Village Board of Trustees

Village of Weston, Wisconsin OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE SPECIAL JOINT VILLAGE BOARD AND PLAN COMMISSION held on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., in the Board Room, at the Municipal Center AGENDA ITEMS. 1. Meeting called to order by President Maloney at approximately 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call and Declaration of a Quorum by Clerk Weinkauf of Village Board (BOT). Roll call by Village Clerk Weinkauf indicated 7 BOT members present. Member Present Maloney, Mark YES Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee YES Zeyghami, Hooshang YES 3. Roll Call and Declaration of a Quorum by Secretary Parker of Plan Commission (PC). Roll call by Secretary Parker indicated 7 PC members present. Member Present White, Loren YES Meinel, Steve YES Cronin, Steve YES Guerndt, Gary YES Jordan, Joe YES Marshall, Gayle YES Mumper, Roy YES Village Staff in attendance: Donner, Higgins, Weinkauf, Wodalski, Crowe, Osterbrink, Falkowski, and Parker. There were 10 audience members present in-person and 5 present via Zoom. 4. Announcement of any possible perceived conflicts of interest. There was discussion held about what “ex parte” means and why this particular item is being placed on the Plan Commission agendas. White pointed out how the Plan Commission has opted to not adopt the Plan Commission Code of Conduct or Rules of Procedure. Higgins pointed out the purpose of bringing up conflict of interest is that if there is a conflict of interest by someone, it should be brought up at the beginning of the meeting, not following discussion of an item. She stated how this is being added to the agenda as a reminder. She stated this gives an opportunity for a member to bring up their potential conflict of interest, then Plan Commission can discuss whether the issue is truly a conflict of interest or not. Maloney brought up how during the meetings, Plan Commission members should not be on their cell phones, as it could give the appearance that they are having discussions with others about a topic on the agenda. Jordan stated he has an accepted purchase offer on a commercial piece of property within TID #2. White asked if when the topic comes up, if Jordan feels he should recuse himself, and he answered “no”. It was noted that the property he is buying is not one that is requested to be removed from TID #2 tonight, so it is not Minutes prepared by Valerie Parker, Planning Technician and Sherry Weinkauf, Village Clerk Page 1 Mtg_BOT_211018_Consent_Minutes_BOT-PC 210929_210929 subject to the outcome of this hearing. The PC members acknowledged that they are okay with Jordan’s participation in the TID #2 hearing tonight. 5. Approve minutes from the September 13, 2021, PC Meeting. (PC) Motion by Jordan, second by Mumper: To approve the September 13, 2021, PC Meeting Minutes. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (PC) Voting White, Loren YES Meinel, Steve YES Cronin, Steve YES Guerndt, Gary YES Jordan, Joe YES Marshall, Gayle YES Mumper, Roy YES PLAN COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING TID DISTRICT #2 PROJECT PLAN AMENDMENT (PC) 6. Proposed Project Plan Amendments to Tax Incremental District No. 2. a. Open Public Hearing. White opened the public hearing at 6:15 p.m. b. Presentation by MDRoffers/Staff. Donner stated Roffers is not present tonight. He explained the boundary of TID #2 and what occurred at the 09/13/2021 public hearing, and the outcome of the public hearing being PC denying an amendment to TID #2. Donner explained how it was recognized later in the 09/13/2021 PC meeting that a component of the amendment plan was to remove two small parcels out of TID #2. He stated there is a proposed development coming in, which would require these small parcels within the TID #2 and adjoining parcels next to them; however, you cannot combine lands when part is in the TID and part is outside of TID. Donner re-iterated that removal of these two small parcels is the only thing occurring, nothing else. c. Public Comment Period. Crowe played a video message submitted for Public Comment by Jesse Wellhoefer, 5407 Cheryl Drive, who is in opposition (see attached typed transcript, or at 0:19:31 of Zoom Meeting Video). No one else spoke in favor or opposition. d. Close Public Hearing. White closed the hearing at 6:26 p.m. e. Discussion & Action by Plan Commission i. Resolution No. 2021-PC-008: A Resolution approving and recommending a territory subtraction amendment to the Tax Incremental District No. 2 (“TID #2”) Project Plan for the Village of Weston, Marathon County, WI. Minutes prepared by Valerie Parker, Planning Technician and Sherry Weinkauf, Village Clerk Page 2 Mtg_BOT_211018_Consent_Minutes_BOT-PC 210929_210929 Motion by Jordon, second by Guerndt: to adopt Resolution No. 2021-PC-008. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (PC) Voting White, Loren YES Meinel, Steve YES Cronin, Steve YES Guerndt, Gary YES Jordan, Joe YES Marshall, Gayle YES Mumper, Roy YES ADJOURNMENT OF PC Motion by Mumper, second by Marshall, to adjourn PC at 6:27 p.m. **Clerk Weinkauf continued with minute-taking at 6:27p.m.** BOARD OF TRUSTEES NEW BUSINESS 7. Resolution No. 2021-025: A Resolution approving a territory subtraction amendment to the Tax Incremental District No. 2 (“TID #2”) Project Plan for the Village of Weston, Marathon County, WI. Motion by Xiong, second by Fiene: To approve Resolution No. 2021-025. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (BOT) Voting Maloney, Mark YES Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee YES Zeyghami, Hooshang YES 8. Resolution No. 2021-026: A Resolution Accepting Dedication of Land for Expansion of the Public Right-of-Way of Windsor Drive. Motion by Ermeling, second by Zeyghami: To approve Resolution No. 2021-026. Q/Meinel asked if this was part of the other pending outlot issues. Donner said this is a similar issue. This is in the Windemere Oaks subdivision. Meinel would like to see staff address any other pending outlot issues. Donner said staff could put this on the priority list to see if there are other similar situations. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (BOT) Voting Maloney, Mark YES Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Meinel, Steve YES Minutes prepared by Valerie Parker, Planning Technician and Sherry Weinkauf, Village Clerk Page 3 Mtg_BOT_211018_Consent_Minutes_BOT-PC 210929_210929  White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee YES Zeyghami, Hooshang YES 9. Discussion and Action to Affirm or Rescind Resolution No. 2021-023: A Resolution to Change the Name of Schofield Avenue. Ermeling said she felt it was important to bring this item back after listening to the business owners. Maloney read an email from Craig Radloff, with Control Concepts Technology, expressing his opposition to the name change (a copy of the email is on file). Morgan Woodruff, 5606 Ferge St., said she took off work to be here. She said it was not just the President who made the decision to rename, it was the entire Board. A decision should be made in favor of all the businesses and the people that showed up on their time. This should be rescinded. She feels what the Board did was wrong. The Board has the opportunity to make it right and she hopes the Board does that. David Barnes, with Total Rental Center and Red Clover Market, said awhile ago, the Village had an employee visiting businesses and asking if they wanted to be part of their Facebook page, but no one went to any of the businesses to get their input on the renaming of Schofield Avenue He said changing the name will not fix any issues. It should remain Schofield Avenue. Jim Pinsonneault, 5002 Arrow St, asked Ermeling to clarify what she said related to comments heard at the Plan Commission meeting. Those comments were actually heard at the Village Board meeting. He also said he agrees with all the folks that spoke in opposition to this. It was the wrong decision and now is the chance to make it right. All 150 businesses should have been contacted before making the decision. Motion by Fiene, Second by White: to rescind Resolution No. 2021-023. Q/Ermeling said Jim Pinsonneault is correct. She heard the comments at the Village Board meeting. She also said she has received mixed responses from other people regarding the name change. She said the biggest problem is to get people to understand that Weston exists. Maloney said since last Monday he has truly been educated and has changed his mind. The identity has nothing to do with the name change. He also said he feels more connected to the business community. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (BOT) Voting Maloney, Mark YES Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee YES Zeyghami, Hooshang YES ATTORNEY REFERRALS None. MOVE TO CLOSED SESSION PER 19.85(1)(c) Motion by Fiene, Second by Zeyghami: to move into closed session at 6:49 p.m. Minutes prepared by Valerie Parker, Planning Technician and Sherry Weinkauf, Village Clerk Page 4 Mtg_BOT_211018_Consent_Minutes_BOT-PC 210929_210929  Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: PASS Member (BOT) Voting Maloney, Mark YES Ermeling, Barb YES Fiene, Nate YES Meinel, Steve YES White, Loren YES Xiong, Yee YES Zeyghami, Hooshang YES **Trustee Loren White completed the minutes at this point (see the next page) ** RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION POSSIBLE ACTION ON CLOSED SESSION ITEMS • ADMINISTRATOR EVALUATION REMARKS FROM TRUSTEES REMARKS FROM THE PRESIDENT ADJOURNMENT OF BOT Minutes prepared by Valerie Parker, Planning Technician and Sherry Weinkauf, Village Clerk Page 5 Mtg_BOT_211018_Consent_Minutes_BOT-PC 210929_210929  VILLAGE OF WESTON OFFICIAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Monday Sep. 29, 2021 Trustee Present Mark Maloney Yes Ermeling, Barb Yes Nathan Fiene Yes Steve Meinel Yes Loren White Yes Yee Leng Xiong Yes Hooshang Zeyghami Yes Motion by Fiene, second by Ermeling, to return from Closed Session. @ 8:21 p.m. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: Pass Trustee Vote Mark Maloney Yes Ermeling, Barb Yes Nathan Fiene Yes Steve Meinel Yes Loren White Yes Yee Leng Xiong Yes Hooshang Zeyghami Yes Action taken in open session: No action taken. Subsequent meeting to be scheduled. REMARKS BY TRUSTEES: Trustee Zeyghami requested that a discussion concerning the Plan Commission in closed session. Motion by Fiene, second by Xiong, to adjourn the meeting. @ 8:27 p.m. Yes Vote: 7 No Votes: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Voting: 0 Result: Pass Trustee Vote Mark Maloney Yes Ermeling, Barb Yes Nathan Fiene Yes Steve Meinel Yes Loren White Yes Yee Leng Xiong Yes Hooshang Zeyghami Yes Adjourned at 8:27 p.m. Loren White, Trustee Village of Weston  Transcript of Jesse Wellhoefer, 5407 Cheryl Drive, Public Comment given at 09/29/2021 Plan Commission Meeting, related to the TID #2 Project Plan Amendment. Hi, My name is Jesse Wellhoefer, I live at 5407 Cheryl Dr. Weston WI. I am sorry I can’t be here in person, nor will I get to see how this all plays out as I am currently bird hunting in North Dakota, and after that, I will be in Africa for one month on a mission trip. Normally, when I am overseas, I always share that I am happy to pay my taxes in the USA because I can trust that back home, I know my tax dollars will be spent in the best possible way by people who are who are fiscally responsible, and working for the people and in the best interests of the people. But I see a change in our local government lately. So before I can address the specifics of TID2 land maneuvers, I must first address this. What we are seeing here today is just a symptom of a larger issue. The larger issue I see happening here, is that the local government is forgetting they are employed by the people, and for the people. Instead, I see a local government which is working hard to grow itself into an entity that controls the people, instead of the other way around. In my short time watching what is going on, I saw a group of very successful people, Presidents of successful companies, Owners of successful organizations, ect. The very people in this room who are sitting on this planning board committee . The very group who basically volunteers their time to help our community. The very group who's supposed to help guide our government through checks and balances. I watched this group get forced into being rubber stampers. I saw that group ask the very questions they should be asking, and get patronized, and belittled for asking those questions. I watched as they were basically bullied into approving a plan which none of them seemed to agree with. A plan none of them would allow to enter their own organizations. Then, at the public meeting, I took note of the agenda starting out with big intimidating words like Ex Parte Communication. I for one would expect the people who plan how to spend my millions to actually spend time discussing this before approving stuff. So to me, it seems like there are those who wish to scare and bully others into compliance. Also, I noticed something which raised a lot of red flags in my mind but went un-contended. I watched how Keith made the point that closing the tid will not actually help lower the taxes. He showed how a large sum of money is going toward the salaries of people managing the ongoings of the tid. He showed how this money would still be used to pay those employees. Come on, what does this even mean? Why are we still paying them? I suppose, we’ll need to keep them employed and hire more employees to fill the tajma hall. Well, At least with all these extra people working, you can rest assured that your neighbor will never again change their lightbulb without the proper permit! I watched as people from the community spoke out against the plan. They were not treated with respect by the people who had already made up their minds ahead of time that they were pushing their plan through no matter what the people said. In fact, it seemed that when the committee board actually followed the voice of the people (which I applaud you for doing), there were those who still looked on in disbelief as these successful people did not vote as they were expected to. I applaud this group of people for making the last minute decision of going against the peer pressure, and listening to the people who they represent! So again, before anyone decides how to spend our money, I ask that those who feel they are in control, step back, work with the other leaders around you, and come up with a real vision and plan together. I ask that this group work together for the good of the people, not the insecurities of a government entity. From what I have seen, this local government does not have a tried and true method of fiduciary procedures in place when deciding how to spend our money. So I’ll make the same ask I did last time, which was clearly ignored. I ask that our elected officials treat every $ of our money spent as if it were their own, and that they need a return on investment. I ask that you put together a process in which each decision shows a clear return on investment for every dollar spent. I ask that this committee show everyone here what their fiduciary standards and procedures are when approving the spending of money. I ask that the people of this committee act on behalf of the people, and for the people. As for the allocation of the land. This is a green field, this cannot pass the sniff test. This should be permanently removed, not just refactored. Actually both Tids should be closed until our local government can supply the already stated ask before spending any more money. The last thing I want is for the local government to think that the raising house prices justifies increasing our taxes just because they are not being responsible with our money. Thank you very much and may God Bless you all.