Minutes of the Meeting of the City Council held on Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Pursuant to Notice Duly Given:

  1. Meeting called to order by Mayor Bostedt at 6:00 p.m.
  1. Roll Call: Mayor Bostedt, Al Schreiber, Ron Daul, Marlene Zahn, Roger Reed, Lauren Resch, Bob Le Breck, Jean Pleshek, Connie Bickel, Sheri Groll, Joseph Stiloski and Attorney Calvert

Also Present: Fire Chief Jack Mlnarik, Public Works Superintendent Jeremy Wusterbarth, Police Chief Dan Ault, members of the public and Sara Perrizo, Administrator and as recording secretary.

  1. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance by AlderpersonReed.
  1. Approval of Agenda

Moved by Zahn, seconded by Pleshek to approve the agenda as presented.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.10 ayes

  1. Approval of minutes as presented from Committee of the Whole, Council, Committees and any Special Council meetings.

Mayor Bostedt stated that she spoke with Perrizo about the fact that the Council approves some minutes before they have been approved by the committees. She asked if the Council would approve the minutes from the Committee of the Whole, Council and Special Council meetings and receive and place on file all of the others. Pleshek asked if the members would still get the minutes at the same time as in the past. Mayor Bostedt said that they would, but that some of the minutes would also be placed on their desks at the Committee of the Whole meeting to reduce mailing costs. Pleshek asked if the minutes could be emailed and Perrizo responded that she would do that. Zahn questioned if this would also cover the Police and Fire monthly reports. Mayor Bostedt said that these are under a different item on the agenda.

Perrizo then explained that, in the past, the City Council minutes had been published in the newspaper prior to them being approved by the Council. Perrizo has changed that and the minutes won’t be published until after they have been approved at the Council meeting the following month. The consensus of the Council was that this was a good idea.

Moved by Pleshek, seconded by Le Breck to approve the minutes from the Council, Committee of the Whole and Special Council meetings.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.10 ayes

Moved by Bickel, seconded by Resch to receive and place on file the committee and commission minutes.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.10 ayes

  1. Approval of department reports as presented.

Moved by Schreiber, seconded by Reed to approve.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.10 ayes

  1. Correspondence/Public Input
  2. Letter from EMC Insurance re: Claim #957666

Daul asked why the insurance company sent a letter of denial when the City Council had voted 9-1 to pay these expenses out of the General Fund. Mayor Bostedt replied that she had contacted the insurance company to asked about the situation. At this point, the payment has already been made.

  1. Correspondence from Stellpflug Law re: Case #CR201203285

Mayor Bostedt stated that this was informational to the Council and anyone desiring further information could contact Perrizo.

Justin Ingalls, 145 Van Dyke Street, spoke regarding the tax equivalent payment by the Utility. He didn’t know this existed until one and one half years ago. He has several problems with it. In his opinion, the charge to the tax exempt organizations is miniscule compared to the business taxes. He also thinks that the non-profits are exempt from the tax equivalent, so this would be a flawed argument. Ingalls doesn’t see this as a user fee, but as a tax. Citizens of Oconto can’t have a well or a truck from outside to bring in their water, so they have no choice but to purchase City water. He thinks this is a tax on a tax, which is forbidden. He also stated that this is a hidden tax and it should be done away with. If it can’t be removed, it should be made obvious on the water bills. Mayor Bostedt stated that this item will be on the agenda for the Utility Commission.

Terri Berth, 160 Van Dyke Street, handed out copies of Robert’s Rules of Order to the Council members and indicated this would be a good reference for them. She then stated that she has an issue as a taxpayer regarding the legal situation with the Mayor due to the situation in Suring. The end result was that the City paid $1,750 out of taxpayer money. This was denied as a claim by the City’s insurance company. Berth feels that if this was another citizen, they would be required to pay the money back. She asked the Council to put on the next agenda an item demanding the Mayor pay this money back. She also asked that the Mayor be censured by the Council.

Zahn asked for further information regarding the claim referenced in item 7b. Calvert explained that this has been pending since the Fall of 2012. Former City employee Robert Mommaerts filed an age discrimination complaint with the Department of Workforce Development. This is still pending and Calvert has received notice within the past 30 days that this has been passed to an Administrative Hearing Officer and a hearing will be scheduled. Calvert commented that anyone over the age of 40 can file an age discrimination complaint. It is the burden of the complainant to prove that discrimination occurred. Perrizo commented that she has been in contact with the City’s insurance company and they have assigned an attorney to this case. This is not a lawsuit, but it is a claim with the Department of Workforce Development.

  1. Discussion/Recommendation on:
  2. Pay Request #1 from Veit Dredging, Inc. for Phase 1 in the Amount of $98,994.02

Wusterbarth explained that the City is paying for Phase 1 while the grant money will pay for Phase 2. The invoice for Phase 1 is $104,204.23, less 5% retainage equaling $98,994.02. Wusterbarth went over the details of portions of this pay request. He did the same for the Phase 2 pay request.

Daul commented that $8,474 is being paid for cubic yardage already taken out of the area behind the Street Department. He wonders if this will affect the grant money. Wusterbarth replied that it will not as this is part of what the City is paying for and has no bearing on the grant.

Moved by Reed, seconded by Schreiber to approve the pay request from Veit Dredging, Inc. for Phase 1 in the Amount of $98,994.02.

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.10 ayes

  1. Pay Request #1 from Veit Dredging, Inc. for Phase 2 in the Amount of $80,275.00

Moved by Schreiber, seconded by Resch to approve pay request #1 from Veit Dredging, Inc. for Phase 2 in the amount of $80,275.00.

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.10 ayes

  1. Approval of consent agenda:
  2. Approval of Appointment of Joe Watt to the Police and Fire Commission
  1. Approval of applications for License to Serve Fermented Beverages and/or Intoxicating Liquor
  1. Approval of Accounts Payable for the Month of July 2013 in the Amount of $370,123.46, Payroll for the Month of July 2013 in the Amount of $121.477.12 and Other Financial Reports as Presented
  1. Approval of Final Payment to Foth for Dredging in the Amount of $11,985.65
  1. Approval for the Employees to Pay the Employee Share and the City to Pay the City Share of Social Security and Medicare Withholdings on Insurance Premiums from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013

This item was pulled by Alderperson Stiloski. He asked for clarification. Perrizo explained that when the old payroll system was set up many years ago, Social Security and Medicare were not set up to be withheld on insurance premiums. The City does not have a cafeteria plan for its health insurance so Social Security and Medicare taxes must be paid on the premiums. The cost is $54.60 per employee from January 1 to June 30, 2013.

Moved by Pleshek, seconded by Groll to approve having the employees to pay the employee share and the City to pay the City share of Social Security and Medicare withholdings on insurance premiums from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013.

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

  1. Approval to Place for Sale City-Owned Properties Located on Second Street and at 314 Brazeau Avenue at the Appraised Values of $3,000 and $4,500 Respectively

This item was pulled by Alderperson Reed. He said that there was an offer made of $3,500 for the Brazeau Avenue property. It is assessed at $4,500. He is against putting it for sale. There is a basement still in that property and it could cost around $5,000 to remove it. Schreiber spoke with the person who tore the building down. The estimate at that time was that it would cost $5,000 to remove the basement and footings. He’s concerned that, if we advertise, the person who made the original offer may not want to pay $5,000 to remove the basement and footings. Pleshek asked if the appraiser was aware of this issue. Perrizo replied that he likely wasn’t because she didn’t know until recently as there were no notes relating to this in the property file. Mayor Bostedt commented that the Industrial Development Commission recommended to advertise because they wanted people to be aware that the property is for sale.

Ron Hayes, 301 Acorn Court, stated that he thought when a building was razed, the foundation had to be removed. He asked if it was the Council’s decision at the time to leave it there at the Brazeau property. Daul commented that part of the foundation is now under the parking lot. Schreiber explained that the previous owner left the foundation there.

Le Breck asked if the propertyis buildable. Calvert responded that it is. Daul questioned if the Second Street property is buildable and wondered if it should be disclosed if it is not. Mlnarik commented that it really can’t be said that any property is not buildable. There is a variance process in place. It is really the responsibility of the buyer to do the research on the property. Calvert said that all information will also be given at closing. Pleshek agrees that it is fair to make the properties available to all citizens.

Moved by Pleshek, seconded by Daul to approve placing for sale City-owned properties located on Second Street and at 314 Brazeau Avenue at the appraised values of $3,000 and $4,500 respectively.

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 9 ayes, 1 nay (Reed)

  1. Approval to Tub Grind at the City’s Transfer Station for an Amount up to $7,000
  1. Approval of Invoice from Jossart Brothers in the Amount of $133,441.42
  1. Approval of Invoice from DeGroot, Inc. in the Amount of $254,432.00
  1. Approval of Certified Survey Map for the City of Oconto (former Kelly Pickle Property)
  1. Approval of Certified Survey Map under Extraterritorial Jurisdiction for TCB Properties

Moved by Zahn, seconded by Pleshek to approve the consent agenda with the exception of items e and f.

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.10 ayes

  1. Adjournment

Moved by Zahn, seconded by Pleshek to adjourn at 6:46 p.m.

Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 10 ayes

Respectfully Submitted:

Sara J. Perrizo

Administrator