Town of Barksdale Board Meeting

Barksdale Town Hall
29025 East Ondossagon Rd.
Ashland, WI 54806

Date: 2013, December 9

Present: Dennis Pocernich; John Nyara; Chris Bretting; Lynn Divine; Susan Sanders

Absent: None

Other’s Present: Duane Garz, Road Crew, Mike Bark Comprehensive Plan Vice Chairman; Mike Mlynarek, U S Fish & Wildlife

Members of the Public Present: Bob Divine; Jayson Nohl, Dave Maki, David & Caren Kreinbring

Call To Order: The meeting was called to order by Chairman Pocernich at 7:00 p.m.

Verification of Posting and Publishing: Pocernich verified that the meeting was posted. Divine indicated she forgot to have the notice published.

Approval of Previous Month’s Minutes: Bretting made a motion to dispense with reading the November 12, 2013, Minutes, seconded by Nyara. Motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS

Update on US Fish & Wildlife Activities: Mike Mlynarek stated that $118,000 will be transferred to Bayfield County for the Wickstrom Road bridge project. Due to the 16-day furlough, borings were not able to be done.

He, Paul Johnson and Ben Dufford will be doing research around the area of the recycling site to see why there is so much flooding there.

Pocernich asked if there are any land acquisitions pending. Mlynarek indicated that two purchase agreements have been signed and should be closing in the near future. The parcels are approximately 10 and five acres. After these purchases, the refuge will have acquired 300 acres in land purchases and 46 acres in conservation easements.

Comprehensive Plan Update: Mike Bark presented a synopsis of the meeting the commission held prior to this meeting. Lynn Divine will head up the committee for the Bono Creek project and Bob Divine will lead the screening project. The commission decided they will meet each quarter. A tentative schedule is: March 11^th, June 9^th, September 8^th and December 9^th. He welcomed Bob Divine as a new member to the commission and thanked Dennis Pocernich for his past membership.

Mike also reviewed some of the actions of the commission during 2013, especially the first annual pot-luck picnic. Everyone agreed that the picnic should be held each year.

Chris Bretting requested that the Bono Creek committee remember to include the Lake Superior Scenic Byway in the process of beautifying that area. They have potential access to grants that could help pay for the project.

Snowplowing: Sanders informed the group that one more person requested a contract and they have paid the late fee. There is a total of 80 contracts.

There have been a few complaints from callers and one person stopped at the garage. Chris received one call from a resident on Cherryville Road, and the situation was resolved. There was discussion as to continuing the snow plowing. One suggestion was to put an advisory question on the ballots of our next election. Other suggestions were made on charging in a different manner, as we are not recovering the costs as we should be. The snowplowing situation will be placed on the next agenda as an action item.

Grant Update: Joan Whitman was not present at the meeting, but will send an update to the board via e-mail.

NEW BUSINESS

Damage to West End of Cherryville Rd.: Bretting contacted the insurance agent representing Robert Bay’s logging business. The agent had sent a letter to the town refusing to pay the damages based on the age of the road. Bretting informed her that the town has pictures to prove the damages were created by the logging trucks and that we will pursue the matter in court. He further informed her that, should we win the case, we can ask for three times the amount of the damages. The agent said she would talk to Mr. Bay and recommend that he pay for the damages to avoid a lawsuit. The matter will be placed on next month’s agenda for an update.

Server’s License: A Server’s License request was received from Sara Stebbets, to bartend at Topside Tavern. Nyara made a motion to approve the Server’s License for Sara Stebbets for bartending at Topside Tavern, seconded by Bretting. Motion carried. Divine will prepare the license.

Resolution to Oppose SB 349: Wisconsin Towns Association prepared a draft resolution regarding the opposition to SB 349, which would hinder the town’s ability to make police type ordinances. The bill has been created to apply to non-metallic mining operations, but the association believes it could become more harmful if it is passed. The resolution was read to those present and a copy is attached to these Minutes. Nyara made a motion to adopt Resolution 2013-1 – Opposition to SB 349 Relating to Regulation of Non-metallic Mining, seconded by Bretting. Motion carried.

Approval of Poll Workers: Divine prepared a list of the poll workers for the town. They are: Eva Kacvinsky, Betty Chambers, Charlene Swanson, Larry Chase, Jayson Nohl, Dan Pocernich, Susan Sanders, Lynda Garz, Tammi Bretting, Colleen Bark, Carol Evans, Jim Divine and Pat Stromberg. Caren Kreinbring and John Nyara offered to be poll workers also. Bretting made a motion to approve the poll workers as presented, seconded by Nyara. Motion carried. Divine will add Caren Kreinbring and John Nyara to the list.

Public Input: This item will be moved to the first item of New Business, beginning in January, 2014.

Building and Sanitary Permits: None

Road Crew Report: Garz indicated that the equipment is working good. He touched base on the snowplowing and said that there were several calls the days of the snowstorms. Bretting suggested changing the greeting on the shop telephone to state that all snowplowing calls are to be made to the board members, not the garage. The change will be made.

Clerk’s Report: Nothing new to report.

Chairman’s Report: Nothing new to report.

Treasurer’s Report: Sanders provided the monthly report. A copy is included in these Minutes. She will shop around for an account to place the equipment funds in. Interest rates are extremely low.

Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Executive Session: At 8:30 p.m. Pocernich made a motion to go into Executive Session, seconded by Nyara.

Return to Regular Session: The meeting returned to Regular Session at 8:50 p.m.

Expenditures: The expenditures were reviewed and checks approved and signed. Nyara made a motion to accept the expenditures as presented, seconded by Bretting. Motion carried.

Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, Nyara made a motion to

adjourn, seconded by Bretting. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lynn M. Divine

Town of Barksdale Clerk