Town of Whitewater Town Board Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

6:35 PM

Present:  Lowell Hagen, Robert Strand, Norman Prusener, Jorja Boiley

Approval of agenda – Norm made a motion to approve the agenda as written, seconded by Bob.  Motion passed unanimously.

The minutes of the March 31, 2020 town board meeting were reviewed.  Norm made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Bob.  The motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer Report: Bank account balances were read. No discussion regarding the information

Clerk Report:

April 7, 2020 Election results: approximately 556 electors cast ballots, with about 124 voted in person on the day of election. All appropriate precautions were taken to protect both the electors and Election Workers. Feedback from the participants was positive.

Board of Review and Open Books are on hold until the Stay at Home order is lifted. Possibility of holding teleconferences is pending. Gardiner is completing all outside appraisals and will confirm new details as available.

The Sheriff’s department will not be participating in town board meetings until further notice.

Norm made a motion to accept the Clerk and Treasurer’s Reports as stated; Bob seconded the motion, the motion passed unanimously.

Supervisor’s report

Bob Strand: Issues regarding clean up on Hillside Drive have been addressed. Clean up is complete.

Norm Prusener: Boat lift is installed.

Chairman’s report

Homeowner called and asked about a neighbor installing a fence and are there restrictions on where the fence can be built. As long as the fence is on the owner’s property there is no easement issue.

Teri Hamilton who resides at N7409 Grand View Drive raised issues regarding road easement on her property as it relates to securing a building permit for a shed and a discrepancy about who is responsible for maintaining her driveway/access road. Additionally, there is an on-going problem with flooding on the road in front of her home that also causes flooding in the yard. Bob Strand has reviewed the property and suggests that cleaning of the culvert and determining the flow with subsequent repair work would ease the flooding problem. He also stated that it appears that the driveway/access should be maintained by the Town and the best option would be to pave rather than continuing to use gravel.

Bob made a motion to clean out and help grade the culvert in 2020 and include paving the driveway access in 2021. The motion was seconded by Norm and motion carried.

Any building permits for a shed will be processed by the Ms. Hamilton through the County.

A letter stating the Board’s decision will be mailed.

 

Mandy and Darren Lewis, owners of Albert’s Dog Lounge, presented extensive information about their rescue and adoption placement organization. They are asking for special consideration to secure a dog kennel license for their property. Their main operation is to hold “meet and greet” sessions with dogs who are rescued from southern United States with potential owners in the area. They recently built a new pole barn for storage and a 40x40x40 fence to be used as a walking area while the adoptees are being viewed for adoption. They were notified by the County that they would need to apply for a kennel license, even if as they claim, the rescue dogs are not housed on the property.

Norm made a motion to grant them a conditional use exemption that they can provide to the County, motion was seconded by Bob; Motion carried.

It was felt by the board and expressed by Lowell that the service they provide is greatly appreciated.

 

The Monthly Meeting was recessed to return to the Annual Meeting.

 

Meeting reconvened at 7:36 PM

 

Other town business –

Cavers Pavers will be doing the asphalt project on the Cruse Lane Boat Landing sometime during the first two weeks in May, depending on the weather. Bob is coordinating the project with Rich Charts and Cavers Pavers so that Rich can move his weed cutting equipment when the asphalt is being laid.

2020 Road Bid Packages: Bob Strand and Jorja will meet to finalize the bid package. Final bids are to be submitted no later than 8:00 AM on May 28, 2020.

Bob Strand reported that after speaking with Amy Limones at the County, the grant money awarded the Township for repairing Ridge Road is available until 2025. The money can also be reallocated to another project if we submit paperwork to make that request. Norm prefers to use that money for a different project, but wants to wait to make that determination once all the 2020 bids are collected.

Bob Harris submitted a quote for purchasing a 20’ and 40’ storage container to house township files. The bids were $1800.00 and $1950.00 respectively. Those bids included delivery to our site, however, not specific placement. Norm made a motion to purchase the 40’ container for a not to exceed price of $1950.00; Bob seconded the motion and the motion passed.

Public input –

Claudia Holst commented on the election process and how well it was organized.

 

Board reviewed bills.

 

Norm made a motion to adjourn at 8:04 PM, seconded by Bob.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted by Jorja Boiley, Clerk/Treasurer