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Town of Clinton – Board Meeting December 8, 2021
Meeting called to order at 7 pm at the town hall. In attendance were Chairman Corey Leis, Supervisor 1 Wally Hemmersbach. Supervisor 2 Fred Brandt, Clerk Sandy Schweiger, Treasurer Jan Clark, Patrolman Scot Sanders, Dawn Anderson, Kevin Bluske, Doug Boecher, Susan Boecher, Ranelle Brandt, David Clark, Mava Clark, Bob Erickson, Doug Ewing, Joe Giles, Jacob Gingerich, Joseph Gingerich, Carla Leffert, Wayne Leis, Albert Miller, Mike Miller, Trisha Miller, Lonnie Muller, Larry Parr, Lori Schmitz, Steve Schmitz and Vernon Yoder.
A closed session attended by Mr. Leis, Mr. Hemmersbach and Mr. Brandt to discuss patrolman compensation preceded the board meeting. No motions were made in open session.
The financial report was accepted as read by unanimous consent. Mr. Hemmersbach made a motion, 2nd by Mr. Brandt, to transfer $1,180 from savings to checking and $40,000 from money management to checking; all ayes, motion carried. Mr. Brandt made a motion to pay the bills, (excluding B&W Concrete per Mr. Leis) 2nd by Mr. Hemmersbach; all ayes, motion carried.
Mr. Bluske from Rural Mutual Insurance provided proposed coverage of $9,495, including worker’s compensation. No claims were made over the past two years keeping rate low; coverage is for replacement cost with a $500 deductible. Mr. Leis requested adjustments so Mr. Brandt made a motion to table issue, 2nd by Mr. Hemmersbach; all ayes, motion carried.
Since the original redistricting plan for the county was revised, Resolution 2021-4 was presented, dividing the town into two wards along a roughly north-south axis. Mr. Hemmersbach made a motion to pass this resolution, 2nd by Mr. Brandt; all ayes, motion carried.
A list of poll workers for 2022-23 was presented. Mr. Hemmersbach made a motion, 2nd by Mr. Brandt, to approve; all ayes, motion carried.
A discussion followed over the hours the Recycle Center should be open over the holidays. It was agreed by all that the hours would be extended on the December 22nd and 29th from 3-6:30 pm and closed on December 25th and January 1, 2022.
Mr. Brandt met with Mike Parrot of General Engineering Company (GEC) over the proposed building inspector contract. Vince Schmitz, who is retiring, will not do any new permits after January 1, 2022 and will complete current inspections by June 1, 2022. The rates charged by GEC are comparable to Mr. Schmitz’s rates. Mr. Brandt made a motion, 2nd by Mr. Hemmersbach, to contract for building inspections by GEC; all ayes, motion carried.
Mr. Brandt has contacted Al Buss regarding the town website but has not received a reply recently. Mr. Leis indicated he would contact Mr. Buss. Mrs. Schmitz requested that the site be enabled to print minutes.
During public comments, Mrs. Schmitz asked about the 2022 budget. As a former town clerk, she noted the changes to the town over the past few years and that previous boards had avoided incurring debt by operating within the budget. She inquired about reimbursement for flood damage in August; Mr. Leis indicated he spoke to Robert at Wisconsin Emergency Management. Mrs. Schmitz also questioned the plan to spend $650,000 on Irish Ridge, feeling that alternatives were not adequately explored nor how this would be repaid.
A resident of Irish Ridge spoke during public comments and expressed frustration upon enduring two years of dust exposure. He considered paving the portion of the road in front of his property to alleviate health issues of family members. During the discussion, the resident offered to pay for 10% of the total cost of the Irish Ridge Road project.
Mrs. Miller noted that everyone wants the road fixed, but not for this amount; the town has never spent this much on one road and other options should be considered.
Wayne Leis relayed information from a discussion with Phil Hewitt who he said recommended a mat and didn’t think grinding the old surface was advantageous. Some repairs would not qualify for reimbursement through grants.
Ms. Leffert noted the comments made by Mr. Hewitt at the budget hearing when he advocated for laying a base one year and doing the hard surface the following year, thereby avoiding the loan.
Corey Leis then explained that culverts had been replaced on Irish Ridge this fall and more gravel would be lost waiting another year. The TRIP approved funds of $75,164.50 were added to the 2022 budget; $14,703 was moved from machinery fund to general fund and $9,656 from building fund to
general fund. With those changes, Mr. Brandt made a motion to approve the 2022 budget, 2nd by Mr. Hemmersbach; all ayes, motion carried.
November 10th minutes were approved, with Mr. Brandt requesting that they be labeled as “Draft”. Mr. Brandt wanted additional budgetary details included in the November 30th minutes.
At 7:59 pm, Mr. Hemmersbach made a motion to adjourn, 2nd by Mr. Brandt; all ayes, motion carried.