La Crosse Area Planning Committee

Metropolitan Planning Organization Serving the

La Crosse/La Crescent Urbanized Area

Tom Faella, Director Jackie Eastwood, Transportation Planner La Crosse County Administrative Center400 4^th Street North Y Room 2300 Y La Crosse, WI 54601-3200Telephone: 608.785.5977 or 608.785.6141 FAX: 608.793.6525

Minutes of LAPC Meeting, May 16, 2007

Minutes of the meeting of the La Crosse Area Planning Committee held on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at the La Crosse County Administrative Center, 400 4^th St N., Room 3220, La Crosse, WI 54601. 

Members Present: John Chapman, Village of Holmen; Steve Doyle, County of La Crosse; Scott Johnson, Town of Campbell; Dennis Manthei, Village of West Salem; Lynnetta Kopp, Town of Shelby; Mike Poellinger, City of La Crescent; Jim Bialecki, City of Onalaska; Terry Houlihan, Town of Medary; Stanley Hauser, Town of Onalaska. Members Excused: Jim Bialecki, City of Onalaska. Members Absent: Mark Johnsrud, City of La Crosse Others Present: Jim Tenuta, Tim Mitchell, John Nordbo, Claudia Orvis, Cindy Carlsson, Bill Landman, Adryan Slaght, Jennifer Kuderer, Stephanie Hickman, John Boland, Keith Carlson, Jason Gilman, Tom Faella, and Jackie Eastwood.

Call to Order: Mr. Chapman called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. 

1) Approval of Minutes of the March 21, 2007 LAPC Meeting:

Mr. Poellinger motioned to approve the minutes of the March 21, 2007 meeting. Mr. Manthei seconded. All were in favor.  

2) Public comment relative to agenda items:

None.

3) Recognition of service to LAPC by Dave Paudler:

Mr. Faella had a plaque made to recognize Mr. Paudler’s (not in attendance) service to the LAPC. Mr. Chapman said he would give Mr. Paudler the plaque.

4) Welcome new LAPC member, Town of Onalaska Chairman Stanley Hauser:

Mr. Hauser was introduced as the new chairman for the Town of Onalaska. 

5) Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman for May 2007 – May 2009:

Mr. Manthei motioned to nominate Mr. Chapman to another term as Chairman of the LAPC. Ms. Kopp seconded. All were in favor.

Ms. Kopp motioned to nominate Mr. Poellinger to another term as Vice-Chairman of the LAPC. Mr. Johnson seconded. All were in favor.

6) Local Studies Program:

The County requested some extra funds to conduct traffic counts at 10 locations along County highways during phase II of the County highway study, but only in the case DOT was unable to conduct the counts within its regular cycle of traffic counts. The LAPC has about $5,000 in the budget to go toward the County’s local share. 

Mr.Poellinger motioned to authorize the use of local studies funds for traffic counts for the County road maintenance study. Mr. Houlihan seconded. All were in favor.

7) Resolution 5-2007:

Mr. Faella stated the Transit Development Plan had been accepted by the MTU Board and had received no comments during the public comment period.

Mr. Johnson motioned to adopt the Transit Development Plan. Mr. Manthei seconded. All were in favor. 

8) Resolution 6-2007: Some additional projects were added to the Transportation Improvement Program, including a placeholder for Safe-Routes-to-School projects for which funding had not been awarded yet. Because the transportation plan amendment would not be adopted until the middle of July, the placeholder was necessary to be compliant with the transportation bill (SAFETEA-LU) by the July 1, 2007 deadline.

Mr. Poellinger motioned to adopt the amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program. Ms. Kopp seconded. All were in favor.

9) City of Onalaska Sewer Service Area (SSA) Plan Amendment: Mr. Manthei stated that negotiations among the Village of West Salem, the Town of Hamilton, and the City of Onalaska to draft a boundary agreement were being conducted and could go on for 6 to 9 months. It seemed premature to have a SSA plan amendment before a boundary agreement. Mr. Gilman agreed. No action taken.

10) Resolution 7-2007: Mr. Faella informed the committee that Mayor Johnsrud had requested a resolution supporting regional transportation authorities be added to the agenda. Mr. Chapman stated he believed this topic had already been addressed by the Policy Board and the preferred course of action was to maintain the status quo.

Mr. Poellinger motioned to approve Resolution 7-2007, which supports enabling legislation for regional transportation authorities. Mr. Johnson seconded.

[Motion on the table.] Mr. Doyle said he didn’t know enough to make a decision. Mr. Tenuta from the Alliance of Cities spoke of the proposal and the benefits of RTA legislation. He emphasized that supporting RTA legislation did not mean local entities would have to form an RTA. A specific process had to be followed. Support for the legislation would allow communities like Appleton—who will probably lose Federal/State operating assistance after the next Census—to generate local monetary support for their transit system. Much discussion ensued. The final consensus was for the legislation to be brought to the board for reading first. All were in favor of the concept of having an option or tool for municipalities; but, members wanted to ensure uninterested entities could not be forced to participate and they wanted to read the legislation.

Mr. Doyle motioned to hold over Mr. Poellinger’s motion to the July 18, 2007 meeting. Ms. Kopp seconded. All were in favor.

11) Other Business: Mr. Poellinger made a request of MPO staff to work with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to compile a history of BPAC’s work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Mr. Boland recognized Mr. Chapman for his work in getting the Halfway Creek Trail implemented.

12) Adjourn, Next meeting to be announced:

Mr. Poellinger motioned to adjourn at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Manthei seconded. All were in favor.