Town Board — Minutes

Town of Little Falls Regular Monthly Board Meeting May 11, 2022 Board members in attendance: Ginnie Follendorf, Treasurer; Tom Stuessel, Supervisor; Bryan Olsen, Chair; Cassie Schober, Clerk; Alan McCoy, Supervisor Chairman Olsen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Then read the agenda. It was asked if everyone had a chance to review the minutes from the April meeting. Alan McCoy made a motion to accept the minutes from the April Meeting. Second by Tom Stuessel. Motion carried. Ginnie Follendorf gave the treasurer’s report. Beginning Balance $ 524,276.64 Monthly Income $ 74,550.34 Monthly Expenses $ 58,864.89 Ending Balance $ 539,962.09 Funds for ARPA are: $58,117.46 which is included in the ending balance. 2022 ARPA funds have not yet been deposited. Tom Stussel made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. Second by Alan McCoy. Motion carried. Chairman Olsen then began the opening of seal coat bids. Scott Construction Bid Information: Price per gallon: $ 4.80 Price per Ton: $28.75 Breakdown of Cost per Road: Casper- $ 2,025.00 Cascade- $ 8,378.25 Canary $ 5,777.50 Academy $ 37,572.50 Aaron $ 36,324.75 Bedford $ 50,336.25 Bassett $ 7,533.75 5.6 miles of Roads Total Bid: $ 147,948.00 Fahrner Bid Information: Price per gallon: $ 4.11 Price per Ton: $49.42 Breakdown of Cost per Road: Casper- $ 2,031.54 Cascade- $ 8,438.82 Canary $ 5,790.28 Academy $ 37,876.10 Aaron $ 36,683.70 Bedford $ 50,913.30 Bassett $ 7,566.90 5.6 miles of Roads Total Bid: $ 149,300.64 Alan McCoy made a motion to accept the bid from Scott Construction for seal coating of 2022 roads in the amount of $4.80 per gallon/$28.75 per ton. Second by Tom Stuessel. Motion Carried. Bid accepted and contract granted to Scott Construction for 2022 seal coating. Chairman Olsen then noted the WTA Unit Meeting will be held on May 19, 2022 in Wilton. Chairman Olsen asked if there was anyone interested in attending the meeting. No interest expressed in attending the meeting. Town of Little Falls Regular Monthly Board Meeting May 11, 2022 Chairman Olsen then addressed the residents in attendance in regards to the concerns with the closing of Cataract Elementary. Bethany Ahnen and Erin Johnson both in attendance to address concerns. It is stated that the Cataract School will be closing per the Board of Education on June 30th, 2022. Its is noted that it was discussed as a possibility by those in the community that perhaps the town could purchase it for use as a community center as it was done in the town of Leon. It is also noted that the school comes with 13 acres of land, it is being looked into to see if this land was donated and by who and what the stipulation was on that. It is also stated that the playground equipment was purchased through a fundraiser help by Cataract PTO. Residents are pursuing a redistricting of school districts through the Department of Public Instruction and they are working on a petition regarding this. At this point in time the top concern is the bussing of the Cataract kids that chose to open enroll to Melrose Mindoro, which is stated is approximately 56 kids. They are requesting a centralized pick-up spot in Cataract in the Sparta Area School District for Melrose transportation to pick up students and transport them to Melrose- Mindoro School. Bethany and Erin state they are requesting a letter of support from the township for this bus pickup. Possibly areas include Cataract Sportsmen’s Club, Cataract School, Big Dan’s Longbranch or the town hall. The next school board meeting is May 24, 2022 at 7 p.m. Discussion incurred on topic. The board stated that the they will see what becomes of the situation and what they could do for right now is to write the letter of support to all school board members. Clerk will draft letter. Chairman Olsen then addressed the Surface Transportation Program funding opportunities. Information packet was given to board members prior to the meeting. Discussion incurred on application process. Applications are due 6/3/22. Upon further discussion it is decided at this time this funding source will not be pursued. Chairman Olsen then went onto the next agenda item of the Old Town Hall. It was voted on at the annual meeting that the board would put the money into the upkeep of the town hall by getting new siding, windows and ramp. At that time, it was determined that Josh Konze would put together some spec information to request for bids. A sample bid spec was passed out and reviewed. William Wadephul spoke up and asked what the old town hall would be used for. The board stated at this time that was no plan to “use” it for anything. It is a historical building and it was voted on at the annual meeting to keep it up. Mr. Wadephul suggested covering windows to prevent vandalism, putting an overhead door in the back that could be used for storage of equipment, petitioning off the inside to use for storage. States he would like to see it utilized for something and made functional. Suggesting some sort of plan be formed. The board makes the decision to table the old town hall topic and revisit when a more formal bid spec is brough to the next meeting. Topic tabled. Board of Review is scheduled for May 27 from 1 p.m – 3 p.m at the Town of Little Falls Town Hall. Chairman Olsen then asked if there was anything else anyone would like to address. Josh Konze and Kevin Schober, patrolmen stated the material containment sides for the new plow truck needs to be purchased to allow the box to be higher to carry an adequate amount of materials in. Josh states he has spoken with Mike Gerdes who made the steel sides for the other plow truck. Discussion incurred on stainless vs wood. Board suggested getting bids/information and they would review. Review of bills. A motion was made to approve the bill listing by Alan McCoy, Second by Tom Stuessel. Motion carried. Next regular board meeting will be June 7, 2022 at 7 p.m. NOTE the change in the day of the week. This will be on a Tuesday. Alan McCoy then made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Second by Tom Stuessel Motion carried. Town of Little Falls Regular Monthly Board Meeting May 11, 2022 Respectfully Submitted, Cassie Schober Town of Little Falls Clerk Attendance: Kevin Schober, Steve Pedersen, Josh Konze, Lee Follendorf, Bethany Ahnen, Erin Johnson, Kevin Schmitz, William Wadephul, Pamela Baker, Cindy Liebl