Harbor Commission — Minutes

HARBOR COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 4:00 P.M. Held In-Person and Virtually Conference Room W3728 Franklin Walsh St. Zenda, WI. 53195 1. Call to Order: Supervisor Zimmerman called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M. 2. Roll call: Supervisor Maureen Zimmerman, Tom Billing, Scott Dillion, were present and Grace Eckland (excused) Supervisor Zimmerman introduced Molly Smith as the new Harbor Commission secretary. 3. Approve minutes of previous meeting: January 14th, 2026 S. Dillion / T. Billing motioned to approve the minutes. Motion Carried. 4. Comments from the public: None 5. Profit & Loss Statement – December 2025 & January 2026 Mr. Zimmerman showed what the Harbor Commission budget looked like in 2025. He said that the only item missing is a bill of approximately $6000 from the pier company for the remainder of the contract. The contract states that the cost is $24,000 a year to install and remove the piers at each site. We are still waiting for the final bill of $6000. Mr. Dillion said that when the budget shows $60,000 to the good, it is really $54,000. 6. Pier Damage and Repair Overview – discussion only Mr. Dillion shared pictures he had received of a damaged Forever Pier. Lake Geneva has about six Forever Piers. This one is on the north shore by Yerkes. Mr. Dillion said that we had about 12 inches of ice and it brought the Forever Pier right up out of the water. He went on to say that Summerset Marine has stated that these are “guaranteed for life.” Mr. Dillion asked him, “You say the piers are guaranteed, but what if we have a really bad winter and the piers get destroyed, do you have the financial ability to back it up?” The gentleman he was addressing never answered. He wondered if he had insurance for that. It would be very expensive. Supervisor Zimmerman said that each member of the Commission needs to visit each launch at least the week of the Commission meetings. Members need to see what is going on. Then they will have more of a working knowledge. Mention was made of all those entering the frozen lake at Hillside. There were many snowmobilers, ice fishermen, 60 tents/shanties, ATVs, and 11 trucks one Saturday morning. Unfortunately, they continue to park by one another on the ice. They also are driving around at 11:00 at night. There has been some thought given to possibly charging those who enter the ice at one of the Linn launches. Supervisor Zimmerman said that municipalities have been given permission by the DNR to do that. It can be put on next meeting’s agenda to formally vote on it. She also wonders about talking with the police about the Commission’s concerns. What do they see as a concern. Should bollards be placed at the launches. There is nothing that says that we have to provide entry and exit to the ice. However, we want the tourism and the fisherman. We do not want one big tailgate. Mr. Dillion said that Hillside in the summer is one of the least attractive places to launch a boat, but in the winter, it is the most attractive. He does fear that if they charge to launch in the winter then Linn starts to incur liability. There would need to be signage about entering at your own risk. Supervisor Zimmerman said that this would be discussed at another meeting. Sometimes people park overnight even though they are not allowed to. People stay out on the ice all night. Supervisor Zimmerman said that they may want input from the DNR. Mr. Zimmerman said that he talked with Attorney Duquette about the insurance claim. He will be writing an opinion letter stating that he would not pursue the people if the insurance company is pursuing them, and the insurance company has informed Mr. Zimmerman that they are pursuing it. Attorney Duquette doesn’t want to downplay the $5000, but it would probably cost $1000 if he was involved. Mr. Zimmerman said that he looked up the case with Walworth County and the guy paid the fine and pled guilty and then did not have to go to court. The District Attorney had said that in order for the court to make him pay the Town the $5000 would have had to plea “Not Guilty” and then it would have been sent up to criminal court. 7. Slip Lease Contract T. Billing/S. Dillion motioned to accept the changes on the 2026 boat slip rental agreement. Motion carried. The Commission viewed the updated Slip Rental Agreement. Mr. Zimmerman said that section three was added to the contract to include the cable lift and hydraulic lift fee. He will obtain those figures from the Lake Geneva Pier Company. With the addition of the lift fees in section 3, all other section shifted down and the agreement now has eight sections. Mr. Dillion asked if a possible renter does not have their check turned in by May 1st they can’t rent then. That is correct. Then we go to the next person on the long waiting list. 8. Pier Rental Rates – 2026 Season M. Zimmerman/S. Dillion motioned that they put forth the 9% increase that they previously agreed to last month. Motion Carried. Mr. Zimmerman said that the Town budget was put together right about the time that he began with the Town. Before the accident, a place holder $76,294.07 was in the budget. When looking at the rates for this year, they had $76,000 budgeted. He wanted the Commission to keep that in mind when considering the rates. Supervisor Zimmerman said that her desire was to raise the rates by 10% and the Commissions desired a 6% increase. They therefore agreed on 9% at the last meeting. Now considering the damage they have sustained and any possible new damage from heaving, should they keep the slip rate at a 9% increase? Mr. Billing said that there is damage at the Hillside slab. It has starting to move. Some of the pier companies are really hard on the launch. Mr. Dillion said that since they are the ones causing the damage, maybe their fees should be raised. Supervisor Zimmerman said that those are launch fees. Mr. Dillion talked about another kind of fee for commercial use of the pier. All they are paying now is an annual launch pass. If the DNR wouldn’t approve for us to change that, then we could look at an additional fee. A transaction with the Town of Linn. It is not fair to have all the people who keep their boats at the slips pay for this. That is not fair. Two years ago, we raised their rate 8% and last year 5%, 13% in two years is too much. He said that Linn is the most expensive pier slip on the lake now. If we have a $54,000 surplus from last year, we need to take that into the new year and not be trying to get it from people who had nothing to do with that. Supervisor Zimmerman said that she understands when talking about damage to the launch itself and the lakebed, but with the slip fees we are talking about supply and demand. We are not looking to gouge people, but we have a jewel for them with limited space. We need to maximize for the people of the Town of Linn where we make the money. This is the first year where the Harbor Commission has been directed to make money. This is the first year that she can recall where they have sustained some damage. Supervisor Zimmerman asked Mr. Dillion if he is ok with the 9% increase that they discussed at the last meeting. He said he doesn’t like it, but he would support it. He would like to see an ongoing surplus fund. He would like $25,000 to be moved into an account to cover things like future damage. Supervisor Zimmerman mentioned the letter from the Town Engineer that was written two years ago and was discussed at a previous meeting. That was estimated, and he gave us 5-8 years. We did not put that into the budget, and it was for $178,000. Mr. Dillion said that their only income is the launch fees and the boat slips. The $178,000 would be very hard to cover without a reserve fund. Supervisor Zimmerman asked Mr. Zimmerman to review the engineer’s letter. Mr. Dillion is concerned about the pressures on them to cover large expenses moving forward without a reserve fund. 9. Adjournment: S. Dillion / T. Billing motioned to adjourn at 4:43 P.M. Motion Carried. Respectfully Submitted: Molly Smith