Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
September 10th, 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: Hamlin, Frohmader, Frendewey, Schuldt and Hoffman. Absence was granted to Trustee Aittama.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve the August regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in three additions a motion from Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
Ray Gerhardt from Northern Consultants presented to the Council details of a MSHDA grant and loan program for Lake Linden. He gave some details on other local community grants and said the next deadline for application was September 25th. After a brief discussion the Council agreed that President Fisher would meet with Mr. Gerhardt to determine if the Village should apply and if necessary hold a special meeting to approve the application.
Christopher Schwartz from the 5k/10k event was on hand to inform the Council about final preparations for the event. He said they were still looking for volunteers and hoped to have about 25-30 for race day on Saturday.
Bills and Financial Statement:
The bills and financials were introduced. Clerk Poirier pointed out that about two-thirds of the tax levy had come in so far. He said the Water bond payment for $42,437.50 had been made. He also introduced 6-month fiscal year update for each of the funds. He said that in the street funds and the water ans sanitation funds there had been no large, unforeseen expenses so far and that things were running pretty smoothly. President Fisher outlined some details of the general fund budget, pointing out that expenditures were being more carefully tracked and the general fund budget was in decent shape half way through the fiscal year. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the bills as presented. Poll Vote: Yes: Frendewey, Hamlin, Hoffman, Schuldt, Frohmader and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Correspondence:
Clerk Poirier introduced letters from Mike Prusi, State Senator, and Mike Lahti, State Representative, congratulating the Village on it’s Historic District designation.
Clerk Poirier read a summary of grants received by the Village since 2002. In the last seven years the Village has obtained $1,830,800 in grant funds from various sources. He said that total was about 50% of the general fund operating budget for that period. He said he thought that was very positive and he hoped this sort of pace could be continued in the near future.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair:Trustee Fisher):
President Fisher addressed the Council regarding the sale and development of lots in the Sibilsky Acres II plat. He said the Erickson sale recently highlighted the extremely expensive proposition of getting utilities put in place. His suggestion was that a long-term plan be drafted so that future development there could be more carefully planned and costs could be determined to insure profit for future years. The Council agreed to place a temporary moratorium on the sale of lots there pending a more suitable long-range plan.
President Fisher said that the Americana grant for 2009 was progressing nicely. He said the fascia work and the louvers had been completed and there were seven of the eleven windows installed on the second floor. He also said the DDA had discussed cost-sharing some of the labor overruns incurred in the placement of the windows.
President Fisher explained to the Council the intention to look into getting a new utility billing program. He said BS & A made an affordable and popular program that many local units of government used and that it was compatible with the current tax program as well. Clerk Poirier said that the final costs were dependent on training required and the ease of which data could be transferred from the current program to the new program.
President Fisher introduced a summary of DDA TIF totals for 2009. He said a lot of work was necessary to get the TIF district properties correct and that moving forward they would have more accurate information.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
President Fisher presented a memo stating that, as part of the Strategic Plan, initial investigation into a recycling center in the Village could be done. Bob Erickson had informed him that as part of a class at MTU some of the research necessary could be done for the Village.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Clerk Poirier told the Council he was going to investigate the costs associated with erecting cabins in the campground for next year. He said rustic cabins in the state parks have done very well and at 70% occupancy, the average in the main campground, the costs for construction could be recouped in one camping season. He said he would get more firm numbers over the course of the winter.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
No report.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
Clerk Poirier informed the Council that he had just spoken with Dave Nyenhuis from Payne & Dolan regarding the Villages proposal to pay two-thirds of the original invoice for the 7th Street paving project for essentially two-thirds of the pavement put in there. He said Mr. Nyenhuis told him to expect an invoice shortly reflecting the new total for 2/3 the cost.
Clerk Poirier informed the Council that the school had been placing a sign at the corner of 8th and Front Streets that said no through traffic during school days. He said it was his view that this was not the Council’s intention since 6th Street had already been restricted to one-way. Chief Peters said he had spoken to Superintendent Randy Roberts and the intention was to use the sign for the first few weeks of school to get traffic used to the new flow around the campus.
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Trustee Hoffman read the police report. Fire Chief Ron Parker read the fire report into the record. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Hoffman to accept the reports. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier announced that the new police vehicle was in service. He said there was still $3,000 of grant monies left but that those would be spent as invoices for the installation of equipment came in for reimbursement. He said that a taser was part of the initial equipment list submitted for approval to Rural Development, but it seemed as though the grant money would be exhausted before the taser could be purchased. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve up to an additional $1,500 to purchase a taser should the grant funds not be sufficient. Poll vote: Yes; Hamlin, Schuldt, Frendewey, Hoffman, Frohmader and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Chief Ron Parker announced that the fire department had received word from FEMA that they had been awarded a grant in the amount of $63,316.00 for 16 complete sets of new turnout gear and for 8 additional SCBA units. He said the grant required a match of $3,332.00, or 5%. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Hoffman to approve the necessary $3,332.00 to complete the funding for the FEMA grant award. Poll vote: Yes; Frendewey, Hoffman, Frohmader, Schuldt, Hamlin and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier mentioned that perhaps in light of increasing costs and expenditures associated with maintaining the Fire department equipment and operations, the public safety committee could review the current fire protection fee charged to Schoolcraft Township, which had not been increased in more than seven years. The Council agreed to recommend that review for a subsequent meeting.
Zoning Task Force:
Clerk Poirier said that he would have a draft of a Red Flag Rules policy for identity theft protection associated with the utility billing system. He said these policies were required by state and federal regulations and though the deadline had been extended it seemed prudent to begin drafting a thorough policy now.
Downtown Development Authority:
Chairperson Pummill addressed the Council on DDA issues. Garbage can lids had been purchased for the Village Park for $438. The audit bill had been paid and the watering for the flower pots had been extended for the rest of the season. He said that the DDA was considering an expansion of the area to the businesses along 9th Street. Finally, he said that Bonnie Loukas had been contacted by the DDA and expressed an interest in serving on the DDA Board. He then requested the Council approve her nomination to the Board. President Fisher recommended to the Council the appointment of Bonnie Loukas to the DDA Board. A motion was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the appointment of Bonnie Loukas to the DDA Board, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Charles Heide for the remainder of the term. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier and President Fisher said that a written policy dealing with new residential water and sewer service installations would have to be developed. Clerk Poirier said the recent sale of property to the Ericksons highlighted the lack of communications and parameters for dealing with the Authority in those cases.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
No report.
Late Agenda Items:
Clerk Poirier presented the Council a copy of an email submitted to Carolyn Schamberger, a public relations representative for Verizon Wireless. In it she answered his request for consideration that the Village get a cell phone tower to improve service in the community. Her reply indicated that a review was under way for 2010 sites and that Lake Linden was on the “hit list” which the clerk took to be a good sign.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
The clerk said that the possible Michworks! Program to extend summer worker retention into the winter had been cancelled.
Announcements:
The Lake Linden-Hubbell football game in Washburn, WI had been cancelled due to injury and illness in Washburn.
Trustee Hamlin announced that the 2010 MTU Winter Baja would be held on February 20th.
Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Hamlin . All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:37pm. There were 9 members of the public in attendance.
_____________________________ __________________________
Edward R Fisher, President Robert A. Poirier, Village Clerk
[Posted on the website of the Village of Lake Linden]