Minutes of the RegularCity Council held on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 Pursuant to Notice Duly Given:
- Meeting called to order by Mayor Bostedt at 6:00 p.m.
- Roll Call: Mayor Bostedt, Roger Reed, Darrell Anderson, Al Schreiber, Lauren Resch, Jean Feldt, Bob Le Breckand Attorney Evans
Also Present:Police Chief Bernie Faith, Interim Fire Chief John Reed, Campground Employees Don Exferd and Rex Loendorf, Sara Perrizo, Administrator and as recording secretary and other interested parties
- Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance by Alderperson Reed.
- Approval of Agenda
Moved by Feldt, seconded by Schreiberto approve the agenda as presented.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.6 ayes
- Approval of minutes as presented from Committee of the Whole, Council and any Special Council meetings.
Feldt requested a correction to the Wage & Personnel minutes, which Perrizo will make.
Moved by Anderson, seconded by Schreiber to approve the minutes with the change to the Wage & Personnel Committee minutes.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.6ayes
- Approval of department reports as presented.
Moved by Resch seconded by Feldtto approve the department reports as presented.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote.6 ayes
- Correspondence/Public Input.
Perrizo read aloud a letter from Mike Exferd, 420 First Street, regarding his concerns about the condition of the old hospital building.
Perrizo also informed the Council that the Newcap 2013 audit report was on their desks.
Mayor Bostedt stated that there was a flyer on the Council members’ desks inviting them to an inspirational talk at the Christian Science Church on May 21. She also informed that the dedication of the anchor donated by Melvin & Dan Brunette for the Harbor will take place on Friday, June 5 at 2:00 p.m.
Brent Elliot, 413 Brazeau Avenue, thanked the Council for the goose removal that was done two years ago. The removal helped to substantially clean up the issue and the mess is now much more manageable. He asked that they consider carrying forward with the plan for removal again this year.
Gordy Olson, 338 Jefferson Street, works as a Harbormaster at the Harbor and stated that when the geese can’t fly, they end up at the Harbor. The Harbormasters clean up every morning, but still receive a lot of complaints. It takes one to two hours to clean the whole area daily.
Sue Anderson, 101 Merrill Lane, is concerned regarding the removal of the geese. She opined that there is nothing more beautiful that seeing goslings cross the road. In her opinion, if we continue the removal, we should give up our Bird City designation. Mayor Bostedt stated that the Bird City group is aware that there are problems with certain birds in cities and encourages those cities to take care of the issue. Ms. Anderson then stated that homeowners should be responsible for taking care of their own property.
Don Exferd, 400 Holtwood Way, said that there is an economic impact when people don’t use the Campground because it can’t be kept clean. He counted 19 gees there today. Exferd has worked at the Campground for nine years and nothing controls the geese except for removal. The only other option is let the river bank grow up, but that will prevent people from using the river. Le Breck has been to the parks and hasn’t seen the geese. He questioned how many people are feeding them. Exferd said that no one at the Campground feeds them. Olson said that the problem isn’t happening so much now, but when the geese start molting, they go to the Breakwater. Elliot stated that the geese start out at the Breakwater, but eventually get pushed to the Campground and then across the river to his property. The last removal controlled the geese, but still allowed for them to have a presence.
D. Anderson said that we invaded the geese’s territory by building where they lived. We didn’t have any nuisance animals around until we did this. People who live on the river should realize that is where the geese live.
Feldt has received numerous complaints about the method of removal and suggested getting a dog for the campground to chase the geese. Mayor Bostedt asked who would care for the dog and Feldt suggested the Campground Manager. There are a few people here who want the geese eradicated, but many more are against it. We spent exorbitant amounts of money removing the geese in the past. Le Breck stated that we can’t put a dog at the Campground, but there are other things that can be done such as silhouettes, light attractions and using noise to scare the geese. Mayor Bostedt said that if we scare the geese, they will just land somewhere else. The goose removal was also done in 2007 and no one said a word about it. Schreiber explained that the removal at that time was done without the knowledge of the Council. He suggested looking at opening a hunting season for geese within the City during the fall. We built in the area where the geese lived and now we want to spend everyone’s money to solve a problem that only a few people have. He has to pick up garbage at his home that comes from the businesses downtown. When he complained about it, he was told that he lives near downtown, so he just has to deal with the garbage. This is the same with the geese.
Mayor Bostedt asked what we are going to do about the City’s two businesses that have a goose problem. We are trying to build up the Breakwater and the Campground. The reality is that some people enjoy the geese, but no one wants to take care of this problem that is causing the Breakwater to lose money. Feldt countered that the goose population is not why the Breakwater is losing money. Dogs or swans will work to control the geese. Feldt asked the Mayor if she plans to move forward with the removal this year. Mayor Bostedt replied that we have a permit, but the USDA has not committed to doing it yet. Le Breck stated that we need to look for a solution. Years ago we didn’t have this problem because we had hunters on the River and Bay. Mayor Bostedt said that, when she got involved in this issue three years ago, harassment had been tried at the Campground and it resulted in the geese flying up and landing across the river. She has been in these areas and seen the feces piled up.
Reed suggested checking with Peshtigo and Oconto Falls to see if they have the canons that make noise. Exferd said that dog decoys were tried in the past, but all they did was attract crows. The DNR says that the round-up is the only thing that will work. Mayor Bostedt said that City Park also has a goose issue and it took ten years to clean up the beach so that it could be used again. Exferd knows that we have lost campers because of the goose feces.
S. Anderson commented that anyone can walk their dog at the Breakwater and Campground. How do we know they are cleaning up after the dogs? If someone is going to a campground on the water, then they have to expect water fowl. She spoke with Oconto Falls and they don’t have these problems.
Elliot said that there are potential health implications with the overpopulation of geese. The Bird Flu is transferable between water fowl and stock birds (chickens, etc). What is the health danger of feces being piled up?
- Approval of Consent Agenda
- Approval of Appointment of Connie Bickel to the Zoning Board of Appeals
- Approval of Alcohol Beverage License Applications, Applications for License to Serve Fermented Beverages and/or Intoxicating Liquor and Appointment of Agents
- Approval to Direct the City Administrator to Obtain the Newcap 2014 Tax Return
- Approval of Ordinance Creating City Council Vice-President
- Approval of Request for City Administrator to Attend “Investing in Healthy Rural Communities” Conference on July 1, 2015
- Approval of Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan
- Approval to Permit a Wedding to be Held at the End of the Harbor Causeway on August 29, 2015
- Approval of Accounts Payable for the Month of April 2015 in the Amount of $754,346.12, Payroll for the Month of April 2015 in the Amount of $164,177.62 and Other Financial Reports as Presented
- Approval to Contract with Crack Filling Services for Crack Filling of City Streets in the Amount of $20,000
- Approval of Invoice from Cargill in the Amount of $6,036.11 for Road Salt
- Approval to Contract with Robert E. Lee & Associates in the Amount of $22,800 for Neddo, Pierce and Hazen Street Construction Projects
- Approval of Invoice from Oconto County Highway Department in the Amount of $5,891.71 for Manhole Tarring & Bridge Inspection
- Approval of Bid from Broadway Automotive for Truck for Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Amount of $28,534.61
- Approval of Bid from Monroe Truck Equipment for Utility Box for New Truck for Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Amount of $13,091
- Approval of Three-Year Agreement with FiveStar Fireworks, Inc. for Fourth of July Fireworks Show in the Amount of $5,300 per Year
- Approval of Quote from Electrical Services and Supplies, Inc. in the Amount of $10,844 for Installation of LED Lights at the Library
- Approval to Set the Interim Fire Chief Compensation at $64,500 with the Interim Chief Continuing to Pay 4.9% into State Retirement
Moved by Feldt, seconded by Le Breck to approve the consent agenda.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.6 ayes
- Discussion/Recommendation/Action on the Following:
- Election of City Council Vice-President
Resch nominated Feldt, who accepted. Mayor Bostedt asked two times for further nominations and none were presented.
Moved by Resch, seconded by Schreiber to close the nominations.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.6 ayes
Moved by Schreiber, seconded by Anderson to elect Feldt as Vice-President of the City Council.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.6 ayes
- 2015 Goose Removal Plan and Execution
Mayor Bostedt suggested forming an ad-hoc committee on this issue and asked for volunteers. Anderson and Feldt volunteered. Feldt suggested putting something in the paper requesting citizen volunteers. Mayor Bostedt will do so, but requested and Anderson and Feldt get started on this right away.
Moved by Feldt, seconded by Anderson to create an ad-hoc committee on goose control.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.6 ayes
- Moved by Anderson, seconded by Schreiberto adjourn at 6:44 p.m.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 6 ayes
Respectfully Submitted:
Sara J. Perrizo
Administrator