Minutes: Common Council: May 2006

Common Council
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, May 9 2006, 6:30 PM
City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, WI

MINUTES

Mayor Decker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Present were: Mayor Decker and Alderpersons Wyse, Cothard, Roberts, Hammann, Sornson, Juergens, Braunschweig (arrived 6:32 PM), and Wessels. Staff present: Mark Kopp, City Attorney; Bill Connors, City Administrator; Dave Wartenweiler, Public Works Director; Scott McElroy, Police Chief; Eric Jepperson, Finance Director; Kathy Buttchen, Assistant EMS Assistant Coordinator; Scott George, Water and Light Superintendent; John Rasmussen, Water and Light Line Foreman; and Jim Beilke, Clerk/Treasurer.

Approval of Agenda.
Agenda items 8(C)(3), Resolution #2006-8, and 10(C), Appointment of Eugene Miller, were removed from the agenda. The amended agenda was approved.

Approval of Minutes.
Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to waive the reading of the minutes of the regular meeting for April 11, 2006 and approve them as printed. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to waive the reading of the minutes of the special meeting for April 18, 2006 and approve them as printed. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to waive the reading of the minutes of the special meeting for April 28, 2006 and approve them as printed. Motion passed.

Citizen appearances other than agenda items listed. None

Evansville Community Partnership Report.
Christia Hunt reported that ECP is helping organize and plan the Fourth of July events with the Fourth of July Committee. Ald. Sornson asked ECP to include events sponsored by other organizations on the schedule of Fourth of July weekend events, such as the annual chicken dinner. Ms. Hunt agreed that would be a good thing to do.

Plan Commission Report.
Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to adopt Ordinance #2006-8, amending the Municipal Code relative to signage on awnings. Ald. Hammann reported this ordinance would permit a sign to appear on the sloping portion of an awning in the B-1, B-3, B-4, and O-1 zoning districts. Under the current sign regulations, signs on awnings are limited to the vertical flap. If the ordinance were adopted, signs on awnings would continue to be limited to the vertical flap in the B-2 zoning district. Under the ordinance, a sign on an awning would continue to count toward the limit on the total size of all signage on a building. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Juergens, to approve the proposed lot line adjustments for Lots 35, 36, and 37 and Outlot 3 of Grand Orchard Estates as depicted on the final plat reviewed by Plan Commission on May 1, 2006. Ald. Hammann reported this modification of the final plat to decrease the size of Lots 35, 36, and 37 and increase the size of Outlot 3, so the developers can use Outlot 3 as a location for soil with low levels of arsenic contamination that will be removed from some lots at the north end of the subdivision. The slightly contaminate soil will be placed in berms and capped. The Plan Commission approved this modification of the final plat at its May 1, 2006, meeting, but the city attorney has advised this action also must be approved by the Common Council to be effective. Motion passed.
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Motion by Hammann, seconded by Braunschweig, to authorize the City Administrator or City Clerk/Treasurer to sign the affidavit of correction for Certified Survey Map #1723826 and for Certified Survey Map #1626042 which removes the 60-foot easement along USH 14. Ald. Hammann reported, originally, the state Department of Transportation (WisDOT) required this easement to be included on lots created by certified survey maps (CSMs). Later, it was determined that WisDOT lacked legal authority to require this kind of easement through the review and approval of CSMs, and WisDOT has agreed to the elimination of the easement. Ron Combs from Combs and Associates Inc. stated that if the easement were eliminated, state law would continue to prevent the construction of buildings within 60 feet of the highway right of way. Elimination of the easement would allow parking lots and storm water facilities to be constructed within 60 feet of the highway right of way. The Plan Commission authorized the city administrator to sign the affidavits of correction at its May 1, 2006, meeting, but the city attorney has advised that the Common Council also must approve this action to be effective. Motion passed.

Finance and Labor Relations Committee Report.
Motion by Cothard, seconded by Juergens, to approve Water and Light bills and authorize their payments of $416,965.87. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Juergens, to approve the City bills and authorize their payments of $287,787.03. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Hammann, to approve the Amended Agreement between City of Evansville Water & Light, Department of Public Works, and Clerical and Teamsters Local Union No. 579. Ald. Juergens reported under the current agreement, a retiring employee is entitled to receive a cash payment for 50% of the value of unused sick leave up to 90 days. The amended agreement would give the employee the option of having the city use the 50% of the value of unused sick leave to purchase post-retirement health insurance for the employee. This would reduce payroll taxes paid for both the retiring employee and the city. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Sornson, to adopt Ordinance #2006-9, amending the Municipal Code relative to the Common Council’s order of business and rules of procedure as amended by Finance Committee.

Mr. Connors distributed two possible additional amendments to this ordinance for the Common Council to consider. He reported, currently, citizens are allowed to speak at the beginning of Common Council meetings only about items not on the agenda. Regarding items on the agenda, currently, citizens are permitted to speak only at the discretion of the presiding officer, unless there is a public hearing. He reported this ordinance would amend the Common Council’s order of business to allow citizens to appear near the beginning of each Council meeting and address the Council for up to five minutes on any subject, unless the citizen wishes to speak about an item regarding which there is a public hearing on the Council agenda, in which case the citizen should speak about that subject during the public hearing rather than during the open comment period at the beginning. Amendment 1-1 would limit the open comment period at the beginning of the meeting to City of Evansville residents, and would allow non-residents to speak during the open comment period only at the discretion of the presiding officer. Amendment 2-1 would limit the open comment period at the beginning of the meeting to items not on the agenda. During the open comment period, residents would have a right to speak, but non-residents would be allowed to speak only at the discretion of the presiding officer. Amendment 2-1 would give residents the right to speak about any subject on the agenda at the time it was being discussed by the Common Council for up to five minutes per item per person. Non-residents would be allowed to speak only at the discretion of the presiding officer, unless there was a public hearing on the item.

The Common Council discussed what was in current practice and how the ordinance and possible amendments addressed current practices. Richard Woulfe, 255 E. Main St., said favors public input at meetings, but he has not formulated a solution. The public does not have the packets of information until the start of meetings, and it is diffucult to ask informed questions at the beginning of meetings. Karen Aikman, 126 Garfield Ave., said she does not care whether the comments are allowed at the beginning of the meeting or during discussion of the agenda item, but she thinks citizens should have a right to speak to the full Common Council about issues, and the practice she has observed is the city has not always allowed this. John Decker, 143 W. Main St., stated this is a very important issue on how to organize and run meetings. He recommended that Council re-commit this ordinance back to the Finance Committee to incorporate everyone’s ideas into this ordinance instead of trying to draft it on the fly.

Motion by Juergens, seconded by Wessels, to refer Ordinance #2006-9 back to the Finance Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Hammann, to approve Resolution #2006-15, modifying procedures for the Building Improvement Grant Program. Ald. Hammann reported this ordinance would modify the procedures for the Building Improvement Grant Program. The resolution would allow a grant for the creation or improvement of an “alternative” (i.e., side or rear) entrance to a business that will be impacted by the 2007 Main Street reconstruction project and specifies that the grant could be used for interior and exterior improvements. The resolution also would clarify that the cost of replacing a nonconforming sign in the Historic District is an eligible project cost for the grant. Ald. Wyse announced he would abstain from voting on this motion, because his wife could be eligible for this grant. Motion passed, with Ald. Wyse abstaining.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Sornson, to approve Resolution #2006-16, establishing the process for creating and adopting the 2007 City Operating and Capital Budgets. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Roberts, to approve Agreement for Coordination of Senior Services. The Council packet had an agreement with blank lines. Mr. Connors distributed an agreement between City of Evansville and Evelyn Cantrell. After Council reviewed the distributed agreement. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Public Safety Committee Report.
Motion by Cothard, seconded by Sornson, to adopt Ordinance #2006-7, amending the Municipal Code relative to “Class A” Liquor and Class “A” Fermented Malt Beverage Licenses.

Ald. Wyse removed himself from the discussion and stepped down from the table because he is currently involved in negotiations related to this matter.

Mr. Connors reported this ordinance would allow Class “A” beer licenses separately from “Class A” liquor licenses. A “Class A” liquor or Class “A” beer license permits the sale of closed containers for consumption elsewhere. Currently, the Municipal Code limits the number of “Class A” liquor licenses the city may issue to one for every 1,200 of population, and prohibits the city from issuing a Class “A” beer license separately from a “Class A” liquor license. Ordinance #2006-7 would allow the city to issue a Class “A” beer license separately from a “Class A” liquor license. Currently, there is no limit in the Municipal Code or state law on the number of Class “A” beer licenses the city may issue. Consequently, if the ordinance is adopted and the city is allowed to issue a Class “A” beer license separately from a “Class A” liquor license, the city will be able to issue an unlimited number of Class “A” beer licenses.

Mr. Connors distributed Amendment 1-1 to Ordinance #2006-7,. The City Attorney corrected technical errors in the language of the ordinance regarding the placement of parentheses in the following phrases: “class A” liquor license and class “A” fermented malt beverage licence.

Parminder Sekhon from All N One gas station and convenience store, 104 S. Madison St., is seeking only a beer license to respond to their customers’ demands. She stated that All N One would not benefit from a liquor license. Brad Goodspeed from Goodspeed Gas N Go Inc. gas station and convenience store, 350 Union St., does not want the rules to change. There has always been a limited number of beer outlets in the City of Evansville. His research with Francios Oil’s convenience store revealed that liquor sales represent 10% of their total alcohol sales. Thus, Mr. Goodspeed stated a liquor license is worthless to his convenience store. He recently spent a lot of money to obtain a liquor and beer license from a third party so that he could sell beer. If Council approves this ordinance, then it dilutes the value of his liquor and beer license, because everyone in the city can sell beer. Ruby Sekhon from All N One said he is in favor of fair competition.

Council discussed how the extra beer licenses would affect competition among the gas stations and convenience stores in the City of Evansvillle. The consensus was to promote free enterprise and competition.

Motion by Ald. Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to adopt Amendment 1-1. Motion passed.

The original motion, as amended, passed on a roll call vote. Ald. Braunschweig, Juergens, Hammann, Cothard, Sornson, and Roberts voted in favor. Ald. Wessels voted against. After the vote, Ald. Wyse rejoined the table.

Public Works Committee Report. None

Water & Light Committee Report.
Mike Steward and Tom Paque from Wisconsin Public Power, Inc. (WPPI) gave a presentation regarding the benefits of joining WPPI. WPPI is a not-for-profit municipal wholesale electric utility created in 1980. It is owned by the 40 municipalities that are members and operate municipal electric utilities (nearby municipalities that are WPPI members include Stoughton, New Glarus, and Brodhead). Currently, the Evansville municipal electric utility purchases wholesale power exclusively from Alliant Energy. If the municipal electric utility joins WPPI, it will purchase wholesale power exclusively from WPPI. The Water and Light Committee already heard a presentation by WPPI and supports joining WPPI. The consensus was to review this issue next month after they had more time to process the information that was distributed at this meeting.

Economic Development Committee Report. None

Evansville Redevelopment Authority Report. None

Parks and Recreation Board Report.
Ald. Juergens reported that Jenny Nehls representing Relay For Life came to the April meeting and discussed the plans for this year’s event, to take place June 16-17 at Lake Leota Park. A new feature of this year’s event is a request for DJ music playing at a lowered volume between midnight and dawn, if there are no strong objections from neighborhood residents. Chair Juergens sent letters informing residents of Grove St. and Eager Ct., since they would seem to be most affected by the all night music. An update will be presented at the next Park Board meeting in May.

Historic Preservation Commission Report. None

Fire District Report. None

Unfinished Business. None

Communications and Recommendations from the Mayor
Motion by Hammann, seconded by Braunschweig, to waive the seven-day notice requirement on citizen appointments. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Chris Ehle, 11 ½ West Main St., to the Dean Community Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Ron Arndt, 598 Water St., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Sornson, to approve the mayoral appointment of Steve Hagen, 420 West Main St., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Wessels, to approve the mayoral appointment of Bill Alt, 216 West Main St., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Wessels, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Jeff Vrstal, 284 Franklin St., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Wessels, seconded by Roberts, Juergens, to approve the mayoral appointment of Steve Carlson, 33 North First St., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Motion by Wessels, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Bill Castonguay, 111 Gunther Dr., to the Outdoor Furnace Study Committee. Motion passed.

Mayor’s “State of the City” Address

Last month, Mayor Janis Ringhand provided a good summary of recent accomplishments of your city government in her final State of the City report. In the interest of brevity, I will not repeat what has already been covered.

I will speak to some upcoming administrative events and discuss some issues needing consideration in the coming months. As last happened four years ago when there was a change in administration, I propose a training session for Council and citizen committee members on Open Meetings law, Open Records law, government ethics, a review of our Municipal Code, as well as an up-to-date explanation of City operating procedures. I have asked the City Attorney to assist in this training.

A Council planning and priority-setting session, with public participation, would be extremely valuable for providing direction to City government, including committees and staff. Topics for discussion should include comprehensive updating of City Ordinances, reorganization and improvement of the city Web Site (as discussed at recent Economic Development Committee meetings), determination of the relationship of the city with Special Purpose Districts, e.g. the Fire Protection District and the Lake Leota District. Other discussion items are the functions and roles of specific departments and committees, interrelationships of committees, delineation of the policy-making and administrative functions of government and staff, the relationship of City Hall with businesses and residents, and procedures for increasing openness and efficiency at City Hall.

When Council, Mayor and staff have a formulated plan with identified priorities and citizen input, better government is the certain outcome. I look forward to this work session and its results.

There are important City issues already on the calendar in the coming months. The enacted Smart Growth Plan will be at the end of its first year of implementation next month. A review of the city's progress on its implementation will be undertaken. There is current discussion of the mechanics for updating the Plan to keep it a "living document".

Union Township is in the final stages leading to approval of their Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan. A joint Evansville-Union Smart Growth Implementation Committee has been established. Upon enactment of the Township Plan, the Committee will begin work to develop a combined City-Township future land use map. A culminating goal of this committee is the drafting of a boundary agreement.

Reconstruction of the Main-Madison Streets intersection will occur this summer. The City and businesses have established a task force to work on reconstruction issues and planning is underway to deal with the day-to-day impact of the road project. The task force intends to identify the needs of each affected resident and business and find ways to assist them with specific problems.

To date, I have spent much of my time dealing with traffic issues along Highway 14 on the eastern side of Evansville. Last week, a meeting of 24 area business owners and DOT officials enabled direct dialogue and issue clarification. Businesses were able to register their concerns and question DOT standards and processes. A traffic impact analysis for this area is underway and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will use the completed analysis to make its determination of the future traffic patterns/street placements as additional commercial and industrial development occurs. DOT has promised to expedite its review.

The economic vitality of our community is in the best interest of everyone. Active downtown revitalization efforts are underway and the result will be an attractive, enticing environment. The City is in the process of establishing a new Tax Increment District to assist in the development of the newly annexed property at Highway 14 and County M. A public hearing on this matter will be held on June 5, 2006. Balanced economic and residential growth will result in a strong, healthy community

The City Economic Development Committee will take the lead role in actively marketing for new commercial and industrial businesses throughout our city. The Committee is gathering information important for planning a community marketing structure and strategy, including visits and discussions with area communities regarding economic successes and challenges, education in the many federal and state economic development programs, and exploration of business incubation funding.­­

One existing opportunity that must be explored and encouraged is the promotion and development of the art community in Evansville. Expansion of initial regional marketing efforts of area artists is under consideration and its possibilities are numerous.

A growing city means a busy local government! Such is the case in Evansville. It can be a positive time for us if we, as a community, can be problem solvers and bring vision to fruition. This is my hope for Evansville.

A final comment for your consideration. My family and I filled four large pails with sediment from Lake Leota on Sunday afternoon for use in planting flowers. We will be making additional trips in the next month for our planting needs. Keep your lake in mind this spring.

Communications and Recommendations from the City Administrator. None

New Business.
Council had a brief discussion regarding Draft Ordinance #2006-___, amending Municipal Code relative to speed limits. Ald. Hammann and Sornson said they would be sponsors.

Council had a brief discussion regarding Draft Ordinance #2006-___, amending Municipal Code relative to the effective date of appointments to committees, commission, and boards. Ald. Cothard and Juergens said they would be sponsors.

Council had a brief discussion regarding Draft Ordinance #2006-___, amending Municipal Code relative to appointments of trustees of the Evansville Fire Protection District. Ald. Roberts and Wyse said they would be sponsors.

Introduction of New Ordinances.
Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-10, amending the Municipal Code relative to floodplain zoning [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Braunschweig]

Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-11, amending the Municipal Code relative to vehicular access restrictions in the B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 and O-1 [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Braunschweig]

Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-12, amending stop sign locations [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Juergens]

Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-13, amending stop sign locations [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Juergens]

Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-14, amending stop sign locations [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Juergens]

Ald. Hammann read the first reading of Ordinance #2006-15, amending stop sign locations [sponsored by Ald. Hammann and Ald. Juergens]

Closed Session.
Motion by Cothard, seconded by Roberts, to convene into closed session pursuant to Sec. 19.85(1)(e), Wis. Stats., deliberation or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reason requires a closed session, and will not reconvene in open session. During the closed session, the Council will consider giving negotiating instructions to the City Attorney and City Administrator regarding possible financial assistance for new industrial and/or commercial development in the event the Common Council and Joint Review Board approve the creation of Tax Incremental District No. 6. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote at 8:56 PM.

The Council took a recess. The Council convened in closed session at 9:01 PM.

Adjournment.
Motion by Juergens, seconded by Sornson, to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 PM. Motion carried.


Prepared by:
James Beilke
City Clerk/Treasurer

The minutes are not official until approved by Common Council at the next regular meeting.