatic renewal and requested a rolling one-year contract. A board decision is needed, with the proposal slated for the December meeting before the grant expires. TRUSTEE BARB ANDRES - SEWER, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT, YOUTH, LIBRARY Discussion regarding connecting to the Village sewer at the corner of Fox Run Drive and Spiegelhoff. Greg Richter stated that there are two empty lots at the corner of Fox Run Drive and Spieglhoff that are not connected to the village sewer. There have been 4 to 5 different owners wanting to connect to the sewer on the northeast corner of the intersection. The problem with the lots is that there is no sewer and no lateral stubbed out for it. Based on the location of the manhole, they would have to run quite a distance to connect to the sewer. Greg does not want laterals going into manholes as it creates problems. Every owner that wants to build does not want to spend the money to connect to the main. He had a few asking to go into the manhole as a drop in the manhole would be cheaper. Greg wants to stand by the policy of not allowing laterals into manholes. However, December 4, 2023 – Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 1 of 2 in this case, he feels the village can make an exception but noted there is currently no written policy that says no inside drops. He provided information on different drops into manholes, such as outside drops. Trustee Karow has experience with similar situations. He has seen where the line comes in, they place a T on the end of it, and the drop then goes straight down the pipe, into a 90. Karow was contacted about a year ago on the north lot. He suggested a workable solution is to open-cut the road or go from the lot and auger bore with a steel casing up to the manhole, core a hole through it, do an inside drop with a T coming in, and drop straight down into the flow line. Greg agreed with that approach but requested the board create a policy. The board proposed implementing a written rule that requires approval for consistent application and allows for exceptions in specific situations. Greg expressed a preference for a lateral into a main. Administrator Roesslein said they will work on developing a policy. Discussion regarding a chloride reduction program for 2024. Droessler incorporated the edits, adjusted rebate figures, and added a customer incentive from our last meeting. The DNR is pushing for swift program implementation. Droessler plans to launch the program with utility bill mailings. Trustee Fitzgerald raised concerns about stacking incentives; Greg clarified it's one per water heater and will add language to clarify that in the policy. Karow asked about larger setups for apartment buildings and schools. Droessler highlighted that commercial users offer greater benefits in reducing chlorides. The rebate outlines custom incentives of up to 10% for commercial users, subject to individual evaluation by the village. Other – Trustee Fitzgerald said the Lake District agreed to change the removal of the launch piers to the end of October. Trustee Fitzgerald had a lengthy discussion with Katie, expressing concern about the police department's low wages. During the discussion, it became clear that the focus during the approval of the last officer may have been misplaced, as they should have considered the officer's pay instead. He mentioned that the police wages are among the lowest in the area, which could be hindering the recruitment of experienced officers. With the department already down three officers and facing upcoming retirements, Fitzgerald emphasized the urgency of addressing the pay issue. He agreed with holding the wage study but was concerned that it would take a year to get the results. He proposed conducting our own police department wage study. Trustee Karow stated Kenosha County just did a classification study but it didn’t involve the Sheriff’s Department. Kevin would like to get together with Katie and Laura to address this concern promptly. Trustee Karow understands the importance of the class and comp study but his opinion is instead of spending the money, do what we think works best for us. Laura said separating the police would work, but she would still want the wage study to include benefits. Liz Kenny, 1505 Richmond Road, expressed disappointment with the sound system, noting that the audience cannot hear the board members. She'd appreciate prompt resolution so the room can be used as intended. ADJOURN – Bower/Andres motion to adjourn at 7:52 p.m. Motion carried 6-0. /s/Sabrina Waswo, Village Clerk December 4, 2023 – Committee of the Whole Minutes Page 2 of 2