TOWN OF UNION

2008 NEWSLETTER

Chairperson Elgin Fanta

Supervisor #1 Robert Kretche

Supervisor #2 Edward Haugh

Treasurer Gladys Janecek

Clerk Elaine Fronk

Dates to Remember for 2009

            Caucus to nominate candidates for the town board offices will be set at the next board meeting for a date between January 6, 2009 and January 27, 2009 watch the LaFarge Episcope and the Hillsboro Sentry Enterprise for the day and time.

            Spring election which includes voting for board member is set for Tuesday, April 7, 2009.  Polls are open from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM

            Annual Town Meeting is set for Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 8:00 PM all residents are encouraged to attend.

As we are entering the snowplowing season, it has been brought to the board’s attention that some fences, including temporary fencing, have been placed in the road right of way and have the possibility of being damaged during snowplowing.  Please be aware that the town is not responsible for repairs to these types of fences and the patrolmen would appreciated them being removed.

This past year had it challenges for out patrolmen David Smith and Ed Bohringer, the snowfall in the winter of 2007-2008 was the most significant in recent history, this relates to long hours for the patrolmen and the purchase of record amounts of fuel for the trucks at record high prices.  Then the rains came this spring, causing significant damage to roads, Chairman Fanta has completed paperwork for a FEMA claim totaling $145,830.82.   This includes damage to many of the town roads.  The patrolmen have been busy all summer repairing damages on many of the roads.  Major roadwork, with the help of Wanless Excavating, was done on Munice Avenue and St Johns Avenue this included ditching, replacing culverts, and a layer of breaker run and gravel. Vernon County culvert aid was received in the amount of $10,382.80.  Another project completed in 2008 was Union Avenue hill receiving a double layer of seal coat.

A new town truck was purchased from the LaFarge Truck Center and a snowplow and wing including installation which was done by Universal Truck in 2008 for a total cost to the town of $127,750.47.   This purchase was budgeted for and has been paid in full without borrowing any funds. 

The Public Budget Hearing and Special Town Meeting were held November 19, 2008.  The taxpayers attending approved an increase in the town tax levy by 2% to $146,666.

Assessor LaVern Haldeman will be completing the assessment roll for our town again this next year, if you have assessment questions, he can be contacted at 608-435-6727.

Effective January 1, 2009, Brad Smrcina has been appointed as the Town of Union, UDC building inspector.  Please contact him regarding rules and regulations and forms that need completed before starting to build a dwelling.  His contact information is Smrcina Inspections LLC, P. O. Box 94, 196 S. Street, Mt Sterling WI  54645.  Home phone is 608-734-9970.   In addition to the forms required by the State of Wisconsin for dwelling permits the Town of Union has a construction information form that needs to be completed and returned to the clerk for all new buildings or remodeling of existing ones.  Contact Chairperson Elgin Fanta at 528-4359 or Clerk Elaine Fronk at 489-3512 to request this form.

A resolution charging back to the property owners the costs involved with assigning, ordering and installing 911 emergency signs is being established by the board.  It is not complete at the time of printing this newsletter.  The resolution should take effect early in  2009.

Our Comprehensive Plan Committee has been holding monthly meetings regarding the nine elements that need to be addressed in the plan.  An open house was held at the Valley Community Center on August 9, 2008 with over 40 people attending, with great public participation.  Marcy West is the chairperson and committee members are Kathleen Nett, Frank Meseberg, Chuck Butcher, Ray Liska, Pat Haney, and Sherry Johnson.  The board would like to thank all that attended the open house the large response was gratifying.  The board would also like to thank the Comprehensive Plan Committee members for making the commitment to write a forward looking plan for our Town. 

Recycling Hours:

Winter Hours

October thru March: Saturdays 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM

Summer Hours

April thru September: Wednesday evenings 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM

April thru September: Saturdays 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM

The recycling dumpster is usually full at the end of each two week period which is tremendous, keep up the recycling effort, as the disposal of the recycling items are at no cost to the town.  Currently we accept plastics with all numbers, (a change from previous years) if at all possible please tie all plastic milk jugs together separate from all other types of jugs; tin cans, aluminum cans, clear, green and brown glass bottles, newspapers, corrugated cardboard, and magazines tied separately in secure bundles and low grade mixed paper placed in a brown paper grocery bag and tied with string.  With the great effort of our residents we again this year did not need to increase the size of the solid waste dumpsters, which we are charged by the yard for this disposal.  A large metal dumpster is also available each week for scrap metal collection. Small appliances and computers are accepted weekly for a small charge based on Vernon County fees.  For large appliances, tires and other large items a cleanup will be scheduled and a notice will be put in both the LaFarge Episcope and the Hillsboro Sentry Enterprise when the date and time are established.

TOWN OF UNION

2007 NEWSLETTER 

The Town of Union has a new web site, which was designed by Christian Valencia.   Please take a look at this site, www.tounion.org. Agendas, approved town meeting minutes are posted on this site along with frequently asked questions, recycling center hours and information.  The board would like to thank Christian for donating his time and expertise designing this web site.

In August of this year, Allan Fanta resigned as head patrolman for the town. Then in October, assistant patrolman Eric Nofsinger resigned.  The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank both of them for their years of service and wish them well in their new positions.

Town resident, David Smith accepted the position of town patrolman in October of this year.  Gerald Bohringer accepted the assistant patrolman position.

At the November 14, 2007 meeting that board decided that the town would no longer plow private driveways, with the exception of bus routes and turn arounds. 

January 1, 2005 a law went into effect, a building inspector must inspect all new dwellings in the State of Wisconsin.  Kevin Rockweiler, was hired by the State of Wisconsin to inspect all new dwellings in the Town of Union, he can be reached at 608-983-2312 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  In addition, the Town of Union also has a construction information form that needs to be completed and returned to the clerk for all new buildings or remodeling the of existing ones.  Please contact the Chairperson Elgin Fanta at 528-4359 or Clerk Elaine Fronk at 489-3512 to request this form.

Our town has applied for and has qualified for a FEMA grant, due to the damaged caused by the rains this fall. We are on track to receive $13,357.27 in the near future with additional monies due after all projects are completed next year.

Again this year, the Town of Union, in conjunction with the Towns of Stark and Forest and the Village of La Farge, applied for a multi-jurisdictional grant to help with the costs of writing a Comprehensive Plan for all four municipalities. The Town of Union Board would like to thank resident, Marcy West, for taking the time to complete the paperwork needed to apply for the grant.  Early in 2008 we should be notified as to whether or not the grant is approved. If we are successful in obtaining this funding, we have 36 months in which to complete the project and will be asking for help from the residents of the Town of Union to participate in meetings whether with the other municipalities or separately to get citizen input into this plan. This group of municipalities applied for and received a Nuzum grant in 2007 and 2008 for $24,000 to help defray the cost of the writing the Comprehensive Plan; the grant paperwork for this was also completed by Marcy West, thank you again!  A survey was sent to all taxpayers this fall, if you have returned this, thank you taking the time to fill it out.  The completed and returned surveys will help steer the Comprehensive Plan committee.  If you haven’t returned the survey please take a few minutes to complete it and put it in the mail.

Thanks to all the residents that voted in the April election in 2007.  Please feel free to contact any of the board members if you have questions or concerns regarding the town.

Chairperson Elgin Fanta 528-4359
Supervisor #1 Robert Kretche 489-3300
Supervisor #2 Edward Haugh 489-3699
Clerk Elaine Fronk   489-3512
Treasurer Gladys Janecek 489-3770.  

No tax rolls will be sent to taxpayers, a complete list will be published in the Episcope

Newspaper in January 2008 or you may visit the Vernon County web site at www.vernoncounty.org for information on all tax parcels in Vernon County.

The board has hired assessor LaVern Haldeman for the 2008 tax year.  If you have any questions regarding your assessment, please call LaVern at 608-435-6727.

 The board approved the following for the recycling hours:

Oct thru March:  Saturday 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

April thru September:  Wednesday 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

April thru September:  Saturday 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

 The recycling dumpster is usually full at the end of each two week period which is tremendous, keep up the recycling effort, as the disposal of the recycling items is at no cost to the town.  Currently we are accepting only #1 and #2 plastics, tin cans, aluminum cans, clear, green and brown glass bottles, newspapers, corrugated cardboard and magazines tied separately in secure bundles and low grade mixed paper placed in a brown paper grocery bag and tied with a string. This helps cut the garbage dumpster costs down, as we are charged by the yard for this disposal.

Roads projects that were completed in 2007 included a double seal coat on the Pine Hill Road hill and a single seal coat on Stark Lane Hill.  Replacing tubes, ditching and road base upgrade was done on Union Avenue in preparation for seal coating in 2008.  Thompson Road was totally reconstructed.

The Budget Hearing and Special Town Meeting to approve the tax levy for 2008 was held on November 14.  The tax levy was set at $143,792, an increase of 2% over the previous year.    The Town will be helping with the purchase of two new fire trucks for the La Farge Fire Association in 2008, which will cost approximately $208,000.  The board is in the process of purchasing a new 4-wheel drive town truck to replace the 1990 model we now have, purchase price is $84,939.97 after trade-in.  We will also purchase a truck box, snowplow and wing for this new unit at an estimated cost of $40,590.00.

Agendas for town meetings are posted at the following places:  On Newburn Avenue, on the west side of the intersection with County A; on the town shed between the big shop doors and just beyond the east side of the parking lot on Saint Johns Avenue.  If, by State statute information or board proceedings need to be posted you will find them in these three places also. Regular meeting are usually held on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m.  You can also find this information on the Town of Union web site as mentioned earlier in this letter.