NEW BREMEN – At its meeting Monday night, New Bremen Council passed a first reading of an ordinance to vacate a section of Cardinal street. Council also agreed to a cooperative arrangement with the village of Minster to remove leaves from the streets this fall.
The vacation of Cardinal street from state Route 274 to Burk Street is part of the construction plan for New Bremen Local School District’s new K-8 building project southeast of the high school. The school will use this section of the vacated Cardinal street to complete a one way drive past the school. Superintendent Jason Schrader was present to answer any questions.
A public hearing was held before the vote to allow any comments citizens may have had. During the public hearing Fire Chief Dan Vorhees advised the addition of two more fire hydrants to make it easier to get water to the new elementary in case of fire and a neighbor favored ending Cardinal with a cul-de-sac rather than a two way stop at Burk, cutting off through traffic.
After the council approved the first reading, Mayor Jeff Pape reminded everyone that the vote was only for the vacation of a section of Cardinal and there was no decision yet as to how the village will deal with the remaining section of Cardinal still under village control. He said there were two more readings of the ordinance and comments were still welcome.
Village administrator Chris Dicke said the village of Minster had agreed to pick up leaves on New Bremen streets on Wednesdays this fall. No dates have been set for when the pick up would begin. She said the arrangement was made because the New Bremen leaf truck was badly damaged in an accident last August while being delivered back to the village after repairs were made by an outside company.
Council president Don Kuck said that they had been in negotiations with the repair company to compensate the village for the loss of their property, which is expected to amount to a little over $72,000. He said that the cost of a new leaf pick up truck would be $186,329. No decision was made as to whether a purchase of new equipment should be made. Dicke said that they would charge the costs for the Minster work in New Bremen back to the insurance company representing the repair shop which damaged the village property.
Pape thanked Minster for agreeing to this mutual aid arrangement that allowed them time to decide how to replace their equipment.
The mayor also said Trick or Treat night has been changed from Thursday to Sunday because the New Bremen High School volleyball team won its tournament game Monday night. Trick or treat will be from 3 to 5 p.m. following the Cider Time events Sunday, Oct. 28, beginning with parade line up beginning at 1 p.m., parade at 1:30 and a party at the Crown Pavilion following.
Also, the council approved a first reading of an annexation agreement of 2.047 acres of ground known as the Gagel property. They also passed a second reading of an ordinance granting a Community Reinvestment Act, reducing taxes for JD Gilberg, LLC’s construction of a new micro-brewery, and passed a third reading of a CRA agreement with Crown Equipment Corporation for a 100% tax abatement for 10 years. Further, council agreed to an ordinance to transfer $4000 to the Mayor’s Court fund. Fiscal officer Amy Speelman said a recent audit had shown that fund needed to be in its own account. The money would cover costs associated with administering the account.
It was reported that the receipts for the village for September amounted to $1,259,295.46 and expenses amounted to $1,301,272.71.
Finally, Jon Wells, representing the Cardinal Campaign, told council about their fundraising plans to upgrade the Cardinal Booster Center to accommodate the inclusion of grades six, seven and eight once the new K-8 building is complete, as well as adding various ball fields. He said complete information could be found at their website www.cardinalcampaign.com.
