 Good evening everyone. Welcome to tonight's common council meeting Before we start our meeting we asked our city clerk to read the quote for the week. Thank you Christmas gift suggestions to your enemy forgiveness to an opponent tolerance To a friend your heart to a customer service to all charity to every child a good example To yourself respect Thank you very much All the 18th regular meeting of the common council to order. Please call the roll born Here Bauch Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittlesen Clayunas Manny Myer Montemayor Rinflaich Ryan Smith excuse Vanderwheel excuse Verhaselt excuse and wangaman 13 present Quorum is present all my play units. Would you please lead us into pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Thank you all the Mclayunas Next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes president Hanna. Thank you, mr. Mayor, I would make a motion to approve the minutes second motion and second to approve minutes under discussion They're being on all in favor say aye any opposed motion carries Mayor's appointments attorney McLean. Thank you, your honor Hereby submit the following appointment for your consideration To go lead to be appointed as information technology director commencing December 18 2007 and expiring December 17 2012 signed by the mayor And I would ask for a motion to suspend the rules I'm Rengisha I move we suspend the rules on this nomination an act. Is there a second second any Opposition to that There'll be a none. Yes You're opposed to spend in rules. We will call a vote on the suspension of the rules and I vote would be to suspend Foulke Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittlesen Clayunas no, Manny Meyer Montemay or Rindfleisch Ryan and Wongamon Oh, oh eight eyes and four. I'm sorry and Alderman foreign Nine eyes and four nose You're enough. Nope. No, no rules cannot be suspended. We need how many votes 12 votes okay the For mr. True early who was present here the the motion was to suspend the rules generally Appointments lie over that means they would have lied over for a week Or for that until the next meeting In this case the council elected not to suspend the rules. We needed 12 votes. There wasn't enough votes Which means your appointment now will lie over till the next council meeting Okay Please continue attorney McLean Susan Hart to be appointed as director of human resources and labor relations commencing January 1 2008 and expiring December 31 2012 signed by the mayor that lies over Yes It's a dated December 3 came in at the last council meeting the list of election inspectors for all elections in 2008 Signed by the mayor the motion to confirm President Anna mr. Mayor. I'd make a motion to confirm those appointments second motion and second under discussion I'm a kills and a Jewish to some say something About that. Oh my goodness. Thank you. Your honor. I just want to thank these citizens for doing this work It takes a lot of time and I appreciate their interest in serving the city. Thank you. Thank you Any further discussion? There is none, please call the roll Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittlesen Clowness Manny Meyer Montemay or Rin Flesch Ryan Longamon Warren and bulk 13 eyes motion carries at this time we have a proclamation that is a Like a surprise I would ask Deputy Chief Steve Sharp to come up Good evening. I'm at Deputy Chief Sharp a long time ago. I believe around 2000 when he was selling ice cream at the first Hispanic Fest. He's a better deputy chief than he was an ice cream seller Isn't that true this is true and since since then I have been very impressed with the work that he's done The incredible commitment the heart the soul that is given to not only the fire department But to our entire city and he's ended He's added a big plus to the public protection and safety that we provide to our citizens and for that We will always be grateful as you know Deputy Chief Sharp was one of the few that elected to retire and As he leaves he leaves a big void here in the fire department and in the city of Sheboygan because we will truly miss your Commitment your dedication and your skills and the spirit that you brought to our whole city Deputy Chief Sharp Whereas Deputy Chief Sharp was hired by the city of Sheboygan fire department in March 1997 1977 promoted to lieutenant in January 1990 promoted to shift commander in June 1993 and was promoted to deputy chief in April of 1998 and Whereas during his tenure with the city of Sheboygan fire department Deputy Chief Sharp has been involved in many major projects and has ensured that they have been completed in the most efficient and cost-effective manner And whereas under Deputy Chief Sharp's leadership The city has successfully acquired more than half a million dollars in federal grant monies to use in the purchase of equipment apparatus and communications and Whereas under Deputy Chief Sharp's guidance as a project manager fire station number five was constructed fire station number one was Remodeled and the training storage building at fire station three was constructed And whereas Deputy Chief Sharp has always strived to be an effective public employee by working to save the taxpayers money While providing the best quality of service and equipment and whereas Deputy Chief Sharp is retiring from the city at the end of 2007 and he has a smile in his face Now therefore I want to rise by the virtue of the authority vested in me as the mayor of the city of Sheboygan Do hereby extend my personal thanks and congratulations and those of the entire city to deputy chief Stephen W. Sharp, and I urge our council as well as all our citizens to extend their thanks to him also Deputy chief. Thank you very much. We will miss you. Thank you mayor Perez Honorable council people and citizens of Sheboygan It truly has been an honor to do what I've done for the past 31 years To serve in this capacity for the past 10 years as deputy chief of this department I Used to be able to say that I bought everything from paperclips to aerial ladder trucks And now with the events of the past two years I can extend that to new fire stations and a set up an ambulance service something that's going to be The great benefit for this city that we believe it can I know it can But I'm only one part of a team. We're all on this team together Mayor Perez council people past mayors and council people you always believed in us as fire Administrators and supported our projects with your vote, and that's what's important. We work together. We get the job done To my wife Laurie you taught me how to shop To my son Peter and his wife Jenny You've been behind me all the way. You've always supported me in my career. I appreciate it. Thank you all very much Thank you. Thank you again deputy chief sharp Next item on the agenda is Comments by Oliver Alderman bulk Let me follow that act though. I just like to take a minute We have a lot to be thankful for here And not the least of which are the sons and daughters of Sheboygan County that are out serving their country And won't be home this Christmas. So as we as we go into the Christmas season or the holiday season with our warm Council chambers and our warm shopping malls and our festive get-togethers with our family Just want the people of Sheboygan County to know that we're also thinking about and praying for those young people that are out On ship the bridges of ships and cockpits of airplanes and tents in Iraq and all those places So God bless them and thank you for their service. Thank you very much. I'll invoke And I believe you've you've stated Very eloquently how that the entire council in the city of Sheboygan fuel about our servicemen and women appreciate that Next item is public forum Adam city clerk First on the list will be Delcey Johnson Delcey, can I have your home address, please? 1306 North Third Street Sheboygan You will have five minutes Mayor Perez and members of the council when I spoke at the public forum two weeks ago I asked two questions. When did the council authorize the mayor to explore extending ambulance services to municipalities and towns outside the city of Sheboygan? When did the council authorize the fire department to operate three ambulances full-time with a fourth on standby? I Still don't have any answers, but now I have another question who authorized the fire chief to negotiate for ambulance services to the town of Wilson I was astounded to attend the county board law committee meeting on December 6th and find them discussing and Acting on the Sheboygan fire department's plan to provide service to a portion of the town of Wilson when this council has not spent one nanosecond discussing that How did the issue get on the law committee agenda before it was even presented to this council? I can only postulate that this was accomplished with the full knowledge and cooperation of the mayor and Chief Lestoskey Mayor Perez was in attendance at the law committee committee meeting along with council President Alderman Hannah and Alderman Monter may or who I believe is a council representative on the EMS council All of them knew full well that the issue had never been discussed by the council and none of them objected to what was transpiring I Can only conclude that they were in cahoots with Chief Lestoskey and pushing ahead with their agenda with no regard for any established procedures I cannot believe that the mayor or any council member would abrogate their responsibility to their constituents in this manner Instead of the council directing the fire department the fire department has been calling the shots It was a pleasant surprise to have three council members rebuff this steamroller movement by calling a three-man hold at Tuesday special council meeting to let the mayor and Chief Lestoskey know that the council is the governing body of the city Elected to represent the people as I said two weeks ago. The situation has been out of control The fire department has been running the show goes back to the beginning when the plan was to hire four paramedics to operate two ambulances Suddenly instead the fire department promoted six fireman paramedics and hired four new firemen Although chief Lestoskey had agreed to a hiring freeze for firemen no response from the council Although the plan was to operate with 18 paramedics that number suddenly grew to 24 no response from the council Chief Lestoskey decided to operate three ambulances instead of two no response from the council Suddenly last Tuesday night Alderman Wongam and born in Clayunas put an end to this sequence of events so that the council can take control of the situation This is that magical time of the year when that fat bearded man in a red suit slides down the chimney and leaves presents for good children The taxpayers of the city of Sheboygan cannot afford to play Santa Claus to the residents of the town of Wilson Which is what will happen if you allow the fire department to extend ambulance services to a portion of the town of Wilson without annexation I could not understand indeed. I don't think people in the town of Wilson could understand why the city of Sheboygan would contract for Ambulance services with the town of Wilson at the same rates that the city of residents of the city would pay Fortunately, the finance committee realized this to at their meeting last Monday night when they discussed the rates proposed by the fire department The taxpayers have already unnecessarily invested over $900,000 to replace an ambulance service that provides excellent service and has been free to the taxpayers Some months ago the council voted to transfer $300,000 for startup costs and two weeks ago You voted to borrow $624,482 for ambulances and related equipment per document 1620 1625 I presumed that part of the $300,000 was for the cost to the department for the wages of the firemen who participated in the ride-alongs in Fond du Lac and Manitouac Because these men surely were not on site for firefighting duties when they were riding along in Fond du Lac and Manitouac Chief Listosky was quoted in Wednesday's press that the city would bring in approximately $25,000 and answering emergency calls to the town of Wilson That's about one third of the yearly salary bonus pay-and-benefits of one fireman Paramedic and it takes two fireman paramedics to staff an ambulance and that doesn't consider any of the operational or startup costs Your constituents the taxpayers of this city will subsidize the rest of the costs involved Me thinks the financial gurus at the fire department need to run the numbers again $25,000 will not reduce anyone's taxes by one cent. Is it really worth it? Of course Chief Listosky considers the town of Wilson a foot in the door his exact words at the finance committee meeting Life's Monday night. He is fully intent on competing with Orange Cross however. He can Government should not be doing what the private sector can do Indeed I also learned from the story in the press that per Chief Listosky The fire department has planned from the start to expand ambulance service to additional Municipalities when did he share that information with the council? I do not remember any such discussion when the original plan was presented And I wonder how many alderman who voted for the original plan would have done so knowing that the fire department's plan was to Subsidize ambulance service for other municipalities. Would you like your additional minute, please? Another reason why more discussion was needed before the council voted on the issue as I stated two weeks ago the extension of ambulance service Outside the city should be only permitted through annexation your constituents cannot afford to subsidize ambulance services for entities outside the city Your constituents want open and honest government When elected officials abuse their office as some of you have you lose the public's trust It appears that the mayor and alderman hannah and malta maillard have been complicit in allowing chief listosky to proceed with his plan Without council authorization and then expect the council to acquiesce Let us hope that the council puts a stop to this kind of activity and demands that established procedures be followed in dealing with issues Thank you. Thank you Next on the list is jack warts Mr. Warts, can you give me your home address 47 Winnebago place and you will have five minutes sir Mayor Perez council members fellow citizens of sheboygan I am speaking tonight on behalf of the sheboygan county taxpayers alliance What I have to say is simply this No annexation to the town of wilson no city services for the town of wilson Why should the people of The town of wilson enjoy what we have here in sheboygan Provided by city of sheboygan taxpayer dollars When we were serviced by the private sector namely orange cross ambulance No taxpayer dollars were used to support this service The service was paid for by the user If that was not good for us, how can it be good for the residents of the town of wilson? The cost of the fire department buildings equipment and personnel is Being borne by the city taxpayers the only cost to the town of wilson residents Would be when the service is actually used All other costs will be borne by the city of sheboygan taxpayers expense That is what we had prior to the change that will take place on 1 January of 2008 Where will this end? Will this offer be made to other areas too? Has this offer already been made to other areas? We here in the city have elected representatives to serve us not the entire county That is the responsibility of the county board not the city of sheboygan common council When our elected representatives are not part of the decision-making in this issue We are being denied the right to be heard through our duly elected all the persons. Is this right? We think not It isn't like the area involved will be without ambulance service Orange cross is perfectly capable of providing the service as they have been doing for years Over the years it has been said by your predecessors in office that this is a strong council weak mayor system of government in Our opinion This was meant to be that the decisions for this city are made by the majority of the elected Alder persons not by one person or perhaps a small segment of like-minded individuals if things like this are to be ignored and Like occurrences continue Will be it for the taxpayers of sheboygan Thank you Next will be don cook Don, can you give me your home address, please? 921 Dillingham Avenue, you'll have five minutes. Thank you I would like to thank the mayor and the members of the common council for giving me this opportunity to speak Tonight I would like to address a new issue that will be referred to the public protection and safety committee tonight is item number 1824 The issue revolves around the use of ATVs on city sidewalks I have a neighbor that is kind enough to clear the snow from the alley on our block with a plow That's mounted on the front of his pickup He also likes to clear the snow from the sidewalks on our block with a plow that's attached to his ATV He does an excellent job The corners are cleared which makes crossing the street easier We live a block from farnsworth, and we have plenty of pedestrians using these sidewalks and crossings He does this out of kindness and does not ask for compensation Last week the police informed him that his ATV use for clearing the sidewalks was not legal as there is a city ordinance That prohibits driving ATVs on the sidewalks. I feel there is nothing wrong with using an ATV on the sidewalk Provided you're using it for a purpose such as snow blowing There is really no difference than using a power snow blowing attachment on a garden tractor or riding lawnmower yet These are legal although I understand the need for an ordinance to prohibit the use of ATVs on city sidewalks for joy rides It should be legal to use one for a constructive activity such as snow removal Thank you, and have a wonderful hot all day Thank you And last we have Dick Susha and dick. Can I have your home address, please? 15 North Point Drive Sheboygan and you will have five minutes sir. Thank you May your prayers and Common Council I Addressed this council when you began discussions of the ambulance service in our Fire Department and urge you to delay action until there was sufficient public input Well, you chose not to Follow my advice and ignored it and only after you took action Did you learn of the overwhelming wishes of our citizens that? Ambulance services remain with orange cross You failed to adhere to one major caveat of local government That is that a city should not assume a service which is already being Provided well and at no cost to the taxpayer you all realize that deep down That private service Can do the job and may be even better. I Told you then that we are our brothers keepers But I didn't mean that we should embrace our surrounding towns with the city service When a private contractor was more than willing to provide a quality service What is the incentive for annexation will we provide police and fire protection next? How about city water and snow plowing? Do you think that $25,000 in additional revenue from the town is going to make our system a profitable venture I Think not That's a drop in a bucket This seems like a desperate attempt to make an unprofitable venture into a profitable one Why the rush? Shouldn't we Walk before we run. We have no history of revenues. We have just projections and Don't forget the 52% Uncollectibles Does this include some from the town of Wilson? I know that in the past several firemen have incurred serious injuries assisting orange cross personnel Some have incurred workmen's compensation losses Which were paid by the city of Sheboygan taxpayers in excess of six figures Any such losses in the town of Sheboygan will quickly eradicate any additional revenue If I were an alderman I Would hate to explain to my constituents that their tax dollar was being used to pay for an injured Firemen supplying a service to the town of Wilson If you choose to extend city services into surrounding towns Maybe now is the time to consider regional government One fire department one police department one park department one ambulance department The list goes on and on I Know that's a lot to swallow at one time But you must consider this if you consider to make the city residents less attractive by providing city services to the towns Furthermore one last question that no one has addressed and it's important Will the revenues collected by the Sheboygan fire department for ambulance service have an adverse impact on the formula used to determine our shared taxes that we get from the state government if That's the case then we surely aren't ahead This is a major issue Don't ram it through Your constituents are watching and are concerned Try listening to them. Thank you. Thank you Thank you to all those that addressed the council tonight Next item on the agenda is the mayor's comments. I've got some Brief comments on confidential matters some council comments about the year as we approached 2008 and some holiday wishes the Confidential matters I Simply wanted to point out to the council that the Sheboygan code does call for Confidentiality of issues and matters that are discussed in confidence that they be maintained confidential of It's difficult sometimes to to answer questions In a manner that releases public information. Sometimes we just slips out It could be a very a number of reasons why but I would I would caution you that in particular closed sessions when you have closed sessions in the common council and the Committees that any anything that discussed and in closed session remains in closed session And there's reasons for that At times people criticize that we're withholding information from the public No, you're not the statute perfectly allow that to happen and there's good reasons for that. Otherwise a lot of issues couldn't be discussed In the candid manner that they are and a lot of these issues are preliminary not definitive So there's a varied there are varied reasons as to why confidentiality is as important And I simply just wanted to point that out because there's a couple of instances that have occurred And one of them dealt with an email that was floating around with respect to a strip of land At the police station connected in the county property And I'm not going to read all the email because that's not important But I think it touches on the issue of the release of confidential information And there's a quote here where where the person emailing is saying I know the information is correct as It was given to me by an alderman who was there and that is referring to a closed session meaning that we had they even Almost verbatim quote an alderman and I will say the name in this case because and these are in bold Meaning I know that to be a fact Alderman Montemayor whom I was told was the one who told the rest of the alderman at this meeting to keep it quiet or something to that effect That's too close for comfort. I mean that somebody was in listening and somebody felt that they could say that Alderman Montemayor if she said that did nothing wrong Alderman are always caution in each other to keep things Inconfidence that are meant to be in confidence and just recently an article In the press has fence case finally settled between city City and resident it talks about City attorney declined to reveal the amount of the settlement Because it was confidential by a source with knowledge of the situation said the common counsel meeting in closed session last month Approved a payment of up to $15,000 True or not it's information that somehow was obtained by the the press and in other instances by other people and and I simply just want to Impress upon you the importance of those confidential matters that are discussed in confidence in particular in closed sessions that they stay here If there's any blame to be taken I'll take I'll take the blame too because I really respect that Confidentiality that nature of that confidentiality of our discussions in those sessions So yeah, just point it out because it's been twice within a short period of time that these issues have come up the the other matter that I wanted to simply talk about is a 2200 and eight council matters and I'll talk a little bit about about ourselves and a little bit about The our new initiative with the firebase ambulance and then I'm going to ask she was tusky to to come up and just give you a quick Update and then I'll continue with my comments, but we represent 16 wards all of you represent 16 wards That's the whole city of Shiboy and there's eight districts two of you per district 16 wards You represent a cross-section of the community of the community You represent the pulse the blood the heart the soul of the entire community People place a lot of trust a lot of faith in you to make good decisions some of those decisions are not going to be Aligned with all of us and we've had our share of that this year But all of us have been in a position to respect that Our constituents perhaps district one to old district eight will give different Opinions of one issue where a constituent or a group of constituents may tell the alderman in district one I hope you vote for it and the other ones are telling I hope you don't vote for it So they're right there and then you've got an automatic inedible Conflict so to speak, but they all want the same thing And we have an incredible amount of skill and talent and people in this council And I really believe that because I've seen you at work. I've seen you speak I've seen you conduct yourselves and we have the skill and the talent to keep moving this community in a Positive positive direction. We're not perfect. I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect But all of us all of us want what is best for shambuagan and Trying to reconcile our different approaches approaches is not an easy thing But at some point we all come to terms and at least there's a majority That we can all agree to move in one direction And that's where it gets a little tricky because when we decide that and someone did not vote or support that position There's outside political forces prodding to to instigate Contention and and we need to be very careful and mindful that we're here to represent the community and if the council has decided It would be a good thing for us to say the council has decided Let's move forward in a positive direction That doesn't mean you forfeit your wave and you throw away all your debate And all your all your input It just means that a majority of the council has the power to decide a direction of this community and and that's the way things are And as we move into 2008 we have some challenges. We have some great challenges Where we're going to be looking at some very very difficult things to to do We know at least I know that they're and we live in a time that there's no no easy answers There's none sometimes there's no answer at all and For some people no answer is good enough and that's what we're confronted with we have to use our heart Our mind our soul to say I believe this I need to vote this way and this is the way I'm going to vote And then you live with those consequences. I also know and I believe you know that we live in a time now where everything we do Going to be scrutinized Carefully almost Everything you do and everything you say somebody's going to be listening and watching and trying to turn that thing around Put a spin on it that they want to put a spin on And we also live in a time where people can basically say anything they want and That's nothing new that's been going on for years. That's what's called freedom of speech People can say anything they want But that doesn't make it true It just means they can say what they want and you always need to be mindful of that and consider the source We have an instance today where and I'm leading into the asking Chief Lestoskey to come up and not quite yet She where we have heard some comments about Chief Lestoskey Will counsel the public I'll tell you one thing Chief Lestoskey is one of the most Respective man in this community. I respect him. He's got strong strong integrity Commitment and dedication and it hurt my heart To see him punished and bashed out in the public by some people It breaks my heart to see that but he's a strong man and he's done what I've been advised to do Have a thick skin I've got it folks believe me and it's not a bulletproof ass It's thick skin But it breaks my heart to hear people speak of Chief Lestoskey in a manner that demeans him or puts him in In the situation that's not true and again people are free to say what they want That doesn't necessarily make it true And the problem here is that when people don't have the correct information For the most part they make it up They connect dots that aren't there and it's usually usually juicy stuff that it creates more more feedback on that part But we've had some comments today made Councils out of control Abusive power There's no abuse of power here. There certainly is no council out of control You need to be commended for the positions that you've taken I've seen a lot of you take different positions And yet you come back here the next time around and I see you all Talking to each other and having a blast Some of us take it a little better than the other ones But after two or three weeks everything's back to normal everything's loving we're back to conduct in business The way we should be the the other thing that I've heard is the the we're in cahoots Relative things on how you define cahoots because we are supposed to be cahooting because we want come Consensus and make decisions that are good for the community. We're supposed. That's what we're here for Not all of us can't be in cahoots. I wish there were but not all 16 agree on everything But cahoots in the way it's it's put out No, this council and no one is in cahoots with anything. We all have a check and a balance Instituted in the process and the policies that we have in place to make sure that doesn't happen the other thing that I heard is that Why should the town of any town tell Wilson town should bring a benefit from what the taxpayer pay for They already do They are already do guess why they want to live outside. They don't have 200 And two miles of street to maintain and reconstruct and pay And clean leaves and clean snow. They don't have over 20 something parks They don't have 479 employees to pay for they don't have a fire department to pay for they don't have a police department to pay for They don't have one of the biggest department of public works to pay for We do we pay for it when they come into town just like somebody for Milwaukee Guess what they're taking advantage of what the taxpayers are paying. They can go to our parks if they're in an accident They call the police they call the fire When they go to work and they come visit they drive on our streets If they have an accident break down our traffic light, but also they broke a traffic light So the argument that they're getting something that the taxpayers are paying for They already are they already are That's just the way it's set up when we go to Madison when I go to Madison that argument can be put out there to me The mayor from Sheboygan is taking advantage of what we're paying for here in Texas Yes, I am But it works that way in our whole country not just in Sheboygan So again be mindful of the source be mindful of the position We are here to make decisions. We make them and then we move on and at this point I'd like to before I continue with my with my comments here I'd like to ask Chief Las Toskey to step up and just give us an update of where we are and then I have a Some additional comments to make on that chief Thank You your honor members of the council I've handed out a packet of information to all of you Some of you have been privy to some of this information because you've taken the time to contact me and Continually ask questions as we've gone through this ambulance process, and I certainly welcome that and continue to welcome that in the future Others have been privy to some of this information based on Whatever committees you're on Some of the information has been discussed in selling grievance public protection safety and finance It's not always shared in in all the different committees. It's kind of specific to What the information is there's a couple things I wanted to accomplish tonight and I'm going to try to keep my My thoughts and and comments to the information that I've provided it's All I can say up front is that our department our staff and our firefighters have Work tremendously hard in the last seven months since the council made a determination to move forward with this ambulance service And I am 100% convinced that the city will be proud We will be effective efficient cost effective and profitable in our venture and provide a tremendous Service to the city. There's a couple things. I'd like to read for you One of the Frustrations is the fact that misinformation can be given out at any time at any place and It seems to spread like wildfire. I have to tell you quite frankly. I can count on One or two hands at the most the number of times I've been contacted By the public Asking me questions about this ambulance service over the last seven months. I'm in the office as most of You all the persons can attest most every day and I've always answered every call that's come to me From friends and foes alike in this issue and have been more than willing to have people come in and I know there's all the Persons that have brought a few people in that have told been in total disagreement and we've we've spent hours discussing this issue, so I've Never packed off nor has my staff on doing that. I Like before I get into the information I provided I'd like to read a couple things to you The Sheboygan fire department shall place in service a minimum of three paramedic level ambulances to be staffed 24 hours a day Seven days a week which shall be dedicated to the city Sheboygan in order to provide the same or better better level of services Is previously provided that is in the resolution passed by this council three ambulances in In the city of Sheboygan responding as part of our plan We also included a reserve ambulance unit to ensure that we have appropriate backup coverage if there's Maintenance issue or otherwise we were very fortunate in the fact that that the funding for that ambulance was Donated through the landmark construction team and Joe Joseph Schmidt and son's construction And we were able to find a very high quality used the ambulance that assists us in that so Three ambulances was part of the resolution with a backup Amulance as part of the funded first-year costs which ended up being removed from the budget for this upcoming year because of the donation The operational plan upon request Shall be adjusted to accommodate requests from communities being served by the current provider as listed in the county EMS Pass plan which include but shall not be limited to 911 responses and inner facility transports That too is in the initial resolution passed by this council Back in the end of May so just a clarification when people speak There has been information provided the council has given direction and that information is there for all to see I Like to move on to the information that I'm providing tonight And I think it's very positive information for both this council the city the community and For the fire department as well We are ready to go with the ambulance service starting January 1st We are fully equipped. We have a few little bits of fine tuning to do over the next few weeks But as any of you who had an opportunity to see the ambulance out in front tonight Or if you haven't had a chance to you're welcome to come into the fire station. We've got a very quality Pieces of equipment that our people will be responding and protecting the city of Sheboygan The process is moving forward very positively at this time We've hired four new firefighter paramedics as identified in the ambulance plan and one of those four Was actually a vacant position in our table of organization, but four were identified as being hired for that plan We've also hired we've had six retirees Since August of the year and we've hired five replacements for those retirees Through an agreement with the mayor and the common council We've agreed to delay the hiring of that sixth individual until spring for budgetary purposes That brings a total of paramedics at this time at the end of the year to 20 within our department it should be 21 in spring up to a maximum of 24 as Agreed to in a tentative agreement that this council agreed to not 54 the new hires that we've we've hired hired and brought in have brought in an incredible amount of it in experience and enthusiasm Dedication and spirit that's spreading throughout our department I've included the profiles of all the paramedics that you You see both the ones that are Currently with our department and new ones that have been added. There's a cumulative 135 years of paramedic experience With those individuals plus many many countless more years of fire and EM other EMS backgrounds on these individuals as well We've been training the nine new hires in Firefighting that process goes on Anytime we hire a new firefighter over the course of a year's time they complete a probationary process and And that process Is a step process that goes on throughout the year We've been able to bring in people from orange cross ambulance Service which were high-level people that have a great understanding of the service We brought in people from other fire departments that have backgrounds and fired up in fire-based ambulance And we've been able to utilize their backgrounds and experience to blend with our current experience to make our service Even better than what we had imagined Our line personnel and some of the new personnel have been working in both hospitals with the emergency room staff To improve and work on their their clinical skills And there has been great great cooperation from both hospitals in working through that process Our paramedics who have had less field experience or not Is much recent field experience. However, totally qualified have done refresher training with the Manitowoc and final act fire departments To just bring them back to the to their skill level that's appropriate We will be completing those at the end of this year and from that point on they will they will be able to work On our ambulances and provide that great level of experience to our people We've also worked with police department dispatch the IT department and engineering department to make the necessary changes for a smooth transition in both this batch and Mapping and all the other areas that support our ambulance and fire service Here's another important point. I'd like to get to our vehicle and equipment purchases are near complete There's a few odd items that we need to put together yet To get us ready to go I've heard all sorts of numbers thrown around as far as what the cost of the taxpayers Have been but I will tell you this there's $540,000 identified for a lease program for ambulances and equipment We will be under that 540,000 very near that number to full equip for Ambulances Ready to go and that includes monitors Full equipment and these are state-of-the-art ambulances The positive news is there has also been $200,000 that has been put in a startup fund for personnel cost for 2007 There's also been a hundred thousand dollars in the startup costs for for 2007 for equipment We have not touched either of those accounts nor will we need to utilize those accounts to start our ambulance services and Remaining costs are included in our 2008 budget So I think The the council and the community should know that we've been very diligent in what we've done to this point and Very conscious of the costs involved With this in order to provide a cost effective and excellent service. So I think that needed to be said Should also be known that we've contracted with a billing agency out of Cedarburg. That is one of the best Recognized billing agencies around they specialize in the municipal Ems and other municipal bill billing. They have looked at our program They think that the numbers we have laid out are conservative and that They are currently helping us put together Programs and billing that are based on best practices from other communities and They're helping us with the setup the training and the costs or excuse me the The software as far as reporting that will allow us to hit the road running on on January 1st and should Help us in the future. They're a very Very efficient organization that is one phone call away and some of the older persons as part of the review of Request for proposals had a chance to meet some of those people The city sheboygan's operational plan has been approved at both the county and the state level Commentary at a recent county meeting Was that our the question was asked Was our city sheboygan plan held to a higher standard than others and the answer from the individuals who are holding Us to that standard was yes, and we passed that muster We put this newsletter together Because we're trying to get information out to the public and quite frankly that may be one area where we have not We have not reached the point where we'd like to be We would love to be able to spend more time getting out talking to the people telling them about our service Providing that information in all different fashions, but quite frankly we've been focused on putting together a high-quality Response service that will benefit the community for a long time I believe that if we build that foundation the rest of it will come and The community will learn that very quickly and be very proud and very honored of the service that we provide We are putting out some Of the information that you've received tonight on our website in the city website. We will be Doing a mass email. We're going to try to get some of our people out to some of the larger apartment complexes so they are their information is shared with them in the near future and Also, I guess I would like to thank all the people within our department that have worked so hard to Get this up and running my staff has worked seven days a week I've got a deputy chief who is leaving at the end of the year Here who would have easily been able to coast into that end of the year that's working seven days a week to ensure that this is done properly and the taxpayers is protected and With cost effectiveness the rest of my staff firefighters have stepped forward They all we all have a stake in making this thing work, right? And that means the council the mayor our department and the citizens and we are committed to doing that and we'll do that So with that being said, I hope this information is helpful in providing some accuracy to what's been out there and If you have any questions I can answer them otherwise I'm in my office at any point and feel free to contact me then Thank you This has come in Friday two o'clock My show 30 minutes with your mayor will be about the fire base and we lose initiative We will have chief and perhaps some paramount paramount firefighters available to discuss what's going to happen at the beginning of the year following that show We have 30 minute segment footage of actual showing of the ambulances and the fire station Paramedic talking about the excellent state-of-the-art equipment that we have that will be ready to go with the push-off button on So I asked if anyone has a time Friday at two o'clock that you see that chief you forgot something This is this is perfect because I left something up front here The one item I did forget to mention on December 22nd from one to four We will be having an open house in all of our fire stations on that's in the last page I believe that that you've received there a second last page. We'll advertise that we're going to get information out to To to the media, but all five fire stations will be open to the public We'll have our our personnel in place our vehicles in place as they will be on January 1st So you'll be able to see what what you can expect For service as of the first of the year, so I just want to make sure that that was added. Thank you Mr. Husky also talked about putting together a high-quality response service and That's exactly what I mean A more comprehensive plan for providing fire-based ambulance to neighboring communities Which may or may not include the town of Wilson? It's a it's a good plan and it's a plan that will be open to the public Public will have all the input they like it will probably take about six months to a year to finalize it to make sure that that not only the people who have Service concerns about it are able to feel comfortable that they will thought out We'll put together and at the push of a button ready to go in full force The chief again has done a remarkable job in chief. I'd like to personally thank you for the amount of time that you put in You and your men deserve a lot of credit. Thank you Just a few more comments here From my position as we go in 2008 The next meeting in January first, I'd like to say I will be bringing to you a report of every day And some of the things that I hope we can accomplish in 2008 But from my standpoint what I want to do is be available to provide leadership From my standpoint what I want to let me go back a little bit. I think the public in here The next meeting in January that will be sharing with you a report of all our 2007 accomplishments and Also a report of some of our projected plans for 2008 From my standpoint what I want to do is be available and provide leadership To the extent possible that I can without imposing upon the alderman and without Compromising your your ability to think for yourself And and to be responsive to your constituents That's what I want to hope to do. I always want to be available to do that From your standpoint, I would ask that that you keep an open mind with a lot of the issues that you that you debate That you're sensitive and responsive to your constituents and that It's easier said than done, but that you keep your eye on the big picture. There's a big picture out there and In January and February hopefully not as late as March I am going to be meeting with the Perman heads to put together a three-year plan With a three-year plan on how how we would like to proceed with administering government affairs And that includes public protection and safety technology That includes everything how do how do all the department heads come together and doubt tell to create their unit? That I think would be very useful for us as we move forward. I will outline that plan for you in February or March Along in between your that in between during that time or at the at the point that I report to you I would ask you for your input to If you have any ideas to as to where you would like to see us go Finally, I just would like to say one thing We're all unique people. We all have our abilities and our skills and our talents But I really believe from the bottom of my heart that we can work together as a team as a unified council Again, we don't have to belabor the point. We're not always going to agree on everything But we have a powerful force here that represents truly represents the citizens of Sheboygan And I ask that you work with me that you work with each other and then we move this community forward in a good positive direction And with that I'd like to wish everyone public the council Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and a happy new year to you and your family friends and neighbors President Hannah consent agenda, well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. That was a long intro I'd like to move with all ours be accepted and placed on file and all our seas be accepted Cut it short by five minutes Motion in second to approve the consent agenda under discussion. There is none. Please call it. Oh Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Cleiness Manny Meyer Montemayor Rinflaich Ryan Wongamon Warren and Bulk 13 eyes motion carries communications and petitions 18-28 to be referred Report of officers to 1821 through 1824 to be referred Resolutions introduced three 1825 by Olderman Hannah Warren Clayunas and Gisha authorizing the city of Sheboygan and the county of Sheboygan, Wisconsin to borrow from the trust funds of the state of Wisconsin the sum of five million nine hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of financing the city's unfunded pension liability and for no other purpose President Hannah. Well, thank you, Mr. Mayor. First, I need to ask for suspension rules Second, there's a motion second to spend the rules. Is there any objection to suspension? Please explain please explain certainly There was some timing and some language changes that needed to take place So so Nancy boss brought that back to us. So there's a sense of urgency that we get this completed time sensitive. Yes any other discussion Then I need a motion to put the resolution upon his passage Motion and second under discussion to put resolution upon his passage There is none, please call the roll Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Clayunas Manny Meyer Montemay or Rinflaich Ryan Longamann Warren Bulk and Gisha 13 eyes motion carries 1826 by Alderman Hannah Gisha Rinflaich Authorizing the appropriate city officials to enter into contract for a tax exam governmental lease purchase agreement president Hannah Thank You, mr. Mayor again. I need to move to suspend this relates to the previous resolution There were some language changes We need to make it the request of the vendor which have been accomplished. There is time sensitive motion and second to Spend is there any objection There is none please proceed with a motion put upon his passage Yes, mr. Mayor. I'd like to make a motion that the resolution be put upon its passage second motion and second to put 1826 upon a passage under discussion There being none please call the roll Heidemann Kittleson Clayunas Manny Meyer Montemay or Rinflaich Ryan Wonkman Warren Bulk Gisha and Hannah 13 eyes motion carries 1827 lies over 1828 through 1831 to be referred reports of officers 6 1832 by law and licensing Recommended denying beverage operators license number 4941 based on the applicant's fader to cooperate with the committee vice president Warren Thank you, your honor. I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted Motion and second under discussion under discussion on this one. There was a clerical era. This should be a Taxi cab driver license not a beverage operators license Is Carrie Peany here tonight, please? It's not here your honor. Please proceed Ms. Peany had two opportunities to appear before the committee one by certified mail She did not appear and it was a unanimous Vote by the committee to deny the license application Thank You vice president born Any further discussion on that 1832? There being none Please call the roll Kittleson Clayunas Manny Meyer Montemay or Rinflesh Ryan Wongamun Boran Bulk yes, yeah, Hannah and Heidemann 13 eyes motion carries 1833 by law and licensing recommended denying beverage operators license number 7705 based on the applicant's fader to cooperate with the committee vice president born Thank You, your honor. I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted Motion and second under discussion under discussion is Katrina Houglund here tonight That here your honor please proceed Ms. Houglund also had two opportunities to appear before the committee The second one by certified mail. She did not appear So it was a unit unanimous vote of the committee to deny the license Thank You vice president born any further discussion There is none, please call the roll Clayunas Manny Meyer Montemay or Rinflesh Ryan Wongamun Boran Bulk yes, yeah, Hannah Heidemann and Kittleson 13 eyes motion carries report of committee 7 1835 to be referred report of comedies 1834 you missed We miss we miss 1834 there were three of them. Yeah, for me. There's that one needs to go to because vice president born got all three of them Or okay, 1834 vice president born. I think you missed it to it, didn't you? Yes, I Recommend that the I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted Motion and second under discussion under discussion is Christopher R. Campbell here tonight It's not here your honor, please proceed then Mr. Campbell had also had a couple of opportunities to appear before us did not do so also the applicants record of repeat law violations Came into our decision, and it was unanimous unanimous decision by the committee to Deny the license application Thank You much president born under further discussion old man Rinflesh My discussion was 20 out we need to 34 to do okay Okay There is no other discussion. Please call the roll in 1834 Manny Meijer Montemayor Rinflesh Ryan Wongamon Born right bulk Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson and Clowness 13 eyes motion carries 1835 to be referred report of comedies 8 1836 By finance recommended authorizing a transfer of appropriations in the 2007 budget Establishing revenue and appropriations for funds received by federal drug forfeitures donations received from there Donations received from junior police academy program Donation received from Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the aging Overtime reimbursement from the Office of Justice and donations from the Friends of the Senior Center for Supplies president Hannah Thank You mr. Mayor. I would move that we accept and adopt the RC and put the resolution upon as a passage Motion and second under discussion All in Gisha Thank You your honor. I just wanted to point out that in the finance committee meeting we had an interesting discussion regarding the fact that The item one federal drug enforcement funds non-tax payer dollars at least not direct taxpayer dollars Contributions to the police department for the dare program Contributions for the junior police academy contributions for the tactical team supplies Office of Justice Grant for the fire department for training purposes senior center contributions, and I just think that's absolutely wonderful From a public standpoint that that people are stepping up and and organizations are stepping up and The the city is grateful for contributions like these. Thank you to them. Thank you Good point. Thank you. I'll make sure all of them admire Thank You your honor. I just have a question I was under the impression that the dare program no longer exists, and I'm just wondering where The funds for this then go or am I wrong and there is a dare program? Okay? This is a donation received from there not going to there So it's a donation that was received from there. So apparently there's something still out there that calls itself itself there But under the city, I don't believe we have anything if you if you read it says donations received From so we're taking money in not putting money What's a transfer okay, okay, you need to clarify that President Hanna. Yes Yeah, it's it's my understanding that the the account title Needs to be changed for the dare awareness program Okay, that the account number is correct the movement is but everybody is correct The dare does not exist within the city. So we'll get that clarified I think that can probably come from public protection and safety exactly May have make a follow-up comment Secondly, I know that the public has been very very generous to the junior police academy program Which is being led by officer Edson, and I would encourage that the enthusiasm in the community Keep going. Very good. Thank you President Hanna any further discussion on 1836 There being none, please call the roll Meyer Montemayor Rinflesh Ryan Wongamon Boran Bauch Gisha Hanna Heidemann Kittleson Cleonis and Manny 13 eyes motion carries 1837 by finance recommending authorizing a transfer of appropriations in the 2007 budget established an appropriation for remodeling in city clerk's office and Appropriation for salaries and human resources and passing the substitute resolution President Hanna Thank You. Mr. Mayor. I first I'd like to accept and adopt the RC and then place the substitute resolution upon his passage Motion and second under discussion There is none please call the roll Montemayor Rinflesh Ryan Wongamon Boran Bauch Gisha Hanna Heidemann Kittleson Cleonis Manny and Meyer 13 eyes motion carries excuse me 1838 by finance recommending establish establishing fees for emergency medical and related services provided by the city of Sheboygan and Passing the substitute resolution president Hanna Well, thank you. Mr. Mayor. I would first like the RC to be accepted and adopted and place the substitute resolution upon his passage Motion and second under discussion There is none please call the roll Rinflesh Excuse me. Thank you Ryan Wongamon Boran Bauch Gisha Hanna Heidemann Kittleson Cleonis Manny Meyer and Montemayor 12 eyes one no motion carries Ordinances introduced 10 1839 and 1840 lies over 1841 to be referred Matters laid over 11 1759 communication Number 470708 submitting a communication from John and Shirley Vertastic stating that they're upset with all a person might as behavior towards all a person Ryan and encouraging the council to censor all a person Meyer and removal her as chairperson of the committee of the whole president Hanna Well, thank you. Mr. Mayor. I would make a motion to accept and file the document second motion to file under discussion There is not all in favor say aye any opposed Motion carries 1760 RO number 46708 by the deputy finance director treasurer submitting the list of vouchers mounting to 13 million 764 thousand six hundred and eighty nine dollars and 68 cents have been audited by the deputy finance director treasurer and paid during October 2007 president Hanna Mr. Mayor, I'd make a motion to accept the report of officer and place on file second motion and second to file under discussion There is none all those in favor say aye any opposed motion carries 1734 resolution number 1570708 by Alderman Hanna expressing the intent of the Common Council of the city of Sheboygan to exercise its police powers in Levy and a special assessment for the 2007 cost of the of operating and maintaining the off-street parking facilities within the parking assessment district number one and We have the Next three next Fourth you have 1734 to 1737 if you'd like to take them all Thank You mr. Mayor. I would like to place all four resolutions to be put upon as passage Motion and second to put 1734 to 37 upon its passage under discussion They deal with the same issue Here is none. Please call the roll Ryan Wongamon boron Bulk yes, Hanna Heidemann Kittleson Clowness Manny Meyer Montemay or and Rindfleisch 13 eyes Ocean carries and we got two more for you president Hanna 1738 resolution number 1610708 by Alderman Hanna boron Clowness Gisha and Bulk requiring the requiring the appropriate city department to submit monthly reports on the health care utilization including a comparison of 2007 and 2008 utilization and information on employee utilization Of the wellness program by department categories somebody likes that word utilization president Hanna Thank You mr. Mayor. I would move that the resolution be put upon Passage second motion and second to put 739 upon its passage and utilize the vote to prove it How's that? Any discussion? Oh, thank you sir Thank You mr. Mayor. I just wanted to mention that and thank Alderperson Kittleson the wellness committee has met twice so far which directly relates to this document and I was unable to make the second meeting to a family issue, but the other person Clowness has Was elected as chairman of that committee Pardon me Kittleson. What am I doing? Sorry about that? But I wanted to thank her for her leadership and then stepping up and doing that I think all of us look forward to working together Thank you. I'm a Gisha Coleman Thank You your honor, and I guess just looking at this document Knowing that we do want to put this into place However that that that piece that we need to to start the wellness program is not quite in place So as soon as that is then we'll we'll be able to measure something but until that time You know we're just in the forming stages of our wellness program So just so everyone understands that we do want to measure how it's coming along, but till that time We'll we'll be holding off on that. Thank you Good. Thank you very much. Oh Kittleson any further discussion They're being non. Please call the roll long a man Warren Bulk Yesha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Clowness Manny Meyer Montemayor Rindflash and Ryan 13 eyes motion carries 1739 resolution number 1620708 by old man Hannah barn clay Eunice Gisha and bauk accepting the liability insurance proposal from cities and villages mutual insurance Company and continuing members membership in this siphonic for 2008 through 2010 Based on the premiums guaranteed by siphonic for said policy years President Hannah one more. Well, thank you. Mr. Mayor. I move that the resolution be put upon its pass Motion and second to put 1739 upon its passage under discussion There is none. Please call roll Warren Bauk. Yesha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Clowness Manny Meyer Montemayor Rindflash Ryan and Wongamon 13 eyes motion carries 1753 general ordinance number 710708 by allam and Vander wheel rinse lies Ryan Smith and Kittleson relating to sign so as to add a deaf child in the area Quote-unquote sign on Ohio Avenue sign on Ohio Avenue just east of South 17th Street for eastbound traffic Allam and Rindflash. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I move that the ordinance be put upon its passage Motion and second to put the 1739 upon its passage 1753. I should say any discussion There may not please call roll Bauk Yesha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Clowness Manny Meyer Montemayor Rindflash Ryan Wongamon and born 13 eyes motion carries 1761 general ordinance number 720708 by allam and Vander wheel rinse lies Ryan Smith and Kittleson Relating to traffic signs and signals to add stop signs for both north and south east and west traffic at North 7th Street and Center Avenue Holden Rindflash. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I move that the ordinance be put upon its passage Motion and second under discussion There be a none. Please call roll Gisha Hannah Heidemann Kittleson Clowness Manny Meyer Montemayor Rindflash Ryan Wongamon Warren and Bauk 13 eyes motion carries Other matters turning McLean. Thank you, your honor 1842 is an arrow by the city clerk submitting a communication from Paul Gottsecker owner of 821 LLC requesting an encroachment at 821 and 823 North A Street to construct and maintain awnings That will be referred to city plan commission 1843 is a general ordinance granting 821 LLC its successors and assigns privilege of encroaching Pond described portions of North A Street located at 821 823 North A Street in the city for the purpose of constructing and maintaining awnings That will be referred to city plan 1844 is an arrow by the city clerk submitting various license applications for the period ending June 30 2008 and June 30 2009 That will go to law and licensing committee 1845 is an arrow by the city clerk submitting a communication from all the person born Along with an article from the walkie journal sentinel titled grafton hospital gets endorsement Aurora agrees to pay grafton 6.8 million in lieu of taxes over the next 25 years That will be referred to finance and if anybody needs that in large, let me know we can do that at the office Hold on Call 18 hold on our term. Please Alderman barn did you wish to say something on that? Thank you, your honor. I besides the finance committee. I also wanted that to go to planning Okay, please make that notation Council, thank you 1845 we'll go to finance and planning commission Turner McLean proceed 1846 is a resolution authorizing the purchasing agent to enter into contract for wireless voice and data services That will refer to finance need a motion to adjourn So moved There's second second. Uh, uh, all in favor say aye in opposed Stand adjourned Thank you very much