Village Board — Minutes

Village of Benton February 15, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes Members present: Scott Cruse, Chuck Wartner, John Perkins, David Ralph, Cal Robbins, Jill Knight, Kenneth Farrey Absent members: Village employees present: Sonya Silvers, Jim Goffinet, Brian Hammill Others Present: Joe Slater, Michelle Savatski, Linda Leifker 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, February 15, 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 meetings were presented. Motion (Wartner, Robbins) to approve the minutes from the regular Village Board meeting held on January 18, 2023 as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried Motion (Knight, Ralph) to approve the minutes from the special Village Board meeting held on January 25, 2023 as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried Linda Leifker addressed the board regarding the storm drain next to her property at 340 White Street. The storm drain appears to be full of construction debris and water is overflowing into her back yard creating a mess and concerns. Jim Goffinet stated it would be the responsibility of the Village to clean out the storm drain. The Village workers can clear the drain out once the ground dries out in the spring. Michelle Savatski gave an update on the community center and went through the list of goals that came from the advisory group. The focus of the community center has been aimed at keeping those list of goals at the forefront of the project. Michelle gave the history and the process of getting the community center to the final floor plan. Currently, we are waiting for the completed environmental study to be completed and notice from the WI State Historical Society that the Swindlers Ridge Museum building does not hold any significant historical value. Once the Historical Society gives notice, the Swindlers Ridge building can be taken down. Sonya Silvers and Eric Mowry met with Brian Wahl from the DNR regarding the tree grant. They will start looking at the project and deciding on the work to be done within the scope of the grant. Sonya mentioned that there is an election Tuesday, February 21st and the auditors will be here February 23rd and 24th. Jim stated the current gas monitor that is used to test gasses in the man holes is no longer repairable. The gas monitor is a necessity for safety and the estimated cost for a new meter is $1,062.00. The Fire Department also needs a gas monitor and at the fire department meeting it was discussed that the Village and Fire Department could possibly purchase one together and share it. Jim will confirm with Fire Chief Neis. Jim mentioned that a plan for the water main project on Main Street should start being thought of and developed. The finance committee met with the auditor, Shawn Roelli, and he suggested that the first step in funding that project would be to seek out and get an engineering company on board. The engineering company will pursue the funding through grants. The board suggested having a separate meeting to start the planning process of this project. Scott Cruse will reach out to Keith Dalsing for more information. The tree behind Kelli’s Place at 67 East Main Street is growing into the transformer. When the weather is good, Scott would like to get this cleaned up. Scott will check with property owners to make sure there is no conflict with taking the tree down. Village of Benton February 15, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes Scott will check with Bill McCauley to see if he is interested in mowing and string cutting this summer. Sonya reached out to Todd Bastian at the school regarding summer help. Todd would need a list of the job parameters and he can get the word out to students. The extent of the job duties and hours will need to be decided by the board. Motion (Perkins, Knight) to approve the purchase of a new gas monitor for testing gasses in manholes for an estimated cost of $1062.00 and to possibly share the gas meter with the Benton Fire Department and split the cost. Roll-all ayes. Carried Committee Reports:  Jill presented stats from the library’s annual report. The library had 386 registered users. There were 2879 visits to the library last year and there are currently 12,000 units in the library collection. Brian Hammill presented the police department stats for the month. There were 30 calls in the last month and 45 for the year. Issues with parking on Main Street have been addressed with the police committee. Scott and Brian have met to discuss police structure. A list of training requirements, materials, equipment, supplies, and cost will be put together. There have been on going issues with speeding on County J North and South that are being looked at, Brian would like to move the digital speed sign out there. Brian attended the Police Chief’s training conference in January. Chuck mentioned that some sidewalks in town are not getting shoveled and he would like Brian to keep an eye out for that. Ordinance #2023-001 to amend chapter 115, section 2, 3, and 4 relating to dog licensing and late fees was presented to the board. The Village does not license cats and the ordinance update will reflect that. The late fee section will be updated to reference the fee schedule rather than list an amount. Motion (Farrey, Knight) to approve the ordinance #2023-001 amendment to chapter 115, section 2, 3, and 4 relating to dog licensing and late fees as presented. Roll-all ayes. Carried Pay the claims against the Village. Motion (Knight, Perkins) to pay the claims against the Village. Roll-all ayes. Carried Meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m. Motion (Ralph, Perkins) to adjourn. Roll-all ayes. Carried