Special Hillmoor Commission - Rescheduled from July 9, 2026 — Minutes

HILLMOOR COMMISSION MINUTES THURSDAY, August 6, 2026 – 6:00 PM LAKE GENEVA CITY HALL; COUNCIL CHAMBERS (MAIN LEVEL) Members: Mayor Todd Krause, Alderperson Cindy Yager, Mark Davids, Kenneth Etten, Dan Getzen, Larry Happ, Paula Porubcan, Peggy Schneider, and Lowell Thompson. Consultant Michael Krajovic. City staff David Winger- City Parks Director. Call to Order by Mayor Krause at 6:01 pm. Roll Call - Present: Mayor Krause, Alderperson Cindy Yager, Kenneth Etten, Lowell Thompson, Dan Getzen, Paula Porubcan, Peggy Schneider, Larry Happ, and Mark Davids. Consultant Michael Krajovic. (Parks Director David Winger was also in attendance.) Comments from the public as allowed by Wis. Stats. §19.84(2), limited to items on this agenda, except for public hearing items. Comments will be limited to 5 minutes. Peg Esposito gave public comments. (Public comments can be reviewed on the City’s website.) Approve the Minutes of May 14, 2026 – On a motion by Larry Happ and seconded by Paula Porubcan the minutes of May 14, 2026 were unanimously approved. Consultant’s Report – M. Krajovic mentioned it had been almost three months since the last Hillmoor Commission meeting in May due to weather related events that forced the cancellation of the June and July meetings. He reported on the June 23rd ecological restoration program held at the library which featured Tommy Gunn of the American Bird Conservancy who described the importance of restoring the land on Hillmoor to create a thriving, healthy habitat to benefit both animals and humans. Update Regarding Ecological Restoration Plan – Clay Frazer of Native Range Ecological gave a PowerPoint presentation to update the Commission on the current status of the Hillmoor ecological restoration plan. Mr. Frazer reviewed the extensive work needed to map and categorize the different habitat or ecological zones on the property. He mentioned that commercial loggers might be interested in removing the invasive black locust trees at little or no cost to the City. He also recommended that protecting the old, legacy oak forest, located in the forested area of Zone 3 of the property, be a top priority for ecological restoration. Update Regarding Knowles Nelson Grant Implementation – David Winger and M. Krajovic gave a brief update on the status of the grant including next steps for implementation. David W. reported that the final completion date has been moved back to July of 2027 due to various technical issues. The City will contact DNR and request an extension of the grant past its current May 2027 deadline. Discussion/Recommendation Regarding Small Projects for 2026 - M Krajovic gave a brief presentation on three small projects that the City could undertake this year. They included developing a new Hillmoor brochure and improved trail markers to highlight hiking trails on the property; creating a new wooded path behind the Target plaza to move the current trail off private property; and to remove and replace the old cart bridge near Hwy. 50. Larry Happ suggested that the new bridge could be built through collaboration with the Public Works Department and volunteers. Mark Davids mentioned Geo-Caching and volunteered to help upload trail information to the All Trails hiking App. The Commission also suggested that the City look into forming an intern program to help accomplish some of the projects on Hillmoor. Mayor Krause said that no formal recommendation was needed at this time and that the suggestions would be forwarded on to the City. Update Regarding City’s Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (CORP) and Relationship to Hillmoor – David Winger gave a brief presentation on the City Parks’ effort to develop an outdoor recreation plan for the City which will include plans for Hillmoor. Discussion Regarding Hillmoor Budget & Capital Improvement Priorities – M. Krajovic gave a PowerPoint presentation on potential Hillmoor projects contained in the Conceptual Plan for Zone 1 and their previous priority rankings as they relate to the Commission recommending projects for funding consideration in the City’s upcoming Capital and Operating budget process. He explained how the construction of the new paved path will require the relocation of the dog park and other potential project funding priorities. Both the Mayor and Council representative Yager stated that the requests need to be reasonable and limited considering the City’s great many funding needs including those for other City parks. It was emphasized that implementation of the Hillmoor project will occur over many years. Krajovic also described potential projects to be included in the 2027 operating budget such as funding professional services for the development of a conceptual plan for the remaining Hillmoor Zones 2 thru 5, and possible funding for partial implementation of the ecological restoration plan which is expected to be completed at the end of the year. The Commission members were asked to review the information presented and be prepared to make formal funding recommendation at the upcoming August 13th meeting. Adjournment – On a motion by Lowell Thompson and seconded by Mark Davids, the motion to adjourn was unanimously approved. Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:30 pm.