Personnel committee meeting notice

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2006
2:00 P.M.


Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:

1) The Personnel Committee will vote to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(e),deliberation of or negotiation for purchase of public properties, investment of public funds, or conduct of other specific business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require closed session related to the supervisory position and wage and benefit review for office and support employees.

2) In open session the Personnel Committee may act on items discussed in closed session.

3) Discuss job description for supervisory position.

4) Adjournment

Update on timsheet issue.

Just a quick update on this issue.

I sent my email to the full village board raising my concerns over this issue on September 19th, 2006.

Today is September 28th, 2006 and I have heard no response whatsoever from ANY trustee on the village board.

I speculate that one of two courses of action have been taken by the village.

1. They have chosen to ignore my questions on this issue.
2. They have gone to Ruder-Ware, the village attorney on this issue and are awaiting a response before contacting me.

Whichever course of action the village is pursuing, I personally feel it is unprofessional and disrespectful to offer no reply whatsoever on a valid issue of concern raised by a voting citizen of this village.

<--Click here to read the first post on this issue-->
<--Click here to read the second post on this issue-->
<--Click here to read the third post on this issue-->
<--Click here to read the fourth post on this issue-->

Special Joint Energy Committee and Village Board Meeting

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
7:00 P.M.

A Special Board meeting of the Village of Biron Board of Trustees and the Energy Committee will be held at the date, time and place shown above.

Agenda:

In open session, the Village Board will vote to go into closed session under Wisconsin Statue Section 19.85 1(g) which reads as follows: “…conferring with legal counsel who either orally or in writing will advise governmental body on strategy to be adopted with respect to current or likely litigation” In closed session, the Village Board will consider action relative to the upcoming filing deadline with the Public Service Commission concerning CWP docket #5-DR-105.

The Village Board will vote to return to open session for possible action.

In open session the board will also consider a bid proposal for engineering and related services pertaining to handicapped accessible pier, parking lot and connecting trail located in the Village of Biron.

ADJOURN

Upcoming BPAC and Public Property, Safety, etc... Meetings

BRIDGEWATER PUBLIC ACCESS COMMITTEE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
6:30 P.M.

Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:

1) Discuss Pier Design & Location

2) Updates From Committee Members

3) Discuss What is Next

4) Adjourn

***

PUBLIC PROPERTY, SAFETY, AND RECREATION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
5:00 P.M.

Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:

1) Discuss Cranberry Breakfast

2) Discuss Craft Show

3) Adjournment

09-12-06 Bridgewater Public Access Committee Meeting

-->Click Here to Download Meeting Audio<--

To listen to the audio, simply click the link. To download the file to your computer to listen anytime you like, right mouse click the link, and choose "save target as.." or "save link as.." This will prompt you to save the file on your computer.

This is a 27 megabyte file. On a high speed connection it should take 15-30 minutes to download.

09-12-06 Bridgewater Public Access Committee

1) Discuss Update on Conference Call

Discussed a letter from another community that is being used to apply for the same grant that the village is applying for to fund the pier design. What is needed for the application is a narrative description, site plan, engineering design, and budget for the project. This particular grant has a November 1st application deadline.

Discussed Scott Ironside's observations on the pier project. Scott indicated that he would like to see the pier located where the deepest water is available, it was felt that the far west end of the project, on the west end of the canal would be the best location, although the water depth is currently unknown, Chairman Wolter indicated they would need to get some water depths.

Discussed the May 1st deadline for the stewardship grants that could be applied for and used for the whole project, such as the main trail, the parking lot, the boat landing.

Discussed projects on leased property and the need to set up 20 year leases with CWPCO, with a minimum lease of 25 years for the trail.

Village President Evenson interjected a comment based on Scott Ironside's indication that the pier would be preferably located on land owned by CWPCO. Evenson contacted Mike Schrier (spelling??) and indicated that Mike has pledged CWPCO's cooperation on this matter.

Evenson also indicated that Mike thought CWPCO had some maps with water depths and that they would try to provide those maps to the village.

Evenson also discussed bringing Wood County Parks into the communication loop and committee process for the public access projects.

Evenson left the meeting.

Wolter indicated that the village needs municipal recreation plan in place to apply for Wisconsin Stewardship grants, and that this would need to be in place prior to May 1st for the application deadline. Wolter indicated that the North central regional planning or Wood County Planning as resources and that it may be possible to adapt the Wood County plan to the village's needs.

Someone questioned what a municipal recreation plan is and it was answered that it is a plan that evaluates the area and the user demand and presents a plan for future usage an facility location.

It was suggested that Gary Popelka might be able to draft the essentials of a plan and then it could be fleshed out by the committee.

Wolter felt it was something that could be worked on in a month or so, tasking 2-3 people from the BPAC committee to draft a plan then present it to the plan commission.

Property Acquisition. If the village looks to acquire any new property in their grants process. Prior to grant approval, if any new land is acquired before the grant is issued, a letter of retroactivity is required or the grants will not approve funds for land acquisition. Wolter suggested that he felt a lease could be workable, but if the village were to acquire a letter, then it would be on file for the May 1st grant application deadline.

It was questioned what a letter of retroactivity consists of. Wolter indicated a scenario would be proposed to the Eau Claire DNR office, identifying the land parcel, and that negotiations are in progress. The letter would then be issued from the DNR allowing the land acquisition to be included in the grant funding.

It was felt by Committee Member Tom Schneider that on the letter of retroactivity and the municipal recreation plan were items that may as well be acted on sooner rather than later in order to have the items taken care of.

2) Discuss Basic Elements of Pier Design Wolter referenced some basic pier designs that were included in members packets, and indicated that the water depth would be a determining factor as to whether the it will be more of a wharf or a pier.

Committee Member Kelly Knutson indicated that he was hoping to have the water depths, but Gene Forsner (MSC. Handles Shoremaster docks), who has many pier installations throughout the US. Gene provided some pictures of some piers that he has installed. Also provided a print from Shoremaster of what a pier could look like, dependent on some element designs, such as how far out the pier would go.

Wolter referred to the basic element designs contained within the packet, indicating that as engineering elements, it wouldn't pay to spend much time discussing the items at this point.

Knutson indicated that Gene could engineer the pier as well, and it was brought up by another committee member that the contract may have to go through a public bidding process.

Knutson indicated that Gene would be able to provide an on paper design with the committee's specifications for the grant application

3) Finalize Who Will Complete Engineering Plan Wolter transitioned into this item this item, and they talked about a few engineering firms, including Lampert Lee, Central Wisconsin Engineers (Dave Grutzik, village contracted engineer), and Shoremaster (Gene)

A comment was made that the committee would be hard pressed to find any other engineer more knowledgeable about piers than Gene Forsner at Shoremaster.

Committee member Mark Nordbeck indicated that Lampert Lee was going to be handling the parking lot engineering, and that Lampert Lee would then work with whatever firm was handling the pier.

Wolter questioned Nordbeck as to whether Lampert Lee was familiar with creating the application letter that contains the elements required for the DNR application. Nordbeck indicated that Lampert Lee was familiar with the process and the letters as they deal with DNR items on a regular basis.

Motion and second to hire Lampert Lee to put together the grant application letter, consisting of a narrative description, site plan, general engineering design, and budget cost estimate.

Discussion: Question arose as to giving Lampert Lee a budget. The BPAC committee has no budget, so any spending authorizations must go through the village board.

Motion amended and seconded to: Make recommendation to the Village Board to hire Lampert Lee to put together the grant application letter, consisting of a narrative description, site plan, general engineering design, and budget cost estimate for the handicapped accessible park area, pier and connecting pathway.

Motion Carried, Nordbeck (employed by Lampert Lee) Abstaining.

4) Updates From Other Committee Members A committee member brought up the cost of the engineering plan, and that the community foundation may consider funding this portion as part of their mission to assist in the development of community hadicap accessible facilities and features. It was suggested to apply to the community foundation for some funding, but it was also determined that a budget must be set.

Nordbeck indicated that based on the proposal put forth in the motion Lampert Lee would come back and indicate what the cost of creating the grant application be, allowing a budget request to be made.

Nordbeck indicated that the proposal could be created by the end of the week (3-4 days).

Motion and second to request a bid proposal from Lampert and Lee for the cost of providing the narrative, site plan, engineering design and budget sheet to the village.

Discussion: the prior vote already "hired" them for the job, and now we're asking for the proposal for the hiring, but no harm will come from a formal request for the information, as well as the opportunity to look for funding from another source once a cost bid exists.

Motion Carried.

Discussion of who will handle the community foundation application. The community foundation application was reviewed and it was determined that Jim Riebe and Tom Schneider will write the Community Foundation Grant.

Discussion of next meeting, and the November 1st deadline. Next meeting will be held on the 26th at 6:30 pm

5) Discuss What is Next Discussion of bumpers on the pier as opposed to railings. Since the primary activity is fishing and viewing and the fact that the pier is a non-boating pier, the bumpers may be desirable. There may be mandating of at least one railing, depending on regulations, engineering and such.

Bumpers attractive for a variety of reasons, including weighing and costing less as opposed to the railing.

Discussion of the semantics of a wharf versus a pier, and what is more attractive between rails and bumpers, and cutouts in rail systems and such. Also the ability to have the pier be a removable pier for winter. More discussion, on the processes of features and where it fits into the engineering process, such as having benches and other features as a part of the pier. It was suggested to get a design for a pier with rails and a pier with bumpers. Some thoughts on the size recommendations on the pier, and locating some guidelines for handicap accessible requirements. It was felt the engineering firm would be able to determine the design requirements necessary for a handicap pier.

Discussion of the need to obtain water depths before the next meeting. Member of the public volunteered to help one of the committee members determine what water depths are for the areas around the possible pier location.

6) Adjourn Motion and Second to Adjourn. Motion Carried

Public Works & Sanitation Committee Meeting and Grass Brush and Leaf Pickup

Public Works and Sanitation Services Committee
Meeting Notice

Monday September 25th, 2006 1:15pm

Agenda:

1) Discuss Guard Rail on 32nd/Kahoun Road

2) Review garbage containment/disposal at municipal center

3) Work on Budget

4) Crew Leader Update

5) Adjournment

***

Information from a notice regarding grass, leaf and brush pickup posted today by the village:

Grass clippings and Leaves will be picked up between Monday October 9th, 2006 and Thursday November 9th, 2006. Please have untied bags and/or containers curbside by 7am. Containers should not exceed 32 gallons.

Brush Pickup is scheduled for the last weeke of each month from April through October. It is considered the last week of the month if ANY day of the month falls within that week. All brush must be piled in one direction and placed parallel to the road. Brush cannot be over 12 feet in length and must be piled away from mailboxes, lawn ornaments, street lights, or any other object that may prohibit pickup.

President Evenson's Timesheets

I sent an email to the finance committee on 09/06/06, regarding the misrepresentation of a meeting on President Evenson's July 2006 Timesheet
-->Click Here to Read Email<--

I received a response from Trustee Siegler on 09/08/06 (-->Click Here to Read Siegler's Response, and my Reply<--), but it only served to raise more questions with me, so I replied.

I received no follow up from Trustee Siegler, so I sent the following email to all of the village trustees:

Village Biron Trustees,

On September 6th, 2006 I sent an email to the members of the finance committee expressing my concern over a meeting per diem President Jon Evenson claimed for July 5, 2006.

While I received a response from Trustee Siegler, I felt that response was insufficient, and in fact it raised more questions, instead of addressing my concern. So I replied to Siegler's email with my questions.

I sent my reply on September 8, 2006 and have received no response addressing my questions and concerns. I feel I have waited an adequate amount of time for a response, and as such am bringing my concerns to the attention of the full board.

My concern is twofold.

First, The meeting that took place on July 5th, 2006 was listed on Evenson's meeting timesheet as "Meeting with Spyros Heniadis RE: Artwork Display". We did not discuss artwork display during that meeting. What we did discuss was my personal response to the FERC DEA regarding to the proposed Bridgewater Development. I believe that that discussion did not fall within the scope of authority or function of the village president.

Second, In the response I received from Trustee Siegler it was indicated that the finance committee had already reviewed and approved the timesheet in question and that despite my concerns, she felt there was no issue with it. I however feel that there is an issue with this timesheet. Evenson submitted this timesheet with full knowledge of the fact that we did not discuss artwork display at this meeting, completely misrepresenting the content and purpose of the meeting on his timesheet, and claiming a per diem that I believe he was not within his rights to claim.

I find it hard to believe that in the course of filling out his timesheet that Evenson didn't recall the actual content of the meeting versus the content he represented on the timesheet. I also find it difficult to accept the idea that it is OK for the president of the village to misrepresent a meeting on his timesheet, as indicated by the lack of concern in Trustee Siegler's response.

I believe that Evenson should be required to reimburse the $40 per diem for this particular meeting to the village and that proper attention should be given to this issue.

Thank you,
Spyros Heniadis

***

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Energy Committee Meeting Notice

ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2006
8:00 P.M.

Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:


1) Energy Committee will meet in open session and then vote to go into closed session under Wisconsin State Statute 19.85 1(g) which reads as follows: “…..conferring with legal counsel who either orally or in writing will advise governmental body on strategy to be adopted with respect to current or likely litigation” to discuss with Consolidated Water Power Company distribution system cost recovery mechanisms.

2) Vote to go into open session.

3) Adjourn

09-11-06 Village Board Meeting

**The audio for this meeting is available.**
-->Click Here to Download<--

To listen to the audio, simply click the link. To download the file to your computer to listen anytime you like, right mouse click the link, and choose "save target as.." or "save link as.." This will prompt you to save the file on your computer.

This is a 32 megabyte file. On a high speed connection it should take 15-30 minutes to download.

09-11-06 VIllage Board Meeting

Present: Jon Evenson (village president), Margaret Billman, June Siegler, Jan Gaber, Wayne Lambert, Dan Muleski, Tammy

Steward, Deb Eichsteadt (clerk), Joyce Komppa (Treasurer)

APPROVE MINUTES OF 08-14-06 VILLAGE BOARD MEETING:

Wayne Lambert submits a change to the 08-14-06 Personnel committee report, changing discussion of the supervisor "job description" to "job posting". Wayne then states that "we haven't discussed the description."

Motion and Second to approve minutes of 08-14-06 regular board meeting. Motion carried.

FINANCE COMMITTEE: Review bills for the Village, Wastewater Department and the Water Utility for payment, committee chairperson report.
-->click here for post on 09-11-06 finance meeting<--

Chairperson June Siegler reporting. Siegler brings up question that resident John Siegler raised about the check register printout at the finance committee meeting. Clerk Eichsteadt explained that the checks missing on the printed register referred to payroll checks and that they were not listed because "...everyone has different deductions.." and "...it's not fair to put someone's net pay on there..." and ..."what you're looking at is totally different..." "because of deductions it's just not fair.." and "you're not looking at an accurate picture with the total check."

Resident Siegler questioned why a check list would be printed without listing all checks. Evenson reiterated that those checks reflecting net pay don't provide a good picture, in addition, he indicated that the payroll checks are cut every two weeks and the finance committee review is an after the fact review, in which case the finance committee isn't really reviewing them.

Resident Spyros Heniadis questioned if the check list printed for the finance committee meeting then reflects only the bills being reviewed at the committee versus a complete check register list of activity for the period. Evenson replied that the list of expenditures is the bills minus payroll.

Trustee Siegler questioned if Resident Heniadis or Resident Siegler would like it if they had someone looking at their payroll information.

Trustee Gaber answered Heniadis's questions stating that the check list reflects only bills that are being reviewed in the finance committees and matches the checks attached to the bills being reviewed at that meeting.

Motion and second to pay all bills. Motion carried.
Motion and second to accept finance committee report. Motion carried.

TREASURER'S REPORT: Report of expenses & receipts for the month of August 2006.

Receipts:

Retainer Fees: $580
Hall Rental:$355
Building Permits: $201.5
Bartenders/Liquor Licenses: $15
Tax Collections (passthrough money): $219754.74
Misc: $45645.83
Interest on Checking: $6.02

Total Receipts: $266558.09

Expenditures:

Monthly Bills: $174628.46
30 day cd: $10000
Money Market Transfer (in to mm): $2500

Total Expenditures: $184128.46

Starting Cash: $121355.67
Plus Receipts: $266558.09
Plus Money Market Transfer: $005055.27
Less Expenditures: $184128.46

Equals End Cash: $208840.57

Trustee Muleski questioned why we were moving money out then back into the money market account.

Treasurer Komppa explained that we transferred the $2500 back in to make a $5000 balance so the money could be moved into a 30 CD account to gain a better interest rate on the village's money.

Trustee Lambert affirmed the passthrough state of most of the $219754.74 tax collections.

Clerk Eichsteadt pointed to a mistake that had been made on the report which makes it look like the expense is off budget when it is not.

Motion and second to accept treasurer's report. Motion Carried.

LEGISLATIVE, ORDINANCE & ZONING COMMITTEE: Committee minutes & chairperson report, ordinance for defecation disposal.
-->Click here for post on 08-22-06 LOZ committee meeting<--

chairperson Billman reporting. Discussed the parking letters that will be sent out to remind residents of parking ordinances.

Fence variance was granted to requesting residents.

Indicated that the LOZ committee will be handling the Rental Code going into the future.

Billman brought before the board an ordinance for defecation disposal. Billman asked Eichsteadt if it was in ordinance form, and Eichsteadt stated that she had not gotten done in time for the meeting. Billman went on to bring the ordinance to the board.

Ordinance title: "Defecation Disposal"

Ordinance Reads:

"No owner keeper, caretaker or attendant of a dog or cat shall allow that animal to defecate on public or private property other than their own. If such dog or cat does defecate upon public or private property the owner, keeper, caretaker or attendant must immediately clean up the fecal matter from the property."

Billman then went on to state that they thought this ordinance had been passed at a prior meeting, but could not find any record of it. Decided if a duplicate was found after adopting this ordinance that one could just be stricken from the ordinances.

Motion and second to adopt the Defecation Disposal Ordinance as presented. Roll Call Vote Taken. Tammy-Yes; Dan-Yes: Wayne-Yes; Jan-Yes; June-Yes; Margaret-Yes; Jon-Yes.

Motion Carried.

Discussed a residents concern over tree situation on South Biron Drive that Consolidated Water Power owns on the riverfront. There are trees that are considered dead. Contact has been made with CWPCO on this issue.

Discussed fire lane situation in Trailer Court. Trash had been cleaned up but residents of park are now parking in fire lane. Also discussed trash issue, both from overflow from trailer park dumpster, as well as abandoned property in field that borders HWY 54.

Muleski also noted that the wastewater bill for the trailer park has not been paid.

Motion and second to accept LOZ report. Motion carried.

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: Chairperson Steward reporting.

Marsh Rd. Maint. Traffic counter that ran for two weeks, showing an average of 12 cars per day. Steward indicated they felt up to half of that traffic was mill traffic.

The committee decided to go with the county for the temporary (3-5 year) fix for the road. The county offers a 50/50 program in which half the cost of the repair is covered.

Steward felt that after the repair was made it would be worthwhile to put the counter up for one more week on the road for one more week to monitor traffic.

Urban Forestry Workshop: Rick and Al from the crew will go to the workshop.

Committee had Crew Leader Vanderhei look at S. Biron drive maintenance on area of the road that they fixed recently.

Steward referred internet access in the village garage to a different meeting as it was just too expensive.

Trustee Billman commented that she felt the blacktopping and rip-wrap job done on S. Biron Dr. was not done very well. Some discussion was had over the quality of the rip-wrap and how the addition of the rip-wrap made it appear that the bank was eroded by the work done, where as the removal of vegetation made the bank appear shorted. Billman also indicated she felt the rip-wrapping should be done earlier to prevent the need to move the road in the future.

Further discussion was had on the status of the guardrail and some roadpainting for that particular area.

Evenson revisited Marsh Road, specifically the area where the road meets CTY U and whether the apron was considered for repair in the upcoming fix. Lambert felt it was prudent to evaluate the traffic after the repair before investing further into the road. Evenson felt that perhaps the county would undertake that repair as the apron where the roads meet could lead to damage to CTY U.

Steward wanted to add referral to next meeting the issue of guardrails out on the road by the creek where an individual went off the road, and over the creek. The individual got out of the car before the car slid back into the creek.

Discussion of a guardrail at that location took place, and Lambert indicated the previous investigation into that led to the conclusion that a guardrail there would actually be more dangerous than not having one as is.

Motion and Second to accept public works report. Motion Carried.

WATER UTILITY COMMITTEE: Chairperson Muleski Reporting.
Committee met at 7pm 08-23-06.

Discussed water exploration contract for possible third well site. We have approval from a property owner in Grand Rapids for water exploration on her land. The committee also made contact with the Model A club for possible exploration on their property, but was awaiting a reply.

Committee approved a bid for water exploration for up to 6 well bores on one or both of the properties. Committee selected the lowest bidding contract for the exploration. The committee will not proceed until Model A club responds with permission or denial of access to their property. The exploration will then be either all 6 wells on the Grand Rapids property, or 4 wells on the Grand Rapids property and 2 wells on the Model A property.

Also discussed report from Crew Leader Vanderhei about 2 hydrants on S. Biron Dr. that needed to be replaced (see finance committee post for cost). The work has been completed.

Met with DNR for yearly well site inspections which went fine excepting a few minor issues. Letters have to be sent to Stora Enso and Community Christian academy requesting records of Cross Connections for the Cross Connection report. Letters were sent 09-05-06.

DNR has also requested a water tower inspection. Muleski questioned if this had to go through committee before decision at full board. Evenson questioned if the item was budgeted and Muleski felt it was, and Vanderhei indicated that it's required every 5 years. Discussed bids, and Crew Leader Vanderhei explained that the lowest bidder for the inspection was always the
lowest bidding contractor.

Muleski asked for approval on this to get work done before winter. It was determined that expenditures under $1000 (lowest bidder was around $500) don't require board action. Vanderhei indicated that the bid may be low as the aerator unit also must be inspected but the bid does not include that. It was felt the committee could approve the expenditure and they could have the inspecting company look at the aerator unit and deal with the cost of inspection of that unit later.

Motion and second to approve water utility report. Motion carried.

PUBLIC PROPERTY SAFETY, WELFARE & RECREATION COMMITTEE: Chairperson Gaber reporting.
-->Click here to view post on the 09-06-06 committee meeting<--

The committee met and worked on planning for cranberry breakfast. Fire dept will have open house and committee authorized Mike Wilke to purchase Polaroid film to use during open house.

Bake sale for cranberry breakfast has been cancelled, but they are still asking residents to bring cranberry themed baked goods with recipe cards.

Gaber solicited volunteers for the cranberry breakfast from the board of trustees.

Discussed municipal center maintenance and trash situation after street dance. It was determined that the trash situation did not result from the Fire Dept dance, but from weddings and other events at the hall.

Discussed the need to have the parking lot cleaned, and discussed addition of this as a responsibility for the individuals renting the hall.

Lambert brought up implementation of a consistent policy for enforcing cleanup requirements.

Committee asked Billman to put ad in Biron Newsletter to solicit another individual for security at the hall.

Next meeting will be 09-27-06 at 5pm

Motion and Second to accept committee report. Motion carried.

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Committee chairperson report, authorization of Personnel Committee to finalize job description, post, screen, and select Public Works Supervisor candidate for Board consideration.

Chairperson Lambert reporting. Committee is essentially shopping for benefits packages for the two clerks and the supervisor position that the village is pursuing. Discussed the need to shop for benefits packages every 3-5 years in order to maintain control of the costs. Discussed the time consuming nature of shopping for quotes and packages.

Lambert referenced "authorization of Personnel Committee to finalize job description, post, screen, and select Public Works Supervisor candidate for Board consideration." as listed on the agenda. According to trustee Lambert this had been done at the 08-14-06 meeting. Lambert further iterated that the personnel committee will be handling the entire process of hiring up to the point of bringing a candidate to the board for approval.

Crew Leader Dale Vanderhei questioned Lambert as to whether or not the board had actually voted to eliminate the position of Crew Leader and create the new position of supervisor. Lambert responded that he wasn't aware that a board vote was necessary for this to happen, and Vanderhei indicated that anything new to jobs and titles had to go before a full vote of the board.

Evenson jumped in on this and indicated that there was nothing in the ordinances to that matter, and futher indicated that the board has been acting under "a consensus" on this matter that they came to over a year ago, but that this matter has not been approved by a vote of the board.

Lambert followed up indicating that he had no problem with voting on this matter and made a motion.

Motion to authorize the personnel committee to complete the process of the supervisory selection and recommendation to the board for final action.

Motion seconded.

Discussion on the motion. Evenson futher iterated that while he has checked the ordinance to find that this is not necessary, and that this matter had been proceeding under "a consensus". Lambert also re-enforced the fact that while he has no problem voting on this matter, he understands that it is not necessary.

Vanderhei further questioned the procedure indicating that he has not seen anything in the past discussing the creation or elimination of these jobs. Lambert indicated that it was old business and they were taking care of it with the vote.

Motion carried.

WASTEWATER COMMISSION: Chairperson Steward Reporting. Met July 12, 2006

Discussed Ocean Spray issues and that Ocean Spray is committed to working with the city to address the issues. Ocean Spray has started up its large concentrator and the results so far have not been problematic.

Motion and second to accept report. Motion carried.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: President Evenson reporting

Report on League of Municipalities Conference:

Evenson handed out a 1 page sheet on the league of municipalities conference. He didn't want to get into a verbal

presentation, but indicated that he was very glad to have attended this conference.
-->Click Here to view the handout<--

Report on Advanced Leadership institute:

Reported that Trustee Steward and himself had completed their training and that they were very glad to have been representing the village in this training. Steward discussed how committed the individuals from other municipalities were to bettering their respective areas and how attendance in the training helped dispel some of the negative associations that our village board has had with surrounding municipalities, and that they really aren't that bad. Steward indicated that her whole outlook on the surrounding municipalities based on the "old talk" has totally changed from this training.

Evenson went on to indicate that these past opinions were based on a lack of knowledge of the elected individuals of the surrounding communities. He talked about being able to meet these people at these trainings and that these municipalities are there and willing to provide support, and may have already dealt with issues that our village may have to deal with and that our village's past tendency to "reinvent the wheel" may not be necessary with the support of these surrounding municipalities.

Steward indicated that many of the attendees have committed to meet once a month to share discussion and ideas.

Evenson also explained that he and Steward may play a roll in identifying the next leadership class.

NON-AGENDA ITEM 1: Evenson introduced discussion on a non agenda item, stating that a few months back the board authorized MSA to apply for some economic development grants. Evenson has been talking with MSA and MSA has finalized those applications, and at least
one has been sent in and is pending. Evenson also indicated that there were some prospective leads on the business park.

NON-AGENDA ITEM 2: Evenson introduced discussion on a non agenda item, stating that Water Works & Lighting Commission in Wisconsin Rapids has met and acted to authorize thier general manager Ron Skifton to pursue an acquisition of the electrical distribution of Consolidated Water Power Company. Consolidated has invited WWLC in to process for potential purchase of the system and the two companies are proceeding towards finalizing an arragement for this transfer.

Review preliminary population estimates from the Demographic Services Center:

Discussed acceptance of the statistics of the population estimates. It was determined by these population estimates that the village has 879 residents.

Motion and Second to accept the preliminary estimate of January 1, 2006 population from Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Discussion on the motion. Discussion of challenging this population estimate and it was determined that the only valid challenge to this population estimate would be a full US Census Bureau population survey.

It was also determined that shared revenue is based on these statistics, but the potential cost of challenging this population estimate would not outweigh the benefits.

Motion carried.

Review responses and select new Biron logo image

Discussed the resident voting response and results. Logo number 1 as printed on the resident voting sheet was the clear winner by public opinion.

Billman indicated that Logo #1 was not an easily reproduced logo in response to Lambert's qeustion of reproducability.

Discussion followed regarding the potential uses of the logo, as well as the aesthetics. Evenson questioned if this should be sent to committee, and also indicated a reluctance to use a logo that contains a photo.

Motion and Second to refer the item to Public Property, Safety, Welfare & Recreation Committee.

Discussion on motion of possibility of a resident developing a logo, as well as having the committee reviewing the letter that was sent to the three design firms. Evenson indicated that the letter committed the village to selecting a logo from one of the three firms involved, and that the community input would help the board make the logo choice.

Motion carried.

NON-AGENDA ITEM 3: Trustee Muleski proposed for a future meeting a request from the BVFD for a community wide garage sale on August 18th of 2007 to run in conjunction with the BVFD street dance.

ADJOURN

Motion and Second to Adjourn. Motion Carried.

***

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09-11-06 Finance Committee Meeting

**Note, I am still waiting for a response to my questions regarding Jon Evenson's misrepresentation of the 07-05-06 meeting on his timesheet.***

**The audio for this meeting is available.**
-->Click Here for Audio<--

To listen to the audio, simply click the link. To download the file to your computer to listen anytime you like, right mouse click the link, and choose "save target as.." or "save link as.." This will prompt you to save the file on your computer.

This is a megabyte file. On a high speed connection it should take minutes to download.

09-11-06 Finance Committee Meeting
Call to order: 5:55pm
Present: June Siegler (chair), Jan Gaber

1. Review and approve all bills for the Wastewater Dept., Water Utility and the Village for approval at the regular Sept. 11, 2006 board meeting.

The first document pulled out was the clerk check register. Resident John Siegler questioned the absence of check numbers 10004 through 10011. Gaber and Siegler thought the missing checks on the register were payroll checks.

Trustee Payroll:

Jon Evenson: Gross Pay: $670
Net Pay: $615.15
Cell Phone: $50 (total cell bill: $69.56)
Spousal Reimbursement: $40 (Money Evenson reimbursed the village for his spouse's attendance to the workshop discussed in his president's report in the 0-14-06 meeting)

Jan Gaber: Gross Pay: $135
Net Pay: $118.67

Tammy Steward: Gross Pay: $260
Net Pay: $234.11

June Siegler: Gross Pay: $175
Net Pay: $151.61

Margaret B.: Gross Pay: $360
Net Pay: 332.46

Wayne Lambert: Gross Pay: $175
Net Pay: $161.61

Dan Muleski: Gross Pay: $175
Net Pay: $161.61

Treasurer Payroll:

Joyce Komppa: Gross Pay: $550
Net Pay: $ 507.92

Payroll Total: Gross: $1830
Net: $1657.99

Village of Biron Bills

Lakeside Inspectors (building inspection services): $250
B.A. Pauls (assessor & Maintenance): $954.16
Nano Print (Heart of WI. Bus. Alliance Map, 2 Color Ad, and Internet Locator): $565
WE Energies: $77.04
A2Z Signs (6 ads in the Heart of WI. Bus. Alliance Map): $75
Water: $149.12
Forestry Training (Shrub ID and Selection): $60
Crew Insurance: $3220
Biron Cranberry (Screened Topsoil): $110
Airgas (drillbits): $5.29
Lafayette Insurance (Village Clerk and Water Clerk Short Term Disability Ins): $49.94
Town and Country Electric: $106.61
CWPCO: $1628.86
Hall Deposit Refund: $200
Print Shop: $10.50
Cullen Weston Pines Research (regarding Water Works and Light Commission): $1083.93
Solarus: $375.45
Ace Hardware (door stops and electrical cord for coffeepot): $41.94
Carquest (92 GMC mounting kit): $6.34
Rapids Rental (belt replacement on saw): $66
Paulson's extinguisher Service: $70
JRT Portable Toilets (S. Biron drive park toilet): $75
Central Radiator (GMC radiator core): $256.64
Auto Electric Co. (hand cleaner dispenser): $12.43
Jack Kahoun (Biron News books, passthrough money): $150
Kwik Trip (fuel): $1076.66
Northway Communications (BVFD radio repair): $35
Veolia (recycling): $972.65
Wood County Hwy Dept (Marsh rd. traffic counter): $188.64
Met Life (Crew Leader's IRA): $112.50
Gannett (Voting notice and Board of appeals): $132.68
Refund Hall Deposit: $200
ODC (Biron Newsletter): $111.01
Napa (rivets): $3.99
Fire Programs (Arrakis Publishing): $295
Teamster's Union (Crew Dues): $194

Total Village Bills: $12921.38

Wastewater System Bills

True Value (Straw for landscaping around replaced S. Biron Dr. Fire Hydrants): $32
Eron & GEE Plumbing and Heating: $21.29
Digger's Hotline: $21.70
Central Wisconsin Engineers (3rd well site research): $1900
Water Works and Lighting Commission: $10.24
L.R. Meter Testing: $823.10
CWPCO: $108.19
Solarus: $135.25

Total Wastewater Bills: $3051.77

Water System Bills

Solarus: $73.29
Hughes (2 new firehydrants on S. Biron Dr.): $4495.20
WI State Lab of hygiene: $19.50
Wausau Chemical Corp (chemicals): $767.50
Hach Co.: $539.50
WE energies: $48.02
CWPCO: $230.70

Total Water bills: $6173.71


Total of all bills (village, payroll, wastewater and water): $23804.85

Motion and Second to approve all bills. Motion carried

2. Adjournment

Motion and Second to Adjourn. Motion Carried

09/06/06 Public Property, Safety and Recreation Meeting

Update: The audio recording of this meeting is available for download.
-->Click Here to Download<--

To listen to the audio, simply click the link. To download the file to your computer to listen anytime you like, right mouse click the link, and choose "save target as.." or "save link as.." This will prompt you to save the file on your computer.

This is a 25 megabyte file. On a high speed connection it should take 15-30 minutes to download.

Public Property, Safety and Recreation

Present: Jan Gaber (Chair), Tammy Steward, Margaret Billman

Meeting called to order at 5:05pm

1. Planning for Cranberry Breakfast

Discussion of details and plans for the cranberry breakfast took place.

The date and time for the cranberry breakfast was set for October 7th, 2006 from 7am to 12:30pm.

Discussion included:

Securing the vendor, which will be the same vendor as last year.

Ticket price and amount of ticket price collected by the village (the village would collect $2 per adult ticket charged at $6 and $1 per child ticket charged at $3)

Fire Department activity, which will include open garage so children may explore the fire trucks, as well as the opportunity for children to have their pictures taken on/around the fire trucks. It was decided to use Polaroid camera & film for the pictures for ease of use and immediate picture delivery. There may be a small fee of
$0.50 or $1 for a picture to help cover the costs.

There will be a Cranberry bake sale, in which the bake sale vendors will pay a fee for the table space to sell their goods.

Promotion of the breakfast, including use of the Biron page in the tribune, channels 7 & 9, local business billboard space, a cranberry focused village newsletter, etc...

Construction of a couple of sandwich-board type signs that would be re-usable on a yearly basis was discussed and it was felt that the signs could be constructed for no cost between donations of plywood and labor from residents and trustees.

The committee members are also going to solicit donations of prizes from local businesses for raffle.

Creating some sort of prize bag for children attending was proposed and Mike Wilke from the BVFD suggested he had 40 coloring books he could donate towards that purpose.

Supplies from local businesses were discussed, such as possibly obtaining ice cream from Herschleb's, and juice, milk, coffee, and cups from Kwik Trip.

Soliciting volunteers from the residents of the village was also discussed and there will be a volunteer signup in the newsletter.

***If you wish to volunteer to assist in some fashion with the Cranberry Breakfast I would suggest you call Jan Gaber, Margaret Billman or Tammy Steward. Their telephone numbers can be found at the right hand side of the page.***

Many other details were discussed, such as who will call or talk to whom, and who will be covering what duties for planning, etc...

****If anyone is interested in more information on the planning of the breakfast I would be happy to share the my notes****

No motions were made on this agenda item

2. Municipal Building Maintenance

There was a camera that had some photos on it of the municipal hall after some events that had taken place, including the Fireman's Dance.

Tammy Steward suggested that it be made known through the meeting minutes that garbage must be placed inside the enclosure of the garbage cans in the municipal hall.

In discussion of cleanup problems after a hall rental it was suggested to withhold return of the security deposit to remedy the situation.

Tammy Steward referenced a note that indicated a need for more people for security, and it was suggested to possibly put an ad in the newspaper and/or the newsletter to try and find more people for security.

Tammy Steward also felt it should be communicated through the meeting minutes that on Mondays after a wedding the parking lot must be cleaned whether security or Nancy (water clerk) does it, somebody has to do it.

No motions were made on this agenda item.

3. Adjournment

Committee discussed possible date for next meeting, tentatively September 27th or 28th at 5pm.

Motion and second to adjourn. Motion carried
Adjourned: 6:20pm

Finance Committee Response and Reply & Upcoming Meetings

I received this response from finance committee chairperson June Siegler concerning Jon Evenson's Meeting per-diem for July 5, 2006

"Spyros, This is in response to your e-mail concerning Jon Evenson`s meeting pay for the July 5, 2006 meeting with you. This timesheet was reviewed & approved at the Finance Committee meeting. It does not appear that this is against our ordinance or policy. Personnel Committee has been working on new trustee orientation which meeting pay will be part of. Thank you June
Siegler
June Siegler"

I replied to June with the following.

"Hello June,

What I am contending is that what was reviewed and approved was factually incorrect, and submitted by Jon Evenson with full knowledge of the factual error regarding that meeting.

Are you suggesting then that there is no ordinance, or problem with a trustee representing a meeting to be one thing when it is in fact another, that may not have anything to do with village business?

I'm also not quite sure what you mean by new trustee orientation, and how meeting pay would fall within that in regards to my concerns about the July 5, 2006 meeting.

Thank You
Spyros"

***

FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
7:00 P.M.

The Committee will discuss/recommend/review/deny/approve the following agenda items:

1) Review and approve all bills for the Wastewater Department, Water Utility, and the Village for approval at the regular September 11, 2006 board meeting.

2) Adjournment

***

VILLAGE OF BIRON
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006
8:00 P.M. (NOTE TIME CHANGE)

The Board will discuss/recommend/review/deny/approve the following agenda items:

FINANCE COMMITTEE: Review bills for the Village, Wastewater Department and the Water Utility for payment, committee chairperson report.

TREASURER: Report of expenses & receipts for the month of August 2006.

LEGISLATIVE, ORDINANCE & ZONING COMMITTEE: Committee minutes & chairperson report, ordinance for defecation disposal.

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE: Committee chairperson report.

WATER UTILITY COMMITTEE: Committee chairperson report.

PUBLIC PROPERTY SAFETY, WELFARE & RECREATION COMMITTEE: Committee chairperson report.

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE: Committee chairperson report, authorization of Personnel Committee to finalize job description, post, screen, and select Public Works Supervisor candidate for Board consideration.

WASTEWATER COMMISSION: Minutes from August 16, 2006 meeting.

PRESIDENT'’S REPORT: Review responses and select new Biron logo image, report on League of Municipalities Conference, report on Advanced Leadership institute, review preliminary population estimates from the Demographic Services Center.

ADJOURN

***

BRIDGEWATER PUBLIC ACCESS COMMITTEE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2006
6:30 P.M.

Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:

1) Discuss Update on Conference Call

2) Discuss Basic Elements of Pier Design

3) Finalize Who Will Complete Engineering Plan

4) Updates From Other Committee Members

5) Discuss What is Next

6) Adjourn

Response to Evenson's Comment

Village President Jon Evenson left a comment to my previous post (-->Click Here to Read His Comment<--) giving his explanation of what happened during that "meeting" on July 5th, 2006.
It is quite true that we both agreed to meet and discuss the artwork display. What Jon doesn't mention however, is that instead of discussing artwork display, he launched into accusations that the comment I submitted to FERC was not written by me, but supplied to me by "the opposition" as he refers to them, and submitted under my name.

I was of course upset by this accusation, as it was the third time I was accused of not writing publicly accessible material submitted in my name, when in fact, everything submitted in my name originated solely from me.

Further, despite my membership to the Bridgewater Public Access Committee (BPAC), and despite my intent to faithfully fulfill my committee duties, I as an individual and citizen of this village am entitled to my own personal opinion and response, regardless of it's alignment with the Village's or anyone else's position.

If one were to read my submission to FERC, and read the FERC Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA), One would find that my opinion aligns not with "the opposition", but with FERC. -->Click Here to Read My Comment<-- -->Click Here to Read the FERC DEA<--
In fact, if you were to read "the opposition's" comments, you will see they insist to FERC that the conditions needed to be met for the development to proceed should be categorically denied.

(All comments on the FERC DEA can be read at the FERC website. (-->Click Here For FERC SITE<--) On the search page, enter "04/01/06" as your start date, and today's date as the end date for all comments. Lower on the search page, enter "p-2192" in the "docket number" box. Then click the "submit button at the bottom of the page for the results)

Not once in my comment to FERC did I suggest that the proposal be denied.

When I wrote my comment to FERC, I sat down and the only material I referenced was the FERC DEA itself. It is quite true that I made a statement in error in my comment, and that I submitted a secondary comment to correct my error. I however thought it quite reasonable to fix my error, rather than leave it stand. -->Click Here to read Correction Comment<--

In the end of our discussion, Jon Evenson refused to believe I had written the comment myself. I asked him straight out if he believed I was lying, and in so many words, he said yes.

At that point, knowing my integrity was suspect by Jon Evenson, I decided to resign as a member BPAC, as I felt my position on the committee would only be undermined by Jon Evenson and those in agreement with him.

And by the way, the only discussion of artwork that took place was my parting comment, "Call me when you're ready to hang some artwork."

That took about 5 seconds, and if you believe that a 5 second comment is worth $40, then by all means, he can keep the meeting per-diem.

***

I am still awaiting a response to the email sent to the Finance Committee in regards to this.

***

For instructions on leaving comments on a post -->Click Here<--

Email sent to Village Finance Committee

****EDIT: -->Click Here to Read My Response to Evenson's Comment<--*****

This is an email I sent to the finance committee members. I am awaiting a response.

Hello Jan and June

I am writing to express a concern over a particular meeting per-diem [$40] that Jon Evenson claimed for the month of July.

The specific meeting took place on 07/5/06, and on the Meeting Expense Reimbursement Form submitted by Jon Evenson, it is listed as, "Meet with Spyros Heniadis RE: Artwork Display".

If this had been the actual content of the meeting I would have no contention for the claim of this meeting expense, however during the course of that "meeting", we never discussed Artwork display.

We did in fact discuss my personal public comment made to FERC in response to the DEA concerning the Bridgewater development.

I do not feel it can be construed as a properly claimable meeting by Jon Evenson, as the content of the discussion really had no bearing on his position as an official of the Village.

I would argue that discussion of my personal opinion and public response to FERC are outside the scope of Jon Evenson's authority and function as village president, and I believe that this particular meeting per-diem should be refunded back to the village.

I am however unaware of village ordinances, policies, etc.. in this matter, so I submit my concern to the Village Finance Committee for review.

Thank you,
Spyros Heniadis

Several Items of Interest

** Some of this material which may seem a bit dated to the 08/14/06 meeting was obtained through public records requests, which can take some time, hence the delay in posting**


The audio from the August 14th, 2006 Village Board meeting (which is 2 hours and 14 minutes) is available to listen and/or download here --> Click Here To Download <--

To listen to the audio, simply click the link. To download the file to your computer to listen anytime you like, right mouse click the link, and choose "save target as.." or "save link as.." This will prompt you to save the file on your computer.

WARNING, THIS IS A 46 MEGABYTE FILE AND WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO DOWNLOAD, EVEN ON HIGH SPEED CONNECTIONS.

***

Resolution 17-06: Adopting the Implementation Agreement Regarding Condition of Approval of CTH U Relocation, can be downloaded here --> Click Here To Download <--.

The resolution specifically relates to the implementation agreement, which I have submitted a public records request for and will make available as soon as possible. Following the other items of note are some thoughts regarding this resolution.

***

PUBLIC PROPERTY, SAFETY, AND RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2006
5:00 P.M.

Agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation on the following agenda items:

1) Planning for Cranberry Breakfast
2) Municipal Center Maintenance
3) Adjournment

***

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (the company Consolidated Water & Power Company wishes to sell its customer base to, which would lead to an approximate doubling of the electric bills for village residents and the village itself) was recently fined $21,463 to settle a case regarding its testimony before the state Public Service Commission. --> Full article here <--

***

Thoughts on Resolution 17-06.

This resolution, while important to this discussion, really just serves to highlight my general opinion of how the village board tends to operate.

As described in the notes from the 08/14/06 board meeting, some discussion was had on this resolution before it was passed. What struck me as this item was introduced, and during the discussion that followed, was the fact that the village board of trustees, seemed unaware of the content of this resolution, or more importantly, the implementation agreement it adopts. In my opinion I believe that not a single trustee on the board, excepting maybe Village President Jon Evenson, had read this material. The audio from the meeting supports this claim, and can be verified by anyone willing to download and listen to it at the link provided above, or you can download just the discussion of Resolution 17-06 here. --> Click Here To Download <-- (see instructions at top for help if needed)

It starts with the introduction of the resolution, in which Evenson takes a about 5 minutes to explain just what it is, indicating that it covers many of the public access features of the proposed Bridgewater Development. The first question that arises is from trustee Wayne Lambert, flipping through the material and asking, "what parts of them are new". Which leads me to believe that Lambert had not read the implementation agreement. After Evenson's explanation of what he believes is the only "new" item in this agreement, that being the Village of Biron's willingness to take ownership of the land that is proposed as the shoreline trail in the Bridgewater development. Trustee Dan Muleski then can be heard to flip through the papers and says, "Yeah, other than that all I see is some changes in wording..."

Further discussion then follows based on a question raised by Resident Roy Szelagowski, wondering what the impact a future set of voters living in the proposed Bridgewater development could have on this public feature were they to hold the majority on the board.

The discussion is very interesting, but the point that illustrates my belief that the village board had not read the agreement or resolution is the fact that within this implementation agreement is a successor's clause, which would prevent a future village board from altering the trail. The discussion of the possible impact of future voters goes on for 10 minutes, during which time, Lambert brings up the idea of a successor clause to address the concern, then one of the trustees discovers that there already is one!

I have a problem with a group of people playing with the future of this village, adopting and implementing resolutions and agreements that will have lasting permanent impact on future generations of this village without even reading them!!

In addition is the comment made by trustee Tammy Steward, regarding the discussion of the future, "and that could be 10, 20 years from now and I'll be out of here." The comment is made amidst some joking about the job of village trustee, but in my opinion that's exactly the wrong attitude from someone who is shaping the future of our village.

Finally, I think it's fair to say after listening to the audio from this meeting, which is characteristic of most meetings, that Jon Evenson is going to move on the path he chooses, regardless of the public opinion(s) being voiced. Several times during the discussion of this resolution Evenson listens to a comment, and summarily disregards it.

***

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United Steelworkers Comments regarding Retiree Health Benefits

You may view the original document here

USW

Joint Group Communication
08/22/06

Negotiations Update

The joint group met in negotiations on the 17th of august 2006. This is a summary of what happened.

We discussed the Union’s proposal on creating jobs. Specifically, the union has proposed language to make all skills now facilitator jobs permanent, some currently are not. The discussions took place around jurisdiction of the job and potential problems with making the jobs permanent. No agreement was made.

We discussed and came to a tentative agreement on the company’s proposal on Alcohol and Drug Policy. The proposal is similar to the current alcohol and drug policy with one major difference; the blood alcohol limit was changed to .04. The company withdrew its earlier language for post accident testing.

The one other topic that was discussed was retiree health. Please read below.

What’s up with Retire Health Care?

Every time we have attempted to bargain retiree health care, the company has refused. You need to understand why? And before we start, ask yourself this question...Do I trust my retiree health to a company promise?

Let’s start this off with a statement of fact: your retiree health care is not secure without an agreement that makes it secure!

The reason the company has refused to bargain is very simple to understand even though it is a very complex issue. The issue of current retiree health is a permissive subject of bargaining. Permissive subjects are subjects that either party can refuse to negotiate. So it's true that legally the company can refuse to bargain the subject. But why would they do that when they have offered us proposals on retiree health but have refused to put the money in a trust or give it to us (The United Steelworkers) to manage. The truth is, by keeping the money for them, any time the company needs some extra cash, lets say to pay for some bug bonuses to upper management, they can go the the retirees and increase their premiums or otherwise change or modify their benefits. That's right...By making a promise and not really giving us the benefit, they are really promising that they will take away our health care when we need it most. And would they do that? Of course they would and they already have to current retirees!

And to make matters worse, once the company takes away your benefits once you retiree, they now have high priced lawyers to make sure that you don't get your benefits back. And by law, you don't have the Union or an arbitrator to get your rights back for you. So you see, it is the ultimate lie. The company says, "we promise to give the retirees this benefit" but really mean, "we don't value our retirees enough to put their retirement security in front of corporate profits." When finally backed into a corner and pressed for the truth Bill Smith actually said, "we do not want to guarantee those benefits." At least they are finally honest about it.

So now you can probably see why Bill Smith (head negotiator for the company) thought our slogan of Stora Enso vs. United Steelworkers and Corporate Greed vs. Community Needs was aimed at them. Do you think Stora Enso is greedy?

We have scheduled September 6th, 2006 as our next negotiations.