Alderman Berg's personal commentary on the item, if any, appears in this typeface. Alderman Berg takes sole responsibility for the comments and they might not represent the official policy of the City of Brookfield or the opinions of other individual alderman.

THESE ARE THE MINUTES OF A REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT 7:45 P.M., TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2002, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF BROOKFIELD CITY HALL, 2000 N. CALHOUN ROAD, BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN

COUNCIL PRESIDENT MICHAEL JAKUS Presiding in the Absence of Mayor Kathryn Bloomberg.

ALDERMEN PRESENT: Daniel Waffenschmidt, Thomas Schellinger, Steven Ponto, Richard Brunner, Jim Garvens, Karl Schulz, Scott Berg, Kari Clappier, Gary Mahkorn, Jim Heinrich, Don Bauer, Howard Washechek, Brad Steinke

ALDERMEN ABSENT & EXCUSED: None

ALSO PRESENT: City Attorney Sue Schalig, City Clerk Kris Schmidt, Director of Finance Robert Scott, Director of Public Works Tom Grisa, Director of Community Development Dan Ertl, Chief of Staff Dean Marquardt, Police Chief Dan Tushaus, Phil Evenson of Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Special Legal Counsel Alan Markovitz

Council President Michael Jakus called the meeting of the Common Council to order at approximately 7:45 p.m. One citizen wished to speak during the 15 minute public speaking segment.

The next Common Council meeting will be February 5, 2002.

Alderman Steve Ponto led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.

Alderman Schulz moved approval of the Regular Common Council minutes of January 8, 2002. The motion was seconded by Alderman Waffenschmidt and carried unanimously.

ACTIONS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL

PLAN COMMISSION

The City Clerk referred to the Plan Commission's actions and recommendations as represented in the January 14, 2002, Plan Commission meeting minutes, including the Plan Review Board minutes of December 20, 2001.

The first item was the Plan Commission Recommendation to amend Section 17.88.140 of the Municipal Code, i.e. Floodplain District to convert permitted uses in the Regional Flood Fringe District to conditional uses.

The Plan Commission recommended approval of the text amendment as drafted and recommended by staff.

Alderman Schulz moved adoption of the Plan Commission recommendation. The motion was seconded by Alderman Steinke and carried unanimously.

Alderman Schulz moved adoption of the Ordinance amending Section 17.88.140 of the Municipal Code relating to Regional Flood Fringe Districts to conditional uses. The motion was seconded by Alderman Steinke. A roll call vote was taken and carried unanimously. Ordinance No. 1850*

Alderman Schulz moved approval of the remaining actions and recommendations as represented in the Regular Plan Commission minutes of January 14, 2002, including the Plan Review Board minutes of December 20, 2001. The motion was seconded by Alderman Steinke and carried unanimously.

FINANCE COMMITTEE - Alderman Garvens, Chairman

Alderman Garvens moved approval of the Vouchers exceeding $50,000 requiring immediate action. The motion was seconded by Alderman Brunner and carried unanimously.

Alderman Garvens moved approval of the Request from the Fire Department to purchase chassis for replacement ambulance from Lakeside International for $48,958. The motion was seconded by Alderman Heinrich and carried unanimously.

Alderman Garvens moved approval of the Request from the Highway Department to purchase replacement tractor/mower from Bark River Culvert & Equipment Co. for $63,957. The motion was seconded by Alderman Heinrich and carried unanimously.

Alderman Garvens moved approval of the Request from the Highway Department to purchase replacement conveyor for salt dome from Dome Corporation of North America for $73,897. The motion was seconded by Alderman Schulz and carried unanimously.

FINANCE COMMITTEE/PLAN COMMISSION - Alderman Garvens/Schulz, Chairmen

Alderman Schulz moved to remove from the table the Resolution approving the telecommunication lease with Nextel Communications at the water tower located at 17200 W. Capitol Drive. The motion was seconded by Alderman Heinrich and carried unanimously.

Alderman Garvens moved approval of the Resolution approving the telecommunication lease with Nextel Communications at the water tower located at 17200 W. Capitol Drive. The motion was seconded by Alderman Heinrich and carried unanimously. Resolution No. 6851*

LEGISLATIVE & LICENSING COMMITTEE - Alderman Waffenschmidt, Acting Chairman

Alderman Waffenschmidt moved approval of eleven original Bartender Licenses and to table one license, and approval of the Temporary Class B Beer and Wine at St. Dominic's Church, 18255 W. Capitol Drive, February 2, 2002. The motion was seconded by Alderman Clappier and carried unanimously.

Alderman Waffenschmidt moved adoption of the Ordinance amending Section 3.20.010 of the Municipal Code to account for recent changes in Chapter 66, Wis. Stats., regarding Special Assessments prior to the commencement of construction. The motion was seconded by Alderman Mahkorn. A roll call vote was taken and carried unanimously. Ordinance No. 1851*

SEWER AND WATER BOARD - Alderman Washechek, Chairman

Item #12, Discussion with legal counsel and possible action with respect to Cummings claim, relating to 2420 N. Calhoun Road, was delayed to the end of the meeting.

COUNCIL AS A WHOLE

Alderman Schulz moved to remove from the table the Resolution of support for 21st Century Vision for Waukesha County. The motion was seconded by Alderman Garvens and carried unanimously.

Alderman Schulz moved approval of the Resolution of support for 21st Century Vision for Waukesha County. The motion was seconded by Alderman Brunner.

Alderman Ponto moved to amend the Resolution, second "resolved clause" to read, "SECOND: That the City of Brookfield hereby indicates its support for the legislation drafted to implement the 21st Century Vision proposal, provided that such legislation be amended to provide that no incorporated municipality would lose any land currently within its boundaries without the consent of the incorporated municipality." The motion was seconded by Alderman Washechek and carried Ayes 11, No's 2 with Aldermen Berg and Schellinger voting no.

The Resolution as amended carried Ayes 11, No's 2 with Aldermen Berg and Schellinger voting no. Resolution No. 6852*

This resolution stated support for a plan to allow SEWRPC to set boundaries for communities in Waukesha County. This show of support is helpful in getting the Wisconsin legislature to give their approval of the plan. Alderman Berg sent the following position paper to all alderman and read portions of it at the meeting.

 

Comments Opposing the "Vision 2001" Proposal Fixing Waukesha County Municipal Boundaries

Scott A . Berg 5th District Alderman, City of Brookfield January 22, 2002

The mayor's memo succinctly outlined the pros and cons of the Vision 2001 proposal for boundary resolution administered by SEWRPC, so I will be brief in stating my analysis.

In my opinion, the City of Brookfield Common Council should not endorse the plan.

First, I do not want to force any current resident of the City of Brookfield into some other municipality. In the case of the 5th district, one specific example would be the southeast corner of Pilgrim Road and North Avenue, along Brojan Drive, Kata Drive, etc. Those properties are, in my opinion, at risk of being transferred because some of them are already split between the City of Brookfield and the Village of Elm Grove and all of the mailing addresses are already in Elm Grove. To offer an amendment on our endorsement of the plan to prohibit this transfer would be non-binding on SEWRPC. Besides, it is, frankly, hypocritical. Would should Brookfield expect preferential treatment in keeping its residents? If every community passed such an amended endorsement, there would be no need for a study; we'd just freeze the boundaries where they are now.

Second, the proposal would leave 37 municipalities of wildly different sizes and levels of service. Several communities are already considering merging, including the City and Village of Pewaukee, the Village of Big Bend and the Town of Vernon and the Town and Village of East Troy. Waukesha county is well on its way to dropping from 37 municipalities to 34 all by itself. Government services can benefit from economy of scale and elimination of overlapping positions and administrative overhead. I just don't see how fixing boundaries, in and of itself, will create an incentive to combine services and reduce the county wide aggregate cost of local government. Besides, municipalities can combine services without annexation or fixing boundaries. If the state wants to intervene, why not offer a financial reward based on lowered cost of combined services to create an incentive to perform such mergers?

Third, the land in the City of Brookfield is nearly fully built out. Redevelopment of existing properties is a difficult and highly contentious issue, which means it will be slow going and sometimes result in only a marginal increase in property values. Why do we want to prevent the possibility of increasing the city's tax base through annexation of neighboring properties, including those still undeveloped? We are just locking ourselves in to raising taxes.

Finally, current state law favors cities over townships in matters of annexation. Just what do we think we'll be getting for trading away this advantage?

Please vote NO on this resolution.

In continuing actions of the Council, pursuant to 19.85(1) of the Wis. Stats., after first convening in open session, the Council President will explain the nature of the business proposed to be considered in closed session, and upon a motion duly made, seconded and adopted, meeting in Closed Session for the following purpose:

a. Under 19.85(1)(g) Conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved. (Item #12-Discussion with legal counsel and possible action with respect to Cummings claim relating to 2420 N. Calhoun Road; Item #14- Discussion with legal counsel and possible action with respect to Susan Marie Wilson v. County of Waukesha, et. al, Case No. 01-C-1186; and the Addendum- Discussion with legal counsel and possible action with respect to Lake Shore Burial Vault Company Inc. v. City of Brookfield Case No. 00-CV-1650.)

Alderman Schulz moved to convene into Closed Session under Section 19.85(1)(g) Wisconsin Statutes. The motion was seconded by Alderman Waffenschmidt and carried unanimously. Recorded as a roll call. 8:00 p.m.

Present during closed session were as follows: City Clerk, City Attorney, Director of Public Works, Director of Finance, Director of Community Development, Chief of Police, and Special Legal Counsel Allan Markovitz.

Alderman Washechek moved to reconvene into Open Session under Section 19.85(2) Wisconsin Statutes. The motion was seconded by Alderman Garvens and carried unanimously. Recorded as a roll call. 8:50 p.m.

Wisconsin state law 19.85 defines a very specific set of circumstances where an elected body such as a City Council can meet in private and not release the details of its discussion to the public.  The intent is to allow the council to set negotiating limits for land acquisition, union contract negotiations, litigation strategy, limits for lawsuit settlements and other similar tasks, without the public observing.  For example, if the city council decided it was willing to pay up to $100,000 to buy a piece of land to build a road, and the landowner had been thinking about selling for only $80,000 but then heard the higher limit just by sitting in the audience of an open session of the council, guess what price that landowner would demand?  In the long run, it's your tax money that gets spent, so you want the city to have some privacy in negotiations.  Any action actually requiring spending money, etc., as opposed to just setting a limit for a negotiation, may be informally agreed to during the closed session, but must then be stated and approved in open session.  That's why closed sessions are typically immediately followed by adjournment with no other actions or by an open session that authorizes spending the money.

SEWER AND WATER BOARD - Alderman Washechek, Chairman

Alderman Washechek moved approval to the settlement of the claim from Norm Cummings in the amount of $21,850 and paid contingent on signature of a release form prepared by the City Attorney's office. The motion was seconded by Alderman Waffenschmidt and carried unanimously. Resolution No. 6853*

COUNCIL AS A WHOLE

Alderman Schulz moved approval of the payment of $59,000 in full settlement of litigation pending between Lake Shore Burial Vault Company Inc. and the City of Brookfield, payment contingent upon execution of a fence agreement, and on execution of a stipulation dismissing court action. The motion was seconded by Alderman Mahkorn and carried unanimously.

There was no action taken with respect to Susan Marie Wilson v. County of Waukesha, et.al, Case No. 01-C-1186.

Alderman Waffenschmidt moved to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Alderman Washechek and carried unanimously. 9:20 p.m.

Kristine A. Schmidt, City Clerk

* May be viewed in the City Clerk's Office. 9800

REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL PAGE 9800 JANUARY 22, 2002