AGENDA - PLANNING, ZONING AND PARKS

ST CROIX COUNTY

MINUTES

PLANNING, ZONING AND PARKS COMMITTEE

ST. CROIX COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER, HUDSON WI

PRESENT: Chair Art Jensen, Supervisors Jan Zoerb, Linda Luckey, Veronica Anderson, and Lois Burri. Staff: Dave Fodroczi, Bob Heise, Brett Budrow, Steve Fisher, Debbie Zimmerman and Judy Kahler. GUESTS: County Board Chairman Clarence Malick, Bernice and Henry Lentz, Gloria Basel and Bob Orf.

Chair Jensen called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. Motion to adopt the agenda made by Burri, 2^nd by Anderson and carried.

Meeting Dates and Minutes No minutes were presented for approval. Planning, Zoning and Parks will meet in Baldwin on Jan. 22^nd at 7:00 p.m. They will meet again on Jan. 28^th at 9:00 a.m. at the Government Center. 

PARKS BUSINESS

Bills and Invoices Heise presented Parks Bills in the amount of $15,821.08. Motion by Burri, 2^nd by Anderson to approve bills as presented. Motion carried.

Parks Reorganization Heise presented an organizational chart for the Parks Department to the Committee. He had researched other county parks department organizational structures by phone and by use of the Internet. He gave a survey to each staff member last Friday. Three out of four staff members are satisfied with the new plan. Heise identified the changes with the Committee. He proposed Homestead should have two shifts of employees. After making some minor changes in the language of the organizational chart, the Committee had no objection to changing the Parks office to the Agricultural Center in Baldwin. The Committee would like the move to take place by February. The Committee approved that the organizational chart should become a part of parks job descriptions. Heise will go to the next step in the reorganization and present those changes at the January 28^th meeting. 

Heise indicated that the campgrounds at Glen Hills Park are utilized for day and night camping, both weekdays and weekends. Duties will need to be more specific.

Motion by Zoerb, 2^nd by Luckey to approve the concept with the addition of some corrections, to use it to develop job descriptions, and to have the  Personnel Director give input. 

Wildwood Trail Fisher and Heise visited the Rodel property. A lengthy discussion regarding the language recommendation for the Wildwood Trail crossing policy was held. Committee members requested some changes to the recommendations. 

Motion by Zoerb, 2^nd by Jensen to approve concept as discussed today to develop a policy regarding the Wildwood Trail and crossings on that trail, to be done by Heise and Fisher with cooperation from Corporation Counsel and incorporate, as necessary, the State of Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Crossing Handbook. It will need to be brought back for final approval as soon as possible. Motion carried.

This will become policy and not just for the Rodel property. Removal of the Rodel name was approved.

Directors Report Anderson expressed concern that the Homestead Parklands sign doesn’t state that it is a County owned park. Verbiage will be added. The painted rock at the entrance looks fine. Heise will call Highway Department for signs for Glen Hills.  The building theme at Homestead Parklands will be the same as others. A white roof and tan sides. The marketing for Homestead Parklands will include the larger metro area. We are still waiting for the RFP’s for playground equipment. Heise is waiting for proposals for the truck and trailer. He noted that the Parks map that is being produced would sell advertising to offset the costs of production.

Break at 10:35 a.m.-Resume at 10:45 a.m.

ZONING BUSINESS

Municipal Plat-Berkseth Estates located in the SW1/4 of the NE1/4 of Section 31, T 29N, R16W in the Village of Baldwin, lot 3 of CSM volume 12, page 3377. Fisher requested plat be reviewed and certified with no objection. No opinion expressed concerning adequate sewer service.

Motion by Zoerb, 2^nd by Jensen to certify with no objection. No opinion is expressed concerning adequate sewer service. Motion carried.

Rezoning Decisions/Discussion Gloria Basel requested a rezoning of 114 acres in the Town of St. Joseph from Agricultural to Agricultural/Residential. The request is to rezone approximately 114 acres to allow for future development of the property. The Planning Department feels that the proposal does not conform to the County Plan. The town recommends approval of the request as stated in a letter dated December 6, 2002. The rezoning would be for potential development in the future. Fisher stated the request is not in compliance with the County Development Plan.  The land scored 139 in the LESA System, which would put it suitable for farm use. There could be thirty-eight 3-acre home sites. Anderson requested that a sketch be included in the application. Jensen agreed. Basel objected on the basis that she would have to spend a considerable amount of money for a concept plan. Jensen suggested a simple sketch would be allowed.

Motion by Jensen, 2^nd by Anderson that a concept sketch be submitted for review by the Committee in order to make a final decision. Motion carried.

PLANNING BUSINESS

Bills and Invoices Fodroczi presented bills in the amount of $20,630.17 for the month of December. Motion by Jensen, 2^nd by Zoerb to pay December’s bills and carried. The Committee also reviewed the Revenue Report.

Impact Fees Fodroczi met with Whiting regarding impact fees. Whiting will pursue on a broader scale. He will speak to the Springsted Consultants. A needs assessment is the usual process. Then we will look at what items in the Capitol Outlay Plan might be eligible. The fees could be collected at the time a subdivision is approved or a sanitary permit was applied for. No other county has implemented this, so we cannot look for ideas or help from another county.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

LESA System Fodroczi and Heise will coordinate a countywide LESA Systems presentation. The Committee previously decided to test the system as a tool for rezonings. We originally set a six-month trial period that will take us through February. Fodroczi would like an extension trial period through May or June. They would like to present the system to all the towns sometime after the April town elections.

Motion by Zoerb, 2^nd by Jensen to recommend to the Land and Water Conservation Committee that we would agree to extend temporary period of the LESA System until May or June.  Motion carried.

Town Planning Projects We have started invoicing the towns this month for 2002 work activities. We are working with town money and will be working on annual reports for grants. Jim Janke is working with the towns, on establishing the goals and objectives for the Heartland Project. We are also making adjustments for contract for services. We have applied for 2003 grant money to add Town of Emerald to Heartland Project. We will hear sometime in January if we will receive any funding. 

USH 63 Fodroczi presented a copy of notes from a presentation from the DOT Consultants. Fodroczi briefly pointed out the four alternatives. This would anticipate future corridor needs by planning for the USH 63 expansion. It would also blend land use decisions with future transportation improvements. They outlined possible advisory committee members. Discussion. Fodroczi will keep the Committee informed. 

Land Information Program We are working on a Request for Proposals for County- wide coverage of the Ortho/Aerial Photography. We have $75,000.00 budgeted from the Land Records budget for this project. We expect to get the request out yet this month. We will want a contract sometime in the next couple of months. This Committee will bring back for County Board approval in March. Fodroczi offered anyone from the Committee could be involved with the process. We will inform the Committee of an update where we are in the process.  Fodroczi believes there will be about 6-8 proposals to screen. He is looking at applying for grant monies for the project.

The Register of Deeds software has been added to staff that will utilize the information in Planning, Real Property and Zoning. They will have desktop access to Register of Deeds software images and index information. Register of Deeds will have a training session on the 22^nd   of this month.

Tax Processing Final Report The tax processing started slowly, as we were waiting for information from local officials and the manufacturing information from the State. The software worked very well and the extra printer made things work much faster. We missed our ending date by one day, even though we were two days late in starting. Fodroczi praised Computer Services for the excellent support during the tax process. Whatever the crisis, they were there quickly and efficiently to move us forward.

Regional Wastewater Issues Fodroczi stated the Central St. Croix Sewerage Commission, which is Hammond and Roberts, are continuing work on alternatives on groundwater discharge sites. They have had some feedback from DNR and testing of that site has been given instructions on what to do and not to do. The Central St. Croix County Regional Wastewater Planning Commission will meet on January 22^nd. We are converting information from this summer into formal RFP document and will review the information with the work group on Thursday the 22^nd. 

USGS out of Rice Lake has proposed to do a study of the distribution of base flow and springs in the Kinnickinnic with a price tag of $5,000.00. They have asked St. Croix and Pierce County to pick up most of that cost. We do not have any money in the budget to do that study. Money was put aside in 2003 for the Regional Wastewater Study. Zoerb has concerns if we are able to get the money, what guarantee do we have the study would not run out of funds. The information they gather will be very useful to us.

Motion by Zoerb, 2^nd by Luckey to take from 2003 Planning Budget-Other Professional Services, monies for the USGS study not to exceed $2,500.00. Motion carried. 

Fodroczi gave the Committee a handout from the Center for Land Use Education that he felt was worth reading The article titled “To Play the Game You Need to Know the Rules”. Michael Dresen, who has conducted some training sessions here, wrote the article. Fodroczi highly recommended his article.

County Surveyor Position Zoerb updated the Committee on her involvement in researching the parameters of this position. She has met with Fodroczi, Fisher and Ramberg. Zoerb and Anderson are trying to get an idea of gross capitol costs. Anderson and Zoerb will meet sometime in the next week or so to fine-tune some reports. That information will be reported to the Committee as unofficial recommendations to the Committee. Zoerb is hopeful that the Committee will be able to move forward. Zoerb stated they have gathered a lot of information. The Committee would like to discuss this issue with the Transportation Committee.   

Recessed to view properties at 1:25 p.m.

Chair Jensen adjourned the meeting after the tour.

Respectfully submitted: