Minutes: Evansville Common Council, Tuesday, May 8, 2007---+++Plus Mayor Deckers State of City Report

Common Council

Regular Meeting

Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 6:30 p.m.

City Hall, 31 S. Madison Street, Evansville, WI

MINUTES
Mayor Decker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Present were: Mayor Decker; Alderpersons; Wyse, Roberts, Jacobson, Cothard, Sornson, Juergens, Braunschweig, and Wessels. Staff present: Dan Wietecha, City Administrator; Mark Kopp, City Attorney; David Wartenweiler, Public Works Superintendent; and Jim Beilke, Clerk/Treasurer.

Approval of Agenda

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the agenda as printed. Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion by Juergens, seconded by Braunschweig, to waive the reading of the minutes of April 10, 2007, regular meeting and April 17, 2007, special meeting and approve them as printed. Motion carried.

Citizen appearances

Tom Calley from Evansville Community Partnership distributed and reviewed the Fourth of July Events Calendar.

Tree City Award from the State of Wisconsin

Jeff Roe, South Central Regional Urban Forestry Coordinator, presented the Tree City USA Award to the City.

SOLE Committee

Mr. Wietecha reported the Committee met with the US Army Corps of Engineers to discuss the restoration of Lake Leota and Allen Creek.

Plan Commission Report - None

Finance and Labor Relations Committee Report

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Braunschweig, to approve Water and Light bills and authorize their payments of $1,007,877.05. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Braunschweig, to approve the City bills and authorize their payments of $395,312.39. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

Motion by Cothard, seconded by Roberts, to approve Department Head Contracts. After some discussion, the consensus was to approve the contracts at the Thursday May 10th meeting, so that they would have more time to review the final contracts.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Wessels, to table the approval of Department Head Contracts. Motion carried.

Public Safety Committee Report - None

Public Works Committee Report

Ald. Braunschweig reported the Committee had community discussion regarding the Westside stormwater drainage. Also, the Committee is working on an amendment to the Smart Growth Transportation Map.

Water & Light Committee - None

Economic Development Committee Report - None

Evansville Redevelopment Authority Report - None

Parks and Recreation Board Report

Ald. Juergens reported the skateboard park will open this weekend with volunteers to supervise it.

Historic Preservation Commission Report

Ald. Wessels reported the Commission is embarking on expanding the plaque program and to encourage more homeowners to protect their historic homes.

Fire District Report

Ald Wessels led the discussion on potential dates for joint City/Towns meeting the week of June 18th regarding the new Fire Hall. After some discussion, the consensus was Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. would work best for Common Council.

Unfinished Business

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to adopt Ordinance 2007-5, Amending Chapter 94 of the Municipal Code by Changing the Composition of the Plan Commission. Council also noted the words “seven member” should read as “seven members.” Mr. Wietecha reported this ordinance would replace the city engineer on the Commission with a citizen appointed by the mayor. Motion carried.

Communications and Recommendations from the Mayor

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to waive the seven-day notice requirement on mayoral appointments. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the mayoral appointment of Steve Stacy, 108 Water Street, to the Board of Appeals for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Carol Endres, 407 Badger Drive, to the Board of Appeals for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the mayoral appointment of Dave Rossmiller, 413 S. Madison Street, to the Evansville Youth Center Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Erin Savaske, 320 Cherry Street, to the Evansville Youth Center Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Rob Savaske, 320 Cherry Street, to the Evansville Youth Center Advisory Committee for a one-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the mayoral appointment of Christe McKittrick, 23 S. First Street, to the Police Commission for a five-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to approve the mayoral appointment of Jim Brooks, 563 S. Sixth Street to the Plan Commission for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts, to approve the mayoral appointment of Bill Hammann, 250 Eager Court, to the Plan Commission for a three-year term. Motion carried.

Mayor’s “State of the City” Address (The following is the Mayor’s report)

It has been an eventful and busy year for the City of Evansville. I have occasionally stated that Evansville is on the move, and that has literally sometimes been the case.

The Public Works Department moved into their new facility and the Water and Light Department consolidated into one location. Our City Hall underwent a long planned second floor renovation, with City offices moving twice. City Hall staff is to be commended for their fortitude.

City Hall was re-roofed. Infrastructure improvements occurred on Madison Street. The Main Street reconstruction project is underway. County M improvements are commencing shortly. The new bathrooms near Lake Leota were completed and construction has begun on bathrooms at Countryside Park.

Financially, 2006 was a successful year for the City. While the audit is still in process, it appears that all funds came in under budget. The 2007 budget process went smoothly and to date there have not been expenditure surprises.

Budget development for 2008 will be more challenging because of the impact of continuing slowdown of residential growth. Final property tax levy limits in the adopted state budget will determine how difficult will be our task.

During the last twelve months, Evansville has been the recipient of several grants, totaling nearly $1 million, for City projects. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation awarded $398,000 for Main Street enhancements and bike trailways. The State Department of Commerce awarded $125,000 for job creation at North Prairie Productions and the Department of Transportation awarded $125,000 as a Transportation Economic Assistance grant for the biodiesel facility.

The Department of Commerce awarded a Community Development Block Grant for Housing for the Eager Building project in the amount of $300,000. The Housing funds will be loaned to the Eager Building project, which will be repaid to the City over time. Repaid funds will stay in our community to become a revolving loan fund for future housing projects.

The City has additional applications for funding currently under consideration. An application for a Safe Routes to School grant has been submitted. A Community Development Block Grant for Public Facilities has been submitted for additional Main Street funding. A federal appropriation for Lake Leota restoration has been requested by the City, with assistance from the SOLE Committee. Army Corps of Engineers staff was in Evansville last week for a site visit at the lake. The City is supporting North Prairie Productions in their efforts to seek federal assistance for location of a soybean crush facility in Evansville.

In an important decision by the Common Council last summer, the City of Evansville became a member of Wisconsin Public Power Incorporated. One of 48 municipality owners of WPPI, we are already receiving substantial benefits from this relationship. Evansville Water and Light is able to obtain lower electrical rates in the regional energy market through group purchasing, provide additional services to large local customers, and receive better materials pricing because of the economies of scale of the WPPI joint purchasing program.

Economic development has been at the forefront of City activity this year. On June 6, 2006 Landmark Services consultant Randy Kyle visited City Hall to ask for the City’s assistance in responding to North Prairie Productions’ request for proposals for location of a biodiesel facility. On March 26, 2007, Governor Doyle visited Evansville to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony and announce the State grants for the project. In the intervening nine months, countless hours of effort by many individuals resulted in the annexation of the site, establishment of Tax Incremental District #7, various project reviews, permits, approvals and agreements.

I spoke with North Prairie president Mike Robinson last week. He indicated that construction materials for the project have been ordered and project staging is underway. The City is currently working with North Prairie Productions to obtain federal funding for “crush” in Evansville. Development of a renewable energy campus in Evansville is being explored by other possible stakeholders.

The City also approved Tax Incremental District #6, a mixed-use district. The City undertook a traffic impact analysis for the extension of J. Lindemann Drive into the D&D Development property south of Highway 14. In last Saturday’s mail, the City received a draft developer’s agreement from D&D Development for Phase I of construction. Upcoming negotiations will include expedited development of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation-required roundabout at J. Lindemann Drive.

The new business environment in Evansville is encouraging. More than ten new businesses have located here; I am aware of a handful of other business possibilities on the horizon. The City Economic Development Committee, Evansville Chamber of Commerce and the business community are working in partnership to promote and market our community to prospective new businesses. The North Prairie biodiesel facility is an example of the result of this productive partnership.

The downsizing and loss of existing community businesses is sad and unfortunate. The Chamber Reconstruction Task Force was formed a year ago. Businesses identified current construction information, customer parking and reconstruction marketing plans as areas of service to businesses during construction. The Task Force continues to meet regularly and Chamber contacts are available to handle concerns.

The nationwide downturn in the housing sector is having a direct effect on the local economy, as well as slowing down the growth of our tax base. Our Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan on page 133 states “The City needs more commercial and industrial development to permit the City to reduce its relatively high property tax rate without reducing services.” The current intense focus on commercial and industrial development in our community will increase and provide better balance to our tax base.

Other significant events this past year included appointment of Associated Appraisal Consultants as City Assessor. Kathi Kemp-Tejeda was approved as the new Library Director of Eager Free Public Library. Dan Wietecha, following an extensive selection process, was named Evansville’s City Administrator.

The coming year will include the following efforts: establishment of a City of Evansville/Town of Union intergovernmental committee to work for the betterment of our community; completion of the Main Street reconstruction project; continuation of focused economic development activities, including intense effort to bring “crush” to Evansville and enhancement of our image as a “green community”; and development of complete plans and timetables for Lake Leota restoration and repair of Allen Creek walls.

I thank the many individuals, including City Department Heads and staff, Alderpersons, and the many active City committees, as well as dozens of citizen volunteers, who continually work for the betterment of our community. It is my honor and privilege to work beside you.

Communications from the City Administrator

Mr. Wietecha led the discussion on Common Council’s special meeting on May 10, 2007. The special meeting was call because the Notice to Electors needs 30-days notice before Council could act on resolutions approving the bonds sales.

New Business

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Roberts, to approve Resolution #2007-21, Evansville-Union Implementation.

After some discussion on the appointment of members to the committee, motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Cothard, to change the words on the last page from “one city elector” to “one city elector and/or taxpayer.” Motion carried on a roll call vote. Ald. Braunschweig, Cothard, Sornson, Wessels, Wyse, Jacobson, and Roberts voted in favor. Ald. Juergens voted against.

The original motion, as amended, carried.

Introduction of New Ordinances

Ald. Braunschweig read the first reading of Ordinance #2007-4, Annexing territory to the City of Evansville (O2 Investments, LLC). Common Council noted that Ald. Cothard will abstain when Council votes on Ordinance #2007-4.

Adjournment

Motion by Braunschweig, seconded by Juergens, to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Motion carried.

Prepared by:

James Beilke