VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
February 5th, 2024
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, February 5th, 2024.
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 Jim Johnson, Galen Brainerd, Kim Grasley, Darlene Wundrow and Tim Dolan. Mark Zimmer was absent. Clerk/Treasurer Jessica Hayes and Deputy Nicole Frisinger attended also.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Dolan to approve the January 8th, 2024 Caucus Minutes, carried.
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to approve the January 8th, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT:
Casey Gudis reported to the Board that the crew is busy installing the new meters that were approved for purchase at the January meeting and also working on clearing the right of way on Trails End.
He spoke with TJ Electric on installing all LED lights on Main Street and is waiting for a quote back from them. Gudis spoke with an Xcel Energy rep who stated that by switching over to LED, it would save the Village ten times more than what the costs are currently.
Lastly, Gudis reported that all clean water samples have been received from the Water Filtration Project.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Ginny Fritz – Beautify Bruce: Ginny Fritz attended the meeting to present to the Board her barn quilts. After visiting a neighboring community that had the quilts displayed on several buildings, Ginny had the idea of doing the same in Bruce. She currently has done one for DairiConcepts and Bruce Auto. She will be contacting all other businesses in town to see if they would also be interested. The quilts would be 4ftx4ft or 3ftx3ft on aluminum composite board, primed, painted and sealed. The 4ftx4ft quilts would be $50.00 and the 3ftx3ft would be $40.00. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to approve purchasing one quilt for each Village building and the size depending on placement, approved.
Bruce Easter Egg Hunt Donation Request: Katlein Detloff along with Rachel Moser attended the meeting to ask for a donation for this year’s Easter egg hunt that will happen at the Bruce School. Several community members are taking on the event that in previous years has been hosted by the Bruce Lion’s Club and in most recent years by other community members at the Bruce Park. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to approve donating $250.00 to the event, carried. The ‘Easter Egg Hunt’ will be held on March 30th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Bruce High School gym.
Bruce Area Library Book Room: Members of the ‘Friends of the Bruce Area Library’ attended the meeting to renew their lease on the bookroom in the Village Hall. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to renew the lease indefinitely until an issue would happen to arise, carried.
APPLICATIONS:
Temporary ‘Class B’ Picnic License: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to approve a Temporary ‘Class B’ Picnic License to the Blue Hills Trailblazers Snowmobile Club for their annual ‘Chili & Brat Feed’ event held on February 17th at the Bruce Fire Hall, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety:
Committee Meeting 1/18/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on January 18th to discuss the purchase and placement of safety signs within the Village. Below are the minutes from that meeting.
The committee met to discuss the purchase of speed limit signs and where to install them throughout the Village. The main concerns would be Main Street, 2nd Street and Washington Avenue.
The committee is recommending purchasing 4 speed limit signs (20mph) with two flashing lights to be installed on 2 of the signs with one sign having a ‘school’ sign installed additionally. The flashing signs would be installed on the East side on Main Street and the other two regular signs installed on the West side of Main Street.
There would also be a 25 mph sign installed on E. Railroad Ave & on 2nd Street.
There is a $500 safety grant that the Village receives annually that needs to be used by June, 2024 that would help with some of the costs for these signs. When the $500 grant becomes available again in the summer, the committee will look at purchasing more signs for other streets if needed. Adjourned – 1:45 p.m.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to approve the committees’ recommendations from the January 18th meeting but to change the (4) 20 mph limit signs to 15 mph, carried.
Purchase of Speed Bumps & Safety Signs: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Purchase of Speed Bumps & Safety Signs’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Utility:
Garbage Contract Discussion: Discussion was had on the placement of the ‘Village of Bruce’ logo on the new carts. Delivery is scheduled in the next couple of weeks. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Garbage Contract Discussion’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Works:
LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds: Final determination of what street to put the funding on was had. Business 40 was the final decision. The project would go from Blackburn Street to Wester Street. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to roll over last year’s funds to the Business 40 Project and to have the work done from Blacburn Street to Wester Street, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Water Filtration Project – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue:
-DISCUSSION & ACTION-
– UPDATE –
The building exterior is completed on the addition for the filtration system. Safe water samples have been received on all outside piping. The scheduled delivery date for the pipe spools and fittings is the week of February 19th. The HVAC is complete and the building electrical is substantially completed but the treatment plant electrical needs to be done yet. All chemical pumps and equipment should be shipped soon. Well #3 will be pumped to test for iron and manganese. If the tests show that iron or manganese is low enough, then Well #3 can be pumped online which will simplify piping sequence at the water treatment plant. May 1st is still the target date for full completion.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Water Filtration – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Cooper Engineering – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Dolan to approve paying the invoice in the amount of $2,007.50 to Cooper Engineering for grant administration for the Water Filtration Project thru December 30th, 2023, carried.
Public Welfare:
Committee Meeting 1/25/24 Report Minutes: A committee meeting was held on January 25th to discuss the park contract with the Bruce School. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The committee met to discuss the above item:
The committee is recommending the following:
* The Village would be responsible for all upkeep/maintenance of the park
* Field users would need to paint/lime and drag the field when done
* Lime, paint and dirt will be provided by the Village
* Village is responsible for sprinkler system maintenance, fertilizer & scoreboards
* Schedule a meeting with the school
* School has priority of the field over any other games
* Recommending a $6,000.00 annual rent fee to the schoolAdjourned at 1:45 p.m.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to approve the committees’ recommendations, carried. The item will be discussed with the school at a later date and take effect in 2025.
Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion: Nothing further to report this month. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Park Dugout Update: The netting for the backstop will be installed in the Spring. Nothing further to discuss at this time. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Park Dugout Update’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Library Interior Painting: The Library Board is asking to have the interior of their portion of the building painted. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to send the item to committee so the committee can inspect the building to see if the work is needed, and to table the ‘Library Interior Painting’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Administration:
Maintenance Position Hire: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to open the position for advertisement for new applications, carried. After some discussion, motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to rescind the original motion, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to send the item to committee and to table the ‘Maintenance Position Hire’ item until the March, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Dolan to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $606,108.54, carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 8:05 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer