 And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, all of us. We do have a lot of people here today. I'd ask that people remain quiet while the all of them conduct business. Approval of the minutes, President Hanna. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would move for approval of the minutes and to have them entered into the record. Second. Motion and second to approve minutes. Any discussion? There being none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries, minutes are approved. No appointments. Presentation to Mayor is Carol Lutz here. Our co-directors of Rockets for Schools, we just finished our 11th launch this year and would like to publicly thank the mayor and all the other, the older persons and all of the city departments for their wonderful support for our program. We have a couple of signed pictures. This one is from the astronaut that spoke this year. It says, to Mayor Perez, your support for Rockets for Schools is truly out of this world. John Grunsfield. We also have another photograph from the B-52 crew. It says, to the city of Sheboygan, thanks. The 11th Bomber Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, and it's signed by all the pilots on the plane. Thank you. I believe we have one more, Chef Raymond Arpke. It's a little bit easier this way. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, City Councilman. It's my pleasure to be here. I was here for a book signing, a whirlwind book signing of Sheboygan County this weekend, and I thought I'd like to present all of you with one of my books. You don't have to be crazy, but it helps recipes and rantings of a madman. It contains many of my favorite recipes and also a bit of history of Sheboygan County. I moved away about 35 years ago, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of my roots and where I came from, and I want to tell you what a beautiful city you have and how often I try and get back here as much as I can. My profession takes me around the country and around the world, either competing or doing dinners in California or New York City, but no matter where I am, thousands of miles away, some of me is always here in Sheboygan. Thank you very much. Now with a title like that, I thought it was a political book. Thank you again, Chef. The next item on the agenda, we have a proclamation to Mr. Keith Moses, General Manager of Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center. Mr. Moses? I'm sorry. Good evening. I'm sure all of you know Mr. Moses. He's been around for a few years now as General Manager for Blue Harbor. He is a type of person that does a lot of good in this community for a lot of people and never asked for any credit. He just seems to be under the radar all the thing, but the people he touches with the good things that he does are just huge in numbers. Just recently, Chief Lastosky and myself and Mr. Moses went to, well, we planned to go to every public school and parochial school to give all the children from grade pre-kinder to fifth, I believe, a free water pass to Breaker Bay Park at Blue Harbor. We ended up giving close, a little over 5,000 free passes. The people who put a price on that and, again, Mr. Moses said, how can you put a price on the smile of a child? But in monetary terms, close to $100,000. Now, folks, that is an incredible gesture on behalf of any individual in any company here in Sheboygan. And because of that and other things that you have done, Mr. Moses, I would like to recognize you. Whereas Mr. Keith Moses became the general manager of the Blue Harbor Resort in January 2006, and whereas since his arrival to Sheboygan, Keith has worked diligently to understand and participate in the community, and whereas under Keith's leadership, Blue Harbor has become a true friend to the city of Sheboygan, and whereas under Keith's leadership, Blue Harbor has welcomed residents to South Pier and Blue Harbor Resort in a variety of ways, sharing information about water safety and providing free water passes to most of the elementary age students in the city of Sheboygan, actively participating in tourism-related events such as sipping on Sheboygan shores, graciously hosting the German delegation from Esslingen, and working to make South Pier a destination for the city's Independence Day celebrations. Now, therefore, I, Juan Perez, by the virtue vested in me as mayor, do hereby extend my personal thanks and congratulations and those of the entire city of Sheboygan to Keith Moses. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mayor, very much. Thank you, Council, for inviting me here this evening. I can't tell you how much this means to me. Just my arrival here in Sheboygan, you know, it's nice to call it home. You know, I arrived here back in January of 2006 with the intention of getting Blue Harbor back on track, if you would, and we've come a very, very long way. But one of my responsibilities in the seat that I sit is to make sure that we can continue to grow as a community with the city leaders, the alderman, the council. So I wanted to not only come up here and say a few words, but I wanted to share some thank you letters. In my seat, I received many, many, many thank you letters from many, many families that are guests at the resort, whether they're here in the local community or whether they're overnight guests at the resort. And these really hit me to heart. These came from the second grade class at one of the schools that we spoke at. Like the mayor said, we gave out over 5,000 water park passes, and the response was amazing. And all we asked them to do was walk away with a couple of tips with the upcoming summer season to protect themselves from water safety. So again, I want to first thank the mayor for his participation, Chief Lascusti. We, you know, I learned a lot just being part of it to really watch. I've got a newborn at home myself and some of those things we forget is water safety around the home. So thank you very much for that. With that, I have a couple of letters that I want to share. I've got many, many, many letters and it was very difficult to choose two or three to share with you. But one of them was very interesting. It actually kind of tells you what my job is at Blue Harbor. Dear Mr. Moses and Blue Harbor staff, thank you for the passes. Blue Harbor is my favorite place to go. I like the tube slide and the big pirate ship that dumps the water down. Thank you for water safety, your friends at James Madison. Dear Mr. Moses and Blue Harbor staff, I already went on Monday at 1 p.m. I think I saw you there with a shipwreck lagoon on the snake. I like the biggest slides. I mostly like the soaker and the splashdown. I love Blue Harbor, your friends from James Madison. And the last one I want to share with you. Dear Mr. Moses and Blue Harbor staff, thank you for teaching us water safety tips and rules. I cannot tell you what ride I would go on because I had never been there. I hear it's a lot of fun and I know water safety is definitely important. It will be magnificent when I go there. Thank you again, your friends from James Madison. So it just goes to show some of our students here in Sheboyin haven't had the opportunity to go to Blue Harbor and this will be their first. So again, thank you very much for your participation. I enjoyed it and I look forward to doing it again next year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moses. The next item on the agenda is Memorial Day comments. Alderman Bauch would like to say a few comments. Good evening, Your Honor. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the meeting of the Memorial Day for men tonight. Alderman Longin has written about the importance of this holiday and how at one point in our country's history it used to be celebrated on a fixed day every year. And then in 1971, the President signed a bill that made it part of a three-day weekend. So we could go open our cabins and get out our jet skis and fry up our brats with an extra day to kick off the summer. Memorial Day isn't for veterans like Joe Heidemann or for Bob Ryan or myself. It's not even for bona fide heroes like a man like Howard Dignan. I'd like to tell you about Mr. Dignan. When I was 18 years old, I went to the Naval Academy sure that I couldn't wait to die for my country and that I would probably single-handedly save the country in some way. And Mr. Dignan was my barber. He was a short, wheezing old man who was a gentleman and had a great voice. And when I was 18, I didn't appreciate him as much because I was too busy getting ready to save the world. When I came back to teach at the Naval Academy, as a more experienced and more mature officer, I got to know him a little better. And Mr. Dignan went ashore on the first wave at Omaha Beach on D-Day. And I hadn't known this in four years of getting haircuts, but as a grown man, he started sharing stories with me. He went ashore on that first wave as a platoon leader leading a platoon ashore and he fought for 44 days of sustained combat before getting his first hot meal and his first uniform change somewhere in the forest of France in late July. And I thought that was heroic. And about a year later, the movie Saving Private Ryan came out and I thought it was superhuman at that point. And in May, Mr. Dignan would get a picture out and put it on his barber stand. It was a black-and-white 8x10. And it had 24 young, muddy faces on it. And these were young men that he was training with in England, training for the invasion of France. And back in those days, young men were drafted or recruited in their area where they lived. And all those boys around here, for example, from Manitowoc and Kiel and St. Asians and Plymouth and Sheboygan, they would all be recruited together, would train together, and then would fight together. So this photograph that Mr. Dignan had was of 24 young boys, 19-year-old boys from his hometown, that had fought over the same girlfriends together. They had fought on the wrestling mats and the gridiron together. They'd worshiped in the same churches together. And there they were in a training moment, in a moment of camaraderie with smiley faces and arms around each other as they cradled their rifles. Mr. Dignan was the only one of those 24 faces to come home from World War II. And Mr. Dignan turned down a field commission three times to be made an officer because they would have made him leave his men. He was away from his fiance for four years to go fight that war. He was even mistakenly pronounced dead at a field hospital after a particularly savage bombardment, artillery bombardment in Bastogne. He had two silver stars and three bronze stars. And as heroic as all of that is, Memorial Day isn't even for him any more than it is for us. Memorial Day is about those 23 faces, those 23 airmen, marines, soldiers and sailors who didn't come home, who don't come home. So this weekend, next weekend, as you open up your cabin, open it up and have your friends and family there and get your jet skis out from their long winter's nap. And for goodness sake, fry up a bunch of brats. But so as you do that though on Monday, take ten minutes and tell your children a story about American heroism. Take five minutes or take one minute and tell them a story about the nobility of the defense of this nation. And even if you don't believe politically that a particular war is just and noble, the mere fact that those soldiers went because 435 congressmen and 100 senators and nine Supreme Court justices and a president and a constitution told them to go, they went and they served nobly because the power of the people, that power that rests in our republic with you and your parents and grandparents that elected those people, that is still very rare in this world today. And in and of itself is indicative of the nobility and worthiness of their sacrifice. So I wish you a meaningful Memorial Day weekend, this upcoming weekend. Thank you, Your Honor, for your indulgence. Thank you all. Public forum, Madam City Clerk. First on our list would be Richard Susha Sr. Mr. Susha, could you give me your home address please? 15 North Point Drive, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. And you will have five minutes, sir. Thank you. Mr. Mayor, members of the Common Council, these are my personal feelings along with the approval of the Sheboygan County Taxpayers Association. It has been touted by some that we now have an increase in financial expertise on the council. At the committee of the whole last Monday, the Sheboygan Fire Department disclosed some disturbing figures to me for ambulance service such as a 52% uncollectable debt. How can any of these financial experts say that a business that has 52% of uncollectable debt be a good investment for the city of Sheboygan? No one would go into business if we knew that 52% of our revenues are uncollectable. We now have a private company offering reasonable rates because it's owned by two tax-exempt hospitals. It is not costing the city taxpayers anything. If you want to make money for the city, then have an agreement with Orange Cross to make a payment in lieu of taxes to the city for services rendered during the year. I have read copies of the Sheboygan Fire Department proposal as well as financial information from Orange Cross and summarizing report of three communities prepared by Tri-State Ambulance. Tri-State Summary, which contained a study done by an independent group, stated that unless a private provider is dysfunctional, do not fragment the existing system and that revenues will typically not exceed your cost of operation. The Sheboygan Fire Department doesn't address the following questions. What will happen if Orange Cross goes out of business? Who will cover the rest of the county, the transports, and when, and at what cost? We the city are really our brother's keepers and we cannot ignore the rest of the county. What happens if the Fire Department does not get in agreement with the two hospitals? This is a real possibility. What happens if Orange Cross asks for a subsidy and city taxpayers are about 40% of the county? Any loss will again be on the backs of our local taxpayers in the form of increased county taxes. Entering the field of health care is an enormous, risky undertaking. It became very evident to me that this council needs to step back and re-address an issue of this magnitude. You must not pass this tonight, nor should you pass a resolution for appropriating or transferring funds. If this is passed, I ask the mayor to lead the way and veto the proposal. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sousha. Next on the list would be Wendy Schmitz. You need to lower it. Wendy, could you give me your home address, please? 25 Hein, H-E-I-N Avenue, Plymouth. Wendy, do you want to pull the mic up just a little bit and speak into it? That's good. You'll have five minutes. Thank you. My name is Wendy Schmitz. I am the supervisor of the Senior Activity Center of Sheboygan, located on the corner of Wisconsin and Fifth, so we are now known as Sax Fifth Avenue. On March 19th, Boris Frank, a consultant, gave his report to the council. I have given a copy to the new council appointees. Boris challenged the city to take a long, hard look at its responsibility to senior citizens. I am here to tell you what the center is doing currently. We renamed ourselves in April to eliminate confusion with the Sheboygan senior community and to better reflect what we do. We are a very active place. I oversee the city-funded department under the direction of the mayor's office. We also host the county-managed dining site and an office of Lutheran social services. Anyone in Sheboygan over the age of 55 can participate in our programs. In order to receive the discounted meal, a participant needs to be 60. I manage the operation and programming of the city department. Currently, there are no membership fees. Anyone can access programs. Many are free. Some require a small fee. Our mission is to offer a place for seniors to access recreation, education, friends and support and also to empower individuals to volunteer within our program. Many individuals attend daily. Others come sporadically to take advantage of various programs. I currently supervise four employees and over 100 volunteers. You will see in the annual report that you received that in the last 22 months we have introduced a monthly movie, an armchair travel group, a bridge club, a bunco club, Tai Chi, yoga, massage, a theater group, a writers group and expanded our computer tutoring sessions. A red hat group was started in October and now we have enough members to start three groups. Most of these activities are run by volunteers as is the annual holiday fair in November under Jeannie Mullen's leadership. We organize regular trips to theaters, museums, festivals, ball games, etc. The escorts are volunteers. One of our regular participants organized a laser tag team recently and I'm sure we're the only senior center in Wisconsin to have a laser tag team and I hope that by now you have seen our TV series on TV8. Seniors act as hosts and camera operators. We have just produced our fourth episode. We have four computers and a printer which are available for free use daily donated by Aurora. Jeannie Mullen teaches cooking classes, ceramics, hand-thrown pottery, jewelry making, stained glass, basket weaving, bent wood chair making, wood carving and much, much more. She arranges special event parties such as the one we just had to celebrate the 21 active participants who are in their 90s. These are not people who we're bringing out of nursing homes or these are active participants. Some of those over 90-year-olds are our volunteers and in June she is arranging a wedding parade. She also teaches a night class for those younger seniors who are still working. Marion Health teaches two swimming classes daily, teaches line dancing, exercise, body recall and the Healthy Hikers Club. She supervises the fitness room and individualizes training programs. She recently initiated a happy feet program where each Wednesday everyone stops what they're doing for 10 minutes to dance the chicken, the hokey pokey or last week the twist just for the heck of it and to get us all to laugh. Since August 2005 we have lost our position and a senior aide yet our numbers continue to increase. The Friends of the Senior Centre is our charitable support group which is fortunate to have benefited from the Florence Heimbecker Trust. Through their generosity and support we were able to hire a consultant and a marketing intern. Excuse me, Wendy, your five minutes are up. Would you like your additional one minute? Please, I'll talk quickly. The Friends also paid for a part-time volunteer coordinator in your annual report. You'll see a picture of our new reception area. We've made significant building improvements and installed a data collection system all funded by the Friends. It's been hard to collect data until Jeff Schoesel from the City IS Department designed a computer program which has shown us that in April we had over 3,000 visits and almost 800 people in our database. We're growing and we struggle to balance serving the growing number of seniors and expanding programs with a limited budget. We offer vacation trips within the USA, Costa Rica, Australia and Europe. For my workers' travel agents we make a commission to boost our funds. We're still only open four days a week but we're bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Our dream is to reopen on Fridays maybe from nine till one. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to call me. I'd love to give you a tour. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Wendy. Next on the list would be Dot Clark. This is being placed by Jan Wagner. And Jan, it's Wagner, W-A-G-N-E-R. W-E-G-N-E-R. And what is your home address, please? 2708 Mill Road. Okay, and you will have five minutes. Good evening, everyone. To say that I'm a little overwhelmed and a little nervous but I hope you'll excuse me for that. My name is Janice Wagner. Most everyone calls me Jan. I was asked to say a few words about how I came to the senior center. I was born in Sheboygan in a little farmhouse at the edge of town that was all farmland but now is all in the city of Sheboygan. My goodness, how we have grown. I married a Sheboyganite and raised a family here and I think it is the best place in the world. I retired at age 62. One month after I retired my mother-in-law fell ill when she was 90 years old and I began caring for her so I've been a caregiver for eight years. I have osteoarthritis so the doctor and I decided that joining a swimming class would be very advantageous. I called the recreation department and they said they had water, and started going to the pool at my old alma mater, Central High. The class was too strenuous for me but I heard someone talking about the senior swim class that was offered so I switched that class. I was going every morning Monday through Friday and enjoying it very much. It is a great opportunity that is offered for seniors and a lot of people don't really know about it. When the budget cuts came we no longer had swimming on Fridays but we're still very happy with swimming and exercising Monday through Friday. At that particular class I heard people talking about programs at the senior center and decided to see what the senior center was all about. There wasn't as much publicity or press about the senior center as there is now but there has been quite an improvement since then and also a wonderful newsletter. As I am still a caregiver 24-7 with my husband I don't have a lot of time myself to spend at the senior center but I do line dancing for 45 minutes a week occasional ceramics when I can basket weaving, sitter size red hats, tai chi are very important to me mentally and physically. I have heard others say that also and if they didn't have the center to go to their mental attitude would go downhill. There are also classes being offered for caregiving coming up in June and I'm very excited about that because there is always something to learn at the senior center. The activities at the center are quite varied so that there is something for everyone and remember 55 is not old. I am also on the advisory council and would be doing many more things at the center if my time permitted. The choices are many. For some of us that don't have an opportunity to travel there are travel logs given by the seniors that have been to Europe, Africa and other places. It is a joy to be able to talk with everyone that travels and almost like being there when they give their presentations. It is very enjoyable. It is also a wonderful opportunity to learn what other people are doing and to hear their stories. Our seniors have a lot of history to pass along. I am too young to remember the Great Depression but some of the stories that we hear are important and should be heard. I do remember however ration stamps from meat and sugar during World War II and my mother making a trade with a neighbor meat stamps for sugar stamps for my birthday cake. I think our seniors have a lot to give and going to the center has helped more of us than you can imagine. We are all welcome there and each and every one of us is treated with respect, kindness and yes even extra hugs to go around. The staff is just great and our seniors are also. Although there is much that could be done we are privileged to have such a wonderful center in Sheboygan. Thank you. Thank you. Next would be Delcey Johnson. Delcey can you give me your home address please? 1306 North Third Street Sheboygan. And we will have five minutes. Thank you. Mayor Perez and Alderman. In the late 1980s when it became necessary to considerably upgrade police ambulance equipment protection and safety committee I chaired a study committee to consider whether or not to continue the ambulance service as a public service. Based on several months of study the decision was made to remove this responsibility from the city's jurisdiction. The city was losing money. People who were transported did not pay their bills because they deemed it a taxpayer service. The costs of keeping equipment and training current were substantial and took away from the department's service. It was issued in July 1988 found that a minimum of eight persons would be needed to be added to the fire department to cover the ambulance service. A press story of June 11th, 2002 quoted then fire chief Zyer as saying we'll offer the same service you have now with only five more people and now we're told that only four more hires will be needed. What will be the overtime costs? Orange Cross has eight ambulances at four sites serving the county. The city plans to operate two ambulances with a third on standby. Do you consider this the same level of service? If the driving reason behind the fire department wanting to take over the service is because they don't have enough to do, why hire four more people with not enough to do? Presently the ambulance service is a tax free service for the city. The cost burden rests with the users and not with the taxpayers. Orange Cross is doing a good job. Their average response time between March 2004 and March 2005 was 3.8 minutes within the city. Their contract requires that 90% of the city response times be under six minutes. So why fix something that isn't broken? If the city gives up the Orange Cross service, will the result be the city taxpayers will subsidize ambulance service for the rest of the county? I for one am tired of subsidizing the county. I refer you to a Sheboygan Press article of June 16th, 2005 titled policy of non-obese patients clarified. The article states, and I quote, the fire department stopped assisting Orange Cross with obese citizens when firefighters started getting hurt. Several of our firefighters have suffered workman's comp injuries in these non-emergency situations assisting Orange Cross with what they're doing, costing the city literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Said Ed Suric, a city human resources director. When the fire department receives information from an obese person, what will be their response? Will the city find themselves with the Department of Firefighters on workman's comp and unable to carry out their duties? I did not hear anything in the fire department's presentation that dealt with workers comp losses related to either availability of personnel or overtime costs. Some of you see this as a way to reduce the tax burden. Remember the rosy predictions for the loss of money on their service last year has been contested. But if Shabuigan's fire department lost 200,000 or 400,000, would their budget be able to absorb such a loss? If so, there's something dramatically wrong with the budget process. I've heard that Orange Cross has had years when they've not made a profit, which is an indication that there will be years when the fire department will not make a profit. Further, it is significant that there is no data from other cities that operate ambulance services if they are losing money. I have been told that the fire department would make concessions for five years for the opportunity to run the ambulance service, but I did not hear anything in their presentation about concessions. I think one that definitely should be required is that all personnel should live in the city and not in the town of Shabuigan or the town of Wilson or Hingham or Howard Grove. As you know, we are a soo happy society. If there is a lawsuit against the city for the wealth insurance threshold, the balance of a larger claim would have to be paid by your constituents and added to the budget. What will be the situation if a patient has to be transported to Milwaukee or Fond du Lac for treatment? Will firemen be away from the city for several hours driving to Milwaukee or Fond du Lac? I question if there has been enough study and discussion of this idea or if it's being supported simply based on the dubious premise that the city will make money. The document introduced and came out of the blue. I found no discussion of the issue on any public protection and safety minutes during the last council year. I am concerned with the speed at which the council is acting and that the chairman of the public protection and safety committee could not introduce the document because he didn't have time to even read the document before it was put on the council's May 7th agenda. And it was a disappointing that some members of the committee of the whole did not want to hear from Orange Cross. Government should not be in the business of doing what private enterprise can do. The argument has been made that Orange Cross does not pay any taxes to the city. How much does the city get from the fire department and property taxes? The previous council at their last meeting failed to act on a reorganization plan. Excuse me, Delcy. Your five minutes are up. Would you like your additional minute? Please. Okay. The previous council at their last meeting failed to act on a reorganization plan that had been studied for 11 months and spent $300,000 a year. Now we have a new council that barely four weeks since assuming office seems ready to accept a proposal that could cost your constituents hundreds of thousands of dollars. This council has been greeted with a great deal of hope for better decisions for the citizens of this city. I hope we will not be disappointed. If you do not have solid answers to all the questions that you have been asked, you will do your constituents a gross disservice by voting in favor of the fire department's proposal. Thank you. Thank you, Delcy. And lastly, Mark Zier. And Mark, can I have your home address, please? 2837 Wind Point Court, City of Sheboygan. And Mark, could you pull the microphone up just a little bit? Thank you. And you will have five minutes, sir. Thank you. Honorable Mayor, members of the Common Council, citizens of Sheboygan and Sheboygan County, I want everybody to know that I am here on my own volition. No one has asked me to speak. I am here on my own. First of all, I would like to commend Chief Listosky, his staff, and the Sheboygan Fire Department for putting together a proposal that will bring the City of Sheboygan into the 21st century and align themselves with cities comparable to us that is long overdue in this time and age. I don't know if you know or not the past six months, but the City of Sheboygan Fire Department was working with Orange Cross to try and implement a plan similar to Sheboygan to Manitowoc to try and incorporate their employees in the Sheboygan Fire Department. And even in his last month, talking about purchasing of the ammunzes in the City of Sheboygan. And for some reason, all of a sudden the pin was pulled. You wonder why? I wonder why. I have my opinion. My opinion is this, that they're stringing us along, thinking it was going to work, and then all of a sudden they knew timing was here and there wouldn't be enough time for the City of Sheboygan to get into the Fire Department Ambulance. You know, five years ago, I went through the same thing. I have 33 years of the career in the Fire Department of City of Sheboygan. My last five, I served as your Fire Chief. And I tried to do this five years ago because it was the right thing to do then. I could not compete with thousands and thousands of dollars of campaigns like letter writing, magnets, pamphlets. I had no budget. I didn't have $50,000 to compete with them. And now as a private citizen, I don't have any money to compete with full-page ads asking you to vote no. Or from a letter campaign from an employer asking their employees to call Alderman and have their friends call Alderman. Not even knowing what the issues are. It was then and it is now. Don't let these orchestrated phone calls steer your decision away from the right decision. There are so many positive reasons to do it. It isn't a scope and job duties of the professional firefighter of this 21st century. It is also in the scope of cities to serve, provide the service to the communities. Cities like Manitowoc who learned and we've learned from. I didn't have a Manitowoc in my hands when I tried to convince this council. I didn't have financial people involved with the experience that you have now. But cities like Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Green Bay, Allaway, Schwaben and Deep Peer, Gokana, Ashkosh, Final Lack, West Bend, Janesville, Madison, Racine, Kenosha, the cities of Merrill, Rhinelander, Eau Claire, Wisconsin all have the Fire Department Ammons providing a great service. And the Milwaukee Metro area and also all provide city run fire department ambulances. The reason to do it is control. How many ambulance will be dedicated to the city? There will be dedicated ambulance. There are no dedicated ambulance right now. The contract does not provide for dedicated ambulances. They may have it ambulance as they might not be one in the city. We will have dedicated ambulances in the city. We will be able to hire highly qualified employees. Right now the tech schools are teaching paramedic. Those paramedic firefighters don't even come to Sheboygan because they can't use their skills. They're going to Green Bay and Manitowoc and the other cities. They're not coming here to Sheboygan. We will be able to bring those people in our city, on our employees. Cost to the users. There's no control to the cost. The rates have been rising. The city, you council will have the control of what the user will pay for an ambulance call. And revenue? Yes, there will be revenue. There'll be revenue to counter rising taxes. There'll be revenue to put on the streets. There'll be revenue to fund. And that money is the general fund, not the fire department fund. And that money may fund more police officers on the street. That's what it's all about. A team. There's been a team of management people in the past and there's a team of management people over here right now that want to provide the right thing for this city. There's nothing in it for them except for a lot of hard work. It's the best use of our personnel. We have a six million dollar budget factor that we have to have involved in all fire departments that it's risk management. It's the best way to use our city's money to have career oriented paramedic firefighters on the streets to be able to respond to calls along with the ambulance personnel to provide a prior than ambulance arrival history assessment which is basically is going to have less time on the scene and quicker delivery to the hospital. That's what the other cities have. That's what they put together. It's an EMS delivery. As Dr. Kuhl has stated, it is best delivered by one service. Training together working together. And you wonder if the fire department can do it. Let me tell you, USA Today when I was chief I would read USA Today over the past five years they do polls of who is the most trusted worker and most trusted profession in America. And firefighters, I'll take one minute. Thank you. You're right. One or two every time that poll has been taken. And the Sheboygan firefighters will earn the trust and gain the respect of the citizens for EMS response just as they have gained and earned the respect through first responding firefighting and fire rescue. As for the areas of the county served by Orange Cross, the Sheboygan Fire Department has a plan and will provide comparable coverage should Orange Cross leave. My in-laws live in the town of Sheboygan. I wouldn't support anything detrimental for their health or their life. I've had previous administrations of Aurora. Mr. Trotter tell me it belongs in the fire department. We can't keep employees. It's the right place to be. Greg Watson stood up your last time and said the fire department will provide a great service. All firefighters from the chief down taking oath to the city to serve the best of their ability. Again this chief and his staff and the members are doing just that. They have demonstrated their commitment to do the right thing to provide an excellent service and to provide the needed revenue and getting the best value to the taxpayer. They have presented themselves well with respect and dignity hopefully this time with the current information from Manila and the new financial experience on this council the right decision will be made I urge you to vote yes. Thank you Mark. Thanks to everyone who spoke to address the common council tonight. The next item we have is consent agenda Ollman Hannah. With your permission Mr. Mayor I would like to pull forward RC 4103 Please do. With a motion to accept and adopt. I'd like to place a preman hold on that document. Discussion ends we're moving on public born for Hassel and Ollman Clayunas for the benefit of the public and the public who is watching and the public who is present and perhaps some of the Ollman that are new to the common council the three men hold dictates that all discussion sees immediately and that the issue may no longer be discussed and it may be discussed one week no earlier than one week and I can guarantee you it will. Consent agenda Ollman Hannah. Thank you Mr. Mayor all RO's accepting place on file and all RC's accepting and adopted and all resolutions to be put upon as passage. Motion and second under discussion they're being on all in favor state aye. I'm sorry we have to do roll call. Please. Boke. Serta. Gisha. Hannah. Heidemann. Kittleson. Clayunas. Manny. Meyer. Montemayor. Rindfleisch. Ryan. Vanderweel. Verhasselt. Wangeman. And Boren. 16 ayes. Motion carries. Communications and petitions 431-433 to be referred Ollman Vanderweel. Thank you Your Honor. Before I make a motion I'd ask if please Chief Kirk is here. I haven't seen him I'm not sure. Is Chief Kirk here? Okay thank you. Then my motion will be on these items that are related to the community policing unit and the gang unit. And I'll list items but my motion will be to send them to public protection safety where they're ready to go in and also to send them to finance. There's no need for motion we'll refer them there. Okay thank you. Please make a notation Ollman that the 431-433 will be referred also to finance. Thank you Your Honor. Vanderweel. Report of officer Ollman Reinflation. I'm sorry. Just to clarify I think Ollman Vanderweel he did not need 431-432 only 433 and then some others coming up as well. Okay just 433 on this section here. And then the 52 others. Ollman Vanderweel. Thank you Your Honor. I have a list I'll give Chief Kirk to Richard at the end. We need to take him as early on the agenda. So in this in this batch 431 to 433 communications we refer the only one you want to go additionally to finance is 433. Yes. Okay when we get to the other ones we'll make that change to okay. Thank you. Thank you. Ollman Vanderweel. Thank you. Ollman Reinflation. Once again 431-433 to be referred 433 to be referred additionally to public protection and safety. Report of officers to 434-490 to be referred Ollman Reinflation. Thank you Your Honor. I think the status is permission. I'd like to have 435-436 440-441-442-443 444-445-446 Oh Okay. Keep going. Yes. Keep going. 447-448-449-450 451-452-456 457-458-459 461-462-463- 464- 465-459- 464-465- 466-467- 468-469- 470-471- 472-473- 474-475- 476-477- 478-479- 480-481- 423-483- 484- I'll refer to finance as well. Thank you. Very good Ollman Reinflation. Please make that notation. I'm not going to repeat them. Ollman Vanderwill, did you want to know? Okay. Thank you very much. Make that notation as far as being referred. We will move on. Resolutions introduced 3 by Ollman Verhassel, 491 by Ollman Verhassel, Meyer, Montemayor, Gisha, and Heidemann, accepting the agreement with local 1564, ask me for 2007-09 and authorizing the Collective Bargaining Committee and the Chairman of the Committee on Salaries and Grievances to sign the agreement. Ollman Verhassel. Thank you, Your Honor. I ask that the document be put upon its passage. There's a motion to put Resolution 491 upon its passage. Is there a second? Was there a second? Second. Montemayor. Under discussion Ollman, Vice President Barney. Thank you, Your Honor. To be consistent on what I voted on earlier this year I am not going to support this contract and it has nothing to do with the job that the City Hall employees are doing. I think they're doing an outstanding job. However, earlier last year I supported the three unions that were going to raise their health care premium after three years up to 10%. I did not vote. I also did not vote for the Public Works contract settlement and again I pointed out at that time that it had nothing to do with the job they're doing. They're doing an outstanding job but I thought they also should have been up to 10% on their health care premiums after three years. To be consistent I'm also not going to support this tonight because this union is also not up to 10% in contributions. Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Barney. Any other discussion? They're being on. Please call the roll. Serta. Hi. Gisha. Hi. Hannah. Hi. Heidemann. No. Kittleson. Hi. Cleonis. No. Ney. Hi. Meyer. Hi. Montemayor. Hi. Rindflash. No. Ryan. Hi. Vanderweal. Hi. Verhasselt. Hi. Wongamann. Hi. Boren. No. And Bauck. Hi. 12 ayes, four noes. Motion carries 492 lies over 493 to 497 to be referred the product committee is 498 to be referred No. Go ahead. Report of committee 7, 499 by law and licensing, recommending denying class B intoxicating liquor license number of 2458 based on the applicant's record of violations related to the license activity. Vice President Bourne. Thank you, Your Honor. I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted. Motion in second. Under discussion. Under discussion is Florenda Perez here tonight. She's here, Your Honor. Do you wish to address the council, Ms. Perez? Please step up forward. I need a motion to open the floor. All in favor? Any opposed? Thank you. Motion carries, please. Hi. Hello. My name is Florenda Perez. And the reason I'm here is because on Tuesday by license was denied liquor license. And while I'm here again for the second time, I apologize in accepting my mistakes in regards to some citations that were given to me in 05 and 06, I believe the last one was in May of 06. I own a restaurant in Belgium. And they gave me my license, my liquor license there. They gave me a second chance. So I applied for my liquor license here. And I got my provisional. But now, again, my license was denied again on Tuesday. And I just want to say that without this liquor license, I'm out of business. It's been very hard for me getting to where I am right now. And my restaurant is going fairly well. So I'm asking to please consider approving my liquor license again. And I do have a, I believe, I owe the city $507 on some personal property. But I'm paying, I paid $300 today. And I've got $298 that I am coming up on Monday and paid my balance on that. So I've done very well up to now. The cops have been to my, the police department have come to my establishment three times already with calls that I'm serving minors. And I have underage bartenders. And all this is not true. They came the first time they came was in April 19th. The second time was April 28th and May 5th. That was the last time they came. I don't know who's calling, who's making these calls. But they came and checked the establishment. And I haven't done anything wrong. So please reconsider. And I promise I'm not going to mess up again because I don't want to be up here again. I get very nervous. So that's all I have to say. OK, thank you very much. Alderman Barn. Thank you, Your Honor. We discussed this last week in law and license, as Ms. Perez said. It was the opinion of the Assistant City Attorney Charles Adams to recommend denying the license. There are several violations in 2005, 2006. Tavern open after hours in 2005, permit underage loitering 2005, furnish to minor, permit unlicensed, furnish to minor in 2006, excuse me, and also permit unlicensed bartender in 2006. It was unanimous decision on the part of the law and licensing committee to take the Assistant City Attorney's recommendation. One other thing that Ms. Perez did not disclose is that she currently owns the state of Wisconsin $13,000 in outstanding tax warrants. So as I said before, I recommend that the report of committee be accepted and adopted. Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Barn. Any other, Alderman Montemayor? Thank you, Your Honor. I happened to attend the law and licensing a couple of weeks ago. And I thought that Ms. Perez, I thought the city clerk verified that Ms. Perez had revealed all of her violations. At this last law and licensing meeting, I was not there. No, before that. And you sent somebody downstairs to get the documentation to prove that she had revealed them, and you brought that upstairs. Was that for Florenda? I can't recall because there were several people there. Yes. Very possible. Yes. I was sitting right here listening. Thank you, Alderman Montemayor. President Haller. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a point of clarification. A state tax lien, does that have any relevance to denial of a liquor license in the city of Sheboygan? Good. Alderman Barn, would you like to respond to that? I'm the Vice President Barn. Thank you, Your Honor. In consulting with Deputy City Attorney Adams and maybe Attorney McLean can clarify this that it doesn't have a direct bearing on the city license. However, she may be on shady ground as far as the state of Wisconsin closing her down because of the tax lien. Maybe you could comment on that, Attorney McLean. Would you like to comment? Hold on. OK, Attorney McLean. Thank you, Your Honor. I'm not familiar with the situation, and I haven't talked with the Assistant City Attorney Adams about this case, so I don't know the facts. But generally, it's probably not substantially related to the license activity. So I wouldn't really consider it on whether to grant the license or not. It perhaps does raise some concerns about being able to operate the future, but that's up to the state. Vice President Barn, it's two times already. Will I just speak one more time? Thank you, Your Honor. It should be pointed out in case the council didn't understand that Ms. Perez already has a beer and wine license, and she's going for the liquor part of the license. It was also the opinion of Deputy City Attorney Adams that having an alcohol license with this pass record is an additional danger that we should be considered about at this time. And I also, I believe somebody on the committee, I can't remember who, said they would feel more comfortable if Ms. Perez could provide a track record of perhaps up to a year, and then come back and re-imply, and we'd be willing to take a look at it. But at this time, the committee was not comfortable in authorizing the license. Thank you. Thank you, Vice President Barn. Anna McCleunas. Thank you, Your Honor. That's what I was going to state, that she does have a license to sell beer and wine at this time, which in an establishment like that, many places, that's what they have, and they can run a business on that. And for a year's time, I think that might be a good test. Thank you. Alderman Rennfleisch. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Clarification, the infractions that were brought up by Vice President Born were, don't recall if they were reported or not, but the issue isn't if they were reported or not, it is the fact that they are out there for previous establishment. The initial argument for the beer and wine license was that this is as a restaurant, will not be open as late as a previous establishment, with the same kind of crowd. Assistant District Attorney Chuck Adams mentioned, though, that there are no restrictions with the liquor license, because it's a restaurant. Now that closes up fairly early, it doesn't have to be that way. Once you're getting liquor license, she could open up until two o'clock, and weekdays, and 2.30, and weekends as well. So that's why the committee was comfortable keeping the beer and wine license as something that is within the function of a restaurant, and at this time withholding the liquor license for a track record that we'd like to see. Thank you. Thank you, Gail. My pleasure. Anyone else? Paulerman Meier. Thank you, Your Honor. I personally feel that Florenda Perez deserves that second chance, and that means the whole license, not just beer and wine. And I personally do not feel that there is that much of a difference between being intoxicated on beer and wine, or liquor. And in her establishment, it is a Mexican restaurant, margaritas. You cannot make margaritas with beer and wine, and a lot of people go to these places to have those kind of drinks. And I think it's just wrong if we deny her this, because in a year, her restaurant will be out of business. Thank you, Elwin Meier. Just for the record, although Florenda has my last name, or I have hers, we are not related, although I think she's a wonderful person and a wonderful citizen. She has gone through some rough times. I don't know that a lot of us, or a lot of the people that are watching haven't gone through some rough times. Business is not an easy thing to do. We live and learn, we make mistakes. I think that this council could extend some sensitivity in certain instances like this, not just to Ms. Perez tonight, but we may have other instances coming up. No more discussion? Please call the roll. Vote aye will be to deny. A vote no will kill the committee report, and there will have to be a motion to approve. Call roll. Gisha? Aye. Hannah? No. Heidemann? No. Kittleson? Aye. Cleonis? Aye. No. Meyer? No. Montemayor? No. Rinfleisch? Aye. Excuse me? That's an aye. Okay. Ryan? No. Excuse me? No. Thank you. Vanderweal? No. Verhasselt? Aye. Wongamon? Aye. Boran? Aye. Bauch? No. Anserta? Aye. It's a tie vote, eight to eight. Aye. Vote aye. Motion carries four, 100 by law and license and recommended the Dying Barrage Operators license number 7413 based on the applicant's non-cooperation with the committee and the applicant's failure to report all violations on their application. Vice President Borne? Thank you, Your Honor. I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted. Motion? And second, under discussion. Under discussion is Sheila Shader here tonight, please. Not here, Your Honor. Please proceed. She has been uncooperative with the committee, Your Honor, and counsel. She's had two opportunities to appear before us by letter and she has not appeared either time. So it was the decision of the committee because of the lack of cooperation to deny the license. Thank you, Vice President Borne. Any further discussion? They're being on. Please call the roll. Hannah? Aye. Kittleson? Aye. Clayunas? Aye. Manny? Aye. Meyer? Aye. Montemayor? Aye. Rindfleisch? Aye. Ryan? Aye. Vanderweal? Aye. Verhastelt? Aye. Wongaman? Aye. Borne? Aye. Bauch? Aye. Certa? Aye. Angusia? Aye. 16 ayes. Motion carries. 4-101 to be referred. And report back to the Common Council on the potential use of a portion of the city's undedicated, unreserved fund, balance, and pass into substitute resolution. President Hanna? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would rule to accept and adopt and put the substitute resolution upon its passage. Second. Motion and second. Under discussion. There being none, please call the roll. Heidemann? Aye. Kittleson? Aye. Clayunas? Aye. Meyer? Aye. Montemayor? Aye. Rinfleisch? Aye. Ryan? Aye. Vanderweal? Aye. Verhastelt? Aye. Wongaman? Aye. Borne? Aye. Bauch? Aye. Certa? Aye. Gisha? Aye. And Hanna? Aye. 16 ayes. Motion carries. 4-103 has been dealt with. 4-104 by the Committee of the Whole Recommend and Authorizing the Transfer of Appropriations in the 2007 budget. President Hanna? Motion and second. Under discussion. The three-man hole will be held. Thank you very much Alderman. Ornances introduced 10, 4-105, 4-107. Lies over. 4-108 to be referred. Matters laid over 11, 3-37. Resolution number 6, 0-708 by Alderman Hanna. Born, Clayunas Bauch and Gisha. Authorizing the Transfer of Appropriations in the 2007 budget. President Hanna? Thank you Mr. Mayor. I've put the resolution upon his passage. Motion and second. Under discussion. There being none, please call the roll. Kittleson? Aye. Clayunas? Aye. Manny? Aye. Meyer? Aye. Montemayor? Aye. Rinfleisch? Aye. Ryan? Aye. Vanderwheel? Aye. Verhasselt? Aye. Wongerman? Aye. Boran? Aye. Steneyes? Motion carries. 358, Resolution number 707, 08 by Alderman Ryan. Authorizing the designation of several sites as historic. Alderman Ryan? Thank you Your Honor. I ask that the resolution be put upon his passage. Motion and second. Under discussion. Your Honor, these are sites that the first batch of sites chosen by the Historic Preservation Committee to be deemed historic sites. They are mainly city sites, with the exception of the Sheboygan Press Building and a private residence on Michigan Avenue. And all owners of these sites are requesting that they be so designated. Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Ryan. Alderman Clayunas. Thank you, Your Honor. I have a question about the Little Red Schoolhouse. It's owned by the city. Is there any funding for this renovation work? This place needs a lot of help. We can get that answer to your question through Paulette. Okay, thank you. Because I have concerns about the building. I know it has historical significance. I think it was started or built in the 1860s. My personal experience, our Salvation Army is using the building right now and it needs a lot of repair. And I'm concerned how the city will pay for something that this to be really renovated well. Thank you very much. Thank you, Alderman Clayunas. Any further discussion? Your Honor, I... Come, turn him clean. Thank you, Your Honor. I'm not addressing the merits of the proposal, but just a technical matter. The Be It Further Resolve calls for the city clerk to file a certified copy of this with the registered deeds. I have a concern that the registered deeds is gonna have difficulty doing anything with this in that there's no legal descriptions on the properties. So I guess what I would suggest is this document be acted on with the understanding that the city clerk in conjunction with our office would touch this up a bit to insert the legal descriptions for these various parcels before it's submitted to the registered deeds for recording. Does anyone have a problem with that? And we will let the motion and the second carry that understanding. Thank you, Attorney McLean. Any other discussion? There being none, please call the roll. Clowness? No. Manny? No. Meier? No. Montemayor? No. Rindflash? No. Ryan? No. Vanderweel? No. Verhastelt? No. Wangaman? No. Boran? No. Fauke? No. Serta? No. Yasha? No. Hannah? No. Heidemann? No. Kittleson? No. Communication from the law committee of the Shboyton County Board of Supervisors regarding the Council's seriously considering ending the three-party City-County Orange Cross relationship with Orange Cross and him and the Fire Department provided ambulance service and requested an open dialogue regarding this important shared service to meet with appropriate representatives of the city as soon as possible. President Hanna? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would make a motion to file. Seven. Motion and second to file. Under discussion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Aye. Please call the roll. Manny? Aye. Meyer? Aye. Montemayor? Aye. Rinfleisch? Aye. Ryan? Aye. Vanderwheel? Aye. Verhastelt? No. Wangaman? Aye. Boran? No. Fauke? Aye. Serta? Aye. Yasha? Aye. Hannah? Aye. Heidemann? Aye. Kittleson? Aye. And Kleyunas? No. Thirteen ayes, three noes. Motion carries. 410 will be referred to public protection and safety. Alderman Rinfleisch, I think we need to take Alderman. You've got 410 through 417. Would you like those to go to finance too? OK. Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Rinfleisch. 410 through 417, going to public protection and safety and finance. Make that notation please. 418 will be referred to city plan commission. And discuss that with you. But I did with the city court previously. Steve Salkoowski suggested, and I think it's appropriate, 4118 to go to finance. It's really a financial issue as opposed to any change in the lease or anything like that. The SBA is asking to pay a one-time fee in lieu of their annual rental payments in perpetuity. Really a financial question. In state of city plan 418, make a notation. It will be referred to finance. Thank you, Attorney McLean. Thank you, Your Honor. Other matters? Attorney McLean? 4-119 is a resolution authorizing the JCs to operate a beer garden at the land park on July 3 and on July 4. That will be referred to public protection and safety. 4120 is an ordinance relating to regulatory signs so as to add stop signs for east-west traffic on David Avenue at South 20th Street and South 21st Street. That lies over. 4121 is an ordinance relating to regulatory signs so as to remove yield signs for east-west traffic on David Avenue and South 21st Street. That would also lie over. 4122 is a communication from Glenn Pilling regarding the ambulance service for Sheboygan and outlining various questions about the fire department's proposal. That will go to public protection and safety, not committee of the whole. 4123 is an oral by the city court submitting various license applications for the period ending June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Law and licensing? 4124 is communication from Mary Fontaneza, Safe Harbor of Sheboygan County, Inc. stating it's most disappointing to learn about Chief Kirk's decision to suspend community policing and street crimes units and asking the council to ensure that community policing and street crimes units continue to be supported in the city budget. That will be referred to public protection and safety. 4121. All in favor, finance tool? Yes, please. Thank you. And finance? 4125 is communication from Dolores Remington asking the mayor and council for their help regarding the suspension of the community policing and street crimes units. Public protection and safety and finance? 4126 is communication from Lynn Valrath asking to please reinstate the community policing and street crimes units. Sheboygan cannot afford to be without these units. Public protection and safety and finance? 4127 is communication from Mary Klebotz registering her serious concern about the plans to spend the community policing and street crimes units. Public protection and safety and finance? 4128 is communication from Allen and Allen Wonick stating that the police, stating that the chief clerk announced he was suspending community policing unit, street crimes unit, definitely. They would want their voices to be heard and essentially basically raising their concerns about this continuing community policing unit, the street crimes unit. Public protection and safety and finance? 4129 is communication from Emily Beckerman stating that the city is a wonderful place which to raise children and to retire and special groups of police chasing drug lawbreakers and watching all the areas of the city up close and personal cannot be eliminated without great cost to us all. Public protection and safety and finance? 4130 is a communication from Rochelle Coon stating that she strongly believes eliminating community policing and street crimes unit would be a mistake if she doesn't believe that people want to lose these valuable services of law enforcement. Public protection and safety and finance? 4131 is a communication from Marilyn Charles stating that she can't believe the solution to our problems is to eliminate community policing and believes the city would be up in arms if they realized what an impact this would have on our city. Just plain old common sense is needed to find the money to keep this unit solvent. Public protection and safety and finance? 4132 is a communication from Lynn Potien owner of the Game Board, LLC stating that business owners should concern for her customers, family, and staff. It's witnessed the fine officers, the police department doing their work and getting to know both businesses and families in the area without these programs such as community policing and street crimes units makes for a far less stable community and thanking Chief Kirk for trying to trim an already slim budget. Public protection and safety and finance? 4133 is a communication from Karen Vandekriek regarding the inadequate funding for the police department resulting in cutting of services to our community stating that Chief Kirk must feel the forces of his hand, the forcing of his hand to cut the community policing programs street crimes units and this needs to be corrected, monies need to be allocated to keep these important programs working. Public protection and finance? And we have a few more. 4134 is a communication from Kay Scott Abrams president of Wisconsin Crime Stoppers and treasurer of the National Crime Stoppers USA, Inc. Stating comes as a shock and surprised that the city is considering eliminating its community policing programs and encourages the council to reevaluate the decision of eliminating the programs as it's in the best interest of the community's long-term safety and future. Public protection and safety and finance? 4135 is a communication from Barbara Tusinski stating that the issue of the city taking over the ambulance service from a private company is very complex, possibly expensive proposal, asking the council take the time to carefully consider this and not rush to a decision after only one meeting has a change likely like this will affect everyone, even those just visiting in the city or county. Public protection and finance? 4136 is a communication from Keith and Sue Potter stating that the vast majority of the community opposes the proposal for the fire department to take over the ambulance service, wants time to review it, do a comprehensive review of the fire department numbers and finally had the opportunity to discuss the resolution's effect on the entire Sheboygan County community. Public protection and safety? 4137 is a communication from Orange Cross responding to the city Sheboygan fire department's May 9, 2007 proposal for ambulance service. Public protection and safety? President Hanham, motion to adjourn. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would like to make a motion to adjourn. Your second? Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? It's time to adjourn.