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Rib Lake board green lights county plan for new highway shop

Board approves variance to wellhead protection rule, starts process to rezone lot

The Rib Lake Village Board voted (Vernell Van Hecker and Jack Buksa absent) at its meeting on November 11 to grant a request from the Taylor County Highway Department for a variance to the village’s well head protection ordinance to build a new highway shop on CTH D. The approval is “subject to plan review by the state of Wisconsin and the village’s planning commission to verify that the best management practices are being incorporated into the plan to protect the groundwater aquifer.”

The county plans to build a new highway shop on property located at the northwest corner of CTH D and Little Rib Road. The salt storage building and fuel storage tanks would be within the 1,200foot setback requirement in the village’s ordinance. The county approached the board at its October meeting requesting a variance of the setback. The board said it wanted more details on the county’s plan to protect ground water before granting the request.

Highway commissioner Ben Stanfley told the board about the facilities to meet the state’s best management practices. He said the salt and salt/sand storage sheds would be constructed of pre-fabricated panels, hooked together with the joints caulked. Stanfley said all of the steel reinforcement bars within the panels will be coated to prevent possible rusting and that the floor would be pour over the top to form a water-tight joint. He said any runoff would be diverted into a clay-lined retention pond and that every three years the county will be required to remove and properly dispose of any accumulated salt sediment in the pond.

Stanfley said an oil and sediment interceptor will be installed for the shop building to prevent pollutants from entering the village’s sanitary sewer system and the fuel storage tanks would be put into a pre-fabricated containment structure. He finished up by saying if the board approves the variance request, the highway department will come back to the board with the engineering plans to see if there are any changes or revisions to the designs the board wants to make before any construction on the shop begins.

Village president Bill Schreiner said he had been contacted by a concerned county board member to ask if the facility could be moved further to the west with the main entrance located on Little Rib Road.

Stanfley said he preferred the entrance to be located on CTH D, which the county owns. He said this would eliminate possible issues with damage county vehicles may cause to the road if the entrance was located on Little Rib Road.

Board members were satisfied with the details provided by Stanfley and approved the variance. The next step is for the village’s planning commission to hold a public hearing and approve changing the zoning of the property from residential to light industrial.

Zoning/building inspector Bob Christensen recommended the zoning change be done as soon as possible. He said there would be no reason for the county to purchase the property and spend thousands of dollars developing a plan for a site that — if for some reason the planning commission didn’t approve the zoning change — the county couldn’t build on.

In other action: Police chief Derek Beckstrand told the board he had received a $5,000 grant from the United States Deputy Sheriffs Association and proposed purchasing additional equipment for the police department. Equipment to be purchased include Faraday duffel bag for evidence collection, compact scale, compact magnifier, drug detection kit, steel storage locker, gun safe, mobile workbench, evidence packaging, sealer for evidence packaging, ammunition, taser cartridges, taser battery, speed limit and parking signs, and a trail camera. Becktrand said the items would cost approximately $3,000 and the remaining money would be put in the squad car replacement fund.

Looking over the list of proposed items, trustee Russ Bullis said they were items the police department should have and commended Beckstrand for taking the time to apply for the grants.

The board approved an ordinance amending some speed limits within the village as recommended by Beckstrand.

There would be a speed limit of 35 mph on Lakeshore drive from the village limits to the 25 mph posted speed limit south of Lakeview Cemetery.

A speed limit of 15 mph would be on “any street or such portion of any street contiguous to or adjacent to a public park or recreation area.” The 15 mph limit would also apply for any village roadway unless other posted. Village roadways include Second Street, Third Street, Broadway Street, Cemetery Drive, Church Street, East Road, Ella Street, Fayette Avenue, North Front Street, South Front Street, High Street, Holden Road, Kapitz Road, Kelnhefer Street, Kennedy Street, Lakeshore Drive, Lake Street, South Lake Street, Landall Avenue, Little Rib Road, Maple Court, Maple Street, McComb Avenue, Meyer Road, Mill Lane, Niemitz Road, North Street, Park Row, Pearl Street, Pine Street, Railroad Street, State Road, Tannery Lane, Targos Lane, Upjohn Street, Well Street, West Street, alley running from Fayette to Landall Avenue, alley running from Fayette to Mill Lane and alley running from Maple Street to Railroad Street.

The speed limit for Park Row and within Lakeview Park and Campground would be 10 mph.

The board also approved posting no parking signs on both sides of Second, Third and Maple streets, as well as on the hill going out to West Street. The changes would be year-round Trustee Cliff Mann said it was basically for safety reasons to allow emergency vehicles through, noting a car could barely fit through when there were vehicles parked on both sides of the street.

The board voted down a proposed contract from MSA Professional Services in the amount of $4,000 to develop a plan for Tannery Creek.

Schreiner said in looking over the contract, he was very concerned about all the items listed on the contract that were not included under the $4,000. He said the extra costs could added up very quickly.

Trustee George Tesch said the parks and recreation committee felt the same way and was recommending the board not approve the contract.

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