Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Stone House
December 26, 2016
7:00 P.M.
The Regular Meeting of the President and Board of Trustees was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 26, 2016 by President Davis. Members present were John Duerr, Ruth Foley and Chris Schultz. Member Ken Plath was absent. (Note: At present, there are two vacancies on the Board.) Also present were Steve Stadel, Village Treasurer, Margaret Townsend, Village Clerk, and Ron Duerr.
J. Duerr moved, Schultz seconded that the Minutes of the November 28, 2016 Regular Meeting be approved as read. All voted aye.
Treasurer Steve Stadel brought to the attention of the Board that: l) the final tax distribution was received; 2) January is the month when the overdue utility accounts will be dealt with according to policy; 3) it has come to his attention that two utility users in the Village have not been being billed. One is the Recreation Association. It was agreed to charge the Recreation Association for 1 REU and going forward, to charge them only for the months during which their liquor license is in effect which is normally April through August.
The second account is Keith Saam’s property which includes a business and a car wash. Stadel stated he has worked with Mulgrew and they have paid for the months which have been overlooked for 1 REU and 1garbage. The car wash has not been billed for a year and a half. Discussion was held on what rate should be charged for a car wash. Davis explained that in the case of the car wash, the REU’s are also determined by what is being discharged into the wastewater system, which in this case is soaps, etc., and the fact that it takes more chemical, etc. to treat that discharge. After further discussion, it was agreed to bill Saam, the owner of the property, 2.5 REU’s (1 for the office and 1.5 for the car wash) plus 1garbage (instead of the 4 REU’s that had been charged.) That will be a charge of $93.00 per month. Stadel will talk with Saam about the money Mulgrew has paid and suggest he work it out with Mulgrew.
J. Duerr moved, Foley seconded to charge the Recreation Association 1 REU monthly and to charge Saam Oil 2.5 REU’s plus 1 garbage monthly. All voted aye.
Foley moved, J. Duerr seconded to accept the Treasurer’s Report and to place it on file. All voted aye.
The December bills were reviewed. Discussion was held on which properties in the Village are being charged only the operation/maintenance part of the bill (i.e. a homeowner closes up his/her house for part of the year or a house or building is unoccupied.) A list was compiled. A suggestion was made that in this instance, a fee could be charged to turn the water back on. This may discourage someone from requesting to have it done repetitiously in a short period of time.
Foley moved, Schultz seconded that the December bills, with additions as specified, be approved for payment. On roll call vote, Davis, aye; J. Duerr, aye; Foley, aye; Schultz, aye. Motion carried.
Minutes – Regular Meeting, December 26, 2016 – Page 2
PUBLIC HEARINGS/CORRESPONDENCE
A) Ambulance Board – No Report
B) S.M. Chamber – No Report
C) Mediacom Letter – On or about January 3, 2017 Mediacom will be implementing the following rate adjustments: Local Broadcast Station surcharge, increase of $2.27; Regional Sports Surcharge, increase of $0.24; Family TV, increase of $2.00. They stated that the increased fees they are being charged by the cable and satellite companies is the reason for the increase to their customers.
D) Other – Tax Exemption – Clerk Townsend informed the Board that she was successful in getting a tax exempt status from the State for the extension of Mason Street to the west.
PUBLIC WORKS
A) Monthly Report – Ron Duerr reported: 1) the transmission lines on the truck are getting rusty. He will have Dave Fosler of Scales Mound Sinclair repair/replace the lines. 2) Tony Edwards Electric is working on the electric motors in the blower building.
B) Operation/Maintenance/Streets Committee Report – No Report
C) Sewer & Water Operations Committee Report – No Report
ZONING REPORT – None
POLICE REPORT – Ruth Foley presented email correspondence between Carrie Stier and Officer Oberhart in regard to a vehicle which struck a tree in front of Carrie’s residence on Main Street. The
vehicle was left for several days but was eventually removed. Stier suggested the information be placed on file with the Village in the event that there was permanent damage done to the tree. Officer Oberhart stated he would follow up on the incident as he planned to be on patrol in the Village on New Year’s Eve. He also stated he would address abandoned vehicles (ordinance violations) during that time. The paperwork regarding the truck/tree will be placed on file.
OLD BUSINESS
A) Action on Lease Agreement with Wisconsin Independent Network, L.L.C. – Davis stated the paperwork is still with Attorney Kurt and hopefully it will be ready for action at the January Regular Board Meeting. It was suggested that money from the lease be used to purchase the generator which is needed. The air conditioner for that area also needs to be replaced. Ruth Foley stated she has had discussion with Mike Moser of the Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Office and he informed her that they rely more and more on the use of iFiber so it is imperative that the system is up and running at all times. It was stated that the generator will be put in place in the spring once conditions are favorable to pour a cement pad, and, the air conditioner will be replaced.
B) Other – None
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
A) Finance – No Report
B) Park & Special Projects – 1) OSLAD Grant – Any new Information from Fehr-Graham – Nothing new – plan to meet with Bridgette Stocks in January.
C) Public Events & Safety – No Report
D) Trees & Sidewalks – No Report
E) Stone House Committee Pro Tem – No Report
F) Policy Committee Pro Tem – No
Minutes – Regular Meeting, December 26, 2016 – Page 3
NEW BUSINESS
A) Election Filings – Clerk Townsend reported the following: for the 2 unexpired terms, there are 2 seats available, petitions have been filed by Bernard Trebian, Art Morby and Thomas Townsend; for the 4 year terms, there are 3 seats available, petitions have been filed by Lindsey Duerr, John Duerr, Shannon Driscoll and Christopher Schultz. The election date is Tuesday, April 4, 2017.
B) Other – None
MONTHLY REVIEWS
A) Ordinance Violations – Nothing
B) Website – Nothing
C) Brainstorming – Nothing
CLOSED SESSION – None
ADJOURNMENT – J. Duerr moved, Foley seconded that the meeting be adjourned at 7:58 p.m. All voted aye.
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