TOWN OF BELL
BOARD MEETING
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
7:00 p.m. at the
COMMUNITY CENTER

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Board members present were Roger Lindgren,
James Kaseno, Andrew Sauter Sargent, Jackie Eid, Allen Hahn, MaryBeth Tillmans and Janice Olson.
– Board Meeting Minutes – J. Eid made a motion to approve the minutes and A. Hahn 2nd the
motion. Unanimous. Approved.
– Treasurer’s Report – J. Eid made a motion to approve the report and J. Kaseno 2nd the motion. Approved (3-1) Yes: R. Lindgren, J. Kaseno & J. Eid. No: A. Hahn. Approved.

Board Comments
– A. Hahn – He had questions about filling the positions of the deputy clerk and deputy treasurer.

Correspondence
– Citizen remarks Re: Fireworks Enforcement – Individual had concerns about ordinance not being enforced. The requirements of the ordinance were posted late. A permit was required, but people overlooked it. R. Lindgren asked the board members to review the ordinance for discussion at the next board meeting.
– FEMA COVID-19 expense reimbursement – Labor and materials related to or necessary will be reimbursable by FEMA. The town has submitted an application.
– Security State Bank Donation – Money that they received from the State was donated to the Town for Fire Dept. and Ambulance equipment. $1000.00 was received.
– CC Grounds Maintenance Compliment – A letter was received from an individual driving through town by the Community Center. They described building and surrounding area as ” a beacon of beauty.”
– National Geographic Filming -They will be filming a driving by of Siskiwit River Falls and Lost Creek Falls. They were checking to see if any permits were necessary.
– Correspondence about concerns Re: Corny Day – Several people commented about Corny Day going forward.

Committee Reports
Fire Department/Ambulance – Attached
Roads Report – Attached
Planning Commission – Attached
Harbor Commission – Attached
Parks and Lands – They did not have a meeting this month.
Museum – Attached
Community Center – Attached
Website – Attached
Library – Attached
Recycling Center – Things are going well.
Airport – The airport has had good progress since the fly-in promotion. A hundred dollar donation was received from a pilot that used the strip.
Emergency Management – Attached
Learning Center – Attached

Public Comment Period
Jennifer Sauter-Sargent and Judy Kerr reported that, although it was a difficult decision, Corny Day as we know it will be cancelled.

Old Business
– Swear in Andrew Sauter Sargent as Town Supervisor – He was sworn in.
– Community Center Hours – gatherings – The hours for the Community Center will remain the same.
– Driveway Ordinance – A. Hahn made a motion to approve the amended ordinance and J. Eid 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.
– Cedar Avenue Parking – The Planning Commission had approved recommending parking on the south side, east bound only on Cedar Ave., leaving the other lane open for emergency equipment. A. Hahn made a motion to approve the Planning Commission’s recommendation and J. Kaseno 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.
– Sidewalks – statutes and policies – The Planning Commission reviewed the state pertaining to sidewalks. Discussion was held. This was tabled until grant money becomes available.
– Camping Ordinance – The current ordinance does not have a fine for violators. The Planning Commission felt a fine should be in the ordinance. Discussion was held. A. Hahn made a motion to authorize J. Eid to amend the current ordinance to add a fine up to $250.00 and A. Sauter-Sargent 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.

New Business
– Nominate and Appoint Parks and Lands Member – A. Sauter-Sargent nominated Gina Emily to replace Yvette Fleming on the Parks and Lands Committee. R. Lindgren appointed Gina Emily to the Parks and Land Committee. J. Eid made a motion to approve the appointment and J. Kaseno 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.
– Hyde Rezone – The Planning Commission recommended unanimously to approve the recommendation to the County for the rezone from R-1 to Ag-1. A. Hahn made a motion to approve the recommendation for the rezone and J. Eid 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.
– Nozal Class A Special Use Permit – The Planning Commission recommended unanimously to approve the recommendation to the County to build a residence on Ag-1. A. Hahn made a motion to approve the recommendation for the special use permit and J. Eid 2nd the motion. Approved. Unanimous decision.
– Fireworks Ordinance – Discussed under comments.
– Citizen suggestion on Mask Ordinance – The Town has been enforcing Bayfield County’s recommendations at the Community Center. The Town will continue to enforce the current recommendations and changes that they make. A new directive has been sent out by them. Masks will be required at the Community Center.
– Credit Card Policy-It was reviewed by the Board.
– Adoption of South Stone Road – The road is not ready to be adopted yet. A. Hahn made a motion to authorize Matt Hipsher to negotiate with the County the adoption of the road off of South Stone Road when the road is in proper condition and ready it be taken over. J. Kaseno 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Appoved.
– Expanded CaCl on roads – CaCl is put on the roads for reducing maintenance costs. It is good for dust control. Some people would like it put on their roads around their homes, but the areas are not on the maintenance plan. M. Hipsher suggested $40.00 for 200 feet. This would be enough to spread in front of a house. A viable plan will be written up.
– 2 more lap tops – CC Mgr and Garage – J. Eid made a motion to get more laptops and A. Sauter Sargent 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.
– Live Stream Policy – Nine people are viewing the current meeting. A policy should be in place in advance. R. Lindgren will wait for input.
– Corny Day – Judy Kerr and Jennifer Sauter-Sargent, Corny Day organizers, spoke. There will not be anything physical. Buttons will be sold and donation will be accepted. A GoFundMe Page is being created with a goal of $135,000. J. Kaseno made a motion to postpone Corny Day until 2021 and J. Eid 2nd the motion. Unanimous decision. Approved.

Bills were paid. At 8:40 p.m., J. Eid made a motion to adjourn the meeting and J. Kaseno 2nd the motion. Approved.

Respectfully submitted,

MaryBeth Tillmans – Clerk

 

Committee Reports

Fire Department / Ambulance:
SSAA had 8 runs for the month: 6 transports, 1 lift assist, 1 fire standby.
Bell – 1
Clover -2
Orienta – 0
Port Wing – 5

Planning Commission:
All commissioners present.
Agenda items discussed will be covered under new and old business.

Roads:
Mowing is done on residential roads. We will start brushing after Labor Day. We will start replacing some culverts, most notably the one on West Spirit Point Road by Recycling Drive. We completed a ditch cleaning project on Mountain Ash Road, and we are working on another ditch cleaning project on the lower part of Mountain Road. The grader has a glitch that we are working with McCoy to get resolved, otherwise trying to keep the roads in acceptable driving condition with the lack of rain.

Harbor Commission:
The Harbor Commission got the new entry light operational. There are several slips available if anyone is looking for a slip. Otherwise, nothing new to report.

Parks and Lands:
No meeting this month

Museum:
Green Shed Museum July 2020 Update News
As President, Terri has been involved with ZOOM meetings with the Bayfield County Historical Society and the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) about COVID-19 and museum’s operations across the state. Many smaller museums and historic sites have chosen to have limited hours following the WHS COVID-19 guidelines, remain closed, or have virtual tours available. Presently, the Green Shed Museum has 2 dehumidifiers, 2 fans and an air purifier running constantly to lower the moisture content in the museum due to the floor seepage of moisture from these hot and humid days. This moisture has caused more preservation challenges of the current exhibit photos and other objects that retain moisture. The Board has been busy doing some deep cleaning. There will be major renovations of the informational photos and printed materials as time permits this season. Most of the objects resting on the floor have been elevated to hold off the deterioration from the moisture.

The news of the Harbor Commission now presiding over the Green Shed building will lead to future conversations about how to preserve the building itself and the contents of the museum. There are structural issues and continued community usage of the building does create a need for action in order to continue the use of the building sooner than later.

Community Center:
Work continues on projects within the building. Use is sparce. Many groups are cancelling and scheduling for a later time. Two weddings booked for 2021. Request an agenda item for August Board meeting to discuss having a paid, on-call position of persons willing, able, and available to do occasional handyman type jobs at the CC or as requested by Parks and Lands. Have a problem with people who have entry keys not closing the front door tight enough and then it leaves the building open all night. JK

Website:
The website redesign seems to be working well. We are still missing content (text and photos) for the different “facility” pages. I’ve been updating the calendar on Mondays when at the CC. Meeting times, as well as agendas and minutes or other notices, can be emailed to me for posting. For time sensitive posts 24 hours’ notice is helpful, as I am not often at my computer. Also we had four more additions to the email list through the website during the last month, bringing our total number to 191 people receiving Town email.

Library:
Thank you for inviting the Library Board to provide a report to the Bell Town Board. Since the Covid 19 event, the Library Board has not convened either in person or by electronic means.
As part of the Covid experience we informally (through an email chain) discussed and concluded that we would cancel the 2020 Local Authors Presentations. We have re-scheduled each of our presenters for the 2021 Local Authors Initiative in the hope that our country, county, and town will be able to proceed as we have previously.
Most recently, when it was announced that the library was open again, many of us were surprised. We also have concerns about the care of the books and spaces as some Library Board members who do those tasks are reluctant to resume our normal/traditional activities until the Covid issues have been more thoroughly resolved.
I think when we resume our meeting schedule, we will review what happened during this experience and consider developing future expectations and plans in anticipation of possible future events and the Library Board’s response.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to provide this update for Town Board and community members.

Recycling Center:
New recycling fee structure working well. Have been unable to find an economical glass grinder solution. Exploring the possibility of buying some forks for the lift truck to load cardboard bales and avoiding current fee. Cardboard prices have rebounded slightly.

Airport:
Airport use continuing. One notable event was a 90-year-old woman flew her plane from Minneapolis suburb and landed at the Cornucopia Airport. She was responsible for the majority of $100 in the Airport donations box in June

Community Emergency Preparedness:
– Preparedness Survey – The committee discussed how to use the information and how to present a summary to the wider community. We wish to thank Kurt Nelson for all the time and effort he has put into this project. Owen will work with Kurt on the presentation of the information.
– The status of the Town of Bell Emergency Plan was reviewed, and it was reported that the board is scheduled to discuss and vote on adoption at the next town meeting.
The Emergency Preparedness Resource Person (EPRP) position was discussed, and a tool kit was proposed consisting of various informational brochures and handouts. FEMA, through its website Ready.gov, has a dozen well done informational pieces. In addition, the committee is developing an Emergency Action Flip Chart that will be specifically designed for the Town of Bell and its possible emergency scenarios as presented in the Town of Bell Emergency Plan.
– Yvette Fleming has put together a collection of preparedness informational websites and resources, which was discussed at length.

Learning Center:
Due to the coronavirus, we are postponing classes until a vaccine allows our at-risk population to gather indoors safely. We are, however, working on the fitness center and hoping to have the needed electrical outlets installed before the end of the summer. At this time the fitness center is not operational. The goal is to have everything in place so that when we can gather safely indoors, we will be ready to open.