A quorum being present Chrm. Hanson called to order the bimonthly Town Board meeting of the Washington Town Board at 7:00 p.m., on Thursday, April 3, 2008, at the Town Municipal Building, 5750 Old Town Hall Road.

Members Present:  Thomas Hanson, George Losby, Donald Perry, and Karen Tomesh

Staff Present:   Kimberley Bunderson, Janelle Henning, and Micheal Peterson

Members/Staff Absent: Michael Stacy

Minutes: Supv. Tomesh moved TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE
MARCH 20, 2008 BIMONTHLY TOWN BOARD MEETING.  The motion was seconded by Supv. Perry. Aye 4, Nay 0

Public Hearing Chrm. Hanson opened the public hearing for rezoning requested by Hite Trust: Trust from the A1 (Exclusive Agricultural District) District to the A2 (Agriculture-Residential District) District.  The property is located on the north side of County Road I/Otter Creek Road, immediately northeast of the intersection of County Road I/Otter Creek Road and County Road IJ, 20.06 acres.

 Jon Tulman, Eau Claire County Planning and Development, reviewed County Staff recommendations which were to deny the request for the reason that rezoning to the A2 would not be consistent with the purposes of the zoning ordinance.  The Staff believes that conflicts could arise between agricultural areas and future home owners.

Mark Erickson, from Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc., spoke for Hite Trust and asked for the Board to table the item since no one from the Hite family was present at the meeting.  In addition, he was unaware of the information the County had presented.

Seven area residents spoke in opposition.  They thought the land needed to be preserved as agricultural use to benefit the local farmers.  Also, they stated they had moved to the country to not have close neighbors.  They feared that many houses would be built if the property was rezoned.

Supv. Perry moved TO DENY THE REZONING REQUEST BY HITE TRUST FROM THE A1 DISTRICT INTO THE A2 DISTRICT.  The motion was seconded by Supv. Tomesh. Aye 4, Nay 0

Eagles View Admr. Peterson presented to the Board his recommendation which was to Estates Preliminary  deny the proposed preliminary plat.  He stated his opinion, which has Plat Review: been the same for years, that all the plots should be consistent with the Joanne Lane development by facing north/south and that there needs to be a road connecting County KB and East Shore Drive.

Eagle View  Bob Janke, realtor, spoke on behalf of the Hellmans.  He indicated he wanted to keep the value of the expensive home in tact by keeping the large lot size surrounding the house.  He also pointed out that adding a      
 connecting road would be expensive to the owners and the road would run right through their existing barn.

Four residents spoke in opposition due to the increase of traffic that would be on Joanne Lane if more houses were built on East Shore Drive without a connecting road.  Joanne Lane has an enormous amount of daily traffic on it.  They were concerned with the road’s safety with the new Altoona Bike Trail being added to Joanne Lane.

 Supv. Losby moved TO APPROVE THE EAGLES VIEW ESTATES PRELIMINARY PLAT.  The motion was seconded by Supv. Perry.  The motion did not carry and was denied. Aye 1, Nay 3

Clerk/Treasurer’s Clerk/Treasurer Henning spoke of the April 1, 2008 election.  There were 15 poll workers.  981 ballots were cast.

 The amended budget was handed out for the Board’s review.

 Clerk/Treasurer Henning reminded the Board that April 17, 2008 is the Town’s Annual Meeting.
 
Checks: Supv. Losby moved TO APPROVE CHECKS #17941 THROUGH #18018 TOTALING $275,942.21.  The motion was seconded by Supv. Perry. Aye 4, Nay 0

Licenses:  No licenses requested.

Adoption of the Chrm. Hanson moved TO ADOPT THE ANNUAL MS4 REPORT.  The
Annual MS4 Report: motion was seconded by Supv. Perry. Aye 4, Nay 0

The road crew did go out plowing again.  Admr. Peterson felt on election day when schools were cancelled it was necessary for them to go out and clean up areas, even though the snow had melted fast. 

 The road crew has been out sweeping for the past two weeks in the urban areas.  The Town agreed to do more sweeping for compliance with their MS4 Report requirements.

Chairman’s Report: Chrm. Hanson inquired about the Town’s street light policy from
Admr. Peterson.

Supervisor’s Report: The Planning Commission’s next meeting is Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

Citizen’s Input: None.

Future Zoning  Admr. Peterson asked the Board to come into the office and look at Eau
Requests: Claire County’s proposed zoning code amendments.
 
Items for Next Annual Meeting, Bike Trail Plowing, Web Page, Annual Calendar Meeting’s Agenda: of Events.

Adjournment: Supv. Perry moved TO ADJOURN.  The motion was seconded by Supv. Tomesh.  The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Aye 4, Nay 0

THE BOARD’S NEXT MEETING WILL BE THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008, AT THE TOWN MUNICIPAL BUILDING,
5750 OLD TOWN HALL ROAD.

Attendance:   Roy Anderson, Ed & Ginny Bartch, Bruce Burandt, Dale Cornell, Tom Duerst, Mark Erickson, Mark Gilbertson, Bob Janke, Tyson Lang, Noel & Shirley Larson, Brian Nodolf, Randy Olson, Todd Olson, Rita Raihle, Harold & Nancy Rosentrater, Mike Sokup, Jon Tulman, Darold & Laurie Zich

Highlighting a possible new trend in public transportation, promoters of a high-speed passenger railway in the Chippewa Valley met with the public in Hudson on Friday, April 18 to discuss possible developments in regional train service.

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On Wednesday, April 2, the Eau Claire County Board officially proclaimed the week of Sunday, April 20 to Saturday, April 26 as Volunteer Recognition Week in Eau Claire County. Many residents of Altoona volunteer their time to different organizations, and one example is resident Tom Armstrong.

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Kwik Trip is expanding its enterprises throughout the Cippewa Valley, and Altoona residents will continue to see big changes while it does. Not only is the company expanding and remodeling their store at 2367 Spooner Avenue, but it also purchased the former Shell Station, located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 53 and U.S. Highway 12 just outside the Altoona city limits in Eau Claire.

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Altoona firefighters Troy Stoneberg and Tim Lange were recently promoted from firefighter to Lieutenant, an entry-level

officer position within the Altoona Fire Department. Stoneberg has eight years of experience with the department, while Lange has been with the department for three years.

The city of Altoona will soon apply for a waterfront planning grant and would like public input before the application goes to the state.

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Following a decision made at the annual Town of Washington Board meeting on Thursday, April 17, the Town of Washington clerk/treasurer position will move from an elected position to an appointed one by April 2009.

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Editor’s Note: This is is a continuation of the memory, “Fast food selections from the 1950s and ‘60s” that was published
in the April 11 issue.

There wasn’t much time between the dairy bar and the root beer stand that was on the south side of the Golden Spike Bar & Grill. I remember that venture started by Ray Campbell very clearly, as my mom was a carhop at the Spike for a short time. She would bring us home a jug of root beer from time to time, which would prove that there was no root beer compared to that which was obtained at the root beer stand, unless my dad made a batch behind the oil heater.

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Family, job, department. Listed in order of importance, these priorities are strictly adhered to by the 29 members of the Altoona Fire Department. With full-time jobs, studies, and families to care for in addition to their department responsibilities, these priorities are vital to the group’s success.

“It takes a special person to be a significant other or a spouse of someone who’s in the volunteer part of the EMS or fire service,” said Lieutenant Jerry Prete, who has been with the AFD for 11 years, and been fighting fires since 1991.

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On Wednesday, April 30, foreign exchange students from  Altoona and Fall Creek high schools will share information about their individual cultures to preschool students at Eau Claire’s Children’s House Montessori school.

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