The meeting was called to order at 7:30. 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, Mark Sherven; Supervisors, Barbara Grenlie, Steve Cowan, Larry Ziemer and Don McKay; Clerk Marc Robertson and Treasurer Sarah Danz .
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
A motion to approve the agenda was made by Larry Ziemer, seconded by Barbara Grenlie and approved.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT AND CORRESPONDENCE
The Dane County Board has acted to override the Dane County Executives veto of a Town of Springfield rezoning.
CITIZEN INPUT
There was no citizen input.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Barbara Grenlie moved approval of the minutes of the December 14th meeting, Don McKay seconded, and the minutes were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Deposits for the month of December were $569,976.69. The largest portion was $569,091.81 in 2010 tax payment collected in December. $459.89 was received in property tax overpayments, which was refunded, $380 for building permits and the remainder was $44.99 in interest.
It appears that the carryover from 2009 to 2010 will be somewhat over $37,000.
A motion was made by Don McKay and seconded by Steve Cowan to accept the Treasurer’s report and the motion was approved.
CLERK’S REPORT
Only the incumbents have submitted nomination papers for Supervisor seats 2 and 4. However, it appears that there will be a primary on February 16th because of a contested judgeship. Two election inspectors, Patty Rue and Kay Butcher, have recently attended chief inspector training so we now have 6 people qualified to act as chief inspectors should the need arise.
Check registers have been printed for both December, 2009 and early January, 2010, since some bills are due immediately after the first of the year. Shortly after the December board meeting we received a corrected salt bill from Dane County, so that issue has been resolved. The large January checks are tax settlements with the State, Dane County and the school districts. All other bills are routine quarterly bills.
A motion was made by Larry Ziemer and seconded by Barbara Grenlie to accept the Clerk’s report, and the motion was approved.
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Approval is sought for payment of bills for December, 2009 and early January, 2010 and paid by checks numbered 1823 through 1881 and ACH transfer 5 for health insurance.
A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Steve Cowan to approve payment of bills for December and early January, 2010 and the motion was approved.
UPDATE FROM DANE COUNTY COMMUNITY DEPUTY
Community Deputy Josalyn Longley was present. She commended Town patrolman Jack Schulenberg and 2nd plow driver (and retired patrolman) Dave Haugen on the condition of Town roads this winter. She also made available a copy of the record of Sheriff’s Department call for most of the final quarter of 2009. Many of the EMS assist calls are related to skier injuries at Tyrol Basin. There have also been a large number of car-deer accidents. There weren’t other notable patterns in the record of calls.
DISCUSSION WITH TEAM SPORTS, INC. REGARDING PLANNING OF BIKING EVENT GOING THROUGH THE TOWN
At the meeting were three individuals, including President Tom Schuler, representing a for-profit corporation, Teams Sports, Inc. They provided information on a proposed May 7, 2010 bicycle race which will be part of the National Collegiate Cycling Championships. It is proposed that rolling closures will be used, with Town Roads Ryan and Zwettler to be included in the route. No complaints were received concerning a 2009 event organized by the same company, which was a longer course and used County Road F rather than Ryan Road. It is expected that there will be 2 groups in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, with approximately 150 riders in each group. This will result in 8 rolling closures in the morning and 12 in the afternoon, each lasting from 2 to 5 minutes at any given point in the road. All will be licensed collegiate riders, with indentifying number tags.
At this point Chairman suggested that the Town should consider a welcome center, perhaps near Elvers Corners, which could be a focal point for recreational activities such as bicycle events. He suggested that a fund might be started for such a center.
A Recreational Activity Permit Application was presented, along with the $25 fee. Steve Cowan moved that the Board approve the Application contingent on approval of the event by Dane County, receipt of a Certificate of Insurance for the event, and the understanding that the organizers will conduct a mailing to residents along the route prior to the event. Larry Ziemer seconded and the motion was approved, with Don McKay voting no. A letter signed by the Town Chairman indicating this conditional approval will be provided to Team Sports, Inc., which will allow them to proceed with obtaining insurance for the event.
Also present was Tim Hyland representing the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau, who provided preliminary information concerning the Centurion bicycle races proposed for August 7-8, 2010. The presentation was informational only, since it was not on the agenda and no Recreational Activity Permit Application was submitted. The event is being promoted by a for-profit company, North America Sports. It will consist of 3 separate races, only 1 of which is proposed to take place partially within the Town of Vermont. Unlike the rolling closures proposed for the collegiate event, this event is expected to involve the complete closure of some roads, including State Highway 78 and County Road J, for varying periods of time. Both roads would also have traffic restrictions for periods of several hours. Concerns were expressed regarding the impact of these closures on local residents and businesses, since private drives along the route would be blocked during the road closure. Concern was also expressed that a major portion of the route would use the same road in each direction rather than being a loop using any particular road segment only once.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 44, 2009-2010 AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE DANE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CREATING A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD) DISTRICT
The Dane County Towns Association recommended approval of this ordinance amendment. Mark Sherven moved that the amendment be approved, Larry Ziemer seconded and the motion was approved.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 45, 2009-2010 AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE DANE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CREATING TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) ZONING DISTRICTS
Mark Sherven moved that consideration of this zoning amendment be postponed until the February meeting, Don McKay seconded and the motion was approved.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 46, 2009-2010 AMENDING CHAPTER 10 OF THE DANE COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, REGARDING COPY AREA OF SIGNS
Don McKay moved that the amendment be approved, Barbara Grenlie seconded and the motion was approved.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON DANE COUNTY REQUEST FOR LOCAL MUNICIPALITY CONTRIBUTION TO OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COST OF PROPOSED INTEROPERABLE RADIO SYSTEM
Mark Sherven moved that no response be given to Dane County’s request for a signed agreement committing the Town of Vermont to paying a portion of the future operating and maintenance costs of a new interoperable radio system. This would effectively decline participation. Steve Cowan seconded the motion. In subsequent discussion, a consensus developed that disapproval of the agreement would be a preferable response. Mark Sherven withdrew his motion, Steve Cowan withdrew his second and Mark Sherven moved that the Town disapprove the agreement as currently proposed by Dane County. Steve Cowan seconded and the motion disapproving the agreement was passed.
DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE SPRING WEIGHT LIMITS ON ROADS
Nothing in the way of a model ordinance has been received from the Dane County Towns Association. With spring only a few months away, the topic will be reconsidered for the spring of 2011.
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING TOWN OF VERMONT PARTICIPATION IN THE DANE COUNTY REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Dane County has given municipalities not now included in the RTA the option to voluntarily join the Authority. Barbara Grenlie moved that the Town of Vermont not join the RTA, Don McKay seconded and the motion was approved, with Steve Cowan voting in favor of joining the RTA.
CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF BUDGET AMENDMENTS IF REQUIRED
A budget amendment resolution was submitted to the Board which added $50 to the 2009 Culture, Recreation & Education Budget and $1,600 to the Conservation & Development budget, those funds being drawn from the General Government budget. Barbara Grenlie moved approval of the resolution, Steve Cowan seconded and the resolution was approved.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Town patrolman Jack Schulenberg reported for the road committee that approximately 20 loads of sand/salt remain of the 50 available at the beginning of the winter. Work continues on resolving hydraulic problems with the small Town truck.
Personnel issues continue with the Mt. Horeb Fire Department. The fire chief remains suspended, with three attorneys now involved in the process. The departure of volunteers from the department appears to have stopped.
The Black Earth Joint Fire District continues to research the purchase of a new squad vehicle. The department has recently received a DNR grant to purchase an ATV-type vehicle for fighting grass fires.
The Planning Commission continues to work on ordinance revisions.
DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS FOR FEBRUARY MEETING
Zoning Ordinance Amendment 45 to Chapter 10 of the Dane County Code of Ordinances will again be on the agenda.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Barbara Grenlie and seconded by Larry Ziemer that the meeting adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 9:48.
Marc Robertson, Town Clerk