9-19-2023

TOWN BOARD MEETING, September 19, 2023 – 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Town Chair Dick Green, Supervisors Eric Olson, Larry Schuller, Melanie Miller, Faith Schuck, and Clerk/Treasurer Maria Hougan. ABSENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Kathleen Boucher, 2868 Skycrest Cir., Laura Bardouche, 1744 Oakview Dr., Aaron & Jessica Gross, 1781 Oakview Dr., Justin Melby, 1787 Oakview Dr., Joan Kellerman, 2301 Williams Dr., Bradley Jacobsen, 2890 Skycrest Cir., Eric Lang, Deer-Grove EMS., Nick Archibald, Cottage Grove Fire Dept., Gary & Becky Weaver, 2872 Skycrest Cir. CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PUBLIC COMMENT: The Board listens to residents speak on any issue (three-minute time limit) Gary Weaver, 2872 Skycrest Cir., presented a petition to the town requesting adopting an ordinance allow the County to place a “No Jake Braking”sign on County Highway N between Rinden Road and I-39/90. Kathleen Boucher, 2868 Skycrest Cir., stated she contacted Dane County Highway regarding the sign, they explained the process for the “No Jake Braking” sign was to petition the town requesting to adopt an ordinance, pay for the sign, and then Dane County will install the sign. Any item listed on the agenda is subject for action. CONSENT AGENDA: Items listed under consent agenda will be approved in one motion without discussion unless any Board member requests that an item(s) be removed for individual discussion. That item then can be considered at an appropriate time during the Board’s regular order of business. 1. Approval of minutes of the September 05, 2023, Town Board meeting. 2. Approval of the check register dated September 14, 2023 and September 19, 2023. Motion by Supervisor Olson, second by Sup. Miller, to approve the consent agenda items. Motion carried 4-0 with Chair Green abstaining. BUSINESS. Discussion and possible action regarding a request to install a stop sign at Oak View Dr. and Burritt Rd. Chair Green provided information from the state transportation regulation manual regarding the recommended guidelines for stop sign placement. He stated Dane County Sheriffs placed a speed sign in the area alerting drivers of their speed, however the sign does not collect data. He referred to the City of Stoughton where they have many uncontrolled intersections due to the low-speed limit. Supervisor Schuck reported out she drove the area and noticed a delivery truck driving at very high speeds, and now due to the Covid Pandemic, there are many delivery trucks are on the road. Supervisor Schuller asked if the request was globally from the neighborhood. Laura Bardouche spoke to this stating that everyone she asked agreed they need at stop sign. She presented a letter of support for Oak Knoll stop signs to the Board which included 56 signatures of residents who are in agreement for placing stop signs at the intersection of Oakview Dr. and Burritt Rd. She stated there are often multiple cars, bikers, and delivery trucks at the intersection at one time where traffic is coming at all different directions, and does not feel a yield sign would help. There is also a visibility issue due to large pine trees and the hill, making it hard to see traffic and pedestrians. She and the neighbors are concerned it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. Further discussion followed. There was discussion regarding placement of a yield sign. Chair Green stated he has driven that intersection many times to review the traffic volume and speeds. He had concerns regarding the more posts and signs placed on the road, the more difficult it would be in the winter for the snow plowing purposes. Supervisor Miller asked about placement of a crosswalk and yield sign in the area. Supervisor Olson referred to the state manual guidelines for sign placement. Supervisor Schuller asked where the stop sign would be placed. Supervisor Schuck thought on the corner of Oakview and Burr itt Rd. Motion by Supervisor Olson, second by Sup. Schuller, to table this item and to investigate the other intersections where there are parks in the town, and to bring back information to the next Town Board meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Discussion and possible action to approve the amendment to Ordinance Chapter 70: Building Construction. 3rd reading and final reading. The Board reviewed the amendment and did not have any changes. Motion by Supervisor Miller, second by Sup. Schuck, to approve the amendment to Ordinance Chapter 70: Building Construction. Motion carries 5 -0 on a roll call vote with Supervisors Schuck, Miller, Olson, Schuller, and Town Chair voting in favor. Discussion and possible action regarding the renewal contract between the Town of Pleasant Springs and Cottage Grove Fire Department. Cottage Grove Fire Chief Nick Archibald was in attendance. The Board reviewed the proposed contract. Motion by Supervisor Olson, second by Sup. Schuller, to approve the contract between the Town of Pleasant Springs and Cottage Grove Fire Department. Motion carries 5-0. Discussion and possible action regarding the renewal contract between the Town of Pleasant Springs and Deer-Grove EMS. Deer-Grove EMS Chief Eric Lange was in attendance. The Board reviewed the proposed contract. Chair Green noted there are substantial increases to the contract but these increases are based upon a better response time, level of care, and purchase of another ambulance. Chief Lange reported out the small increases in the last contract could not keep up with all the costs. Motion by Supervisor Schuller, second by Sup. Schuck, to approve the contract for EMS services between the Town of Pleasant Springs and Deer-Grove EMS. Motion carried 5- 0. Discussion and possible action regarding moving funds from a money market account into the general fund checking account. Chair Green reported out. The general fund checking account will need to have money transferred into the account from a money market account for expenses incurred until the end of the year. Motion by Supervisor Miller, second by Sup. Schuller, to move $150,000.00 from One Community Banks Money Market account into the general fund checking account. Motion carried 5-0. Discussion and possible action regarding the yard waste site hours. Chair Green reported out. He looked at the yard waste site prior to leaving on vacation and then when he returned, and t he yard waste site brush pile is v ery large once again. It seems there are more people using the site instead of just residents, to include contractors with large trailer loads dumping brush. Should the town’s site remain open 7 days a week? The City of Stoughton with a population of approximately 5 times as much as Pleasant Springs, is only open 3 days per week. The Town of Dunn, with a much larger population than Pleasant Springs is open on Wednesdays and the first and third Saturday of the month. Supervisor Schuller thought the site should be closed for the winter, from Nov. 1 to March 31. Further discussion followed. Supervisor Schuck stated the disposal of Christmas trees should be taken into consideration. Should Public Works open the site for two days per week for 2 weeks after Christmas for disposal of Christmas trees? The previous few years, Public Works has gone around and picked up the trees, residents need to call and leave a message with name and address, and the trees will be picked up within a week, weather pending. T his information will be added to the newsletter and towns website. A discussion on positioning of the cameras and adding additional cameras at the Town Hall took place. Motion by Supervisor Schuller, second by Sup. Schuck, to change the hours at the yard waste site to be closed from November 1 to March 31, and for the yard waste site to be open on Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friendly amendment by Green, to add the site to be open from April 1 to October 31. Friendly accepted by Schuller and seconded by Schuck. Motion carried 5-0. Discussion and possible action regarding hiring security services on weekends to open and shut the yard waste site gate. Supervisor Schuller reported out. He met with two security guard companies regarding opening and closing the yard waste site on Saturdays and Sundays. The cost would be $20.00-$25.00 each time to open and close depending on which company is hired. JNB could do this for $20.00 each time the gate is open and closed. Further discussion followed. A discussion regarding closing the site on Thursday evening took place, Chair Green volunteered to close the site on Thursdays. Supervisor Miller stated Chair Green should not have to commit to this, they should pay someone to provide this service to our residents. Motion by Supervisor Schuller, second by Sup. Schuck, to hire JNB security services to open and close the yard waste site for $20.00 each time, this would include closing the site on Thursday evening, and opening and closing the yard waste site on Saturdays and Sundays. Motion carried 4-1 with Chair Green in opposition. Discussion and possible action regarding the pay scale for the seasonal-part time parks mower. Motion by Supervisor Olson, second by Sup. Miller, to set the wage for the seasonal part time mower at 18.50 per hour. Motion carries 4-0 with Supervisor Schuck abstaining. Report from Parks Committee Liaison Faith Schuck regarding the Sept. 13, 2023 Parks Committee meeting. Parks Liaison Faith Schuck reported out. She attended a recent Parks Committee meeting and provided the town with the past Parks Committee meeting minutes for the record. They discussed needs at the parks. They will be holding another meeting in November, and had made some recommendations for improvements to the parks. A request should be added to the newsletter for volunteers to serve on the committee from each of the neighborhood parks in the Town of Pleasant Springs, to see what they would like in their neighborhood park. A discussion for an ice -skating rink at Oak Knoll Park took place. Discussion and possible action regarding the upcoming Wisconsin Towns Association and Dane County Towns Association meetings. Supervisor Schuck stated she will be attending the Wisconsin Towns Association Fall Conference in person, and wondered if any of the other Board members would be attending, if so, a notice of walking quorum needed to be posted. She asked about the current mileage reimbursement rate, which is 65.5 cents per mile. The town will pay for the registration costs of attending the conference. No action taken. Discussion of Public Works projects and duties. Public Works provided a report of the projects and duties they have been working on to include culverts placed on Schadel Rd., Schadel Rd. is patched with cold mix until the road is redone, old culverts were hauled to the town hall for recycling, ditch mowing is continuing, Rep. from Alcivia met with DPW about re -installing fuel tanks, they are gathering information regarding this, Alcivia is interested in purchasing the old fuel tanks, and looking into the cost of new tanks, trees were trimmed in the Havey addition and on River Road following complaints from Stoughton Schools, as the buses were hit ting tree limbs. Clerks report of projects and duties. Clerk Hougan reported out the electronic poll books -Badger Books have arrived, there will be training held by the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Oct. 11 on the Badger Books, this training is exclusively for Clerks, Deputies, and Chief Inspectors. Received a grant to purchase newly designed absentee ballot envelopes, attended the annual webinar from the Department of Employee Trust Funds regarding the health and dental insurance, the voting machines will be serviced next week by ES& S and will need to be dropped off on Sept. 26 at the City of Stoughton Fire Department, working on the 2024 budget, and all the other duties and responsibilities of the office. Discussion on items to be placed on the next and / or future agenda: • Presentation / Update from the Stoughton Senior Center. • Jake Brake Ordinance • Oak View – Burritt Road stop sign request-bring back information regarding research on other intersections near town parks • Purchase of an additional camera • Update/direction from Board to Plan Comm on Comp Plan PLAN COMMISSION REPORT (Reports will generally only be reported upon after the Plan Commission has met between Town Board meetings; unless there is additional information to report). Supervisor Miller reported out the Conditional Use Permit request for additional height on a garage at Williams Point Dr. has been approved. The rezone requests and preliminary CSMs for Joe Hougan were tabled. Chair Green reported out he spoke with Roger Lane of Dane County Planning regarding a request for an early start on the Williams Point Drive garage project. REPORTS The Board reviewed the reports included in the packet. CORRESPONDENCE The Board reviewed the correspondence included in the packet. Supervisors Miller and Schuck will not be in attendance at the October 3 Town Board meeting. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Supervisor Olson, second by Sup. Schuller, to adjourn at 7:45 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectively Submitted, Maria “Pili” Hougan Clerk/Treasurer Note: These minutes are not considered official until acted upon at a future meeting, and, therefore, are subject to revision.