Town of Richmond
Board of Supervisors Meeting
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Minutes

Chairman Jeff Karbash called the meeting to order following the Budget Hearing and Special Town Meeting that began at 7:00pm. Present: Karbash, Supervisors Dave Overbeek, Susan Miller, Tom Kraus. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Motion by Miller, Second by Kraus, to approve the Agenda, passed unanimously.

Motion by Kraus, Second by Oerbeek, to approve the Minutes, passed unanimously.

Motion by Overbeek, Second by Kraus, to approve the Treasurer=s Report, passed unanimously.

Board Reports
Karbash – several calls, all on agenda
Overbeek – calls to DNR, all on agenda
Miller – all on agenda
Kraus – nothing, but have been receiving Acrank calls@ where phone id shows Board members= names – do not answer any calls like that.

Sheriff=s Liaison – Deputy Hintz not present, Overbeek reported there was an incident re a boat on Lake Drive right-of-way – Deputy will report on it next month.

Roadman=s Report – Wally McManaway – now getting ready for the snow season.

Public Comment – none

Bartender License – Hailey D. Arlis, sponsored by Turtle Lake Tap & Grill – Motion to approve by Kraus, Second by Overbeek, passed unanimously.

Whitewater Fire and EMS Contracts – Board of Directors President Christ Christon and Vice President Jason Dean presented the one-year contract proposal increase of $1,857 for fire standby with $1,000 per call charge and $1,248 standby for EMS services. They explained the reasons for the increases and responded to questions on staffing, education costs, etc. Whitewater Fire ISO rating is 3.0. They are working on compiling data to make charges fair and equitable to municipalities they serve. Overbeek noted they work well with neighboring departments. President Christon reported that the City of Whitewater has requested a meeting re the department becoming part of the City, but that will depend on a decision made by all the membership of the Fire and EMS Department since they are a 501c agency. All Town Board members will be invited to attend that meeting – he will advise Clerk Ceas of the time and date when it is available. Motion by Overbeek, Second by Miller, to approve the proposed contract, passed unanimously. President Christon will send it to Clerk for signature.

2022 Elections – Clerk Ceas reported 4 possible election dates in 2022: February Primary, April Spring Election, August Primary, November General Election. She noted that the terms for Supervisors 3 and 4 will be up for election – nomination papers are available but can not be circulated before December 1, 2021 and must be returned to her by 5:00PM on Tuesday, January 4, 2022. If either incumbent is not planning to run for office in April they must file a Non-Candidacy notice with her by December 24, 2021. Several statewide, county, and school district offices will also be up for election in April.

ARPA Restricted Fund Uses – Miller reported the ACommittee@ currently consists of herself and Clerk Ceas. She asked the Board to consider adding Steven Wade to assist her. Motion by Overbeek, Second by Karbash, to appoint Steve Wade to her Committee, passed unanimously. She noted that she had failed to report earlier on the Intergovernmental Council meeting she had attended where she learned that the County is using some of its ARPA money to contract with Baker Tilley to consult with Towns regarding how to use our ARPA funds. They have allotted $4,000 to each town for phone consultations. The county is also developing 6 hazmat locations. Regarding ARPA, Miller and Clerk Ceas have attended several webinars, still have no definite list of allowable uses – Miller has asked about our removing trees that endanger power lines – not allowable; ditching – only if we had storm water management plan. However, backup generators should be covered, along with HVAC for air quality in our buildings, ADA compliance update for bathrooms, cyber security – she will question Baker Tilley about these during her conference calls. Motion by Karbash to authorize Miller to talk to Baker Tilley on the Town=s behalf and hopefully get a list of what we can do, Second by Overbeek, passed unanimously.

Snowplow Driver/Part-time Employee Wages – Overbeek reported we currently pay $18/hour to our snowplow driver – Quicktrip pays $16-$17/hour for a less dangerous job, and there is a shortage of CDL drivers – he comes from Clinton, can easily earn more money elsewhere closer to home. We have been giving bonuses to our road workers, but not to the snowplow drivers. Motion by Kraus, Second by Overbeek to pay $25/hour for snowplowing. Part-time wages were discussed. Motion by Overbeek, Second by Karbash to raise Ron Ehlen from $15/hour to $18/hour, passed unanimously. Motion by Kraus, Second by Overbeek to raise Randy Halverson from $18/hour to $20/hour, passed unanimously.

Letter to State Representatives re DNR – Overbeek requested permission to draft a letter to the Head of the DNR and our Legislators stating how poorly we have been treated over the past years, and including our opinion that the Whitewater/Rice Lake Management District was also mistreated during the recent Lake Lorraine drainage problem. We followed the DNR=s lead, and were never told at the beginning just exactly what was expected from us re the WW/RL Management District or the County in the process. Karbash noted he feels we should be reimbursed for our engineering costs. Overbeek noted that recently the DNR Undersecretary admitted that he had never read information submitted to him 1 2 years ago. He would also compliment the current contact, Greg Webster, on the great job he does – responds immediately to calls and requests – perhaps that should be a separate letter of reference. Motion by Kraus to have Overbeek draft the letter, Second by Miller, passed unanimously.

Roadwork – Overbeek – as mentioned during the budget hearing, we just got the OK from the DNR to go ahead on the rip-rap repair on R/W Townline Road at Whitewater Lake. If it is not finished this year, we can carryover the unused monies in the road budget to finish in 2022. Motion by Karbash that if the work is not finished in 2021 we can carryover the estimated $40,000 to pay for it in 2022, and if the job comes in under $40,000, the unused balance will be added to the 2022 road budget. Second by Kraus, passed unanimously.

Buoys for Whitewater Lake- Overbeek reported that he had a call from the Whitewater Lake Patrol asking us to buy buoys. He noted that years ago we had 15 buoys for the Richmond end of the lake and Wally McManaway would assist the boat patrol putting them in and taking them out and storing them; however they have done it all themselves, combining all the buoys in storage. The Whitewater Lake property owners have asked for new buoys – they need 40 new buoys, are asking Richmond to pay for 20 of them. He noted that the Turtle Lake Association pays for its buoys and they are not a lake management district. McManway noted that the cost of buoys is now about $200 each. Karbash noted that we try to spend equal amounts of money on the three lakes; however the cost of the Whitewater Lake Boat patrol is over $4,000 each year. Karbash Moved that since we try to allot equally to each lake (now $2,500 each) and we pay over $4,000 to the Whitewater Lake Boat Patrol, we are refusing the purchase buoys for Whitewater Lake. Second by Overbeek, passed unanimously.

Approval of 2022 proposed budget – Motion to approve by Miller, Second by Kraus, passed unanimously.

Payment of Bills – Motion to approve by Kraus, Second by Overbeek, passed unanimously.

Motion to Adjourn by Kraus, Second by Overbeek, passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Ceas, WCMC
Town Clerk