Evansville Common Council--August 14, 2007

Common Council
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, August 14, 2007, 6:30 p.m.
City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, WI

Minutes

Call to order. Mayor Decker called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Roll Call. Members present: Chair Mayor Decker; Alderpersons Mason Braunschweig, Tom Cothard, Barb Jacobson, Fred Juergens, Diane Roberts, John Sornson, Dennis Wessels, and Tony Wyse. Staff present: Dan Wietecha, City Administrator; Mark Kopp, City Attorney; Sandra Lindemann, Deputy City Clerk; Dave Wartenweiler, Public Works Director; and several members of the community.

Approval of Agenda. Braunschweig made a motion, seconded by Roberts to approve the agenda. Motion carries.

Approval of Minutes. Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts to waive the reading of the minutes of July 10, 2007, regular meeting and July 24, 2007, special meeting and approve them as printed.

Citizen Appearances.

S.O.L.E. Committee. Gil Wiedenhoeft recognized the number of people in attendance from the SOLE Committee favoring a proposed fund transfer for the Lake.

ECP. Karen Bass thanked the community for a successful 4th of July. She distributed a handout with updates from the Evansville Community Partnership.

Westside Stormwater Concerns. Citizens that addressed the Council included: Steve Mauch, 571 S 6th Street; Stephanie Gifford, 579 S 6th Street; Shawn Kerns 587 S 6th Street; Jim Brooks, 563 S 6th Street; Mark Schnepper, 547 S 6th Street; John Jones, 531 S 6th Street; Nancy Brooks, 563 S 6th Street; Dale Neild, 605 S 6th Street; Charles Deaton, 584 S 6th Street; Matt Gaboda, 552 S 6th Street and Brent Schroeder, 619 Emmanuel Ct. Citizen comments focused on the amount of water in their yards, runoff, sediment deposits, concern for public safety due to the depth of the water, and protecting their investments. Water in the basements was not an issue for the majority; however foundation damage was a concern. The general feeling being that the water has been a problem, will continue to be one and needs to be fixed.

Braunschweig asked Dave Sauer to respond to questions in regard to whether this problem will be worse with more development, is the 100 year event wrong and is it normal for a retention pond to hold water for 7 days. In regard to the design he explained that public projects are designed to protect people, their assets and are for the welfare of the people. The statistical measure of a 100 year event is the industry standard and is based on actual historic data. He feels that the intensity of the rainfall instead of the amount of rainfall is also a factor in this case. He stated there are things that can be done to fix the drainage problems at southgate pond.

Roger Berg stated that the v-plate will be repaired and they will be participating in the correction of the problem.

Reports of Committees.

Plan Commission Report.

Roberts presented the First Reading of Ordinance 2007-11, Amending the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan in Response to Development Application #2007-14. [Designating Every property within City limits as Walkable Neighborhood]. [Applicant initiated ordinance, sponsors not required]

Roberts presented the First Reading of Ordinance 2007-12, Amending the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan in Response to Applications #2007-18 and #2007-19. [Plan Commission initiated ordinance, sponsors not required].

Motion by Roberts, second by Juergens to approve final CSM for Rolland Propst (Application 2007-4), as revised by Plan Commission. Motion approved unanimously.

Finance and Labor Relations Committee Report.

Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve W & L bills and authorize their payment in the amount of $748,558.02. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve City bills and authorize their payment in the amount of $1,337,840.21. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve Resolution 2007-30, Amending the Adopted 2006 and Adopted 2007 Budgets to Include Appropriations for Capital Project Carry Forwards. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve Resolution 2007-31, Approving Mid-Year Amendments to the 2007 Budget. Discussion focused on the amendment involving the Lake Leota Dredging Project and to clarify that the change would not be taking away from other park projects. Motion approved on a 7-1 roll call vote with Cothard opposing.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve revised Personnel Policies and Employee Handbook. Motion approved unanimously.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve amendment of Finance Director-Treasurer Eric Jepperson’s contract. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve changing the City’s dental insurance to the Delta Dental Premier Plan. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.
Motion by Cothard, second by Roberts to approve naming Dave Mosher & Associates as agent of record for the City’s dental insurance. Motion approved unanimously.




Public Safety Committee Report.

Class “B” Beer/”Class B” Liquor application for Bernardo J. Morice withdrawn; no action necessary.
Roberts made a motion, second by Sornson to approve the Class “B” Beer/”Class B” Liquor application for Julie A. Meredith, 233 Franklin Street, Evansville, WI 53536, dba The Exchange, 7 East Main Street, Evansville, WI 53536 contingent upon being in operation within 90 days. There was discussion in regard to the 90 days and Braunschweig made a motion, second by Wyse to amend the motion by replacing 90 days with 120 days. Amendment approved unanimously. Motion, as amended, approved unanimously.

Public Works Committee Report. Braunschweig reported that they worked on the budget and they will be working on the Westside water problem.

Water & Light Committee Report. None at this time.

Economic Development Committee Report. Decker mentioned that they are working with Judy Whalen. Focus groups are going to be held 2 days the week of August 27th. The date for the Economic Summit is September 22nd.

Redevelopment Authority Report.

Allen Creek Redevelopment Master Plan – open house presentation August 21. Wietecha noted that this will be a chance to let the public know status of report as well as to gain additional input from the public. The meeting will be at 7:30 during the regular meeting.

Parks and Recreation Board Report. None at this time.

Historic Preservation Commission Report. None at this time.

Fire District Report. Wietecha stated the closing will be scheduled by the end of October.

Police Commission Report. Wietecha stated that the Commission at their hearing on July 30th dismissed charges against Officer Fields.

Unfinished Business.

Second reading and motion to approve Ordinance 2007-9. Cothard made a motion, second by Braunschweig to approve Ordinance 2007-9, Amending Chapter 130 of the Municipal Code by Establishing Standards for Traditional Neighborhood Developments, as revised by Plan Commission. There was discussion to clarify that this ordinance would apply to new subdivisions zoned Traditional Neighborhood Development only. Decker stated that this is an action item in the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan. Motion approved unanimously.

Second reading and motion to approve Ordinance 2007-10. Cothard made a motion, second by Braunschweig to approve Ordinance 2007-10, Amending Chapter 18 and 130 of the Municipal Code Relating to Fences, as revised by Plan Commission. Sornson questioned whether this applied to existing fences and Decker referenced a portion of Attachment A of the Ordinance that states all fences constructed or rebuilt after August 14, 2007, are subject to the provisions of this Section. The revisions by Plan Commission were discussed. Braunschweig made a motion, second by Sornson to amend the motion by changing the sentence in Section 2, lines 27-28 to read: Typical materials include but may not be limited to wood, concrete, metal, wire, masonry, or stacked rocks. Amendment approved unanimously. Motion, as amended, approved unanimously.

Communications and Recommendations from the Mayor.

Strategic Planning Sessions. Decker confirmed the fall strategic planning session for Common Council and City Department Heads from 8:00 to 2:00 on Saturday, October 13, at Bank of Evansville.

Resolution 2007-32. Decker informed Council that a resolution was requested by County Supervisor Steve Eager to support increased railroad funding to handle increased traffic due to the types of industry that are coming into the county. Juergens made a motion, second by Roberts to approve Resolution #2007-32, Supporting Railroad Preservation, Restoration, Improvement and Expansion Programs. Motion approved unanimously.

Mayoral Proclamation. Decker shared with Council the Mayoral Proclamation for Lee Ringhand’s 90th Birthday. Mr. Ringhand is a lifetime resident of Evansville.

Decker added: 1) job reviews for the City Administrator are needed from some Council Members and 2) she has learned that the state budget is going very slowly.

Communications from the City Administrator.

Resolution 2007-33. Juergens made a motion, second by Roberts to approve Resolution 2007-33, Designating Authorized Parties to Sign for Transactions Involving City Bank Accounts and Investments. Motion approved unanimously on a roll call vote.

Claim of Brianna Sheffield. Wietecha explained the timeline for responding to the claim, the recommendation to disallow the claim from our insurance carrier Aegis Corporation and the claim itself. Juergens made a motion, second by Sornson to disallow claim of Brianna Sheffield against the City of Evansville Pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes. Motion approved unanimously.

Zoning Code Enforcement. The discussion focused on the issuance of building permits, in particular who is qualified to issue the permits and ultimately who is responsible for follow up. Several suggestions were made on how to review the ordinance and procedures including sending it to Public Works to work on, having Wietecha and Wartenweiler provide preliminary plans, or to analyze it at the Strategic Planning Session. Decker ultimately instructed Public Works to do the review and then place it on the next Council Agenda.

Development Agreement with Evansville Hotel Group, LLC. Wietecha stated the intent of the discussion on this item is to have a fairly straight forward development agreement in place for the September meeting. The developers are looking to purchase a vacant lot owned by Landmark in TID #6. They are requesting a $270,000 grant for development incentive in TIF funds and a $50,000 low interest loan for working capital. They are hoping to break ground this fall. Investigation is necessary to determine how lot was assessed for the lift station. Evansville needs this type of business; the project needs TIF funding to make it happen.

New Business. Cothard stated the Leauge of Municipalities Conference is early, being the first week of October and registrations should be handed in to Jodi Sam as soon as possible.

Introduction of New Ordinances.

Braunschweig noted the first reading of Ordinances 2007-11 and 2007-12 had been addressed under Plan Commission report.

Braunschweig presented the first reading of Ordinace 2007-13, Restricting Parking, Standing and Stopping During Specified Hours on South First Street. [Sponsors Roberts and Wessels].

Adjournment. Braunschweig made a motion, second by Roberts to adjourn at 9:28 p.m. Motion approved unanimously.



Prepared by:
Judy Walton
City Clerk

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