Town of York
Monthly Board Meeting
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Please Note: These Town Board meeting minutes are posted as draft-only to inform town residents of the topics addressed at the board meeting. These minutes are subject to review and possible revision at next month’s Town Board meeting and should not be considered official until they receive final board approval at that time.
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM. Town Chairman Steve Van Hout, 1st Supervisor Tim Czerwonka, 2nd Supervisor Steve Hermanson, Treasurer Ann Carlson, and Clerk Heidi Hankley were present, as well as Plan Commission Secretary Bethany Storm and landowner Jen Simpson. Verification of proper notice was given. Meeting minutes for the Tuesday, December 10, 2019 Board Meeting were presented. Steve Hermanson moved to approve the December 10, 2019 minutes as presented; second by Tim Czerwonka. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report- Ann Carlson presented her monthly report and noted that she and Heidi are still working on comparing their records and the budget reclassification will happen at the February board meeting. She presented the current list of driveway permits and noted that she will update the list soon since many of the refunds have been issued. Steve Hermanson made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report as given; second by Steve Van Hout. Motion carried.
Bills- Heidi Hankley, Ann Carlson, and Steve Hermanson presented bills to be paid. Tim Czerwonka made a motion to approve the bills as presented; second by Steve Hermanson. Motion carried.
Patrolman’s Report- Wayne Bue was not in attendance, but Steve Hermanson reported that Wayne made a lot of progress on the roadside brush clearing with the boom mower that was rented in December. Steve also noted that he and Travis Leonard have divided up the snowplowing in a new way to maximize the usefulness of the two different snow plowing trucks on the roads and driveways. Steve said that Wayne will be refilling the tailings supply and wants to consider options for facilitating the use of a higher salt content mix when road conditions are icy. Steve Van Hout noted that he will look into the possibility of purchasing a used machine to do the roadside brush mowing and ditch clearing.
Plan Commission Report- Plan Commission member Bethany Storm reported that she has finished updating the dwelling unit database and will continue to do a bit of work each month to keep things updated.
Public Comment- Ann Carlson noted that some residents who typically pay their property taxes in person are concerned about the collection date for 2020 since it falls on Saturday, December 26th. Ann said she would like to do the 2020 December collection on Wednesday, December 30 during the recycling center open hours. She will provide this information in the tax insert, town newsletter, and town website as the next tax season rolls around. Bethany Storm asked the board if they would consider applying for a rural development grant to help demolish some old buildings on a piece of property in Postville where she is interested in developing a new business. The board asked her to provide more information about the grant process. They also suggested that she contact a barn deconstruction crew who may be willing to take the buildings down and reuse the materials.
New Business-
- Jen SImpson, Driveway permit- Jen Simpson presented materials about a new residential construction project and associated driveway. Simpson is waiting on state approval of her driveway, at which time the board will revisit her driveway permit application.
- Per diems and budgeting- The board had a useful discussion clarifying what activities the board members should be claiming a per diem for, including meetings, driveway inspections, tree clearing from roadways, county and state meetings, training sessions, and highway and bridge inspections.
- Small Bridge Inspections- Steve Van Hout wants to make sure that the bridge inspections happen by mid-April this year. Steve Hermanson also wants to inspect culverts that have not been inspected recently. He also suggests starting to budget for any repairs that are needed.
- Driveway permit refunds- Steve Hermanson made a motion to approve the refund of $1,000 to Sandra Erb; second by Tim Czerwonka. Motion carried. Steve Van Hout made a motion to approve the full refund of $1,800 to Eric and Kandi Adrian; second by Tim Czerwonka. Motion carried. The Adrian’s building project has been put on hold, so Heidi will include a letter with the refund stating that if they resume building, they will need to apply for a new permit at that time. Additionally, if they sell the property, the new owner will also be obligated to apply for a new driveway permit. Steve Van Hout made a motion to approve the refund of $1,000 to Vladimir Bulat; second by Steve Hermanson. Motion carried.
Old Business-
- Fencing around bridge on Poplar Grove Rd.- Steve Hermanson obtained bridge plan documents and specifications for the fencing needed and will now obtain several bids to have the fencing work done.
- Amendment of the Driveway Ordinance- The Board discussed amendments to the driveway ordinance to remove the options of surety bond and cash bond in lieu of the $1000 cash deposit. Clarification on who the refund will go to will also be added to the ordinance. The Plan Commission will also assist in adding specifications for bridges that are part of driveways. Heidi will prepare a draft for the board to work on at the next meeting.
Adjournment- Steve Hermanson moved to adjourn the meeting; second by Tim Czerwonka, motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Heidi Hankley, Clerk