VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
September 5, 2017
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Tuesday, September 5, 2017.
Village President Mike Newman presided and called to order the meeting at the Village Hall facility at 7:00 p.m. Board members present were Shane Trott, Gayanne Skogen, Bobbi Jo Fillion, Mark Zimmer, John Hoiby and Galen Brainerd. Terry Hegeholz attended also.
Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to approve the Agenda, carried.
Motion by Trott, seconded by Fillion to dispense of the reading and approve the minutes of the August 7, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Darlene Wundrow attended the meeting and asked the Board for approval to purchase four new rear truck tires for the white truck. She provided a quote from Rusk County Farm Supply for $163.75 per tire, mounted and balanced. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to approve purchasing four new rear tires for the white truck for $163.75 per tire, mounted and balanced from Rusk County Farm Supply, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
APPLICATIONS:
Operator’s Licenses: Motion by Trott, seconded by Zimmer to approve a regular operator’s license for Devon M. Penney, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Works:
Potential New Village Shop: Nothing new to report. Motion by Zimmer seconded by Trott to approve tabling the “Potential New Village Shop” issue until the October, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting August 14, 2017 Report: Newman reported the Rusk County Highway Commissioner contacted the Village and informed us there are LRIP funds available from the DOT that have not been used. The committee discussed options on where the funds can be used.
Plow Truck Dump Box Liner Repairs: Options were discussed to repair or replace the truck dump box on the plow truck. Motion by Skogen, seconded by Brainerd to rescind the motion from the August 7, 2017 Board Meeting for purchasing a used dump box and have repairs made for approximately $6,000.00, carried. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to approve having repairs made to the plow truck for $10,000.00 by Nuss Truck and Equipment from Eau Claire, carried. The repairs will include replacing the rear half of the frame rails & painting the frame, sand blast & paint the box, install a new aluminum fuel tank and sandblast & paint tire rims & hubs.
Public Welfare:
Park Playground Equipment: Newman reported fundraising is going well for new playground equipment at the Village Park. Friends of the Bruce Library donated $500.00 and Junk Yard Jed Salvage Yard donated $250.00 in August. Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to table the “New Playground Equipment at the Village Park” issue until the October, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
Continue to Pursue Legal Action of Clean Up on E. Washington Avenue Property: Motion by Trott, seconded by Fillion to table the “Continue to Pursue legal Action of Clean Up on E. Washington Avenue Property” issue until the October, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
Continue to Pursue Legal Action to Raze Building on W. Railroad Avenue: Newman reported a certified letter has been sent to the current owner of the property making them aware that the property will have to be cleaned up and conditions improved. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to table the “Approve Continuing to Pursue Legal Action to Raze a Building on a Property on W. Railroad Avenue” issue until the October, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
2018 Library Budget Approval: The Board reviewed the proposed 2018 budget of $41,490.02 for the library. Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to approve the 2018 Library Budget of $41,490.02, carried.
Administration:
Update Ordinances: A Committee meeting will be scheduled to review Ordinance Title 11 for possible updates. Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to table the “Update Ordinances” issue until the October, 2017 Regular Board Meeting, carried.
Employee Wage Negotiations-Committee Meeting August 28, 2017 Report: A meeting was held on August 28, 2017 to review employee’s requests for the 2018 wage negotiations.
Committee Recommendations for Employee Wages:
The Committee recommended paying for Casey Gudis’s physical for his CDL license and hiring Bob Ewald at an hourly rate of $11.81 for maintenance work as needed starting in November 2017. They also recommended a 1% hourly pay increase for all the workers for 2018. Motion by Trott, seconded by Hoiby to approve paying for Casey Gudis’s physical for his CDL license, hiring Bob Ewald at a hourly rate of $11.81 for maintenance work as needed starting in November 2017 and a 1% hourly pay increase for all the workers effective January 1, 2018, carried. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to remove the “Employee Wage Negotiations” issue from the Agenda, carried.
Industrial Site:
Explore Options for Business Request: Newman reported a letter of support had been drafted by the Village’s legal counsel and sent to Larry Meisegeier. The Board discussed a per acre price for the sale of land at the Industrial Site for the business venture. The area Meisegeier is interested in is in the south east corner of the Industrial Site. Jim Doke attended the meeting on behalf of the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative and asked the Board to consider gifting the land to the Cooperative instead of charging them a per acre fee. He indicated they were interested in four acres to build a facility to process sheep cheese products there. Rusk County Economic Development Coordinator, Andy Albarado also attended the meeting and participated in the discussion. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Hoiby to send the “Explore Options for Business Request” issue to committee to further discuss and scheduled the meeting for Thursday, September 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Rusk County Hazard Mitigation Plan: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to approve participating in the community planning activities related to updating the Rusk County Hazard Mitigation Plan, carried. There is no financial commitment needed from the Village for the grant. The signed “Statement of Intent to Participate” agreement will be forwarded to the Rusk County Emergency Management/Ambulance Director.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Fillion to pay vouchers and electronic tax payments totaling $33,269.69 carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Fillion, seconded by Trott to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 8:19 p.m.
Terry Hegeholz
Clerk/Treasurer