VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
January 3rd, 2022
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, January 3rd, 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 Mark Zimmer, Jim Johnson, Kim Grasley and Galen Brainerd. Jessica Hayes attended also. Loren Beebe was absent.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the December 6th, 2021 Budget Hearing Minutes, carried.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to approve the December 6th, 2021 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis reported the crew is busy plowing snow and putting in new water meters to residents.
Gudis asked permission to order thirty new 5/8 inch water meters. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve the purchase of thirty new 5/8 inch water meters, carried.
Air Compressor Purchase: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Air Compressor Purchase’ issue until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Bruce Area Library Board – Maintenance Concerns: Kathy Stempf, Library Director attended the meeting to discuss her concerns with the back door of the Village Hall building. There is a small gap at the bottom of the doors that is letting in small rodents. Trott said he would get ahold of Barry Frisinger to fix the issue. Frisinger was the individual that installed the doors initially.
Stempf also asked permission to have the Library carpets cleaned at the Library Board’s expense. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to give Stempf approval to have the Library carpets cleaned at the Library’s expense, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Utility:
Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells: Larry Gotham attended the meeting to give an update on the project. Culligan had submitted a proposal to be considered for the pilot plant study for the corrective work on the wells. Water Surplus had already been approved to do the work. Culligan has a whole different sand filter system than Water Surplus. The Board discussed the idea of having both companies do the work and ultimately end up going with the company’s system that works best. Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve having Culligan do the pilot test plant at a cost of $6,200.00, carried. Costs from this are eligible under the Village’s current Rural Development Grant.
The Village is still waiting for approval from the DNR for the pilot plant study application as well as approval on the application for funding.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Discussion and Action Regarding Corrective Work on Village Wells’ issue until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Sewer Rate Increase: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the “Sewer Rate Increase’ issue until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Works:
Committee Meeting December 21st, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on December 21st, 2021 to discuss the future Veteran’s Memorial Park Site. The committee is recommending the following:
-Charge $500 per person for spot on the mural
-Start taking applications after Board approval in January
-Put some advertisement out on Facebook & the Village website
-Start fundraising
-Start taking ideas on design options and look in to set backs on Highway 8
Veteran’s Memorial Park Site: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to approve the committee’s recommendations from the December 21st, 2021 meeting and to table the ‘Veteran’s Memorial Park Site’ issue until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
North Main Street Reconstruction Project:
-DISCUSSION-
There is no further work planned until spring of 2022 for the project, at which time all outstanding punch list items will be completed. Current delivery schedule for the generator is set for March, 2022, and as soon as that arrives it will be installed. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘North Main Street Reconstruction Project Discussion’ item until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meetings, carried.
Public Welfare:
Library Board Trustee Representative Designation: The Village’s Representative on the Library Board needs to be replaced due to failure of attendance. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to appoint Galen Brainerd as the new Village Trustee Representative on the Library Board, carried.
Administration:
Employee Manual Update: Updates to the manual are complete and in electronic form. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve the employee manual and all updates, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Committee Meeting December 30th, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on December 30th, 2021 to discuss and review submitted applications for the vacant part time maintenance worker position. After discussing further with current employee Bob Ewald, Ewald wants to continue his job with the Village. So as of right now, the committee is not recommending hiring anyone at this time, but possibly looking at hiring in the Spring.
Finance:
Committee Meeting December 14th, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on December 14th, 2021 to discuss moving forward with a contract with the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department. The committee had hoped to meet with Sheriff Wallace but Wallace had to cancel last minute. After some discussion, the committee is recommending the following:
– Offer the Sheriff’s Department $1,000.00 for the year 2022 to go under contract to enforce ordinances, starting March 1st, 2022 through December 31st, 2022. The committee is not looking at extra patrol for the Village, only enforcement of the ordinances.
– Negotiate the contract for January 2023.
Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to approve the Committee’s recommendations from the December 14th, 2021 Meeting and move forward with the item, carried. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Rusk County Sheriff’s Department Contract Discussion & Action’ item until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting December 14th, 2021 Report: A committee meeting was held on December 14th, 2021 tomeet with Rusk County Ambulance Director Tom Hall to discuss the costs the Village incurs from the Ambulance Garage Building. The Village funds all utilities for the building and receives very little in donations from surrounding Townships to help with those costs. Village and Townships are responsible to provide ambulance service. Currently the Village only receives funding from five Townships, however we could seek donations from several others. Hall will provide the Board with that information. No other recommendations were made at this time.
Ambulance Garage Building Discussion & Action: Nothing new to report at this time. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Ambulance Garage Building Discussion & Action’ item until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action: Gudis has ordered the ½ ton plow truck that was approved at the November 15th, 2021 Special Board meeting but is still searching for the ton and ½ truck with a v plow. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Plow Truck Purchase Discussion & Action’ item until the February, 2022 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $75,069.02, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Village of Bruce 2022 Caucus: January 5th @ 6:00 p.m.
Regular Monthly Board Meeting for February: Will be held on Tuesday, February 8th, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. rather than Monday
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 7:43 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer