MINUTES

TOWN OF VERMONT BOARD MEETING

April 9, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 7:32. 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, Mark Sherven, Don McKay, Bill Hanson and Barbara Grenlie; 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

Dane County will be selling weather radios at a discounted price ($27.99) and is in need of a count of radios to be delivered to each town, though additional radios can be purchased later if demand exceeds supply. A related question is whether towns would allow non-residents as well as residents to purchase radios at their delivery locations. The Town must pay for the radios within 120 days after delivery, but unsold radios can be returned to Dane County. Barbara Grenlie moved and Bill Hanson seconded that the Town order 3 radios plus the number ordered at the April 10^th Annual Town Meeting. The motion was approved.

CITIZEN INPUT

There was no citizen input.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Barbara Grenlie moved approval of the minutes of the March meeting, Mark Sherven seconded, and the minutes were approved.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Deposits for the month of March were $29,826.61. The largest portion was a State of Wisconsin Lottery Credit Settlement of $27,615.88, $22,420.69 of which was dispersed to the State of Wisconsin, Dane County and the school districts. The remaining deposits included $1,250 for site visits, $521.73 in interest, a $257 refund from our workers compensation insurance company based on our 2006 payroll audit, $150 in assessment searches and $32 for dog licenses. Treasurer and clerk reconciliation showed that accounts were in balance, with the sum of all Town accounts showing $164,798.14.

CLERK’S REPORT

The election last Tuesday went smoothly. 5 new voters registered at the spring election. We have open book coming up on May 2^nd and Board of Review on May 23^rd.

PAYMENT OF BILLS

Approval is sought for payment of bills for March, 2007 paid by checks numbered 11375 through 11420.

A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Don McKay to approve payment of bills for March and the motion was approved.

PRESENTATION BY STATE REPRESENTATIVE SONDY POPE-ROBERTS

The state budget will be deliberated until sometime in October. She welcomes input on state issues. Chairman Steve Cowan noted the difficulties being faced by small school districts with declining student populations. Ms. Pope-Roberts noted that she has authored a resolution, now signed by a majority of the Democrats in the Assembly, calling for a new system for the funding of public schools by July of 2009. She noted that the legislature tends to look at the issue in the short-term rather than education as a long-term investment.

Barbara Grenlie asked whether it is likely that an effort will be made to license bicycles that travel on the public roads. Ms. Pope-Roberts does not expect licensing to be supported in either house at the state level, partly for historical reasons and partly because license numbers are too small to be of practical use as a means of identification.

CONSIDERATION OF PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION REGARDING APPROVAL OF REZONING, HOME SITE LOCATION AND DRIVEWAY FOR BILL & JANE HANSON, 6121 COUNTY ROAD J

The Planning Commission had recommended denial of the rezoning, home site location and driveway on a 5 to 2 vote. Bill Hanson recused himself from participation as a Board member. Mark Sherven moved to approve the Planning Commission’s recommendation for denial, with Don McKay seconding. Mark Sherven noted that the home site was controversial because of its impact on agricultural land. Compromise on the home site location did not appear possible. Don McKay noted reservations about the manner by which storm water would be handled by the proposed driveway. Other issues noted were the ridge-top location of the proposed house and the degree to which it reflects the rural character of the area.

Bill Hanson, speaking as the applicant, noted that only 2 acres out of a total of 53 acres would be taken out of agricultural production by the house and also noted the difficulty with evaluating "rural character" as mentioned in the Land Use Plan. He also felt that drainage control would be improved by a properly engineered driveway compared to the existing field road.

The recommendation to deny the rezoning, home site and driveway permit application was approved by a 3 to 1 vote, with Don McKay, Mark Sherven and Steve Cowan voting yes, Barbara Grenlie voting no and Bill Hanson abstaining. The applications were denied.

CONSIDERATION OF PLAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION REGARDING APPROVAL OF REZONING, HOME SITE LOCATION AND DRIVEWAY FOR RICHARD KELLY ON WOODCHUCK CROSSING

Mark Sherven moved approval of rezoning, home site location and driveway for site 3 on Richard Kelly’s property, as recommended by the Planning Commission. Barbara Grenlie seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.

CONSIDERATION OF PLAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION REGARDING SETBACK VARIANCE FOR GEOFFREY & MELODY KETCHUM, 3223 COUNTY ROAD JG

The Ketchums wish to add a covered deck addition to their home that will be within the county right-of-way, but no closer to the road than their existing home. Mark Sherven moved that the Town send a letter to the county, with an accompanying drawing of the proposed construction, indicating that the Town has no objection to this variance request. Barbara Grenlie seconded the motion and the motion was approved unanimously.

CONSIDERATION OF PLAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION REGARDING APPROVAL OF REZONING FOR STEVE COWAN ON COWAN LANE

The Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning of 2.8 acres, with an existing home, from A-1 AGEX to RH-1. The Planning Commission requested a preliminary survey, which has been submitted to the Board. Mark Sherven moved approval of the petition and Don McKay seconded. Barbara Grenlie raised a point of order as to whether the Chairman should be presiding over the meeting at the time that his own petition is being considered. This point of order was not addressed and consideration of the petition continued.

After clarification of information on the maps presented to the Board, and confirmation with the Town Patrolman that he does not have difficulty turning around at the point that Cowan Lane ends and the existing private drive begins, the Chairman called the question. The petition for rezoning passed, with Don McKay and Mark Sherven voting to approve the petition, Bill Hanson voting no, Steve Cowan abstaining and Barbara Grenlie abstaining based on her point of order.

APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBERS FOR 2007 BOARD OF REVIEW

The Clerk recommends that Virginia Urness, David Dybdahl and Sarah Danz be appointed Board of Review alternates for 2007. Don McKay moved approval, Barbara Grenlie seconded and the alternates were approved.

DISCUSSION OF DISTRICT ONE EMS BUILDING PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND FINANCING

Bids for the new building are to be opened on May 1^st and a contract awarded on May 15^th. Rather than turning over the entire amount of the Town’s estimated share of the building expense on May 1^st as requested by the EMS Board, Steve Cowan suggested that the Town obtain a line of credit of at least the anticipated amount but approve payments to the EMS District as justified by progress on the building. Mark Sherven moved that a line of credit be established and no money removed without authorization by the Board. The motion was seconded by Don McKay and approved.

DISCUSSION OF REVISIONS TO CHAPTER 6 OF TOWN OF VERMONT ORDINANCES

Barbara Grenlie noted that further revision of the permit application wording with respect to the deposit fee was necessary in order to conform to the existing ordinance Chapter 6. Dane County Ordinances may provide guidance in how to construct penalty sections for our ordinances. Each county ordinance section specifies a range of penalties. Each day is generally considered to be a separate offence and it is generally provided that injunctive relief may be immediately sought.

Town ordinances need to specify a relationship with the court system in order to provide for enforcement. This seems particularly important if injunctive relief is to be sought. It remains to be seen whether we should be associated with the Dane County court system or a nearby village court system. It also needs to be determined who should initiate ordinance enforcement; particularly in matters where prompt action is required, the Town Chair, on behalf of the Town Board, appears to be the best choice.

Current Chapter 6 ordinance wording specifies that either the number of participants (250) or the collection of a fee by the organizing entity can trigger the ordinance unless the event is to be held on a site that is properly zoned for it. It was felt that this wording should be retained, but questions remain as to the range of activities that might fall within the scope of the ordinance. These questions include whether there should be a distinction between road events that only pass through the Town and stationary events held within the Town, and whether any special consideration should be afforded to charitable events.

How and whether penalty provisions should distinguish between organizers and event participants needs to be considered. Enforcement against individual participants may be difficult, but focusing only on the organizing entity might limit the scope of injunctive relief. Also noted was a town’s general responsibility to promote the "health, safety and welfare" of both residents and those passing through.

It was felt that sufficient progress has been made in defining the intent of Chapter 6 that a draft of the ordinance can be forwarded to the Wisconsin Towns Association in order to explore whether similar ordinances might exist elsewhere which would provide useful guidance. They might also be in a position to comment of past experiences with the enforcement of similar ordinances in the court system.

DISCUSSION OF REVISIONS TO CHAPTER 4 OF TOWN OF VERMONT ORDINANCES

The primary concern with this ordinance is that insufficient attention is now paid to the provision of an area at the end of Town roads for both Town maintenance equipment and emergency vehicles to turn around. Not all road terminations pose the same problem, so some flexibility must be designed into the ordinance. There is also the question of whether this ordinance revision should be part of a "roads" section of Chapter 4 or a "driveway" section, since the turnarounds in question will at least initially be on private property at the end of a Town road. It is likely to remain policy that cul de sacs constructed at the end of Town roads will be turned over to the Town after being satisfactorily completed. Therefore, the justifications and conditions for a cul de sac being required as well as construction detail should be specified at some point in the ordinance.

In addition to a requirement for the initial provision of a satisfactory Town and emergency vehicle turnaround, it is also necessary that the turnaround be maintained and kept free of obstacles and parked vehicles. This is another point in the ordinances that the "health, safety and welfare" of citizens becomes significant.

Don McKay suggested lowering the slope requirements in the driveway portion of the ordinance to 9 percent, as well as questioning whether erosion control and drainage specifications should be addressed in the ordinance rather than being left to engineering plans.

This ordinance is another case in which consultation with the Wisconsin Towns Association regarding precedents, ordinance language and possible penalties and enforcement mechanisms will hopefully be useful.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Work continues on the district agreement for the Mt. Horeb Fire and EMS District, with most discussion revolving around the proportion of member seats that must agree in order for a decision to be passed. It was noted that the residents of a block of contiguous parcels within a town can petition the town board requesting a change in the fire or EMS districts serving those properties. The town board can in turn petition both the new and the existing districts requesting the change, but it must be approved by both.

Mark Sherven reported for the road committee that maintenance will be required on the gutters of the larger salt shed and the siding of the smaller salt shed. Dave Haugen reported that new tires will be required on the front of the tractor at an installed price of approximately $400 per tire. It was also noted that damage caused to the road shoulders by the Alliant Energy subcontractor has not yet been repaired.

DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR MAY MEETING

No agenda items were noted for the May meeting. Barbara Grenlie expects to be absent from the May meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Mark Sherven and seconded by Bill Hanson that the meeting adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 10:19.