March 20, 2023 minutes

A meeting of the Stratton Village Board of Trustees was held on Monday March 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm CT at the Village Clerk’s Office. Notice of the meeting was posted and availability of the agenda was communicated in the advance notice. A poster of the “Open Meetings Act” was clearly visible on the board room wall, and Chairman Hanes directed the attention of those present to the poster. All proceedings hereafter shown occurred while the meeting was in session. Present: Chairman S. Hanes, Trustee K. Sutton, Trustee P. Bohochik, Trustee M. McDonald, Trustee J. Griffiths, Clerk T. Hedrick, Utilities Superintendent M. Petersen, Deputy Clerk D. Burk, Robert Gerold with Waste Connections, members of the public Roy Shapley, Wade Hanes, Dana Cox, Justine Richardson, Barbara Sydow, Melissa Dailey, Jessica Kohler, Eric Huffman, Linda Zahl and Patrick Shelton.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

OPEN FORUM:

No public comments were made.

Motion by Griffiths and second by Hanes to approve the previous minutes, treasurers’ report and claims. Roll call: Ayes: Sutton, Bohochik, McDonald, Hanes, Griffiths. Nays: None. Motion carried.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Armor coating was tabled until Utilities Superintendent was available.

Trash service proposal was reviewed. Member of the public Melissa Dailey had questions regarding the rural trash routes. Contract was presented by Waste Management. A proposed start date of May 1st was stated. Motion by Hanes and seconded by Griffiths to approve and sign solid waste contract with Waste Management. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

Armor coating was taken from the table. The one and six year street plan was reviewed. Utilities

Superintendent Petersen suggested several streets that he believed needed armor coating soon. Other streets needing repairs and maintenance were discussed. It was noted that budget would allow for approximately ten blocks to be completed. Motion by Hanes and seconded by McDonald to approve armor coating for double the amount from what was completed last fall. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

Property Access request was discussed. Petersen reviewed where he believes would be a right a-way on the undeveloped street. Member of the public Justine Richardson had concerns on where her property ends and the right a way begins. Options were discussed. Board members would like to see a survey done of the requesting person’s property prior to taking any further action.

Fence permit for 404 Beaver was reviewed. Motion by McDonald and seconded by Bohochik to approve fence permit for 404 Beaver. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

Building permits for 611 Hamilton were reviewed. Motion by McDonald and seconded by Hanes to approve both building permits for 611 Hamilton. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

Expenses and prices to charge for copies to the public were discussed. Motion by Griffiths and seconded by Hanes to approve an increase in copy rates to $0.25 per page. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

A complaint on unlicensed trailer was received. Member of the public Wade Hanes stated he would work on taking care of the issue.

A complaint regarding dog excrement at 504 Nebraska was reviewed. Utilities Superintendent Petersen will take a look at the property while he is completing meter readings this week to determine if any ordinance violations are taking place.

A complaint regarding dog at large at 509 Hamilton was reviewed. Board members agreed that the prior approved fence would help alleviate the problem and complaint was placed on file.

Motion by Griffiths and seconded by Sutton to adopt Hazard Mitigation resolution. Roll call: Ayes:

McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

Information regarding skid loader lease was reviewed. Motion by McDonald and seconded by Griffiths to approve leasing a skid loader for the next year. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

Utilities Superintendent Petersen reported information he had found on radio read electric meters that the town of Friend was advising for sell. Petersen was unable to contact the employee from Friend to gain further information. The board will consider the purchase once more information has been obtained.

Employee Report: Two employee applications have been received for Assistant Utilities Superintendent and were reviewed by the board. Motion by McDonald and seconded by Sutton to approve hiring Clyde Stout as Assistant Utilities Superintendent at the rate of $16.00 per hour. Roll call: Ayes: McDonald, Sutton, Bohochik, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried.

The status of an unemployment claim was reviewed. No claims have been received for payment at this time. With no objection it was agreed that if payment was requested the normal operating budget should be sufficient without the need to use funds from the unemployment CD.

Streets, Ally and Landfill Report: Nothing new to report.

Electricity Committee Report: Trustee Griffiths reminded Utilities Superintendent Petersen that the Village transformer would need maintenance completed during the planned outage by SWPPD. Petersen informed the board that when he spoke with the salesperson from Dutton Lainson regarding purchasing transformers that he was informed that some had been purchased by former employee League right before he resigned. Petersen stated that there are no extra transformers around that he has found. Clerk Hedrick will review invoices from that time period to determine how many were purchased.

Water & Sewer Committee Report: Utilities Superintendent Petersen stated that Dutton Lainson will not have radio read equipment in stock for approximately a year and half.

Finance Committee Report: Nothing new to report

Health & Welfare Committee Report: Member of the public Linda Zahl stated there are several properties around town that are health issues. Nuisance violation process was reviewed.

Park & Recreation Committee Report: Member of the public Linda Zahl informed the board that the park was beginning to have large amounts of dog excrement in the grass and inquired of the possibility of having a sign placed at the park with trash bags available.

Motion by McDonald and seconded by Hanes to adjourn the meeting. Roll call: Ayes: Sutton, Bohochik, McDonald, Griffiths, Hanes. Nays: None. Motion carried and meeting adjourned at 8:38pm.

The next regular meeting of the Village Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Village Office.