VILLAGE OF NORTH HUDSON: 2/3/09 Regular Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Tuesday February 3, 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 7:00 p.m. Answering the call were Trustees Cothern, Klein, O’Brien-Berglund, Whalen and Zappa. It was noted that Trustee Thomas was not in attendance. 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 January 6, 2009

Cothern moved to approve the January 6, 2009 meeting minutes with a minor correction on page 3, last paragraph under Public Safety Committee, “…Committee meeting is on Thursday at…”; seconded by Whalen. Motion passed unanimously.

Comments from the floor

None.

Plan Commission Recommendations

None.

Finance Committee recommendations

St. Croix Fire Update: Larsen stated that the Village has received charges of $43,915.69 from the fire departments that responded to the warehouse fire on 12/11/08. There were a total of 43 fire departments called into service for this fire which is an extraordinary expense. Larsen stated the bill for $4,000 is not being paid at this time. Therefore, the total charges for approval are $39,915.69. Larsen commented that the cost would have been considerably higher had there not been mutual aid agreements with the other municipalities. The City of Hudson agreement covers approximately 98% of fire suppression. The Village of North Hudson has an obligation to pay the City of Hudson; however, the Village plans to contact the warehouse owner(s) for reimbursement.

Claims: review and recommendation: Larsen moved to approve the December 2008 non-recurring claims totaling $15,617.32, the January 2009 non-recurring claims totaling $115,782.84 and December 2008 Fire claims of $39,915.69, for a total of non-recurring claims of $171,315.85; seconded by Cothern. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 6 to 0.

Squad Car/Service Window: Larsen moved that the Village Administrator be authorized to immediately solicit bids from local and State lending institutions for a loan to fund the Village Hall service window project and Police Department new squad car purchase in the amount of $31,000 to be repaid in three years. Loan will incorporate provisions for two loan payments per year, with the first payment due in 2010, and no pre-payment penalties; seconded by Klein. Motion passed on a roll call vote of 6 to 0.

Security Windows: Klein asked Troester if she felt that security windows were still needed at the four service windows. Troester felt it was a security issue, especially during tax seasons. However, the downside is that they lose the closeness and connection with the Village citizens. Troester will meet with the various staff members to determine whether they all still concur that security windows are required.

Public Works Committee recommendations

Delta Construction, Inc. Sommers Landing Seventh Addition: Cothern moved that the Letter of Credit in the amount of Sixteen Thousand Six Hundred Eighty Seven Dollars and Fifty Cents ($16,687.50) be released to Delta Construction relating to improvements made to the Seventh Addition of the Sommers Landing Subdivision; seconded Whalen. Motion passed unanimously.

Tree and Stump Removal: Cothern stated the St. Croix Tree Service contract for 2009 is identical, including cost, to the 2008 contract. Cothern moved to approve the 2009 contract with the St. Croix Tree Service for tree and stump removal as outlined in the contract in the Board documents; seconded by Whalen. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote of 6 to 0.

Public Safety Committee recommendations

Chair Update: Klein suggested that the Board review the minutes and Chief’s report for January He stated that the Card Grant has been submitted for 2009 and they feel it will be approved. He also commented that Chief Richert would like to propose a process by which volunteers at the skating rink or other municipal area submit to a limited background check to include the sexual offender list and prior violations of state law as related to violations against children. The Safe-Way Bus Company wants to remind those picking up students that there are specific regulations on the procedure. Klein stated that residents are invited to attend the Western Wisconsin Intergovernmental Meeting on sustainability. Interested people should contact him. He also wanted to remind those Village citizens who run, bike, and jog in the dark to please wear reflective tape so cars can see them. Whalen also suggested that cars be cognizant of the speed limits in residential areas with the knowledge that citizens are running, jogging, and walking around that area.

Public Welfare Committee recommendations

None.

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, and others, expressing their concerns with the skatepark. The Park Board will continue the discussion at the next Park Board meeting and encourages residents to attend.

Skating Rink: O’Brien-Berglund stated that the skating rink has been a huge success.

O’Brien-Berglund stated there was a new sign erected at Woodcrest Park. They are continuing to use that sign as a model for the other parks.

New Business from the Board or Staff

President’s Comments: President Larsen stated the term for the Library Board representative is expiring on May 1, 2009 with the change in the library agreement. Larsen moved to recommend Jim O’Connor to act as the representative to the Library Board starting May 1, 2009; seconded by Whalen. Motion passed unanimously.

Larsen noted that he had received information regarding the emergency generator. The generator can be smaller than previously expected which should result in a lower cost than originally anticipated.

Larsen reminded everyone that there will be two Board meetings in March – March 3 and March 31. The latter date is the April meeting moved back to March because of the election in April.

Administrator’s Comments: Village Administrator Troester stated that there might not be a Public Welfare meeting in February. She also said that there is a statewide primary on February 17, 2009.

Adjournment

President Larsen requested a motion to adjourn the meeting. Zappa moved to adjourn, seconded by Whalen. Motion passed unanimously. Larsen declared the meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by,

Kathy Anderson, Recording Secretary

Tags: public notices, minutes