VILLAGE OF NORTH HUDSON: 1/6/09 Regular Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

(Pub. Aug. 13)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 @ 7:00 P.M.

Village Hall, 400 7th Street North, Hudson, WI 54016

Minutes

Call to order: roll call

President Larry Larsen called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Answering the call were Trustees Cothern, Klein, O’Brien-Berglund, Thomas, Whalen and Zappa. A quorum was present and the meeting had been duly noted. Also in attendance were the Village Attorney, Bill Nickolai, Village Administrator, Gloria Troester, Chief of Police, Mark Richert, Village Engineer, Kevin Oium, and the Recording Secretary, Kathy Anderson.

Approval of the minutes: Regular Board meeting of December 2, 2008

Thomas moved to approve the December 2, 2008 meeting minutes with a minor correction on page 4, 2nd paragraph, first sentence, delete the word “care” at the end of the sentence; seconded by Klein. Motion passed unanimously.

Comments from the floor

None.

Open Public Hearing Repeal and Recreation of Municipal Code Chapter 98 Zoning, Sec 98-151

Larsen stated that the recreation of the municipal code is driven by the DNR. As the DNR updates their standards, they expect the municipalities to do the same.

President Larsen requested a motion to open the public hearing on the repeal and recreation of Municipal Code Chapter 98 Zoning. Cothern moved to open the public hearing; seconded by O’Brien-Berglund. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 7-0.

Public Comments

Terry Dunst, Bakke-Norman Law Office, has been working on this ordinance with the assistance of the Department of Natural Resources and the Village Administrator. The ordinance creates an overlay zoning district within the boundaries of the Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Those boundaries are defined within the ordinance and by Chapter NR118 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. The ordinance contains the land use regulations and procedures within the Riverway District that are in addition to the existing Village zoning regulations. Those would include the regulation of buildings and other structures, roads, driveways, stairways, vegetation, etc. Dunst stated there was no change from the previous ordinance other than to state that the municipality shall adopt the standards set forward from the DNR. Dunst stated that this is an overlay ordinance and if the Village ordinances are stricter, then they are the ones to be enforced. Larsen stated that the Village Board of Appeals would be responsible for variance decisions. The Board of Appeals is independent of the Village Board, therefore, a citizen cannot appeal a decision back to the Village Board.

Closed Public Hearing

President Larsen requested a motion to close the public hearing on the repeal and recreation of Municipal Code Chapter 98 Zoning. Zappa moved to close the public hearing; seconded by Thomas. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 7-0.

Adopting of 01-2009 Lower St. Croix River District Zoning Ordinance

Thomas moved to recommend approval and adoption of Ordinance No. 01-2009, An Ordinance Amending the Municipal Code for the Village of North Hudson, Wisconsin; seconded by Klein. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 7- 0.

Plan Commission Recommenda-tions

Conditional Use Permit-Applicant Verizon Wireless to Install Wireless Communication Antenna and Equipment Building:

Zappa moved that the Board of Trustees recommend approval of the conditional use permit for Verizon Wireless (VAW) LLC, dba Verizon Wireless, to erect the specified antenna and building at 750 Summit Lane North, property owned by Hudson Public Utility Commission, subject to the following conditions:

1. Applicant to erect 8’x16’ long Trex or equivalent visual structure as shown in the plan, approximately on SW corner of the property with 2-3 arborvitaes planted at each end of the structure;

2. Other vegetation as identified in the drawing presented on November 17 be included;

3. The building have a full cut-off external light;

4. That the building and antenna meet all appropriate county, state, and village codes; seconded by O’Brien-Berglund. Motion passed unanimously.

Finance Committee recommendations

Claims: review and recommendation: Zappa moved to approve the December 2008 non-recurring claims totaling $45,562.13 and the January 2009 non-recurring claims of $4,856.74 for a total of non-recurring claims of $50,418.87; seconded by Whalen. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 7 to 0.

Public Works Committee recommendations

None.

Public Safety Committee recommendations

Chair Update: Klein suggested that the Board look at the minutes and Chief’s Report for December. He stated that the St. Croix County Emergency Management Committ-ee will meet on January 14 at 9:00 a.m. Police Chief Mark Richert said the committee meets monthly. Richert is still working on updates to the Village Emergency Operation Plan. The State has changed the guidelines related to the numbering system for the plans. The North Hudson fire and functionality will be discussed at the next Emergency Management Committ-ee meeting. The mass notification equipment system that was not funded by municipalities will also be discussed at the next meeting. Thomas stated there is approximately $200,000 in grant money available for the system. The Village of North Hudson will not have to fund the system at all. He said the system is more of a 911 emergency system which would be an addition to the generic notification system now used in the Village. Klein stated the next Public Safety Committee meeting is on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Public Welfare Committee recommendations

Chair Report: Thomas thanked President Larsen for including the residential information form in his annual year-end communication. Residents can update their contact information either by e-mail, Village drop-box, or mail.

Park Board Committee recommendations:

Skate Park in Sommers Landing Park: O’Brien-Berglund stated that the Park Board is continuing the discussion about the possibility of installing a skate park in Sommers Landing Park. There have been neighbors living next to the park, along with some local teenagers, addressing their concerns or interest in the skate park. O’Brien-Berglund stated they have researched other skate parks in the area and found a very low level of problems with skate parks in other municipalities. There is not a problem with the Village’s liability insurance as the skate park has the same category as other playground equipment. The next step will be to establish a budget, and invite teenagers and others to participate in a live hands-on design session with representatives of American Ramp Company.

Ridges Park. O’Brien-Berglund stated that Ron Derrick, Derrick Construction, presented the Park Board with an updated map of the Park at Ridges at their December meeting. The Park Board will have a site visit in the spring to determine where to locate pre-approved park equipment.

Skating Rink: There wasn’t money in the budget for a skating rink attendant. However, O’Brien-Berglund and the Park Board felt that community organizations, i.e. Boy Scouts, church groups, etc., may be interested in volunteering.

New Business from the Board or Staff

President’s Comments: President Larsen stated the Village is looking for a representative to the Senior Citizen Center. He also commented that the election will be on April 7, 2009, therefore, the April Board meeting will be moved to the end of March. The March Board meeting dates are March 3 & March 31.

Administrator’s Comments: Village Administrator Troester commented that the deadline for declaring candidacy ended at 5:00 p.m. today, January 6, 2009. All Trustee incumbents turned in the appropriate paperwork declaring their intent to run for office. President Larsen has filled his Non-candidacy papers and George Klein declared candidacy for President of the Board of Trustees.

Troester stated how much she appreciated seeing young and older people out skating on the rink. She commended Terry Felland for doing such a good job on getting the rink flooded and smooth.

Convene into closed session per 19.85(1)(c)

Motion by Zappa at 8:03 p.m. to convene into closed session pursuant to 19.85(1)(c) to consider employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluations and 2009 Village employee wage rates; seconded by Cothern. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 7 to 0.

Reconvene into open session

Motion by Zappa at 8:26 p.m. to re-convene into open session; seconded by Cothern. Motion passed 7-0 on a roll call vote.

2009 Village employee wage rates

Motion by Cothern to approve the 2009 Village wage rates as proposed in the attached document; seconded by Zappa. Motion passed 7-0 on a roll call vote.

Adjournment

Motion by Zappa to adjourn, seconded by Cothern. Motion passed. Larsen declared the meeting adjourned at 8:29 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by,

Kathy Anderson, Recording Secretary

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