MONTHLY TOWN BOARD MINUTES
2023 FEBRUARY 14
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Town of Barksdale Board Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Barksdale Town Hall
29025 East Ondossagon Rd., Ashland, WI 54806
Present: John Nyara, Chairman; Chris Bretting, Supervisor; Jayson Nohl, Supervisor; Susan Sanders, Treasurer
Absent: Angela Truchon, Clerk
Other’s Present: David Lucius, Ronald Pagac, Dennis Pocernich
Call To Order: Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by John Nyara, Chairman. Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Verification of Posting: Nyara confirmed it was posted.
Approval of Previous Month’s Minutes: C. Bretting made a motion to dispense with reading the January 10, 2023, minutes, seconded by J. Nohl. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Comprehensive Plan Update: Nothing currently to report. The Comprehensive Plam members will meet for their quarterly meeting on Monday, March 13, 2023, at 6:00 pm.
Grants Update: Nothing currently to report.
Skating Rink: John Nyara mentioned the skating rink has been pretty much completed and is getting a lot of use so far. He will get all the paperwork submitted to the Bayfield County Health Dept. as requested to receive our grant money. The porta potty which did not get moved to the skating rink site remains at Bono Creek.
Ondossagon Road: John Nyara mentioned that he has been trying to get a hold of Max Lindsay, who is representing us on the Ondossagon Road, numerous times and has left messages but his calls have never been returned. After discussion, it was suggested to look for another lawyer to take on the case as we have not had any correspondence/contact since April 2022.
Cozy Corner Road Update: Nothing new to report. Cooper Engineering is continuing preliminaries so work can proceed this summer.
Update on Town Zoning: Nyara mentioned that an advisory referendum will be on the ballot for April 4, 2023, Spring Election regarding the Town of Barksdale to dissociate from the Bayfield County Zoning and initiate its own zoning ordinance. Nyara also received a letter from the Bayfield County Planning & Zoning regarding a structure erected by Mark and Kelly IIlick on property located on Cherryville Road without proper permits obtained through Bayfield County Zoning. Nyara mentioned that the Town was never notified by the owner prior to receiving the letter from zoning.
NEW BUSINESS:
Public Input:
Dennis Pocernich mentioned that Jeremy Oswald was going to be attending this meeting. Jeremy represents District 5 on the Bayfield County Board which covers Towns of Barksdale andWashburn – Ward 2 and City of Washburn – Wards 3 and 5.
Road Foreman’s Report:
Snowbanks around mailboxes and road signs are getting cleaned out. Replaced both batteries in the dump truck. Repaired a fuel leak on the front-end loader. Road signs were ordered to place along the larger dips in the roads. Potlach contacted Dave with regards to leaving cut timber that has been harvested on the side of the roads. Dave told them, “No” as it just tears the roads up and leaves huge holes and makes a mess of the Towns right-of-way area. Road limits were posted on the various roads throughout the township beginning March 1.
Clerk’s Report:
Nothing to report.
Chairman’s Report:
John received a call from the US Fish & Wildlife with regards to 1.7-acre parcel which is owned by the Town of Barksdale near the Thomas Parr property. The USFW would like to purchase the parcel which is appraised at $3575. We were informed the Town would need to pass a resolution authorizing us to sell this parcel to the USFW and were informed that the Midwest Title Co. in Ashland has a resolution form that we can obtained, and they will take charge and pay for all the survey, title, and transfer fees for the USFW to take over ownership. The board decided to have a special meeting for the resolution prior to our March board meeting scheduled for March 14.
John also mentioned a correspondence he received from Chairwoman, Sandra Raspotnik of the Town of Washburn regarding not being notified on repairs of the shared portion of Engoe Road. The board decided in the best interest to have a yearly joint meeting with the Town of Washburn to discuss needed repairs on the roads that we share, so cost can be taken in consideration during budgeting time.
Treasurer’s Report:
Sanders gave overview of town’s finances. Collection of 2022 Property & Personal taxes have been completed and settled with the County. Received our first quarter Transportation Aid from State of Wisconsin. We have two large payments due, one to the City of Washburn for 2023 fire and ambulance service due 3/31 and the other to Northern State Bank for our semi-annual payment on the Ondossagon Road loan due 4/1.
Next Meeting:
The Town Board will meet at 6:45 pm to act on the resolution regarding the sale of the 1.7 acre parcel the USFW would like to obtain followed by the regular Town Board Meeting scheduled for March 14, 2023, at 7:00 pm.
Approval of Bills:
Bretting made a motion to accept and approve the monthly bills presented, seconded by Nohl. Motion carried.
Adjournment:
There being no further business to conduct, Bretting made a motion to adjourn the meeting, followed by a second from Nohl. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:26 pm.
Respectfully submitted by: Susan M. Sanders, Treasurer