20240807 Village Board Minutes

PROCEEDINGS - VILLAGE OF ARGYLE - MONTHLY MEETING August 14th, 2024 The regular monthly meeting of the Argyle Village Board called to order by President Thomas Moore on August 14 th, 2024, at 7:00 pm. This meeting was a re-scheduled meeting from August 7th, 2024 due to absence of committee members. Roll call was taken with Green absent. Proper posting of the meeting was acknowledged. Lisa Johnson was re -appointed to the vacant seat of the Village Board. Fransen made a motion to approve, Helfvogt seconded, motion carried. Proper posting of the meeting was acknowledged. King made a motion for approval of the minutes, Hinojosa seconded, motion carried. King made a motion to approve the agenda, Helfvogt seconded, motion carried. CITIZEN COMMENT There were no citizen comments presented. OLD BUSINESS Tom Moore moved the Water Committee business up prior to Old Business. Ben Heidemann from Town & Country Engineering spoke on the Corrosion Control Treatment (CCT) study that the DNR had required the Village of Argyle to perform. The DNR is requesting the Village of Argyle to comply to guidelines by making some changes to our water supply system. It was discussed that there are a variety of options that the Village can respond with, one being to perform some level of phosphorus to the drinking water supply or pH adjustmen t. This treatment is usually uncommon for Southern Wisconsin as pH adjustment is common to cause limescale formation because of hard water in Sout hern Wisconsin. Another option, which is the Village’s preferred approach, to remove the lead all -together by removing the Lead Service Lines (LSLs) and performing unidirectional flushing to clean out the water supply. The DNR however has said they are not allowed to appro ve plans where LSL is the main approach, and that they are required to instruct communities to implement chemical treatment. The DNR has given the Village of Argyle two years to implement additional chemical feed at the wells in order to comply . There is a process to appeal this decision, a suggestion from the DNR to replace the LSLs along with the addition of chemical treatment, and there is also an option to perform lead a nd copper testing in order to be exempt from the chemical addition requirement. The testing would require 20 approved sites, residences in the di stribution system that have lead services or that were constructed prior to 1983 and are suspected to have copper plumbing with lead sockets, t o be tested with two rounds of samples which would be compared to the standard. To successfully test out of the chemical addition requirement by the DNR the 90th percentile of tests would have to be below 15ppm. Heidemann had noted that with the two -year timeline, there is not enough time to complete one task after another, multiple solutions would have to be approached together in order to successfully complete this project within that timeline. The two years also does not give enough time for the Village of Argyle to apply for assistance through the Safe Drinking Wate r Fund (SDWF) program to help fund this project, the fastest that SDWF assistance could be achieved is in three years. The Village has als o not had any violations yet, which causes our scoring for the funding to be poor compared to communities that do have violations. There are a few options that the Village has to respond to this request; one is to appeal because of poor pH data, the timing requirements of the funding timelines, a nd the Village having no violations yet which is questionable as to why the DNR is requiring the CCT study response. Another option is to begin te sting immediately; 20 samples could be provided now and 20 can be provided 6 months later and with no violations the Village would be able to test out of the chemical addition requirement. Replacing all of the LSLs is an option as well to conform with future EPA guidelines which state they will be requiring all LSLs to be removed within the next 10 years . Chemical treatment could also be added to Wells 1, 2, and 3, however it could be very costly as there are non-conforming features that the DNR might require the Village to bring up to code. Additionally, once chemical treatment is add ed it cannot be removed. Heidemann had suggested to approach a few of these tasks in parallel . Initiate and submit an appeal with Lawrie Kobza at Boardman & Clark who is an expert with water compliance issues. Obtain 15 new samples sites and have them approved by the DNR so that t he first round of lead and copper testing can begin. Six months later the second round can be completed and we may have the opportunity to tes t out of any other requirements. Heidemann suggested to complete LSL inventory and bid out the construction project to replace the LSLs with a licensed contractor. Currently the inventory on LSLs in town is 80% done. There is a possibility to be approved for up to 50% forgiveness grant for the LSL replacement which would cover the private side of the replacement. Heidemann also suggested to have the wells in town assessed for impro vement scope and costs as they should be checked into for the future. The Village decided to hire attorney Lawrie Kobza for an appeal, will continue the inventory and plan for replacement of LSLs immediately, and Town & Country look into a well assessment. Helfvogt motioned to approve, Fransen seconded, motion passed. In other old business, PKK increased charges for e -waste and batteries in July. Green is to look into possibly raising the charges at the recycle center as a result. Lisa Johnson has been in contact with the DOT regarding possibly adding an overhead stop sign to the main intersection of Highway 81 and 78 on the east-bound side of Highway 81. Johnson contacted Tom Novak’s office and was responded to by the DOT who stated that they would need evidence in the past five years to prove that the intersection is dangerous. The DOT met Joh nson at the intersection to inspect and informed her that it could be a candidate for an over -head stop sign, however Wisconsin’s budget would prove an issue as curbs would need to be re -done as well. Their suggestion is to pursue this around 2026 -2027 when the planning for the rework of Highway 78 and 81 is planned and pitch that it be included in the plans. Johnson stated she will continue to pursue this. Johnson also inquired with the DOT on opening up the village’s ATV/UTV routes to include the entire town to make it more recreational vehicle friendly and bring mo re people to Argyle. The village originally requested they be left out of the paths, however are looking at changing the ordinance at the next boa rd meeting in September to allow recreational vehicle access to the entire town, excluding Park Avenue, and changing the speed limit from 1 0mph to match the speed limit set in town. Johnson motioned to approve, King seconded, motion passed. Christmas in July was reported to be a very small event this year due to last-minute time change and limited vendors; the $70 proceeds were suggested by Sandra Flannery to be donated to the Argyle Apple Grove Lutheran Church. Helfvogt motioned to approve, King seconded, motion passed. NEW BUSINESS The village board received a resignation letter from Jen Detra for the Economic Development / Library Director position dated July 16th; Helfvogt made a motion to accept her resignation, Hinojosa seconded, the motion carried. Historic Argyle will host an event on August 17 th at the Saxton House and Red Front Building including a food truck, live music, and various art vendors. Moore suggested the board donate to their event; Helfvogt suggested a $100 donation. Hinojosa motioned to approve, Helfvogt seconded, motion passed. Good Fellas Tave rn’s Jason Dammen to hold their annual Cruisin Car Show event on August 24 th; Flannery submitted a request for a highway detour for the event to re-route traffic from State Street to Broad Street and was approved from 2PM to 9PM. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Water Committee business was moved up to Old Business. PRESIDENT BUSINESS The payroll report for July 2024 overtime paid to full -time: Johnson-12.35 hours, Ritschard-27.73 hours, Koch-13.77 hours, Flannery-10.14 hours, Saalsaa-13.03 hours. King made a motion to approve overtime, Hinojosa seconded, motion carried . Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County provided packets to the village board; to be tabled for the future. Flannery provided lists of updated comm ittee members as a result of Johnson being re-appointed. The board received a thank-you card from the library for their matching funds for the new library project. CLERK BUSINESS Total Inspections approved building permits for Casey Gunser property at 602 Monroe St. for a fence. Derek Vick property at 210 Center St. for remodeling. Jason Riley at 811 Monroe St. for a deck. Mallory Tyler’s name was added to all signature cards at the banks and Shirley Canon was removed. Shirley Canon’s retirement party from the Village of Argyle was held at Good Fellas Tavern on July 25th. An excavation permit was issued to Brightspeed for July 22 nd through August 2nd for burying fiber optic cables for 417 Breeze Terrace. Jared Johnson has been in contact with upper management as they have not cleaned up after their work and did not properly patch streets. Flag football will begin in the Argyle American Legion Park from August 26 th through October 12th. Helfvogt previously approved a picnic license for the Argyle Fire Department for the Mud Volleyball Tournament to be held on August 3 rd, 2024 in the park . The Fire Dept had requested the Clerk’s office look into additional allowances for Carbliss ready -made cocktails, however board approval would be needed for the license and currently the State of Wisconsin does not have a picnic license that allows the selling of ready -made-cocktails, a Class -A liquor license and bartenders with operator’s licenses would be needed to serve this type of beverage. Helfvogt made a motion to approve total July accounts payable checks $127,061.51, August invoices paid to date $38,507.46, Johnson seconded, motion carried. The next monthly meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 4th, at 7:00 pm. Helfvogt made a motion to adjourn at 8:57 pm, Hinojosa seconded, motion carried. Mallory Tyler Deputy Clerk