Com of the Whole Mts

Minutes of the Com of the Whole meeting held on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 pursuant to notice duly given.

1. Meeting called to order at 6 p.m. by Mayor Nerenhausen.
2. Roll call: Mayor Nerenhausen, Ed Young, Ken Exferd, John Wittkopf, Al Schreiber, Joe Stiloski, Marlene Zahn, Dick Doeren, Tom Fulton, Jim Stiloski, Jack Maas and Atty. Mraz. Linda Belongia Administrator also present and as recording secretary.
3. Mayor asked that the agenda be amended to move items b, h and g before a.
Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Zahn to approve of the agenda as amended.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 10 ayes

4. Public appearances/correspondence: Copy of county ordinance regarding Clean Air; Legislative bulletins and minutes from the previous month’s meetings;
5. Discussion/recommendation on:
b. Kevin Hamann, Administrative Coordinator for Oconto County explained the County Library Services Plan; Hamann stated this recently adopted plan replaces the 1976 plan; county wants to make sure all communities participate, which the City of Oconto already does; we already have complied with everything the county’s new plan is requests; Maas asked if any future changes for the library would have to be negotiated between the city and county? Hamann stated yes; Zahn questioned what would towns have to contribute? Hamann estimated $8,000 each; Wittkopf questioned what happens if some townships participate and some don’t? Hamann stated the incentive is the townships will be exempt from the county library tax same as the city is if they have the county’s library service plan in place;
Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Schreiber to recommend to Council adoption of the County’s Library Services Plan.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

h. Moved by Fulton seconded by Doeren to accept recommendation from Plan Commission and recommend to Council adoption of ordinance amending the sign ordinance.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

g. Dale Carper, Police Chief present for discussion on recommendation from Bd. of Public Works to erect “Right Turn Only” signs on Main Street @ Brazeau Avenue for East and West bound traffic; Carper stated he has concerns on the changes now, we will be going through construction in this area, will be confusing to the motorists…asking for further consideration before doing this; Discussion;
Moved by Maas seconded by Jim Stiloski to return this back to the Bd of
Public Works for further study.

Zahn questioned numbers on handout provided by Chief, were they generated when all traffic was going through this area? Carper stated yes;
Jim Stiloski agrees with Chief; Exferd stated he brought this issue to the Bd of Public Works after seeing incidents almost daily with signs up, last three days shows they are working; Maas agreed with need more time to study;
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.
8 ayes 2 no: Exferd and Wittkopf

Mayor stated we will have the signs taken down as you need ordinance to enforce signs.

a. Discussion on recommendation from Wage & Personnel that an ordinance be created that starting 1/1/2011 all seasonal employees be city residents;
Belongia read aloud memo from Kale Proksch, Park & Rec Director on how such an ordinance will affect his dept with seasonal hirings; just advertised for campground manager, only six applications received, only one applicant lives in the city of Oconto…for the manager’s position what defines city resident…having the manager live on site at the campground for the six months it’s open, does this qualify? On having enough certified lifeguards Proksch stated in his memo that he contact the high school teacher and asked how many students were taking the class…two to three students of which one already has been a seasonal employee, but is a non-resident;

Moved by Maas to refer the recommendation back to Wage & Personnel and have a meeting with the department heads as to how such an ordinance will affect them.

Wittkopf stated the Bond Center is also offering life guard classes so finding life guards should be no problem;

Fulton stated he understood the seasonal positions should first be offered to city residents, and then after that non-residents could be hired;

Jim Stiloski stated Mike Werner stated he always had responsible students working for him at the Dairy Queen, also posted a want ad on the bulletin board at school; Stiloski stated the city department heads don’t advertise on this board, to let students know what is available; Stiloski stated he spoke with Proksch a lot and some of our full time coaches are city employees, we now have more than a year to bring this into compliance;

Motion by Maas to refer the recommendation back to Wage & Personnel and have a meeting with the department heads as to how such an ordinance will affect them was seconded by Doeren.

Wittkopf stated this has been bounced back for awhile…now have one year…;

Mayor questioned seasonal position of surveyors…where will we find these?

Maas stated we need further time to study this;

Zahn stated she would agree with Fulton’s suggestion;

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.
6 ayes: Schreiber, Joe Stiloski, Zahn, Doeren, Fulton and Maas.
4 no: Young, Exferd, Wittkopf and Jim Stiloski.

c. Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Fulton to accept recommendation from
Wage & Personnel to offer the full-time position of Director of Public
Service to Robert J. Mommaerts, P.E. contingent that he physically moves into the city within six months.

Young stated he thought we were going to look at consulting vs full time, what difference would that be? Maas referenced what ordinance states, that the Director of Public Service position must be a professional engineer…would take an ordinance change to have that deleted…should visit that ordinance in the future; Young questioned what is physically moving into city…a pup tent? Atty. Mraz stated our code doesn’t allow for pup tents as residency; Schreiber stated we have bounced this position around for a couple of years; unfortunately we have another project before us; at past Wage & Personnel meeting Mr. Mommaerts stated if he was given the position he would move in…realize the timing is poor, but to bring someone else who doesn’t know the city…we have been very poor on getting this resolved…reference what we paid Mr. Mommaerts and if we would hire a consulting firm, we would have spent much more; recommends we stay status quo…stating Mr. Mommaerts has been doing a good job, except for one problem, but there are others to look at why that happened as well; Zahn stated at the W&P meeting the vote was 3 ayes 2 no on recommending this; Schreiber stated the vote at W&P brought this to the committee level for discussion…to send back to W&P would be foolish; Fulton stated he can’t agree more with the motion which is why he seconded it…problem that happened, blame could have been spread around…after having worked with him, his knowledge of the city, and being a competent engineer…; Zahn stated during the interview, Mr. Mommaerts suggested we look at bringing in an interim to work with him;
Jim Stiloski stated Mr. Mommaerts is running for office; Atty. Mraz stated if Mr. Mommaerts wins the election he will have to choose which position he wants;

Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.
6 ayes: Exferd, Wittkopf, Schreiber, Doeren, Fulton and Maas;
3 no: Young, Zahn and Jim Stiloski and 1 abstaining: Joe Stiloski.

Joe Stiloski stated he abstained because Mr. Mommaerts is running against him and he feels it’s a conflict of interest. Atty. Mraz disagreed and stated it is not appropriate for Joe Stiloski to abstain. Joe Stiloski voted aloud aye for the motion.

Motion carried 7 ayes 3 no.

d. Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Maas to accept recommendation from Bd. of Public Works that issuance of citations pursuant to Municipal Code Sec 1-2-5 and special charges Sec. 3-2-12 will be enforced for grass cutting, snow removal, etc.

Discussion. Maas stated when the citations need to be written the Bd. of Public Works are very busy, summer or winter; Schreiber questioned intention of citation…the charge for what was done? Wittkopf stated citation is a fine for not doing your sidewalk; Atty. Mraz stated that is not the way a citation works, our ordinance has a fee schedule we need to follow;

Maas withdrew his second on the motion.

Exferd stated the citation is for vehicles parked on roadways; Jim Stiloski stated someone who gets a citation has a right to go to municipal court; Doeren questioned why are we charging $65 for removing snow…is not a fair charge is what he hears all the time on this; Schreiber stated when he was on the Bd. of Public Works this same issue was there, the $65 is set high enough, because the city doesn’t want to be in the snow shoveling or grass cutting business;

Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Maas to refer this back to the Bd. of Public Works for further study.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

e. Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Doeren to accept recommendation for Bd. of Public Works to amend ordinance Sec. 6-4-2 defining boulevard or terrace areas.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

f. Discussion on recommendation from Bd. of Public Works to approve of turning off the flashing signal lights on McDonald Street and installing stop signs;
Maas stated he would like to see what will happen in the summer time to help children going back and forth to the pool; Doeren stated he has been living on this corner for 14 years…has seen many things…had discussion with Jim Shallow, postal employee who feels traffic is doing faster now with new hwy open…agree wait till after summer to see what will happen; Wittkopf stated the Bd. of Public Works will not take out the lights;

Moved by Maas seconded by Doeren to table the issue of turning off the flashing signal lights on McDonald Street for more study after the summer season to see what happens at this intersection.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

i. Moved by Fulton seconded by Schreiber to accept recommendation from Plan Commission and recommend to Council approval of CSM submitted by Paul Shallow for Paul LeTourneau contingent that the requested changes by Mark Teuteberg be completed.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

j. Moved by Doeren seconded by Fulton to accept recommendation from Plan Commission and recommend to Council approval of CSM submitted by Paul Shallow for Eric Schanau contingent that the requested changes by Mark Teuteberg be completed; that the city proceed with vacating the alley and having Atty. Mraz proceed with getting a release of the west 12’ portion lying north of Lamkey Street.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

k. Moved by Doeren seconded by Wittkopf to recommend to Council approval of extension of the noise ordinance to allow for music to be played until midnight for the annual Matt Pagel Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Outing, August 14th, 2010.
Jim Stiloski commends Ms. Van Hecke on getting the request in ahead of time; Schreiber stated concern on extending the ordinance, we shouldn’t make ordinances to fit situations…there are still people living in these areas…if somebody is responsible, will allow for something’s…if not, the police will be called; look at situations…let police determine; Zahn stated the extension will be for music; Schreiber stated if we extend the noise ordinance…; Jim Stiloski again commended Ms. Van Hecke for following what we told her to do last year.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

l. Moved by Jim Stiloski seconded by Zahn to recommend to Council to place on file the report of the Board of Canvassers from the Spring Primary Election.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

m. Discussion on the lease between the City of Oconto and Oconto Kiwanis Club for the rental storage units on city property near the Evergreen Water Tower.
Mayor stated the question is the amount of liability insurance the lease requires…Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce and Jaycee’s cover the insurance premium which is running over $800 per year, they are asking for that amount to be reduced; Wittkopf stated is the amount set by ordinance? Atty. Mraz stated the amount was set when the lease was approved by the council; Maas questioned what is definition on insurance coverage; Wittkopf stated why doesn’t city sell the property; Discussion.
Moved by Schreiber seconded by Fulton to table this and have on April Com of the Whole meeting.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 9 ayes 1 no Zahn

n. Moved by Maas seconded by Jim Stiloski to recommend Council approval of the Mayor’s appt of Terri Berth to the Promotions Committee.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

o. Finance committee tabled action on Tax Exempt properties.

p. Moved by Maas seconded by Doeren to accept recommendation from Finance and recommend to Council approval of Change Order #1 on Contract OC-09-H Public Works Building renovation decreasing the contract price by $5,224.38 having the city purchase some materials saving the sales tax.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

q. Moved by Maas seconded by Fulton to accept recommendation from Finance and recommend to Council approval of the rental of a Tub Grinder for stumps and misc material at an estimated cost of $9,600 which has been budgeted in the Street Maintenance budget.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote.
8 ayes 2 no: Joe Stiloski and Jim Stiloski
r. Moved by Zahn seconded by Fulton to accept recommendation from Finance and recommend to Council approval of the listing of accts payables for $1,335,949.16; payroll for $105,170.30 and financial reports as presented.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

s. Moved by Schreiber seconded by Wittkopf to recommend to Council approval of an operators license for applications received contingent upon completion of the required beverage training course.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

6. Mayor stated the committee may vote to convene into Closed Session pursuant to notice duly given and as allowed by Wis. Stats. 19.85[1][e] for discussion on recommendation from Industrial Development Commission regarding a loan to RLF # 2010-02.
Moved by Wittkopf seconded by Schreiber to convene into Closed Session at 7:08 p.m.
Motion carried upon verbal roll call vote. 10 ayes

Closed Session

7. Moved by Jim Stiloski seconded by Fulton to reconvene into Open Session at 7:14 p.m.
Motion carried upon verbal voice vote. 10 ayes

8. Moved by Jim Stiloski seconded by Wittkopf to recommend to Council approval of a loan to RLF # 2010-02 for $150,000 at 4% interest amortized over 16 years with a balloon due in three years.
Motion carried upon electronically recorded vote. 10 ayes

9. Mayor stated on March 9th, 2010 will be a Public Hearing and Regular Council meeting.
Moved by Maas seconded by Wittkopf to adjourn. M/C
Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.

Minutes submitted by
Linda M. Belongia Administrator