VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
May 6th, 2024
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, May 6th, 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 Grasley to approve the April 1st, 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 attended the meeting to report to the Board that the crew has been busy getting the cemetery and the park opened up and ready for the season.
The site for the garbage truck storage building is prepped and ready for building construction.
The filter system has been up and running for the last few weeks. Samples are coming back good. Once the final test results come back, the DNR will let the Village give the official announcement.
Lastly, Gudis submitted a proposal in the amount of $9,542.00 from Altronex Control Systems who is the company that works on the SCADA system. The SCADA system is an alarm system that alerts when there is an issue with the wells, treatment plant, water tower, lift stations, etc. The proposal would be to modify the current manual control panel of the system to be ran automatic. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to approve the proposal for the work from Altronex in the amount of $9,542.00, carried.
Cemetery Burial Limits: The current limit on a lot is for one traditional burial with three cremains. Gudis is asking that the new limit be one traditional burial with one cremains or two cremains per lot. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to approve changing the burial limits per lot to one traditional/one cremains or two cremains per lot, carried. This would go in to affect as of May 6th, 2024 for any lots purchased from here on.
Dehumidifier Purchase Approval: The current dehumidifier that is located in the well #1and filter room only removes 70 pints per day, which is not keeping up. An upgrade is needed. The upgraded dehumidifier would remove 120 pints per day and would be a cost increase of $1,261 plus 10%. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Brainerd to approve purchasing the upgraded dehumidifier, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Jon Kaiser – Blue Hills Beasts: No one showed for the meeting.
Bruce Blue Hills Lion’s Club – Festival Donation Request: The Village has not yet received a letter requesting a donation. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to table the item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Cindy Storey – Dog Approval: Cindy Storey attended the meeting requesting adopting a pit bull from the animal shelter. According to Village of Bruce ordinances, pit bulls are not allowed in the Village limits. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Brainerd to follow Village ordinances and deny the request, with Grasley voting no, the motion carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Dolan to send the issue to committee to possibly revise the ordinance, carried.
Cindy also asked that due to the high speed of traffic down the alley behind her property, if a 10mph speed limit sign be installed. The crew will get one mounted as soon as possible.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: James Wood attended the meeting regarding his unsightly property fine he received. He stated that he is in the process of trying to get the property cleaned up and asked the Board to revoke his fine. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Dolan to give Wood the chance to take advantage of the spring clean-up weekend, and if the property is cleaned up by May 13th, the fine will be revoked, carried.
Wood also expressed his concerns with individuals parking in his lawn while waiting for their children after school. The Board advised him to install stakes/flags to keep them off the lawn.
APPLICATIONS:
Building Permit:
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Dolan to approve a building permit to Rachel Moser to build/connect a deck at her property located at 924 N. 1st Street, carried.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to approve a building permit to Dylan Trott to install a driveway and prep for a building site located at 1625 N. Trails End Rd., carried.
Operator’s Licenses:
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve an operator’s license to Lynn M. Bandoli, carried.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to approve an operator’s license to Josh L. Shimko, carried.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Dolan to approve an operator’s license to Jessica Huftel, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety:
Purchase of Speed Bumps & Safety Signs: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Utility:
Garbage Contract Discussion: Site prep for the building is complete. Loan paperwork for the additional $35,000.00 will be ready next week to sign.Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Garbage Contract Discussion’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Works:
LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds: Gudis contacted Monarch Paving to get a quote to pulverize, reshape and pave Business Highway 40 versus just an overlay. The additional cost for the work would be an approximate $6,000 increase. The original quote was also to only go to Wester Street. The new proposal would be to go to the back side of the curb towards Highway 40. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to approve the additional approximate $6,000 increase for the project, extended to the back side of the curbs towards Highway 40 and to advertise for bids for the project, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting 4/16/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on April 16th, 2024. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The committee met to discuss the possible sale of Village owned property. There is a 1.65 acre lot located in the Town of Atlanta. The committee is recommending having a realtor agent look at the lot to see if it is a buildable lot and also the value of the lot.
The committee would also recommend looking at the land to the south of DairiConcepts to see about possible future sale and/or building sites.
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to approve the committee’s recommendations from the April 16th, 2024 meeting, carried.
Water Filtration Project – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue:
-DISCUSSION & ACTION-
– UPDATE –
After DNR inspection, the filtration system has been online since April 17th and is currently being ran manually. Test results are coming back good.Once the final test results come back, the DNR will let the Village give the official announcement.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Water Filtration – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Haas Sons, Inc. – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to approve paying the invoice in the amount of $228,560.50 to Haas Sons, Inc. for work completed on the filtration project thru April 22nd, 2024, carried.
Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. – Invoice Payment Approval: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to approve paying the invoice in the amount of $7,520.00 to Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. for engineering work on the filtration project thru April 30th, 2024, carried.
Change Order #3 Approval: A change order was submitted by Haas Sons, Inc. for a time extension on the filtration project to complete work on Well #1. The filter system is up and running but a 92 day extension is needed to complete chemical treatment of the well. The extension will not affect the distribution of filtered water through the system to residents. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to approve Change Order #3, carried.
Public Welfare:
Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion: Nothing new 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 June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting 4/17/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on April 17th, 2024 to discuss the park baseball field use with the Blue Hills Beasts. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The meeting was scheduled to meet with Jon Kaiser of the Blue Hills Beast to discuss issues with their use of the baseball field at the park. No one from the team showed. The item will be added to the agenda for May to see if anyone will show for discussion about the Village’s concerns.
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Grasley to remove the issue from the agenda, carried.
Park Dugout Update: Netting on the dugouts will be installed. Nothing further to discuss at this time. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Park Dugout Update’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Library Interior Painting: Quotes have yet to be submitted by the contractors. Nothing further to discuss at this time. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Library Interior Painting’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Administration:
Maintenance Position Hire: Two applications were submitted for the part time summer help position. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to set up interviews with both of the applicants, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to table the ‘Maintenance Position Hire’ item until the June, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Review 2023 TID #2 Annual Report: Trott reported that TID #2 still has a balance as of December 31st, 2023 of $47,843.00.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $89,691.63, carried.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Village Wide Spring Clean-Up: May 10th & 11th, 2024. 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 13TH, 2024 for a fee.
2024 Open Book – Wednesday, May 8th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
2024 Board of Review – Wednesday, May 15th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Village Wide Garage Sales: June 8th, 2024
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 21st, June 18th, July 16th & August 20th.
Saturday July 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 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.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 8:34 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer