Village Board says no to committee volunteer
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
The East Troy Village Board wasn’t even interested in voting on the appointment of Ben Beaird to the Airport Advisory Committee at it’s Sept. 19 meeting.
Beaird expressed interest in filling the position left open when committee member John Grudnowski resigned Aug. 18.
In an email to Village Board Trustee Ann Zess, who serves on the Airport Advisory Committee, Beaird said he felt his experience would be useful on the committee and he had been looking for a way to become involved in the community for a while.
“I was born into the aviation family, my entire family are lifelong EAA members and I have personally built an airplane with my father. I would enjoy the opportunity to use my experience as an engineer and aviation enthusiasm to give back to the community that has welcomed me as one of their own,” Beaird wrote.
When the agenda item came up Monday night, several board members expressed concerns about Beaird serving on that particular committee as he works for Allan Integrated Control Systems in East Troy, which is owned by Ann and Ted Zess.
“I don’t think having an employee of a Village Board trustee is a good idea,” Village Board President Randy Timms said. “I think we should advertise for the position.”
Timms went on to say the board appreciated Beaird’s willingness to serve and he would be open to him serving in another capacity.
Beaird addressed the board and spoke on his desire to serve on the airport committee and how he felt his background would be an advantage.
“I appreciate your background and you’re probably a great fit for the committee, but your direct employer is on that board and it’s almost a conflict of interest,” Trustee Dusty Stanford said. “What if you disagreed with Ann and wanted to vote against her?”
Stanford went on to say not appointing Beaird was for his own protection and Zess’ protection.
Zess pointed out that the committee is an advisory committee and it doesn’t make decisions, only recommendations. She said she spoke with Village Attorney Linda Gray and was told it wasn’t illegal for Beaird to serve on the committee and there was no conflict of interest.
“I also spoke to Linda and although it’s not illegal, it does give the appearance of impropriety,” Timms said. “It’s for your protection and Ann’s as well.”
Zess brought a motion to the floor to appoint Beaird, it was not seconded, but discussion continued.
“When we set up the Airport Advisory Committee the member at large was not designed to be someone with flying experience,” Trusty Forty Renucci said. “It was to give the regular person some type of say at what goes on at the airport.”
Zess said she’d like a vote on the matter, but when Timms called for a second motion, there was none.
“Ben, thank you,” Timms said. “If you want to be involved elsewhere, we’re all for it. Thank you very much for stepping forward.”
Anyone interested in applying for the open Airport Advisory Committee position can call Village Hall at (262) 642-6255 for more information.
Complying with the code
Police Chief Alan Boyes asked the board if it was okay with the code compliance officer taking the next step and start addressing code violations in the village in a proactive manner instead of on a complaint-based manner as has been done since the code compliance officer position was created.
Boyes told the board now that they have some experience under their belts and have a process for violations that is working well, he’d like to make things a little more fair and address code violations as they are found and not just when someone complains.
Boyes said the process they’ve created begins with a letter to the home or business owner letting them know they aren’t in compliance with a village ordinance. The letter contains contact information should the owner need more information and/or help in resolving the matter. He said it’s worked so well, the only “pushback” they’ve received was with some of the airport owners, which was resolved.
Boyes said very few citations have been written as people in the community have been responsive and cooperative.
Timms said when the board created the position of code compliance officer it was always the intent to become more proactive and he agreed it was time for the next step. The board gave Boyes a verbal “go ahead.”
Insuring Booth Lake Park
The Village Board approved a new Booth Lake Memorial Park agreement between the village, the Town of East Troy and the Town of Troy.
The new agreement is a result of the park’s need to increase its insurance coverage, which was woefully inadequate according to Renucci, who is the Village Board representative on the Booth Lake Memorial Park Board.
The new agreement states the Town of Troy will purchase the insurance and the Village and Town of East Troy will each pay one-third of the cost to the Town of Troy.
Renucci said it was decided the Town of Troy should hold the insurance because the park is in fact in the Town of Troy and the cost will be less for that municipality to own the policy. He said the challenge now would be to find a carrier to insure the property.
Water woes
The board approved an extra $7,500 for the water tower painting project and the $11,000 to upgrade the water lateral to East Troy Manor on Sept. 19.
The additional cost for the water tower project was because of the inspectors having to “babysit” the contractor more than expected, according to Department of Public Works Director Jason Equitz.
Timms said the board knew this was going to likely be the case going into the project because of the contractor they went with. He also added that even with the additional cost, the project was still under budget.
Equitz said the early issues with the project had been nulled out and he expected the project to be completed on time.
The board also approved an $11,000 expenditure to upgrade the water lateral to East Troy Manor from a 4-inch service line to a 6-inch service line.
In a memo to the board, Equitz said a recent excavation to repair a waterline to the nursing home revealed the problem and he thought it should be upgraded as soon as possible. Equitz suggested the funds set aside for a water study that won’t happen this year be used to cover the cost of the upgrade.
