MINUTES

TOWN OF VERMONT BOARD MEETING

JANUARY 10, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Steven Frame. The clerk certified the notice had been posted at Black Earth State Bank, Amcore Bank in Mt. Horeb, on the town web site www.townofvermont.com and on the front door of the town hall; also published in the News Sickle-Arrow and the Mt. Horeb Mail.

Present: Chairman, Steven Frame; Supervisors Bill Hanson, David Dybdahl, Barbara Grenlie, Mark Sherven; Treasurer Sarah Danz and Clerk Marian Swoboda.

SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ITEMS

The following items posted in a supplemental agenda on Janaury 7, 2005 were considered: (1) to approve or disapprove action taken by Dane County regarding the modification of County Zoning Petition #9140 filed by Stanford Stevenson, and (2) to consider who shall cover the expense of bringing the town road and cul-de-sac up to specifications specified by the County under zoning Petition #9049 filed by Gaylard Mickelson.

Motion was made by David Dybdahl seconded by Bill Hanson and carried to approve the action taken by the County approving zoning Petition #9140 conditioned upon certain deed restrictions. Supervisor Barbara Grenlie abstained from voting.

Motion was made by Bill Hanson seconded by Steve Frame and carried to referred item #2 on the supplemental agenda to the Plan Commission. Supervisor Barbara Grenlie abstained from voting.

HIGHWAY 78 ACCESS CONTROL PROJECT

Joanna Bush from the consulting firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc (SEH) appeared before the board on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to explain the recently initiated Access Control Project along Highway 78. The project begins at Mt. Horeb and extends almost to highway12 except for the area around Black Earth. SEH was hired by WisDOT to implement the project prepared in accord with Section 84.25 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Joanna reported they were currently identifying private driveways entering on highway 78. When completed maps snowing the driveways will be mailed to property owners for verification. Public meetings will be held in April for public input and discussion. Final resolution is schedule for June 2005. Concerning town road access to highway 78 WisDOT is seeking 250 to 500 feet of controlled access beyond the right-of-way.

CITIZEN INPUT

Donald McKay informed the board that Tyrol Basin is providing the snow for the winter sport activities planned for the Capitol Square on the forthcoming weekend. He said the trucking would take place on the Friday preceding the Saturday opening and would be removed on Sunday following the close of the activities. Bohn Road and County Tk GJ will be used for hauling the snow.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion was made by Mark Sherven seconded by Barbara Grenlie and carried to approve the December board minutes as amended. (The reference to limiting the number of bicycles allowed in any one group rally and to allow no racing on town roads was supposed to be placed on the February meeting agenda.

REPORT OF THE TREASURER

Treasurer Sarah Danz reported depositing $316,003.97 in the savings account in December from citizen property tax collections. Interest earned during the month totaled $19.42. The investment account earned $5.27 in interest. $25.00 from Title Company Assessment Searches was deposited in the checking account along with $1,453.00 from building permits, $1,303.49 from Dane County bridge aid and $5.99 from earned interest. The sum of all deposits made in December was $318,816.14.The treasurer and clerk reconciliation as of December 31, 2004 totaled $319,184.82 with $5.27 in the investment account, $316,023.39 in the savings account and $319,184.82 in the checking account.

REPORT OF THE CLERK

The December balance sheet verified the report of the treasurer showing total liabilities and equities of $319,184.82. Subtracting the property taxes collected in December ($316,003.97) from the December equity position ($319,184.82) left a $3,180.85 carryover into 2005. A carryover of $3,000 was projected in the 2005 budget. Taxes collected in December are always carried over to the next year to cover the disbursements of school, fire and EMS levies.

The clerk reviewed the year end Income & Expenses vs. Budget report pointing out variances between the two. On the income side Interest earned on accounts together with title company assessment searches produced $1,959 less than budget predictions while land use fees produced $1,200 more. Shared revenue was $806 less than the $15,094 originally predicted by the State Department of Revenue. Other items within the categories met or exceeded budget expectations. Overall income exceeded budget predictions by $462. On the expense side unexpected increases in utilities, insurance, fringe benefits, capital expenditures, maintenance, office supplies, and elections contributed to a $1,268 increase in expenditures over budget or 1% of the total budget. Net income exceeded budget predictions by $806 or 3%.

The clerk also distributed copies of the town's 4th quarter federal tax return showing a payment of $4,688.94 covering income tax withholdings along with social security and Medicare payments.

The clerk called the following notices to the board's attention:

I. A memo from Dane County Towns Association announcing a Januay 12 general member meeting and Attain Dane listening session (2) A Public Service Commission Notice of a prehearing conference on February 8 regarding proposed rate increases by WP&L (3) A public Hearing by Dane County Zoning regarding a mineral extraction proposal filed by Yahara Materials on January 20.

PAYMENT OF BILLS

Motion was made by Mark Sherven seconded by Barbara Grenlie and carried to approve the payment of bills totaling $47,187.17 covered by checks #10303 through #10355 dated December 13, 2004 through January 10, 2005.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH DANE COUNTY ON VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM

The Dane County Clerk's office having offered to share the responsibility with towns and villages for maintaining the voter registration system passed by Congress in 2002 offered a Memo of Understanding for consideration by the board. While the town under the clerk's office would be responsible for gathering the data, the county clerk's office would be responsible for entering and maintaining the data in the State centralized database developed by the Wisconsin State Elections Board. The County would charge twenty-five cents for entering and/or changing data on registered voters. Given the technology required to maintain the state voter registration system along with software, staffing and training costs,

Motion was made by Mark Sherven seconded by David Dybdahl and carried that the Memorandum of Undertanding with Dane County to enter and keep current the town's voter registration data in the state's centralized database be approved.

STATE STATUTES BUDGET FORMULATION REQUIREMENTS

Given the budget formatting concerns expressed by town citizens during the 2005 budget meeting, the clerk informed the board it was her intent to use the format requirements of State Statute 65.90 for the presentation of budgets and financial reports at future town meetings. Copies of the statute were given to the board. Expenditures will be presented under the following categories: General government, public safety, public works, health and human services, culture, recreation and education, conservation and development, capital outlay, debt service and other financing. Revenues will be reported under the following categories: Taxes, special assessments, intergovernmental revenues, licenses and permits, fines, forfeitures and penalties, public charges for services, intergovernmental charges, miscellaneous revenue, other financial sources. Actual revenues and expenditures for the preceding year, actual revenues and expenditures for not less than the first 6 months of the current year and estimated revenues and expenditures for the balance of the current year will be given along with percentage change between the budget of the current year and the proposed budget. The board agreed with the clerk's intent given the statute requirement.

REVIEW OF TOWN RECREATIONAL APPLICATION AND PERMIT FORM

The board reviewed the town's Recreational Application and Permit form and suggested the following changes: (1) increase the permit fee to $100.00 and the refundable deposit to $500 (2) limited the number of participants in any event to 500 (3) require the application to be submitted 120 days in advance of the event to allow adequate time for review by both the town and county if necessary (4) notify adjacent residents or residents along the route of the activity three days in advance of the scheduled event (5) disallow all timed or racing events upon town roads (5) each participant in any activity upon the roads in the town shall have a visible number or license (6) a map showing the location or route of the event must be submitted with the permit application. The board asked the clerk to redraft the application for final consideration at the February meeting.

In addition to changes to be made in the application,

Motion was made by Bill Hanson seconded by David Dybdahl and carried to construct an ordinance to control bicycle racing in the town.

NORTHWEST DANE SENIOR SERVICES DONATION

Motion was made by Steve Frame seconded by Bill Hanson and carried to approve the customary contribution to Northwest Dane Senior Services based on the population of the town or $1.00 per citizen.

FEBRUARY MEETING DATE

Due to a conflict in his schedule Chairman Frame announced he needed to change the date of the next meeting. Possible dates were considered and it was agreed that the meeting would be held on Wednesday, February 9, 2005.

ADJOURMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m.

Marian Swoboda, Town Clerk