City Council Meeting — Minutes

City of Fort Atkinson City Manager's Office 101 N. Main Street Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN PERSON AND VIA ZOOM TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2026 – 7:00 PM CITY HALL – SECOND FLOOR MINUTES 1. Call meeting to order President Jaeckel called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. 2. Roll call Present: Council members Huckabee, Johnson, Lescohier, Price and President Jaeckel. Also present: City Manager, City Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director, City Attorney, Director of Public Works, Director of Neighborhood and Building Services, Public Works Supervisor, Police Chief, Police Captain, Water Superintendent and Fire Chief. 3. Pledge of Allegiance President Jaeckel led the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Consent Agenda Price moved, seconded by Johnson to approve the Consent Agenda items 4.a through 4.d as presented. Motion carried. a. Review and possible action relating to the minutes of the July 21, 2026, City Council meeting (Ebbert, Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director) b. Review and possible action relating to the minutes of the July 27, 2026, Police and Fire Commission meeting (Ebbert, Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director) c. Review and possible action relating to the minutes of the July 27, 2026, Joint Review Board meeting (Ebbert, Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director) d. Review and possible action relating to the minutes of the July 28, 2026, Plan Commission meeting (Ebbert, Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director) 5. Public Hearings None. 6. Public Comment for Matters on the Agenda None. 7. Petitions, Requests, and Communications a. Presentation of proposed changes to Thrive Economic Development Structure (Deb Reinbold, Thrive ED President) No action was taken. 8. Resolutions and Ordinances a. First reading of an Ordinance creating Sections 94-245 through 94-248 of the City of Fort Atkinson Code of Ordinances relating to Off-Highway Motorcycles (OHM) (Hefty, Police Captain) Captain Hefty presented the Ordinance related to Off-Highway Motorcycles. The proposed ordinance is a necessary step to address the surge in OHM and E-Moto usage in Fort Atkinson. By clearly defining OHMs, distinguishing them from legal E-bikes, and providing a tool for municipal citations, this ordinance will protect the community and empower local law enforcement to curb dangerous, unregulated riding. The Ordinance Committee reviewed these proposed changes at their meeting on July 21st and recommended the City Council review and enact the changes. Lescohier moved, seconded by Johnson to perform the first reading of this ordinance and direct the City Manager to prepare the ordinance for a second reading at the meeting on August 18, 2026. Motion carried. b. First reading of an Ordinance to amend several Sections of Chapter 94 of the City of Fort Atkinson Code of General Ordinances relating to Electric Bikes and Scooters (Bump, Police Chief) Chief Bump presented the Ordinance relating to electric bikes and scooters. Since the last update to this ordinance in 2019, the State of Wisconsin has made additional law changes pertaining to e-Bikes. This update incorporates these updates and adopts additional safety language focused on improving roadway safety. There is also the addition of parental responsibility as e-Bikes continue to gain popularity with youth. The Ordinance Committee reviewed these proposed changes at their meeting on July 21st and recommended the City Council review and enact the changes. Huckabee moved, seconded by Johnson to perform the first reading of the ordinance relating to e-bike usage and direct the City Manager to prepare the ordinance for a second reading at the meeting on August 18, 2026. Motion carried. c. First reading of an Ordinance Amending the City of Fort Atkinson Zoning Map to change the zoning of the property located at 1911 Janesville Avenue from Rural Holding (RH-35) to Multifamily Residential (MRH-30) (Draeger, Director of Neighborhood and Building Services) Director Draeger reviewed the Ordinance amending the zoning map for the property located at 1911 Janesville Avenue. The Plan Commission reviewed the Zoning Map Amendment at a meeting on July 28, 2026, and recommended approval by the City Council. The applicant is proposing to rezone the property from RH-35 to MRH-30, and to obtain a Conditional Use Permit for a Group Development to accommodate seven multifamily buildings totaling 112 units within two separate phases. The existing single- family home on the property is proposed to remain, and a new parcel will be created to include 0.9-acres. The multifamily buildings are proposed to the north, west, and south of the existing home. Price moved, seconded by Johnson to perform the first reading of the Ordinance and direct the City Manager to prepare the ordinance for a second reading at the August 18, 2026 meeting. Motion carried. 9. Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees a. City Manager’s Report (Houseman, City Manager) No action was taken. 10. Unfinished Business None. 11. New Business a. Review and possible action relating to the purchase of a 2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty truck for the City's Water Utility (Armstrong, Water Utility Superintendent) Superintendent Armstrong shared the existing 2009 Ford F350 truck has served the Water Utility well for the past 17 years but is past its useful life and starting to cost the Utility in additional repairs. This truck is used daily by the Water Utility Staff for general maintenance, repair work, and emergency response for main breaks and service interruptions. Replacement of the truck was included in the 2026 Budget and CIP. Two vendors provided comparable quotes. Johnson moved, seconded by Lescohier to approve the purchase of a 2026 Ford F-250 XL Super Duty from Griffin Ford of Fort Atkinson in an amount not to exceed $44,215.50. Motion carried. b. Review and possible action relating to a storm sewer cleaning, televising, and locating invoice (Navin, Director of Public Works) Director Navin discussed that on June 9, 2026, the Plan Commission recommended the City Council approve a Preliminary Certified Survey Map for the property located at 312 S. Fourth Street with a condition establishing an easement for maintaining the public storm sewer on the final certified survey map before being brought forward to the City Council for approval. This condition was recommended to address the storm sewer that runs through the property at this location. Staff contracted out the cleaning and televising of this 234.5-foot section of pipe to properly locate its path through private property. The exact location of this pipe is now being recorded in the CSM as recommended by the Plan Commission. Lescohier moved, seconded by Johnson to approve the Expediters, Inc. invoice of $11,805.00 for the cleaning, televising, and locating of the storm sewer pipe at 312 S Fourth St. Motion carried. c. Review and possible action relating to the Purchase and Installation of Fire/EMS Computer Aided Dispatch system using donated funds (Peterson, Fire Chief) Chief Peterson provided the Fort Atkinson Fire Department is requesting approval to implement a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system utilizing Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) installed in frontline emergency response vehicles. This project expands the City of Fort Atkinson Police Department's existing ProPhoenix CAD system to include Fire and EMS operations. This will allow Fire, EMS, Police, and Dispatch personnel to operate from the same proven platform while sharing real-time incident information during emergency responses. The project is funded by an anonymous donation to the Fire Department. Price moved, seconded by Johnson to approve the purchase and implementation of the ProPhoenix Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Mobile Data Terminal project in the amount of $35,673.05 from the vendors noted in the staff report with donated funds. Motion carried. 12. Miscellaneous None. 13. Public Comment for Matters Not on the Agenda None. 14. Claims, Appropriations and Contract Payments a. Review and possible action relating to the Verified Claims presented by the Director of Finance and authorization of payment (Ebbert, Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director) Huckabee moved, seconded by Lescohier to approve the list of Verified Claims as presented and authorize payment. Motion carried. 15. Closed Session a. The City Council may adjourn into closed session pursuant to Wis. State Stat. §19.85(1)(e) to deliberate or negotiate the purchasing of public properties, the sale of public properties, and the purchase of temporary limited easements over private property, where competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session (Houseman, City Manager) Lescohier moved, seconded by Johnson to go into closed session pursuant to Wis. State Stat. §19.85(1)(e) to deliberate or negotiate the purchasing of public properties, the sale of public properties, and the purchase of temporary limited easements over private property, where competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session. Motion carried. 16. Adjournment Huckabee moved, seconded by Johnson to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:12 pm. Respectfully submitted, Michelle Ebbert City Clerk/Treasurer/Finance Director