APRIL 14, 2008                                REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

Meeting was called to order by Gary Beck at 7:00 p.m. with Supervisors Paul Beere and Mike Weinkauf present.

Betty Novy, Clerk-Treasurer; Christopher Birkett, Public Works Supervisor; and John Tierney, Engineer; were also present.  

Pledge of Allegiance. 

Minutes.  Mike moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve minutes of the March 10 & 25, 2008 meetings.   Motion carried.

Gary moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve April disbursements as follows.   Motion carried.

Town General Fund Disbursements:

APRIL 14, 2008                                REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

Rochester Sewer Utility District #1 Disbursements:

Treasurer’s Report.   Betty read the report as follows: 

Betty reported CD#4928553 coming due April 24^th.  Based on available cash funds and low interest rates, Betty recommended adding $250,000 to CD proceeds and investing the total for 90 days at the best rate of interest available.  Consensus of the Board was to accept the recommendation.  There was discussion on immediate plans for Park and Recreation funds.  Since no immediate expenses will be incurred, consensus of the Board was to invest $43,000 of the Park and Recreation fund into a 90-day certificate of deposit.

APRIL 14, 2008                                REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

Also reported:

• A “Petition for Special Relief” from Time-Warner Cable was received.  The petition is to the Federal Communications Commission and seeks to exempt the company from rate regulation.  There have been changes to cable franchising.  The State recently passed legislation that allows cable companies to apply for a State permit vs. operating under local franchises.  Legislation was written in such a way that cable companies still need to pay 5% of collected revenue to the municipalities in which they provide service.  This is equal to what the Town receives under its current franchise agreement.  This equated to $15,000 in revenue last year.  

• A complaint regarding house number assignments on Washington Avenue and Blue Crane Court was received.    The Washington Avenue address is the same number as one assigned to Blue Crane Court.  The driveway serving the Washington Avenue address is close to Blue Crane Court and some individuals have been confused by it.  Racine County Planning and Development indicated they will not re-assign the house number as they feel it is a temporary problem.   If the complaint is pursued further, the Board will have to get involved. 

• A complaint was also received from a resident regarding noise at the Honey Lake Inn.  Deputy Prochaska visited the establishment and discussed the Town’s public nuisance ordinance with the owner.  The complainant followed up with indication that the bar has taken some actions to curb noise levels during the week.

Sheriff’s Department.  A written report was submitted showing the following statistics for March:  zero accidents; sixteen speeding citations, two traffic citations, five parking citations and twenty-two warnings were issued.  Complaint statistics were as follows:  nineteen complaints originated through calls directly to the Sheriff’s Department; Deputy Prochaska assisted with six additional complaints, originated twenty-six on his own and performed follow up on one.  He reported twenty work days, 165.5 hours and 1,678 miles driven.  Five foot patrols were conducted. 

Deputy Prochaska provided a report on Sheriff’s Department calls to all bars in the Town.  The report was provided as a basis to determine whether calls to the Honey Lake Inn were in excess of what other establishments generate.  Comparatively, there have been more calls to the Honey Lake Inn than other town establishments over the past year.  Deputy Prochaska delivered a copy of the Town’s public nuisance ordinance to the owner of Honey Lake Inn.   He also spent time explaining the types of activities that are considered violations.   He is hoping this knowledge will help the owner curb complaints.  He will continue to monitor the situation.  The Racine County District Attorney is working on issuing the appropriate citations for liquor license violations that occurred there earlier this year. 

Deputy Prochaska showed pictures of the Parkview Sand and Gravel incident involving an excavator and operator that had fallen through the ice.    The size of the equipment and thickness of ice complicated rescue efforts.   Deputy Prochaska asked if Board members would like special attention given to enforcement of the Town’s junk ordinance.  He noticed violations on several properties throughout the Town.  Board members indicated they would like to give residents the opportunity to spring clean before authorizing special attention to this item.  An article is to be placed in the Summer newsletter notifying residents of the junk ordinance, with special attention given to enforcement in July or August. 

Public Works Department.   Christopher Birkett’s written report was reviewed as follows:   

• Lift Station- Monthly exercise of lift station valves and generator.   Finished cleaning, lined up well cleaning with Betty.  Planning on having a drill to simulate power outage.

• Roads.   Spring house keeping is under way.  Picking up trash on road sides approximately two-thirds complete.  Pot hole and shoulder augmentation is ongoing.  Working on brush when time allows.  I will be treating stumps with Garlon to hopefully eliminate cutting as often.   Checked on snowplow damage.  Gave list to Britnall to fix.  Writing up street sign retro-reflectivity protocols to comply with State D.O.T. mandate.  Road side mowing- I want to split up our mowing needs and get two to three more contractors some idea of what the job entails.  Then have bids in 2009 for the whole job.  Met with Crackfilling Services.

• Miscellaneous.  Cleaned up park.  Bathrooms will be opening soon.  Current on Diggers Hotline tickets.

Board members concurred with giving two to three contractors the opportunity to mow roadsides this year, with the job going out for bids in 2009 for a lump sum amount vs. hourly rates.

APRIL 14, 2008                                REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

Engineering Report.  John Tierney’s report was reviewed as follows:

John reported standing water over Blue Crane Court in Rookery Landing Estates West.  Some possible solutions are to divert some water to another pond or to raise the road.  John suggested the Town make it clear it will not accept the road without the developer taking action to correct this problem.  Consensus of the Board was for John to send a letter questioning how the developer will fix the problem and notifying them that the Town will not accept the road in its current condition.  John also reported severe alligatoring of the roads in Rookery Landing Estates East.  John suggested action be taken to require building foundations in the subdivision to be one foot to eighteen inches above the crown of the road.  He will provide a sample ordinance to that effect. 

In regards to the Fire Station parking lot, it was noted water sits near the eastern entrance.  He suggested action be taken to get water away from that area to prevent degradation of the new asphalt.  He indicated drainage modifications could be included with the parking lot project, or the Town could take action independently to address that problem.  Consensus was to address drainage independently from the paving project.  John explained options for pavement thickness.  Currently there are two inches of asphalt thickness on the sides of the fire station and four inches of asphalt thickness in the front.  The previous installation of asphalt held up for over twenty years.  The Board directed John to specify an asphalt thickness of four inches in the front of the building, with 2.5” to 3” on the sides of the building based on how costs come in.   John indicated the project will be bid in May with award scheduled for the June meeting.

Ordinance #2-2008 “An Ordinance providing for the Consolidation of the Village of Rochester and Town of Rochester pursuant to Sec. 66.0229, Wis. Stats.”

Betty reported two revisions made per directions given at the March 25^th meeting.  Gary moved, 2^nd by Paul to adopt Ordinance #2-2008 “An Ordinance providing for the Consolidation of the Village of Rochester and Town of Rochester pursuant to Sec. 66.0229, Wis. Stats.  Motion carried.

Vacation of unimproved cul-de-sac area:  Westwood Drive

A legal comment letter provided by Atty. John Hotvedt explained both the procedure to vacate and potential liabilities associated with continued ownership of an unimproved cul-de-sac area.   The vacated land would be deeded to adjacent property owners.  Potential exposure and liabilities associated with the Town’s continued ownership were considered minimal.  An estimate of $1,000 to $2,000 in costs would be incurred to vacate the unimproved area.   Betty reported on discovery of a letter from Atty. Bill Phenicie, written in 2004, that explains why the Westwood Drive cul-de-sac area was not vacated when the road was connected to Way-Mar Lane.    At the time, a concern was expressed by property owners Richard and Kathy Reesman that without the cul-de-sac they would not have enough road frontage to split the 10-acre lot that their house sits on.   Recent communication with the Reesmans’ confirmed this is still their position.    Paul moved, 2^nd by Mike not to vacate the cul-de-sac until adjacent property owners agree to pay the costs associated with the procedure.  Motion carried.

APRIL 14, 2008                                REGULAR BOARD MEETING                                        7:00 p.m.

2008 Crack-Filling/ Sealing Proposal

Chris provided a proposal from Crack Filling Service, Corp. indicating routing and sealing of cracks not to exceed $4,000 and an exhibit showing roads scheduled for crack-filling.  Camelback Farms and Fox River Prairie subdivisions were indicated, with Vista View Drive and Rowntree Road listed as alternates should money allow.   There was question on how far the $4,000 will go.  Chris indicated the representative from Crack Filling was not sure if it would cover both subdivisions due to the amount of

cracking.  John Tierney noted these projects are often bid out on a linear foot basis.  Chris indicated he would check with the contractor on the cost per linear foot and attempt to quantify the length of cracking per road to report back at the May meeting.  This should provide an estimate of how much road can be accomplished.   It was also suggested that a daily tally be reported so that decisions could be made to vary from the $4,000 based on sensible starting and stopping points.  Consensus of the Board was it is better to either exceed or not expend the entire $4,000 at a point that either completes a whole road or subdivision rather than stopping mid-way. 

Application for Operator’s License:  Susan J. Sunday

Betty reported Susan has a clean background check and submitted her responsible beverage server’s course completion certificate.  Mike moved, 2^nd by Paul to approve an operator’s license for Susan J. Sunday.  Motion carried.

Clean Sweep Event Volunteer Schedule

Betty reported on review of the event location with Chris Birkett and a representative from Veolia Environmental Services.    The Clean Sweep Household Hazardous Waste Collection event will be held Saturday, May 3^rd at the Rochester Fire House from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.   Chris Birkett, Sandra Swan and Betty will be there most of the day.  Gary indicated he would volunteer to assist at the event from 11:30 a.m. through take down.  Paul and Mike were unsure of their schedules.  

Consolidation Newsletter- Public Information Meeting Invite

A draft newsletter inviting residents to a May 28^th public information meeting was reviewed.  Consensus of the Board was to approve the newsletter for distribution as printed.

Period for Public Comment.  There was none.

Gary moved, 2^nd by Mike to adjourn at 8:50 p.m.  Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty J. Novy, CMC

Clerk-Treasurer