VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
August 1st, 2022
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, August 1st, 2022.
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 Kim Grasley, Jim Johnson, Darlene Wundrow and Mark Zimmer. Clerk/Treasurer Jessica Hayes attended also. Loren Beebe and Galen Brainerd were absent.
Trott asked the Board if there were any conflicts of interest regarding the agenda. No conflicts of interest were announced.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to approve the July 5th, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Zimmer to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis attended the meeting and reported that the new sewer line that will be installed on the west end of River Avenue exceeds $10,000.00 and will need to be posted for bids in the paper. Bid opening will be at the September Regular Monthly Meeting.
Gudis reported that he is working with Kramer Service Group regarding the water line replacement that is needed across Highway 8 to 503 E. Arthur Avenue. The plan is to have the work completed in August.
Lastly Gudis asked for approval to replace the wooden fence on Main Street that houses the pop can collection site. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to have the crew replace the fence, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS & REQUESTS:
Bruce Area Library – Doorbell Installation: The Library Director requested to the Clerk to have a doorbell installed at the front Library doors for handicap accessibility purposes. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to have both the Village Hall front doors and the Library front doors installed with doorbells, carried.
Rick Ensenbach – Wreaths Across America: Rick Ensenbach attended the meeting to ask the Board for a donation for ‘Wreaths Across America’. After some discussion on the budget, motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to table the item until the September Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
APPLICATIONS:
Building Permits: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to approve a building permit to Bob Engel to replace siding, windows and a roof on the house he owns at 633 N. 4th St., carried.
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to approve a building permit to Michael Moser to build a car port at his property he owns at 519 S. Alvey St., carried.
Miton by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve a building permit to James Wood to insulate and re side his house he owns at 1016 N. 1st St., carried.
Demolition Permit:
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to approve a demolition permit to Jim Johnson to demolish the house he owns at 914 N. Main St., with Johnson abstaining, motion carried.
Operator’s Licenses:
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Zimmer to approve an operator’s license to Robert F. Lorkowski, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Utility:
Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells: Larry Gotham from Morgan & Parmley attended the meeting to give the Board an update on the project. The Village was awarded a $993,362.00 grant from CDBG for the project. Gotham also stated that the Village is waiting to hear from the DNR regarding funding as well and should hopefully hear something by the end of August/September. At that time, when the Village concludes where they stand at with funding, the Village could possibly have to look at raising sewer rates. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells’ issue until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Acceptance of CDBG Award for Water Treatment Plant: The Village of Bruce was awarded a $993,362.00 CDBG grant from the Department of Administration for the water treatment filtration project. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to accept the $993,362.00 grant from the Department of Administration, carried.
Action on CDBG Administration Contract: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to approve signing the contract with Cooper Engineering in the amount not to exceed $14,900.00 for the administration of the CDBG grant through the Department of Administration, carried.
Sewer Rate Increase: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Sewer Rate Increase’ issue until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve an invoice from Morgan & Parmley, Ltd in the amount of $29,518.87 for work completed thru July 15th, 2022 on the Corrective Work on Village Wells project, carried.
Public Works:
Veteran’s Memorial Park Site: The proposal was sent to Bruce Telephone for the use of the lot on Alvey Street and Hwy 40 and we are awaiting a response from them. Nothing else to report at this time. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Veteran’s Memorial Park Site’ issue until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
E. Washington Avenue Resident Issue: The TRO has been finalized and an injunction hearing is scheduled for August 4th, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. at the Ladysmith Courthouse. Employees are required to attend. The thirty day notice for the clearing of the right of way is August 6th, 2022 and at that time if the personal property remains in the right of way, the Village crew will remove it and bill the property owner for disposal. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘E. Washington Avenue Resident Issue’ item until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Cemetery Rates Review: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to approve increasing the cemetery rates 3% across the board effective immediately, carried.
North Main Street Reconstruction Project:
-DISCUSSION-
The project is fully completed with the anticipation of one final invoice from Morgan & Parmley at a later date. Larry Gotham of Morgan & Parmley discussed that he would like to set a committee meeting to discuss how the Board would like to move forward with the special assessments for the project. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to send the item to a committee meeting, carried. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘North Main Street Reconstruction Project Discussion’ item until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Haas Sons – Pay Request & Change Order Approval: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to approve Change Order #9 and the final invoice for the project in the amount of $146,300.29, carried.
Public Welfare:
Bruce Park Concession Stand Discussion: Some discussion was had regarding the charging of the field usage to the school. They would like to set up a meeting with the school administrator to discuss further. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Bruce Park Concession Stand Discussion” item until the September, Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Library Rent Increase for 2023: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to increase the Library’s rent for 2023 up 2%, from $5,564.59 quarterly, to $5,675.88 quarterly beginning January 1st, 2023, carried.
Administration:
Employee Wage Negotiations: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to send the item to committee and table until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Finance:
Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action: Nothing new to report at this time. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action’ item until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Ambulance Garage Building Discussion & Action: The Village has still not received payment from the three townships for their portion of the ambulance expenses. Trott will give the Townships a call. The item will be left on the agenda for an update next month. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Ambulance Garage Building Discussion & Action’ item until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action: Nothing new to report at this time. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action’ item until the September, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Trott was approached previously by Robert Lorkowski regarding a 3D crosswalk being painted on Main Street. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to approve having the crosswalk painted as long as all legalities are ok-ed before-hand, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $44,037.09, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
September Regular Monthly Board Meeting – will be held Tuesday, September 6th, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in observance of Labor Day
Cruise Nights-Classic Auto Collision Center has set the calendar for Cruise Night in the parking lot at 705 N. Main Street in Bruce, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. August 16th. Contact Classic Auto Collision Center at 715-868-CARS or classicauto@brucetel.net for more details.
Bruce Community Farmer’s Market-Friday’s from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., June 24th through October 7th. The market will be located in the Bruce Telephone lot.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 8:12 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer