Miunutes: Common Council: February 2006

Common Council
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, February 14, 2006, 6:30 PM
City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, WI

MINUTES

Mayor Ringhand called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Present were: Mayor Ringhand and Aldpersons Aikman, Cothard, Roberts, Hammann, Anderson (arrived at 6:55 PM), Sornson (left at 6:34 PM), and Wessels. Absent was Ald. Juergens. Staff present: Mark Kopp, City Attorney; Bill Connors, City Administrator; Dave Wartenweiler, Public Works Director; Art Phillips, Police Lieutenant; Scott George, Water and Light Superintendent; Mary Beaver, EMS Coordinator; and Jim Beilke, Clerk/Treasurer.

Approval of Agenda.
The agenda item 13(A), a first reading of Ordinance #2006-3 Annexing territory to the City of Evansville, was stricken from the agenda, and the amended agenda was approved.

Approval of Minutes.
Motion by Hammann, seconded by Roberts, to waive the reading of the minutes of the special meeting for January 6, 2006 and approve them as printed. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to waive the reading of the minutes of the regular meeting for January 10, 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 January 20, 2006 and approve them as printed. Motion passed.


Citizen appearances other than agenda items listed. None

Ald. Sornson left at 6:34 PM, and Council went into recess for five minutes before they reconvened and accepted the following reports.

Committee Reports:
Public Works Committee Report.
Ald. Hammann reported on the main features of the 2007 Main St. reconstruction project that are being considered at this time: traffic island at the intersection of Madison & Main St., bump out at intersection of Main St. & Maple St., increase parking stalls, zero curb line, replacement of street lights to match east Main St. and Union St., and paving bricks.

Water & Light Committee Report. None

Economic Development Committee Report.
Ald. Aikman reported the next Economic Development Committee meeting will be February 28, 2006, and Sortis will present information regarding possible grants for the city.


Parks and Recreation Board Report. None

Historic Preservation Commission Report. None

Fire District Report. None

Communications and Recommendations from the Mayor. None

Communications and Recommendations from the City Administrator.
Mr. Connors said that the report comparing budgeted to actual receipts and expenditures for all of 2005 is just a preliminary report at this point, and alderpersons should not rely on it. There are significant receipts and expenditures and adjusting entries that have not yet been recorded.

New Business.
Attorney Kopp lead the discussion on using email to communicate with multiple alderpersons or committee members simultaneously can be construed to constitute an improper meeting of the Council or committee without the proper notice required by law. Emails conveying only information are okay. Emails inviting a “conversation” about city business should be avoided. An email inviting a “conversation” about city business would violate public meeting laws if it were emailed to enough committee members for a “negative quorum,” meaning enough committee members to block an action. Attorney Kopp also reported the state statutes require that all public records shall be saved for 7 years, and emails are public records.

Council started following the regular agenda at 6:55 PM, when Ald. Anderson arrived.

Evansville Community Partnership Report. None

Plan Commission Report.
Mr. Connors reported that Ordinance #2006-1 would amend the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan to change the designation of seven parcels of land on the future land use maps from single-family residential to commercial. These parcels are located along USH 14 north of the intersection with N. Madison St. The current land use of all seven of these parcels is residential. Six of the seven parcels were recently added to the territory of Tax Incremental District No. 5. On January 3, 2006, the Plan Commission adopted a resolution recommending to the Common Council that it amend the plan to designate these seven parcels as commercial on the future land use maps. It appears that these parcels were designated as single-family residential on the future land use maps as the result of an oversight.

The alderpersons discussed this oversight and how this ordinance would only change the future land use map, not the zoning map.

Mayor Ringhand opened the public hearing at 7:00 PM. George Burger, 343 Union St., asked if the land was being rezoned commercial for a purchaser. Mayor Ringhand reported no one is changing the zoning map to commercial. The ordinance would change only the future land use map, and Council is not aware of any purchaser for the land. By changing the future land use map to commercial, a potential buyer could easily obtain a change in the zoning map to commercial. Mayor Ringhand closed the public hearing at 7:02 PM.

Ald. Hammann asked is it fair to make minor changes in the plan as opportunities arise or a few major changes once a year. He mentioned other changes in the future land use maps are needed. For example, an area south of Porter Rd and west of Westfield Meadows is marked for future single-family residential development, but such future development is unlikely, because a new lift station would be required. Additionally, the future land use map and transportation map likely will need to be changed when the Town of Union adopts its Smart Growth Plan and the city and township attempt to make their plans consistent with each other. Mayor Ringhand reported the Council agreed to consider making changes in the plan once per year, and the changes Ald. Hammann talked about have not been presented yet. These changes will be presented and reviewed in June, and from now on, June will be the time of year that changes are considered.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Aikman, to adopt Ordinance #2006-1, amending the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard to adopt Ordinance #2006-2, annexing territory to the City of Evansville, Wisconsin (Larson Acres property). Ald. Hammann reported this annexation addresses the regional storm water management by building a detention basin that would serve more than the Westfield Meadows subdivision area. The construction of this basin is a prerequisite in the Westfield Meadows Land Divider’s Agreement, which includes a penalty clause if the city denies annexation. The penalty clause stipulates the city must reimburse the developers the cost of the 7 acres of land for the detention pond, cost of the construction of the pond, cost of the engineering the pond, and the cost of improving Porter Road. This annexation is only about regional storm water management. To prevent any storm water problems in the future, the key is maintaining the regional storm water system. The city needs control of the maintenance on the regional storm water system. Motion passed.

Finance and Labor Relations Committee Report.
Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to approve Water and Light bills and authorize their payments of $588,424.36. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to approve the City bills and authorize their payments of $1,869,470.77. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Connors distributed a new agreement at this meeting and reported that one of the issues the YMCA wanted addressed was responsibility for paying the utilities at the Dean Community Center building and the building at 209 S. 1st St. A small part of each building will be occupied by the AWARE Agency, which has people present in the building more hours than the youth program operates. The YMCA did not think it was fair that the youth program was required to pay 100% of the utilities for the building. The agreement that was distributed at this meeting reflects changes made by the Finance and Labor Relations Committee. Under this latest version of the agreement, the YMCA and AWARE would be responsible for their own heating costs once they move to 209 S. 1st St., and the YMCA would be responsible for all other utilities costs.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to approve the new agreement with YMCA of Dane County for operation of the youth program. Motion passed.

Mr. Connors reported that Hammer Builders LLC requested a rescission or refund of taxes for Parcel #222-041015 (Lot 15 in the Southgate Subdivision) because the improvements were built on Parcel #222-041014 (Lot 14 in the Southgate Subdivision). The building permit application indicated that improvements would be constructed on Lot 15, but in reality, they were constructed on Lot 14. It is the City Assessor’s opinion that the tax for the improvement value for Lot 15 is an error and the correct assessment for improvements on this lot should be 0. The amount of tax attributed to the improvement value should be rescinded or refunded. The refund would be $1,176.04. Mr. Connors reported that the owners of Lot 14 could be billed in the next tax year for the improvements actually constructed on that lot but not assessed. The Council requested the owners of Lot 14 should be notified that they will be billed next tax year for the omitted 2005/2006 taxes on their improvements.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Roberts, to approve the refund of property tax for Tax Parcel #222-041015 due to palpable errors in the amount of $1,176.04. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Ald. Aikman reported that All About You (parcel # 006222) was a doomage assessment made by the City Assessor for the account name of P. J. Spears, because they did not know that P.J. Spears was the same business as All About You and thought the assessment reporting form had not been returned for All About You. The City Assessor then sent out a doomage assessment notice to P.J. Spears. With that notice were instructions to the property owner to return their form before the Board of Review, and the City Assessor would adjust the assessment based on the form. The form was not returned. If it was returned, the City Assessor could have struck All About You’s assessment from the roll at that time. The refund would be $31.78.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to approve the refund of property tax for Tax Parcel #006222 due to palpable errors in the amount of $31.78. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-2 would increase the appropriation for emergency medical service (EMS) retirement. The city’s full-time employees qualify for a city-paid contribution to the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) based on their annual wages. Some full-time city employees have served as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) over the years, being paid an on-call fee for hours they were on-call outside of their usual work schedule for the city. The city failed to include the on-call fees paid to these full-time city employees in their wages for purposes of computing the city’s payment to the WRS on behalf of these employees. As a result, the city owes the WRS $10,023. Resolution #2006-2 would increase the appropriation for EMS retirement by this amount.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Roberts, to adopt Resolution #2006-2, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the appropriation for EMS retirement in amount of $10,023. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Connors reported Resolution #2006-3 would increase the amount to be transferred from the General Fund to the Capital Project Fund by $15,000 and increase the appropriation in the Capital Project Fund for Department of Public Works equipment purchases by $15,000. The increase in the transfer out of the General Fund would decrease the General Fund’s fund balance by $15,000. However, it appears that in 2005, total actual expenditures for the Department of Public Works will be less than budgeted, which would increase the General Fund’s fund balance. The $15,000 increase in the appropriation for equipment would be used to purchase a small skid-steer loader for sidewalk snow removal.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to adopt Resolution #2006-3, amending the adopted 2006 city budget to increase the transfer from the General Fund to the Capital Project Fund and to increase the appropriation for Dept. of Public Works equipment purchase. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Roberts, to approve 2006 employment contracts for city administrator, department heads, and other professional employees. Mr. Connors distributed a new set of agreements at this meeting, and the Finance and Labor Relations Committee has recommended approval of the distributed agreement (drafted 2/14/06). The sentence “Employee’s salary may be adjusted from time to time in the future according the discretion of the City” was removed from all of the contracts. The sentence “If the Common Council meets as a Committee of the Whole, Employee is required to attend meetings of the Committee of the Whole and is not required to attend regular Common Council meetings” was added to all of the contracts except the ones for the city administrator and city clerk/treasurer. Ald. Aikman reported that Finance Committee incorporated all of the department heads’ requests. Ald. Cothard requested amending the clerk/treasurer’s contract, so that the clerk/treasurer is not required to attend the Committee of the Whole because minutes are not taken at that meeting.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Hammann, to amend Clerk’s contract, so that the Clerk is not required to attend any Committee of the Whole (on page 3, item 8). Motion passed.

Mr. Connors reported the city attorney recommended clarifications about termination of the city administrator during the term of contract, noted on page 3, item 13, in the city administrator’s contract. In regards to the city administrator contract, the ending date of the contract was changed from December 31, 2006 to September 30, 2007, which allows the city administrator to know whether he needs to find a new position and move his family in time for the start of a new school year in 2007.

The original motion, as amended, passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Public Safety Committee Report.
Motion by Cothard, seconded by Aikman, to adopt Ordinance #2005-52, amending Municipal Code Relative to No Parking Zones, which would, among other things, establish no parking zones (1) the west side of Exchange St. from E. Main St. to Water St. and (2) the south and east sides of Water St. from Allen Creek to E. Main St. Ald. Wessels raised the issue why the ordinance would prohibit parking on the west side of Exchange St., which is the side on which the businesses are located. Council asked for Mr. Berg input. Mr. Berg prefers to allow parking on the west and asked Council to table the motion for month, so that Council could get input from property owners along the street.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Aikman, to refer motion back to the Public Safety Committee to see if they could get a report from property owners regarding which side of Exchange St. they want parking. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to adopt Ordinance #2005-51, amending the Municipal Code to Obstructions of Public Streets, which would establish a procedure for granting a license to close a public street for a festival or similar event. The ordinance would require that notices be mailed to owners of affected properties, unless the applicant submitted a petition signed by at least a certain percentage of the affected property owners and occupants. In either event, the City Clerk/Treasurer would be required to publish notice of a public hearing on the application for a license to close the street. Motion passed.

Evansville Redevelopment Authority Report.
Mr. Berg made a presentation regarding the proposed grant for 25 % of the cost of acquiring and renovating the Eager Building, aka the Economy Store, located at 7 E. Main St., estimated to be $1.9 million. The development group is making a substantial investment in this project with a very low expected rate of return on their investment, because they are committed to restore the vitality of Evansville’s downtown business district.

Ald. Hammann favors drafting a developer’s agreement and wants to spell out the city’s commitment of 25% of project cost, capped at $475,000. Ald. Aikman noted the draft developer’s agreement will be presented to Council at a later date. At that time, the agreement will have more accurate estimates of cost. Thus, she favors committing the city to the 25% of project cost without a dollar cap, because then the city can evaluate everything with more accurate numbers and make a final decision on this Downtown Economic Development Fund Application.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to commit to making a grant for 25% of the cost of acquiring and renovation the property at 7 E. Main St., estimated to be $1.9 million, subject to the conditions recommended by the redevelopment Authority: (1) the developers must provide the city with financial data and projections about the project to show there is need for the city to provide financial assistance, (2) David Wagner of Ehlers & Associates must provide projections of the tax increment that will be generated by the project, (3) the developers must provide financial data and renovation plans to the city assessor to allow her to refine her estimate of the equalized value of the property at completion, (4) the parties must enter into a written development agreement acceptable to the city, and (5) the developers must agree that if the city assessor determines the equalized value of the property at completion is less than $1.9 million, they would pay on an annual basis the difference between the increment that would be generated by $1.9 million of equalized value and the increment actually generated by the value assigned by the assessor. Motion passed.

Jeff Farnsworth, representing Lewis and Marion Farnsworth, made a presentation regarding the proposed grant for the façade improvements to the property located at 12–14 E. Main St. The grant would be for 20% of the actual cost of the façade improvements or $6,000, whichever is less. To help revitalize Evansville’s downtown, both storefronts will be restored to the original character of an early 20th century building. Mr. Connors reported the city assessor could not determine the estimated increase in value from this proposed improvement, as noted in the Downtown Economic Development Fund Application. Ald. Hammann stated the value of the property would always increase if the owner invests in improvements.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Hammann, to approve a grant from the Redevelopment Authority to Lewis B. and Marion A. Farnsworth of 20% of the actual costs of facade improvements to 12-14 E. Main St. of $6,000, whichever is less, with payment to be made after the applicants provide the city with documentation of costs actually incurred for the facade improvements. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Mr. Connors distributed a revised Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District #5 Economic Development Fund Program Description and Application (attached). Mr. Connors noted the new criteria for financial assistance and investment listed on page 5 and property loan program listed on page 3. On page 8 of the application, Ald Hammann wants to add assumptions being made in terms of interest rates, estimated tax increment per $1,000 of assessed value, and how long it will take for the city to recover the investment in the project from tax increment revenue. Mr. Connors reported all of his suggestions will be presented to Redevelopment Authority on February 28, 2006.

Unfinished Business.
Motion by Cothard, seconded by Wessels, to remove from the table the motion to authorize commencement of a condemnation action to acquire additional right of way on the south side of USH 14 for a drive-by lane opposite J. Lindemann Dr. and to authorize the City Administrator to hire legal counsel recommended by the City Attorney to represent the city in the condemnation action. Motion passed.

Mr. Connors reported the city has had very fruitful discussion with the developers and thought we would have received an application for annexation by now. That is why the first reading of the annexation ordinance was put on the agenda. But the city has not yet received the annexation petition. Mr. Berg reported that the necessary information for the application was not exchanged in a timely manner. The owner was out of town, and his subordinates did not complete the application. Ald. Cothard recommended city give the developers 30 more days before the city spends money on condemnation. Ald. Aikman and Wessels recommended setting a drop-dead date.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Hammann, to table motion until the next regular Council meeting. Motion passed.

New Business.
Motion by Hammann, seconded by Wessels, not to adopt Resolution #2006-4, requesting the United States President and its military personnel to continue the fight in Iraq until unquestioned victory is clearly won. If the Common Council does not adopt the resolution, the question of whether to adopt the resolution will be placed on the ballot for the April 2006 election. Motion passed.

Motion by Hammann, seconded by Cothard, to approve an agreement between the owner, developers, and City of Evansville regarding annexation of land owned by Larson Acres, Inc. Mr. Connors reported this agreement combines conditions needed to pay for the new bridge on Porter Rd. and the developer’s promise to pay for costs of reviewing the annexation petition into a single document. Motion passed.

Motion by Aikman, seconded by Cothard, to approve Conflict Waiver regarding simultaneous representation by Consigny, Andrews, Hemming & Grant of Don Helgesen and the City.

Attorney Kopp reported he represents the city; and Consigny, Andrews, Hemming & Grant, S.C. represent Donald Helgesen, one of the two principals of D & D Development. The city and D & D Development maybe in opposing positions where negotiating for interest in land owned by D & D Development. Thus, all parties must be advised on a potential conflict of interest and understand their rights regarding their relationship between the city and D & D Development. Consigny, Andrews, Hemming & Grant, S.C. may continue to represent the City of Evansville and Donald Helgesen of D & D Developments if both parties sign the Conflict Waiver and believe that their interests will not be adversely affected if the law firm represents both parties.

Motion passed.

Introduction of New Ordinances.
First reading of Ordinance #2006-4, Rezoning territory from Residential District One (R-1) to Community Business District (B-3).

First reading of Ordinance #2006-5, Amending the Municipal Code relative to parkland dedications.

Closed Session.
Motion by Aikman, seconded by Roberts, to convene in closed session pursuant to Sec. 19.85(1)(c), Wis. Stats., considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governing body has jurisdiction or authority, and 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 (1) discuss potential disposition of public real property along Exchange St. and possible acquisition of real property along S. Madison St., (2) discuss possible uses of tax increment from a potential new industrial tax incremental district, and (3) review the city administrator’s performance. Motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote at 8:50 PM.

The Council recessed until 8:55 PM, and then proceeded with the closed session.

Adjournment.
Motion by Anderson, seconded by Hammann, to adjourn the meeting at 9:37 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.