Minutes of the Town of Cross Plains
Plan Commission Meeting
November 12, 2007
PRESENT:
COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jim Boland, Chair; Carl (Pat) Jones, Vice Chair;
Mike Coyle; Ken Esser; Wayne Parrell; Jeff Baylis; Amelia Williams
BOARD LIAISON: Arnold Harris
BOARD MEMBERS: Harold Krantz, Vera Riley
Approximately 16 citizens 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Boland called the meeting to order. Williams called the roll and read the minutes of the October 15th meeting. Baylis moved to accept the minutes as amended, seconded by Parrell, and passed 7-0.
REZONE
Mr. Darius Van Fossen of First Weber Realty represented Jerome Esser in presenting Petition #9815 for rezoning 20 acres in Section 27 from A-1EX to A-2 at 4144 County J. He offered a preliminary certified survey map showing the 20.16 acres to be split from J.Esser’s property, with about 75 acres remaining in the parcel. The intention of the new owner (Jim Noltner) is to create an organic vegetable farm, letting the soil lie fallow for three years before cultivation. The house, now rented, and the barn would be improved in due time. Baylis moved to recommend approval to the Board. This was seconded by Coyle and the motion was passed 7-0.
2008 BUDGET
The review of the proposed budget brought some changes in the estimate presented by Williams. Changes resulted in a total of $18,670, including a new item for professional services from lawyers and planners. Baylis moved approval of the new budget estimate (Attachment A). This was seconded by Coyle, and the revised estimate passed 7-0. It will be sent to the Town Board for inclusion in the Nov 20th
budget hearing.
APPLICATION FORM FOR LAND USE PETITIONS
Baylis presented a revised form for petitioners to fill out when coming to the Commission. Both Commission members and citizens suggested changes, which Baylis will incorporate into the form for further, possibly final, consideration at the next meeting.
CHECKING ACCOUNT
Reasons for having a checking account included the need to pay for postage service, which could not be calculated beforehand, and required a immediate check. The necessity to have three people sign the checks in order to avoid an audit was brought up by Esser. The recommendation to the board will be made as follows:
“The Town of Cross Plains Planning Commission authorizes and instructs its Secretary to establish a checking account in the name of the Commission at the Cross Plains State Bank for purposes of conducting the Commission’s business. The Chair of the Commission will request a check made out to the Commission from the Board of Supervisors in the amount of $2000.00 as an initial deposit for the account. This money is to be drawn against the budget sum authorized for the Commission’s use. Three people: the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the Secretary, must sign each check, and may only draw on these funds for expenses authorized by the Commission.”
COMMISSION WEB SITE
Baylis presented a motion to establish an independent web site. This motion was amended after some discussion. Public comments were in favor of the web site, with some commission members objecting to an “opinion” section, which was therefore eliminated. The amended motion is shown below, with changes made by the Commission shown in strikeout and red:
Statute 66.1001 stipulates that the plan commission adopt means of communication with the public that “…provide for wide distribution of proposed, alternative or amended elements of a comprehensive plan…” and make readily available the materials on which the plan is based.
i“In order to foster this public communication in an inexpensive yet effective manner, the Town of Cross Plains Plan Commission will establish its own website. This website will be the property of the Plan Commission, and web hosting will be subscribed to by the Commission itself, with an initial yearly budget of $400.00. The website will be designed and managed by the Commission Secretary subject to the approval of the Commission. No item(s) may be posted on the website except those approved by majority vote of the Commission. All items posted on the site will be considered ‘Unofficial’ or ‘Draft’ for legal purposes and will carry such a disclaimer; they are to be considered as posted “For informational purposes only.The Plan Commission website shall have an external link to the Town of Cross Plains website.
It is hoped the Town website will link to the Plan Commission site as well.”
This motion was made by Baylis, seconded by Will ams and passed 7-0.
OTHER BUSINESS
Rob Wright, working with Rod Gallagher, presented a concept plan for the development of a site around the gravel quarry on Stagecoach Road in the future, showing the Commission large maps of the concept. After an objection made by Katy Reeder and Jim Mueller to the presentation of a plan which was not on the agenda, a consensus developed that such presentations would best be made when the relevant topic comes before the Commission in its discussion of the Comprehensive Plan. Harris suggested a suspension of changes in the plan until the comprehensive plan is ready for this input.
Jim Mueller passed out a letter raising three questions for the Commission to consider before or at its next meeting.
Williams requested three other motions for the following meeting, including a suspension of remap requests, one proposal for appointing a treasurer, and one for appointing a publications committee.
Baylis entered a suggestion for the format of upcoming public hearings.
Coyle suggested a motion as well, requesting that the farmland preservation be taken up first before the other elements of the plan.
Baylis mentioned that the spreadsheets would be available for Commission members on CD as soon as the secretarial service completes them. He will then start “crunching” the data.
A cutoff date for the acceptance of the late surveys was discussed, with many analogies – eg “Just because you’ve got another quarter in your pocket, doesn’t mean your meter hasn’t expired,” by Pat Jones. No decision was made, but the point had been raised for consideration.
Jones motioned to adjourn. It was seconded by Baylis, and passed 7-0.
The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for November 26, 2007.
ATTACHMENT A
