Village Board — Minutes

Village of Benton April 19, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes Members present: Scott Cruse, John Perkins, Jill Knight, Kenneth Farrey, Chuck Wartner, Joe Slater, Cal Robbins Absent members: Village employees present: Sonya Silvers, Jared Roling, Brian Hammill Others Present: Dan Wackershauser The regular board meeting of the Benton Village Board was called to order by Village President Scott Cruse at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Benton Business Incubator Building at 244 Ridge Avenue on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. In compliance with the open meeting law, proper notice of the meeting had been posted in four public places; the Zephyr Depot, Benton State Bank, Benton Post Office, and the Benton Business Incubator Building. The minutes from the previous Village Board meeting was presented. Motion (Ralph, Perkins) to approve the minutes from the regular Village Board meeting held on March 15, 2023 as presented. Voice-all ayes. Carried Sonya Silvers and Eric Mowry worked on putting together an advertisement for bids for two street projects. North Van Buren Street will be resurfaced from Main Street to termination. The Village received a matching grant from the LRIP program to complete this project. Water Street to First Avenue Extension will be prepped with base material and have 3” of hot mix black top. Cushman’s Green House called and the baskets for the flowers that hang on Main Street need the bottom of the baskets replaced and new hanging hooks. This will be an added expense to the flowers this year of approximately $450. Jared Roling and Eric Mowry have been working on isolating a water leak by the park. The micro strainer is currently getting worked on. Water is going into the sanitary sewer on Riverside Drive from the last water main break. Jared would like to have Kruser’s Septic televise the line to see what is causing the issue. A new curb stop will be put in at Bill Feuchtenberger’s. The well is still shut down and being worked on. The well casing on the pump was not salvageable and the pump is being rebuilt. The expenses for the pump rebuild and well repairs will be covered under our contract with Utility Service Company. Chief Hammill highlighted the police department stats for the month. There were 29 calls in the last month. There will be a drug take back day on Saturday, April 22. The purchase of a new hand held radar device was discussed and the possible use of the LEA grant for funding. Committee Reports:  The finance committee mentioned that they are trying to tie a full rate case in with the Main Street water project and hydrant rent would also move to utility bills in that time. Currently there is a 1 year Village Trustee position that is vacant. Cal Robbins was appointed by the board to fill the vacant position. Motion (Farrey, Perkins) to approve Cal Robbins to fill the vacant 1 year Village Trustee position. Roll-all ayes. Carried The new committee assignments were presented to the board. Motion (Robbins, Knight) to approve the committee assignments as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried An estimate from the Village engineer Keith Dalsing was presented to the board. There were two different options based on size of the water main used. There are some potential ways to reduce the numbers presented but funding Village of Benton April 19, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes will be the next topic of discussion. Keith has three grant writers and a list of possible grants to apply for. The Main Street repaving project will be in 2028 so there is some time to work with. The updated Swift Park contract was presented to the board. This is a two year contract between the Village of Benton and the Benton School District for shared responsibilities for the park, bathrooms, and field maintenance. Motion (Perkins, Farrey) to approve the renewal of the two year Swift Park contract between the Village of Benton and the Benton School District. Roll-all ayes. Carried The updated employee policy manual was presented to the board. The manual was initial looked over by an attorney through the League of WI Municipalities. It was then presented to the personnel committee and staff who went page by page and made updates. Next it went to Village attorney Eileen Brownlee who also made a few adjustments before going to the board for final approval. Chuck Wartner noted that the biggest change is going from having contracts and the manual to just having the manual and at will employment. Motion (Farrey, Slater) to approve the updated employee manual as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried Sonya mentioned that Zoe Stluka and Marissa Polfer will be helping out with the summer work consisting of watering flowerings, cleaning parks, and misc. Suite 107 in the Benton Business Incubator is currently empty and the police committee would like to move the police department into the space as they feel the current office is not suitable for a longer period of time since the Community Center may take longer to get started than originally thought. Rent is $234 plus utilities. There is an incubator board meeting on Friday and the incubator board will be asked to consider a reduced rate for the space. Brian mentioned that all the furniture that he had in the old office is gone. Jill Knight will donate a desk. Motion (Farrey, Slater) to approve renting suite 107 in the Benton Business Incubator for the police department and signing a one year lease at a cost no more than the current rental rate plus utilities. Roll-all ayes. Carried The 99 year lease agreement with Cuba City Telephone for an electrical hut on Village property at 60 Water Street was presented to the board. The lease was sent to Village Attorney Eileen Brownlee who made adjustments. Jared talked to the DNR and there were no concerns with the hut being in proximity of the well house as long as there was no water draining towards the hut. Motion (Knight, Wartner) to approve the 99 year lease with Cuba City Telephone for an electrical hut on Village property at 60 Water Street as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried Resolution #2023-04 ratifying resolution approved March 15, 2023 declaring property to be blighted and authorizing the Community Development Authority of The Village of Benton, Wisconsin to acquire and assist the redevelopment of the property. Motion (Slater, Wartner) to approve Resolution #2023-04 ratifying resolution approved March 15, 2023 declaring property to be blighted and authorizing the Community Development Authority of The Village of Benton, Wisconsin to acquire and assist the redevelopment of the property. Roll-all ayes. Carried. Cal Robbins-Yes, Scott Cruse-Yes, Kenneth Farrey-Yes, John Perkins-Yes, Jill Knight-Yes, Chuck Wartner-Yes, Joe Slater-Yes. The recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve a zoning variance request at 31 W Main Street, the future site of the Community Center was presented to the board. Motion (Wartner, Perkins) to approve the recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve a variance request at 31 West Main Street for a decrease in the Westside setback from 8’ to 5’. Roll-all ayes. Carried Village of Benton April 19, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes The recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval of a zoning variance request at 210 White Street. Motion (Perkins, Knight) to approve the recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals to approve a variance request at 210 White Street for a decrease in the back yard setback. Roll-all ayes. Carried Pay the claims against the Village. Motion (Knight, Wartner) to pay the claims against the Village. Roll-all ayes. Carried Meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Motion (Farrey, Perkins) to adjourn. Voice-all ayes. Carried