Annual Meeting — Minutes

TOWN of BELVIDERE ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 16, 2024 – 7 PM COCHRANE VFW POST 10406 Chairman Ron Speltz called the 2024 Annual Meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The Annual meeting was noticed in the Buffalo County News on April 4, 2024 and also posted at the Town Shed Bulletin Board and Cochrane VFW Bulletin Board. Attending the meeting were all Board Members, appointed Clerk and Treasurer, 7 resident and 2 non-residents. Copies of 2023 Annual Meeting minutes, 2023 Financial Reports, Herold Cemetery Report, and 2024 2-YEAR Road Plans reports were made available. The Minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting were presented in lieu of reading. Sandy Michaels made a motion to approve with Shawn Squires seconding after spelling correction noted for “BROADBAND” on page two. Motion carried. The 2023 Financial Report was presented in lieu of summarizing. Sherry Lorenz made a Motion to approve and Brian Michaels seconded. Motion carried. ASSOCIATION REPORTS: SCENIC VALLEY EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE – Director Ron Olson reported that SVEMS had 102 calls with 33 non-transports. They lost a valued member last year – Al Kochenderfer. Last year they mailed out 800 recruitment fliers with only 1 reply. They have 21 members with 19 being active. The new chairlift purchased is in use now. They continue to fundraise for a planned new Ambulance in 2026. It will replace a 2016 ambulance with 20,000 miles. Scenic Valley is requesting an additional $125,000 from Municipalities for this purchase. Buffalo County Sheriff Mike Osmond – Annual update from the County: • Calls for service: 35280 Sheriff’s Office calls: 16,882 service calls • 3878 traffic stops; 644 citations; goal is to keep roadways safe, not issue citations • Final statistics are not in but it may me a 10 year low for traffic crashes • Jail: 368 bookings; 209 non-residents and 159 residents • Traffic stops: 291traffic stops in Town of Milton; 43 driving complaints • Drug testing in the jail: only 14% of persons arrested were clean, with no controlled substances in their system. This correlates with 14/106 people who were involved in victim crimes were clean, meaning that drugs/alcohol are impacting crimes with victims. Goals for 2024 include: • Continue drug testing and attempt to bring in additional grant money for various law enforcement activities; • Add a drug detection dog, bringing the total to 2; • Continue the traffic safety grant for additional enforcement, with advance notice to the public; Next National Night Out will be August 6th at Gilmanton. • Increase the number of FLOCK cameras county-wide to assist with tracking down vehicles involved in crimes. He would like all municipalities to consider contributing funds to purchase ($3,500) and maintain ($3,000 per year) at least one camera in the municipality. Scenic Valley Swimming Pool – Sherry Lorenz – presented the 2024 Budget and Financial Report. She noted the pool was closed only 1 day due to weather. They employed 11 Youth and wages were raised. They are requesting from the Town of Belvidere the same $3,000 donation. City of Fountain City wants to join and City of Alma will be joining for swimming lessons. Fundraisers are being utilized with good results. The Pool is going strong! TRI-COMMUNITY FIRE DEPARTMENT – Fire Chief Matthew Biesterveld reported there were 10 runs for 8.5 hrs. in Town of Belvidere. Membership total is 27. BBC&M RECYCLING/LANDFILL – Ron Kazmierczak reported that BBC&M has contracted with Waste Transport (Cyrus) and is working great. Hours are Tuesdays – 3 pm to 7 pm and Saturdays - 8 am to 1 pm. They are having discussions with DNR concerning resolving regulations for the bottom burn permit area. HEROLD CEMETERY – Curtis Noll, Treasurer, provided a written financial report for the Cemetery. He requested $2,500 from the Town of Belvidere for operating next year. The Cemetery has received more private donations last year. Next week will be their Annual Meeting to elect new officers All reports were accepted into record by the Town of Belvidere. Matt Biesterveld made a motion to give the Township “AUTHORITY TO BORROW” for emergency situations – no limit. Sherry Lorenz seconded the motion. Motion carried. Brian Michaels made a motion to set the 2025 ANNUAL MEETING for the 3rd Tuesday in April (April 15, 2025). Matt Biesterveld seconded the motion. Motion carried. 2-YR Road Plan: Ron Speltz presented the plan. He summarized the planned 2024 road work and is hopeful for TRIP (LRIP) funding for blacktopping Foegen Road and finishing delayed railroad area repair. Maintenance of numerous roads with Seal Coating is also planned. Last year the Town of Belvidere amended their ATV/UTV Ordinance to change the hours of operation to 5 am to 10 pm year-round. This was for uniformity within Buffalo County. Comprehensive Land Use Plan – Briar Golden, Buffalo County, has sent out a Questionnaire to all community members to move forward with countywide changes. Belvidere will also be working on revising our plan for ANR, industry and subdivision homes. New Discussion - BRANDBAND – Shawn Squires from CCT: Last year’s plan for BROADBAND expansion to finish the northern portion of Belvidere by CCT has been blocked by TDS. TDS has opted to enhance this area themselves but has also requested a 6-year extension to complete. This long delay is very unfortunate since this area is very much in need of better service. At this time no further action will be taken by CCT to provide Broadband. At 7:55 pm, Matt Biesterveld made a motion to close the Annual Meeting with Ben Hillig seconding the motion. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Deborah M Ruff Deborah M Ruff, Town Clerk