VILLAGE BOARD
JANUARY 5, 2016
The Village Board of Combined Locks was called to order by President John Neumeier. Trustees in attendance included: Ruth Wulgaert, Jim Ponto, Beth Sewall, Justin Krueger, and Cathy Vander Zanden.Roger Kirchattended via telephone.
Also in attendance were: Village AdministratorRacquel Shampo-Giese, Fox Valley Metro Police Chief Erik Misselt, Public Works Foreman Ryan Swick, andJudy Hebbe of the Times Villager.
The first item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of the minutes and bills. R. Wulgaert made a motion to approve the minutes. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. B. Sewall made a motion to approve the bills as presented. J. Krueger seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was the Administrator’s report. She reported that the office has been busy with tax collections and year end tasks. She also reported that the ballot order for the 04/05/16 spring election was drawn by lot. The order for trustees is: Beth Sewall, Roger Kirch and Jim Ponto. The Administrator explained that she and the Deputy Clerk will attend election training and WisVote training, and she will consult with the Village’s IT provider to upgrade to Windows 10 operating system. The Administrator reported that anticipated projects include: completion of year-end reporting, attending CMOM training, updating the Capital Improvement Plans, continuing to prepare and train for the 2016 election cycle, and working on updating job descriptions for all employees.
The next item on the agenda was the Police report. The Chief reported the resignation of Officer Tripoli who is moving to another city. The hiring process has begun. The Chief also explained that there was an incident in a Combined Locks neighborhood that concerned residents. To help ease the neighbors’ concerns, officers hand-delivered a letter explaining the situation and explaining that there was no danger to the public. The Chief noted that this is an example of the Department’s goals to meet recommendations of 21st century policing. These types of gestures/actions rest largely on the CSO’s shoulders.
The next item on the agenda was the Public Works Director’s report. He reported that approximately 12.7” of snow fell during the month of December. 8 tons of salt were used, which leaves the salt supply at 160 tons. The Director explained that December projects included: completion of water curb boxes plotting to GIS, completion of the Tree City Application, preparations for CE/HH roundabout, 10-year water meter replacements, and tree trimming. Anticipated projects include: snow plowing and removal, Christmas tree collection, tree trimming, and annual reporting requirement to HOVMSD and DNR (MS4).terrace trees,
The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of Resolution 2016-1 regarding recognition of adult school crossing guards. The resolution was read aloud and recognized the invaluable service the adult school crossing guards provide to our community and students. The regular crossing guards at Janssen Elementary School in Combined Locks are Luella Opsteen, Sue Mantei, and Paula Portman. The Administrator also mentioned that the substitute crossing guards went above and beyond to fill vacancies over the last few months. R. Wulgaert recommended the resolution verbiage be changed to reflect the efforts of the substitute crossing guards. R. Wulgaert made a motion to approve Resolution 2016-1 with the recommended change. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
The next item on the agenda was to review procedures to require “Hunting in Progress” signs on private property which abuts Village-owned property. The Administrator explained that Trustee Sewall asked that this matter be discussed. There are some private properties that intersect with the walking trails in Memorial Park, and there are property owners who are hunting on their private property as allowed by Act 71. The question is do we need to alert trail users that hunting is in progress? In general, the Village has the authority to require the posting of “Hunting in Progress” signs on private property. The difficulties in this requirement are: determining very detailed sign requirements, neighboring municipalities that might need to adopt a similar ordinance and enforcement. The matter was discussed. The Administrator noted that she had contacted the DNR representative, but had not received a response in time for the meeting. The consensus of Board opinion was to table the matter until a response was received from the DNR.
The next item on the agenda was to discuss Steven Street utilities. The Administrator explained that the storm inlets on Steven Street were not taking in any water during a large rain event in December. DPW employees investigated the problem, flushed the storm sewer lines and contracted to televise the storm sewer lines. A large amount of gravel material was removed during flushing, and the video shows that the line is full of roots and gravel. The contractor was able to use a root saw to remove the roots and re-flush the line. The Administrator also discussed the water and sanitary sewer mains with DPW employees. In general, the utilities are in good shape, but the road is severely deteriorated. Utility and street replacement on Steven
In other general business, the Administrator explained that a contractor will be analyzing the security cameras to determine if they can be used for the rest of the year or need to be replaced. Replacement has an estimated cost of $500.
J. Ponto made a motion to adjourn the meeting. B. Krueger seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Village Board
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