Meeting Minutes, May 13, 2019

TOWN OF LIBERTY

May 13, 2019

Chairman Terry Theis called the monthly meeting of the Town of Liberty to order at 6:30 pm. on Monday, May 13, 2019 at the Liberty Town Hall and proceeded with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present were Terry Theis, Nicole Rakobitsch, Adrian Amelse, Treasurer Karen Peterson and Clerk Lori Polhamus.

2. Clerk Lori Polhamus read the minutes of the April 17, 2019 regular town meeting. Motion by Rakobitsch/second by Amelse to approve the minutes of the previous meeting as read. All in favor. Motion carried.

3. Treasurer’s report. (report attached) Peterson read the Treasurer’s report. Beginning cash balance as of 4/1/19 was $19,400.12 and an ending cash balance as of 4/30/19 of $16,380.74 was reported. Interest year to date on the General Fund was $7.79 and interest earned year to date on the Tax Account was $44.57. There is $75,286.73 available in the tax account.

4. Patrolman's Report– None

5.First Period for public comment – None

6.Town Announcements- We received payments for the 2017 and 2018 floods from FEMA totaling $11,153.31 and $14,316.82. Open Book is scheduled for 5/18 and Board of Review is 5/30. Rakobitsch stated there is a zoning workshop in Greenville this week if anyone is interested. Carol Theis submitted her letter of resignation as the Dump Attendant effective July 13, 2019.

7.Resolution requesting Ho Chunk Funds for flood recovery– The Wisconsin Towns Association has submitted a resolution on behalf of the Towns in Vernon County for up to $20,000 of the 2019 Ho Chunk Funds for flood recovery. We can count damages from the 2004-2018 floods. Documentation has been sent in to the county for the match funds that we have had of $8743.17. This does not include the additional gravel needed for Chadwick Hollow when Viola used this as a emergency exit during the flooding. Motion by Amelse/second by Rakobitsch to approve the resolution. All in favor. Motion carried.

8. Discussion with possible action on dust control on Town Roads– Vernon County has a truck that can do the spraying. If we purchase the material we can rent their machine. Theis will contact the three companies to get a cost estimate for the Board to review in June.

9.Discussion with possible action on future plans for Gore Hollow Hill –Theis contacted the Towns Association regarding the bike trail question from last month. If it were a bike trail, the Town would no longer have the responsibility or liability because this property would return to the land owners adjacent to the road. Linskins, Mulland, Augelli and Vingers would be directly affected. They would have to deal with the DNR and the County regarding considering a bike trail. This would be returned to its natural state and all culverts would come out. A notice to all affected landowners for all of Gore Hollow will go out in June for a public meeting during the Town meeting in July which was moved to July 15th. Terry has worked with Orlin regarding the turnaround area. The bus routes and post office would be notified and the EMS services were ok with the turnaround concept. Motion by Amelse/second by Rakobitsch to give notice to all landowners on Gore Hollow and schedule the public hearing at the July 15thtown meeting. All in favor. Motion carried.

10.Discussion with possible action on revisions to recycling ordinance– Polhamus reviewed the changes with the Board. Theis would like to see a contract with Southwest Sanitation since the amounts at the cleanup day keep changing. Motion by Amelse/second by Rakobitsch to approve the amendments as presented to the recycling ordinance. All in favor. Motion carried.

11.Discussion with possible action on shining ordinance– this ordinance is regarding shining on public roadways. Amelse drafted the ordinance after Buffalo County. He received a quote for signage from Proline for ten signs for $217 or twenty signs for $414. He will work with Orlin on locations. The next step would be our communication plan in the paper, website and other announcements. Nicole will work on this piece. The plan is to have a “Whitetail Watch” session where the DNR Game Warden can educate landowners on what to watch for because we have had a lot of poaching in our area. The Sheriff and Game Warden are in support of this process and it was suggested to have the Sportsman's Club help organize this event possibly at the Liberty Bar. Vernon County would write the tickets on our behalf but if there is an appeal the Town may be incurring some expense. This will be brought back in June for further action.

12.Discussion with possible action on appointment of Zoning Board – We can have a five or seven member board that would draft recommendations for the Town Board. The following residents have volunteered to be on the Zoning Board – Jason Vidas, Elizabeth Tigen, Wade Lawler, Joel Johnson, Kyle Prorok, Susan Mueller and Nicole Rakobitsch. Polhamus will help with the meeting posting and agendas. The committee will choose their Chairperson and Secretary for the keeping of minutes as these have to be open meetings. Motion by Rakobitsch/second by Amelse to appoint the seven volunteer members listed to the Zoning Board. All in favor. Motion carried.

13.Action & Approval on monthly billsMotion by Amelse/second by Rakobitsch to approve total bills of $5,296.78 as presented. All in favor. Motion carried.

14.Review of building permits (if any) - the permit for Halverson did not contain a legal description of the property. This was corrected and forwarded to Martin so this one was complete.

15.Second period for public comment -Wade Lawler had a question on his building permit. Jason Vidas suggested sending notice to all residents regarding the zoning issues. Susan Mueller stated a Zoning Board of Appeals will need to be established when this is implemented. The Comprehensive Plan needs to be added to the website.

16.Future agenda items– Town picnic, Shining ordinance, Gore Hollow discussion and dust control.

Motion by Amelse/second by Rakobitsch to adjourn the meeting at 7:56 pm. All in favor. Motion carried.

Minutes submitted by: Lori Polhamus, Town Clerk