Committee Members Present: Ashford, Wiese, Cassity, Sprecher and
Others Present: Lance Gurney, Lowell Haugen, Brent Bailey, Ted Brenson, Jim Hanson, Virgil Hartje, Brian Simmert, Dave Tremble, Aaron Hartman, Brad Pointon, and Mary White.
Chairman Wiese called the meeting to order and staff certified that the meeting had been properly posted.
Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to adopt the agenda. Motion carried.
Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to approve the minutes of the December 9, 2002 Committee meeting. Motion carried.
Communications: None
Business Items: None
Mr. Brent Bailey, Register of Deeds, then appeared. He informed the Committee that his department had set a record of 31,500 documents being recorded in a year which meant extra revenue for the office. The use of CDs was discussed. Mr. Bailey explained the fees and the frequency of making the CDs. The microfilm conversion project is complete. The next project will be to notate it and make the index. The new death certificate form was reviewed and policies for public viewing of these documents was discussed.
Mr. Bailey presented his voucher list. Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to approve payment of the vouchers and the monthly report as given. Motion carried.
Mr. Ted Brenson, County Cartographer, appeared. The SOARING Project to put documents on the Internet is up and running internally, not on the web. The ARC IMS Project is up and running with a few server problems. There were questions on amount of information to be made available to public.
The replacement of a color plotter located in the Land Conservation Department was then discussed. This plotter was purchased in 1996. Mr. Brenson had two proposals, one from Master Graphics for $6,900.00 plus $200.00 for a starter kit and one from Design Projects for $7,430.00. Mr. Brenson recommended accepting the proposal from Master Graphics. He did not feel that the service contract was necessary. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Cassity to accept the proposal from Master Graphics. Motion carried.
A digital terrain model was the next item discussed. This model would allow slope and elevation to be determined in the office and would make 3-D drawings. Mr. Cassity asked if this data wasn't already available. More physical surveying needs to be done. The cost would be between $253,000 and $270,000 to develop the model. Mr. Brenson stated that the money would come from the land records account. He felt this could possibly be done this year or by 2004. The need for this was questioned. Mr. Gurney stated that it was crucial for his department. How this relates to flood plain determinations was discussed. Land Conservation would be able to prepare site plans in the office. Mr. Gurney stated that this is something every municipality in the County, as well as emergency services, could use. Mr. Wiese felt this money should be raised without a tax levy. There were some concerns with such an expenditure with all the unknowns in the economy. Discussion followed regarding obtaining the data needed, establishing control points and contours. Mr. Brenson suggested having a representative from a firm that produces these models give a presentation to the committee. The Committee was agreeable to that.
Available grants were then discussed. Mr. Brenson wants to apply for a grant to complete the parcel mapping project. Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Cassity that Mr. Brenson apply for such grant. Motion carried. Mr. Sprecher requested a listing of all grants obtained, what they were used for and how much.
The Mapping Department's voucher list was then reviewed. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to approve the vouchers as presented. Motion carried.
Mr. Matt Filus, County Surveyor, was not present.
Mr. Sprecher requested Chairman to discuss item b next. Mr. Virgil Hartje, Mr. Brad Pointon and Mr. Greg Hahn, LaValle Fire Chief. Mr. Hartje stated that there was as need for a tower in LaValle and the ordinance may need to be amended to allow this placement. Mr. Brad Pointon then appeared. He stated that the reason for such width setbacks was to keep multiple towers from being installed next to each other. Mr. Pointon said that the towers constructed now were made to coil down on themselves if they were to fall. He explained that the fire paging for LaValle was terrible. US Cellular wanted to put a tower in Lavalle for the fire department and local cell customers, but it is difficult to get a new tower because of the required setbacks. Mr. Gurney stated that the setbacks could be changed if the property owners sign off on it. Mr. Gurney stated that US Cellular was also working on a tower in Sumpter. Mr. Gurney asked if they have looked at any other sites. Mr. Hahn responded that it is not an alternative at this time. Discussion followed on exact placement of tower for pager coverage. Mr. Hartje stated that they would have to agree to allow other transmitters to be put on the same tower. Mr. Gurney stated they had two choices either they could go to the Board of Adjustment or they could re-write the ordinance. Mr. Cassity questioned having to go to the Board of Adjustment for service to the people of the county. Mr. Gurney was concerned about making ordinance changes. Mr. Sprecher agreed that the Board of Adjustment was the way to go. It could possibly go to BOA in February. Mr. Hartje suggested that the Fire Department encourage support for BOA approval of the request. Mr. Gurney stated that if the Board denies the request an ordinance change could be requested.
Mr. Gurney then gave his department's monthly report. He stated that the Lake Virginia subdivision addition would be coming back to the Committee for review. The department would not be providing a recommendation on this project. Mr. Cassity asked if it was part of the ordinance that required a hydrogeologic study. Mr. Gurney responded only if the department requests it. Surface water concerns have been resolved to the department's satisfaction.
Mr. Gurney announced that January 31, 2003 will be Mr. Jim Hanson's last day with the County. Mr. Matt Bremer has been hired as his replacement. Mr. Bremer will start on January 20, 2003. He had previously been employed with the Land Conservation Service. Motion by Wiese, seconded by Sprecher to approve a resolution commending Mr. Hanson for fifteen years of faithful service to Sauk County. Motion carried.
The Vandewalle billing regarding Highway 12 planning through December 20, 2002 was reviewed. Vandewalle and Associates will be making a presentation to the County Board in the near future. Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher to pay the Vandewalle billing in the amount of $17,118.63. Motion carried.
COMM. 83 and the Private Septic Sewage Ordinance was then discussed. The revisions taken to the County Board were denied. The maintenance program and when systems would need to be verified was discussed. Mr. Gurney felt that the time of sale would be the best time to get these older systems into the maintenance system. Ms. Ashford questioned if there was enough staff to inspect these systems. Mr. Gurney stated that there would be four staff people available for inspections. Mr. Gurney asked the Committee where they wanted the Department to go with this and what they wanted to accomplish. County Board reaction to the revision and Committee responsibilities were discussed. Mr. Sprecher felt the presentation was the problem. He stated that someone should have been designated to speak to the Board regarding the ordinance changes. Mr. Gene Wiegand, Administrative Coordinator, spoke to Committee regarding a presentation to the Board. Mr. Gurney stated that there will need to be another public hearing before this can go back to the Board. Ms. Ashford would like a fact sheet to explain why things in the ordinance are being changed and why. She felt this would aid the Board in seeing the need for the revisions. Further discussion followed on what was added and what the state required. Mr. Gurney stated that it would have been better to table the resolution, if there had been questions, rather than denying it. Committee member's duties and responsibilities were discussed.
Motion by Ashford, seconded by Sprecher that the Committee support Department activities such as the subdivision ordinance, Baraboo Range, clustering, preservation plan with a goal of preserving and enhancing the County's vast and significant resources, Chapter 25 amendments, etc., Motion carried.
The staff was directed to prepare for a public hearing in February on Chapter 25.
Mr. Wiese commended staff on a presentation they gave in December on the development of a county-wide purchase of development rights program and ordinance amendments to allow towns to establish density policies and small lot cluster developments.
Clustering was discussed.
The next meeting is scheduled for January 10, 2003.
Motion by Sprecher, seconded by Ashford to adjourn. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted: Judy Ashford, Secretary