Village of Kennard A regular and advertised meeting of the Village of Kennard Board of Trustees was held on Tuesday, July 6th, 2021 at 7:00 P.M. at the Village Office Notice of the meeting was given in advance notice thereof by posting in three locations in the Village. Notice was also given to all Board members. Availability of the agenda was given with the advanced notice. All proceedings hereafter were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public. Chairman Clint Pearson called the meeting to order at 7:01 P.M. In attendance were Board members Meghan Eulberg, Joe Burmood, Cord Hansen, Bob Dunkle and Clerk Jill Camden. Chairman Pearson advised those present of the location of the Open Meetings poster as required per State Statute 84-1407- 84-1411. A motion was made by Dunkle, seconded by Hansen to approve the July agenda, the June 7th, 2021 meeting minutes and the June 2021 bills. Motion carried.* A motion was made by Dunkle, seconded by Hansen, to approve the June Treasurer’s Report. Motion carried.* Jen Wang and Nick Farrell of Cox Communications were present to discuss the possibility of a franchise agreement between Cox and the Village to provide cable services (security, telephone, television, broadband internet, business services) to Village residents. Cox would provide 100% funding for the installation of cable that would bring internet speeds comparable to large cities, like Las Vegas, NV. The potential cable would be installed underground, originating from the existing cable at Highway 133, south of Blair and running along the Kennard Cut-off/County Road P30 to Kennard. Cable would be bored underground and “pizza-cutter”-trenched to end-users. Completion time of the project, if begun this summer, is estimated at the end of the first quarter of 2022. Potential Kennard Cox customers would be charged a franchise tax (up to 5% of the bill) that would be paid to the Village for Village use, like the Village is currently collecting through the current cable provider. Cox has discounted service rates for low income customers. Benefits to the Village would be reliable and faster internet speeds (needed for work/education from home) and other cable services, which would help to retain and attract residents/business to the Village. Topic is tabled to the next meeting with possible contract signing and Ordinance passage at that time. Resident Gena Karr was present to discuss a notice she received from the Village regarding violation of two Village ordinances; one being the lack of a fence surrounding her above-ground pool and the other for housing more than two adult dogs. Ordinance 292 requires that all pools at 24” water depth (or above) have a minimum 6’ pool enclosure with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Ordinance 324 requires that there are not more than (2) dogs over the age of four months at each Village residence and each dog must be licensed/show proof of rabies vaccination. Karr cited several on-line sources that recommended 48” fence height and mentioned her inability to afford fence installation at this time. She’s noticed that there are many pools in the Village that are not in compliance. The Board reiterated that pools are a liability to the Village and it’s a priority to keep our kids safe. Karr said she owns (4) adult dogs and the other three seen at her home belong to her son, who visits or leaves his dogs occasionally. Karr mentioned obtaining a breeder’s license so she could legally house more than two adult dogs. However, she said that she was required to have 3 unaltered females to be in compliance with that license. Resident Jeanie Clark was present to discuss status of street repairs needed at 4th & Linn streets. Board members Dunkle and Burmood said they solicited bids from contractors, with no response. The bid received from Affordable Construction in 2020 for the repair has increased by 5% and is currently $32,357.50. Dunkle made a motion and Hansen seconded to accept the Affordable Construction bid. Motion carried.* Clark volunteered to contact Vince Hartline with Affordable Construction to schedule the work. Seth Pearson, Village Maintenance, said he had been in contact with the contractor and estimated the work will begin six weeks out or longer. The cemetery directory needs the concrete top removed/replaced and the brick re-pointed. Dunkle estimated the concrete top at $250. Burmood said he talked to a contractor regarding painting diagonal parking lines on portions of 2nd Street and Main Street but the contractor wasn’t interested due to the unsmooth condition of the streets. Clerk Camden spoke to the Arlington clerk regarding hiring their street department to clean our streets with their street cleaning machine. Arlington clerk said the topic is on the Arlington board meeting agenda for July 19th. A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy recently notified a resident (that was regularly parking their vehicle diagonally, facing traffic on 2nd street) that this is in violation of Village Ordinance. This seems to have resolved the issue. The Village has sent in a preliminary application for receipt of American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund monies. The first allocation for Kennard totals $32,289. Chairman Pearson expressed concern about government regulations in how this money is used and reporting required after receipt of this grant. Board was provided with the application and supporting documents for review. Resident Gary Christoffersen has requested removal of a diseased ash tree at 6th & Linn streets. The Board decided that the diseased trees in the park will take precedence because of the trees’ proximity to children and other park-users, however the tree at 6th & Linn will be added to list of Village trees slated for removal. Burmood volunteered to contact Rod Storm regarding setting up a meeting to discuss securing an interlocal agreement between the Village and the City of Blair for building inspection services. Topic tabled to next meeting. Auditorium roof repair by D. Arias is still pending. Flashing needs to be installed around exterior HVAC ducts and shingles need replaced on upper section of roof. Remaining residents with pool fencing violations will be notified and expected to become compliant with Village Ordinance. Chairman asked board members to think of items needed by the village in order to prepare for the upcoming Village budget discussion and preparation for Fiscal Year 2022. Preliminary budget worksheets will be reviewed at the August 3rd regular board meeting. Seeing no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:09 p.m. *Unless otherwise noted, voting is unanimous. Clint Pearson, Chairman Jill Camden, Village Clerk ZNEZ ENT 7-30-21
