Experimenting

Pre-wetting is a commonly used practice to improve retention and keep salt on the road by reducing the effects of bouncing, blowing and sliding of the salt or sand particles. This technique uses salt brine, liquid calcium chloride or other liquid chemical to wet the salt as it is spread on the road.
Spraying stockpiles and truck loads has also been termed pre-wetting or “pre-treating”, but this past practice is not as practical since the granules are not uniformly coated, the liquid may drain out of the solid material and the performance on the road is not consistent throughout the route. Therefore, pre-wetting should be done by spraying the salt as it is discharged from the chute, or at the spinner.

Pre-wetting provides significant potential for reductions in salt use but can increase the complexity of the required equipment and controller.

Any attempt by the City to pre-wet would be considered purely experimental until the proper equipment was being used.

Global Empire

It's nice to know that my desire to achieve a global sidewalk empire will soon become a reality because of my extensive mind control powers?

A Change in Leadership Style Last Night?

We all would like to think that we are a part of something larger than just ourselves—that we are part of a community and that we matter.

Hopefully this community gives you a sense of identify; a sense of belonging. The feeling of belonging, of pride and being a part of something is important when trying to solve the problems of modern communities. The next step is to develop a shared sense of identify and commitment. 

Collaboration or Polarization? The “us versus them” zero sum game as opposed to a way of thinking and acting that is characterized by openness to opposing ideas. Collaboration has the potential to make things better and enhance our sense of responsibility to each other. 

Those of us in local government are responsible for playing a role in facilitating community building through collaboration. Collaboration is the “right” thing to do because it promotes democracy and community building.  

So – this is what collaboration is not…… Each side fills the chambers with their supporters and tries to force their position on the others. No one is listening to the “other” side. You usually have already picked a “side” and will attempt to make the other side look wrong. Collaboration almost never happens at these types of public meetings.

This is collaboration; providing time and space to allow fellow council members to come together to define problems, overcome division, be a part of the solution and help make decisions for the whole community.

Collaboration does not occur in a zero-risk environment. Learning from mistakes is a key element in the collaboration process. Council members must be encouraged to experiment, test ideas and fix problems and mistakes along the way. Courage has always been a key attribute for leaders. Given the hard choices facing elected officials, courage will become a hallmark of effective governance. Collaboration starts with courageous conversations and engaging all council members in difficult decisions. 

Collaboration requires civility. “Civility is claiming and caring for one's identity, needs and beliefs without degrading someone else's in the process.”[1] Civility requires respect. Respect means following the American principle of avoiding violating an individual’s fundamental rights. Personal attacks of other council members should not occur when being civil.

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[1] Dahnke, Cassandra and Tomas Spath, Reclaiming Civility in the Public Square: 10 Rules That Work

Intepreting Ordinances

A Class “A” intoxicating-liquor/beer license authorizes the retail sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises where sold and in original packages and containers. This is the type of license a typical liquor store must have.

City code states that “Class A” Liquor licenses shall not be issued at a rate that exceeds one license for every 1000 in population or fraction thereof, as that number is provided periodically by the Wisconsin Department of Administration and that Class “A” Beer licenses shall not be issued at a rate that exceeds one license for every 700 in population or fraction thereof, as that number is provided periodically by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Apparently this also includes the Class “A” liquor/beer combination license. The expectation is that “Class A” liquor and Class “A” liquor/beer combination licenses are limited together by the cap as well as Class “A” Beer and Class “A” liquor/beer combination licenses.

LM Council President

The Manager and Council President form a management partnership by representing the administrative and political agendas of the city. The manager can present the “how,” “way” and “means” conversations and the council president the” intent,” “expectations” and “motives” of city policy. Meeting with the public in these settings encourages citizen involvement in the decision making process.

The council president is not crucial to the organization’s operation because the plural executive organization provided by the council spreads out the responsibility for policy initiation. In addition, the manager has considerable informal influence, based on expertise and staff support, over the generation of proposals, and he has formal authority to direct implementation. Still, the council president can have a significant impact on governmental performance through contributions to the governing process that, though different from those of the “executive” mayor, are still important.

The elements of leadership can be organized in two categories. One category is a coordinative function in which the council president is more or less active at pulling together the parts of the various communication networks among elected officials, governmental staff, and community leaders. Although they can and do interact with each other independently, the council president - if he has done his homework- can transmit messages better than anyone else in the government because of his broad knowledge. He therefore has a unique potential to expand the level of understanding and improve the coordination among the participants in city government.

The second element is guidance in the initiation of policy, which may be done as part of the coordinating function or separately. The council president not only channels communication but may also influence and shape messages being transmitted. He can also use more dramatic techniques to raise issues and put forth proposals, but these must be used cautiously because he runs the risk of alienating the council, whose support he needs to be effective.

The ceremonial function is the dimension of leadership that observers of city government typically see. The council president should be making appearances at many various meetings, dinners, and other special occasions. The position within the council/manager form of government was designed to serve as spokesman for the council, enunciating positions taken, informing the public about coming business, and fielding questions about the city’s policies and intentions. In these two activities, the council president builds an extensive contact with the public and media, which can be a valuable resource. In addition, the council president presides at meetings. In so doing, he sets the tone for meetings and may exert mild influence over outcomes by guiding the debate, by drawing more from some witnesses and limiting the contributions of others, and by determining the timing of resolution issues. Councils often face difficult choices and, like small groups generally, depend to some extent on the resolve of the leader either to decide or delay.

The Lake Mills Council has never formally set these as functions of the Council President and the Council President is asking forthe Council to support these elements of Council Leadership.

Sidewalk Special Assessment

ESTABLISHING CONTEXT

BACKGROUND

A. Board Action and Other History

Cass Place and Gladstone Way are minor local streets that provide a connection between Topeka Drive and Brewster Drive. The streets carry less than 500 Average Daily Trips (ADT). Cass Place and Gladstone Way have curbs and gutters but no sidewalks. Parking is permitted on both sides of the street, leaving the roadway to be shared by bicyclists, pedestrians, users with mobility devices, and automobiles.

Adding a sidewalk Cass Place and Gladstone Way has a long history of support. The Public Works Board has had these sidewalk improvements schedule since 1997. The specific project was identified in the Public Works Board documents for completion by 1998 and the Lake Mills Transportation Plan (2005) also supports installation of this sidewalk as consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. This project was added to the 2006 City Capital Improvement Program (CIP). In 2009 the project was delayed for a year to incorporate Ferry Drive improvements. For more information on the financial implications of this project, please see the Capital Improvement Plan.

The Council adopted a new policy in 2002 that established a special assessment for public improvements to include construction of concrete curb and gutter, bituminous paving, boulevard restoration and sidewalk. The assessment is intended to be charged against all properties where public improvements do not currently exist at the time of the improvement.

The Design Concept for the sidewalk is conceptual to date with public input planned over the next three (3) months. Public outreach began in November 2012 with letters to impacted property owners providing them with information on the special assessment process and inviting them to the December Public Works Board meeting to comment on the plans. In January 2013, all property owners and residents adjacent to the project limits will be contacted again regarding the Final Resolution on the special assessment. Staff will be available to meet in residents’ homes, at the city building or via the phone to discuss the project and voice their concerns regarding issues with concept for design prior to passage of the Final Resolution approving the Cass Place and Gladstone Way Sidewalk Design.

Design options will be developed and refined in January and February 2013. On February 19, 2013, the City Council will hold the final public hearing on the project to receive community input on the special assessment. Based on feedback, the design options will be further refined and the Design Concept finalized and the Council will vote on the Final Resolution.

B. Policy Issues

The Lake Mills Comprehensive Plan lists goals, objectives and policies relevant to this action:

Land Use Goal: Objective 4, page 73 - Create an interconnected network of sidewalks, bicycle trails, and streets that provide a range of transportation options to City residents.

Land Use Goal-Single Family Residential: Objective 9, page 76 - Continue to require local streets with not more than 32 feet of width measured curb face to curb face (possibly less on short local streets where parking on one side is deemed sufficient) and sidewalks on both sides of all streets within residential neighborhoods. This increases the safety of neighborhoods for pedestrians and children.

Land Use Goal-Single Family Residential: Objective 11, page 77 - Continue to locate single family residences near community facilities such as roads, paths, parks, sidewalks, schools, churches, and neighborhood scale businesses in order to provide convenient access to residential areas.

Transportation Goal: Policy 2, page 100 - The City will work to implement the 2005 City of Lake Mills Bicycle Plan and 2005 City of Lake Mills Sidewalk Plan to ensure safe and efficient routes for these modes of travel.

Transportation Goal: Policy 5, page 100 - The City will require sidewalk or pedestrian trails at appropriate locations within and between all new developments in the City.

Transportation Goal: Public Right of Way Program, page 101 - Existing City ordinance requirements include street widths appropriate for residential areas, landscape terraces, sidewalks, and street trees.

Transportation Goal: Local Streets and Sidewalks Program, page 103 - The emphasis on areas served by local streets should be on fostering a safe, livable, and walkable environment for residents; with motor vehicle access as an important but subordinate consideration.

Transportation Goal: Local Streets and Sidewalks Program, page 103 - The City has adopted a plan for retrofitting older streets and neighborhoods with sidewalks, particularly where traffic has reached levels not anticipated when the development occurred.

The Lake Mills Transportation Plan lists goals, objectives and policies relevant to this action:

Recommended Improvements: page 1-7 – East Lakeland Heights Subdivision should have a multiuse trail extended to Stony Road west from Topeka Drive and construct sidewalk on at least one side of Brewster Drive. Construct sidewalk within the remainder of the neighborhood when practical.

Prioritization: page 1-8 - Second-tier improvements address emerging safety concerns, provide access to public facilities and higher-density developments, and eliminate gaps that disrupt citywide mobility. The East Lakeland Heights Subdivision was in the second tier and is being completed with a street project on a when and where basis. The East Lakeland Heights Subdivision is the last subdivision in the City to have the sidewalks completed.

D. Financial and/or Resource Considerations

The City of Lake Mills has been special assessing the placing of new sidewalk improvements in the developed portions of the City since the Council passed Resolution 91-5. The Public Works Board developed a sidewalk Master Plan that was adopted by the City Council in 1997. The Council modified the Special Assessment Policy in 2002 and assigned sidewalk projects of this tier to be constructed as part of a street project. The East Lakeland Heights projects were added to the 2006 City Capital Improvement Program (CIP), Cass Place and Gladstone Way Sidewalk Design Concepts are being explored and input from the public is being sought. City staff is being used to offset construction costs consistent with the 2012 project. Several costs are also not included in the special assessment, such as, excavation and seeding; retaining walls; approaches and aprons; and tree removal. This reduces the cost of the improvements of the project to be assessed adjacent property owners.

Lake Mills, like other cities, has maintained its long term reliance on special assessments as a revenue source, in recognition of the spectrum of government activities that provides specific benefits to identifiable residents.  Each special assessment needs to be reviewed regularly for its appropriateness, its relationship to cost of services, and its effect on access and equity.  There is an elusive and shifting balance between tax financing and special assessments that must be constantly fine-tuned in order to reflect the goals of adequacy, equity, and efficiency in paying for public services.

The Wisconsin Statutes prescribe the procedures which cities must follow to specially assess property for local improvements. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, discussing special assessment procedures, has stated that "[t]he power of a municipality to levy an assessment against a private owner is one which exists by right of statute, and the restrictions of the statute must be met if the assessment is to be deemed valid." Elaborating on this point, the court has further declared that "[a] special assessment, to be valid, must be levied pursuant to and in strict compliance with the statutory powers of a municipality." Municipal statutory powers to impose special assessments include both the complete procedure set forth in §66.0703 of the Wisconsin Statutes (hereafter "Stats.") and the power to adopt an ordinance setting forth a local special assessment procedure under §66.0701, Stats. Chief among the requisite procedures are notice and hearing. Failure to comply with mandated procedures may result in the voidance of the special assessment.

E. Analysis

The proposed design will provide for the construction of a continuous sidewalk on the both sides of Cass Place and Gladstone Way from Topeka Drive to Brewster Drive. The proposed design also includes improvements to address safe crossing at intersections within the project limits.

As proposed, the design meets the standards of the City Code (11-5A-7-H). The area is urban residential with ADTs of less than 500 which requires the thirty-four (34) feet back of curb to back of curb minor residential street design. The right of way width is sixty-six (66) feet and the sidewalks will be one (1) foot off the property line. The sidewalk standard is four (4) feet wide and with the minor residential street design the roadway width back of curb to back of curb is thirty-four (34) feet and the terrace is than eleven (11) feet wide. The property owner will have to work with city staff if any deviation from the sidewalk standard of one (1) foot off the property line is needed.

In general, allowable tree removals shall be those trees which are necessary to remove for street construction within the right-of-way or easement areas. Actual allowable tree removals will be determined in the field by the City Consulting Engineer. All trees and brush outside the right-of-way or easement areas shall be protected by the Contractor, unless otherwise allowed by the Engineer. Occasionally, trees are on private property next to the property line - the Engineer will work with the property owner to determine whether the tree can be removed, or a slight adjustment to sidewalk distance or a retaining wall is necessary.

Concrete sidewalk and driveway construction required for the street work construction is placed using forms or machines to the dimensions and thicknesses shown. Where details are not provided match existing, but sidewalks shall be no less than 4 inches thick and driveways shall be no less than 6 inches thick. The subgrade shall be thoroughly compacted and finished to a trim, firm surface. All soft or unsuitable material shall be removed and replaced with suitable material.

A minimum 4-inch-thick layer of sand, sand and gravel, or base course shall be placed under all sidewalks and driveways. This material shall be thoroughly moistened and compacted before the concrete is placed.

Where forms are used, they shall be of metal or wood and shall be of sufficient strength to resist distortion or displacement. They shall be full depth of the Work and shall be securely staked to hold the required line and grade. Where machines are used, concrete mixture shall be controlled to prevent distortion from sloughing.

Concrete sidewalk shall be segmented into generally 5-foot-long rectangular blocks with tooled joints. Concrete driveways shall be segmented into uniform rectangular blocks with tooled joints. The joint must extend at least 1/5 of the total thickness of concrete. The edges of the sidewalk along forms and joints shall be rounded with an edging tool of 1/4-inch radius. All joints shall be at right angles to the centerline of the sidewalk.

A 3/4-inch-thick expansion joint filler shall be placed at sidewalk-driveway intersections, at sidewalk-sidewalk intersections, at the intersection with new or existing curb and gutter, around all castings, and at maximum 50-foot intervals in sidewalks.

Sidewalk cross slope shall be 1/4-inch per foot unless otherwise noted in the Drawings or requested by ENGINEER. Handicap ramps shall have a maximum slope of 1:12 and be provided with an impressed truncated dome patterned surface meeting ADA requirements.

All concrete shall conform to the requirements as called for in Section 501 of the WISDOT Specifications, unless otherwise specified. All concrete shall be normal set air-entrained concrete with water reducing agent, Grade A-WR with Type IA cement capable of producing a minimum compressive strength of 3,000 psi in ten days.

As soon after finishing operations as the free water has disappeared, the concrete surface shall be sealed by spraying on it a uniform coating of curing material to provide a continuous water impermeable film on the entire concrete surface.

Liquid curing compounds shall conform to the requirements of AASHTO Designation M148, Type 2, White Pigmented.

The material shall be applied to form a uniform coverage at the rate of not less than 1/2 gallon per 100 square feet of surface area.

Within 30 minutes after the forms have been removed, the edges of the concrete shall be coated with the curing compound, applied at the same rate as on the finished surface.

F. Alternatives/Options

1. Move approval of the proposed Special Assessment Project.

2. Deny the Special Assessment Project and/or direct staff otherwise

IV. TIMING/IMPLEMENTATION

If the Board approves the Design Concept for the Cass Place and Gladstone Way Sidewalk Project, staff would begin all necessary planning and engineering actions to prepare plans and specifications for the City Council Public Hearing on the Final Special Assessment Resolution at their February 19, 2013 meeting.

V.

RECOMMENTATION

The project is consistent with the history of approved Public Works Board sidewalk projects. The project is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Plan policies of the City Council. The project has been planned for completion as early as 1996 and has been on the Capital Improvement Plan for six years.

Based on the history and policies of the City regarding sidewalk installation, I recommend the Board approve the project.

Another Big Project

The STP‐Urban Program is designed to improve Wisconsin’s federal aid eligible roads and streets in urban areas. Projects under this program must meet federal and state requirements. Cities located within the urban and urbanized areas are eligible for funding on roads functionally classified higher than “local”.

WisDOT Regional Offices solicit STP‐Urban projects in the spring of odd‐numbered years, with approval occurring in the fall of odd‐numbered years. WisDOT is about to start the upcoming STP-Urban application cycle for 2013-2018.  Applications can be submitted starting in January, however the program is full of projects through at least 2014 right now.  For now we’ll plan on Mulberry Street being the preferred street to apply for funding.  Probably looking at 2016 at the earliest for construction.

Today's Quote

Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.

Lillian Hellman

Just Some Water

The City of Lake Mills is responsible to administer storm water drainage within the City. The Drainage Board that is responsible for ditch 35 was still cleaning portions of the ditch within the corporate limits of the City and assessing the City. The Council petitioned the Drainage District 35 Board for an order transferring jurisdiction of the District area lying within the City’s corporate limits to the City.

The Public Hearing was held on November 12, 2012 at 10:00 am in the County Courthouse regarding the petition. The City Manager and City Attorney attended the Public Hearing to represent the City’s interests. The only attendees at the Public Hearing were City staff and the Drainage Board. After a short presentation and hearing, the Board moved and approved the transfer.

Today's Quote

“The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices of words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.”

Edwin H. Friedman

Try Again

We’ve already noted previously that trust is the basis of Council/Manager interactions. The conflict and strain that stems from a blurring of policy and administrative responsibilities between city managers and city councils, concerning mission formulation, policy, administrative policy and managerial operations takes a toll on the relationship. The classic policy-administration dichotomy model suggests a strict separation of responsibilities when in reality mixed responsibility models are better aligned with practice. The added element of policing ethical and moral actions can make any relationship impossible.

Literature suggests that in order to build trust initially, managers should promptly respond to council requests, share information to help elected officials fulfill their responsibilities, explain reasons for city actions, give credit to elected officials (who require positive images of accomplishment for re-election), and respond to citizen requests. But once trust is lost because of ethics enforcement on the Council, can it ever be regained?

Answer to the Question

Approximately 90 years old, the council-manager form of government has proven its adaptability; today it is the most popular choice of structure among U.S. communities with populations of 2,500 or greater.

The Budget

Apparently street repairs, new buildings and tax increment districts aren't going to generate much opposition to the budget. Obviously, capital improvements and economic development are still positives that still generate funding support in budgets.

A Solution or More

Activists aligned with the Tea Party have been attending local city and state land use planning meetings nationwide to denounce sustainable efforts in community planning — including bike lanes on public streets and smart meters on home appliances. The activists see such community projects as the first steps in a plan to limit individual rights.
The activist are concern about the UN’s Agenda 21 which is a comprehensive and global effort to encourage the sustainable monitoring, overseeing, and regulating of the planet’s natural resources; such as; oceans, lakes, streams, rivers, aquifers, sea beds, coastlands, wetlands, forests, jungles, grasslands, farmland, deserts, tundra, and mountains. It has a section on methods for “protecting” the atmosphere. It proposes ways that cities, towns, suburbs, villages, and rural areas can manage sustainably.
Sir Ken Robinson asks how many people the earth can sustain. What will happen if we face scarcity of resources—especially drinking water, which relates to scarcity of food. Consumption is a major factor. If everyone consumed at the same rate as we do in North America, the earth likely could not even sustain the current population. Leaders of communities will have to help their staffs and residents find innovative solutions to address scarce resources.
Cities have to reinvent themselves and be adaptable to change. Leadership requires a belief in the human capacity to innovate. Innovation puts creative ideas into practice. Seeds of possibility are waiting for city and county leaders to create the conditions for growth. Invest in people; have faith in the human capacity for creativity. Leaders must create a culture that facilitates innovation.
Sustainability has a lot of characteristics that reach beyond socialism and individualism. The tragedy of the Commons had more solutions than the original writer had anticipated. Globalization will have more solutions to the complex economic, social and environmental problems than currently presented.

Voting

OK, may be dead men can vote. But they get caught.

Today's Quote

“Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life--and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.”

― Dean Koontz, Fear Nothing

GFOA Definition

Government business processes have many potential customers. Customers might include direct recipients of a service, the community at large, regulators, lawmakers, and/or businesses. Further, in the case of regulatory services, the customers may not be entirely willing customers! After determining who the customers of a business process are, consider what the customers want from a process. This could include, but is not limited to: more readily available access to the service; shorter wait times from service request to completion; a higher quality product (fewer errors); and/or lower cost. However, when considering customer needs, remember what Henry Ford cautioned: “Customers that say they want faster horses really don’t care at all about horses; they simply want a way to get from point A to point B in the fastest and safest way possible. In other words, be sure to distinguish the ends or result the customer really wants from the particular means, tools, or techniques they may reference when articulating their want.

Aspire to Lead

I read this on Scott Mabry’s blog – elumn* today. “Inside many of us who aspire to lead is a burning desire to make a difference. We’re not satisfied with sitting on the sidelines or waiting for someone to tell us what to do. We may not get it right but we’ll be damned if we’re going to go down without a fight. In the immortal words of Def Leppard we’d rather “burn out than fade away”. “

I didn’t think of Def Leppard, rather Teddy Roosevelt and the Man in the Arena. But, I understood the desire. The desire to finish in the face of all odds, but vision to change the world must have political support or there will be no ROI.

Street Project

South Main Street was last reconstructed by the DOT in 1950.  Maybe it's time to do it again.

Vision March

Applying the Fanatic discipline concept in the government sector requires a reassessment of what I’ve been using to measure my performance. The direction from the legislative branch is erratic at best, often doing total 180s and being mutually exclusive. The fanatic twenty mile march on the comprehensive plan or any other plan becomes impossible and an association with the previous council’s expectations. This can lead to short tenure.

The history of the city manager is the implementation of council policy. There is always the policy analysis and development work with the council, but the real performance was in the implementation. Now, it seems that helping the council understand what the current vision is and working through any changes is the real basis of how my performance or twenty mile march should be measured.

Collin's Leadership

I am empirically creative and have productive paranoia, but I have not always practiced fanatical discipline.

Zoning Question

Daniel Olson answers the question.

Wisconsin cities and villages have exercised zoning authority for nearly one hundred years. With notable exceptions like state mandated shoreland-wetland zoning and floodplain zoning, zoning authority in Wisconsin is exercised entirely through the policy judgment of local officials. Moreover, zoning regulations are widespread with zoning regulations on the books in small, medium and large cities and villages throughout Wisconsin. Unquestionably, zoning authority may be one of the most important powers Wisconsin cities and villages may exercise.

The Guiding Hand

The purpose of the Council is to set a strategic direction used to guide administration in creating organizational change, operational strategy, and work plans to enable the community’s vision to unfold.

Creating a document to express clearly Council’s understanding of the community’s vision provides for an enhanced understanding by staff. The Council’s goals should aim to unleash innovation, foster creativity, and invite participation. The current Comprehensive Plan provides goals and objectives that guide the staff in decision making for nine different elements.

The Plan is organized into chapters that specifically address each of the nine elements required by the “Smart Growth” law. Each chapter presents background information on the respective element (e.g. Transportation, Land Use, Economic Development) and then presents an outline of the City’s goals, objectives, and policies for that element. These documented policies are the basis for the recommendations that are presented at the end of each chapter.

The final chapter (Implementation) of the document indicates proposed strategies and implementation timelines to ensure that the recommendations presented in this Plan become a reality.

In addition to providing sound public policy guidance, a comprehensive plan should also incorporate an inclusive public participation process to ensure that its recommendations reflect a broadly supported future vision. An extensive process of citizen review and approval is critical to the planning process. This includes not only formal requirements outlined in §66.1001, but also more informal mechanisms such as public workshops and meetings.

What Train Station

I use the train of thought to informally describe one's thought process. The train can be lost, sometimes derailed, frequently hijacked, and has been known to reverse course. Also, the train of thought can be different for each individual.

A train of thought is a process linking one thought to another giving a common thread. A train of thought is generally used in debating processes. Sometimes it is hard to follow a train of thought as some people tend to ramble on.

Although it is stated that a train of thought has no beginning or end, I often wonder where some people start their train of thought and how it arrived at the conclusion. Rational deductive thought processes should rule – right? I know that we all hold opinions that are mutually exclusive and we haven’t taken the time to reason out these positions because it’s not always necessary, but when debating it should have at least been considered.

Police Powers of a Municipality

The sovereign power of a state or city includes protection of safety, health, morals, prosperity, comfort, convenience and welfare of the public. Police power does not specifically refer to the right of state and local governments to create police forces. The exercise of police power can be in the form of making:

• laws, compelling obedience to those laws through physical means with the aim of removing liberty;
• legal sanctions; or
• other forms of coercion and inducements.

Police powers of a municipality are a major function among various governmental functions. Police power extends to all appropriate ordinances for the protection of peace, safety, health, and good morals of the people. General welfare is a generic term to describe police power.

More Duties

The City Council is the legislative body; its members are the community’s decision makers. Power is centralized in the elected City Council collectively and not in individual members of the Council. The City Council approves the budget and determines the public services to be provided and the taxes, fees and assessments to pay for these public services. It focuses on the community’s goals, major projects and such long term considerations as community growth, General Plan and land use, development standards, capital improvements, financing and strategic planning.

Council Duties

Requests for a City representative at ceremonial events will be handled by the Council President. The Council President will serve as the designated City representative. If the Council President is unavailable, then the Council President will determine if event organizers would like another representative from the Council. If yes, then the Council President will recommend which Councilmember should be asked to serve as a substitute. Invitations received at City Hall are presumed to be for official City representation. Invitations addressed to Councilmembers at their homes are presumed to be for unofficial, personal consideration.

 

The City Manager represents the administrative side of the local government and if requested will attend ceremonial events after first deferring to the Council President.

 

Public recognition is a City Council activity and each Council member should feel the right and responsibility to recognize the residents and businesses for their accomplishments either through a statement at the Council meeting or sponsoring of a resolution.

Attitude

I read an article by David J. Dunn today and saw myself. It was pretty enlightening and I want to be graceful. The myth of the 47% rings true to me.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN INFORMATION

The City of Lake Mills Comprehensive Plan (2008) noted that the City had extraterritorial zoning of the Gundlach site as “Planned Business” and recommended that upon annexation the area is appropriate for “Planned Business” use. The Plan Commission is reviewing the change in zoning from PB – Planned Business District (ETZ) to PB – Planned Business District and will make a recommendation to the Council. The Comprehensive Plan also states that the City will direct intensive commercial and industrial uses to locations near existing and planned arterial roads such as the Interstate Highway 94 corridor, the STH 89 corridor north of Interstate Highway 94, Tyranena Road, and CP Avenue; allow new uses in this future land use category as the City provides appropriate sites for additional commercial and industrial development near Interstate 94 and other major transportation corridors that maximize the benefit of the City’s location within the region and minimize the impact of traffic and other externalities on residential and natural resource areas of the community in accordance with recommendations of this Plan

The Comprehensive Plan identifies three primary areas for economic development and the I-94/STH 89 Interchange is one of the areas. This large area includes much of the land between Tyranena Road and Interstate 94, and some land south of Tyranena Road. The property includes existing commercial uses, redevelopment sites, undeveloped parcels, and residential areas that will transition to commercial use.

The property has municipal sewer and water service available.  The property is also within the City’s Urban Service Area, meaning that all development is eligible to receive the full range of services provided by the City.  

2005 Council Information memo

The state of volunteer emergency services in some areas of the United States is rapidly approaching crisis proportions.  In other places the crisis may have already arrived.  If it is true that the level of protection is dropping drastically because of a shortage of volunteers in fire, then there will be a need to have full-time, professional staffing of these departments. This would be intolerably expensive and result in a dramatic increase in government’s only source of locally generated tax revenue: the real property tax.

Most fire departments employ volunteer firefighters, they provide a public resource estimated to save residents more than 36.8 billion dollars annually[1]. Municipalities should anticipate that volunteer firefighter careers will be shorter than full-time personnel and as a result they need strong recruiting and retention programs in place.

Recruiting is an investment in the future. Retention is the ability to maximize that investment. Successful organizations are those with a strong organizational philosophy about volunteers. It is vital that adequate and appropriate resources be committed to the recruitment and retention of suitable volunteer firefighters. Satisfied volunteer firefighters enhance a community's impression of a fire department making recruitment and retention much easier.

Public officials and Fire department managers need to help volunteer firefighters achieve their goals with the organization, provide the things necessary to make volunteers feel like part of the organization, and help volunteers to impact and influence positively. They have many competing community/individual interests. Make the volunteers experience at the fire department as positive as possible.

Recruitment and retention of Volunteer Firefighters is one of the key issues being addressed jointly by the NVFC and U.S. Fire Administration. The NVFC and USFA have released a report entitled Recruitment and Retention in the Volunteer Fire Service: Problems and Solutions.

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[1] Fire Protection in Rural America: A Challenge for the Future. National Association of State Foresters, 1993.

Day to Day

It is actually not material to day-to-day operations of the City under the Council/Manager form of government which personality occupies the offices of Council President and Council members because elected officials establish policy through their collective, official actions which are then implemented. City government is dictated by ordinances, resolutions, and policies, not personalities. The Charter of the City of Lake Mills sought to avoid the impacts of strong personality-driven systems involving party politics, ward representation, precinct captains, or a strong mayor form of government. It is the collective will of the majority of the Council which governs policy.

Refreshing Event

Civility is much more than just behaving politely, but it is a good place to start. This behavior shows that the individual has a deep abiding respect for others and their opinions. Civility also requires maintenance of self-control, especially in dialogues with others with whom we disagree.[1]

Very good budget study!

 

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[1] Jacqueline J. Byers, NACO Research Division

Formula

The city’s tax base is the total assessments that are subject to the local property tax. The tax levy (as determined by the taxing bodies) divided by the tax base provides the tax rate. It is often expressed in terms of dollars per thousand. The tax rate is multiplied by the assessed value to determine the amount of tax that each property must pay.

Dam Repair

The City retained Mead and Hunt to perform a dam safety inspection. The Lake Mills dam is classified as a high hazard dam and is subject to compliance with Chapter 31 of the Wisconsin State Statutes and Wisconsin Administrative Code. Subsection 31.19(2) of Chapter 31 requires the owner of the dam to engage a professional engineer to inspect the dam at a frequency specified for high hazard dams. An inspection was performed by Warren Hayden, PE and Nick Reis. Their report was provided to the Council in the last packet.
The report provides some recommendations for rehabilitation and maintenance of the dam. The DNR has reviewed the inspection report provided by Mead and Hunt and they have established a directive for us to bring the dam into compliance with administrative code. The directive is included in the packet.

Sealcoat

The City of Lake Mills has traditionally maintained its 34 miles of serviceable asphalt pavements by crack sealing, resurfacing, and reconstruction. With this program a street’s useful life was 25-30 yrs. Then the price for resurfacing skyrocketed—up nearly 400% since 1998. Now the budget can only pay for half mile of resurfacing a year, or about 15 miles in 30 yrs.
An aggressive program of sealcoating on streets could almost double the useful life of a pavement. Public acceptance is essential, making it important to address problems of dust, possible bike or roller blade crashes, pedestrian tracking, and loose aggregate on the street and potentially getting into storm sewers.
Key elements used to deal with these concerns include:
1. Determining whether to specify black boiler slag
2. sweeping twice
3. protecting inlets
4. providing plenty of public information
5. careful scheduling
The sealcoating process is completed in five basic steps:
The first step is to make spot repairs to the existing asphalt surface and fill major cracks with a hot, rubberized crack fill material. The larger cracks must be filled because the viscosity and application rate of the chip seal petroleum will not fill the void of a larger crack.
The second step is to spray the liquid asphaltic cement onto the prepared street. The asphalt is applied at a rate of 0.25 to 0.40 gallons per square yard. The purpose of the liquid asphalt application is to seal the entire surface of the street and all remaining cracks. The asphalt also provides the binding material for the aggregate.
The third step is to apply the cover aggregate using a chip spreader. The used both a black boiler slag and a standard pea gravel. The black slag, 100% passing the 3⁄8” sieve, is a finer aggregate and it doesn’t seem to hold as much dust. Being black, it looks better and is easier to stripe. The blacker color allows for more heat absorption in the winter, requiring less salt. The pea gravel is
cheaper and adds more depth to the surface for longer protection. It is very important not to drive on the asphaltic cement prior to adding the aggregate. The asphaltic cement will stick to your tires and spray on to your car, it will also track into the driveway, curbs and garage floors.
The fourth step is to roll the cover aggregate into the asphaltic cement as soon as possible after it is applied. The rolling seats the aggregate without crushing it. There will be some loose aggregate on the roadway after it is rolled.
The fifth step is to sweep the excess aggregate from the street after traffic has driven on the street for several days. With boiler slag, a second sweeping is required after weveral weeks of being open to traffic.
Worry about negative reactions from politicos and residents keeps many public works departments from proposing chip seals on improved local streets. But we have reconsider because the economics are very convincing.
On August 30, 2012 we received quotes to sealcoat streets based on our street maintenance priority list. We received one quote from the Jefferson County Highway Department. I was informed on August 27 by Jeff Hollenberger, sales representative for Fahrner Asphalt Sealers, they would not be submitting a quote.
Jefferson County submitted a quote for chip seal of $1.40 per square yard, and $1.65 per square yard for slag seal. We requested quotes on both seal coating processes because we believe use of the chip seal process in non-residential areas will be more economical.
We accepted the bid from Jefferson County Highway Department to provide seal coating services at a cost of $25,281.05. Funding for this project to come from the Street Maintenance and use of County road funds.

My ethical dilemma between elected officials and staff

Many newly elected officials have an imperfect understanding of the division of labor between council and staff; they may act as though staff work for them as individuals and should be responsive to their individual priorities and the needs of their specific constituents. If a councilmember ran on a platform of clean streets, for example, he or she may believe that the proper course of action once elected is to meet directly with the sanitation director and encourage prompt action. But the councilmember must work through the democratic process with other councilmembers to make clean streets a priority across the city. That priority would then be conveyed to the city manager, to whom the sanitation director reports.
John Nalbandian

Damn Dam

DIRECTIVES:
The following deficiencies must be corrected by the dates given:
1. Benchmarks September 1, 2013
2. Make Concrete Repairs December 1, 2014
3. Perform and submit for review a Dam Failure Analysis September 1, 2013
4. Prepare and submit for review an Emergency Action Plan March 1, 2013
5. Prepare and submit for review an Inspection, Operation and Maintenance Plan September 1, 2013
In order for us to consider a schedule other than this, you must submit your alternative schedule by December 1, 2012.

Another Building Project

The current Parks and Forestry Department is a three-part combination building. The original first section (southern-most portion) of the building was likely constructed in the 1890’s-early 1900’s, although the south elevation with the overhead doors was re-done with new brick many years afterward. The middle section appears to have been built between 1910-1925 and the third section was completed in the 1931 (according to the cast stone inscription above the overhead door). The original building, as well as all of the subsequent additions, were constructed for use by the City’s Light and Water Utility. In the past, portions of the building housed an electrical generator and a pump station (limited reservoir storage appears to have existed in part of the basement and the underground vault on the east side of the 1931 addition). The building is still owned by the Light and Water Utility. The building levels step up towards the north end of the structure with the 1931 addition having a finished floor elevation of +/- 4’-0” to 5’-0” above the floor level of the earlier building. There are no construction documents available for the building.

Santa Needs Help

The following is the engineer’s base evaluation of the structure:
Based on the information gathered from our own observations, conversations with City Staff (listed below) and a general analysis of the Santa sign structure, the sign construction and attachment appears to be tenuous in nature. We would recommend at a minimum providing a stiffer framing system behind the plywood facing thus allowing a better and more frequent connection to the support structure. This framing should most likely be treated lumber for weathering purposes for long term use. Based on preliminary checks, the two existing utility poles do not have the embedment depth to take a design wind load on the structure. We calculate this depth may need to be up to 12 feet unless poles could be guyed in both directions perpendicular to the sign. Again we have not done a detailed design check on this, but based on preliminary information and analysis it appears the overall sign and supports would not meet required design load conditions.
Here is a summary of the information obtained from our own observations and City Staff:
• Santa is made of painted ¾” plywood and untreated 2x8 lumber.
• There are three sections that get installed with each of the lower two sections getting two 5/8” bolts with washers attached through the plywood, through the 2x6, and through the support poles. The upper section (head) gets one such bolt connection.
• The support poles are currently buried approximately 6-feet deep.
• The northerly support pole has a guy wire on it that supports aerial lines on the west side of Main Street.

To Regulate

"Police power" is the governing authority's ability to legislate for the protection of the citizens' lives, health, and property, and to preserve good order and public morals. The demand over the last twenty years has been for more regulation, but the tide is turning. The question has to be what is really needed and what just reactionary.
The police power allows the governing authority to establish rules of good conduct and good neighborhood which are calculated to prevent a conflict of rights and to insure to each the uninterrupted enjoyment of corresponding enjoyment by others.[1]
"Police power" becomes regulations. “The term “regulation” covers a great deal of territory. It can refer to prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of disability; to energy efficiency requirements; to automobile safety provisions; to safeguards against terrorist attacks; to restrictions on texting while driving; to efforts to reduce risks from chemicals; to bans on deceptive nutritional labeling; to required disclosure of relevant information about credit cards, school loans, and mortgages; to restrictions on air and water pollution; to incentives for
automatic enrollment in savings plans; and to much more.”[2]
While it should be clear that the reasons and consequences of regulation are highly varied. Regulations are designed to save lives, investments and rights. Some regulations save money. Some regulations cost a great deal. Some regulations preserve freedom of choice. Some regulations amount to flat prohibitions. Some regulations create jobs. Some regulations eliminate jobs.
The importance of the police power is given from the following language of the Wisconsin Supreme Court: "Without it the purpose of civil government could not be attained. It has more to do with the well-being of society than any other power. Properly exercised it is a crowning beneficence. Improperly exercised it would make of sovereign will a destructive despot, superseding and rendering innocuous some of the most cherished principles of constitutional freedom.
A basic limitation on the police power is "reasonableness." Property rights cannot be randomly destroyed by wanton legislative enactments. There is a limit to the powers which may be exercised by the governing authority. A reasonable relation must exist between the character of the legislation and the policy goal to be attained. That relationship has been expressed in various forms. One court said, "The police power is broad in its scope, but it is subject to the just limitation that it extends only to such measures as are reasonable in their application and which tend in some appreciable degree to promote, protect, or preserve the public health, morals, or safety, or the general welfare."
Another court said: "Police regulations, in order to be valid, must tend to accomplish a legitimate public purpose; that is, such regulations must have a substantial relation to the public objects which government may legally accomplish; and, while it is for the legislative department of a municipality to determine the occasion for the exercise of its police power, it is clearly within the jurisdiction of the courts to determine the reasonableness of that exercise.
This debate is one that continues through the ages and the process that determines how change should come about needs a full and open airing. The debate provides the justification for changing the way people think and live. Debate occurs daily in legislatures around the world, at the State, the faculty meetings at a school, and at your dinner table. The procedures for these debates may differ, but the process is the same. People engage in a discussion that will determine whether a particular change is good or bad.
Today’s American thinks it is the collective responsibility of the nation, through its governments, to ensure each citizen's equality, rights, safety, and freedom by ensuring fairness, transparency, and a healthy balance between private opportunity and the public interest. They believe that their government is neither a paradigm nor a panacea, but more fairly represented by this Churchill statement "the worst form of government, except for all the others." The government seeks to "improve" things in terms of making social arrangements more just, but has modest expectations for success.
[1] Thomas Cooley
[2] Cass R. Sunstein

August 2002

Fire Department/Library Building Projects
This item is up for discussion at this Council meeting and may need to have extra study sessions to deal with the potential referendum scheduling problems. A memo has been distributed regarding the topic. The Council is being asked to determine if they are prepared to recommend a project and send it to referendum. The referendum would be in November and needs to be filed shortly to make the ballot. The issue is very complex and really has many options that may be viable. Anything we do, even nothing, is going to be criticized.

Performance Evaluation

If clarity about job expectations is a key to an objective performance evaluation, then a Council that struggles with the legislative/administrative concept will not be able to provide a fair evaluation. Whether the Council has been positive of negative, I don’t think that I have received a evaluation that focused on objective, behavioral-based, and observable outcomes that are job-related based on a fair of the process.

Budget Cleanup

Time to perform a policy audit and clean up the information.

Fear

The waves are laughing at me but the Voice of Truth says do not be afraid.

Today's Quote

It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
Edmund Burke

Goal

Where to and how fast?

Same Old

There isn’t any question of about the employee's conduct. It did not constituted a breach of his obligation under the fundamental contract understanding and warrant any possible discipline because the postulated reason would not meet any “just cause’ conditions, particularly reasonable work rules.

Just Trust Me?

The gap between what is now politically acceptable and what is administratively sustainable requires a complete dedication to exploring and understanding operational, financial and administrative processes. This involves risky changes and significant opportunities to fail and having to start over again. Governments aren’t very generous with risk takers. How does a risk taker reduce the trust deficit enough to survive? Trust is earned! I work hard at conducting myself in a trustworthy manner, but I need to develop more personal intimacy with those around me to really be trusted.

Wallace Park

Wallace Park is a 29-acre park located between Industrial Drive and Brookstone Drive on the City’s east side and is the newest park facility in the City. Upon its completion, the park plan had called for playground equipment, ball diamonds, a football field, soccer fields, a tennis court, skate board ramps, a wooded area, restrooms, a picnic area and 124 space parking lot.
The City recently started promoting a public/private partnership for the development of Wallace Park. The City decided to install a portion of the parking lot this year to encourage investment from other groups. The Lake Mills Area School District recently requested that the city provide space at Wallace Park for moving the little league ball fields from the Prospect Elementary School site to accommodate a new school facility.
Drawings in the packet show the layout of ball fields that the school has agreed to pay up to $250,000 for five diamonds. The ball fields would require the relocation of the soccer fields to Faville Park as shown in the drawings. This is a significant opportunity for both the City and the School District to work together to substantially improve athletic facilities in the community. The issue will first go to the Parks Board for a recommendation to Council.
The Parks Board has recommended the Council approve the concept of the ball diamond complex at Wallace Park. Staff is working on a memorandum of understanding for the Council to review at their next meeting if the concept is approved at this meeting.

Today's Quote

“Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.”
― William Shakespeare

What's The Difference?

We live in a Republic and I don’t think that most people understand what that means. The two forms of government: Democracy and Republic, are not only dissimilar but antithetical, reflecting the sharp contrast between (a) The Majority Unlimited, in a Democracy, lacking any legal safeguard of the rights of The Individual and The Minority, and (b) The Majority Limited, in a Republic under a written Constitution safeguarding the rights of The Individual and The Minority.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote; "All the powers of government, legislative, executive, judiciary, result to the legislative body. The concentrating these in the same hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands, and not by a single one. 173 despots would surely be as oppressive as one. Let those who doubt it turn their eyes on the republic of Venice."
I think some review of the original intent by reading and reflection rather than selective evidence might possibly correct a few opinions, especially as the writers of the constitution had such strong opinions on the matter.

ICC Again

The maintaining of a system of effective internal control does require appropriate separation of responsibilities. For internal control to be effective, there needs to be an adequate division of responsibilities among those who perform accounting procedures or control activities and those who handle assets.

The purpose of segregating duties is to insure that no one individual is in a position that allows such an individual to both commit an irregularity and then conceal that irregularity. Certainly in a large community with multiple employees within a department, there is ample opportunity to segregate functions so that employees, performing their routine duties, serve as a check on one another. But even in small town situations, internal controls must be implemented to insure that adequate checks and balances continually occur.

Segregation of duties
involves separating job functions so that ideally no one individual is able to 1) authorize a transaction, 2) record the transaction in the accounting records, and 3) maintain custody of the asset resulting from that transaction.

SEGREGATION OF DUTIES
Five-person Segregation of Duties

· Bookkeeper, City Clerk-HR, Deputy City Clerk, Treasurer-Finance Director and City Manager
· Post accounts receivable
· Distribute payroll slips
· Complete deposit slips
· Sign checks
· Reconcile petty cash
· Open mail / receive cash
· Gives credits and discounts
· Sign employee contracts
· Write checks Record initial charges & pledges
· Prepare invoices
· Custody of securities
· Post general ledger
· Complete check log
· Approve payroll
· Approve employee timesheets
· Post credits / debits
· Disburse petty cash
· Approve invoices for payment
· Reconcile bank statements
· Mail checks
· Authorize purchase orders
· Authorize check requests
· Perform inter-fund transfers

Today's Quote

The older generation thought nothing of getting up at five every morning - and the younger generation doesn't think much of it either. ~John J. Welsh

How Limited should The Government be?

The Darwin awards are based on the concept that humans left to individual choices would restrict population growth through natural selection. Stated differently, the tragedy of the commons should be allowed to happen. People acting in their own individual best interests with no government restrictions would kill enough of themselves and others to again achieve natural selection.
When the girl is injured by a faulty rope bungee jumping – everyone says she was stupid; no one said the government didn’t complete an inspection. The Centralia Mine Disaster was the employees fault for working there; not the corporations fault for ignoring safety requirements. The people who lived in Chernobyl during the nuclear accident deserve what they got for accepting those jobs; not the industries fault in design and safety responses. The people who live along the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers are at fault for all the PCBs in the rivers, not the paper companies. Those kids that became sick from playing in the Love Canal were stupid; not the corporations that dumped the chemicals there. Legalizing all drugs will solve the crime problem and kill lots of stupid people.
“Freedom is not defined by safety. Freedom is defined by the ability of citizens to live without government interference. Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons.”
― Ron Paul
Ron Paul is an is off by about 180 degrees and he should soon be meeting some coming from the other direction..

Need to Read

This week I have choosen to read "The Screwees Guide to Voting and Elections."

Leadership Team

The combination of an ESFP and an INTJ and the search for reality. The one who wants to handle unknown situations on a moment-by-moment basis and the decisive, planned and orderly thinker.

A Myth?

Every once in a while we get a council member who thinks we can cut staff and add tasks. If it were possible to do more with less eventually we would be doing everything with nothing. The real question for us in determining if we can do more with less is; “are our processes efficient”?
Just downsizing would result in one person having a significant increase in their workload to carry the wood for those who are no longer here. So the dynamic of what happens when those who survive pick up the load of those who don't survive becomes an increasingly important concern. If people really were lazy and slackers, as many think, and were only doing real work 2 hours a day, then it should not be a big deal. But if that proves to be a myth, the long term ramifications could be significant in terms of stress related physical and emotional health conditions. This is where the rubber will meet the road when it comes to good organizations. The really good organizations, and leaders, will let their managers deal with this and their organizations will excel, and the average organizations, those who just plod through each day and never have an original thought, and never challenge and reward the creativity of their people, will fail.

Was Today Worth It

I don’t think I’ve ever exchange a day of my life for today, I did technically, but I didn’t live it that way. I have survived my life. I’ve worked hard almost every day and my family has probably had a better group of opportunities then I had growing up. The feeling still exists that not every opportunity was lived to the fullest. I don’t feel that anyone caused my life to be this way other than me. I now know there were so many things I could have done.

From the time I can remember, my fullest attention was on self-protection. I just had to survive the day. No one could be trusted enough to release my ability to live fully – everyone is eventually going to disappoint me. Being stoic has its emotional advantages; you understand that ennui was the eventual result. You have been prepared for this outcome and are insouciant. You have avoided all the emotional distressed of a changed relationship.

Changing this emotional response is difficult.