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June 17, 2008 Special Town Board Meeting
SPECIAL MONTHLY MEETING- June 17, 2008 The Town Board of the Town of Cooperstown, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, convened in open session on June 17, 2008 at 7 p.m., at Town Hall for the purpose of transacting business as the Town Board. Chairman Johnson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Roll Call: Chairman Johnson, Sup. Fred Lemens, Sup. Mike Albers, Sup. Chad Collins, Constable Nancy Weber and Clerk Sue Kornely. 22 residents were present. Representatives present: Jerry Halverson, Mike Hanaway, Jim Blaha, Water Rep. Michael Hanten, Rep. Frank Lasee Unfinished Business Water Testing & Well Contamination follow-up: Jerry Halverson opened the floor to questions: Progress on 17 tests, Jim Blaha: after Sunday’s rain bottles for Tues delivery-Wed pickup- 8 bad. Issues that have not been addressed- rainfall gave us another chance, newer wells still doing good and 6 wells with ecoli. Don Lemere: tested in March for ecoli, now smell is nauseating. Don Lemere will retest tomorrow. He never had the issue before. Sup. Lemens questioned is it direct ground surface or septic? Jim Blaha stated they will look into specific testing, Nancy Stangel stated she was not call and had nitrate issues. Jim Blaha is looking at bacteria testing. Testing kits, $15 nitrate, $15 bacteria; June 23rd drop off of filled bottles and fee paid. July 8th results discussed at meeting. Testing instructions are in kits. Follow-up sample would be done at resident’s expense- $26. Chair. Johnson stated the town will set up periodic tests throughout the year. Pick-up time on June 23rd from 4pm-7:30pm. Jim Blaha will continue testing when there is larger runoff. Don Dickrell questioned have the abandon wells been taken care of? Jim Halverson stated some are capped and others are being worked on, as funding is available. Ditch holes plugged, one stake has a test pit sign. Conflicting dates on report from Green Bay Water Authoring with Dorner, assisting on testing and sampling. Some ditch holes have opened up again and there are new holes forming. Don Dickrell asked where are we gaining anything, if new holes are developing? Jim Halverson discussed profile of the pipeline, high points and low points through the section. Don Dickrell site is a low point, while St James is a high point. Pat Bradley stated he heard there were problem with couplers on the pipeline. Sup. Lemens questioned water flowing over Hwy R problem with culvert taking the water at the same site as waterline. Jim Halverson discussed the pond north of church filling from overflow of ditch water. Water needs to get high enough to get through culvert and is causing a backup of water. Reshape of the pond would prevent water flowing into the pond. Surface depressions on Scanlan Rd- water needs to be diverted. Ponds near strawberry fields need to be looked into so the water is not following in from runoff. Are the culverts sized properly? Drain tiles and riser pipes correctly placed. Well logs in the area are 6’-20’ deep. Tile lines are about 3’. Bradley’s tile line is not perforated. A lot more survey work will be needed. No more spreading of industrial waste in those sections. Per J Halverson, Tom Tews has pulled permits for spreading in sections. Rep. Frank Lasee asked who issues the spreading permit? DNR. Mary Ellen stated Dick Bradley falls between the crack on regulating with truck wash and industrial waste. Nutrient plans are in place. John Heiser asked about the plans for a digester being installed 1-1/2 mile north of his home? No plans known. Sup. Albers asked why the ditching was not capped with clay in the two weeks as stated from meeting with GB Waterline Authority? DNA samples in Jan were not taken; we would have had the results by now. Mike Hanaway water tests in Jan, results were not high enough that true results would have been determined. Mike Hanaway stated that some of the new home owners in the area had disclosures in their purchase that there are water issues in the spring. Who is going to be responsible? GB Water Authority, Engineer, Contractor, farmer, Town, County, etc. Chair. Johnson asked about County adopting a County Ordinance for our area. Jim Halverson talked about Morrison’s Ordinance on Winter Spreading. State of WI has standards, this exceeds State standards. Chair. Johnson feels the County is better equipped to monitor. Rep. Frank Lasee asked if there are other areas in Manitowoc County that share this same problem? Jim Halverson stated there are other areas and spoke briefly about the Karst Report. Rep. Frank Lasee was not aware of the Karst Report. Lori Steinberger asked for a proactive approach. Options: do nothing, drill a new well, or tap into pipeline. Reverse osmosis is not an option at this time. Jim Blaha: If I drill a deeper well and nothing changes, where am I ahead? Jim Halverson suggested fixing abandoned wells, plugging holes, and septics. Jim Zipperer asked if you are getting enough data off the well testing in the area, State of the Art testing for ground water. Tracking of data. Jim Halverson: Four more abandon wells are being addressed. Some are still in committee. Rep. Frank Lasee asked when will results from the ditches be available? July 18th results available. Don LeMere asked about septic testing and verification of old wells prior to 1980. Sup. Albers asked can the DNR identify and notify the Town Board where spreading of industrial is occurring in the town. Anything applied is spread under a nutrient management plan. Manure Digester Meeting June 24th 6:30 at New Denmark Townhall. Three applications were approved for Randy Pelishek for new wells through state program per Mike Hanaway. After last tests, residents with ecoli were contacted; testing for follow-up is on their plan. Still needs to speak with one resident. A broadened testing will give better reporting. If you submit an application, you are eligible for free bottled water. Sup. Albers asked Mike Hanaway if he agreed with the report on ecoli to last 3 day. Mike Hanaway said he feels 16 weeks. John Heiser asked how do we get a town ordinance? Chair. Johnson still feels the County should address and the town can’t enforce. Town of Morrison has an ordinance that regulates spreading. MaryEllen Heiser feels the town should help regulate spreading. Jim Halverson stated the DNR regulates the spreading. Jim Zipperer asked who is required to have a nutrient plan? All farmers per Jim Halverson. Jim Halverson will work on Manure Spreading Regulations at County Level & abandon wells. We can’t make people do anything; it is up to them to test their own property. Discussion for next month’s Town Board meeting agenda: a Committee for the Well Contamination. Jim Zipperer feels the cut in the ditch is the only thing that has changed. Rep. Frank Lasee suggested getting on the GB Water Authority agenda. Discussion on drafting a letter to GB Water Authority to ask them to come to a meeting. Lori Steinberger suggested setting meetings after the reports are in instead of scheduling one now. John Heiser highly suggests residents go to the New Denmark meeting on the digester. Morrison Spreading ordinance: Sup. Lemens read a portion of the ordinance and asked about a moratorium for the town. Morrison has their attorney enforcing the ordinance. Chair. Johnson still feels it is the County responsibility. Public hearings and advisory votes Dust Control: Sup. Lemens spoke with City of Manitowoc on dust control for town. 1300 gallons $1000- $2000 for one road. On a motion by Sup. Albers and a seconded by Collins dust control will be ordered for Scanlan Rd, approved on a unanimous vote. Liquor License- Dave & Suzanne’s Lucky Lady- no action. Maribel Sportsman Club, on a motion by Sup. Lemens and a second by Sup. Albers, license approved on a unanimous vote. Operator License- Maribel Sportsman Club- Ronald Fallier: On a motion by Sup. Collins and second by Sup. Lemens approved on a unanimous vote. Rodney Gove: On a motion by Sup. Lemens and a second by Sup. Collins approved on a unanimous vote. William Mecha: On a motion by Sup. Collins and a second by Sup. Lemens approved on a unanimous vote. Charles Philipps: On a motion by Sup. Collins and a second by Sup. Lemens approved on a unanimous vote. Cheryl Philipps: On a motion by Sup. Collins and a second by Sup. Albers approved on a unanimous vote. Richard Schuh: On a motion by Sup. Albers and a second by Sup. Lemens approved on a unanimous vote. Review of correspondence. Add Testing to town calendar. Future meeting agenda: Well Testing, computer backup, Manure Ordinance On a motion by Sup. Albers and seconded by Sup. Lemens adjournment was approved on a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:27 p.m. Minutes approved July 8, 2008 Susan Kornely, Clerk