20250205 Village Board Minutes

PROCEEDINGS - VILLAGE OF ARGYLE - MONTHLY MEETING February 5th, 2025 The regular monthly meeting of the Argyle Village Board called to order by President Thomas Moore on February 5th, 2025 at 7:00 pm. Roll call was taken with Hinojosa absent. Proper posting of the meeting was acknowledged. Fransen made a motion for approval of the minutes, Webster seconded, motion carried. King made a motion to approve the agenda, Johnson seconded, motion carried. CITIZEN COMMENT There were no citizen comments presented. OLD BUSINESS Nik Dorava from Town and Country Engineering presented the bids for the Fairview Avenue project. It will be a full reconstru ction of Fairview Avenue including streets, sewer, water, and storm sewer as well as Lead Service Line replacement in other locations . Maddrell Excavating and E & N Hughes both presented bids on the project with Maddrell coming in with a lower bid. The Lead Service Li ne replacement will not be a full reconstruction but rather will be completed with the least disturbance to the road s involved as possible. Ben Heidemann from Town and Country added that Fairview Avenue is partially covered under the Safe Drinking Water Fund, however the Lead Service Lines are not currently covered. Town & Country is anticipated to submit a retroactive application to this fund to attempt to help cover the expense s. Heidemann also noted he spoke to Maddrell, and they advised they would likely begin work in Summer. A DNR representative will need to coordinate with the Village, Town & Country, and Maddrell on this project since it’s being funded through them. King motioned to accept the Madd rell bid, Fransen seconded, motion carried. Dorava suggested that during the assessment process for the curb and gutter that a preliminary assessment hearing and final assessment hearing be held in March, April, or May. Residents will be able to discuss their assessment at this time wi th Town & Country present to answer questions. The Village ordinance allows assessment for 50% of the cost for curb and gutter and associated items; there will be no charge for radiuses. Heidemann discussed the Safe Water Drinking Fund that was awarded to the Village for the Fairview Avenue project. The DNR inquired about how the Village would like to pledge the fund s, typically a revenue bond is used. The water utility currently does not create enough revenue to fund this. Heidemann stated the Village would need to d o a full rate case to comply with the funding application . Generally, a rate case takes months to complete; Johnson Block, the Village auditors, had stated they can push the case through with the P SC within the timeline by using the numbers that they’re gathering during the year -end audit. Johnson Block will create a proposal for the rate case that will be put on a later agenda. Heidemann spoke on options for updating the Global Information System mapping for the Village. Arc Reader is the program by Esri that is currently used; it will be phased out by the end of 2026. Diamond Maps is one alternative that would be around $400 per year for licensing, and Town & Country Engineering would be able to transfer our existing maps into this program at no charge . Esri makes an updated version of the program, ArcGIS Pro, which would be around $700 per year for licensing, and would cost around $7,000 t o $10,000 in development cost to set up. It is much more powerful, can store more information, and is more accurate than Diamond Maps, wh ich only uses Google Maps satellite information. It was noted that mapping needs to be updated for future comprehensive plans and grants, and the zoning maps need to be updated as well. Diamond Maps would be the more user-friendly option and would allow for importing of AutoCAD mapping such as the electric utility maps. King made a motion to move forward with Diamond Maps, Webster seconded, motion carried. Craig Wolf from HydroCorp presented a renewal service agreement for 2025 and 2026 Cross Connection Inspections. Wolf reported that in the 1 -year contract for 2024, they did 27 inspections with 14 facilities being compliant and 12 non-compliant. Currently, of the original non-compliant 8 facilities are ready for compliance review and 4 are still non -compliant. The renewal would include 30 inspections with a cost of $296.40 a month for 2025 and $308.26 a month for 2026. This cost is down from 2024’s $380 monthly cost. Helfvogt made a motion to approve the agreement, King seconded, motion carried. Flannery presented the revised draft for the ATV/UTV code. In addition to opening streets and changing the speed limit, the Village attorney Lance McNaughton suggested adding in wording to prevent ATVs and UTVs from parking on or partially on the cu rbs and sidewalks. This will be put on the agenda for March. Johnson motioned to approve Budget Resolution 1 -2025 which will transfer funds in the amount of $39,000 from the 2023 Budget Payable 2024 to the 2024 Budget Payable 2025 to be used on the street repair project , Helfvogt seconded the motion. A roll-call vote was taken and passed unanimously. Resolution 2-2025 was removed from the agenda. NEW BUSINESS The 2025 Planning Services Contract was presented by Vierbicher . They presented support in zoning updates, TID updates, and in person at meetings or with miscellaneous projects at a contract maximum of $21,200 for 10 hours per month. Under the 2024 co ntract, the maximum cost was $14,800 with $9,400 spent. Fransen motioned to approve the contract, King seconded, motion carried. COMMITTEE BUSINESS King reported that the downstairs of the hydro plant needs repair to the flooring. Currently, a previous repair to the floor has parts of the concrete are chipping away. Rejuvenators quoted the repair to cost $750 to fix this area. King motioned to approve the repair, Helfvogt seconded, motion carried. Johnson spoke on the addition of a stop sign during the Highway 78 and 81 highway projects. The DOT has been looking into the addition during their repair and replacement. The DOT will have a Local Officials meeting on February 6th and a Public Involvement meeting on February 13 th to discuss the project in more detail. The merry -go-round at the park has been repaired and replaced. Fransen updated that the library has a possible new addition to their board, and their website has been restored by Schutte. They are still hiring for a Library Director. Webster informed the board that a pallet of garbage bags has been ordered. The Recycling Center has extra windows that they would like to have installed on the South side of the building to open during summer to help lower electricity costs, pr ovide extra light, and allow for better ventilation. It will be investigated for the future. Moore brought up the water main located in the wellho use in the electric plant; chlorine has been corroding a pipe and fittings causing heavy rust and corrosion. The thickness of the pipes was measured and are around half of what they currently should be, so the water will be turned off to accommodate the repair and replacement. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Schutte requested to attend the 2025 WFMA Farmers Market Manager Workshop in Madison. It provides information on cottage food laws, paperwork and all aspects of running a market. Helfvogt motioned to approve, Johnson secon ded, motion carried. Advancing Argyle will be having their first meeting on Wednesday, February 19 th at the Community Building at 5:30PM . Interest was expressed in starting a sort of Chamber of Commerce type group to help support Argyle businesses and organizations. An ad as well as Lynn Rossing writing an article on the topic for the Pec Valley Leader. Schutte spoke on his plans to let everyone’s voice be heard during the meeting and encourages everyone who is interested in joining to give their ideas. Schutte also updated that Dallas Augustine receive d his “Key to the Village” and recognition letter and suggested that it be something to continue once or twice a year to thank those who have a nd continue to support the Village of Argyle. PRESIDENT BUSINESS The payroll report for January 2025 overtime paid to full -time: Johnson – 4.5 hours, Ritschard – 0.63 hours, Koch – 16.89 hours, Flannery – 7.87 hours, Saalsaa – 4.02 hours. Fransen made a motion to approve overtime, Webster seconded, motion carried. An article from The Municipality magazine of June 2019 titled “Roles and Authority of Governing Body Members” was handed out to all boar d members as a reference document and reminder. CLERK BUSINESS Total Inspections approved a building permit for Larry Erickson at 802 E Milwaukee Street for a remodel. Johnson Block has scheduled their audit for four days in February. The Village employees’ new insurance through the Department of Employee Trust Funds ( ETF) has started January 1, 2025. Computer Know How hourly rates will be going up in 2025, they presented an offer to purchase more pre-paid hours for IT services at the current rate before they raise the cost from $12 0.00/hour to $130.00/hour. Helfvogt made a motion to approve the purchase of more pre-paid hours, King seconded, motion carried. Flannery made a note that payroll company Paychex will charge extra for Monday ca ll-ins on holidays; this year there are 5 holidays falling on Monday. These weeks, payroll will come in a day late to account for the holidays. Flannery mentioned she will be speaking to the Village auditors on the Argyle Dam Spillway repair loan. The costs will be over the co urse of two years, so a standard loan will likely not work. The cost of the repair is to be determined in 2026 when the repair project is put out to bid. Deputy Clerk - Treasurer Mallory Tyler has officially changed her last name to McGuire following her marriage. Signature cards have all bee n signed on all accounts to reflect the name change. Helfvogt made a motion to approve total January 2025 accounts payable checks $ 485,126.95, February invoices to date $77,483.76, Webster seconded, motion carried. The next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5 th, at 7:00 pm. Helfvogt made a motion to adjourn at 8:51PM, Johnson seconded, motion carried. Mallory McGuire Deputy Clerk