June 21 Council Night
July 6, 2010Council Orientation
We met at 5PM to do some orientation. Tonight’s lesson was on ETHICS for elected officials. We got another section to add to our 3-ring binder. CA Captain went over the statutes, explaining them and answering questions. We saw some old footage put out by CVMIC some time ago (15 years or more) but the point was still valid in each scenario.
Common Council
We were called to order at 6PM, recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and had roll call. Everyone was present. We moved on to Public Comments.
Only one (1) person chose to speak on any matter of concern to the City and Ms. Nebel stated that she believed it was important for all City departments to be on the same email system. She also thought it was wasteful for the City to have 2 separate IT departments, the City and the Utility.
We moved on to Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants and received six (6) minutes from various City committee and board meetings, as well as five (5) communications.
In the Consent Agenda, we voted 8-0 to accept and approve all items on it, which included the minutes from the 6/7/10 Common Council, the Admin Committee recommendation to approve an agreement with the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection to administer a retail food program and a memorandum of understanding for Tuberculosis clinical services. There also were Board of Public Works recommendations to approve a street use application for the Parade of Lights on July 3 and a request to install a street light on Lake Street. The IT Steering Committee recommendation to direct staff to study the feasibility of a unified IT Dept. serving all departments of the City, including Utilities, was also included in the Consent Agenda.
Since nothing was removed from the Consent Agenda, we next moved on to the Action Items. We approved the accounts payable and payroll, then included all nine (9) remaining liquor and malt beverage license requests under Action Items in one motion, which we approved 8-0.
Moving on to Ordinances and Resolutions, we approved O-9-10 , an ordinance amending Title 13 by making certain changes in the District, rezoning parcels on Province Terrace corridor. Resolution R-14-10, acknowledging review of City of Menasha 2009 compliance maintenance annual report under Wisconsin Administrative Code NR208 was also passed 8-0.
We next recessed to the Administration Committee and Board of Public Works at 6:22PM, then reconvened at 7:45PM. We adjourned into Closed Session regarding some City litigation upon roll call at 7:46PM and finally adjourned at 8:45PM.
Administration Committee
We met at 6:30 PM. After roll call (everyone present) the minute were approved as submitted.
Under Action Items, we ultimately recommended to the Council that the Neenah Menasha YMCA and the Menasha Senior Center collaboration proposal be approved. We had several questions first, though, and had them answered by Attorney Captain, Jean Wollermann of the YMCA, and Sue Nett of the Menasha Health Dept. This proposal serves to save the City approximately $20,390 in the remaining six (6) months of 2010, and up to $40,000 next year, based on today’s figures. The public in the gallery was asked if anyone wanted to speak and no one did.
We next had a US Cellular proposal recommended to us for cell phone service. Chief Stanke said that he and several other representatives from other entities (Menasha Schools, etc.) who join together in these quotes in order to save money think this gives us the best savings and service. It will be forwarded to the Council for recommendation.
Lastly, we had some Chapter 2 ordinance updates to consider on Fire Prevention. Chief Auxier reported that he determined to update all fire ordinances to include current State statute and Federal information, updated procedures and policies, and fine language, and advised that the ordinance presented is just the first in several he will be recommending in the future. This will also be forwarded to the Council.
We adjourned at 7:15PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 7:19PM. Everyone was still present upon roll call and the minutes of the June 7 meeting were approved as submitted.
Under Action Items, we had two Street Use permits to consider – one for the 17th annual St. Joe’s 5K Run/Walk and one for the 30th annual Otto Grunski Runski. Both will be forwarded to the Council with our recommendation for approval. There was also a recommendation to accept Gries Architectural as the design architects for the new fire station 36 and a recommendation to accept Martenson & Eisele Inc. as the professional land surveying service for the Midway Road sidewalk project. Both recommendations will be forwarded to the Council for approval, also.
Finally, we talked at length about a request to transfer approval of fire station 36 contracts and change orders, etc. directly to the Common Council instead of having to go through the Board first. It was pointed out that we could always call a Special Meeting of the Council for any contracts or agreements or change orders that need to be dealt with in a quick manner and that it was not always necessary to wait the 2 or 3 weeks between Council sessions before action could be taken.
We adjourned at 7:40PM.
Council Night 6/7/10
June 21, 2010Common Council
We were called to order at 6PM with the Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call. Everyone was present. There was a Public Hearing scheduled on the proposed rezoning of properties on Carpenter Street and the Province Terrace Corridor. Only one person spoke on it – they didn’t want bars or car lots or gas stations if we rezone Province Terrace.
We went on the Public Comments and no one spoke on any matter of concern so we went onto the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants.
First we had reports from Kris Oates and Kim Pischke who told us about the various marketing efforts undertaken for Lake Park. Kris and her company are dealing with the residential lots while Kim and Co. are working on the commercial properties. Both agree the economy is making the sales of lots VERY difficult. Kris suggested that the City should possibly be willing to either fund a ‘spec’ home to be built and hold the lot until it sold or provide financing, that these efforts might help produce sales. Neither proposal is desirable to the City Council, in these economic times to the City.
We next received 17 different minutes from committee meetings and one piece of communications (coincidently another set of minutes from a meeting of the Waverly Sanitary District).
We voted to approve the Consent Agenda 8-0, after certain parts were removed for additional attention. The approved portions were the minutes from the 5/17/10 meeting, the quote for the Post Crescent to be the official City newspaper, the amendment to the listing contract with Core Development for the Lake Park Square commercial lots, a street use application for Race the Lake for Sunday, August 22, 2010, action regarding Winnebago County Recycling Surplus Revenue ballot for 2008 funds, and the Plan Commission recommendations for approvals of the rezoning of lots on Province Terrace and on CSM 1670 and the need for a new Certified Survey Map for Lot 3 of CSM 1670.
The following items were removed and voted on separately from the rest of the Consent Agenda items: A Street Use permit for the 2nd annual Sun Runner for Saturday, June 19, 2010, for exceeding the 6 hour time limit. They were asking for 7Am to 11PM. It was noted the necessity for blocking Main Street was because of various activities being held in lots adjacent to both sides of Main Street and the need for people to possibly walk back and forth between the two lots. It was considered a safety measure. It was approved 8-0.
In action on the Winnebago County Recycling Surplus Revenue ballot for 2009 funds, Mark Radtke said that all participants in the program vote and the matter is decided on a majority vote, not on individual preferences. It passed 7-1. Lastly, we voted 8-0 to approve the NMFR Joint Finance and Personnel Committee recommendation to fill the vacant firefighting position after Chief Auxier outlined what expenses would be incurred without the position being filled. With Summer vacations already upon the department and some unexpected family leave times, already the overtime budget is going to be close, so the need was explained satisfactorily.
We moved on to the Action Items and approved the accounts payable and payroll 8-0, as we also approved the renewal of liquor and malt beverage applications on file with the Clerk for the licensing year 7/1/2010 to 6/30/2011, excluding Americanos, 8-0. The request for some outdoor alcoholic beverage permits for five (5) bars was approved 8-0 as was the memorandum of understanding with the City of Neenah Health Department for our Sanitarian/Sealer to provide service for them on an ‘as-needed’ basis until their vacancy is filled.
Under Ordinances and Resolutions, we had two (2) Ordinances, both of which amended Title 13, by making certain changes in the District (Province Terrace) and (Carpenter Street. We suspended the rules for the Carpenter Street ordinances and passed it, so work can begin on separating the parcel into separately-owned twindominiums instead of a side-by-side duplex. O-10-10 passed. O-9-10 will come back to the Council at the next meeting for action.
We next approved the Mayor’s appointment of Brian Williams to the Board of Appeals and of Roy Kordus to the Board of Review.
We adjourned at about 6:50 PM.
Administration Committee
We were called to order at 6:50PM with roll call. All were present. The minutes of the May 17 meeting were approved as submitted.
We moved on to the Action Items, the first of which was an agreement to administer a retail food establishment licensing program for the Dept. of Agricultural Trade and Consumer Protection. This would be with the Health Dept. and is an updating of the WI Dept. of Agricultural, Trade and Consumer Protection records. Sue Nett believes the last agreement on file is several years old. Everything contained in the new agreement is what they are already doing and nothing would add any more work effort to their duties. It will be referred to the Common Council.
The next item was a Memorandum of Understanding for Tuberculosis Clinical Services. This agreement, with the WI Dept. of Health Services, is an annual agreement and nothing has changed from the previous agreement. This will be referred to the Common Council with the committee recommendation for approval.
We next began conversation on the upcoming statewide smoking ban and how it will affect some of the businesses in Menasha. Neenah recently passed an ordinance to clarify the definition of an “enclosed place” as the new statewide ban more-or-less leaves it open to local definition. Neenah adopted the language endorse by the Department of Commerce. There was considerable discussion on this matter, and we heard from at least one pair of observers in the Council room as they told us of varying definitions between the lawmakers in Madison as well as the State Tavern League. Nothing was resolved in our discussions other than some of the Council members saying they possibly would like to hear from our local representatives in Madison about this ban and the meanings the legislature intended.
Next we started talk on the 2011 budget review that is set for November 2010. Alderman Taylor would like us to consider adding more time so that we don’t put in the l-o-n-g hours that we put in for the 2010 budget (5-1/2 hours, 3-1/4 hours and 5-3/4 hours for the three (3) in November, 2009). It was decided that this would be taken up in an upcoming workshop for the Council and we can set/change dates then and there.
We adjourned at 8:17PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 8:20PM. With roll call (everyone was present) and approval of the minutes from May 17, 2010.
Under Action Items we had a Street Use permit for the Parade of Lights to consider for July 3, 2010. It will be referred to the Common Council for approval, as will R-14-10, a resolution acknowledging review of the City of Menasha 2009 Compliance Maintenance Annual Report under WI Administrative Code NR208.
Next a request to install a street light onto Pole #888 on Lake Street will also be forwarded to the Common Council after endorsement by the staff.
We adjourned at 8:33PM.
Catching Up
June 17, 2010I have to apologize once again. I missed blogging in some meetings, even though I attended them. There was a May 25 Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue meeting, a June 7 Common Council meeting (may still get blogged in as I have it half done) and now an Information Systems Steering Committee meeting from 6/16/10. With knee rehabilitation and my husband’s vacation, I have had little time to think of working on either of my computers lately.
Someone asked me to comment about my knee rehab and explain why I had to have the knee replaced once again. The quick and simple version is that the glue failed in the right knee and my prosthetic was loose. I got a whole new prosthetic, with longer parts that go into the bones. It sounds yucky! It is. It hurts and the rehab is tough, but I am doing it!
5/17/10 Council Night
May 25, 2010New Council Workshop Orientation
We had another workshop at 5PM this evening. This was an orientation for the newer members of the Council, but all of us attended except Ald. Rousch. Each Councilman received a 3-ring binder with eight (8) partitions in it, to cover some of the many areas of concern for Council members.
Tonight’s workshop focused on general information for the newly elected council: namely mailbox locations, e-mail account info, pay information and withholding forms to be completed, city directories, times of Council meetings, etc. We talked about the Rules of Order for the Common Council and found that one ordinance on file was so out-of-date that copies of it were not even prepared for this book, We will either have to revoke the ordinance and make it a policy (which can be changed easier) or make gross changes and adjustments to accurately reflect the time(s) of meetings, the layout we adopted 2-3 years ago (Consent Agenda, etc.), Admin and Board of Public works meetings AFTER the Council meeting, etc. There was much discussion after which the consensus was for us to make it a policy and not have an ordinance.
We spoke briefly about a Hold for an ordinance or a resolution. A HOLD for an ordinance requires two (2) aldermen to hold it, while a resolution requires only one (1). To “postpone” action on something requires the need to set a date to bring it back. CA Captain also reminded us that the Council acts as a whole: It is not individual members when it passes something or denies it.
Common Council
We were called to order at 6PM. We had a moment of silence for William (Bill) Mayer. Everyone was present on roll call. There was no public hearing. We went on to Public Comments.
James Taylor, 724 Milwaukee Street, addressed us angrily. He related another incident where he claimed City Clerk Galeazzi was negligent in her job performance because she “forgot” something. He reported that a copy of a letter from the DA’s office addressed to her as Clerk was received by him at his Milwaukee Street address on a Friday. This letter related that there would be NO further investigation into a complaint of false information (home address) filed against James Taylor as they found all evidence indicating that he did, in fact, reside where he said he did. Mr. Taylor asserted that Debbie should have received her letter at the same time.
He said that at the next Monday’s Council meeting the Mayor made reference to a complaint being investigated by the District Attorney’s office about Mr. Taylor but the Mayor never said that the case was considered unfounded – that the DA was not going to investigate any further. Apparently the Mayor had not received the information from the letter – and Debbie never corrected Mayor Merkes at the meeting (which Taylor claims she should have and could have done). Mr. Taylor was adamant that Debbie Galeazzi withheld this information purposely, in order to cast him in a bad light in a public situation, just before the election. (This all took place at the Monday night meeting the night before the Spring election.) He alleges that she later said that she “forgot” to tell the Mayor about the letter.
Mayor Merkes took the opportunity to address the timing matter and said that on the Mondays of Council meeting nights, he is usually out of the office a lot and she is busy setting up for the meeting. He said they have little time to get together to talk about things – usually about 15 minutes or so right before the meeting. They do miss a lot, but catch up later or the next day.
No one else chose to speak in Public Comments, so we went on to the Report of Department Heads/Staff or Consultants. We had a presentation on Brownfields – what they are, how to clean them up, where to get money for them. This presentation was put on by Lynn Scherbert, an Engineer with Ayres Associates, and Elizabeth Runge, a Planner. (It would be great to utilize their strengths but we have a financial morass to work ourselves out of.)
A second presentation – an update on Lake Park Villas – has been put off to a June meeting because of some conflicts that arose. We also received minutes of four (4) meetings and nine (9) communications that have been placed on file.
The Consent Agenda was passed 8-0 without anything being removed. The Consent Agenda included the minutes of the 5/3/10 Council meeting and the recommendations of the Board of Public Works to approve two (2) street use permits for the Marina, for a steak fry and the Labor Day corn roast.
Under Action Items we had the Accounts Payable and Payroll for the term of 5/6/10 to 5/13/10. There were few questions before it was passed 8-0.
We had two (2) resolutions to consider. The first, R-12-10, was an authorization and approval to apply for a loan of almost $2.7 million from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, of the State of Wisconsin, and making it a taxable loan due by property taxes. The rate of interest we will pay is 5.25%. It passed 8-0. The second resolution, R-13-10, supports the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 (Rails to Trails Campaign). Passage of this resolution also carried.
We approved the Mayor’s re-appointment of Roger Kanitz as Menasha’s representative to the Fox Cities Transit Commission.
In Held-over Business, we had Mrs. Bisby’s petition for a special exemption of a City Code on the number of animals to a residence to consider. All the signatures on the petition had been validated and I told the Council how clean and well-cared for the animals and the home was and asked them to support Mr. & Mrs. Bisby on this request. It was unanimously passed.
We adjourned at about 7:05PM.
Administration Committee
We were called to order at 7:10PM, had roll call (everyone was present), and approved the minutes of the 5/3/10 meeting as submitted.
Under Action Items, we accepted the quote for the Post Crescent as the official City newspaper from May 2010 to May 2011, and agreed to recommend it to the City Council, as we did for an amendment to the listing contract with Core Development for Lake Park Square (extending it another six (6) months).
Having no other business, we adjourned at 7:15PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 7:18PM, with roll call. Everyone was present. The minutes of the May 3, 2010 meeting were approved as submitted.
Under Action Items we had two (2) Street Use Applications to consider. The first was for the 2nd annual Sun Runner for the Menasha Action Council and the second was for the Race the Lake event put on by Midwest Sports. Both were approved for forwarding to the Common Council with our recommendation for approval.
The next two items were kind of combined, but not really. They dealt with recycling surplus funds on file with Winnebago County for the operating years 2008 and 2009. Menasha’s portion of the 2008 surplus is about $41,502. After discussion we decided to ask for that cash to be returned to the City. Menasha’s portion of the 2009 surplus is approximately $10,707. This money, we decided, should remain at the County to be held for the tipping fee stabilization fund. We have forwarded these recommendations to the Common Council for approval. It should be noted, however, that it isn’t just Menasha’s vote that counts on this. There is a consortium of County cities, villages, and towns who all must agree to the same thing. Majority rules.
We adjourned at 7:33PM.
Personnel Committee
We were called to order at 7:45PM. We had roll call and Alderman Michael Taylor was excused while Mayor Merkes was also present. The minutes of the 5/3/10 Personnel Committee were approved as submitted.
The first item on the agenda under Action Items was a report of the Personnel Committee regarding an oral accusation against an employee from Citizen James Taylor. It was reported that the City Attorney was directed by the Chairman of the Personnel Committee to review the televised tape of the Common Council in which Mr. Taylor made some statements of complaint of the actions of the City Clerk, Debbie Galeazzi. The accusation was that she gave Mr. Taylor false information about the removal of election signs, thereby causing him to potentially lose some votes.
The Chairman of the Personnel Committee reported that the Committee checked all the evidence, contacted all the candidates who were involved in the City elections, and then made a decision that no further or corrective action will be taken. The City Clerk DID give information that signs should be removed within seven (7) days, but found that she was in error and immediately called the two (2) candidates and gave them the correct information which was that they had 15 days to remove the signs. She apologized to each candidate for the error. It was also determined that the City Clerk provided correct information about the consequences for violating the code of ordinances – a citation may be issued.
It was not necessary to adjourn into a closed session, as our agenda had listed. We finally adjourned at 7:53PM.
Workshop 5/10/10
May 22, 2010We had a special workshop meeting of the Council at 6PM in the Council Chambers. The focus of this workshop was to introduce us to the Amazon Kindle, for possible future consideration for the Council in place of the huge packets we now receive.
The IT Department has been studying how to reduce the time and resources needed to produce the packet for each of us for each meeting and found that the Kindle can receive the entire packet for viewing. It works on the same principle as cellphones do, instead of wireless computers. Reception is possible nearly worldwide.
Please consider: For each Council meeting I receive a packet of information. Each agenda for each meeting is included, as are copies of every topic on every agenda. Some of these topics require 5-10 pages (sometimes more). Most are generally 1-2 pages, but there are exceptions. For the Disbursements report alone, which is copied 2-sided, there are usually 12-15 pages, as it lists every check that is written out by the City, the amount of the check and the reason for the expenditure. All the minutes of outside committees and boards are provided (generally 5-8 meetings a packet). All correspoondence and commuications received for the Council are also copied in each packet. All totaled, there are probably 60-80 pages of paper in a single packet.
Figuring 80 pages a packet times the eight (8) Council members is 640 pages. Packets are also provided for Department Heads, the Mayor and the City Attorney. We can add about eight (8) more packets to the total to get 1280 pages of paper PER COUNCIL MEETING.
Now each paper that is in the packet is scanned into the permanent record and is made available online for any interested parties. The time it takes to scan each piece of information paper cannot be reduced, but the time it takes to run the copies and assemble them into the proper packets CAN BE cut down or eliminated by the use of something like the Kindle.
For years there has been discussion of Paperless Packets by using laptops. The idea was that every Alderman would be provided with a City laptop to view the packet contents, like those in the public who wish to see what’s on the agenda. Each time this discussion arises, the myriad of problems this proposal could cause also surface and the idea gets shelved. Thus the IT Department continued to search for a resolution, and the Kindle was researched.
There may be more products brought forward for consideration as research continues in order to save time, money and other resources. We are not in any position to finalize a decision on anything at this time.
Council Night 5/3/10
May 20, 2010Common Council
We got underway at 6PM, recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and had roll call. Alderman Langdon was excused, sick. There was no Public Hearing and no one apparently wished to address the Council in Public Comments, so we moved right in to the Report of Department Heads/Staff/Consultants.
Clerk Galeazzi reported 13 minutes of various meetings had been received and were placed on file. Three (3) communications were also received.
We moved on to the Consent Agenda, which was approved 7-0. None of the aldermen wanted anything removed so the following were considered and approved: The minutes of the Common Council and the new Common Council from 4/20/10, as well as a recommendation from the IT Steering Committee to eliminate seven (7) land line phones with cell phone service and approve a new 3-year contract with One Communications.
After a few questions and some explanations, we approved the accounts payable and payroll. There was one more item under Action Items on the agenda, which was regarding the Bisby request for more cats than allowed by ordinance, but they requested it be held until the next meeting as some paperwork was missing. This item was HELD, as we moved on to Ordinances and Resolutions. A resolution appropriating funds for the Steam Utility shut down expenditures was approved, pulling some money from three (3) funds in order to pay off the outstanding shut-down expenditures. The money we had appropriated for those expenses in the 2010 budget was used up very quickly, leaving us short so we needed to take this step.
A Mayor’s appointment (Tony Gutierrez to the Police Commission) and a reappointment (Dorothy Jankowski to the Board of Health) were unanimously approved.
Again no one wanted to address the Council in the Public Comments section of the agenda, so we adjourned at 6:14PM to take up the Administration Committee and the Board of Public Works business, and then reconvened at 7:07PM.
Once we did reconvene, we moved into a Closed Session regarding litigation the City is involved in. That motion was at 7:08PM. We returned to open session at 7:46PM and then adjourned at 7:47PM.
Administration Committee
We were called to order at 6:15PM; Ald. Langdon was excused. The minutes of the 4/20/10 meeting were approved as submitted. We moved on to the Action Items on the agenda.
The first item was an appeal of the denial of an Operator’s License (bartender) for Chris Fiedler (who was not present). This item had been held from 4/20/10 and I, quite frankly, was extremely surprised he did not show up. Ald. Taylor argued for Mr. Fiedler and expressed some dismay that a former Council and the previous Mayor had not held a special meeting, as was needed, to rectify a situation that was one of the reasons listed for the denial.�
As a Council we listened to Ald. Taylor’s impassioned plea for reconsideration, but I (and several others, as well) pointed out that Mr. Fielder had knowingly and recklessly operated his bar without a license or any proper paperwork on file. Whether the meeting could have, or should have, taken place in a timely manner was not a current consideration (to me), but the fact that he KNEW he had no license and still operated that bar, after having received several warnings about it. The citations that resulted from that situation were part of the guidelines listed in the City of Menasha policy that we had approved earlier for the Police Chief. Under that policy, Mr. Fielder does not qualify for an operator’s license.
Ald. Taylor moved to issue an operator’s license to Mr. Fielder. It was seconded for discussion but when the vote came, it was 1-6 against the motion, which failed to pass.
The second item was a request to pursue collaboration efforts between the Senior Center and the Neenah-Menasha YMCA. The request came from the Committee on Aging. There was some discussion about the variety of programs offered and the benefits of pursuing this collaboration and we unanimously endorsed the actions. Good luck to them!
We recommended to the Council our support for Active Community Transportation Act 2010 (Rails to Trails Campaign), as the Sustainability Board has recommended it to us.
Lastly, we had a resolution approving the borrowing of $2,675,000 from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, State of Wisconsin, and levying property taxes to pay the loan. That passed on roll call 7-0, and will be recommended to the Council.
We adjourned at 6:57PM.
Board of Public Works
We were called to order at 6:58PM; Alderman Langdon was excused. The minutes of the April 20, 2010 meeting were approved as submitted.
We only had two street use applications to consider, both from the City of Menasha Marina, for their 23rd annual Marina steak fry and for the 13th annual Labor Day corn roast. Both will be recommended to the Common Council.
We adjourned at 7:00PM.
Personnel Committee
We were called to order at 7:50PM. Aldermen Taylor and Langdon were excused; the minutes of the 4/20/10 meeting were approved as submitted.
A motion was made to adjourn into Closed Session for discussion of bargaining with Local 603 and to investigate allegations from citizen James Taylor. We subsequently returned to open session at about 8:39PM and adjourned immediately thereafter.
NMFR 4/27/10
April 29, 2010We met in the Menasha Council Chambers at 5:30PM. The only member not present was Neenah Alderman Shiloh Ramos who had an unexpected, emergency County meeting to attend.
We immediately moved on to the election of a new Chair, this time to come from the City of Neenah. Alderman Todd Stevenson was nominated; no other nominations were forthcoming, so the ballot was considered closed and he was named Chair by acclamation. He took over the meeting and the election of Vice Chair followed. I was unanimously named Vice Chair.
We went onto the approval of the minutes of the March 23 meeting. Alderman Zelinski had a lot of questions about the past year and actions alluded to in the minutes so the answers were provided and clarifications made. Ultimately the minutes were approved, as submitted.
We also accepted and placed on file the budget reports through March 2010 and the monthly activity report of March 2010.
Moving on to New Business, we were apprised of the status of additional body work needed on Quint 32, which is currently in for some warranty repair. If ALL the refurbishments were done as Pierce had found, the cost would be over $12,726. It was determined, however, that some of it would be cosmetic and that what really needed to be done operationally would total $7,670.00 with the funds for this coming from the motor vehicle account. No committee action is needed; info only.
Chief Auxier also reported to us that the ISO rank for Neenah and Menasha had gone down (an upgrade, actually). Our current score of 2 puts us in pretty elite company as about only 5 or 6 cities in the State have accomplished this, maybe less. (No one has a 1 rating.) This ranking has no effect on residential insurance ratings but will reflect positively in the premiums for businesses and industries.
There was a brief discussion about the firefighters possibly putting out the buoys for the Menasha municipal beach (saving the City over $4000 to Radtke Construction Co.). Some question arises as to whether the weights could be left in the water and the process would merely entail just putting the buoys out and taking them in or if the weights HAVE to be removed. Until all the info is complete, no action can be taken. There are ongoing discussions between Chief Auxier and PRD Tungate.
We were given an update on the construction of Station 36. Everything is progressing for a mid-summer ground breaking. The construction manager has been approved (Miron) and we are beginning a 30-day FEMA-regulated period after plans have been published. IF all goes well, the building could be occupied by late Winter or early Spring, 2011.
We adjourned at 6:15PM.
IS Steering Committee 4/21/10
April 24, 2010We met in the Gegan Room at the library at 8:15AM. A quorum was present and the minutes of the 2/17/10 meeting were approved as amended. (A paragraph regarding compensation for at home viewing of training material will be removed for further clarification.)
Before we got too far underway in the agenda, I addressed the committee with a brief synopsis of the voting from the previous night at Council, where Joanne Roush and I were both nominated for the Chair position of this committee. She ultimately changed her vote so that I would receive the Chair position but I asked for a change of the ordinance relating to this position so that there would be a Vice-Chair (as most other committees have), which would enable Joanne to have more of a working experience on the IS Steering Committee.
We then moved in to Public Comments on the agenda and Joann addressed a question of disposal of our outdated equipment and if the hard drives were removed and destroyed. She mentioned she had seen a report on old copiers that still had hard drives with personal identification data on it that could be used for fraud or identity theft. She was assured that our hard drives were removed and destroyed from each and every piece of electronic office equipment we replace.
In the Report of Department Heads/Staff/ Consultants, we received the project outline for the period of February 17 through April 20, 2010. IS Mgr. Jeff Lacey informed us that he was working on a charge-back plan for IT Services to be used for budgeting for 2011. He also said that he was testing a Kindle for the possibility of a paperless Alderman’s packet; they are always looking at new technologies and some recent upgrades makes this more attractive than a laptop, as had previously been discussed.
Personally, the size and weight of the Kindle is attractive, but the small, flat keyboard that’s available is not, so it will be interesting.
Our budget appears to be right on for the year.
We moved on to Action Items, the first of which was a proposed phone system with cost saving measures and contract proposals. Patrick James explained that he was looking for proposals for the phone system as the contract with One Communications was expiring. He sent out requests for proposals to several contractors and received three back.
One of the proposal that they cam up with to save money was to discontinue landlines to seven (7) current locations with in the City: 3 parks, 2 at the pool, a fax at the city garage and a fax at the Senior Center. All these lines could be accommodated by cell phones at a much more economical rate, as well as being easily portable so that the phones could be utilized elsewhere (if need be), such as at election time. Switching to cell phones instead of landlines would save approximately $2045.00 per year. A motion was made and seconded to make this recommendation to the Common Council. It passed unanimously.
Next, we learned that the PRI (primary rate interchange) would be about $500 a month lower under the new proposal for a 36 month contract with One Communications. Their proposals went from $2082.37 to $2585.91 a month. This results in a $5957.52 savings per year. A motion was made and seconded to recommend to the Common Council that we approve the contract with One Communications in the amount of $1585.91 per month for the 36 month contract proposal. It passed unanimously.
We moved on to the next agenda item, which was an update on the status of the employee Intranet. Brenda, from Human Relations, showed us several ideas that she had made up and put on a mirror site for our consideration. It was not LIVE yet and was nowhere near complete, but the idea seems to be moving ahead fluidly. Some of the proposals already worked up have exciting possibilities and various department members discussed how they could also use the Intranet. This topic will continue to appear on the agenda.
Moving on to the last discussion point on the agenda, we had discussion and action on City Departments/employees use of social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Nixel, etc.) There was considerable discussion about this social networking capability. Some people were unaware of it and others use it frequently. More background info needs to be collected and it seems there are some policies already developed that we could possibly adapt, so several members will be collecting info and will bring it to the next meeting. This item, too, will continue to show up on our agenda.
Aaron Zemlock, for the PD, did advise that in one week of operation on Facebook, the City PD page has over 300 “friends” and that there was only one incident about badmouthing that was self-corrected by other users. He said they use it for safety pointers, current events for the PD, old pictures and history of the PD, etc. He sees it moving forward, but agrees that it is best when the site is maintained by only one person.
The next meeting is set for Wednesday, May 19. We adjourned at 10:10AM.
COUNCIL NIGHT 4/20/10
April 22, 2010It’s been a long haul since my last blog posting of meeting action but it’s certainly not been because I didn’t want to do it; I changed hosts for my website. That action in and of itself should not have resulted in any loss of previous postings, but apparently it did. The principals of both the host sites spent considerable time searching for it, but it seems to have all disappeared. So we start anew:
Common Council
We got underway at 6PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. We had roll call and everyone was present.
With no public hearing scheduled, we moved to Public Comments and heard a variety of opinions on previous Council actions. One speaker commended the Council for working very well, long and hard together and complimented outgoing Alderman Steve Pack on his emotional support of Menasha. The very next speaker then verbally attacked Mr. Pack for his use of the podium to support an opponent’s candidacy and to mount what he called a” character assassination”. He also accused Clerk Galeazzi of obstructing his campaign by giving him false information, causing him to remove his campaign signs when he apparently did not have to. He angrily and loudly demanded that the administration investigate these ‘smears’ against him. The third speaker quietly commended people for getting involved in politics and choosing to run for office, in spite of the loss of personal time. He wanted us to oppose a proposed RTA (Regional Transit Authority), push for more publicity on Lake Park Villa properties in MLS, and to come up with creative ways to promote Menasha as a business-friendly environment. Lastly a resident spoke passionately about speeders in their neighborhood by London and Clovis Streets.
In the Report of Department Heads, etc., we received seven (7) minutes from meetings held since last Council meeting, and five (5) various correspondences and communications, including a press release of an Energy Efficiency Block Grant we had received. I commented that I hoped we’d get a little more press on that grant than we previously had.
We moved on to the Consent Agenda. Several items were requested by Council members to be removed from what was proposed, so we did, but then passed the remainder 8-0. That portion that we passed contained the minutes from the Council meeting of 4/5/10, the recommendations of the Administration Committee of 4/5/10 for approval of contracts with the Wisconsin Dept. of Public Health for immunization and vaccines for children and adults. This contract runs from 9/1/09 to 12/31/2011. The second recommendation from Administration was for the proposed fees set for DHS Agent of the State, DATCP Agent of the State, tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments, and manufactured home parks. Also passed on the Consent Agenda was a Board of Public Works recommendation for authorization to execute an agreement for the operation of the bridges with WisDOT, for fiscal year 2011, as well as a Plan Commission recommendation of the Lakeshore Manor extraterritorial plat approval for the area surrounding the water retention/detention pond being constructed on Tayco Street.
We took up the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda one-by-one. They included an award to Miron Construction to be construction manager for the new Station 36 for the Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue. There had been some question of whether it was OK to proceed and CA Captain assured us that it was. We approved this 8-0. The next item removed from the Consent Agenda was a Personnel Committee recommendation for the establishment of a “Principal Planner” fulltime position instead of two .6 FTE Associate Planner positions, resulting in an estimated savings of $12,000 in salary and benefits. This passed 8-0.
The last item we considered was a recommendation to approve a revised Menasha portage proposal. It was explained that a previous presentation of the plan had not accounted for any portage possibilities in the area of Water Street near Lush St. This plan was to be constructed with private money (no City funds required) to City specs, but on City-owned properties. It passed 8-0.
Under Action Items, we had Accounts Payable and payroll questions answered and approved 8-0. We also moved to approve two 6-months Class B (fermented malt beverages) permits for Koslo Park for both the MACs and the Menasha Twins (Legion), 8-0.
Moving on, it was explained that since this was the last Council meeting with the ‘old’ Council, the proposed Ordinances for consideration tonight would either have to be acted on (with a motion to suspend the rules) now, or the individual ordinances would have to be re-written, re-introduced at Committee and then recommended to the Council, have it brought back for two Council meetings before they could be enacted. It was left to Council members’ discretion as to suspend or not on the four (4) proposed ordinances. It was individually moved to suspend the rules in each of the incidences of each ordinance and they all passed 8-0. We subsequently passed each of the ordinances: O-5-10 relating to the licensing and regulation of animals, O-6-10 relating to closing hours for Class B licensed premises (taking into consideration the Daylight Savings Hours), O-7-10 relating to the licensing of restaurant and retail food establishments and O-8-10 relating to changes in the parking ordinances. All ordinances passed 8-0.
We had two (2) resolutions to consider. R-8-10 involved transferring and appropriating funds from 2009. This is a year-end Accounting clean-up that we do each year after City Comptroller/Treasurer Stoffel has had opportunity to close out the books for the prevcious year (2009). This passed 8-0.
R-9-10, however, took up considerable time in discussion. There had been a recommendation to have PRD Tungate prepare a cost analysis of playground surfacing options available to us, which was provided. By means of explanation, PRD Tungate said that there is only a specified CERTIFIED type of woodchip that can be used near playground equipment. This woodchip had to meet specified standards as to type of material, antiseptic aids included, etc., the standards of which are ADA-approved. He explained that the chips would have to be replaced as they wear out, and that there would be yearly maintenance needed (raking chips back into the proper areas once they get moved by children using the equipment). He prepared a comparison of the costs between the two options, based on median costs of labor, etc. and it indicated that it was cheaper to have Poured-in-Place.
Now, I had been on the Parks Board when Barker Farms Park was being constructed and we (Parks Board) had gone through this same comparison and discussion at THAT time. We had listened to all the arguments for and against, looking for the most cost-effective yet durable and good looking manner. WE had decided on Poured in Place rubberized playground d surfacing. That is where our Menasha Parks crew learned to install the material. It is so much better for handicapped accessibility, which we must consider for a certain sector of our constituents.
Anyway, two aldermen saw the $20,000 for this expenditure that was being asked to move from 2009 into 2010 and wanted to remove it as a means of saving money. However, it was pointed out that this money had already been budgeted in 2009 so it was already ‘paid’ by Menasha residents. It was not used due to the fact that a new Parks superintendent had been hired in late June and it was August before he had his bearings and there wasn’t enough time left for that work to be done in the summer of 2009, but that the crews wanted to get it done in early 2010, if the continuing appropriations were approved. A motion was made to remove the Poured in Place proposal. It failed 2-6. When the motion was voted on for passing the resolution as presented, it passed 7-1.
There were no Public Comments on any Matter on the Agenda. A presentation was made to outgoing Alderman Steve Pack, who made a short heartfelt statement. Outgoing committee members were mentioned by Mayor Merkes. Alderman Pack called for an adjournment, Sine Die, at 7:08PM. We adjourned.
After the old Council adjourned, Alderman Mark Langdon (4th District) was sworn in, as was Alderman Michael Taylor, Alderman Dan Zelinski, and Alderman Kevin Benner.
Administration Committee
We were called to order by Clerk Galeazzi at 7:14PM. Everyone was present and the minutes of the 4/5/10 meeting were approved as submitted. Under Action Items, our first order of business was to elect a Chairman. I was nominated; no one else was. I was elected by acclamation. I took over the meeting then and we elected a Vice-Chairman, Joanne Roush.
The third order of business on the agenda was an appeal of a denial of an Operator’s License. Chris Fiedler had been denied by Chief Stanke. Alderman Taylor said he had been contacted by the defendant who said he had to be out-of-town on a previously-committed matter and requested that this be HELD. There was a second, so the matter will be on HOLD until the next meeting.
The final matter for action on the agenda was resolution R-10-1, a Resolution appropriating funds for Steam Utility shut-down expenditures. Comptroller/Treasurer Stoffel presented this resolution explaining that $523,000 had been set aside in budgeting for these expenditures but that was before we knew the amount of the forfeiture to US Papers. Transferring these funds will result in low balances in the General Fund, about $150,000 or so in the Post-Employment Sick Leave Fund and to near zero in the Capital Facilities Fund (leaving only the City’s portion due on the Fire Station).
There was some discussion but finally a motion was made to recommend the passage of the resolution to the Common Council. We adjourned at 7:27PM.
Board of Public Works
We convened at 7:28PM, with DPW Mark Radtke chairing the Board. Everyone was present for roll call and the minutes of the April 5 meeting were approved as submitted. Moving on to Action Items, the only matters on the agenda were the election of a Chair and Vice-Chair. Alderman Michael Taylor was elected Chair and at 7:30PM, he took over the meeting. Alderman Mark Langdon was elected Vice-Chair. We adjourned at 7:31PM.
Personnel Committee
City Attorney/Human Relations Director Pam Captain called the meeting to order at 7:32PM. Everyone was present for roll call. The minutes of the 4/5/10 meeting were approved as submitted.
Under Action Items, we had only the election of a Chairman and Vice-Chair to consider. Alderman Jim Engelbert was elected to Chairman at 7:34PM. We had two nominees for Vice-Chair, Dan Zelinski and Kevin Benner. Dan Zelinski was selected as Vice Chair (5-4). We adjourned at about 7:40PM.
(New) Common Council
We got underway at about 7:43PM with the Call to Order, recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. We also took a moment to acknowledge Debbie Galeazzi and Kristin for all their help/assistance with flowers for each for Administrative Assistant’s Week (formerly Secretary’s Week). We had roll call and everyone was present.
There was no one who wished to speak during Public Comments, so we moved on through the agenda. Resolution R-11-10, a resolution providing for the method of selecting certain city officers, was approved 8-0. We then moved on to the appointments.
Under Common Council appointments, we selected Alderman Eric Hendricks to be Council President. Alderman Benner was selected to the Plan Commission, with the alternate being Alderman Zelinski. For the NM Fire Rescue Joint Finance and Personnel Committee, the Council President is an automatic selection, and then it could be either the Admin Chair OR the Personnel Chair. I was nominated for it (Jim really didn’t want any part of it.).
We then moved on to the Information System Steering Committee. Now, I don’t know who told me this or if it was in fact, the truth, but I was later told that there was some concern about my health and my ability to be on the NM Fire Rescue as well as the IS Steering Committee, so the thought was to elect someone else to the Steering Committee. If that was, in fact, the prevailing thought, they should have talked to me about it and I would have reassured their concern that I was in good health (albeit with a patched-up knee once again) and of my dedication to the IS Committee AND the NMFR. I have been a member of both committees for the past 4-5 years and take my participation in both very seriously and conscientiously. Believe me, if I could not participate – and do so fully, to the best that both committees deserve, I would have called it. I can and I will.
That said, I was somewhat confused when someone I thought was a supporter of mine voted against me for this position – not once, but twice. I was nominated for the Info Systems Steering Committee chair, as was Alderman Roush. Twice we went around on the vote. The first time around it was deadlocked at 4-4. The second time it went around, Alderman Roush changed her vote (reluctantly, it seemed to me) and I was elected 5-3. She later told me that she was genuinely interested in this position. I told her that I ALWAYS was, so it’s good that we have diversified interests as, in the past, there has been little to no interest in this and it has been somewhat of an uphill battle at times.
During the course of these elections, I questioned why there was a selection for a Chair and Vice-Chair for many of the other committees but not for the IS Steering Committee. I suggested that if the Chair couldn’t attend, for whatever reason, it would make sense that a Vice-Chair could fill in for that meeting – or several meetings, as need be – like the other committees do. I noted that there are Vice-Chairs or alternates to all the rest of the committees, but not this one. I was told that we would have to have an ordinance change to make that happen. I support that ordinance change.
We approved all of the Mayor’s committee appointments at once (8-0), which consisted of Alderman Langdon to the Parks & Rec Board, Alderman Engelbert to the Heckrodt Reserve with Sheila Brucks as an at-large member, Alderman Hendricks to the Landmarks Commission, and Alderman Zelinski to the NM Fire Rescue. There were two re-appointments, to the Plan Commission for Dave Schmidt and to the NM Joint Fire Commission of Elizabeth Nevitt.
There were no other matters of concern; no one wished to comment on any matter on the agenda, so we adjourned at 7:57PM.
New Start
April 19, 2010Well, if you’ve been following my blog over the years, I thank you. We’ve lost all the previous postings and I intend to start from the beginning. I’ve waited for a natural point to start and the seating of the new Council, this Tuesday, 4/20/10, marks the beginning (again) for a new series of postings.
In order to keep you abreast of recent activities, though, I have to tell you that I underwent ANOTHER knee surgery on 3/17/10. The glue holding my prosthetic (new knee) from 2008 failed! The new knee was sliding around in the bone and caused me a great deal of pain. Finally I had it surgically repaired; they had to cement the bone back in shape and insert another NEW knee prosthetic. To accomplish that, one of the side effects possible were fractures and guess what? It happened! I have a fractured femur. That, too, is healing and I am on my way back to 100% effectiveness (I hope and pray).
So, starting Tuesday, April 20, we have a new beginning. Just like the outlook for Menasha, we have a new horizon once again. Go Menasha!
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