The Meeting of the Common Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 13, 2007.  It was noted that the meeting had been announced and a notice posted at City Hall.

 

Roll call was taken, with the following members present:  Mayor Jim Bialecki, Ald. Kim Smith, Ald. Tim Miller, Ald. Mike Giese, Ald. Jim Olson, Ald. Robert Muth, and Ald. Clarence Stellner,

 

Also Present:  City Clerk Cari Burmaster, Finance Director Fred Buehler, City Engineer Jarrod Holter, Land Use & Development Director Jason Gilman and City Attorney Sean O’Flaherty.

 

Item 2 - Pledge of Allegiance

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was declared.

 

Item 3 - Approval of minutes from previous meeting.

 

Motion by Ald. Mike Giese, second by Ald. Jim Olson, to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as printed and on file in the City Clerk’s Office.  On voice vote, motion carried.

 

Item 4 - PUBLIC INPUT:  (limited to 3 minutes/individual)

 

Mayor Bialecki called for anyone wishing to address the council.

 

Ann Brandau

4033 Mary Drive, Onalaska

 

Ann spoke to the Council regarding the Preliminary Plat submitted by Dave Evenson.  She expressed concerns on the road design for egress in and out of the development.  Her suggestion was to have the development enter and exit off of Valley View Drive.  She also expressed concerns about noise issues that would arise from removing the berm running adjacent to the Interstate.  She pointed out the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Onalaska and questioned whether this development followed the plan.

 

Item 5 - REPORT FROM THE MAYOR.

 

     A.  Resolution No. 33-2007 – Resolution for Recycling Efficiency grant.

 

Resolution No. 33-2007

 

Resolution for Recycling Efficiency Grant

 

To: The Honorable Mayor and Council Members, Onalaska, Wisconsin

 

WHEREAS,  the City of Onalaska desires to promote and enhance recycling information for it’s residents, and

 

WHEREAS, the City of Onalaska and other La Crosse County municipalities may apply for a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for entering into a cooperative recycling agreement with another municipality, and

 

WHEREAS, joint education efforts will decrease the overall cost of sending brochures to all City residents, and

 

WHEREAS, a unified recycling message between the two municipalities will eliminate some confusion from residents who move between municipalities and gain recognition of  recycling educational brochures.

 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Onalaska that the attached agreements between the City of Onalaska and participating La Crosse County municipalities and/or Wisconsin Responsible Units of Government are hereby approved.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to execute said agreements. 

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Planning Department is authorized to effectuate said agreement.

 

Dated this 13th day of November, 2007.

 

 

 

CITY OF ONALASKA

BY: ____________________________
James Bialecki, Mayor

 

______________________________

Caroline Burmaster, City Clerk

 

Passed:          

Approved:     

 

Cooperative Agreement

Recycling Efficiency

 

 

In accordance with the Recycling Efficiency Grant qualifications, the City of Onalaska and the surrounding neighboring communities of the City of La Crosse, Town of Campbell, Town of Onalaska, Village of Holmen, Town of Shelby, Town of Hamilton, Town of Farmington and Village of West Salem, Buffalo County and other La Crosse County Responsible Units agree to work cooperatively to educate residents on the components of their respective recycling programs.

 

The above stated municipalities agree to create a recycling newsletter that can be used to unify recycling messages and give residents a better understanding of their disposal options.  This agreement includes the shared responsibility for writing articles, layout and design as well as printing coordination and costs.

 

The above stated municipalities agree to make the brochure consistent in design with other Western Wisconsin counties in order to provide for a recognizable format for residents.

 

Such duties of this agreement will be carried out by each municipality or county authorized representative in cooperation with the participating municipalities.

 

Work in this project will be completed by April 1, 2008.

 

Agreed to on this date:  November 13, 2007

 

 

Motion by Ald. Clarence Stellner, second by Ald. Kim Smith to approve Resolution 33-2007.  On roll call vote:  Ald. Robert Muth – aye; Ald. Tim Miller – aye; Ald. Jim Olson – aye; Ald. Mike Giese – aye; Ald. Clarence Stellner – aye; and Ald. Kim Smith – aye.  Motion carries

 

 

 

  1.  Resolution No. 34-2007 – Resolution for Amendment of Technology Committee.

 

RESOLUTION   34-2007

 

A RESOLUTION TO RATIFY AND EXPAND THE CITY OF

ONALASKA TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

 

 

WHEREAS, THE City of Onalaska established a Technology Committee by motion of the Common Council of the City of Onalaska; and

 

WHEREAS, the City of Onalaska desires to ratify the creation of the Technology Committee; and

 

WHEREAS, the City of Onalaska desires to expand the membership of the Technology Committee; and

 

WHEREAS, the City of Onalaska desires to define the duties of the Technology Committee.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Onalaska that:

 

SECTION 1.  The creation of the Technology Committee by a motion of the City of Onalaska Common Council is hereby ratified.

 

SECTION 2.  The Technology Committee shall consist of six (6) members (the “Committee Members”).  The powers of the Technology Committee shall be vested in, and exercised by, the Committee Members in office from time to time.  Committee Members shall receive no compensation for their services but they may be reimbursed for expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties if such expenses are pre-approved by the Common Council.

 

SECTION 3.  The Mayor of the City of Onalaska, shall appoint the Committee Members subject to confirmation by the Onalaska Common Council.  The five (5) Committee Members of the Technology Committee as of the date of this resolution shall continue as Technology Committee members until removed by the Mayor of the City of Onalaska or the Onalaska Common Council.

 

SECTION 4.  Committee Members shall continue as members until his or her successor has been appointed and confirmed unless such Committee Member vacates the position earlier because of removal, resignation, incapacity or death.  All appointments or vacancies shall be confirmed by the Common Council.

 

SECTION 5.  The Technology Committee shall make recommendations regarding necessary purchases of equipment or services and regarding the hiring of any information technology staff to the City’s Finance and Personnel Committee.  All other recommendations by the Technology Committee shall be made directly to the City Council.

 

SECTION 6.  No Committee Member shall acquire any direct or indirect interest in any project or in any property included or planned to be included in any information technology project entered into by the City of Onalaska, nor shall he have any direct or indirect interest in any contract or proposed contract for insurance, materials or services to be furnished or used in any such project.  If any Committee Member of the Technology Committee owns or controls a direct or indirect interest in any real property included or planned to be included in any such project, he shall immediately disclose the same in writing to the Technology Committee and such disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of the Technology Committee, and such Committee Member shall not participate in any action by the Technology Committee relating to such property.  Failure to so disclose such interest shall constitute misconduct in office.

 

 

Dated this 13th day of November, 2007.

 

 

                                                                                    CITY OF ONALASKA

 

 

                                                                                    By:_________________________________

                                                                                          James S. Bialecki, Mayor

 

                                                                                    By:_________________________________

                                                                                          Caroline Burmaster, Clerk

 

 

PASSED:

APPROVED:

PUBLISHED:

 

Motion by Ald. Muth, second by Ald. Olson, to approve Resolution No. 34-2007.

 

Under discussion, Ald. Smith asked, The way this is worded, I’m interpreting it to be that the current five members of the Technology Committee will continue until they are removed by the Mayor, the council, resign, become incapacitated or die as opposed to most of our committees serve a term of several years?”

 

Mayor Bialecki answered, “Yes, and I’ll clarify that – Technology is one committee  – there have never been any set terms; however, appointments to that committee are ratified every year at the annual reorganization meeting – that’s where a change could happen.  Meaning realistically that they are there for one term.  Should they decide on or before that time or the incumbent mayor or for that matter council will choose at that time or they certainly could do that on an annual basis.” 

 

Ald. Smith asked, “And then in follow up to that in Section 3, it states that the five committee members will continue on but it doesn’t refer to the sixth member then.”

 

Mayor Bialecki said, “I think it just makes it clear that we’re adding one more position to make it six, meaning the five incumbents right now are there until at least April of 2008.” 

 

On roll call vote:  Ald. Kim Smith – aye, Ald. Tim Miller – aye, Ald. Clarence Stellner – aye, Ald. Jim Olson – aye, Ald. Mike Giese – aye, Ald. Bob Muth – aye.  Resolution passes.

 

  1. Appointment of new member to Technology Committee – Jim Strack, 2236 Quarry Lane, Onalaska.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Miller, to approve the appointment of Jim Strack, 2236 Quarry Lane, Onalaska, to the Technology Committee as a new member.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Authorization to place Code Red logo on the City of Onalaska website.

 

Fire Chief Don Dominick reported that the City of Onalaska is now at the point that the research has been done, the contracts have been signed, and they are now requesting authorization from common council to place the Code Red Logo on the official City of Onalaska website. 

 

Fire Chief Dominick said, “The reason for this request is the subscription service that Code Red has for the phone numbers for our residents that are directly attached to an enhanced 9-1-1 system – in other words any phone currently that is picked up automatically goes to LaCrosse 9-1-1 Center.  That is roughly 70% of our residents will already be in there.  The allowance to have the logo placed on the website, will give all of the residents of Onalaska the opportunity to go online, to click onto the Code Red logo and they can put in their work numbers, cell numbers, spouses numbers, etc.  So it’s a way that we will update and we’re looking at in the beginning probably every 2 weeks, we’ll be forwarding the new residents that sign up down to the main database. 

 

Motion by Ald. Smith, second by Ald. Miller, to approve authorization to place the Code Red logo on the City of Onalaska website. 

 

Under discussion, Mayor Bialecki confirmed that it is the understanding of Code Red that they at no time can ever use the City of Onalaska logo combined with theirs unless they come back for permission from the common council.

 

Ald. Muth questioned when Code Red would go into effect.

 

Fire Chief Dominick said, We’re hoping, and it moved ahead a little bit with the concept of how this will work with the assistance of Joe Barstow, it seems feasible that by Friday, the logo will be available for our residents to utilize.  And, again, we’re at about 70% capacity, statistically.  We should be able to go online sometime the following week.  We’ll be working with the news media – let them know, and just so Common Council does know, what we will be doing is placing a call list together, if you will, for all the members of Common Council that any time a system is utilized, you will be notified so if any of your constituents want to contact about a particular question, you’ll know right up front – it will happen in real time.”

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Procedure for citizens to sign up for Code Red.

 

Fire Chief Dominick explained that the procedure will be self-explanatory to any of the residents that go on line.  After clicking on the Code Red logo, they will be allowed to fill in their contact information.  They do one phone number at a time, so if they have any subsequent numbers, they would just click and add the next one and it’s one that will walk all the way through. 

 

Fire Chief Dominick said, “Again, that information will be available to the Fire Department – we’ll be monitoring the program, making sure we don’t have duplicates, and if by some reason we miss that we already have a duplicate, rather than call the same number several times, Code Red’s database will remove it from the system so each number will only be allowed to be entered once for calling purposes.” 

 

Ald. Smith suggested that if persons do not have access to online services that they could access the Internet through the computers at the library as there are many public access stations available and there is no fee charged for this service.

 

Ald. Giese asked, “Chief the 70% figure you used, those numbers are going to automatically be entered into the database so most resident will, by virtue of having a phone number listed, have their listing posted within the Code Red database.”

 

Fire Chief Dominick answered, “Whatever is currently available right to 9-1-1 Center will be, that’s correct. But what’s really happening is more and more people are utilizing their cell phones rather than their home phones, and that’s a bit more difficult to say that it’s dedicated to a specific center.  So if they want to do that, then that cell phone that they enter would automatically go with being an Onalaska resident, which would bring them up on the callers list.”

 

Motion by Ald. Miller, second by Ald. Stellner, to approve the procedure for citizens to sign up for Code Red.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR APPROVAL AND/OR POSSIBLE ACTION FROM THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES/COMMISSIONS/BOARDS:

 

Item 6 – FINANCE COMMITTEE:

 

A.    Vouchers.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Muth, to approve Vouchers No. 2341 through No. 2582, expended since the last Common Council meeting of October 9, 2007 in the amount of $1,585,524.34. 

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

B.    Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company (CVMIC) two-year liability renewal package for 2009-2010.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve the Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company (CVMIC) two-year liability renewal package for 2009-2010.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

C.    2008 Information Technology (IT) on City Computer Hardware and Software.

 

  1. Waiver request by Information Management Services Inc. (IMS) regarding the 2008 contract referencing bond requirement.

 

  1. City’s Computer Hardware and Software System Information Technology (IT) options for 2008.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to deny the wavier request by Information Management Services Inc.  (IMS) regarding the 2008 contract referencing bond requirement.

 

Mayor Bialecki asked, “Since we have a proposal approved, this waiver has been denied, how much of a time frame now are we going to give the company to get that before we have to go looking again?”

 

Fred answered, “The last Common Council meeting that we had, the Common Council went on record to approve with the 2008 RFP proposal and award it to Information Management Systems (IMS) and the RFP, as this council had authorized, it stated that upon awarding the contract, the provider had 10 days to provide the necessary documents as outlined in the RFP.  In not doing so, an e-mail went out by myself as well as it went back on stating that we needed to know their intent.  The letter was received that they were not going to provide the bond requirement and then at that point in time it went on the Finance & Personnel agenda, and the Finance & Personnel Committee decided not to allow a waiver, so we’re well past the 10 day referral issue.” 

 

Mayor Bialecki said, “That’s with the ___ comment because that was part of the RFP – to be in place upon approval within 10 days, and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve been reneged on that.  I don’t know how the council feels, if this is the council’s action tonight to give a date certain that that has to be in place or back to Technology to move on and consider another outside provider or to entertain the idea of an insider provider.” 

 

Ald. Smith suggested, “I think at this point, we just need to refer back to the Technology Committee for a recommendation.” 

 

Mayor Bialecki questioned if members would like an amendment indicating a time frame to have the date in place in order to avoid the necessity of the committee being required to address this issue again next month.

 

Members agreed to set the date of November 23, 2007 as the required date to have the bond in place. 

 

Mayor Bialecki noted that if there is no bond in place by this date, the committee would be authorized to move forward.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

Item 7 – PERSONNEL COMMITTEE:

 

  1. Personnel policies:
  1. Leave of Absence.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve the policy change for leave of absence.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Job descriptions:

 

  1. Residential Building Inspector.
  2. Electrical Inspector.
  3. Heating/Plumbing Inspector.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve the above three job descriptions of Residential Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector, and Heating/Plumbing Inspector.

 

Under discussion, Ald. Smith indicated that for clarity of understanding, the job descriptions were approved as stated in the packet with the building inspector being a Grade 17, the Electrical Inspector being a Grade 18, and the Heating/Plumbing Inspector being a Grade 18, and asked if everyone was in agreement.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

C.Assistant Municipal Court Clerk.

 

  1. Salary.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Muth, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve the salary for the Assistant Municipal Court Clerk at $10.65 an hour.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Post and Advertise.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Muth, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to post and advertise for the Assistant Municipal Court Clerk position.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

D.    Police Department Towing Policy.

 

Motion by Ald. Olson, second by Ald. Stellner, upon recommendation of the Finance and Personnel Committee to approve the new Police Department Towing Policy.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

E.     Non-Union Compensation.

 

This item was deferred at the meeting last evening for 30 days.

 

F.     Compensation for Mayor.

 

This item was also addressed during the budget meeting last evening.

 

Item 8 - ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE:

 

Item A - Approval of Operator’s Licenses

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Administrative Committee to approve the Operator’s Licenses.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

Item 9 - BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS:

 

A.  Update on vacuum leaf pick up throughout the City.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to authorize a one-week extension for the vacuum leaf pick up throughout the City.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Use of City owned buildings at 300 South Court Street for cold storage.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to allow the City Engineer to proceed with leasing space for cold storage in the old city shop located at 300 South Court Street with the assistance from the city attorney regarding appropriate leasing agreement and recommended rental fees.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Policy on distribution of sand and/or salt for use by residents.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to allow Jarrod to facilitate locations for sand and salt pick up.

 

Jarrod explained that will be ¾ sand and ¼ salt mix rather than the straight salt that has been utilized in the past.  One distribution station is anticipated to be placed at the Community Center and one at the old City Shop location.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Two-party agreement with Short Elliot and Hendrickson (S E H) for engineering design services for Oak Avenue South.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the two-party agreement with Short Elliot and Hendrickson (S E H) for engineering design services for Oak Avenue South.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Local road improvement project grant application.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the local road improvement project grant application.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Storm Water Management Plan Task Order 04-07 with Strand Associates.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the storm water management plan task order 04-07 with Strand Associates.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. East Main Street right turn lane change order #1. 

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Olson, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the East Main Street right turn lane change order #1.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Retaining wall project at 562 Pralle Road change order #1.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the retaining wall project at 562 Pralle Road change order #1.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

  1. Utility plan approval for Evenson plat along South Kinney Coulee Road.

 

Motion by Ald. Stellner, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Board of Public Works to approve the utility plan approval for Evenson plat along South Kinney Coulee Road.

 

Under discussion, Mayor Bialecki questioned if this will be changed now because of action taken earlier in this meeting.

 

Jarrod explained that the utility plans will stay as they presently are because the water main will still need to be looped to South Kinney and the sanitary sewer will not change.  Jarrod said, “So I think we can give approval to the utility plans, but the grading and vegetation removal plans as part of the Plan Commission improvements will need to be reviewed.”

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

Item 10 - PLAN COMMISSION:

 

A.  Preliminary Plat application filed by David Evenson, 1025 Riders Club Road, Onalaska, for the property located at South Kinney Coulee Road, East of Mary Drive (Parcel # 18-3405-002).

 

  1. Preliminary Plat Fee of $40.00 + $10.00 per lot x 20 = $140.00.

 

  1. Park Fee of $922.21 per unit due at time of each building permits issuance.

 

  1. Sanitary sewer Fee of $626.00 per acre x 7.7 = $4,820.20.

 

  1. Storm Sewer Fee of $3,327.00 per acre x 7.7 = $25,617.00.  Storm Sewer Fee waived if owner installs storm sewer and cost exceeds fee.  If fee exceeds costs, developer shall pay difference.

 

  1. Owner shall submit a copy with Plat title, surveyor’s certificate, location and names of adjoining subdivision and owners, lot & block numbers.

 

  1. 10’ utility easement required outside all right of way lines.

 

  1. Sidewalk required on Valley Vue Drive and proposed interior street.

 

  1. Street lights required – coordinate with city Engineer.

 

  1. 2 – 2 ½” trees required per to – owners shall require in covenants.

 

  1. Developer shall make utility plans available to prospective buyers.

 

  1. Utility plans shall be submitted by owner to Utility Committee for review and approval.

 

  1. Master drainage plan shall be on file in Inspection Office prior to final plat approval.

 

  1. As-built plans shall be on file in the Engineering Dept. prior to final plat approval.

 

  1. 5-year guarantee required in the form of a letter of credit for all improvements.  25% of the total cost of improvement for 3-years plus $100.00 per manhole and catch basin for an additional 2-years.

 

  1. NR216 Permit and notice of intent required.

 

  1. 1,500 gpm on all hydrants required.

 

  1. All utility laterals must be installed beyond 10’ utility easement.

 

  1. Sign Fee of $75.00 per street sign.  Owner shall submit a master sign plan for review and approval by City.

 

  1. Owner shall submit street construction plans and details for review and approval by City Engineer.

 

  1. Storm water calculations shall be submitted for review and approval by City.

 

  1. Removal of vegetation on S. Kinney Coulee Rd right-of-way requires City approval.

 

  1. First floor elevations shall be consistent to avoid adverse drainage from one lot to another.

 

  1. Recommend vegetation and berm and/or elevation change along Interstate 90 or within development to control noise to neighboring development.

 

  1. Owner shall submit consolidated mailbox plan based on new USPS rules.

 

  1. Owner/developer must pay all fees and have all plans reviewed and approved by the City prior to obtaining a building permit.  Owner/developer must have all conditions satisfied and improvements installed per approved plans prior to the issuance of occupancy permit.

 

  1. Owner/developer must notify the City prior to any utility connection to public utilities.

 

  1. All conditions run with the land and are binding upon the original developer and all heirs, successors, and assigns.  The sale or transfer of all or any portion of the property does not relieve the original developer from payment of any fees imposed or from meeting any other conditions.

 

  1. Any omissions of any conditions not listed in Plan Commission Minutes shall not release the developer/property owner from abiding by the City’s Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Code requirements.

 

Motion by Ald. Giese, second by Ald. Stellner, upon recommendation of the Plan Commission to approve with 28 conditions the preliminary plat application filed by David Evenson, 1025 Riders Club Road, Onalaska, for the property located at South Kinney Coulee Road, East of Mary Drive.

 

Mayor Bialecki asked, “Jason, how thorough is everything at the Planning Commission in considering our comprehensive plan and a lot of the other points that were made.”

 

Jason answered, “Every time a plat comes in, we take a look at how it conforms to the City’s Comprehensive Plan.  And in this particular instance, it is an unusual circumstance.  It’s a 7-acre site with 20 lots proposed on it.  Literal enforcement of the city’s comprehensive plan would still allow Mr. Evenson to put 20 lots on that site but would indicate that he’d have to set aside 50 to 60% of the land in conservancy.  We have to look at the bigger picture when we look at these plats, and in this case there’s a7-acre park immediately to the east of this plat and there’s also a very extensive LaCrosse River Conservancy area that is partially owned by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy.  Therefore, if somebody would look at the entire Valley View Estates, Pralle Estates, and Pine View estates in the context of its surroundings, if the entire thing was a 400-acre farm, for instance, it certainly would meet the intent of the code in terms of clustering homes on developable land and having some conservancy land around it. 

 

I think what’s problematic about enforcing the comprehensive plan on every piece of developable land in the city is that we end up with a piece meal of set aside land that doesn’t make sense.  And we always look for those opportunities to extend the city’s green way system – to extend the open space systems where they make sense because otherwise we end up with these outlots that are not managed well or they’re taken over by a homeowners association, and the city gets complaints about the management – who takes care of it, who mows the grass, who cuts the weeds, all that stuff.  So we have to look at the bigger picture in each instance. 

 

If we did a literal enforcement of the city’s comprehensive plan and allowed Mr. Evenson to have his 20 lots, but he had to shrink them down to the minimum size- 7200 square feet per lot, which is what’s afforded in the R-1 zoning district, I think there would be objections from the neighborhood because one of the things we heard at the public hearing was that the people in the neighborhood want some consistency in the lot and value of what is built in that area.  So compact clustered lots might not meet some of the other requirements that the neighbors desire. 

 

I do think Ms. Brandau made some good points, though, and certainly preservation of vegetation is always something we look at.  This was a pine plantation for the most part – there was very few or any mature hardwoods on the site.  And we always look for those types of opportunities to preserve those, but the fact is the city does not have a tree preservation ordinance or permit or requirements.  So Mr. Evenson, or the previous owner, Mr. Robinson, going in and having that completely clear cut was perfectly legal and something he can do, and that occurred prior to the platting.  If it wouldn’t have occurred prior to the platting and there were mature hardwoods all over the site, we probably would have said to Mr. Evenson, we want to see a better plan to try to preserve some of these mature hardwoods – but most of it was just this pine plantation. 

 

And then with regard to the road design, there are really three feasible options – one is to bring a cul de sac bulb into the development to try to preserve some of the grade, but there are trade offs to each option, and certainly cul de sacs are not preferred where there is a loop possible just for efficiency and delivering services.  The second option was the one Ms. Brandau pointed out, which is a loop that would extend from Valley View Drive into the development and then back out Valley View Drive.  The cons in that type of a situation is that you create another outlet onto Valley View Drive where there are homes facing the development and potentially the homeowner that would face that intersection might object.  This way they’d have a home right across the street rather than car lights shining into their home. 

 

And then the other thing that would create is double frontage lots, which is prohibited by the city’s subdivision code.  If you throw a loop in there, you’re going to have lots that will probably front not only on the loop drive but on South Kinney Coulee Road or back to South Kinney Coulee depending on how tight the loop is – I mean Mr. Evenson can put a real tight loop in there and maybe avoid there, but double frontage lots are a problem, and we try to avoid those where we can. 

 

So that leaves the possibility of a loop from South Kinney onto Valley View and what we suggested at the Plan Commission was that Mr. Evenson explore retaining the 4 to 5 foot grade change from South Kinney up into the site so that in effect, there is sort of a berm and a sound buffer that would occur.  And I have not heard back from Mr. Evenson to see whether or not that’s feasible, but that’s something that he’s required to work on by virtue of the Plan Commission’s recommendation.  I would say that if the council does want to make sure that he preserves the vegetation on the south side of the lot, I would not be opposed to the council mentioning that in these minutes so that Mr. Evenson also knows that as he does his grading plan and works through these grades, that he should save that vegetation to the greatest extent possible.” 

 

Ald. Stellner asked, “I was curious in the young lady’s statement there about the noise from the interstate.  With those trees there, that does a good job of barricading that area as far as noise goes.  In the last year now since they cut all those trees down over there, what was the noise level like at that time?”

 

Ann Brandau said, “I was anticipating last summer that the noise level would be substantially higher than it was.  My comparison is I used to live over on Flint Street, and when Highway 53 was developed over there, all of a sudden we had Highway 53 here and we had homes down and we didn’t have any earthen berms in our particular area, and I couldn’t hear myself – I was a quarter of a mile away from 53, but I couldn’t hear myself in my own backyard because the noise was so loud from the elevated highway.  Over where we are because of the earthen berm, the noise is a miniscule louder than it used to be, and I was surprised.”

 

Ald. Stellner said, “What I’m getting at is if there’s houses in there, the houses will be blocking that sound for you also.”

 

Ann answered, “That would be true for you if you lived over here maybe and you’ve got all these houses blocking you, but if you live over here, we’ve got the road bringing the noise right back to us.” 

 

In response to a question from Ald. Stellner, Ann noted that they did not hear that much noise with the earthen berm.

 

Ald. Stellner asked, “There was not any difference in noise?”

 

Ann said, “A little bit louder.”

 

Ald. Giese noted, “Jason and Jarrod, at the hearing, there was discussion from the Planning Commission members about changing Condition 23, and the wording that was suggested was to change it to read, “Recommend vegetation and berm and/or elevation changes along Interstate 90 or within the development to control noise to adjacent neighbors, and I was left with the expectation there was going to be some dialogue or discussion on that point.  Has that happened to this point?”

 

Jason answered that this has not occurred as he has not heard from Mr. Evenson.

 

Ald. Giese asked, “Then the other observation is that, what is that burden upon the developer?  Does that give city staff to exercise its professional judgment and if there’s not going to be a significant mitigation of noise, to reject the plan?”

 

Jason answered, “Well, mitigation of noise is a pretty loose and grey area.  I mean our basic code requirement for noise is 75 decibels measured at the residential property line, which I don’t think the interstate is that high – most people would not want 75 decibels at the property line.  And the reason I know that is I’ve measured with a sound meter, with car repair equipment, and I kind of have a feel for the hum of the interstate versus wrenches and things that are being used in much closer quarters.  So I think that the focus of the recommendation here was that Mr. Evenson submits a plat that has to retain some grade change between South Kinney Coulee Road and the existing development, and we had talked about 4 feet, and that’s what staff expected to see.  I think if we don’t see that, we would recommend that it go back to Plan Commission for further review, but he has not submitted anything yet.”

 

Ald. Giese asked, “So the controlling, measurable element would be that decibel limit, and as long as the condition was not in excess of 75 decibels, then it wouldn’t be allowed to go through?”

 

Jason said, “Well that’s the basic minimum, but I think what Ms. Brandau is pointing out is that this could create even more noise than what they’re hearing today – it may not exceed the 75decibels, but is there a way that this subdivision could be designed to mitigate any increase in noise?  And our best recommendation from staff is let’s have Mr. Evenson leave some elevation change in the middle of this plat – 4 feet or so – so that in fact the freeway is below the grade of the existing homes.” 

 

Mayor Bialecki suggested, “Maybe as a compromise to this, if, in fact, this gets approved tonight, is that the site plan has to come in yet, and then maybe between yourself and Jarrod, in that review, nothing happens until they approve of that – if there still seems that there’s going to be negative issues with noise barriers and vegetation and there’s disagreement, then if nothing else, they’ll bring conditions back here and take a second look from a legislative point of view.  Does that seem workable?”

 

Ald. Smith said, “Personally, I’m going to be voting no to this and the primary reason is that the concerns that were brought up at the public hearing have not been addressed at all, and I think that it’s in our best interest to deny this or refer this back to the sub committee until our concerns have been addressed rather than to rubber stamp it and then try to back track and achieve a standard that already is lacking.” 

 

In response to a question from Mayor Bialecki, Ald. Smith noted that the developer has not taken the time to meet with the neighbors regarding this and that was part of the issue with this item.

 

Ald. Miller is in agreement with Ald. Smith and said that he would be voting no also on this item tonight.

 

Ald. Smith noted an issue with citizens as they did not even know what the preliminary plat or the plan development was – they were working off hearsay because the developer had not communicated with them.

 

Ald. Smith said, “But the developer needs to take the responsibility to communicate with his neighbors, in my opinion, so I’m going to vote no.”

 

Motion by Ald. Giese, second by Ald. Stellner, to table for 30 days the preliminary plat application filed by David Evenson, 1025 Riders Club Road, Onalaska, for the property located at South Kinney Coulee Road, east of Mary Drive, the objective being to facilitate discussion and communication and to come up with a physical form to the development that’s meeting the sensitivities of all the parties concerned. 

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

B. Certified Survey Map submitted by Davy Engineering for Mike Tooke, 960 Oak Avenue North, Onalaska and LB White Company, W6636 LB White Road, Onalaska, for a transfer of 1.85 acres from Mike Tooke to LB White Company and the right-of-way for the proposed Abbey Road (Parcel # 18-4511-302).

 

  1. CSM and other fees waived due to City agreement.

 

  1. Right of way for Abbey Road shall be dedicated to the City pending City Engineering approval.

 

  1. Parcel will require re-zoning for industrial Use for LB White Company.

 

  1. Owner/developer must pay all fees and have all plans reviewed and approved by the City prior to obtaining a building permit.  Owner/developer must have all conditions satisfied and improvements installed per approved plans prior to the issuance of occupancy permit.

 

  1. Owner/developer must notify the City prior to any utility connection to public utilities.

 

  1. All conditions run with the land and are binding upon the original developer and all heirs, successors, and assigns.  The sale or transfer of all or any portion of the property does not relieve the original developer from payment of any fees imposed or from meeting any other conditions.

 

  1. Any omissions of any conditions not listed in Plan Commission Minutes shall not release the developer/property owner from abiding by the City’s Subdivision Ordinance and Zoning Code requirements.

 

  1. Subject to sanitary sewer easement from East Avenue.

 

Motion by Ald. Giese, second by Ald. Miller, upon recommendation of the Plan Commission to approve with 8 conditions the certified survey map submitted by Davy Engineering for Mike Tooke, 960 Oak Avenue North, Onalaska and LB White Company, W6636 LB White Road, Onalaska, for a transfer of 1.85 acres from Mike Tooke to LB White Company and the right-of-way for the proposed Abbey Road.

 

On voice vote, motion carried.

 

C. Consideration of proposed Planned Unit Development amendment by Bob Wehrenberg, 2938 Wild Rose Lane, Onalaska, for the parcel at Timbercrest Drive East in Nathan Hill Estates (Parcel # 18-5955-1).

 

Motion by Ald. Giese, second by Ald. Smith, upon recommendation of the Plan Commission to approve the consideration of proposed Planned Unit Development amendment by Bob Wherenberg, 2938 Wild Rose Lane, Onalaska, for the parcel at Timbercrest Drive East in Natha