July 13

COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 1 CITY OF OCONTO FALLS COMMON COUNCIL Council Chambers – Municipal Building 500 N. Chestnut Avenue - Oconto Falls, WI 54154 TUESDAY – JULY 13, 2021 - 7:00 PM MINUTES Meeting called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Brad Rice Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Present: Mayor Brad Rice, Aldermen: Marty Coopman, Jeff McDonald, Mathew McDermid, and Ashley Bahrke Also present: Administrator Vicki Roberts, Deputy Clerk Nancy Brye, Street Superintendent Terry Magnin, and Fire Chief Tim Magnin Excused: Aldermen: Tim Holman and Devin Wirtz, City Attorney Larry Jeske, and Police Chief Brad Olsen Others: Michelle Tester, JoAnna and Max Buhrandt, Jon Spice, Gail Yatso, and Greg Pitel- KerberRose Approval of Minutes – Common Council Meeting on June 8, 2021. MOTION: McDermid / Coopman Motion to approve the minutes as presented for the Common Council Meeting on June 8, 2021. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED Treasurer’s Report – May MOTION: McDermid / Bahrke Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented for May and place on file. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED Bills Payable – June MOTION: McDermid / Coopman Motion to approve the Bills Payable as presented for June. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED Reports: written reports submitted  Administrator Report  Police Department Report COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 2  Municipal Court Report  Fire Department Report Verbally added: Two (2) lieutenant positions have been filled by Michael Elliott and Dave Alsteen.  Street Department Report  Building Inspector Report  Utility Commission Report/Minutes MOTION: McDonald / Bahrke Motion to place monthly reports on file. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL – no citizen in-put DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ANY OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING: Public Correspondence:  Oconto Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Run for the Trails event. Old Business: A. Kabota lawn mower. McDermid explained we have two (2) options on what to do with the old Kabota lawn mower. 1) We could sell it with the bad motor and probably get $500; or 2) we could spend approximately $5,200 to fix it and either sell it or use it. If repaired, it would be worth between $7,000 - $8,000. One can typically get 3,500 hours on this type mower; whereas this mower only has 800 hours on it so far. Even though neither the Street Department nor Utility has a need for another mower; Council felt it would be advantageous to fix the mower and sell for a higher price. We will contact Service Motors and Beaber Machine to see whoever gives us a better price on a replacement motor. MOTION: McDonald / McDermid Motion to repair the Kabota mower with a new motor. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED B. Consideration of developing an ordinance for trees in the terrace. McDermid presented a tree price list from area grower, Timerline Trees LLC as well as a sample Terrace Tree Application and Forestry Department Manual used by the Village of Little Chute. The proposed idea was to offer suitable trees to our area for residents to purchase at a reduced rate. After purchased, trees would then be planted in the terrace by our Street Department. A specified number of trees would be set for purchase each year and offered on a first come, first serve basis. Council would like the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance similar to information from Little Chute and be brought before the Ordinance Committee. Information to include would be tree types that would be tolerant to salt and slower growing. Street Superintendent will offer direction on rules to be set as to planting location. ITEM TABLED… send to Ordinance Committee COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 3 New Business: A. 2020 Annual Audit Report. Greg Pitel from Kerber Rose summarized audit results performed in December 2020 when internal controls were reviewed and in March 2021 when trial balances and financial statements were reviewed. At the end of 2020, the City’s Fund Balance totaled $1,916,841; of which $1,228,254 is an unassigned general fund balance that is available for cash flow needs and unanticipated or emergency expenditures. The unassigned general fund balance of $1,228,254 is 53.20 percent of general fund revenues which is considered to be very strong fund balance. Pitel also touched on the utility rate of return on operations. The electric and water rate of return is based on the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) regulatory accounting which differs from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The authorized rate of return for the electric and water utilities is 5.50%. The sewer utility is not regulated and thus the sewer rates are set by the City Council. The rates of return in 2020 were lower than the authorized rate of return for the water utilities. This is a potential indicator that the City may need to increase rates to meet current and future cash flows. Council thanked Pitel for his report and had no further questions. MOTION: McDermid / McDonald Motion to accept the 2020 Annual Audit Report from KerberRose as presented and place on file. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED B. Memorial Field Park Rental on August 14, 2021 for Trent Maloney Memorial Baseball Tournament & Scholarship Fundraiser - request for rental fee to be waived. Max Buhrandt presented information regarding the scholarship fundraiser which is being held in memory of his close friend and team member. He asked if Council would consider waiving the rental fee for this event. McDermid made a motion which was seconded by Bahrke to waive the fee but then rescinded when an anonymous donor offered to cover the rental fee. C. Temporary Class B License Application for Oconto Falls Youth Football Inc. to sell malt beverages at the Trent Maloney Memorial Baseball Tournament. Proper application and payment has been filed with the city to obtain the temporary license to sell malt beverages at the event. MOTION: McDonald / Coopman Motion to approve the Temporary Class B License Application for Oconto Falls Youth Football Inc. to sell malt beverages at the Trent Maloney Memorial Baseball Tournament at Memorial Field Park on August 14, 2021. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED D. Operator’s License Application for: 2 yr – Crystal R. Berg. The applicant has completed the Beverage Server Class and filed proper application with the City to obtain a license. Chief Olsen completed a background check and has signed off on the application. COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 4 MOTION: McDermid / Bahrke Motion to approve the 2 year Operator’s License Application for Crystal R. Berg as presented. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED E. Oconto Falls Area Ambulance Service proposal for Full-Time Critical Care Ambulance Service. Patrick and Angie Ahlgrim gave a presentation at the April Common Council meeting addressing the need for a critical care ambulance service. At that time, Council asked them to prepare a report with more detailed costs and come before the Finance Committee. The Ahlgrims came before the Finance Committee last evening with a proposal for a Full-Time Critical Care Ambulance Service outlining the needs for this service and a financial breakdown with an approximate cost to participating municipalities. The current contract with the City of Oconto Falls is $40,560. Angie explained reasons for the difficulty of being able to give more concrete figures are because they currently do not bill at the critical care level so it unknown and hard to determine what the reimbursements will be at the critical care level. An additional total of approximately $155,980 would be needed from participating municipalities in order to be able to advance the service to a critical care service; $37,382 of this being the City’s portion. This would bring the city’s contract total to approximately $77,942. They wanted to prepare municipalities for the possibility of this increase, but are hopeful figures will come in lower. They will have a better idea after gathering more historical data. The Finance Committee would like to recommend that Council approve the additional $37,382 for a full-time critical care ambulance service in the 2022 contract with the Oconto Falls Area Ambulance Service; with the understanding these funds could come out of the Fund Balance. There were additional questions that Coopman answered regarding participating municipalities and if they opted out, what would this do to us. Coopman explained that the City of Oconto Falls is only 1 vote of the 5 participating municipalities. If any of the other municipalities opt out, they would have to find another service to support their community. The figures presented tonight are approximated. Once the service is up and running, they will give us an update with more concrete information. In 2022 they would like to propose a 5 year contract and would have a better idea as to what the appropriation would be. The contract will have more details to include language of not to exceed a dollar amount. Since there is a lot to do, they would like to start preparations which include paramedic training and medication set up. Council was in agreement to accept the recommendation of the Finance Committee but not to include the fund balance portion. Where the funds come from could be decided when the 2022 Budget is discussed. MOTION: McDermid / McDonald Motion to accept the recommendation of the Finance Committee to approve additional funds not to exceed the amount of $37,382 for a full-time critical care ambulance service in the 2022 contract with the Oconto Falls Area Ambulance Service as presented. Roll Call Vote: McDermid-yes, McDonald-yes, Bahrke-yes, Coopman-yes, Wirtz-absent, Holman-absent - MOTION CARRIED F. East Side Beach. The Finance Committee also discussed issues we are having with a lifeguard shortage at the beach. Pay incentives as well as certification cost reimbursements were discussed. It typically costs $400 COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 5 for lifeguard certification and then recertification has to be done every 2 years. The Bond Center in Oconto offered to provide certification training to us for under $200 per lifeguard as long as we had a minimum of four (4) individuals needing certification. The Finance Committee recommends to Council that effective 7/12/2021, non-certified beach help wages be set at $11.00 per hour and certified lifeguard wages be set at $13.00 per hour; additionally to reimburse 50% of the certification fee per year at the end of the season. MOTION: Coopman / Bahrke Motion to approve the Finance Committee recommendation that effective 7/12/2021, non- certified beach help wages be set at $11.00 per hour and certified lifeguard wages be set at $13.00 per hour; additionally to reimburse 50% of the certification fee per year at the end of the season. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED G. Fee Schedule. There has been an increase with residents requesting the use of city owned picnic tables being delivered to their homes by the Street Department for private functions. The possibility of charging for this service was brought to the Finance Committee and will be discussed this fall. NO ACTION TAKEN H. Resolution 21-007; Gas Line Easement – Cell Tower to Jackson Street. This resolution approves the written easement for We Energies to install an underground gas service from the Cell Tower to Jackson Street. The Street Department, City Attorney, and Utility Department have reviewed the maps and plans and have given their approval of the project. MOTION: McDermid / Coopman Motion to approve Resolution 21-007; Gas Line Easement – Cell Tower to Jackson Street as presented. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED I. Additional dumpster at Recycling Center. Street Superintendent informed that during a meeting with the County in April, they were told the County will no longer accept shredded paper because it gets tangled in the separator. Street Superintendent would like permission to purchase a dumpster for shredded paper only, as he has made arrangements with ST Paper to accept our resident’s shredded paper. ST Paper does not want the dumpster placed at the mill for liability reasons. The City would have to purchase a dumpster and make it available to residents at the recycling center. When the dumpster is full, the Street Department would transport it to ST Paper to be emptied. The most reasonably priced dumpster found was from Roura Material Handling in the amount of $3,424.00 plus shipping costs. COMMON COUNCIL – July 13, 2021 Page 6 MOTION: McDermid / McDonald Motion to approve the purchase of a dumpster in the amount of $3,424.00 plus shipping costs; with funds to come out of fund balance to cover the expense. Voice Vote: All present voting aye - MOTION CARRIED J. Fire Department 10-year plan. Fire Chief presented a 10-year plan and cost exposures for the Fire Department. Yearly breakdowns include: 2020 Total: $ 7,440.00 – full time Fire Chief annual cost, a natural gas detector/meter, 5 sets of turn out gear, and 56 SCBA bottle testing. 2021 Total: $ 8,800.00 – 4 sets of turn out gear and study for fire station space needs & location (this cost was not included in total). 2022 Total: $ 37,600.00 – consultant for fire station design & cost (estimated) and 8 sets of turn out gear. 2023 Total: $ 2,208,800.00 – 4 sets of turn out gear and estimated first payment to start building of a new fire station. 2024 Total: $ 2,523,800.00 – estimated final payment on new fire station, 2 additional members, a rescue unit, 6 sets of turn out gear, and a turn out gear drier. 2025 Total: $ 373,800.00 – 4 sets of turn out gear, replace 1995 Engine 1312, and replace Town of OF 1999 Tender 1311 (which will be covered by the Town). 2026 Total: $ 64,800.00 – replace breathing air compressor, Zodiac boat, 6 sets of turn out gear, and 2 additional members. 2027 Total: $ 234,208.00 – 28 SCBA units with bottles and 4 sets of turn out gear. 2028 Total: $ 120,200.00 – turn out gear wash machine, 4 sets of turn out gear, replace the 1999 4X4 brush truck. 2029 Total: $ 509,200.00 – 4 sets of turn out gear and replace Rescue Engine 1311. 2030 Total: $ 14,700.00 – 2 laptop computers, server, and 4 sets of turn out gear. Future Planning: 2036 – replace tornado siren ($ 21,000.00) 2040 – replace ladder truck ($ 1,400,000.00) 2041 – replace Tender 1312 ($ 350,000.00). Fire Chief mentioned that a large portion of a new fire station building could be covered thru a FEMA grant. Informational Only – no motion made K. Adjournment. Mayor Rice asked if there was any further business before the meeting is adjourned. Having no further business, Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm. ________________________________ City Administrator Vicki A. Roberts