March
10, 2008 page
CITY OF ST CROIX FALLS
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL MEETING
MARCH 10, 2008, 7:00 P.M.
CITY HALL, 710 HWY 35 SOUTH
Mayor Brad Foss called a regular meeting of the City of St. Croix Falls Common Council to order on Monday, March 10, 2008 at 7:01 p.m. Roll call: Councilpersons Darrell Anderson, Brian Blesi, Lori Erickson and Arnie Carlson were present. Also present: Administrator Ed Emerson, Clerk Bonita Leggitt, Fire Chief Wade Sommer, Police Chief Jack Rydeen, Jeff Nussbaum of Cedar Corp, the public and the press. All joined in the salute to the flag.
Darrell Anderson moved to approve the Minutes of the February 25, 2008 Regular Council Meeting with correction of who moved to adjourn, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.
Fire Chief Wade Sommer presented the February 2008 and First Quarter 2008 Fire Dept Reports.
Police Chief Jack Rydeen presented the February 2008 Police Dept Report.
REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
Arnie Carlson: met with Festival Theatre group to work on updating lease and reviewing Claybaugh Report, condition of building is good, but heating and electric need updating, and some leaks repaired.
General Fund $59,283.75, Library Fund $2,555.74, TIF Fund $3,340.25, Water Fund $10,896.82, Sewer Fund $17,410.52 Lori Erickson moved to approve claims, second by Darrell Anderson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
Darrell Anderson: City has a chipper, its high maintenance and requires 2 men to operate, making it costly to operate, burning of brush on Fair Grounds property is most economical option.
NEW BUSINESS
Lori Erickson moved to take Agenda Item 7f, Consider Police Chief Request to Extend Residency Requirements for Officer Jared Cockroft, Extenuating Circumstances, as the first item of New Business, second by Brian Blesi, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider Police Chief Request to Extend Residency Requirements for Officer Jared Cockroft, Extenuating Circumstances
Police Chief Rydeen: Officer Cockroft lives 35 minutes away, City Ordinance requires officers to be able to respond in 15 minutes unless requirement is waived by the City Council, there have been no instances whereby the longer response time has been an issue.
Darrel Anderson moved to waive the 15 minute response time requirement for Officer Cockroft, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider a Resolution for the Issuance, Sale, and Delivery of $2,060,000 General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2008A, of the City of St Croix Falls, Wisconsin, Establishing the Terms and Conditions Therefore; Directing their Execution and Delivery; Creating a Debt Service Account Therefore, and Awarding the Sale Thereof
Brian Riley, Ehlers and Assoc: eight bids were received for the Bond Issue, lowest bid was from Rober W Baird & Co with a true interest rate of 3.7504%, the Bond issue is set to close on April 1st.
Lori Erickson moved to approve Resolution #08-09, Providing for the Issuance, Sale, and Delivery of $2,060,000 General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2008A, of the City of St Croix Falls, Wisconsin, Establishing the Terms and Conditions Therefore; Directing their Execution and Delivery; Creating a Debt Service Account Therefore, and Awarding the Sale Thereof, second by Arnie Carlson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.
Consider City Funding Match of $147,700 and Acceptance of the $443,000 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 for the Section 219 St Croix Falls Wastewater Infrastructure Project
The Federal Government has appropriated $443,000 for Waste Water Treatment Plant Facility Planning, it requires a 25% match from the City, there are sufficient funds in the Waste Water Account to meet this requirement.
Arnie Carlson moved to release $147,700 in Funds from the Waste Water Treatment Plant Fund contingent upon the City Mitigation Team reviewing all plans, and all city expenditures being reviewed and approved by the City Council as part of the bi-monthly claims, the City Council shall review and approve final design plans as well as any proposed revisions prior to project completion, second by Lori Erickson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.
Consider Final Review of City Library Plan: Public Parking Lot
Architect Brent Norseman took the comments for the last Council Meeting and is incorporating them into the plan, finalized plans will be presented to Council on March 31st. Brian Blesi volunteered to be the Council Representative to review plans prior to the Council Meeting.
Lori Erickson moved to appoint Brian Blesi as Council Representative to review plans for the Public Parking Lot improvements before the next Council Meeting, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider Memorandum of Understanding Accepting $30,000 Library Funding Commitment from St Croix Scenic Coalition and St Croix Scenic By-Way
Bill Neuman, President St Croix Scenic Coalition and representing St Croix Scenic Byway: the area from Prescott north to Danbury has been designated as the St Croix Scenic Byway for the purpose of promoting tourism by taking people through scenic areas with interesting stops along the way. The Coalition will donate $30,000 to the Library for naming rights for an area to be designated as the “Gaylord Nelson Conservation Collection” and a small office space, in addition the Coalition will pay $500 a year to defray utility costs.
Lori Erickson moved to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of St Croix Falls, St Croix Falls Library, St Croix Scenic Coalition and St Croix Scenic Byway, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider Fire Department By-Laws
Fire Department has reviewed and updated their By-Laws, as part of the update a policy on pay increases of 2% a year, same as the union contracts, is being added.
Brian Blesi move to approve the updated Fire Department By-Laws and wage rates, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider Authorizing State Street Project for Public Bid
Jeff Nussbaum presented a time schedule for State St, with bidding and award of the State St Project and Public Improvements in the parking lot for the new Library in April. It was noted that the Business Improvement District has requested two sets of poles for holding banners and Christmas swags over the street. Council recommended that one set of the poles be placed by football field and discussed resurfacing of retaining wall for public parking lot on corner of State and Adams St.
Darrell Anderson moved to authorize Cedar Corp to proceed with bidding of State Street project, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.
Consider Pember Final Pay Request: Louisiana Street Project
Jeff Nussbaum: final pay amount is not known yet, there are some issues that are insurance related, need to determine what insurance will cover and then compute how much is needed in letter of credit before paying out retainer so that we can close out the grant.
Consider Group Tour Opportunities (GTO) Agreement with City Tourism Committee
The City will be amending the City Ordinance for Room Tax to correlate with updates in State Statutes. Group Tour Opportunities (GTO) was working with room tax dollars under the Chamber of Commerce, this change will bring it under the direction of the City. It was questioned if the GTO’s Coordinators position would be with the City, would they be considered an employee or would they be under a contract? It was suggested that the City Attorney review the proposed agreement.
Brian Blesi moved to table Consideration of GTO Agreement with City Tourism Committee, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Councilman Blesi proposed that we send notices to water consumers indicating how much water they used last year and challenge them to conserve and use less this year.
Brad Foss, Mayor Bonita Leggitt, City Clerk