Bd of Public Works Minutes from 1/29/09 meeting

Minutes of the Oconto Board of Public Works committee meeting held on Monday,
January 26, 2009

1. Meeting called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chairperson Hayes
2. ROLL CALL: Ron Hayes, Lloyd Heier, John Wittkopf, Scott Stewart and Mike Destache
Also present: Bob Mommaerts, Jeremy Wusterbarth and Mayor Nerenhausen
3. Moved by Wittkopf second by Heier to approve agenda as presented upon moving Item (7e) up in order of discussion.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
4. Moved by Heier second by Stewart to approve and place on file the minutes from the December 29th, 2008 meeting.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
5. PUBLIC INPUT: None
Request from Heier to discuss Item (7e) at this time as Sue Schmidt and Diana Ozechowski were present for discussion;
7e) Maintenance of Alley between 3rd & 4th Streets, Maple & Willow Avenues;
Request was made from Heier to have as an agenda item; Heier stated he asked city attorney whether or not it was our responsibility to maintain alley; Two people were considering putting garage doors in and would require access from the alley…if alley is open we must maintain like the other alleys in the city that are open; Wittkopf stated his problem with this issue is that this alley was never used in winter before…others are maintained because they have garages; Heier stated there will be garages; Wittkopf stated this is just a rebel act…should not come to city that way; Heier questioned how can we say they can’t use it? Wittkopf stated they can put a garage up and then we’ll see about maintaining it; Schmidt stated the property owner who wanted the alley left open because he uses it, doesn’t even have a garage; Stewart questioned who wanted the alley left open? Wittkopf stated a few wanted it open; Schmidt stated that majority should rule…State policy overrules city ordinance; Heier stated it does not; Hayes stated he’s worried about how much would be involved keeping alley maintained…what does Mayor want? The Mayor stated the policy is that if anyone wants the alley open, we can’t abandon it; Stewart stated this is a senseless policy…if nobody is going to use it, why keep it open; Hayes questioned what if people get a permit to put in garage doors, then what....they can’t be denied permits; Mommaerts stated because the city doesn’t get any state aid for alleys, there should be a user fee for maintenance; Wusterbarth questioned if policy can be changed, take back to council and vacate; Mayor stated if one person needs it, have to keep open, majority doesn’t rule, have to honor needs of people who requested to have it open; Hayes stated we are just going around in circles…allow council to consider all these aspects; Mayor stated we could create a policy that the maintenance of alleys gets assessed back to owners; Heier stated if we’re doing it for some people, doesn’t think Council will approve; Wusterbarth stated to just change policy so we can at least get this one vacated and then add on to policy from there; Mommaerts stated change policy so that majority rules;
Moved by Stewart second by Heier to recommend to Council to change policy in regards to vacating alleys;
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes

6. CORRESPONDENCE:
a) Oconto County Recycling Reimbursement;
City received check in the amount of $10,842.77 compared to last year’s payment of $1,200.00;
b) League of Municipalities;
Grant programs may be cut, including recycling grants to municipalities;
c) 2008 Budget Review;
Mommaerts presented Public Works expenditures report that showed an overage of $17,735.04, which is good considering the amount of snow removal and the costs of fuel for 2008;
d) MAR-OCO Landfill Totals;
Wusterbarth submitted totals from 2006-2008; Increase in tonnage which indicates people aren’t recycling as well as they should; Already a savings of $2100.00 since removing dumpsters from recycling center;
e) Vacations;
Mommaerts submitted a listing of the amounts each employee receives to show how much time is lost to vacations and holidays each year;
7. DISCUSSION/RECOMMENDATION ON THE FOLLOWING:
a) Bidder’s Proof of Responsibility;
Mommaerts stated upon talking to the city attorney, in order to disqualify a bidder they have to pre-qualify by completing a bidder’s proof of responsibility form; Mommaerts stated that doesn’t mean much because you’d still have to prove that the bidder is not responsible or responsive; If it would restrict bidders it would be worth it, otherwise it’s just a lot of extra paper work;
b) 2009 Projects;
Mommaerts submitted outline of 2008 costs to date and 2009 street construction budget; $57,380.00 is remaining from the 2008 budget and there is $224,766.00 in the 2009 budget;
Moved by Wittkopf second by Heier to approve 2009 construction budget.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
c) Goodwill Drop-off Center;
Letter from Patrick Virtues in reference to conversation with Mommaerts regarding having a drop-ff center at the county recycling center rather than the city recycling center; Mommaerts was concerned with county residents coming into city recycling center to donate; Virtues stated a shed could be placed at the county site but hoped the city would reconsider to allow non-residents to drop-off donated items, specifically on Saturdays when the county site is closed;
Moved by Heier second by Stewart to keep Goodwill Drop-Off Center at city recycling center;
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
d) ATV Ordinance Final Draft;
Mommaerts asked if any committee members would like to comment as this ordinance will affect the city streets; Mayor stated that an ATV ordinance was introduced at State level, but nothing was passed so the ATV Ad Hoc Committee has been pushing to have an ordinance; Hayes stated once an ordinance is in place then the city will have something to enforce; Wittkopf questioned the age of the operator… would they have to pass a course… would brake lights and turn signals be required? Mommaerts stated the ATV users should be responsible for paying for and putting up signs; The Mayor stated signs would just have to be posted at the city’s entrances; The Mayor stated we should approve ordinance and let them give it a try…by next year the State Statute will be in place; Wittkopf suggested operators should be required to get a sticker issued by the city to show the vehicle has been properly inspected and equipped...i.e. strobe light, brake lights; Committee members thought that was a good idea;
Moved by Wittkopf second by Heier to refer ATV Ordinance final draft to Council with comments.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
e) Maintenance of Alley between 3rd & 4th Streets, Maple & Willow Avenues;
Already discussed;
f) Bids for Crushing;
Mommaerts submitted list of bidders; DMK, Inc. out of Oconto Falls had lowest bid of $4.03 per cubic yard/ $3.10 per ton;
Moved by Wittkopf second by Heier to recommend to Council to accept proposal for crushing from DMK, Inc.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
Review accounts payable reports;
Moved by Stewart second by Destache to approve the reviewed accounts payable reports.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
9) Moved by Stewart second by Destache to approve the reviewed revenue/expense guidelines.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 5 ayes
10) Report approval of attendance of seminars/meetings/conferences.
11) Next meeting: Monday, February 23rd, 2009 @ 6:00 p.m.
12) Moved by Wittkopf second by Heier to adjourn. M/C
Meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.


Minutes taken by
Carol Stewart
Deputy Clerk/Treasurer