VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
May 3, 2021
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, May 3rd, 2021.
Village President Shane Trott presided and called to order the meeting at the Village Hall facility at 7:00 p.m. Board members present were Galen Brainerd, Mark Zimmer, Loren Beebe and Jim Johnson. Jessica Hegeholz attended also. Kim Grasley & Rob Grabon were absent.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the April 5th, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Darlene Wundrow attended the meeting and reported that she has received three quotes for the cemetery tree removal work. Quotes received were from Ax Tree Service for $1,600.00, Sky High Tree Service for $1,371.00 and Tree Ape Tree Service for $450.00. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Beebe to approve accepting the quote from Tree Ape Tree service for $450.00 once a certificate of insurance has been supplied, carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Chris & Ellen Carlton attended the meeting to discuss with the Board the building at 339 S. Main Street that they will be leasing and starting up a daycare tentatively for July 1st. Chris asked that the Board give him approval for a permit to put in four interior walls and also a fence around the property to enclose for playground areas. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to give Chris and Ellen approval for their application, contingent upon the appropriate application being submitted and inspection completed by the Village Building Inspector for the fence, carried.
APPLICATIONS:
Building Permits:
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve a building permit for Jim Locke at 705 N. 2nd Street to replace his existing fence with a new one, carried.
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve a building permit for Hots Shots at 722 N. Main Street to re-roof the building, carried.
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Beebe to approve a driveway permit for Rob Grabon at 924 N. 1st Street, carried.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve a building permit for Paul Javener at 635 N. 1st Street to build a garage, carried.
Operator’s License: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Beebe to approve an operator’s license for Kimberly R. Brown-Fox, carried.
Sellers Permit: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Beebe to approve a sellers permit for Jessica Bartels, d/b/a Rock’n Nutrition, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Utility:
Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells: CTW Corporation has begun the well #3 rehab work. The well rehabilitation portion of the project is expected to take roughly a month per well with the base work afterwards requiring at least a week to cure. CTW will start on well #1 when well #3 is completed. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells’ issue until the June, 2021 Regular Monthly Meeting, carried.
PSC-Water Rate Application: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘PSC Water Rate Application’ issue until the June, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Sewer Rate Increase: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Beebe to move forward with the Sewer Rate Increase discussion, have the Village’s accountant do an audit to determine where we need to be as far as a percentage increase, and to set a committee meeting to discuss further along with the Village’s Sewer Use Ordinance, carried. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Sewer Rate Increase’ item until the June, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Works:
Committee Meeting April 28th, 2021 Report: Trott reported that a Public Works Committee Meeting was held on April 28th, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. to discuss some easement concerns with the North Main Street Reconstruction project from a property owner at 808 N. Blackburn Street. The committee inspected the property and recommends to the Board to have the corner of the property moved out further in to the street so it does not take up as much of the property owners lot. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve the committees recommendations and work with the engineer to have the corner reconstructed and moved further out in to the street approximately 6-8 feet, carried.
Village Hall Sidewalk Repairs: The Board discussed having the sidewalks on the East and South sides of the Village Hall building replaced while the construction crew is in town working on the North Main Street Project. The work is not part of the existing project but due to the condition of the sidewalks, now would be a good time to get the work done, at the same cost of what Haas is charging for the sidewalks included in the project scope. Larry Gotham of Morgan & Parmley mentioned that the project could be part of a change order submitted for the project since we are under budget currently. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to send the item to a committee as soon as possible to discuss our options, carried. Motion by Beebe, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Village Hall Sidewalk Repairs’ issue until the June, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
North Main Street Reconstruction Project: Larry Gotham briefly gave an update on the project. Permits for boring under the railroad tracks is still on hold. He discussed some issues with the contractor as far as signing for traffic more effectively while they are working as well as making sure the school as efficient traffic flow.
Morgan & Parmley Ltd. Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to approve paying the invoice to Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. in the amount of $18,746.53 for engineering work done through April 30th, 2021 on the North Main Street Reconstruction Project, carried.
Haas Sons, Inc. – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve and invoice in the amount of $172,903.67 to Haas Sons, Inc. for contracted work for the North Main Street Reconstruction Project thru April 28th, 2021, carried.
Administration:
Employee Manual Update: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Beebe to table the ‘Employee Manual Update’ issue until the June, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting April 28th, 2021 Report: Trott reported that a committee meeting was held on April 28th, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss applications on file for the part time summer maintenance worker position. The committee recommends the following to the Board:
– Offering the position at 3 days a week, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., days and times are flexible
– Hiring John Woodmansee with the CEP Program, all wages will be covered through the program
– Also hiring Leo Zimmer at $10.50/hr, 3 days a week at approximately 20 hours a week, days and times being flexible
– Start dates will be negotiated with the applicants
New Hire for Part Time Summer Maintenance Worker: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the committees’ recommendations from the April 28th, 2021 Committee Meeting, hiring John Woodmansee with the CEP Program and also hiring Leo Zimmer, with Zimmer abstaining, the motion carried.
Designation of Village Trustee Representative on Library Board and Fire Department: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to approve Loren Beebe as Village Representative on the Library Board and Jim Johnson and Rob Grabon as representatives on the Fire Department, carried.
Election Board Member Approval – Karen Hanson, Chris Hamel, Grace Zimmer, Jeanne Nelson, Judy Mattheis: Motion by Beebe, seconded by Brainerd to approve Karen Hanson, Chris Hamel, Grace Zimmer, Jeanne Nelson and Judy Mattheis as Election Board Members for the Village, with Zimmer abstaining, the motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Review 2021 TID 1&2 Annual Reports: The 2020 Annual Reports for TID 1 & 2 were reviewed as part of new requirements set by the Department of Revenue. The affected taxing jurisdictions were notified of the meeting. The final reports will be completed online in May.
Committee Designation Assignment: The Board reviewed the committee designations from Trott. Public Safety: Beebe/Grabon, Utility: Grasley/Johnson, Public Works: Brainerd/Zimmer, Public Welfare: Beebe/Brainerd, Administration: Zimmer/Brainerd, Finance: Grasley/Johnson, Industrial Site: Grabon/Grasley, Voucher Signers: Zimmer/Grasley, Interim President: Zimmer. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve Trott’s recommendations, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $134,667.80, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
April 6, 2021 Spring Election Results: President: Shane Trott – 121
Trustees: Jim Johnson – 97, Galen McGee Brainerd – 87, Loren Beebe – 77
Other Candidates: Trustees: Rachel Smith – 37, Jason Frey – 28, Brenda Popple – 18
Village Wide Spring Clean-Up: May 14th & 15, 2021. The collection site will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. If you are unable to haul your own refuse either of those days, pick up service is available May 17th, 2021 for a fee.
Village Wide Garage Sales: June 12th, 2021
Cruise Nights-Classic Auto Collision Center has set the calendar for Cruise Night in the parking lot at 705 N. Main Street in Bruce, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. May 18th, June 15th, July 20th & August 17th.
Saturday July 10th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. will be the annual Open House/Craft/Car Show. Contact Classic Auto Collision Center at 715-868-CARS or classicauto@brucetel.net for more details.
Blue Hills Cruise-In Open House/Car Show Dates: June 5th, August 7th & October 2nd. Contact L’Cars at bob@lcars.com or Classic Auto at classicauto@brucetel.net for more information.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 7:52 p.m.
Jessica Hegeholz
Clerk/Treasurer