Board of Supervisors Meeting — Minutes

Town of Milladore Board of Supervisors Meeting May 5, 2025 Minutes Board members present: Ned Ruesch, Joel Kuehnhold, Ron Koziczkowski, Leslianne Ruesch Board members absent: Terri Grassel Citizens present: Mae Linzemeier, Julius Linzemeier, Sally Furo, Dennis Lang, Bob Ashbeck, Jon Empy, Paul Haffenbredl, Les Holtz, Jared Becker The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ned Ruesch with the Pledge of Allegiance. Ned announced we would be handling a quick item for the recycling center, and then opening bids, before moving on to our regularly scheduled meeting, as visitors were in attendance to participate in both of these things. Town of Sherry Supervisor Les Holtz was in attendance to discuss ordering a new bag to sell at the recycling center, as the old ones have increased greatly in price. The board agreed to try the new ones and meet again to discuss how they’re working. The 2025 Road Bids were opened. It was noted that Kafka mistakingly did not send a bid for dust abatement. They were made aware of this and will send it this week. There have never been other bids for dust abatement, and we anticipate accepting the Kafka bid once it is received. The following bids were received for road base: Becker Trucking- ¾ delivered anywhere in town- $12.50 per ton. ½ delivered anywhere in town-$13.00 per ton. 1 ¼ delivered anywhere in town- $12.40 per ton. Worden Enterprises- 1 ¼ WI DOT SPEC delivered anywhere in town- $13.20 per cubic yard. Kafka Road Materials- 1 ¼ delivered anywhere in town- $14.90 per cubic yard. A motion was moved by Ned to accept the bid from Becker Trucking. Seconded by Joel. Motion approved. The following bids were received for granite: Kafka Road Materials- decomposed granite, delivered anywhere in town, $9.55 per cubic yard. Worden Enterprises- delivered granite- $9.62 per cubic yard. A motion was moved by Ned to accept the bid from Kafka. Seconded by Joel. Motion approved. The following bid was received for brushcutting: JJ’s Brush Cutting Service, LLC: Ditch mowing, roadside mowing, and brush cutting: 1 pass in the spring, 3-4 passes in the fall, for a total of $8205. A motion was moved by Ned. Seconded by Joel. Motion approved. The secretary report was read. A motion was moved by Ron to accept. Seconded by Joel. Motion approved. The treasurer report was received. Old Business: Both the Open Book and Board of Review have been held. A new contract was signed with assessor Kurt Moeller. Ron reported that the well will be put in next week. The clerk will be getting help from CPA Bill Bruening to complete this year’s CT report which is due May 15. New Business: A truck that may suit our purpose has been brought to the town hall to look at. Ron and Pat have both looked at it and test driven. There are some concerns about the configuration of the transmission. Ron has reached out to see if it could be programmed to fit our needs. We will continue looking at this and run it through some tests before making any decision. The WTA is hosting the New and Continuing Officials Workshops on Friday, May 16. Ned, Leslianne, Ron, and Joel will be attending. We hope to learn valuable information to bring back to the town. An updated recycling ordinance needs to be passed. The DNR has requested that all ordinances pertaining to recycling be updated at least every 10 years. The clerk has searched, and the town does not have a copy of the original ordinance passed. A motion was moved by Ned that The Town of Milladore enter into an agreement with The Town of Sherry to operate a joint recycling and solid waste center, sharing in all costs, profits, and labor of this. Both town boards will meet when needed to discuss issues. The Town of Sherry will invoice the Town of Milladore monthly for expenses. Motion seconded by Joel. Motion carried. There was discussion as to how the town would pay for a new truck. Although we have been setting aside money in the machinery fund, there is not quite enough to purchase the caliber of truck needed. We are also hesitant to deplete the machinery fund in case the grader etc needs work. A motion was moved by Ned to borrow $52,000 on a 24 month loan if we go ahead and purchase the truck we are currently considering. Seconded by Joel. Motion carried. Ned will reach out to the bank for quotes on interest rate etc if we decide to make the purchase. The Sherry Fire Department contract was looked over by the board. They have not presented a contract to Town of Milladore since 2012. There are changes the board would like to see before signing- particularly the need for updated contracts yearly, and more transparency by the fire department in regards to their finances, trainings, and expenditures. The board questioned how up to date the equipment Sherry currently has is. Joel reported he had reached out to Auburndale FD to ask about their equipment and what they could offer us. The Chair asked the Clerk to explain the information received by the operation manager of DSPS earlier this year. The clerk was told that Fire Departments should be issuing the contracts yearly, and they are responsible for writing and pursuing the contracts. It is their responsibility to issue the contract to the municipality each year, but can request the equalized value numbers from the clerk in order to write their contracts. If a municipality has contracts with more than one fire department, the 2% dues should be distributed to each department. It is up to the municipality to decide an appropriate way of doing so- but common ways are by section or by an even 50% split. The fire department is also responsible for presenting information to the municipality each year about their equipment, training, budget etc. Upon learning this information, the chair asked the clerk to reach out to other local municipalities of similar size and situation and ask how they handle their fire contracts. The clerk reached out to almost a dozen other clerks and received replies back. Each clerk stated similar information- that their fire departments presented them with a yearly contract based on equalized value, and gave a presentation showing how their money had been used for upgrades to equipment and training. With only one exception, all municipalities were given a copy of the fire department’s budget to review. Each municipality that had more than one contract also stated they chose to split their 2% dues in an even 50% split with each fire department. With this information, the board tabled signing the current Sherry Fire Department contract until more information could be sought and terms could be worked out. A motion was moved by Ned to send a check to the Auburndale Fire Department in the amount of $500, as a good faith payment towards 2% dues. This is the approximate amount they would have received for their 8 sections. The Town of Milladore has neglected sharing a portion of the 2% dues with them in the past. Seconded by Ron. Motion approved. Road Repair Concerns: Ron and the Clerk will be meeting this month to create a working budget for road work needed this year. The board will then move forward with projects, and the 5 year plan will also be updated. Clerk Mail: A check sent to us in the amount of $292.44 was returned for insufficient funds. The clerk met with the bank, and was informed we could attempt to present the check again. We are waiting to get the check back from the bank to do this. The clerk sent a letter by certified mail to the check writer, to let them know that going forward only cashiers check will be acceptable forms of payment. Public Comment: Question: Can we see a list, or is there a list of what roads will be done this year? Board Answer: Because the 2024 financial report had errors it was difficult to get an accurate budget for this. Ron and the clerk will be meeting once she finishes rectifying the former treasurer’s annual report. We can then prioritize the list of roadwork and other projects that need to be tackled. Question: This winter a grader did damage to our road. A neighbor said they saw a young kid driving the grader, and the road looked like someone didn’t know what they were doing. What happened? Board Answer: If there is ever an issue with any roadwork it’s important that you reach out to the board immediately so that it can be looked at promptly. You can do that by calling or texting the chair, supervisors, or clerk. Additionally, you can report it through the “report an issue” button on the website. The board was never told of an issue at the time. It was not noticed in our weekly road assessments. We only have two grader operators, Ron Koziczkowski and Dennis Lang, both of whom are experienced and familiar with our roads. They are both in attendance, and if there are specific questions, you can direct them to either of them. Ned moved a motion to pay bills. Seconded by Joel. Motion approved. The next meeting will be held on Sunday, June 1, 2024, at 6:30 pm, at the town hall, located at 3720 County Road P, Milladore, WI, 54454 A motion was moved by Joel to adjourn. Seconded by Ron. Meeting adjourned.