MINUTES

TOWN OF VERMONT BOARD MEETING

March 13, 2006

Call to order and certification of notice posting. The clerk certified that the notice had been posted at the Black Earth State Bank, at John Bird Accounting in Black Earth, Amcore Bank in Mt. Horeb, on the town web site www.townofvermont.com, and on the front door of the town hall. It was also published in the News Sickle-Arrow and the Mt. Horeb Mail.

Present: Chairman, Steven Cowan; Supervisors, Barbara Grenlie, Bill Hanson, David Dybdahl and Mark Sherven; Clerk Marc Robertson and Treasurer Sarah Danz.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

A motion to approve the agenda was made by Mark Sherven, seconded by Barbara Grenlie and approved.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT AND CORRESPONDENCE

The Bombay Bicycle Club will be holding its annual event on Labor Day weekend, Sunday, September 3^rd. It will start at Tyrol Basin and cover very little territory in the Town of Vermont. This is in addition to the two bicycle events have already been scheduled for the upcoming summer, the Horribly Hilly Hundreds on Saturday, June 17^th and the Blue Mounds Classic on Saturday, July 15^th.

Grants are available from the Department of Public Works, Highway and Transportation for bicycle related projects. The chairman suggested that a grant might be sought for signs appropriate to the bicycle events that are held in the town. Application is due by April 10.

The county will make available engineering personnel to assist the town in conducting an annual spring road inspection.

The Dane County Land & Water Resources Department is seeking comment on the 2006 – 2001 Dane County Parks and Open Space Plan, and will be holding hearings this spring.

CITIZEN INPUT

Earl Brandt confirmed the September 10^th date for the 2006 Town Picnic and that the organizing committee was being formed.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Barbara Grenlie moved approval of the minutes, Dave Dybdahl seconded, and the minutes were approved with a clarification to the wording regarding the number clients represented by attorney Peter Waltz before the board.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Deposits for the month of December were $172,639.19. The largest component was $171,416.15 in 2005 property tax collections paid in 2006. Dog license receipts were $348.00 and interest on all accounts totaled $857.40. Treasurer and clerk reconciliation showed that accounts were in balance, with the sum of all Town accounts showing $184,412.14.

A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Mark Sherven to accept the Treasurer’s report, and the motion was approved.

CLERK’S REPORT

The February balance sheet showed total liabilities & equity at the end of the month of $184,412.14. Checks were written to pay election workers for voter registration training and to work the spring primary. Other than those checks and checks written for mandated expenditures to Dane County and the various school districts, all other checks written were for routine monthly expenses.

State Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts has provided Wisconsin Blue Books to each Board member and for the Town Hall.

The Dane County Clerk’s office has sent final approval paperwork for Zoning Ordinance Amendments 9088 regarding the Esther Zarndt property and 9419 regarding the William and Sheryl Batten property.

A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Bill Hanson to accept the Clerk’s report, and the motion was approved.

PAYMENT OF BILLS

Approval is sought for payment of bills for February, 2006 paid by checks numbered 10832 through 10878. Note that checks 10830 and 10831 at the top of the list were discussed and approved last month.

Motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Mark Sherven to approve payment of bills for February and the motion was approved.

PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

The Board considered the Planning Commission recommendation to approve the land use application filed by Larry and Patricia Ziemer for a driveway construction permit and the location of a home site adjacent to their current residence at 3490 County Road JG. Dave Dybdahl moved approval and Mark Sherven seconded.

Among the issues outstanding were transfer to the Ziemers of a small piece of land from Richard Junghans over which the proposed driveway is to gain access to County Road JG and a revised engineering plan indicating the method by which erosion control on the steeper slopes is to be accomplished. While final legal transfer of the land from Mr. Junghans had not yet been accomplished, a quit claim deed to that effect has been prepared and only awaits a notarized signature from Mr. Junghans. Since a letter of conveyance has already been submitted to the Planning Commission, the board felt that there was adequate assurance that the transfer would take place.

Revised drawings of the erosion control plan from Quam Engineering were presented, showing how erosion control matting could be used on the steeper slopes in place of flattening the slopes, which would jeopardize adjacent mature trees.

Chairman Steve Cowan requested that at statement be read into the minutes of the meeting:

"(Neither) the planning commission nor the Town of Vermont Board gives or gave the PDR to Ziemers, the original owner of the land -- Diehl decided how the PDR’s were to be divided on the 99.1 acres – we have signed documents stating to this fact and we have no documents opposing this distribution."

The applications from the Ziemers were approved, with Barbara Grenlie abstaining.

CONSIDERATION OF PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING REVISED LAND USE FEE SCHEDULE

A revised land use fee schedule was submitted to the board for approval. Land use fees have been adjusted to encourage land owners who intend to submit more than one Land Use Intent Form or Driveway Construction Application to submit them at one time, the goal being more coherent planning for the future. Also, the length of time for which a driveway permit is valid has been increased from one to two years. Dave Dybdahl moved approval and Bill Hanson seconded.

Discussion involved the grandfathering of currently held driveway permits. It was felt that current driveway permit holders are automatically granted two year permit status. Subsequent permit renewal will be the responsibility of the permit holder. The problem of identifying and notifying current 1 year driveway permit holders was brought up. Also identified was the issue of those holding earlier driveway permits with an indefinite life span, and whether their permit rights would be indefinitely grandfathered; it was determined that this issue should be addressed by the Planning Commission.

The revised fee schedule was approved was approved unanimously.

CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 23, 2005-06, AMENDING CHAPTER 34 OF THE DANE COUNTY ORDINANCES, CONTROLLED BLASTING AREAS

The general purpose of the ordinance is to require that potential property buyers be notified of the existence of controlled blasting areas within two miles of the property under consideration.

Dave Dybdahl moved approval, Barbara Grenlie seconded and the motion was approved.

CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 26, 2005-06, AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE DANE COUNTY ORDINANCES, REGARDING TDR ZONING DISTRICTS

The chairman noted the voluntary nature of the proposal, and the fact that it involves private contracts rather than direct municipal participation. However, flaws have been found in mechanisms so far developed, and the Dane County Towns Association has suggested that more work is required before the ordinance is ready for adoption.

Mark Sherven moved to veto the ordinance amendment, Bill Hanson seconded, and the ordinance amendment was vetoed with a notation to be added to the board action report that the purpose of the disapproval is "to force amendment of the Ordinance Amendment before it is adopted".

CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 27, 2005-06, AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE DANE COUNTY ORDINANCES, PERMITTED USES IN THE C-1 AND C-2 COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS

This amendment allows lighter commercial uses (such as landscapers) within the C-1 and C-2 districts without the need for rezoning within these districts. It was noted that the Dane County Towns Association suggested disapproval of this ordinance amendment because of their general opposition to piecemeal amendments to an ordinance that should be completely revised. The chairman noted that County Board Resolution 268 establishes a task force to revise Chapter 10 of the Dane County Code of Ordinances, which govern county zoning practices.

Barbara Grenlie moved that the amendment be approved, Dave Dybdahl seconded, and the amendment was approved with a notation to be added to the board action report that continued revision of the entire zoning ordinance is encouraged.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Bill Hanson reported that the Black Earth Fire Department will need to pay for the chassis that is coming in, and requested that the board approve payment of the Town of Vermont’s share prior to the next meeting if a bill is received before that time. Mark Sherven moved that payment be approved, Bill Hanson Seconded and the motion was approved.

Dave Dybdahl reported 4 District 1 EMS calls to the Town of Vermont in the first two months of the year. At the last meeting, the need for further building space was discussed.

Mark Sherven noted the transfer of records from Charlotte Johnson to the new assessor.

Mark Sherven also requested board approval of an agreement with the Dane County Highway Department allowing either the chairman or himself to approve costs over runs of up to $2,500 on the Bohn Road guardrail project without further board consent. Bill Hanson moved approval, Dave Dybdahl seconded and the motion was approved.

Mark Sherven also noted that the town is in the process of seeking seal coating bids and working with the county on obtaining overlay bids for Pleasant Valley Road.

It was noted that the official discontinuance of a segment of Dalby Road will need to be discussed at a future board meeting.

DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR APRIL MEETING

A) It is expected that representatives from both the Horribly Hilly Hundreds and the Blue Mounds Classic Bicycle Events will have submitted Recreation Permit Applications for consideration. B) Appointment of alternate members for 2006 Board of Review.

ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Dave Dybdahl that the meeting adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10.