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City of Kaukauna

Common Council Meeting Minutes – January 5, 2021

Posted on Jan 27, 2021 by

COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS – COUNCIL CHAMBERS – KAUKAUNA, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 5, 2021

Click here to download a PDF of these minutes.

Pursuant to adjournment on December 15, 2020 meeting of the Common Council of the City of Kaukauna was called to order by Mayor Penterman at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 with remote teleconference via ZOOM.

Roll call present:  Coenen, DeCoster, Duda, Moore, Roehrig, Schell and Thiele.

Absent & Excused:  Driessen

Also present:  DPW/Eng. Sundelius, City Attorney Davidson, Planner Jakel, Principal Planner Watson Brunette, Fire Chief Carrel, Police Chief Graff, Rec. Dir. Malloy, Finance Dir. Van Rossum, HR Dir. Vanderloop, HR Dir. Audette, Naturalist Nowak, Grignon Mansion Dir. Mickelson, IT Dir. Krause, and interested citizens.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to excuse the absent member.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

One minute of silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag observed by the assembly with remote teleconference via ZOOM.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to suspend the rules and waive the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting of December 15, 2020.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to adopt the minutes of the meeting of December 15, 2020.

All Ald. present voted aye

Motion carried.

PRESENTATION OF LETTERS, PETITIONS, REMONSTRANCES, MEMORIALS, AND ACCOUNTS.

Bills Payable

Motion by Coenen, seconded by DeCoster to pay bills out of the proper accounts.

Roll call vote:  Coenen-aye, DeCoster-aye, Duda-aye, Moore-aye, Roehrig-aye, Schell-aye, Thiele-aye.

Motion carried.

PUBLIC APPEARANCES – none.

Mayor Penterman, on behalf of the City of Kaukauna and the Common Council, introduced and welcomed the new HR Director, Rachelle Audette.  She will be splitting her time between the City and Kaukauna Utilities.

Rachelle Audette provided brief background on herself and stated she is looking forward to serving the City of Kaukauna and Kaukauna Utilities.

Mayor Penterman reported that Alderman Driessen will be stepping down from her position as District 1 Alderperson due to health reasons.  A formal letter of resignation will be shared in the near future.

BUSINESS PRESENTED BY THE MAYOR

Public Hearing to Rezone Property Located at 500 Hendricks Avenue.

Mayor Penterman declared the public hearing open and asked if anyone in the Council Chambers or via ZOOM wished to address the Council regarding rezoning property located at 500 Hendricks Avenue.

After asking two more times if anyone else wished to address the council, no one appeared, Mayor Penterman declared the public hearing closed.

Appointment of Patricia Brogan to the Grignon Mansion Board.

Motion by Thiele, seconded by Moore to appoint Patricia Brogan to the Grignon Mansion Board.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Reappoint Carol King to the Grignon Mansion Board.

Motion by Thiele, seconded by DeCoster to reappoint Carol King to the Grignon Mansion Board.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Reappoint Julie Schroeder to the Board of Canvassers.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to reappoint Julie Shroeder to the Board of Canvassers.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Reappoint Karen Koch to the Board of Canvassers.

Motion by Thiele, seconded by DeCoster to reappoint Karen Koch to the Board of Canvassers.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Reappoint Sally Kenney to the Board of Canvassers.

Motion by Schell, seconded by Moore to reappoint Sally Kenney to the Board of Canvassers.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Disallowance of claim #WM000442410228 by Statewide Services, Inc.

Motion by Moore, seconded by Coenen to disallow claim #WM000442410228 by Statewide Services, Inc.

Roll call vote:  DeCoster-aye, Duda-aye, Moore-aye, Roehrig-aye, Schell-aye, Thiele-aye, Coenen-aye.

Motion carried.

Disallowance of claim #WM000442410229 by Statewide Services, Inc.

Motion by Moore, seconded by DeCoster to disallow claim #WM000442410229 by Statewide Services, Inc.

Roll call vote:  Duda-aye, Moore-aye, Roehrig-aye, Schell-aye, Thiele-aye, Coenen-aye, DeCoster-aye.

Motion carried.

Proclamation declaring January 9, 2021 National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in the City of Kaukauna.

Mayor Penterman read the Proclamation declaring January 9, 2021 National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in the City of Kaukauna.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Thiele to receive and place on file the Proclamation declaring January 9, 2021 National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in the City of Kaukauna.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Proclamation declaring January 24, 2021 through January 30, 2021 School Choice Week in the City of Kaukauna.

Mayor Penterman read the Proclamation declaring January 24, 2021 through January 30, 2021 School Choice Week in the City of Kaukauna.

Motion by Schell, seconded by Moore to receive and place on file the Proclamation declaring January 24, 2021 through January 30, 2021 School Choice Week in the City of Kaukauna.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Thank you to the sponsors of the Pop up Food Pantry Drive-thru events at Kaukauna Public Library.

Mayor Penterman, on behalf of the City of Kaukauna, expressed gratitude for donations to the pop up food pantry that was held at the Kaukauna Library this fall and winter.  Because of the sponsors, over 750 families were able to put food on their tables.  Thank you to Jason Lipsky, Bernatellos Foods, Oshkosh Area Food Pantry and Jake’s Diapers.

Thank you to the volunteers and Stoneridge Piggly Wiggly for sponsoring Santa Claus is coming to town.

Mayor Penterman thanked the volunteers and Stoneridge Piggly Wiggly for sponsoring Santa Claus is coming to town.  With the cancellation of the 2020 Christmas Parade, the City was lucky to have Santa Claus come from the North Pole and visit Kaukauna for the event.  The following people were thanked for their time and efforts with the event:  The City of Kaukauna – Craig Schneider, Jeff Malloy, Jake Carrel, Jason Holmes, Brittany Simonson, Mike Prock, Alex Bain, Jeff Moericke, Jeremy Uitenbroek, Brad Van Asten, Shaun Simon and Joe Van Hoof.  Mayor Penterman thanked Stoneridge Piggly Wiggly staff Brian and Jody Hilley and Jane Schaefer.

Cancellations and closings due to COVID-19 ALERT.

City staff continually monitors the latest COVID-19 issues.  A couple of the City firefighters received the first round of the vaccine today.  A small group of department heads will meet later this week to discuss starting up programs with the Recreation Department, Library, 1000 Islands and the Grignon Mansion.

The City will be opening the Horseshoe Park ice rink, if weather allows, along with the restrooms from park opening to 11:00 pm.

REPORTS OF STANDING AND SPECIAL COMMITTEES

Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes of January 4, 2021.

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS

A meeting of the Board of Public Works was called to order by Chairman Thiele on Monday, January 4, 2021 at 6:00 P.M. remote teleconference via ZOOM.

Members present:  Coenen, DeCoster, Driessen, Duda, Moore, Schell and Thiele.

Absent & Excused:  Roehrig

Also present:   Mayor Penterman, Attny. Davidson, DPW/Eng. Sundelius, Sen. Proj. Eng. Neumeier, Planner Jakel, Fin. Dir. Van Rossum, Fire Chief Carrel, Rec. Dir. Malloy, HR Dir. Vanderloop, Rachelle Audette, IT Dir. Krause, and interested citizens.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to excuse the absent member.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

  1. Correspondence – None.
  2. Open bids for Project 8-20 REBID, 10th Street & Bel Air Court Lift Station Upgrades.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by DeCoster to receive no more bids and open the bids received for Project 8-20 REBID, 10th Street & Bel Air Court Lift Station Upgrades.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Senior Project Engineer Neumeier stated this project was rebid due to only receiving one bid the first time.  Other contractors and some product manufactures were contacted about getting alternative bids.  Unfortunately, only one bid was received for this rebid.  The one bid was opened.

                      Bidder                                        Total Bid Amount

            August Winter & Sons Construction                  $198,985.00

Note:  There would a $5,000 deduct for the use of an alternative product.  This will need to be reviewed and approved prior.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to have the Engineering Department tabulate the bids and come back to the Board of Public Works with a recommendation.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

  1. General Matters – none.

Motion made by DeCoster, seconded by Schell to adjourn.

All members present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 6:05 P.M.

Sally Kenney

Clerk

Motion by Thiele, seconded by Moore to adopt the Board of Public Works Meeting Minutes of January 4, 2021.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Finance & Personnel Committee Meeting Minutes of January 4, 2021.

FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

A meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committee was called to order by Chairman Penterman on Monday, January 4, 2021 at 6:06 p.m. remote teleconference via ZOOM.

Members present: Mayor Penterman, Coenen, Duda, Moore, and Schell.

Absent & Excused:  Roehrig.

Also present:  Ald. DeCoster, Driessen, Thiele, Attorney Davidson, DPW/Eng. Sundelius, Sen. Proj. Eng. Neumeier, Fin. Dir. VanRossum, Planner Jakel, Fire Chief Carrel, HR Dir. Vanderloop, Rec. Dir. Malloy, HR Dir. Audette, IT Dir. Krause and interested citizens.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to excuse the absent member.

All members present voted aye.

Motion carried.

  1. Correspondence – None.
  2. Permission to fill vacated Accountant position.

Finance Director Van Rossum provided information on the open accountant position and asked permission to fill the vacancy.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to grant permission to fill vacated Accountant position.

Roll call vote:  Coenen-aye, Duda-aye, Moore-aye, Schell-aye, Penterman-aye.

Motion carried.

  1. Discuss process of filling vacated positions going forward.

Finance Director Van Rossum stated that with the event of the Accountant leaving and the schedule of meetings the process in place became a disadvantage in filling the position in a timely manner.  To fill vacated positions that are currently budgeted for, it is suggested that the Mayor and Department Head be allowed to post the vacated position before approval from the Council.  The hiring will only take place when approved by the Council.  This will allow a more timely process for hiring.  Questions from the Committee were answered.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to allow Mayor, HR Director and Department Head to post a vacated position and ask for permission to fill prior to making an offer.

Roll call vote:  Duda-aye, Moore-aye, Schell-aye, Penterman-aye, Coenen-aye.

Motion carried.

  1. Organizational analysis of various departments.

Background information on the possible organizational analysis of various departments was given and questions from the Committee were answered.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Roehrig to direct the Human Resource Director to obtain proposals for an Organizational Analysis and come back with a recommendation/proposal to have the analysis performed.

Roll call vote:  Moore-aye, Schell-aye, Penterman-aye, Coenen-aye, Duda-aye.

Motion carried.

  1. General Matters – none.

Motion by Coenen, seconded Moore to adjourn.

All members present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 6:30 P.M.

Sally Kenney

Clerk

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to adopt the Finance & Personnel Committee Meeting Minutes of January 4, 2021.

Motion by Duda, seconded by Coenen to amend the minutes to add HR Director to the motion under item number 3 to include the HR Director.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Mayor Penterman stated that HR Director Vanderloop emailed out the report from Baker Tilly to all alderpersons.

Mayor Penterman stated that at the Finance and Personnel Committee Meeting of January 4, 2021 meeting it was reported that DPW/Eng. Sundelius is eligible for retirement benefits starting on July 1, 2021.  This is clarifying that he did not submit a retirement letter, but is eligible.

Operators/Bartenders License.

The following applicants have applied for an operator’s license for the license year 2020 2022 and have been recommended for approval based on their record check by the police department:

Becker Miranda J 112 Lamp Lighter Dr.  Apt #9 Kaukauna
Rice Mary Kay E 908 Metoxen Ave Kaukauna

Motion by Duda, seconded by Schell to grant the operator/bar tender licenses.

All Ald. voted aye.

Motion carried.

REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS.

Presentation of New Eagle Days Logo.

Naturalist Nowak stated that the 1000 Islands has been working with Guide Studio on creating a logo for Eagle Days.  This will be the tenth year for the event.   The Eagle Day logo was created to fit within the City logo.  It has the same style and color scheme.  The new logo is already in use on banners and goodie bags, which will be provided to kids.

Update on Building Inspection Recruitment and Contracted Services.

A memo was provided on the updates on building inspection recruitment and contracted services.  Planner Jakel stated the City of Kaukauna is a certified community, which means plan reviews can be done for small commercial structures and inspections for large commercial projects.  Under the current contract, recertification needs to take place.  The City will be using the State of Wisconsin for large commercial review.  Contracted inspection services are being performed by McMahon and Associates and will concentrate on inspections for the uniform dwelling code and uniform small commercial code.  Other duties such as erosion control for single family, nuisance complaints and dilapidated structures have been spread to other staff.  The City will be working with McMahon and Associates to do the vast majority of inspection services.  The contract services will be reviewed at an upcoming meeting.  Questions from the Council were answered.  McMahon and Associates representative, Steve Norem stated they are happy to be working with Kaukauna and any issues that come up are being handled as quickly as possible.

Authorization to sign addendum to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Fire Service Mutual Aid Pact.

Fire Chief Carrel stated that after review of the Mutual Aid Pact, it was desired to extend the end date of the agreement.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by DeCoster to authorize the Mayor to sign the addendum to the COVID-19 Coronavirus Fire Service Mutual Aid Pact.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

PRESENTATION OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS.

Resolution 2021-5248 Adoption of the Vantagecare Retirement Health Savings (RHS) Program.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to suspend the rules and waive the reading of Resolution 2021-5248 Adoption of the Vantagecare Retirement Health Savings (RHS) Program.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Thiele to adopt Resolution 2021-5248 Adoption of the Vantagecare Retirement Health Savings (RHS) Program.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Resolution 2021-5249 Designating the Municipal Services Building as the polling site.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to suspend the rules and waive the reading of Resolution 2021-5249 Designating the Municipal Services Building as the polling site.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to adopt Resolution 2021-5249 Designating the Municipal Services Building as the polling site.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Resolution 2021-5250 Resolution Authorizing Hurkman Heights Relocation or Changes.

Mayor Penterman and DPW/Eng. Sundelius provided background information.  The Engineering Department has completed appraisals on four properties along Ducharme Street as part of the 1-20 Concrete Street Paving Project.  This was done to obtain four permanent easements that are needed due to a plan discrepancy that resulted in the sidewalk being placed 1.5 feet onto private property.  Property owners will be given $591.00 for the easements, which were outlined.  The costs will be split between the contractor and the City.  Questions from the Council were answered.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Roehrig to suspend the rules and waive the reading of Resolution 2021-5250 Resolution Authorizing Hurkman Heights Relocation or Changes.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by DeCoster to adopt Resolution 2021-5250 Resolution Authorizing Hurkman Heights Relocation or Changes.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Resolution 2021-5251 Resolution Acquiring Public Right-of-way for installation of sidewalks.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Roehrig to suspend the rules and waive the reading of Resolution 2021-5251 Resolution Acquiring Public Right-of-way for installation of sidewalks.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Duda to adopt Resolution 2021-5251 Resolution Acquiring Public Right-of-way for installation of sidewalks.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Ordinance 1824 Rezoning Property Located at 500 Hendricks Avenue.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Thiele to suspend the rules and waive the reading of Ordinance 1824 Rezoning Property Located at 500 Hendricks Avenue.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Schell to adopt Ordinance 1824 Rezoning Property Located at 500 Hendricks Avenue.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO WISCONSIN STATE STATUTE 19.85(1)(E) TO DISCUSS THE INVESTMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS

Motion by Moore, seconded by DeCoster to adjourn to Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute 19.85(1)(e) to discuss the investment of public funds.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Adjourned to Closed Session at 7:52 P.M.

RETURN TO OPEN SESSION FOR POSSIBLE ACTION.

Motion by Coenen, seconded by Moore to return to Open Session for possible action.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Returned to Open Session at 8:30 P.M.

CONSIDERATION OF MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

Ald. Coenen asked about the completion of work at the Nelson Overlook.  DPW/Eng.  Sundelius stated that railings still need to be installed, which will take place shortly.  Some staining needs to be done and will be done when the weather is warmer.

Ald. Moore asked if this area will be plowed by the City.  DPW/Eng. Sundelius stated this are will be plowed once the area is open.

Ald. Moore asked about the landfill odor which was to be remediated.  DPW/Eng. Sundelius will be placing this item on a Board of Public Works agenda and ask an Ahlstrom-Munksjo representatives to appear before the Board to give an update on the status.

Ald. Roehrig received a complaint from a resident about paying taxes online and the fee that is associated with the online payment.  Finance Director Van Rossum provided information on the three types of tax payments.  Discussion on online tax payments was held.

Ald. Schell asked DPW/Eng. Sundelius about an accident that took place on Hwy. 55 at the curve by Fifth Street and if the road can be altered some way to deter accidents from happening.  Ald. Schell also inquired about the amount of lanes on Hwy. 55 by the Dollar General.

Mayor Penterman added a thank you to Mark Hudson and Jeff and Kara Jurek from Stoneridge Piggly Wiggly for helping with Santa Claus is coming to town.

ADJOURN

Motion by Duda, seconded by Coenen to adjourn.

All Ald. present voted aye.

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 8:49 PM.

Sally Kenney

Clerk