Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
July 9th, 2009
The Lake Linden Village Council met on the above date at the Village Hall at 6:30pm. President Fisher presided. The following Trustees responded to roll call: Frendewey, Schuldt, Aittama, Frohmader, and Hoffman. Absence was granted to Trustee Hamlin.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Frohmader to approve the June regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the June 25th special meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in a motion from Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
Two residents were on hand to recommend a system of multiple campground hosts throughout the year rather than one for the entire summer. They said that the hosts share for registering could go back into the campground as improvements.
Bills and Financial Statement:
The bills and financials were introduced. Clerk Poirier pointed out that the short span between monthly meetings resulted in a short list of bills. He said June was typically the worst fiscal month but July meant taxes and revenue sharing revenue would be coming in. A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Frohmader to approve the bills as presented. Poll Vote: Yes: Aittama, Frohmader, Schuldt, Frendewey, Hoffman, and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Correspondence:
Clerk Poirier read a letter from the METRO Authority to increase the expiration of the METRO Act agreement from August of this year to August of 2011. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve the extension. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier read a letter from the U. S. Dept. of transportation that stated their pledge to fund the Highway Trust fund in the light of difficult fiscal times.
Clerk Poirier said he had received tax bills from Torch Lake Township for the property in Rice Lake in the amount of almost $4,000. He said he would investigate the cause for this and inform the Council.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair:Trustee Fisher):
President Fisher reviewed for the Council the progress and discussions that had occurred so far regarding the Hubbell/Tamarack water project. He said that the bid proposal had been restructured a bit to provide for the townships’ request for a monthly billing cycle, but no word had been received on those bids or on the progress of the project in some time.
The Council reviewed three quotes for the 11 windows being replaced on the second floor under this year’s Americana Grant. After a brief discussion a motion was made to order the 5 fixed windows and 6 double-hung windows for the total cost of $13,492.38 by Trustee Aittama and supported by trustee Frendewey. Poll vote: Yes; Aittama, Frendewey, Frohmader, Schuldt, Hoffman and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier informed the Council that he had been contacted by the Dept. of Treasury regarding the Village’s authority to borrow monies, specifically in the line of credit And the tractor loan agreement – both with Range bank. Poirier said, at the auditors suggestion he would check with the bank and if necessary with legal counsel to make the determination. Jackie Aalto said in a worst case scenario it would result in a sanction of sorts from the state in which extra hoops would have to be jumped to borrow more money in the near future. Poirier said he would inform the Council when more info had been obtained.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
No report.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Clerk Poirier informed the Council that the 4th of July celebration went off without a hitch. He said vendors were more numerous, there were reportedly more people in the park than ever before, and Chief Peters said there were no major incidents to report.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
No report.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
No report.
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Clerk Poirier said that a complaint had been received about the speed of traffic on Gregory Street. This had come up a couple of times before. A discussion ensued regarding steps to take to address the problem. It was decided, after talking to Chief Peters, that a stepped up enforcement would be the first step and, if necessary, further action would be discussed at a subsequent meeting.
Clerk Poirier read the fire report submitted by Chief Ron Parker. He said the FEMA grant application was to be submitted by Friday and an accompanying letter from the EPA regarding re-use of this former Superfund site would be written as well. The Council agreed to submit a letter in support of the application as well.
Clerk Poirier said he had sent out bid packages to various dealerships based on specifications that had been approved by Rural Development. He said the deadline was July 17th and that a special meeting would have to be scheduled the following week to approve the bids as submitted.
Zoning Task Force:
President Fisher said he had redrafted the section of the open fire ordinance draft pertaining to outdoor wood stoves. He wanted the Trustees to look things over and come to a decision for the next meeting.
The clerk said that the trustees should also read and comment on the four draft policies already submitted to them for a decision at the next meeting. These were the Investment Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, Gift Policy and the newly submitted Purchasing and Fiscal Policy.
Downtown Development Authority:
Clerk Poirier said that the DDA still had a vacancy and that all were encouraged to seek a viable candidate for the position.
No report.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
No report.
Late Agenda Items:
Clerk Poirier said he had found an interesting way to lure telecommunications companies into seeking to put a tower nearby. He would gather a little more information and inform the Council when that was done.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Announcements:
None.
Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Frohmader . All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:11pm. There were 6 members of the public in attendance.
_____________________________ __________________________
Edward R Fisher, President Robert A. Poirier, Village Clerk