League Spring dinner meeting
June 7, 2009I attended the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Spring dinner meeting, which was held in Howard, on Thursday, June 4. I met alot of people from area cities and villages; we had ample opportunity to mingle and talk. I learned that our troubles are about all the same - trying to do alot with a little.
Dan Thompson, the LWM Executive Director, gave us a rundown of the State budget process. I knew it was going to be tougher this year than other years - from a Council member’s perscpective in helping establish a budget - but I was unaware of the implications of the State budget on individuals and families personally. Shared revenues are being cut to cities, but telephones and garbage will see increased fees.
Until the State budget is passed, we won’t know the final status but the draft proposals coming out of the Joint Finance Committee are not promising.
Special Council Meeting, 6/3/09
June 5, 2009We met at 5PM in the Council Chambers. After the call to order and the Pledge of Allegiance, we had roll call. Everyone was present. We also listened to Charlie Forrest, of Stern Brothers, and Andrew Kitzenger (sp?), of Hunton & Williams, LLP, on the phone by conference call.
The first order of business was Public Comments. Four people spoke about the Steam Plant, how it was presented to the Council and actions the Council took, or didn’t take, what was known and what was not, and concern about the next steps to be taken. One person expressed great anxiety about the process and urged us to work through this in a responsible manner.
We moved on to Action Items, and the first was a discussion on the need to retain legal counsel to assist the City in negotiations with the bondholders, in the wake of the Utilities Commission decision to cease operations of the Menasha Steam Utility. Already there has been some communications received from various bondholders on how this decision would impact them, and the City, so legal counsel is definitely necessary to protect all parties involved. Based on the two quotes we had received for this counsel, we questioned the representative of Hutton & Williams (whose quote for services was FAR below that of the other bidder, Orrick, of San Francisco, CA) about their anticipations and expectations. In the discussion it became apparent that the intent of all the parties was to do the right thing with as little adversarial action as possible. We then moved to retain legal counsel 8-0.
Next was consideration of R-15-09, a resolution of the City Common Council regarding appointment of special counsel (Hutton & Williams, LLP) and to consider the cessation of the Steam Utility operations. Based on Mr. Kitzenger’s suggestion, we delayed making the final decision in order to allow legal counsel to get up to speed on all actions taken to this point, and to obtain complete lists of bondholders. That, too, was unanimously passed 8-0.
We adjourned at about 5:58PM.
Monday, June 1, 2009
June 4, 2009Common Council
We were called to order at 6PM, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and had roll call. Everyone was present.
We had Public Hearings scheduled – three of them! The first was on a proposed change to an ordinance relating to zoning height, area and setback exceptions; the second was proposed amendments to an ordinance relating to the regulation of signs; finally, the third was for the proposed creation of an ordinance establishing criteria for adding to the City Comprehensive Plan. No one spoke on any of the topics for the public hearing.
We moved on to Public Comments in the agenda. There were a couple residents of 5 Oaks Park who reported they believed it unfair that they were being charged more than other homeowners in the City for the Stormwater Utility charges. (There was a lot of paperwork in our packet in the communications portions on this issue. My belief is that the owner of the park, Tom Van Handel, is passing along HIS portion of the charges on to the residents. He received ONE bill ($28,080) for the entire property of 298 lots plus private roads, sidewalks, driveways for a total of 432 ERUs. He, in turn, charged the residents $110 per year, as opposed to other City homeowners who pay $65. The total for the lots at the regular rate would be $19,370, or short of what Mr. Van Handel’s bill is. My calculations indicate this additional $8,710 is being passed along on to the residents; also, instead of just the $29.23 needed to make the bill payment, there is an additional charge of $15.77.) The residents asked that the City bill them directly for the Stormwater Utility, and at the same rate as other homeowners.
Two people spoke about wanting to make Broad Street a 2-way street instead of leaving it one-way, and a couple others spoke about Steam Plant issues, including the growing debt (“a huge mountain to climb”) that we need to get ourselves out if, and recognizing the staff who worked diligently there to try to make the project work. There were also questions as to why Lake Park was not being marketed and why services aren’t being combined with other municipalities to reduce costs.
In the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants, we recognized the Senior Center for achieving statewide accreditation through the WI Assoc. of Senior Center. It is especially notable due to the 2-member staff. Sylvia Bull, the Senior Center supervisor, was presented with a plaque from the state association and also one from the City, recognizing the achievement. Next we had an announcement of the WI DNR awarding the 2009 Innovations in Urban Forestry Award to Menasha and Winnebago Co. for the former American Quality Fibers site at 204 Railroad St., where trees were planted to remediate the contaminated property.
There was a brief memo and explanation by DPW Mark Radtke about the single-stream recycling that Winnebago County is going to in 2010. It means the Menasha citizens will no longer be able to use the plastic bags (clear or blue) for recyclables, but can mix papers, plastic, and glass in one container. Some further options are available for containers and a staff recommendation will follow at a later date.
Next we had the Clerk’s minutes to receive (10 of them) and communications (only five (5) but one item (m) had 26 different e-mails, letters, and petitions attached. Most of them had multiple signatures from the residents of 5 Oaks. All were expressing dismay about the Stormwater Utility rate they were being charged. We will be addressing this in June or July, according to the Mayor.
Special attention was brought to a notice for Menasha’s Farm Fresh Market on Thursday afternoons in downtown Menasha, starting June 11. This was brought up by Alderman Taylor so the viewing audience would also know about it. (Good job, Mike!)
We went on to the Consent Agenda. I asked to have one street use application removed and the rest of the Consent Agenda was approved, 8-0. It consisted of the minutes from the Jt. Council and Utilities Commission from 5/12/09 and the Council of 5/18/09. Also included was Administration Committee action for the acceptance of the quote from the Post Crescent as the official City newspaper. There were two (2) other Street Use applications for the marina area recommended for approval by the Board of Public Works and a Plan Commission recommendation for retaining the road reservation at 921 Midway Rd. in case it is needed for access to the adjacent vacant parcel to the south of 921 Midway Rd.
I had asked to remove the Street Use application for the Sun Runner celebration. I wholeheartedly support this event, however, our ordinances limit a street use application to only six (6) hours UNLESS mitigating circumstances are expressed and approval for a longer time is granted by the Common Council. I did not want to just pass this through without the mitigating circumstances known; I wanted to adhere to the ordinance in case such a case comes up again, as it has in the past. It was announced that the longer use of the street was needed to ensure pedestrian safety as the event was being held in both the Faith Technologies parking lot (former Banta office building) AND in the Broad St. parking lot. With people walking back and forth between the two lots, they didn’t want anyone injured by vehicular traffic. Having that revealed as the mitigating circumstances, I had absolutely NO problem with the Street Use application and it was approved 8-0.
We then approved ordinance O-14-09 relating to signs (because of the earlier Public Hearing), O-15-09 relating to comprehensive plan amendments (also because of the earlier Public Hearing) and R-13-09, the final resolution authorizing public improvements and levying special assessments against the properties of Southfield West and Tana Lane.
Under Action Items on the agenda, we had the accounts payable and payroll for the term 5/21/09 to 5/28/09, which was approved. Next we had renewal liquor licenses and malt beverage applications for the licensing year 7/1/09-6/30/10 to approve, with the exception of Fox Cinema, Menasha Grill, and Lake Park Swim & Fitness, all of whom have unpaid financial claims for the City. Action on R & R was deferred for a pending Due Process hearing on 6/15/09. We also had outdoor alcoholic beverage permits for four places to approve, which we did. They include Hot Brass LLC. (d/b/a Locker Room), Naut’s Landing, Inc., Stone Toad Inc., and Wiseguys Pizzeria and Pub, LLC. All are for the licensing period of 7/1/09-6/30/10.
There was some question as to what appropriate action should be taken on the next item, which was approval to retain legal counsel to assist the City in bondholders negotiations for the Steam Utility, whether to hold, table, or have no action. First we decided to hold but upon legal review, it was decided to have no action. Mayor Merkes did announce that of the two quotes we received (with a HUGE variance in rates), one was investigating whether there would be a potential conflict of interest and that matter should be resolved within the next day, well before the scheduled special Council meeting on Wednesday 6/3/09.
Having nothing else to cover on the agenda, the floor was opened to Public Comments on anything on the agenda. There were none. We adjourned at 7:05, reconvened about the reconsidered hold and adjourned once more at 7:10PM.
Administration Committee
We were called to order at 7:12PM, had roll call with everyone present, and approved the minutes of the 5/18/09 meeting as submitted.
Under Action Items on the agenda, we first had to consider the appeal of the denial of the Operator’s License for Kathryn A. Harding, who is employed at the R & R Bar. With previous OWI charges AND possession of drugs on her records, Chief Stanke denied the application and she filed for a hearing. She presented her case and had her manager speak on her behalf. There were a few questions and comments amongst the committee members but it was voted 6-2 to uphold the denial.
AR-1409, a resolution relating to the 2010 Census Complete Count Committee, was recommended to the Council.
The last item for discussion was a motion held on 5/18/09, which was to retain Jeff Brandt as consultant/interim City Attorney. Mayor Merkes told us that he had spoken with Jeff who still wanted to hold regular office hours one day a week, but that he would be available Mondays through Thursdays, for $100 an hour. Again there was some concern about having office hours when there was no need for him; when the motion was made to retain him, it died for lack of a second.
We then adjourned at 7:35PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 7:37PM, had roll call with everyone present, and approved the minutes of the May 18 meeting, as submitted. We moved onto Action Items on the agenda.
The only item for consideration was a request for authorization to conduct an engineering study to explore the feasibility of converting Broad Street from one-way to two-way traffic. After some discussion, it was recommended that staff conduct the study and report back with their findings.
We then adjourned at 7:45PM.
NMFR 5/26/09
May 28, 2009We met in the Hauser Room at the Neenah City Hall at 5:30PM. After attendance, the first order of business was the election of a new Chair and Vice-Chair for the committee. In the by-laws, it states that the Chair will alternate between the two cities each year. Since Alderman Todd Stevenson was the chair for the past year and is from Neenah, this year the Chair will be from Menasha. Once that fact was announced, I was immediately nominated and seconded for Chair and received the appointment by acclamation. Thank you! Todd received the nomination for Vice-Chair by acclamation, also, so we actually ended up just exchanging positions for the upcoming year. Todd turned over the meeting to me.
We approved the minutes of the 4/28/09 meeting as submitted, and placed them on file. We did the same with the month end department budget reports. A side note from the Chief was that Mayor Scherck has ordered all departments to keep purchasing to a minimum and to trim their budgets wherever and whenever possible. Basically, the expenditures are on target for the calendar year 34% expended for 33% of the year elapsed.
The monthly activity report for April 2009 was reviewed. Both the budget report and the activity report were then accepted and placed on file.
Under Old Business, we had a Grant Update. The only grant reported on was the Driver Simulator. A memo of understanding has been drafted and will be presented to the County Fire Chiefs at a meeting this week for their signatures. It is the same as has been verbally discussed so there should be no problem but they want everyone on the same page with understanding who is responsible for what and how the scheduling will work, etc. No other grants have been publicized yet (basically the one about fire stations that we would be interested in) so there was nothing else to report.
We heard a repeat of the proposal that Chief made to the Town of Clayton on a CFS (Calls For Service) proposal. There has been no feedback yet.
Lastly, under Old Business, we were informed both Councils passed the updated recreational fire ordinance. I asked if the hand-out was going to be updated to reflect the changes and was told that it is in process.
Moving onto New Business, we tabled a discussion of the distribution of agendas and minutes via email. There are too many unanswered questions to take action at this time.
More of a discussion took place about the proposal for fixing the basement foundation problem at Station 32 (125 E. Columbian Ave.). Only one bid had been received but the committee felt another should be obtained for comparables. Also, there was some question about the solution posed by action in September when this was first raised. At that time the Maintenance Chief for Neenah said that ABC Waterproofing would do the job for $4600 while a second higher quote was for $6000. The work remained undone – for whatever reason – and now the bid we’re to approve is $9500. No action will be taken until a second bid is received to compare with this one.
The next meeting is set for Tuesday, 6/23/09 at Menasha. We adjourned at 6:38PM.
IT Steering 5/20/09
May 27, 2009We met at the library at 8:15AM. Everyone was present. Amy Koester joined our group as the Community Development member. Brenda was a little late but she made it. Welcome ladies! Everyone else was present, including our consultant, Larry Schmitz.
The minutes of the 4/15/09 meeting were approved as submitted (whew! It’s not easy taking minutes and running a meeting, but I did it two (2) months in a row while Tom was recuperating from surgery.) No one wished to make any Public Comments, so we moved on to the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants.
The web page is being transitioned from Heartland to our own server. There are a few issues remaining to work on to clear it all up but things are progressing satisfactorily.
Another update for Market Drive is ready to go but Patrick anticipates it will take some time to work through that so he needs to clear his slate of a few ongoing projects before he can get at it.
We moved on to Action Items and briefly discussed a website feedback email to the Mayor which was forwarded to IT, but which the committee felt was best intended for Community Development. Amy said that’s he would be glad to look into the “community website events calendar”.
Next we discussed an unsolicited bid offer from Verizon Wireless which was offering a “Push to Talk” capability which would likely be very helpful for the DPW, and possibly the Parks Dept. Patrick spoke about some of the features that would be favorable, but Menasha belongs to a consortium that bids out cell phones for best pricing. Our current cell phone and wireless contract goes through the Fall and this feature will be considered in the specs for the RFP for next year as no one has any budgeted funds for adding features at this time. Chief Stanke is our representative to that consortium and will look into this.
The next issue on the agenda was the Intranet but there was no opportunity this month to further investigate it so this item will be carried over to next month.
Regarding the PrintCare or Print Management Services packages being considered, we reviewed two proposals, form MBM and Accents Business Solutions. Ricoh indicated they had nothing formal to offer; the prices would be too high for consideration, so they didn’t want to bid. This program offers some reduction in toner costs and MBM offers maintenance besides. Of the two under consideration, the MBM quote was most responsive to City needs and had the best prices, including black toner. There were, however, a few areas in the “boiler plate” contract offered that needs to be tailored for our needs so Larry Schmitz and Jeff Lacey will further converse/negotiate with them to clear up some details, then will have the City Attorney review it. After completing all that, the committee moved that the proposal should then be forwarded to the Council with our recommendation for approval. BUT, we did want the contract as it now is to be modified and to have it reviewed by our attorney first. This motion passed unanimously.
The final item on the Action agenda was an issue with “Patrol” login and patrol officer passwords. It seems there is a problem with expiring passwords on the “Patrol” login. The committee told Jeff to take whatever action he deemed necessary to keep the passwords functioning. It may include giving individual sign-ins instead of generic “Patrol”. Some adjustment might have to be made by officers to ensure they sign out each time they use a computer but it is not something that will hamper their work environments.
The next IT Steering Committee meeting will be June 17, 2009, at the library. There was a brief discussion about the July meeting. Due to vacations, we will meet on July 29 instead of July 15. We adjourned at 9:07AM.
BRAT FRY
May 22, 2009The Menasha Senior Center is holding a fundraising brat fry in front of their building (on Main Street) today, Friday, May 22. If you can, please support their efforts. I’ll be workng there with my husband from about 12:15-3PM. I WAS scheduled for this morning but they had ample help, so I offered to come back later today.
Please support the Menasha Senior Center!
Council Chambers, May 18, 2009
May 22, 2009Common Council
We met at 6PM in the Council chambers, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and had roll call. All were present, including Attorney Rich Carlson.
The first order of business was a Public Hearing about the proposed 2” temporary asphalt pavement for Southfield West subdivision and the west end of Tana Lane. Two people spoke, both inquiring how this affects them, how they are charged, and what payment plan is offered. At the end of the public input, Mayor Merkes explained some of the process now being undertaken and Comptroller/Treasurer Stoffel explained the payment set-ups the City uses. Both parties seemed satisfied with the explanations they received.
Next we had Public Comments on any matter of Concern to the City. Only one person spoke and it pertained to the right-of-way on his dead end street (Paris St.) . It seemed apparent that there had been some previous phone conversations between him, Mayor Merkes and Mark Radtke, and those discussions would continue.
We moved into the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants and had the minutes of four (4) committees or boards and six (6) communications, one of which dealt with the discontinuance of blue bags (or clear colored bags) for recycling effective 1/10/10. I asked how this would impact collections here and what plans are being made to comply. This information would be forwarded to me when a draft is drawn up.
Moving on to the Consent Agenda, we had the minutes of the 5/4/009 Common Council and the Board of Public Works action of the same date. There was a street use application for the annual marathon race to be held on 9/20/09, a recommendation for wayfinding signage and a recommendation to hold the surplus commodity revenue for a tipping stabilization fund. The Consent Agenda passed unanimously, with no discussion.
The next item was an ordinance relating to recreational fires (fire pits, etc.) which passed 8-0, as did approval of the accounts payable and payroll for 5/7/09 to 5/14/09. The last item on the agenda, besides the Public Comments, was approval of the re-appointment of Sheila Brucks to be an at-large member of the Heckrodt Board for 5/1/09-5/1/2010. It carried. No one spoke on the Public Comments, so we adjourned at 6:22PM.
I love the revised (Consent) agenda. 
Administration Committee
We were called to order at 6:23PM, with all present. The minutes of the May 4 meeting were approved as submitted.
Under Action Items on the agenda, we had the consulting agreement with the McClone Agency. Mayor Merkes advised he had a discussion with Mike McClone who suggested we hold this matter until a City Attorney/Personnel Director is hired and that person decides the value of the proposal. Former Atty. Brandt thought it beneficial, but the next person might not. It was used infrequently. A motion was made and seconded to “TABLE” the matter. It was tabled.
City Clerk Galeazzi reported there was only one proposal for official City newspaper (the Post Crescent) so that proposal was provided, along with the recommendation to accept it. This will be forwarded to the Council with a recommendation to approve.
The last proposal, from Alderman Pack, was to retain Jeff Brant as a consultant/interim City Attorney. He quoted a fee of $100 per hour for Jeff, as opposed to $165 per hour from Atty. Carlson. However, Mayor Merkes said that in his conversation with Jeff, Jeff wanted 3 hours a day for 5 days, or 5 hours for 3 days, per week for a guaranteed $1500 a week. Also, nothing was formalized in the proposal from Jeff, and there was no idea if we would need 15 hours per week. Another alderman pointed out that in a vote last February or March, our Council had decided that Mayor Merkes could search out an interim attorney, which is what he did, getting Atty. Carlson for general legal counsel and Attys. Chalchoff and Jelinski for prosecution service for municipal court. There was some discussion but ultimately no one voted to proceed with the proposal and it was HELD.
We adjourned at 6:37PM.
Board of Public Works
We got underway at 6:39PM with roll call (everyone was present), and approval of the 5/4/09 minutes as submitted.
We had three Street Use applications to consider, for the 22nd annual Steak Fry at the Marina on 6/20/09, for the 12th annual Corn Roast at the Marina on 9/5/09 and for the FIRST Sun Runner festival, in downtown Menasha, on Saturday, June 20. All three were discussed and were generally approved of; they will all be forwarded to the Council with our recommendation to approve.
Lastly we had a Final Resolution, R-13-09, for the 2” temporary asphalt pavement on Southfield West and Tana Lane which will also be forwarded to the Council.
We adjourned at 6:45PM.
May 12, 2009
May 14, 2009Special Council and Utility Commission meeting
We met in the Council chambers, starting at 5PM, expecting a large crowd for the Public Hearing, and there was! We started with the Pledge of Allegiance and then had roll call; everyone was present except Commissioner Guidote, who was excused.
In the Public Hearing portion, we heard from about 13 people, all of whom sated we should stop the experiment with the Steam Utility and let the City work its way out of the financial morass this has caused. This was said in a variety of ways, to the point it was beginning to be repetitious, but the point was well taken.
It was in the Public Comments portion that I got somewhat upset because there was finger-pointing, blaming and “I told you so’s” that serve little point in figuring out where we go from here. Someone made a reference to possible illegal acts, but there were none. I would be the first to point them out if there were! Also, to think someone would go into this situation without believing in the whole process is unthinkable; it was cursed from the beginning - and bad luck and timing made it even worse. It is unfortunate but accusations at this point are futile; we need to move forward not look back. We best learn from the mistakes of the past but we don’t place blame for them.
There also was a loud hue and cry for no closed session which was scheduled for the later portion of the meeting. The closed session was to lay out plans for the interim contract offers to the two customers who are involved in litigation against the Steam Utility, as well as a potential Sierra Club action.
After the Public Comments, both Mayor Merkes and Charles Forrest (of Stern Brothers) explained some actions that were pending and what was taking place with asset determinations underway (a workout process). Mr. Forrest also had explanations for or against some ideas floated by people making comments of how to proceed: biomass conversion, behind-the-meter, environmental concerns, default, arbitration. Basically, he said they are fact-finding to determine WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE.
One item worth mentioning again is he said that if we sell the Menasha Electric & Water Utility, in order to re-coup some of the money we owe, we will likely only recover an extra $5 million, but it would result in electric and water rate increases about 20-30% over what we now pay AND we would lose the $1 million PILOT payment that the Utility makes to the City now. The $5 million would be lost in 5 years, but the rate increases would go on forever. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
There were many more comments made and questions asked. I eventually got caught up in the statements being made that I stopped taking notes but I believe it was very enlightening.
Finally, however, we made a motion to move into Closed Session. It carried unanimously with the Council and Commission, at 6:45 PM. It took some time to clear the council chambers. During that time, I (and others) asked where the legal counsel was to guide us in the litigation planning. Since none was physically present there, we kind of expected a phone connection with Boardman would be set up, but that wasn’t happening. A motion was then made to adjourn for lack of legal counsel. We adjourned at 7PM.
May 4, 2009 Council meetings
May 11, 2009Common Council
We got underway at 6PM, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and had roll call. Alderman Hendricks was excused. Neenah City Attorney Jim Godlewski was on hand for legal advice, should it be needed. There was no public hearing and no one wished to make a public comment so we moved on to the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants. We had 15 various minutes of meetings to receive, along with 11 pieces of communications.
One of the mailings was from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities inviting local lawmakers and board/council officers to attend meetings throughout the State in order to develop friendships with others for networking opportunities. I always have tried to attend at least once a year but last year, with the new knees, I didn’t make it. I invited anyone else who wished to attend to ride with me. I will be going to the June 4 dinner in Howard (I do not put in for any reimbursement for these dinners, neither per diem nor expenses/mileage).
We moved on to the Consent Agenda. Nothing was pulled from it, so we made a 7-0 approval of the minutes from the Common Council of 4/21/09 as well as the new Common Council, a Special Joint Common Council and Menasha Utility Commission from4/22 and a Special Common Council meeting on 4/27/09. Included in the Consent Agenda also were recommendations from the Board of Public Works for a change order DEDUCTION for the Wastewater System Rehab Improvements project. Both of these were pretty thoroughly discussed at the meeting from 4/21/09. There also was a recommendation from the NMFR Finance and Personnel Committee to keep recreational fires permits at $15.00 per year.
We next dealt with Ordinances and Resolutions, putting off O-10-09, an ordinance relating to recreational fires, until the next meeting as no one chose to suspend the rules for it. We did approve R-11-09, a resolution declaring intent to exercise special assessments for 2” temporary asphalt pavement in the Southfield West subdivision and the west end of Tana Lane.
Under Action Items, we approved Class “B” applications for the sale of fermented malt beverages to both the Menasha Athletic Association and the Menasha Twins Baseball for sales at Koslo Park. We also approved the accounts payable and payroll for 4/23/09 to 4/20/09.
No one had any public comments so we adjourned at 6:10PM. This was the shortest Council meeting I can ever recall!
Administration Committee
As published, this meeting was called to order at 6:30PM; Alderman Hendricks was excused. We approved the minutes of the 4/21/09 meeting as submitted.
The only Action Item listed on the agenda was the approval of a consulting agreement with McClone Agency, Inc. for the period of 7/1/009 to 6/30/10. There was some question as to what exactly this contract covers, and why it could not be done by the City’s insurance agent. I know that we have utilized the same agency in the past (for the same fee) to be an impartial third party regarding proposed coverage. It was agreed that this matter would be HELD until the next meeting so that more background information could be obtained.
Having nothing else on the agenda, we adjourned at 6:35PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 6:35PM. Alderman Hendricks was excused. We approved the minutes of the 4/21/09 as submitted.
The Action Items on the agenda included a street use permit for the Fox Cities Marathon, on Sunday, September 20, 2009. After a short discussion, which included Police Chief Stanke, we recommended that it be forwarded to the Council, as was the next item on the agenda, approval of a wayfinding signage plan as recommended by the Fox Cities Convention and Business Bureau.
This system is part of the regional wayfinding system that is being implemented by communities throughout the Fox Cities. We originally passed Resolution R-10-06 indicating we intended to participate in this plan. I attended a couple meetings when these signs were being discussed because I always felt that we have a proliferation of different signs pointing the way for visitors to find sites in Menasha that are of interest or need and I always hoped we would put up one style of signs throughout the City. There is a 50% cost share match for the grant we would get and it seems as though our Sign Department could construct the signs and they could be installed by our crews so we wouldn’t have to put in any (or much) extra money for our share of the match ($14,950).
The last item for our consideration was options for consideration for the surplus commodity revenue through the Tri-County Regional Recycling Program. Unfortunately, the money to be earned from recycling is dropping more and more and it was offered that we should keep the approximately $41,500 in the tipping fee stabilization fund with Winnebago County to offset probable increases in tipping fees next year. The other option was to vote to get the money paid to us but we would have to have 70% of ALL the participants in the program for this to occur. That is not likely so we opted for the first recommendation, which will be forwarded to the Council for approval.
Having nothing else on the agenda, we adjourned at 6:50PM.
Sincerest Sympathies
May 4, 2009Our sympathies go out to Eric Hendricks and his family in the loss of their father. Since this is the second familial loss in our “group” within the last month, we pray this trend does not continue. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hendricks family.
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