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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCounty Board 09-19-1996ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS September 19, 1996 9:00 A.M. (NOTE DATE CHANGE) Government Center Compiled by Chairman Robert M. Boche CALL TO ORDER INVOCATION: Pastor Robert River Falls Lillo, First Baptist Church PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG ROLL CALL CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS SESSION ADOPTION OF AGENDA ANNOUNCEMENTS: DATE OF NEXT SESSION: October 15, 1996 APPOINTMENTS: Jack Dowd, Health and Human to the Corrections Center REPORT OF ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR 9:00 A.M. Services Representative OLD AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Consideration and action on matters tabled, postponed or referred to a committee at a previous meeting) NEW BUSINESS (Action on newly introduced motions, ordinances, resolutions, or other matters) 1. Resolution to Exercise Options to Purchase Property on Perch Lake for a County Park and to Accept Land for a Roadway to the Future Park Land 9:15 A.M. 2. Appearance by Library Board to Discuss County Library Tax Levy Exemption 3. Resolutions Accepting Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson Exemption from County Library Tax Levy **4. Resolution Regarding County Library Services *5. Closed Session per WI Statute 19.85 (1) (g) to Confer with Legal Counsel Regarding Alice, Inc. vs. St. Croix County (Large Assembly Ordinance) *6. Reconvene to Open Session per WI Statute 19.85 (2) DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS 11:00 A.M. Parks, Library, Maintenance and District Attorney COMMITTEE AND BOARD REPORTS FARMLAND PRESERVATION APPLICATIONS MILEAGE & PER DIEM REPORT CORRESPONDENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS ADJOURNMENT (The above agenda is not necessarily in order of presentations) * Changes or Additions after the Preliminary Agenda ** Late Changes and Additions 7 ST. CROIX COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Regular Session September 19, 1996 Meeting called to order by Chair Boche at 9:00 a.m. Invocation given by Pastor Robert Lillo, First Baptist Church, River Falls. Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Roll call: 29 present, 2 absent - Suprs. Charles Grant and John Mortensen (both excused). Motion by Supr. Bradley, 2nd by Supr. Giese to approve the August minutes. Carried. Motion by Supr. Filipiak, 2nd by Supr. Bethke to adopt the agenda. Carried. Resolution #19 (96): To Exercise Options to Purchase Property on Perch Lake for a County Park and To Accept Land for a Roadway to the Future Park Land. Motion by Supr. O'Connell, 2nd by Vice Chair Dorsey to place on the floor. Carried. In a project summary, Supr. Raymond stated landowners Tom and Donna Seim wish to keep this property as a park open to the public. The county has an option to purchase for $355,000 over a five year pay period. Lloyd and June Waldroff have offered a right-of-way easement provide the county builds the road. DNR will provide 500-. cost sharing. Total cost to the county would be about $200,000 with an estimated $40,000 per year to operate the park. Ruth Hilfiker from Town of Erin Prairie told of her family's use of this "secret garden" and encouraged Supervisors to vote yes to .save this lake for the future and our children. Ron Roettger from the Sportsmen's Alliance said the purchase of this property would expand and maintain outdoor pursuits. If no more parkland is bought, there is less opportunity for recreation. Perch Lake offers trout fishing along with warm water fishing and the water quality is excellent for swimming. Roettger urged a yes vote to purchase this property for the generation now and in the future. Jamie Johnson, 13 year old from Town of Hudson, expressed how special Perch Lake was to her with the clean, clear water that does not turn green. She has had a lot of fun there and doesn't want to lose the use of Perch Lake. Finance Committee Chair Don Brown said the committee had reviewed the proposal and concluded it is a "do -able" deal and makes this recommendation to the County Board. Raymond noted County Planner Ellen Denzer and Planning staff have spent many hours working on the details of this purchase. Supr. Giese questioned if we have a signed agreement for cost sharing from DNR and is the county responsible for cost of diverting water to the river due to the high water level. Raymond replied that the Purchase Agreement is contingent upon DNR cost sharing and the county is not buying responsibility for high water. Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman agreed. The Town of St. Joseph, where Perch Lake is located, is willing to use some of their Park 1 fund for development of the park. Supr. Mehls asked if there will be a restriction on motors and jet skis. Supr. Luckey said the Town of St. Joseph has an Ordinance not allowing motors on this lake. Supr. Sinclear asked if DNR will help operate and maintain the park. Raymond replied no and there will be $40,000 a year cost to the County for operations. Denzer stated there are two main covenants in the purchase agreement - keep it a park and open to the public. Cost for the access road, parking lot and interior road is estimated at $225,000. Supr. Bradley asked if the county builds the access road does this open the door for Waldroff to develop his land. Denzer answered yes. Bradley dislikes the promotion of use of DNR money and stated Farm Bureau Board of Directors does not share the enthusiasm for this purchase. Supr. Irwin suggested requiring a larger set back for homes on either side of the access road. Supr. Standafer supports the purchase of this property but cautioned about setting limits of what people can do with private property. Motion by Supr. Raymond, 2nd by Supr. Luckey to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote: 27 yes, 2 no. Carried. Resolution #20 (96): Restructuring the County Library Service. Finance Chair Brown indicated the Library System is facing a crisis because library support from the Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson has been withdrawn. A special meeting of Finance was held September 13 at which time a recommendation was made to use direct funding and eliminate the County Library. Chair Boche opened the public hearing. Dan Woll, St. Croix School Administrator, applauded the Board's action on approving the purchase of Perch Lake property. He requested the Board pass a motion requesting the WI Attorney General to research the withdrawal of Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson's library levies. Woll believes the contracts are illegal. He commented actions done in disorderly fashion and at break neck speed lead down a blind alley. Village Boards did not have time to react to the Finance Committee's decision. Woll asked for a Library budget the same as 1996. Library Board member Janet Knutson stated three months is not enough time to redo local library budgets. The County Library Board has no transitional policy developed. Library Director Maureen Farrell said it is uplifting to see the many in attendance which shows parks and libraries are important to citizens. This issue should be emotional because libraries are more than buildings and books. Libraries work best when they work together. Farrell used an overhead to show approximate values of St. Croix County Library Services to the 10 municipal libraries. In another comparison, the difference was shown between the proposed allocation and the current value of library services. Some libraries, such as Hudson, New Richmond, Baldwin, River Falls and Somerset would be winners. Ex., Hudson Library would receive $83,186, subtract $39,659 to make up for county library services, 2 leaving $43,527 for other expenses. However, Deer Park, Glenwood City, Hammond, Roberts and Woodville libraries show a decrease in cost of replacing services. Ex., Hammond Library would receive $10,519 allocation but cost of replacing services would be $16,727 leaving a deficit of $6,208. Baldwin Library President Mary Ellen Brue noted Libraries are now Media Information Centers; not just a depository for books. She said Timmerman has given his opinion but the present Attorney General has not. She requested the Board not act hastily and to table the resolution until input is received from the 10 libraries and municipalities involved. Director of IFLS (Indianhead Federated Library System) Milton Mitchell indicated St. Croix County is one of 10 members of IFLS and this membership would not be affected if the library is eliminated. IFLS is the primary funder of Books by Mail. If the County Library is closed this goes into an area of uncertainty and he does not know if service can be continued. Of the 10 IFLS members, five counties have a County Library and five do not. Mitchell commented if the County Library is closed, everyone loses. He advised to look into this carefully and also the legality of the contracts for services for Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson. In answer to Supervisors' questions, Mitchell replied: There are 12 County Libraries in the State - 6 with county and 6 with consolidated library. Counties without a County Library are functioning o.k. There is no space planned in the new building at Eau Claire for Books by Mail service. Board of Trustees make decision if Books by Mail service would continue; the service is not mandated. IFLS policy requires special needs people to register for services so many have dropped out. St. Croix County has a more general philosophy. Supr. Bieraugel noted she is on continuing the Books by Mail possibility of keeping the three with IFLS. the IFLS Board and would promote program. She will pursue the Books by Mail clerks and contract Supr. Bradley introduced Ron Pratt who spoke as a county taxpayer. Pratt said direct funding would require each library to develop its own system. A centralized system provides speedier service. He asked the Board to consider the ramification of less service and the speed with which information is provided. Supr. Mehls asked exactly what services would be eliminated and Farrell replied there has not been time to do a plan and she does not have an answer at this point. Jail Captain Karen Humphrey and Sheriff Paul Burch discussed the jail library. Humphrey said a library room had been built in the jail and the staff has no expertise in library services which are provided by the County Library. Education, recreation, library and GED testing services are offered to inmates. If no jail library is available, this may affect the contract with the State. Burch indicated the jail is primarily rental with only 30 to 35 of the �1 inmates being from the county population. The library is often the most important event in the day and is effective for control. Reading books is better than throwing food or peeling paint. Humphrey said the library staff comes every two weeks and provides most of the books and magazines. Volunteers come the other week. There is no money budgeted for library services in the jail budget. Supr. Luckey suggested this service could be contracted with a local library. Supr. Jacobson introduced Woodville Village President Larry Knegendorf who stated Wisconsin is developing the super information highway. Wisconsin Advanced Telecommunications and local phone companies have grant money available. He agreed with Dan Woll that we have not been given enough time to address the issue of elimination of the County Library. Krizek said application for grant money has been made for Law Enforcement communications. Ethel McLaughlin, member of the County Library Board, has watched the County Library improve the 10 local libraries. The two County Board Supervisors serving on the County Library Board are also members of the Hudson Library Board and she believes this to be a conflict of interest. She said the phrase "throwing money at a problem doesn't solve it," but this is exactly what this solution does. She asked the Board to reconsider this resolution as it does not solve the problems of a small library. Libraries are so important - all 10 of them. Chair Boche closed the public hearing and called for a lunch break. Meeting reconvened at 1:00 p.m. with Suprs. Grant, Mortensen and Kellaher absent and excused. Finance Chair Don Brown commented everyone is for a good library system and believes the county went through the proper process in trying to solve the problem. Sixty six counties have a different system in Wisconsin. Finance Committee selected option ##3, the direct funding method. With the withdrawal of Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson from the library levy, 250 of funding is lost. Brown introduced Dean Albert, Chair, Town of Troy. Albert commented River Falls is in the process of building a new library and City of Hudson bought the old Courthouse for a library. The library levy is on the Town of Troy's Board meeting agenda for next month. Town of Kinnickinnic is also discussing this issue. Albert said this is not an easy decision and an Attorney General's opinion would be helpful. Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman said he issued an opinion that it is proper to exempt Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson from the library levy. Two requirement-s must be met: the municipality must spend as much as previously levied and must provide library service alone or with another library with a contract for service. Timmerman said an AG's opinion is just that and solves nothing unless taken to Court. Any state agency can request an AG opinion but at the present the law says the exemptions have to be granted. Administrative Coordinator John Krizek outlined the four scenarios: 2 1. Increased funding. We do not have the ability to tax for the loss of $60,000 by the withdrawal of two municipalities. This is not good use or enough dollars to the Hudson Library. If Town of Troy withdraws, more dollars would be lost. 2. Consolidated library - not ready for at this time and some smaller libraries could be eliminated. 3. Direct Funding option would increase funding to all municipal libraries. Finance Director Rich Loney stated the 24 municipalities that do not have a library pay the county library tax determined by equalized value. The library levy for 1997. is $246,132. The contingency fund cannot be used because this is levied on the entire county. With the Direct Funding formula of a $5,000 base the Hudson Library would receive $72,000. Finance Committee voted to increase this by adding $50,000 more. The Hudson Library would get $83,186 and the total library levy is $295,014. Municipalities with libraries can't drop below their present levy amount. Supr. Giese said past policy did not allow distribution of cash to libraries. Krizek said the Board never changed their policy and this can be allowed. Supr. Bieraugel indicated her support of libraries. The Books by Mail future will be determined by the IFLS and Board of Trustees. IFLS and the County have a contract and as a member of IFLS, she will support the Books by Mail program. She noted local libraries are under basic collection of books on the shelves and libraries should have computers available to the public. Business worldwide is being restructured which is not always comfortable. She supports the resolution because we cannot afford not to change the library system. Motion by Supr. Brown, 2nd by Supr. Bradley to adopt the Library resolution. Motion by Supr. Bieraugel, 2nd by Supr. Luckey to offer a friendly amendment in the therefore clause, item #2, remove the wording "be frozen at the 1995 level" and add to funding for 1997 "through 2001 shall not be less than the mill rate of .19469359 per thousand." Roll call vote: 23 yes, 4 no. Amendment carried. Motion by Supr. Berenschot, 2nd by Supr. Peterson to postpone action on the library resolution. Roll call vote: 5 yes, 22 no. Motion defeated. Supr. Irwin clarified some questions and misinformation. Homebound people will not lose Books by Mail. No services are going away or eliminated. WISCAT is do -able for local libraries. Only four people, not seven will be losing their job. Too much money is being spent on wages and fringes, according to Irwin. As a member of the County Library Board, he is looking out for the whole county, not just the Hudson Library. Roll call vote on Restructuring the County Library Service: 27 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Motion by Supr. Jacobson, 2nd by Supr. Hense to remove from the agenda the Resolutions Accepting Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson Exemption from County Library Tax Levy. Carried. 5 Oral Reports: Reports were given by District Attorney Eric Johnson, Maintenance Director Ralph Robole and Assistant Parks Manager, Dave Larson. Appointments: Chair Boche announced the appointment of Supr. Jack Dowd as Health and Human Services Rep. to the Corrections Center Board. Closed Session: Motion by Supr. Berenschot, 2nd by Supr. Hense to move into closed session. Roll call: 25 yes, 0 no (Grant, Mortensen, Kellaher, Mehls, Luckey and Sinclear were absent). Motion by Supr. O'Connell, 2nd by Supr. Giese to come out of closed session. Carried. Action from closed session: Motion by Supr. Bradley, 2nd by Supr. Menter to rescind Ordinance #4 (96) Large Assembly Ordinance. Carried. Farmland Preservation: Motion by Supr. Jensen, 2nd by Supr. Jacobson to refer application of James E. Stringer Family Trust to the State for approval. Application has been approved by Land Conservation Committee. Carried. Announcements: Planning Director Dave Fodroczi reported on the Household and Hazardous Waste collection on September 21 at New Richmond, Highway Shop in Hammond and near Hudson. Supr. Bradley noted the Legislature is considering the revamping of the DNR's authority in regard to watersheds. Supr. Giese suggested that all ordinances and resolutions be signed by appropriate committees before they are distributed to Supervisors. Motion by Supr. O'Connell, 2nd by Supr. Giese to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Robert M. Boche, Chair St. Croix County Board of Supervisors Sue E. Nelson St. Croix County Clerk 9