VILLAGE BOARD
JUNE 3, 2014

The Village Board of Combined Locks was called to order by President John Neumeier. Trustees in attendance included: Justin Krueger, Ruth Wulgaert, Rick Strick, Beth Sewall, and Roger Kirch. Jim Ponto was absent.

Also in attendance were: Village Administrator Sean Hutchison, Fox Valley Metro Police Chief Erik Misselt, Public Works Foreman Ryan Swick, Dave Wagner of Ehlers & Associates, Roland Coonen of Coonen Development Corporation, and Judy Hebbe of the Times Villager.

The first item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of the minutes and bills. R. Strick made a motion to approve the minutes. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. R. Wulgaert made a motion to approve the bills as presented. R. Kirch seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was the Administrator’s report. He reported that the Janssen Street – Prospect Street Sewer Project is nearing completion and that he has spent a significant amount of time preparing for the Board of Review and drafting assessment scenarios for the 2015 street projects. The Administrator also spent time working on the E-CMAR (sanitary sewer report) for the Department of Natural Resources and will continue working on the Capacity Management Operation Maintenance Program (CMOM). The Administrator reported that budget packets were distributed to department heads with instruction to present a zero-increase department budget. Department heads will meet in June to discuss 5-year capital equipment requests.

The next item on the agenda was the Police report. He reported that one of the candidates for the two open officer positions did not survive the last couple steps in the hiring process. Background checks have already begun for another candidate, however he must complete the Police Academy before he can begin work. This is the same situation as the other hiree; so both are scheduled to graduate in August or September and then go through field training with department officers.

The next item on the agenda was the Public Works Foreman’s report. He reported that the entire Village has now been swept 2 times this year, and the portion of the Village that is required to be swept twice a month per NR 216 storm water requirements has also been completed. A total of 37 tons of debris has been removed from the streets. The crew hauled 47 tons of yard waste this month to the County landfill for season total of 63 tons. This total is slightly less than the past 2 years. There were 55 brush collection stops and 98 large rubbish collection stops in May. The Foreman reported that he started listening to the curb boxes and plotting them in the GIS. This helped discover 4 leaking curb boxes. The crew flushed all hydrants within the village, and MCO uni-directional flushed the areas with high iron issues. There were 2 water breaks during the hydrant flushing. He also reported that Fox Valley Asphalt won the bid to do this crack filling for 2014, street staff filled potholes throughout the Village, Safe Step finished grinding sidewalks in the Wallace Street area, and Janssen and State Street sanitary sewer project is almost complete; waiting for go ahead from the railroad. The Foreman explained that the anticipated projects include: street sweeping, brush collection, parks maintenance, bidding for sidewalk removal and replacement, preparing the 2015 Public Works budget, fertilizing and spraying weeds at parks and islands, and working on inflow and infiltration inspections and projects. It was noted that there are still larger trees blocking trails and there is a plan to get them removed, but it has to wait until a couple other projects are completed and the trails dry up.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of Class B Liquor Licenses for Kamps Bar & Grill, Lox Club and Mill Town Still & Grill. It was noted that the renewal requests were published in the Times-Villager and the Police, Fire and Building Inspector have all recommended approval. B. Sewall made a motion to approve the renewal liquor licenses as presented. R. Kirch seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of bartender licenses for Leah Harvey and Amy Van Roy. It was noted that the Police have recommended approval of the licenses. R. Kirch made a motion to approve the bartender licenses as presented. J. Krueger seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of a proposal from Ehlers and Associates regarding the Tax Incremental Finance District. The Administrator reminded the Board that the proposed TIF District is regarding Appleton Coated. Mr. Dave Wagner of Ehlers & Associates has drafted an agreement for consideration. The agreement is broken into phases so that the Village can decide to terminate the agreement at the end of any phase if it’s determined that the development projections are not as anticipated. The first phase is a feasibility analysis, which will determine whether the revised TIF District is statutorily and economically feasible to meet the Village’s objectives. Mr. Wagner explained that the improvements to Appleton Coated will need to increase its assessed value in order to make it feasible. It was noted that the improvements will also be privately (loans) funded, and there is an option for special assessment bonds. Phase II is Project Plan Development and Approval and Phase III is State Submittal. The total cost is $16,000. The matter was discussed. J. Krueger made a motion to approve the proposal as presented. R. Kirch seconded the motion, and it passed with five (5) ayes and one (1) abstain (R. Strick).

The next item on the agenda was to discuss infrastructure funding options for the Locks Business Park. Mr. Roland Coonen explained that he has only been involved in the Coonen Development Corporation for a few years. His first goal was to sell the residential lots and then move on to the Business Park. Most of the residential lots are sold and he has been approached with a potential offer to purchase a lot in the Locks Business Park. However, he does not have the means to install the infrastructure. The potential cost is $1.4 million. He wants the Village to consider a way to help pay for the infrastructure. The matter was discussed. The Administrator noted that if financing could be worked out, the soonest infrastructure could be installed is 2015 as to bid for contracts now would come at a premium cost. Mr. Wagner provided some basic information about how to revise the current TIF District and the advantages and disadvantages of revising it. Mr. Coonen was instructed to draft a plan, review it with the Village Administrator and bring it to a future meeting for further consideration.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider a request from Ross McDowell to use part of Hidden Ridges Way for a 5K run at the end of June. The 5K would begin on the Kimberly High School property, go through the east gate onto Hidden Ridges Way, go south on Hidden Ridges Way and back north, and return to the high school property. Flyers will be distributed to property owners on Hidden Ridges Way to notify them of the 5K. B. Sewall made a motion to approve the request as presented. R. Kirch seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of a letter to property owners who will be affected by street projects in 2015. The Administrator provided a copy of the letter which also mentions that the property owners have the option to pay the assessment over 10 years, with interest. The matter was discussed. R. Wulgaert made a motion to approve the letter with the 10-year payment plan. B. Sewall seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to review the E-CMAR (sanitary sewer report) and consider approval of Resolution 2014-11 which confirms receipt of the report. The Administrator reviewed the report which outlines the dollars spent to improve the system and the list of future projects. B. Sewall made a motion to approve Resolution 2014-11 as presented. R. Strick seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

The next item on the agenda was to review and consider approval of an option to fund updated 2014 Capital Improvement Projects. The Administrator explained that the 2014 budget includes money for bridge repairs, chip-sealing and sidewalk repairs. Due to the severity of the winter, the costs have been significantly increased. The bridge increased $6,500, the chip-seal increased $13,000 and the sidewalks increased $8,750. In addition, all Village computers are running the Windows XP operating system. This system is no longer supported by Microsoft, and the computers can be compromised. The cost to replace the computers is estimated at $5,000. The matters were discussed. It was noted that some of the additional costs can be covered by the budgeted contingency fund. The consensus of Board opinion was to move forward with all of the extra expenses and republish the budget with the increased line items.

In other general business, the Administrator explained that he is still waiting for cost estimates to repair the outfall area for the Hideaway Ridges Stormwater Pond. He also noted that there have been some requests to install fountains in Stormwater ponds, and the DNR does approve of them with stringent guidelines.

J. Krueger made a motion to adjourn the meeting. R. Strick seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.

Village Board

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