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January 3, 2008 January 3, 2008 Minutes
Minutes of Regular Monthly Town Board Meeting January 3, 2008 Vol 7, Page 131 The Regular Monthly meeting of the Conover Town Board was held in the Conover Center at 7 p.m. Notices of the meeting were posted in accordance with law and informational copies were provided to the media. Present were: Steve Rhode, Karl Jennrich, George Champeny, James Hedberg, Richard Martinson, Nancy Vold, Gary Vold and James Moravec. Others present: John Ruhnke, Fred Indermuehle, Karl Boehm, Brian Engle, Jim Havranek, Steve Kuerekewicz and Kurt Andussies. Meeting was called to order at 7 pm. Pledge of Allegiance was given. There was no public comment. Motion was made for the approval of the agenda in order of the discretion of the Chairperson by Karl Jennrich. Motion was seconded by Champeny and was carried. Minutes of the previous meeting was approved in a motion by Champeny, seconded by Jennrich and was carried. Contract for solid waste disposal and recycling was presented for review which was received from Eagle Waste but contract was that of the City of Eagle River. Motion was made for tabling this contract until the February meeting by Jennrich, was seconded by Champeny and was carried. The contract with Eagle River Memorial Hospital was redrafted and questions were answered regarding the $125 intercept fees. Motion was made for the signing by Rhode of the contract for Advanced Life Support with ERMH by Jennrich. Motion was seconded by Champeny and was carried. Contract copy would be provided to the Town by Ruhnke. John Ruhnke was praised by the board and Nancy Vold for his hard work and caring for the interest of the Town of Conover Emergency Services. Discussion was then made regarding the problems surfacing regarding assessment and the fulfillment of contractual requirements of the assessor. Numerous incidents of not being able to contact him by phone or get calls back were revealed. Numerous parcels that were split causing a zero assessment and no tax bill surfaced when Hedberg received calls from property owners. These are omitted taxes. Then corrections from 2006 surfaced regarding the double billing on Kirk’s of the North II and correction was not made so again it affects the 2007 tax roll. Pine Ridge Condos on Lake of the Hills also has issue with taxes being charged on property that was properly entered into the system. Kurt Andussies indicated to the board, that there are no storage units built at all. Condo units 1 and 2 are a shell only which has siding, windows, doors etc. but no interior finishing. Units 3 and 4 are complete and awaiting sale ($346,000). Units 5 and 6 have not even started construction. Moravec stated that he was at the site and took pictures but the information regarding the values were given to him by Inge Knauz. There are questions as to whether notices of assessment were provided in these cases. Under WS 70.44, Omitted Property, property tax bills need to be created by the Clerk after the assessor has placed an assessment on the omitted property. This is property that had bills last year and the “Zero Assessment Report” which tax listing provided to the assessor must be completed immediately. Property owners have the right to provide and declare these payments on the income taxes and these errors are that of the assessor. In the case of Illegal Taxes under the same chapter in the statutes, a corrected bill needs to be created for what the proper taxes would be, and the difference in the amount filed by a statutory requirement by December 15th in the Statement of Taxes, must be covered by the Town of Conover or a special county charge on a county board resolution will need to be provided so that in 2008, the charges are levied to the Town. In either case, the Town will be responsible for the excess taxes in error on this situation with Pine Ridge computer numbers. A Special Meeting with Pine Ridge, the Vol 7, Page 132 Assessor and the Board will be held on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at 6 p.m. in the Conover Center. Martinson indicated that problems have arisen regarding ATC and Electrical contractors at the Lakota site. He indicated that the Town of Washington denied travel on their roads with the heavy equipment for the power sub-station. Very heavy generators and other equipment along with concrete trucks are using Conover Roads and with the activity of tracked vehicles on the edge of the roads, major damage could be evident in the spring. Another problem is with the plowing of the road when equipment and trucks are not honoring the statutory requirement of staying back from a working snowplow. Rich stated the electrical contractor vehicle was so close behind him he could not see them in the side mirrors. Hedberg stated that Carl Lemmer was the contact to handle this and relay information to the proper authority. Rhode stated that a letter from him should be sent. Jennrich is working the 5 year County Recreation Plan. He solicited the help of Jean Hansen and has several ideas that he will get in order and present to the board before sending. Department reports were then given. Fire department has to replace the boiler as costs for repairs will not solve long term deterioration. A new boiler will be about $3,000 installed and was asked to just go and get a price quote from various suppliers and do it. Nancy reported that Jovanovic and Orzech will be going for training for IV Tec. The problem of calling for intercepts by the EMS will be addressed as it seems some are trigger happy and those persons will scanners are in tune to what is becoming a concern. Ruhnke stated that because of low calls, there was a loss of $877 in November but the runs and calls are up for December so that promises a subsidy. Rich stated the need for caller ID as complaints and hang up are frequent as is the problem with winter drivers just driving too fast. The DOT has a good PSA on the radio which indicates that the need for sand/salt is a result of driving too fast for conditions. It appears that the persons moving here from the south think that we should be able to see bare roads all winter like in Milwaukee, Chicago and Madison. They need to realize the geography of the area and the fact that a snow or snow-packed road is normal and that your vehicle is not under control if you enter the ditch. Being patient and slowing down is a necessity. Truck repairs have included a warranty alternator, lift frame on Oshkosh and lift harness on the Dodge. Equipment for the transfer station will be placed on Friday. Karl to request that Don be there so he knows what the operation will be on Saturday when he opens to the public. Rhode reviewed information from SonicNet and asked that Hedberg ask that they make a presentation at the next meeting. The requirement for High Speed for the EMS prompts that we do something now and Hughes Net is not a popular route to go. Town claims were processed and motion was made for adjournment at 855 pm. by Jennrich, was seconded by Champeny and carried. James M. Hedberg Clerk
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