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Mercer Town Board of Supervisors – August 21st 2008 – Minutes

Chairman Jim Kichak called the meeting of the Mercer Town Board of Supervisors to order on Thursday the 21st of
August 2008 at 6:30 pm in the Haines Civic Building.

Roll Call: Jim Kichak, Jim Lambert, Jeff Stenberg, Bonnie Banaszak, Toni Sendra, Opal Roberts and Christan Manners/Brandt. Absent: Atty Schellgell.

Motion made by Banaszak, seconded by Sendra, to approve the minutes from the August 7th and the August 19th 2008 board meetings. Carried.

Open comment: Tracy Benzel and Kelly Kohegyi, representing the Mercer School Referendum Committee, informed the board that the school will have a referendum on the November ballot asking for $350,000 over five years to help with the school budget. At present, the taxpayers are supporting a previous $250,000 referendum which expires this year. This would mean an increase of $100,000 in 2009 over what the taxpayers are paid in 2008. This amounts to a mill rate increase of $0.22, about $55.00 for a $250,000 property assessment. Enrollment continues to drop and therefore state funds also decrease. If Mercer consolidates with another school the tax increase would be much greater. There are 152 students enrolled as of August 5th. Lambert stated that the Business Park will possibly draw in 50 or more employees and if we lose the school that would be a deterrent to families that might be interested in moving to Mercer. The school will hold a Question & Answer forum sometime in October. John Sendra suggested the committee have materials to explain why the taxes would increase if Mercer had to consolidate with another school. This item will be placed on the agenda when the referendum committee has their presentation materials completed.
John Sendra suggested the board explain each agenda item more clearly to the audience before discussion or approval begins.
Gael English presented photos of the condition of Lake Tahoe Drive. With the rains and the boulders coming up through the roadbed, the road is in terrible condition. Kichak will take a look at it to see what can be done.
Lewis Gore asked if some sort of road signs could be placed on the Mercer section of Manitowish River Access Road. There are families with young children along that stretch of road and the traffic does not always obey the speed limit. The problem is with the out-of-area people who use this road to access the Manitowish River for canoeing or tubing. Kichak said he will see about posting Pedestrian Crossing signs on the Mercer section of this road.

New Business: a) Discuss Moose Creek Acres subdivision – Richard Mazol.
Mr Mazol presented the board with a map of the subdivision where he intends to end Many Rock Road with a cul-de-sac. The board approved this if the cul-de-sac conformed to the road specifications. He also gave the board his calculations as to what is needed in materials and estimated costs to finish the road work. The board agreed to let him hold off the paving of the subdivision roads until 2009 on the condition that the pit run and base layer of gravel be completed this fall. Kichak mentioned areas were the rock needs to be blasted along the ditch line and there are moguls that need to be leveled out so the snow plows can run at a reasonable speed. Mazol had proposed an exchange of two of the subdivision lots near the public boat landing in lieu of completing the roads. He was advised by the board that the town would not be willing, and did not think it would be legal, to accept the lots for this purpose. Board members will tour these roads at various times to determine what needs to be done.

b) Discuss 4th of July Committee tax exempt status – Joyce Olson.
Joyce Olson, on behalf of the 4th of July Committee, explained to the board that they cannot determine who holds the tax exempt number they have been using. Would the town be willing to let the monies collected and expended by the committee be handled as a town account. The board stated that they would have to officially establish this procedure and that the committee would have to give the town financial reports on their accounts. This will be on the next agenda.

c) Discuss/approve Design Review for Evergreen Energy.
At their August 18th meeting the Planning Commission had reviewed and approved the design by Evergreen Energy for the bio-fuel plant to be built on their property adjacent to the Business Park.
Motion made by Stenberg, seconded by Banaszak, to approve the commercial design for the Evergreen Energy bio-fuel plant. Carried.


d) Discuss garage repair/insulation.
The garage is in need of repair and insulating to help control heating costs this winter. It is proposed to install 2” rigid foam insulation on some of the walls and repair the insulation in the ceiling. Checking the fasteners that hold down the roofing material and tightening or replacing those may solve some of the leak problems. The major leak is occurring where the two buildings join and maybe some sort of sprayed foam applied to the joint would fix the leak during rain and snow melts. The rigid foam will cost approximately $300-$500. Sendra said that we need to do more than a temporary fix because the new garage may not be constructed for several years. Banaszak suggested the board appoint a garage committee to advise the board on the construction and possible grants for this project. Stenberg will check into the cost of the foam application.

e) Discuss Code Enforcement officer position.
This is a discussion the town board has had over a number of years. The mot important job of the town board is the safety of its citizens. The need for some sort of law enforcement just for the Town of Mercer is increasing. Lambert stated that the does not want to see a Code or Ordinance enforcement position. The town needs a deputy sheriff who will be able to handle all phases of law enforcement. The question of who would prosecute the citations issued by this officer was discussed. Dianne Keefe had obtained statistics from the Hurley Police Department and had asked questions of an Iron County deputy sheriff to determine what other towns or cities have by way of police protection. After more discussion it was decided that Banaszak will research this more thoroughly and have figures to present by the time the budget work sessions are held.

Old Business: a) Approve final Town/Mercer Lake Association agreement.
Attorney Schellgell had requested this be placed on the agenda so the board can review/approve the final document.
Motion made by Lambert, seconded by Stenberg, to approve the final documents of the Agreement between the Town of Mercer and the Mercer Lake Association pertaining to the responsibilities of each under the grant received by the Mercer Lake Association. Carried.

Legal: none.

Officer Reports: Clerk’s Report - Roberts presented the receipts list, vouchers, and the budget report.
Motion made by Stenberg, seconded by Banaszak, to approve the vouchers and issue the checks. Carried.

Communications: A bill from the Sanitary District had been received for water used by the Fire Department during one of their practices. The question was as to whether or not this was included under the Fire Protection fees charged by the SD. The board decided this was not to be included in the Fire Protection fee and the clerk is to include it in the next bill list.
An estimate of the cost of repairing the 1971 Ford pumper truck was received from Pomasl. The estimate was for between $8,000 and $10,000 for a rebuilt pump and rebuilt clutch. The question before the board was whether or not to put more money into the repair of a truck that is already 37 years old or to purchase a used pumper truck. Adam Kussard volunteered to research the internet for used pumper trucks and will bring this information to the board at a future meeting.
The preliminary estimate of the population of the Town of Mercer as of January 1, 2008 is 1,893 as reported by the WI-Dept of Administration, Demographics Services Center.
The 2008 County Equalization report by the WI-Dept of Revenue has the equalized value of Mercer at $466,355,200. This is an increase of $6,179,300 over the 2007 value.

Treasurer’s Report – Treasurer’s Report – Manners presented the Treasurer’s Report. The General Account has a balance of $392,139.83. Total of all funds is $1,379,180.69.
Motion made by Lambert, seconded by Sendra, to approve the Treasurer’s report. Carried.

Board Reports: Chair/Garage reports: The excavator is currently undergoing repairs which have put the crew behind on the road projects. The stumping of Wilson Lake Road is completed. The town will have to hire trucks to haul the gravel for this project. He will talk to local businesses to see if they can offer a competitive rate for the trucking. Power poles need to be relocated on Crystal and Feely Lake Roads before the work can be done there. The gravel roads are being graded due to the heavy rain received last weekend. The flail mower is down for minor repairs. Schroepfer is working on the old truck which is being replaced by the new one on order. The soil test report for the salt shed site was received and is in the clerk’s office for review. Several of the board members had visited the site of the Manitowish Waters salt shed building and received good reports on this type of construction. The application for the Trust Fund Loan will be sent in soon.

Supervisors: Stenberg – Asked if the crew could move the Deaf Child sign on Fisher Lake Road closer to the intersection. Kichak will tell road crew to do this.
Stenberg expressed his opinion that Mazol should have been made to pave the roads in his subdivision this year, but his subdivision was approved before the board amended the ordinance to only allow two years for the completion of roads in a development.

Lambert – Asked if the roads in the Turtle Rapids Subdivision had been accepted. The answer was “no”. He stated that the road to the public boat landing is in need of repair and should be done before any of the roads are accepted by the town.

Banaszak – The WTA seminar on Open Meetings Laws and Ethics was very informative. She read a list of some of the highlights of the seminar that should be taken into consideration in the future by the town board. Copies were included in the board packets.
Mr Schlais has asked when the town will repair the culvert by his property. Kichak said the crew is behind on the road projects but, as soon as possible, he will get them there to work on the culvert.

Sendra – The Library Board has hired Theresa Schmidt as library director. She was the most qualified of the nine applicants, five of which were interviewed by the library board. Lambert asked if any Mercer residents submitted resumes and if so why not hire one of them. Three Mercer residents applied but Theresa Schmidt was the most qualified. She has worked for the last nine years as assistant librarian at Koller Library in Manitowish Waters and is completely familiar with the Merlin system and with the Northern Waters Library System.
The Friends of the Mercer Public Library have agreed to pay the architect fees for the preliminary rendering of the library extension design which will amount to about $5,000. The next meeting of the library building committee will be held on September 9th at 6:30 pm.

For Consideration and Approval: a) Liquor/Operators Licenses: Operator Licenses for Thomas Olson and Debra Savage.
Motion made by Lambert, seconded by Stenberg, to approve the Operator Licenses for Thomas Olson and Debra Savage. Carried.

Vouchers:
Payroll: #00025 Assoc. Bank $2,411.85; #00026 Assoc. Bank $2,368.00; #24808 J Hammond $1,003.37; #24809 C Hertel $957.85; #24810 C Schroepfer $1,055.74; #24811 C Schroepfer $151.64; #24812 K Brunell $1,030.31; #24813 J Hahn $900.12; #24814 D Keefe $148.87; #24815 R Vacca $569.97; #24816 J Huffmaster $50.42; #24817 S Huffmaster $111.35; #24818 G Lawrence $598.06; #24840 WI-DOR $1,171.64
Town: #24819 ADT Security $80.00; #24822 A Pemble $107.04; #24825 Infrastructure Tech. $1,890.00; #24826 J Schmitt $35.68; #24827 J Lambert $71.36; #24831 Mercer Concrete $162.00; #24836 Price Electric $60.03; #24837 Time Ins. $688.50; #24838 Vision Plan $89.25; #24841 Xcel Energy $1,799.18
Office: #24832 San. Dist. $52.66; #24834 O Roberts $34.93; #24839 WE Energies $15.87; #24841 Xcel Energy $132.86; #24842 Xerox $79.27
Garage: #24820 AmeriPride $76.85; #24821 Angelo Luppino $266.74; #24823 Bruce Municipal $476.11; #24824 CarQuest $264.20; #24830 Landmesser tools $253.84; #24832 San. Dist. $44.81; #24833 Newman Signs $264.05; #24835 Power Plan $98.00; #24841 Xcel Energy $150.71
Fire Dept: #24828 Krist Oil $74.00; #24832 San. Dist. $99.04; #24841 Xcel Energy $91.32
Rescue Barn: #24841 Xcel Energy $60.08
Library: #24796 Baker & Taylor $1,161.06; #24797 B&T Entertainment $10.78; #24799 Demco $180.03; #24802 Mercer Library $211.28; #24803 NWLS $119.02; #24804 Penworthy $136.92; #24805 Quill Corp. $186.93; #24839 WE Energies $22.34
Community Center: #24832 San. Dist. $88.37; #24839 WE Energies $17.17; #24841 Xcel Energy $555.06
Park: #24829 Lakes Dist. $327.93; #24832 San. Dist. $165.85; #24841 Xcel Energy $83.39
Business Park: #24832 San. Dist. $70.65; #24841 Xcel Energy $18.82
Vets Memorial: #24798 B Flesch $300.00; #24800 E Reichard $300.00; #24801 M Pemble $453.51; #24806 S Kolhoff $300.00
Cap. Outlay: #24807 Medtec Ambulance $143,750.00

The next regular meeting of the Mercer Town Board of Supervisors will be held on Thursday, the 4th of September 2008 at 6:30 pm in the Haines Civic Building.

Motion made by Lambert, seconded by Sendra, to adjourn the meeting at 8:16 pm. Carried.

Archive:

August 21, 2008 Meeting Minutes
August 7, 2008 Meeting Minutes
July 17, 2008 Meeting Minutes
July 3, 2008 Meeting Minutes
June 19, 2008 Meeting Minutes
June 5, 2008 Meeting Minutes
June 5, 2008 Meeting to Adjourn Board of Review
May 15, 2008 2008 5 15 Minutes
April 17, 2008 Mercer Town Board of Supervisors

View all from: 2008