VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
December 6th, 2021
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, December 6th, 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 Mark Zimmer, Jim Johnson and Galen Brainerd. Jessica Hayes attended also. Loren Beebe & Kim Grasley were absent.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the November 8th, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to approve the November 15th, 2021 Special Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve the November 15th, 2021 Special Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: All Superior Choice Bank accounts have been transferred to Chippewa Valley Bank. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis reported the crew is busy working with Haas Sons on the lift stations, installing the Christmas decorations on Main Street, digging a water line on South Main Street and have done some work on the snowblower in preparation for snow.
Gudis discussed the purchase of the new plow truck quotes he previously submitted to the Board as well and reported a trade in value was given on the backhoe we currently own for $25,500.00. A new backhoe would cost $123,250.00. The Board discussed waiting on the backhoe purchase until 2023 and moving forward with the small and large plow trucks.
Air Compressor Purchase: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Air Compressor Purchase’ issue until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Tom Hall – Ambulance Garage Building Discussion: Rusk County Ambulance Director Tom Hall Attended the meeting to discuss the Boards concerns with the costs the Village is incurring from the ambulance garage. After the Village’s budget workshop in October, the Board had discussed charging the County rent to use the building to help pay for costs of utilities to the property. The Village receives little in donations from surrounding Townships to offset the costs. Hall stated the County is currently looking for a bigger building to house the ambulance and also expressed the County’s dire need for volunteers. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Brainerd to send the item to committee and table the ‘Ambulance Garage Building Discussion’ until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
APPLICATIONS:
Building Permit:
Gateway Gourmets, LLC-Bob Lorkowski: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to approve a building permit for Bob Lorkowski, d/b/a Gateway Gourmets, LLC located at 620 N. Main Street, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Utility:
Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells: Larry Gotham was unable to attend the meeting but sent an email prior to the meeting with updates on the progress of the corrective work being done on the Village wells. A temporary chlorination plan for Well #1 is required to be submitted to the DNR and Gotham is in the process of finishing this up. A request for approval for the installation of the variable frequency drive for Well #3 has been made with the DNR and approval from the DNR to complete the Phosphorous Pilot Plant Study should be coming in the next few weeks.
Survey work is being completed for the River Avenue transmission main connecting Well #1 to Well #3 and the DNR has acknowledged receipt of the funding request for the project.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells’ issue until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Sewer Rate Increase: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to table the “Sewer Rate Increase’ issue until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Garbage Rate Increase Discussion & Action: The Board voted to raise the garbage rates for customers at the November, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting. An effective date was not determined at that time. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to make the new rates effective January 1st, 2022, carried. The new garbage rate will now be $55.00, billed quarterly and customers will see this effective on their April 1st, 2022 quarterly utility bills. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Public Works:
Parcel #106-00081-0000 & #106-00082-0000 – 914 N. Main Street – Bid Opening & Action: One bid in the amount of $2,300.00 was submitted from Jim Johnson & Jake Johnson for the property located at 914 N. Main Street, parcel #’s 106-00081-0000 and #106-00082-0000. The minimum required bid for the property was $2,286.21. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to accept the bid of $2,300.00 from Jim & Jake Johnson for the two parcels located at 914 N. Main Street, carried. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Veteran’s Memorial Park Site: Trott reported that we did purchase a piece of County owned property located on Hwy 8 for the amount of $57.26 for one possible location for the memorial site. No further updates. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to send the item to committee to discuss further, carried. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Veteran’s Memorial Park Site’ issue until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
North Main Street Reconstruction Project:
-DISCUSSION-
Larry Gotham was unable to attend the meeting but sent an email prior to the meeting with updates on the progress of the North Main Street Reconstruction Project. Both lift stations are up and running and any startup issues have been resolved. There is no further work planned until spring of 2022, at which time all outstanding punch list items will be completed. Current delivery schedule for the generator set is for March, 2022. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘North Main Street Reconstruction Project Discussion’ item until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meetings, carried.
Haas Sons, Inc – Invoice Payment Approval: No payment request was submitted from Haas Sons, inc.
Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve paying an invoice in the amount of $13,610.00 to Morgan & Parmely, Ltd. for contracted engineering work through November 30th, 2021 on the North Main Street Reconstruction Project, carried.
Administration:
Committee Meeting November 10th, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on November 10th, 2021 to discuss final employee wage negotiations for 2022.
Employee Manual Update: Updates to the manual are complete and in electronic form. Board Members will finish up final review of the manual before final approval. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Employee Manual Update’ issue until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Employee Wage Negotiations: A Special Board Meeting was held on November 15th, 2021 for final approval of 2022 employee wages and benefits. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Finance:
Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action’ item until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting November 15th, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on November 15th, 2021 to discuss the purchase of a new plow truck along with possible trading in the current Village Chevy truck and backhoe.
Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action: A Special Board Meeting was held on November 15th, 2021 to approve the Finance committee’s recommendations from the November 15th, 2021 committee meeting. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action’ item until the January, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Hearing December 6th, 2021, 6:30 p.m.-Proposed 2022 Budget: Trott reported the Public Budget Hearing for the proposed 2022 Budget was held prior to the December 6th Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Review, Discussion & Approval of 2022 Budget: Motion by Zimmer seconded by Brainerd to approve the Village of Bruce 2022 Budget of $622,513.00, carried.
Set Levy, Including Approval of All Internal & Unresolved Matters: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve setting the Levy at $103,905.00 and approve all internal & unresolved matters, carried.
Set 2022 Caucus Date: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Zimmer to set the 2022 Village of Bruce Caucus for January 5th, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $1,340,836.86, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas in Bruce – December 11th, 2021: Christmas in Bruce is scheduled for December 11th, 2021. Schedule is as follows:
Bruce Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast:
– @ the Nathaniel Lutheran Church from 7a.m. -11a.m.
Craft Sale-Hosted by the Lion’s Club
– @ the Bruce Fire Hall 9a.m.-1p.m. There will be lots of crafts and lunch will be served by the Bruce Fire Department.
‘Reindeer Run’ 5k + 100m Kid’s Dash:
– Starts at 9a.m. at Blue Hills Nutrition on Main Street
Horse Drawn Wagon Rides
– Beginning at 10 a.m. at the Village Hall
Free Soup & Cookies
– @ the Village Hall 11a.m.-2p.m. or until gone
Blue Hills Chorale:
– @ the Village Hall at Noon
Bruce Area Library
– Curb Side Gift Bag Give Away
Village Hall Christmas Holiday Hours: The Village Hall will be closed on Friday, December 24th, 2021 for Christmas Eve.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 7:58 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer