MINUTES

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
City Hall, Room 604

5:30 p.m.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Chairman John VanderLeest, Vice Chairman Tony Theisen, Tom Weber, and Steven Deneys

 

MEMBERS EXCUSED:  Deneys

 

OTHERS PRESENT:  Doug Daul, Dawn Foeller, Allison Swanson, Russ Schwandt, Chief Roemer, Julie Van Oss, Rob Goplin, Jane Swan, Chris Swan, and others

 

1.    Roll Call. 

 

Roll call was taken and all were present except for Ald. Deneys, who was excused.

 

2.    Approval of the Agenda.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to approve the agenda.

 

3.    Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of January 6, 2009.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of January 6, 2009.

 

4.   Request by Jane Swan to cancel the property taxes at 941 Shawano Avenue (3-865).

 

Finance Director Doug Daul passed out a printout of the delinquent taxes on this parcel.  City Assessor Russ Schwandt advised the Committee that the parcel would have been exempt had the paperwork been properly filed.  Mr. Schwandt stated that he did not receive the exempt report from Mr. and Mrs. Swan.   City Attorney Allison Swanson stated that there was some confusion over a letter sent from her office.  The Attorneys Office is not recommending that the taxes be forgiven. 

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen, and carried to suspend the rules to allow interested parties to speak.

 

Chris and Jane Swan, 1221 Bellevue St., appeared before the Committee and presented a copy of a letter she hand-delivered to then City Attorney Jerry Hanson.  Mr. Swan stated they donate much time to the community and hope that when they turned the form in to an administrator that it would be taken care of.  It was noted that the letter is dated 3/30/07, so it was not timely filed in 2007.  Mrs. Swan understood that if it was late for 2007 that it would qualify for 2008.  Ald. VanderLeest inquired why the Swans didn’t take action upon receipt of their tax bill.  Mr Schwandt stated that he did not receive a call from the Swans at tax time.  Ald. Theisen stated that he could understand that the Swans could have expected some action on their request for 2008.  Mrs. Swan stated that it was her assumption that the property was tax-exempt when they purchased it.

 

Mr. Weber felt that the exempt form filed in 2007 was 13 months late for 2006 and one month late for 2007, however, it would be timely for 2008.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber to pay the 2008 general tax in the amount of $2,933.60 and interest of $29.34, contingent upon Mr. and Mrs. Swan paying the special charge of $327.55 plus $3.28 interest.  It was seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried.

 

5.    Request by the City Attorney to extend the Fire Services Agreement with the Town of Scott.

 

Attorney Swanson addressed the history of the previous agreement with the Town.  This developed out of an annexation, and the request is to extend the current contract for another five years.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the Fire Services Agreement with the Town of Scott.

 

6.    Request by the City Attorney to repeal and recreate the video service provider ordinance. 

 

Attorney Swanson pointed out that Chapter 32 is the language for our cable agreements.  Mrs. Swanson stated that the document is not final and asked that this item be tabled.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to table the request to repeal and recreate the video service provider ordinance.

 

7.    Request by the City Attorney to extend the Brown County Communications Center lease agreement.

 

Atty. Swanson stated this is simply a renewal of the current lease.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to extend the Brown County Communications Center lease agreement.

 

8.    Report of the Purchasing Agent:

 

a.  Approval of 3000 ton order of Sand Ice Control from Scott Construction for $18,750.

 

Purchasing Agent Julie Van Oss told the Committee that this was an exceptionally bad year; normally we would order 1,000 pounds at a time.  This item normally goes to Improvement & Service for approval but due to the I&S agenda this week, the item was brought to Finance.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the 3000 ton order of Sand Ice Control from Scott Construction for $18,750.

 

b.  Award computer maintenance renewal to ESRI Inc. for $12,583.

 

Mrs. Van Oss noted that this is a 16-month agreement.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to renew computer maintenance to ESRI Inc. for $12,583.

 

c.  Award of ten Rapid Intervention SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) to Oshkosh Fire & Police for $11,180.

 

Chief Roemer explained the use of this equipment and said the expenditure was budgeted in 2009.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber and carried to approve the award of ten Rapid Intervention SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) to Oshkosh Fire & Police for $11,180.

 

d.  Award of Elevator Video Surveillance System for Cherry St. ramp to A&A Fire and Security for $31,189.

 

Ald. Weber asked for an explanation of why Town & Country Electric didn’t win this bid.  Mrs. Van Oss explained that the bid did not meet specifications.  The item is being purchased to help deter vandalism in the ramp.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the award of Elevator Video Surveillance System for Cherry St. ramp to A&A Fire and Security for $31,189.

 

e.  Award of one Tractor, Lawn/Snow blower for DPW to EIS Equipment for $15,180.

 

Ald. Weber inquired as to savings of not purchasing the mower deck.  Mrs. Van Oss replied that the savings was $1,649.

 

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen and carried to approve the award of one Tractor, Lawn/Snow blower for DPW to EIS Equipment for $15,180.

 

A motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried.  The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m.

 

2009 Contingency Fund

$109,930.00

 

Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation should contact the Mayor’s office at 448-3005 at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time so that arrangements can be made.

Please take notice that it is possible that additional members of the Council may attend this committee meeting, resulting in a majority or quorum of the Common Council. This may constitute a meeting of the Common Council for purposes of discussion and information gathering relative to this agenda.