CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Brad Foss called to order a regular meeting of the City of St. Croix Falls Common Council on Monday, November 13, 2006 at 7:01 p.m. Roll call: Councilpersons Darrell Anderson, Jon Cermin, Lori Erickson and Arnie Carlson were present. Also present: Administrator Ed Emerson, Clerk Bonita Leggitt, Acting Police Chief Jack Rydeen, the public and the press. All Present joined in the salute to the flag.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Jon Cermin moved to approve the Minutes of the October 30, 2006 Council Meetings, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

REPORTS OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Acting Police Chief Jack Rydeen presented the October Police Report.

The October Fire Dept Report was available for Councils’ information.

Lori Erickson: Library Board met today, looking at applying for a Blight Grant for old Holiday Foods building. Town Board will be considering appointing Mike Dorsey to the Cemetery Board.

Jon Cermin: Cemetery is looking at an operating deficit for 2007; Town is raising their contribution by $1,500; hope that City will do same in 2007 Budget.

Meredith Nelson was recognized as “Hometown Player” at UWM; thanked Council for their support.

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS

General $83,048.45, Library $818.54, Water $4,587.22, Sewer $6,922.47, Park & Rec $425.00, Debt Service $520,219.38, TIF District $1,667.49.

Arnie Carlson questioned $1,500 invoice from Warren White for representation at State Historical Society meeting in Green Bay, Council had previously approved $1,300 and requested cost breakdown.

Darrell Anderson moved to approve claims, second by Lori Erickson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS

Arnie Carlson moved to take agenda item 8f, Consideration of Purchase of 2007 Police Vehicle, first, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Authorizing Purchase of 2007 Police Vehicle

Acting Police Chief Jack Rydeen: we received 3 bids for a new police vehicle, lowest bid was from Amery Ford for a 2007 Crown Victoria, once ordered would take about 3 months to get.

Darrell Anderson moved to accept Amery Ford’s bid for a 2007 Crown Victoria for $19,136 plus any small additions needed, second by Jon Cermin, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

Consider a Resolution Accepting Public Improvements for Croixwood and Chinander Rock Subdivisions

Chris Strom and Scott Brust have inspected the streets and come up with a punch list of items to be addressed, including matching pavement, backfilling behind curbs, and checking into sewer backup.

Jon Cermin moved to adopt Resolution #06-36, Accepting New Roads as City Streets subject to punch list items being completed, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider a Resolution Addressing Annexation Requests for Hwy 8 Corridor

Ed Emerson: City has requests for annexing about 135 acres east of City. It has been determined that there are 448 platted undeveloped residential lots and another 168 acres of residential zoned land available. A water capacity study predicts that at a population of 2250 the maximum daily consumption will exceed storage capacity and that at a population of 3000 demand will exceed pumping capacity. Expanding water supply and storage could increase water rates by 94%, and that doesn’t take waste water treatment into consideration.

Mark Biermann: taking on additional residential land is a financial burden for City, it is important to use/fill existing City lots, City should follow proposed 80% fill rule before adding more development, and should also consider sustainability.

Donald Puffer: new annexation would require additional roads, infrastructure, and burden Police Dept with larger coverage area. Why just keep moving out without utilizing what we already have, a large box store at 200^th St would need another traffic light, resulting in three traffic lights in 3 miles.

Blair Klein, Town of St Croix Falls: in past Town and City had an antagonistic relationship, getting process in place has gotten us communicating and on verge of getting somewhere. Let’s continue working together on the Hwy 8 corridor, the opportunity is there.

Carly Carlson, Evergreen Agency: you don’t have to provide water to undeveloped lots. If a developer wants to come in, let them and have them pay for infrastructure.

Robert Carlson: Ryan Corporation is interested in my land on Hwy 8 for a big box store, they are a premier company, if a quality development comes to town and doesn’t fit in existing sites, need to look outside the City. Problem with proposed resolution is requirement for exploring existing lands in City; my developer already did so.

Jon Cermin: we just want to know that they have looked in City and why existing sites wouldn’t work.

Arnie Carlson suggested changing from “Rules of the Game” to “Annexation Procedures” noting that it is up to the developer to tell us why existing sites won’t work.

Ed Emerson: Rules of Game are for the purposes of defining parameters and keeping negotiations more open to public, it is our obligation to work in best interest of City, we need to know what is being proposed before we approve it.

Arnie Carlson moved to adopt Resolution #06-37, Addressing Annexation Petitions within the Hwy 8 Corridor with the language “Rules of the Game” changed to Annexation Guidelines, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, Darrell Anderson abstained, motion passed.

Consider Approval of the Downtown Business Improvement District Assessments

Darrell Anderson moved to approve the Business Improvement District Assessments, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Authorizing Installation of Street Lights in the Fox Hills Subdivision for a Cost not to Exceed $3,000

Residents of Fox Hills Subdivision have requested installation of 5 street lights for Red Fox Trail and North Star Lane at a cost of $600 each.

Jon Cermin moved to authorize installation of street lights on Red Fox Trail and North Star Lane for a cost not to exceed $3,000, second by Lori Erickson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

Consider a Motion Canceling the November 27^th and December 25^th Council Meetings and Setting the Meeting Dates for December 4^th and December 18^th

Lori Erickson moved to change the upcoming Council Meetings dates to December 4^th and December 18^th, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Authorizing WI-FI Feasibility Study at a Cost not to Exceed $5,000

Arnie Carlson: the proposed study would look into the options for handling WI-FI service, private, public, or a hybrid of the two, and assess the cost and revenue potential of each.

Darrell Anderson spoke to Dane Dutche of Rice Lake who stated that a lot of what is proposed for study has already been examined and is willing to talk to the City on these issues at no charge.

Jon Cermin moved to table Authorizing WI-FI Feasibility Study, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT

Jon Cermin moved to adjourn, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed. 8:45 pm.

Brad Foss, Mayor Bonita Leggitt, City Clerk