Town Board Meeting
December 13th, 2016 at 7:00 P.M.
Manitowish Waters Community Center
Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m.
Present: Town Chairman John Hanson and Board Supervisors Eric Behnke and Chuck Rayala III
Approval of Agenda as posted on September 30th, 2016 and Addendum as posted on October 3rd, 2016. Approved on motion from Eric Behnke and seconded by Chuck Rayala III. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes of October 4th, October 18th, and October 25th, 2016. Approved on motion from Eric Behnke and seconded by Chuck Rayala III. Motion Carried.
Visitors Present: Over 40 citizens attended the meeting.
Subjects from floor: None
Agenda Items Requested to Speak On: Rest Lake Park Pavilion Agreement agenda item: Amy Kobussen, Merry Perkins, Barry Hopkins, Kevin Griffith, Kim Kost, Greg Holt, Deb Skrobot, Joe McFarland, Chuck Kramer, Dan Sleight, and Mike Kramer. Sprinkler System at Rest Lake Park agenda item: Barry Hopkins, Kevin Griffith, Kim Kost, Greg Holt, Deb Skrobot, Dave Gouwens, Joe McFarland, Chuck Kramer, Dan Sleight, and Mike Kramer. Furniture Donation to Rest Lake Park Pavilion agenda item: Barry Hopkins, Kim Kost, Greg Holt, Deb Skrobot, Dave Gouwens, Joe McFarland, Chuck Kramer, Dan Sleight, and Mike Kramer. Donation Policy agenda item: Barry Hopkins, Kim Kost, Greg Holt, Dave Gouwens, Joe McFarland, Chuck Kramer, Dan Sleight and Mike Kramer. Working Agreement with Bike Trail Inc. agenda item: Kevin Griffith, Greg Holt, Dave Gouwens, Dan Sleight, and David Bartling. Select Firm to do the Master Plan for Rest Lake Park agenda item: Kevin Griffith, Greg Holt, Deb Skrobot, Joe McFarland and Mike Kramer. New Trails Procedure agenda item: Chuck Kramer, Kevin Griffith, Kim Kost, Greg Holt, Chris Troller, Dave Gouwens, Dan Sleight, Barry Hopkins and David Bartling. Borrow or Appropriate Funds to connect Mercer Bike Trail to North of Tower Road agenda item: John Butler, Barb McFarland, Bob Brenner, Chuck Kramer, Amy Kobussen, Barry Hopkins, John McFarland, Kevin Griffith, Kim Kost, Dan Sleight, David Bartling, Greg Holt and Chris Troller.
Old Business:
-- Poll Vote Results:
--Approve Commonwealth Heritage Group to do a Archeological Study at Rest Lake Park for a Fee of $1,250.00: 10/26/2016 John Hanson “Aye”; Eric Behnke “Aye”; Chuck Rayala III “Aye”. Kim Kost questioned the legality of conducting poll votes. Hanson responded that he had checked in the past and it is perfectly legal. Behnke added that poll votes are only conducted when absolutely necessary due to time restrictions or other immediate necessities.
--Rest Lake Park Pavilion Agreement: Chair Hanson read aloud portions of the recently revised agreement, drawing specific attention to sections f. Landscaping/Irrigation and g. Furniture. Following discussion and public comment, Behnke stated that he would like to see section f. reworded as follows:
Except as provided below, ongoing landscape maintenance and upkeep at the Pavilion is not included as part of the Donor Commitment and Purpose. Landscape maintenance and upkeep shall be done by the Town at its expense, and to the standards set by the Town crew, thus far. Should the Town fail to maintain the landscaping to these standards, Donor shall provide notice to the Town and the Town shall thereafter use its best efforts to meet those standards. If the Town is unable to meet these standards, the Donor shall have the right, at her expense, to take over maintenance and upkeep of the landscaping.
Behnke went on to state that he thinks unbolting the furniture would rectify any contentious issues. Behnke made a motion to go back to Ms. Uihlein and request that the furniture not be affixed and to use his rewording of section f. The motion was seconded by Hanson. Motion carried.
--Sprinkler System at Rest Lake Park: Covered under previous agenda item discussion.
--Furniture Donation to Rest Lake Park Pavilion: Covered under previous agenda item discussion.
--Donation Policy: Behnke asked that the policy be amended to state that all donations not covered by the current policy be subject to Town Board review and approval. A motion was made by Rayala III to approve Behnke’s amendment to the current Donation Policy and seconded by Behnke. Motion carried.
New Business:
-- Working Agreement with Bike Trail Inc.: A tentative agreement was read aloud by Chair Hanson. The Board unanimously agreed that they would like to combine this item with the New Trails Procedure agenda item and take additional time to review both before bringing it back to a future meeting. A special Town Board meeting will be scheduled to discuss alternate routes for the current location of the bike trail loop.
-- Select Firm to do the Master Plan for Rest Lake Park: Supervisors Behnke and Rayala III will need time to review both plans, prior to approving the unanimous recommendation of the Parks and Trails Committee.
-- International Migratory Bird Day Resolution May 13, 2017: A motion was made by Eric Behnke and seconded by Chuck Rayala III to recognize the resolution assigning May 13, 2017 as International Migratory Bird Day. Motion carried.
-- Library Board Member Renewals: Clerk Hilbert read aloud a list of Library Board Member renewals, including:
Dick Henske, Paul Lehmkuhl and Pat Stonehouse renewed through December 31, 2018
Jean Eales renewed through March 31, 2019
John Donovan and Helen Erickson renewed through December 31, 2020
Annette Tellefson will be vacating her position on the Board, effective December 31st, of 2016. Gratitude and appreciation are expressed to Annette for her many years of invaluable service
A motion was made by Eric Behnke and seconded by Chuck Rayala III to approve the above renewals. Motion carried.
--New Trails Procedure: Covered under previous agenda item discussion.
-- Borrow or Appropriate Funds to Connect Mercer Bike Trail to Tower Road: Following discussion, Behnke suggested waiting until after the January 10th Public Hearing, before taking any action. All were in agreement.
Standing Committee Review:
Vouchers: Vouchers for November 22nd, 2016 = $19,400.09 and $30,619.10 for December 13th, 2016. A motion was made by Eric Behnke and seconded by Chuck Rayala III to approve the vouchers. Motion carried.
P & L/Bank Balances: P&L’s were provided to the Board in writing.
Airport: Airport reports were provided to the Board in writing. Chair Hanson dispensed with the untrue rumor that the Airport tree clearing was for much larger jets to be able to land in Manitowish Waters. The tree clearing was ordered by the FAA and is a routine event to clear the glide slope. Additionally, the present snowmobile trail crossing airport land can stay where it is.
Road Report: Provided to the Board in written form. An ad will be placed for a part-time winter plow person to fill the vacancy of Randy Richter’s position. The proposed new patrol truck will go on the January agenda.
Bike Trail: Already covered under previous agenda items.
Parks: Eric Behnke noted that he had received several positive comments about the Christmas lights and new displays, and wished to express thanks to the Manitowish Waters Chamber and the Community Foundation for making that happen.
Transfer Station: Winter hours are in effect. The brush pad will be open as long as it can be accessed.
Correspondence:
--Board Member packets contained information on boat ramps for Rest Lake Park.
--Chair Hanson shared a letter from Steven Bartling expressing disappointment that the Town Government did not embrace the loop proposed by Bike Trail Inc. He was also seeking donations for his “Fix-It” stations that currently enhance the bike trail.
A Letter of Resignation from David Bartling was read aloud by Chair Hanson. David will be vacating his position on the Parks & Trails Committee. Hanson went on to share a portion of the minutes from the last Parks & Trails Committee meeting, specifically several motions that he deemed a violation of open meeting law because they were not properly posted. Additionally, this Board appointed committee is not in a position to be making rules applying to Town Board members. An in-depth discussion needs to take place with regard to this committee because they are currently “off track”. Guidelines need to be established. Behnke questioned whether this committee needs to follow the same procedures that apply to Town Boards. According to Wisconsin Statute, sub- units of Municipal Government are required to follow the same rules that apply to Town Boards.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Dana Hilbert
Clerk/Treasurer