Elmwood Board Meeting -Jan. 8th, 2007

Village of Elmwood Board Meeting

January 8th, 2007

The January village board meeting was this past Monday evening.
All members of the board where present except, Mike Sand.
(note: this was the 14th meeting missed by Mr. Sand in two years of being on the board)
The village engineer, and the Argus reporter, Joanne Baier where present, as well as
Mr. & Mrs. Yaucht, Mike Burke, and Mr. & Mrs. Talford.

Public Input- Mr. Talford requested the board allow a committee meeting with the Police committee and he,

to go over some issues that are current.

Bob Rupakus, head of the committee, responded by stating, “after knowing what all the information is,

you may or may not be allowed the meeting.”

Bob Weix, another member of the committee, replied “ you want to call a committee Meeting ,

then you have to pay for it !”

Spring Election ballot placement. Bob W. decided not to re-run this spring. Sue Dzubay is re-running,

with Doug Claflin, Mike Burke, Dick Tiffany, and Rick Talford also running for one of three seats available. Kevin Kitchner also has decided not to re-run this spring, so Bill Stewart will be Running for president alone.

Woodman street contract -was next, with the Engineer stating “ Pember gave the
Best bid, He had contact with Joe Pember on a personal level and felt comfortable” A short discussion
Regarding the use of two different styles piping, with the board agreeing that the PVC was the best to
Be used. The project cost where expected to be near $222K, and He also was informing the board
of the possible 5% intingency add on costs. Bob Rupakus gave the motion to approve, with Pam Marson
giving a second to the motion.

Update on the Engineering projects- Kevin Kitchner asking how the Woodman Street Boring
had gone. The Engineer stated that they did find glass bottles, wood, and trash when they dug .
13-16’ of fill was found to be there as well. He then replied that they may bridge or they may have

to excavate the area. This could not be started before June 15th, 07” due to school operations.

ammonia limits -problem that has been experienced in Elmwood is still being researched.

They may have to go back to DNR and ask them to allow higher levels at certain times of the year.

Resolution 2007-01- $ 108,657.27 state trust fund loan application for TIF4
The board did a role call vote, and unanimously approved the loan request.

Tax refund Intercept Program. The board now has the ability to file any debt over $20 with the state dept.,

in the attempt to intercept any Lottery winnings, or refunds due. Jodi Pulk, the Village clerk stated,

“This is just another option I have” The motion was made by Bob R., and Seconded by Bob W.
Kevin Kitchner the stated “We’ll go after some money then”

(note: The Board did not post public notice of the program until, Feb. 21, 2007.

But, they did take tax refunds from citizens in January.)

Habitat for Humanity- lot approval was given on lot 2 of the old trailer court. Ellis Poquette,

a neighbor to this lot, will be doing the electrical work needed.

Comprehension Plan Committee- forming was next, with the board again placing it for upcoming board meetings. This was approved back in November to be done in Dec. meeting,

but Human Error caused it not to be dealt with.( when I called the clerk, and asked why the minutes where approved, yet they never stated anything in regards to the committee)

Now the board has decided not to form the committee until after the spring election.

The committee will be formed with 2 board members, 2 or 3 citizens,

The clerk, and the Engineer.

Committee and Board Reports- ( Parks’s committee) went over plans to create the signs for the parks.

more information was to be provided by Suzanne in Feb. There was no (Police Committee) meetings held,

The Library Committee met, and all is going well. The Nursing Home committee is struggling with the Insurance issues regarding the hail damages from this past summer. Mrs. Helmer had resigned, and a few more aides had been fired. Jodi P. then stated that she had contact with Schuler Ins. in Elmwood and Schlushler Ins. in Durand, and changed the Insurance policy to Durand that saved $13K in costs.

Payment of Bills, and Adjourning was all that was left. The meeting was done, and only took 36 minutes.
Reported by Rick A. Talford

January 15th, 2007 School Board Meeting

Elmwood School Board Meeting
Jan. 15th, 2007

Attendance--Jason Afdahl, Steve Thompson, Dave Wolf, Jim Maves, Janelle Wolf, Tony Baier, Barry Rose
and Sue Borgerson (president) Absent- Shawn Madden
Public- John S. of DNR, and Steve Galoff, Neil Boltic, and Mr. & Mrs. Rick Talford

1- Public Input
Sue B.-- asked if anyone had any public input to share or anything else positive to add.
Neil Boltic- stated he was with Glen Nelson, who does computerized graphics w/ digital read boards that may connect directly to a laptop in the office w/ a card.
Barry Rose- stated for Neil to contact Shawn Madden when he could. the area on the board they are looking at is approx. 2’x10’

11- Approval of last months Minutes
Dec. 11th meeting minute approval--motion to approve came from Jim Maves, and seconded by J. Wolf

111-Administrative reports
Shawn Madden being absent, there was no report by the school Principal
Barry Rose “I want to welcome the public like I always do”
“Cenex donation program was rec’d-there was also a picture in the paper”
“Isaac Weix donation rec’d from the $ left over from his campaign fund”
“Glen Nelson fund and Tax $ LTE will be in the upcoming paper”- a committee will be formed for the use of these $. He also spoke of the sportsmanship award the school has rec’d several years, and a change to the programs for the games. there would be a letter by the students placed on the backside now. He then went on to saying the issues in sports they have been having, is not with the students, but the parents more than anything else.
D. Wolf- then asked how many rule changes have occurred, he felt maybe there was a need for the awareness to parents on these rules.
J. Maves- replied that the rules very seldom get changed, and when they do, it is usually to make them more understandable, vs. new rules being applied.
D. Wolf -then again stated, I just think we need to educate the parents
Barry Rose- then returned to his reports--the Title 1 news was in front of everyone, also the SSA capital report- the Cesa 11 shared services, and what are being rec’d, he said “ it’s crunch time here at the end of the season, or I mean year” a report would be coming in Feb. on the Special Ed services and technologies.
there is an upcoming meeting March 27th @ 6 pm in turtle lake and the speaker will be Murry Banks.
The upcoming committee meeting where as follows--Jan. 24th, the grounds comm. will meet, Jan, 31st, the finance comm. will meet, Feb, 28th the professional staff meeting, and March 7th, the support staff will meet. all meetings are held on Wed. evenings at 6:30 pm. The committee have also been re-organized by Barry--The April Election has 2, 3 yr terms, and 1 1 yr term available. Tony B. is not re-running after 20 yrs of service--there will be an award given to him at the state conference during the general session.

Sue B. stated she had 1 item to add--The policy book had a few changes made to organize it. the WASB gave a listing, that she decided to use in there own handbook. everything was to be done in a category related setting, instead of alphabetical order.

Jason Afdahl- asked if there was any chances to do as Elk Mound is doing, and have an open session prior to the board meetings for the public input section. he states it has saved the school board time in talking over items by the public. A couple board members is all that would be needed. and a half hour prior to each meeting. Steve and Jason would most likely be the board members present to speak with. The board stated, maybe the meetings should not be in the board room though, it should be held in a classroom.

Sue B. then made a change to the agenda, by placing the DNR proposal up in front of the action items,

to allow the speakers there time, instead of making them wait.

V1- information items
DNR restoration of the stream bank--The reps. gave a presentation on how they would like to make changes to a section of the Eau Galle stream behind the football field. they would taper the bank, creating an access for public use. they would remove all trash, as well as some box elder trees. they would create habitat riffles to promote the trout population. and create better pool areas to open up the channels. none of this work would begin prior to July 1, 2007. He went on to state how the box elder trees are releasing toxins into the stream, and creating a poor situation for the river. while researching this, they found that a couple of sections are privately owned. He went on to state that the work done in Spring Valley was not to the liking of the school superintendent. they did not want public access to the river, so close to the school. this had changed a bit since then, he replied. there would be no cost to the school, and the project would only take a couple weeks to get done. The walking trail by the river is found to be all on private land. The board will have them come back in Feb.

Sue B. started to get nasty with a member of the Public, Kris Talford asking her if she was recording the meeting, she replied yes. Sue then became more nasty, shaking her finger at Kris, and stating they have spoken to her before about recording the meetings. She says they must inform the board of any recordings. Rick T. then replied to the board, it was never asked about, so there should not have been any problems. Sue continued to pursue an answer to her request if Kris understood-- she repeatedly cont. to shake her finger and ask--Kris responded by saying, yeah. and also stated, there should be no problem, unless there is something to hide. Sue got ready to proceed.

Barry Rose piped up, and stated “ are you going to just sit there and stare at me” pointing Mr. Talford out. Rick T. responded by stating “ I have been here for 52 min. and have only looked up a couple times, so I have not been staring at you” Barry said, “ you are now” Rick responded by saying “ you have made this a personal issue now , haven’t you” and Barry did not respond. The board was quiet for a few seconds, and proceeded with the meeting.

V--action items
A. approval of the bills--
Jason made a motion to approve the bills as presented, and a roll call vote then went through--
B. approve resignation
Rita Princko gave her resignation to the board by letter, she had worked 14 yrs in the special Ed program.

V1--B. spring referendum
Barry Rose gave the information given--He went over the Fund 10 info. , and also the public referendum that would be upcoming. This was expected around April. He then made a statement “ I’m excited to make decisions that are positive for our kids” He then went on to add, this is a community ref., not a school ref. he added that there was a need of the public input for this. The school also has some heating issues with the Chet lien gym area, as well as some of the older sections of the school.

unhappy, the board went into closed session--for their executive session of the board meeting. Public was then asked to leave.

February School Board Meeting

Elmwood School Board Meeting
2-19-2007 @ 7 pm

Attendance- All school board members present, Both the Elementary & High School Principals Madden, and Rose, 2 Teachers ( Mrs. Hannock & Mrs. Glaus) Citizens ( Neil Boltic, Kristina & Rick Talford)

also DNR Representative Steve

note: prior to the meeting starting, Sue Borgerson, Board President asked the group if there was anyone with

a concealed recording device, or an unconcealed recording device? Kris Talford showed Sue, she did have a

recorder that was not concealed. She had shown the recorder to Board members Dave Wolf, Board Clerk,

and also Jason Afdahl, another Board Member prior to the questioning by Mrs. Borgerson.

7 PM the meeting was called to Order-

There was no Public Input to be shared by anyone, so the meeting went onto the Administrative Reports,

to be given by the Principals of the school.

Shawn Madden ( Elementary Principal) started with Giving the Student of The Month Award information.

He read off the list of students that rec’d the award for the month of January 2007. He then reported the

creation of a new Student Support Team, and read off a list of the individuals being involved with the team.

He stated this team would be doing student assessments, going over the 10th grade testing results.

They would be identifying the students with disabilities and there needs from K-12. also being covered would

be the Special Ed services needs. The Athletic Code Violation sheets where part of his report to the board,

as well as information on the free and reduced meals rec’d by the students. He stated that the 7-12 students

make up 18% of the use, and the Elementary students make up 25%. A confidential Health listing was

prepared and shared with the board members, to be aware of, Mr. Madden stated.

The reason that the Support Team was created falls into 14 areas-There will be more information to

share next month. We will Identify the children with needs. I met with the student team last week.

also the Free and Reduced meals rec'd listing is included, showing who is using the program.

Janelle Wolf (board member) asked if the names of the members where in the papers received by

Madden, and he responded, No. She then asked if He wanted these papers back, seeing they did not

have the information provided., again the response was No.

Barry Rose (HS Principal & Superintendent) commented on the papers, stating the meal

information is close to 30% regular usage. Seasonal workers may create a higher number though.

The school does a mailing every 5 years, to get an idea.

Jason Afdahl (board member) questioned if the parents are involved with the Support Team.

Shawn Madden- stated, No- but this is only in the infancy stage, and the parents

receive the results of testing, by the report cards. They are made aware.

Jason A.- I would think that it would be beneficial for the parents to have correspondence and input.

Shawn M.- "Point well taken". I will be meeting with each Dept. (reading, science, math,etc.)

within the next month to go through what is being taught, and why.

This will assist me in finding out our deficiencies.

The Professional Staff members and teachers are working together.

We are all doing our part to move forward.

Everything we do is to help our kids.

The parent -teacher conferences are upcoming March 26th, the High School

grades 7-12 have open meeting time, and the Elementary will be done by alphabetical order.

This is when the parents can choose to meet the teachers, face to face. They can

also talk about the child's strengths and weaknesses. The conferences have been well attended.

A couple teacher Thank Yous to go out to Mr. Klink, for his help the past 6 yrs. with the Public Library,

and Mr. Birtzer has been inducted into the Teachers of America Hall

(note- did not get all info. on this- please contact the school for more information)

The State level for music ensembles was this past week, and there where 6 judges, 298 performances.

Elmwood had 119 of the performances, with 83 Students participating. There where 3 levels

to compete, and 12 students made it to State level competition. They will be held

May 5, 2007 in Madison. Congratulations to all students and teachers.

Tournament time is here for Basketball, the Girls play vs Augusta on Tues., and the

Boys play vs Independence next Tues.

(note: girls won there 1st round game)

FFA week is here, and the pancake feed is Saturday.

PTO meetings will be held tomorrow night.

We had a couple presentations given (Color of Love & Freedom Calls)

the commentator stated that our kids where awesome, so credit goes out to them and the staff.

Sue Borgerson (board president) asked if there where any follow up questions for Shawn

Barry Rose, then began his administrative report.He thank those who attended the meeting.

He stated the the curriculum and testing being done was to keep up with the state

"NO Child Left Behind Program", This is an extensive project, the scope and sequence

and energy needed is alot. We will find what it is that we need to do different. It is a non-stop

process. No 2 kids will ever test the same, and we share those results with the parents. We are

doing a good job here, and making improvements for the future.

The Parent Teacher conferences are coming, and parents can get information from

the Teachers first hand, right from the teachers mouth.

The SSA capital report has 3 different copies, that have been sent home prior.

Feb 2nd, Feb. 14th, and Feb. 16th.

Feb. 16th report is the one by Gov. Doyle that is proposed. You can read it, and call me with any questions.

Doyle has stated he will continue the 2/3rd funding. Our decline in enrollment is still a big issue.

The QEO report is in the Leader-Telegram for anyone to read, on the revenue caps.

There is a possible change in credits from 2 and 2, to 3 and 3.The change could create trouble

in covering the additional staffing needed. This is all night time reading material.

The WI State Journal also had a listing of the State Funding, that gave me a bad

feeling in my stomach. I believe within the next 3 years, there will be major changes coming.

The referendums showing up, prove the dysfunction at the State Level.

The PAC meeting is March 27th @ Cesa 11. Toni B. is out, we need to leave by 4:45pm.

The Motivational speaker is Murry Banks.

The Committee meeting upcoming are Professional Staff on Feb. 28th, @ 6:30pm

Sports Staff on March 7th, at 6:30pm

Update on the Nov. 20th, 2006 Public Input on Classroom Activities in Plants and Landscaping

1-A Complaint filed with the Dept. of Health by Rick & Kristina Talford

in reference to the Deer processing. The main concern was the blood, and the Dept.

found no Significant Hazards, and stated the blood is sterile, and was locally tested.

The Dept. closed the case.

2- A follow up complaint, also filed by Rick and Kristina Talford with

the State and County Dept. of Health over the Wild Game Feed.

Mr. Pickerign was in contact with UWRF and DNR. The 7 1/2 yrs that I have been here,

there have been no problems with the safe handling. we did receive some recommendations

from them on things like hand washing.

We don't fall under the state laws on safe food handling. as just a note, we have alot

of trees and hills around here.

3- also from Rick Talford, his election statement # 5- I'm not going to read all this.

well, maybe I will.

"Public School Agendas- This is an area, much like the village board. the school boards are run,

without any public input. This is not by request of the community, but by the request of the

administration.They do not want anyone in the meeting that could bring any questions on the actions

of the board"

Barry Rose stated- "That's a Lie "

"In our small town, they have even tried to take away the public input, except 1 meeting

a year"

Barry again stated " That's a Lie"

(note: Dec. Board meeting 2005, when Barry informed the board he was working

on the public input, and wanted to make it clear. The board meetings where for board

business, not for public business, that he says should only be in the annual meeting. January, Barry

made his changes to the policy, and Feb. the Board approved it. Barry even stated that he was

going to tweak the policy to fit Elmwood's needs)

This is why I have donated my time, and efforts in helping the district with some control.

Barry responded " That's a Lie"

The creation of the Task Force Team was accomplished here, only to last 3 months and disappear.

Barry again stated, That's a lie, and added that there where 2 members of the

team currently on the board.

(note: only 1 person from the Task Force Team is a board member, Jason Afdahl-

and even at that, the Task Force Team has not met since the April election in 2006.

I should know, I was the first person to offer my time to be a member. Then Bob Rupakus,

a village board member, stated he would chair the team.- This all occurred when Barry

attempted to take over the Basketball Team, and was not going to allow the coaches contracts,

to be renewed. This got 300 citizens together quick. Then Barry even started crying wolf,

and created more poor publicity to our community at Glenwood City)

The District must pull together, to stand against the wrong actions that are taking place in our schools.

Our children are the Future, We must help guide them, and keep the schools a safe

place for them to learn and grow up with integrity and morals.

Barry, then became nasty once again, and stated, "This from the exact people we had

to create our school lock downs because of. He then went on to stating,

The Talford's have filed frivolous lawsuits against the school.

This is what the district has to deal with, the frivolous lawsuits by them"

(note: this was direct slander, and hatred. you could see the redness in Barry's face)

Rick Talford responded, Now you have gone to far, There has never been one single

lawsuit filed against the school, and I don't know where you are coming up with this information,

but it is far from true, Mr. Rose.

Barry then said, " well now you have it on your little recorder don't you?"

Sue - then said that it was time to get back to the agenda.

Rick T. apologized for interrupting the meeting.

(A long pause occurred, and the room was silent. You could see the shock in the boards faces.)

Sue -. then retook control of the meeting, and went onto the next item on the agenda,

approval of the minutes from Jan. Meeting.

Then the approval to pay bills.

Next, was the Stream Bank Restoration that the local DNR and Rod & Gun Club where interested in

doing, and had a presentation last month.

Barry told the board that they needed to give the group permission to access the land. He also said

he would inform the Agriscience class teacher. " It is an eyesore out there I think."

The board agreed and approved the project.

Steve, the Rep. from DNR, asked " how many trees do you want removed?"

Barry replied, We'll have to ask Mr. Pickerign, and possibly mark those to keep.

Sue-. then went onto the next item. The WIAA Co-op wrestling agreement.

Mrs. Glaus was present to inform the board how pleased she was, that the older students

assisted with the Transportation needs when they fell short.

She went on to inform them, Trent Lareau (apology if misspelled) would be going to state this Year,

and we'll have 3 freshman next year.

Sue - next would be the WIAA Girls Hockey

Mr. Glaus again would respond,

Megan, she said would be graduating this year, and she is up for

Mrs. WI Hockey, to be announced sometime this week.The sectionals would be Fri. & Sat.

She said the agreement needed to be signed, even though there was not an athlete

for the sport next year. She added that there would be no cost to the school next yr either.

She said it would be nice if there where some interest, but there is no ice rink in town.

Sue - Next up was the Cesa 11 agreement.

Barry replied that this should have been done last month, and a sample bid was sent home.

The first 3 items, all 39 districts must pay. The comprehension part, and the special ed

related services. I have went over these for the past 5 years, and there are services we

do not need anymore. The special ed, Nursing assoc. have high cost testing. The Occupational

Therapy, we just cannot afford. The Physical therapy is the same.

The Special Ed contract would not be renewed, as we can be part of a 66-30 agreement

with a surrounding district. The Title 1-5 programs we must keep.

The consulting and networking, only gives us a couple days on sight, with little work

with our staff.

There will be a change in the Environmental Services, Dave Smith will keep the info.

regarding the asbestos in the buildings.

Technology Services, we are going another direction with. We are removing the 750,

but keeping the 741. The E-rate and Tax plan.Everything else will stay the same.

There will be significant cuts next year. Approx. 55K in Special Ed cuts.

We have Teachers doing more. The staff is doing the services. The Luxuries are not

affordable anymore. There will be no Special Ed Director. (Peg Bavin now)

Steve Thompson- I have seen these WI Virtual Schooling, and they have

alot of advanced placement courses available.

A Roll call vote was done, to accept the agreement for 07-08'

Sue- next is the convention report-4 board members and the administrator attended.

We spent 3 days in Madison, for different info. sessions. I felt that this was very beneficial.

Kenosha school came with an issue list, and have started meeting with potential board members,

to show them what goes on with the board. They bring everyone in on a PowerPoint presentation.

I think that a semi-annual workshop may work out for us.

Steve- I seen alot of referendums out there. The personal knowledge of the alternative

school out there, like Appleton and Oshkosh charter schools. I have asked for more info.

I want to find out why there is so much negative response to them. I would like the allowance

from the board to attend the meeting April 15th-17th.

Janelle- River Falls also have a alternative school, they state it is for troubled students.

The Renaissance Academy.

Jason- I have 3 things I would like to say. 1st- The people of Florence and Marcuson Schools

where saved, due to the threats of disolving. I noticed that when things where at the worst,

the community really pulled together to get things done.

2nd- I think we are doing some of the right things now. The District is facing things to improve

the education they receive. We are fortunate to have the administration we have.

3rd- We could be doing things better from the board to the citizens.

I thought it was entertaining and a good learning session.

Sue- Toni B. also had his 20th Anniversary and Presentation there.

Barry- On Friday I met with Robert W. Baird. Wed. was the Ballot Box presentation.

There demographics are not the same as here.

A special note on Toni, There are nearly 3000 school board members and only 16

have made it to there 20th anniversary, and even fewer to there 30th

Sue- next is the committee reports.

Barry- The grounds and Transportation committee met, and we looked at the

costs of our fleets, and vans. we looked over the mileage charts. We also

looked at open enrollment, and the evaluations of drivers.

A maint. list of 20-25 items was made out, and then cut back to the top 5. Instead of being

categorized by area, we may list by costs, so that more may be accomplished.

We had hail damage to the Bus garage, the roof has been shot. We also discussed

the DNR restoration project.

An Example- Saturday we had a leak in the girls locker room. damage was donr to the heating

coils. It will cost $3-4,000.00, and we need 2 of them. The Main boiler is from 1967

The main pump failed. I keep my fingers crossed every night on that.

When one thing goes, usually another will. Repair cost for that may be near $7,000.00

The budget $ are short. We have had a loss of $15,000.00 in the past month.

The power shop also has a want for heat. We are just keeping the place going.

Sue- I have one thing to add. I think it was a good idea to combine the committee's

Barry- I have had nothing but good feedback. Dave and Rick are working together.

The Finance Committee met, we did a breakdown of the budget summary & needs.

We have looked at the costs for the referendum. We looked at our Professional Staff needs.

We looked at the 2 bioler pumps working for the school.

Steve- How about leasing buses, has that been looked at?

Barry- I looked into that 5 years ago, and the costs where higher. The Transportation

Supervisor is driving routes, and doing 40% of the maintenance work. We looked at thining

out buses, because we need quality buses to carry our kids.

I have not looked at that though for 5 years.

We looked at foodservice also, but we are not big enough.

Sue- the last item is the referendum

Barry-A brief update. In the next week , we will have the finalization.There are notices A-D.

Notice A- must be posted prior to the election. the 4th Tues. prior to March 6th

Notice B- A faxcimile a day prior to March 26th. Exceeding revenue dollars through 2010

NOT TO EXCEED $ 300,000.00

Notice C- 1 week prior to March 26th. this is the notice to vote Yes/No

Notice D- The polling locations, this is not done yet. We must have it handicap accessible.

Notice E- March 6th, the absentee ballots update.

The newsletter coming in the mail tomorrow will have the information on the referendum.

There is a $ 700,000.00 swing since May of 2001.

What would the referendum cost the tax payers. There has been no increase the past 2 yrs.

If the referendum does not pass, then a meeting will occur for the public to come ask questions.

This is a rough draft only. The power point starts right here. Look at this tonight, and

get back to me by Wed. I must have the final copy ready in 1 week.

There are 3 reasons that there are funding problems.

The 05-06' snapshot of exspences, the revenues for 07' compared to prior.

We made graphs & charts for the community. The bar graphs show the state aid.

Education costs, and Fund 10 contracts and balances. The student memberships, and decline

are all direct reflections. The reduction guide, the only I know how to change is used.

There will be a summary at the end, as well as a Q&A session. Thats the basics of it.

The presentation will be approx. 1 hour.

The trial shot for this is, Feb. 28th, at 4:45 pm in the school cafateria.

I am requesting all employees and 3 board members be present. Some of this is

Personal to me, as well.

(note: a Question was asked, why the entire board cannot be present, and the response

was, that would make it a quarum of the board, and that cannot happen.)

Sue- In our best interest, we do not want a quorum for the meeting. This is why there can

only be 3 members of the board at the meeting.

Barry- The meeting will be clear, and precise. We will cut some information if needed.

Sue- I'll be there, and would like to see the Treasurer there also.( Steve)

This meeting will now go into closed session., unless there are any questions.

Neil Boltic- Yes, as far as the Student Support Staff- Will there be Parent Input allowed?

Shawn- No, this is confidential information.

Neil- I just thought, if you where going into a brainstorming session, you would have some

outside help.

Shawn- I'll take that under advisement. Not to many Districts are doing this.

Toni B.- I suggest we go into closed session now-

Sue- we will now go into closed session.

.

2007 Elmwood Election

Rick A. Talford
Village Trustee

Together Everyone Achieves More !

Constitutional
General Election Date: April 3, 2007

Reason for Running
I would like to serve on the board , to assist our community in returning to the Pleasant and Thriving town it once was. Bringing new Business, and keeping our current Businesses here is a goal. I have been following our boards actions for the past 4+ yrs now, and feel there is a need for change.

Family and Community
I have a 21 year work history. I have been with my Wife Kris for 20 years. I have 2 sons, 14 & 16 yrs old. We have a Small Business in Elmwood, that donates many needed hours a year, to the community needs. We are a Sponsor of the Adopt-A-Hwy program within our community. We have also made donations to our Parks.

Leadership and Service:
I have a High School Diploma, rec’d after I completed the High School Equivalency Diploma in 1997. I am a State Licensed Restaurant Manager since 2001. I began my own Small Business in 2002. ( Talford’s Snow & Lawn Care Co.) I am a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and have received awards for being active with the organization. In 2003, I received the National Leadership award, and Businessman of the Year award. I was named a Chairperson of the Small Business Advisory Board in 2004. I have received the Ronald Reagan Gold Medal award in 2004, & 2005. The Champion of the Party award, and Businessman of the Year award also in 2005. In 2006 I received the award for the high standards kept with citizens in mind, The Congressional Order of Merit. We are part of the National Wildlife Federation, and have a registered Backyard Habitat. we also keep up with other memberships such as : USO, WFFA, NGS, ASPCA, NPCA, CWPT, PCTP, And we like to help out the Special Olympics and the WI Vets associations.

Issues:
Issue 1: Tax increases-- I feel that the increases are always being introduced, due to the lack of good money management by the board committee’s. This is an area, the community members must be kept aware of.

Issue 2: Businesses and Residents pulling up stakes-- We can’t survive if the people of the area do not feel safe in the town. Our growth is a delicate area. We all have to put our best foot forward, to achieve a thriving community.

Issue 3: Public Official Integrity-- This I have found to be at an all time low. We as community members are being pushed around. When anyone wants to speak to our local Reps, You just do not get the response you should, and deserve. Everyone must be treated with equality, even when they don’t agree exactly. The higher up in standings you are in a community, should not mean your opinion is greater, than those of the community without a NAME. Equality means everyone gets a chance to be heard, whether they are popular or not.

Issue 4: Community Awareness & Participation-- In the past 4+ years, I have watched how our community has failed to keep up with the boards actions. Only a handful of people show up to the meetings. The boards are left to make decisions, basically on there own, due to the lack of citizens having involvement and input to all the decisions that are put in front of the board.

Issue 5: Public School Agenda--This is an area much the same as the village boards. The school boards are run with very little public input, and have even been requested to run without any public input. The school board does not want anyone questioning what they are doing, This has created some issues, that helped create a Task Force Team for the District, but was short lived. 3 months went by, and the Task Force was gone. The District must pull together and stand against the wrong actions taken by the board, and administrations. Our children are the future, we all must help guide them , and keep the school a safe place for them to learn and grow with integrity and morals.

I would very much appreciate hearing from you regarding my candidacy, the issues, and your expectations for your elected officials. Please feel free to contact me through the following forms. If you have any questions or comments that require a response, I will reply to you shortly.

Thank You!

Rick A. Talford
123 W. Shaw Ave.
Elmwood, WI 54740
(715)639-2313 or fax 2314
email- rtalford@centurytel.net

Elmwood Police Committee Meeting

Village of Elmwood
Police Committee meeting
6 PM at Village hall

Agenda- Police Report Publications , then closed session 19.85 (1) (c) policy review

present - Bob Rupakus, head of committee, Bob Weix, and Doug Claflin- members

Public present- Pierce County Herald Editor Al Schmidt,&Writer Jason Schulte
Elmwood Argus Editor Paul Seeling, and resident Rick Talford
Mike Sand also attended, but was not an official member of the committee

Bob R.- 1st item is the publications of the police reports. “is it too much, or not enough information”
our past chiefs gave us a monthly report, outlining there work.

Al Schmidt -Then spoke to the committee, showing them copies of other Community Reports from Prescott,
Ellsworth, Spring Valley, Etc.

Chief Meyers- I report what occurs. each situation gets a case number. Like suspicous people, Peeping Toms,
Neighbors walking around at night, 2 people where arrested, due to the listings. I only
put addresses, if there was an arrest made. (note-can tell chief upset a bit) The Newspaper
can come in, and get all the information themselves to write it up.

Al Schmidt- We honor the no name use. we do get access to the reports and County Court Records.

“police reports are public record”

Chief Meyers-As a courtesy, I don’t use names and addresses in the report

Bob R.-I agree with the editor, my concern is that our report is becoming a gossip column. everyone knows
everyone, and where everyone lives. the amount of information is too much.

Chief Meyers- Depending on the incident, citizens cannot watch out for things, They don’t know about. I put the
peeping tom on the 200 block, instead of putting in the village.

Bob R.- I agree, it cuts down on frivelous complaints.

Bob W.- There is no problems that I see. I think the chief is being quite gentle.

Chief Meyers- You have to consider the majority of the stops are from out of town. Drivers state, They have

been driving this way for years in this town.

Bob R.- I thought the traffic stops are good.

Paul Seeling- I have brought information regarding the 3rd WNA award for the police chief, this was rec’d
by the officer for the open records and the safety support given to the community. He gives
his community the right to know.

Bob R.- We don’t say, you cannot review the records.

Paul S.- This is a way to ensure the people are made aware of there rights. He then gave examples of local
police reports, that are published through Him. We look at the thoroughness and the consistency

of the reports. The Elmwood reports have been received weekly, the Spring Valley reports are not

as often. Another example was the Woodville report. Paul stated this was pretty abbreviated,

and the people of Woodville, are not all that pleased with it. The report does not tell much.
The Elmwood Police Dept. has taken advantage of the extra space, left over for reporting, so they

have been adding ordinance reminders, and notices.

Bob R.- Yeah, like Snow Removal Ordinances.

Paul S.- Well, not alot of money comes from Elmwood, in advertising through the paper. It's hard to give
any space then.

Bob R.- What I don't care for is the % used in the report. Is this an editorial, or report. The report does not
shed a very good light on the town. or the Dept.

Chief- I was sharing the factual information. the % increasing from year to year.

Bob R.- I don't think that’s a good thing though.

Bob W.- He must document what he is doing though.

Chief- What I noticed, taking over here, is that a majority of cases, never rec’d official case numbers. I
am giving every case a number now. This way you can justify the Police Dept. and what is done.

Bob R.- We don't justify the Dept., on how many citations are written out.

Chief- I am showing how the Police Dept. is being used. An annual report is easier then. Another area is all
the Mutual Aid given. An example: Spring Lake accident was used. (where the Chief was the first

officer at the scene of a accident) some of the information I give, is just to make people aware.

I feel that is my call. January was an odd month, and I was running ragged.

Bob W.- I believe Elmwood had more problems during UFO days.(with a chuckle)

Doug C.- I have been receiving harassment over the dummy being used.(also with a slight chuckle)

Chief Meyers- Well, a Chief in Georgia liked the idea, and wants to get one himself. It slows people down.

(note: just seeing the squad car does slow vehicles down within town limits)

Bob R.- Well, for discussion purposes-- before it goes to the papers, I feel it should be reviewed by the
Committee first. “ I don’t want to see that stuff about Elmwood”

Bob W.- It is good record keeping, I think.

Bob R.- I see no benefit, from the village appearance being made out to be poor. I personally do not want it.
You do not know if there is a fight, or if it is a crime.

Chief Meyers- Alot of this is due to, "I am proactive."

Doug C.- I think you need to wait till next year, and use the stats against your own stats, not other officers.

Chief Meyers- There where cases that should have been documented, that where not though.There was

4 of them, at one time.

Bob W.- Well Adam was in Racine then., he was trained to do his job this way.

Bob R.- (to Adam) You remember that email thing that came up, it came up again. I want a review of the
information before publication, that's my vote.

Bob W.- I think it is fine the way it is.

Bob R.- (looking at Doug C.)- What is your vote, this is left up to you then

.

Doug C.- Well, I guess you could just leave out the % thing.

Bob W. -- There are problems with other Police Depts out there, look at Bloomer.

Paul S.- The Woodville Chief that had issues come up, and after 8 yrs of service was
released, after going through a review and keeping his job. He went through another review
and lost his job.

Chief Meyers- By not using the %, that is not letting the public know the changes.

Bob R.- Why do they need to know?

Chief Meyers- I was running ragged in Jan., and I recently went to the Meth seminar, most of which, the Meth is
coming from the cities. I guess it is your guys rule, but the media can come in, and get all the
information themselves. To do a report, just as easy.

Bob R.- I do not want to see the % used.

Chief Meyers- Giving the information, allows the public to put 2 and 2 together. (Peeping toms, and someone
walking around at late night.) A woman seen a face in her window, but did not report it.She did

not

Bob R.- Well,I have heard from people that they have had situations, but will not call the police dept. due
to the publicity given, by the reports. People do not want retalliation for reporting cases. Bad
information should not be listed. & leave out the % information. Your position is really public
relations, and this gives the wrong impression to the people.

Chief Meyers- Well 30 years ago, everyone knew everyone. Turnover here is rapid. I phrased it properly

by giving the public the information.

Mike S.- The % thing just looks bad for our town.

Bob W.- Neighbors here, wont even walk across the street to meet each other anymore.

Bob R.- Well, leave out the %

Doug C.- Yeah, I guess I agree, leave out the % information.

Bob R.- I’ll write this as “discussion over misc. information“. Adam, you are a smart guy, do not put %
in, You can change that much. Do not get into that crap. Leave the % info. out.

"This was a Dept. Documented Complaint."

Writer's Note

My opinion, Bob R. was directly Badgering the Chief, in his actions. He then went from

stating "This was discussion over Misc. Items, to telling the Board & Public, the meeting was

held for “ the chief discretionary errors” that where made in his publications.

Village Board Meeting, February 12, 2007

Village of Elmwood Board Meeting
held at the village hall at 7 pm
Present-- all board members
public- Village engineer Mark, and assistant Angela Copenhaugen
Citizens- Joanne Baier, Mr. & Mrs. Yauch, Neil Boltic, Mr. & Mrs. Talford

Public Input-
Bill Quinn , of the Car Lot located on Main St. in Elmwood, came to the board to let them know the possibilities of the lot being closed down in the next 6 months, if business does not get better. He stated that he has tried to reach out to the community by placing messages in the ad’s being placed into the paper, but that has had no effect so far. He was asking the village board for any input, or ideas to save the business. He also has 2 other car lots located in Durand, and Ellsworth.
Bob Rupakus- responded by telling Bill that if anything was thought of, they would contact him.
note-- posting on Saturday had the next item as School Sign Proposal listed, but as of the board meeting , that was removed from the agenda, without explanation.

Steve’s Scoring Update-
the building plans for the assisted living housing being developed, where brought in and shared with the board. Phase 1 will have a cult a sac being located closer to the building than expected before. The DOT has been in touch , due to the road right of way, was to be all the way through the property, and right now, they are not set up that way. The business is in contact with Sheila Harsdorf to get assistance in pushing the change through for them. Kevin Kitchner, Board President stated that a new Tiff will be needed, and that will have to be done prior to any ground breaking. Public Works committee will have to be informed, and permits will be needed also. He then added, any additional information needed, I can write a letter to Sheila, to help it along.

Park Plan--
The park plan was not given, due to Suzanne Peeples not being present. Mark gave each board member a copy of the plan that was put together by her, but stated he did not know enough about it, to give any presentation info. The Village Clerk stated to the members of the board, go ahead and look at it, and let me know if there are any problems.

Engineering Update-
Mark started by stating that Lower Woodman St. would be getting the added turn lane, and the 5 owners involved in the property, at the work site location, where contacted and informed of the plans to go ahead.
Upper Woodman (the old trailor court) had the landfill issue, and Angela is here to give you information regarding that work. She stated that they had spoken with 3 different DNR agents, and finally where set up to deal with Pat Collins of the Baldwin DNR. He had told Angela that he believed the process would be expedited. She also stated that there where no serious contaminants found at the site. a Form 4400 needed to be filled out. This is a form that is for historical landfill sites. the form will be filled out, and ran through the DNR offices. they expected a reply in a week or so. also the work should be bid capable by April.
Mark then informed the board that the lift station information would be coming to the board next month. and the water testing is still going on with Jamie and Josh from the Village Public Works. The final report should be done this summer.

UWRF- Intern Program-
Kevin and Jodi have had contact with a professor and they have an intern program, in which a student can assist the village with a comprehensive plan. they have a 200 and a 400 hour program. the students are able to put together a rough draft, that can be used in creating the plans needed. The village has been looking into the plan needs, and in the recent past, have stated a need for an 18 month study. Jodi expressed concerns that the intern program is only 8 weeks , and there would not be a good amount of public input in that short amount of time. Bob W. stated, I was going to the meetings, and when you left, you didn’t know any more than when you showed up. It was brought up, that maybe the board should look into the intern program for 2008, instead of 2007. Kevin stated he had spoken with Andy Lamb, and contact with UWRF started from there. He would like to see the students sending applications of such to the village for review. Also the personnel and finance committee would need to look at the costs, and available funding. there was no action taken on the item.

Committee and board reports-
Police committee met just prior to the board meeting, and Bob Rupakus stated, we had the meeting to go over the Chiefs discretionary errors he has been making. we discussed the PR relations.
Parks committee met- to go over the park plans, and put together the 5 yr plan for them. Suzanne will be here in march to go through the final plans with the board. We also discussed repairing the women’s bathroom wall, here in the lobby of the village hall. report given by Mike Sand.
Nursing home report by Pam Marson- we changed insurance company, and have saved some money. we now are with Group Health, instead of Blue Cross. we are still looking for a replacement for the director of nurses.

Payment of bills-
approved

Adjourn at 8 pm

note: Kris asked the board if they have any community service work for individuals that are in need of doing the work. Jodi responded by saying, we have a girl working in the office now, through the county office.