County Traffic Safety Commission — Minutes

Chippewa County COUNTY TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Agenda August 13, 2026 Regular Meeting 9:00 a.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 9:00 AM. 2. ROLL CALL Attendee Name Organization Title Status Chris Elstran Chippewa County Highway Dept. Highway Commissioner (Chair) Present Sgt. Andrew Clark Chippewa County Sheriff Dept. Sergeant (Vice Chair) Absent Jason Moses Chippewa County Emergency Mgmt. Emergency Management Director Present Jennifer Leech Wisconsin DOT Traffic Safety Engineer Present Dan Kontos Bureau of Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Liaison Present Sgt. Jonathan Luck Wisconsin State Patrol Sergeant Absent Brian Misfeldt Altoona School District Director of Operations Absent Brady Seidlitz Chippewa County Corp Counsel Deputy Corporation Counsel Present Brian Tonnancour City of Chippewa Falls – Fire & EMS Fire Chief Present Lt. Sheridan Pabst City of Chippewa Falls PD Patrol Lieutenant Present Brandon Cesafsky City of Chippewa Falls Public Works Director of Public Works Absent Joe Simon Chippewa County Highway Dept. Patrol Superintendent - State Absent Jenny Lenbom Chippewa County Public Health Nurse, RN Present Alternates Present: Lieutenant Mark Bauman (Sheriff’s Department), Trooper Brett Boley (Wisconsin State Patrol) Others Present: Fred Anderson (Highway Department), Marla Prissel (Highway Department), Shane Birtzer (Highway Department), Pam Guthman (County Board Supervisor) 3. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO BE HEARD (Comments from the public will be limited to 5 minutes per speaker) 4. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve the Agenda 2. Approve the Minutes – May 14, 2026 3. Schedule Next Meeting Date – November 12, 2026 9:00 AM 5. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. Amish Buggy Signs – C. Elstran Elstran reviewed a request from County Board Supervisor Pam Guthman regarding the need for additional Amish and Mennonite buggy signage on the roads commonly used by those communities. After discussion, it was agreed that the Highway Department and the Emergency Management Department would meet with representatives from those groups to gather input on appropriate sign RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Tonnancour SECONDER: Moses locations. No vote was taken. 6. REPORTS 1. CTH H Speed Zone Request – C. Elstran & F. Anderson Elstran provided an update on actions taken since the last meeting regarding the request to reduce the speed limit on CTH H north of the City of Stanley. A traffic count was conducted and showed that most vehicles are complying with the existing speed limit. This finding supports the consensus reached at the previous meeting that a speed reduction is not warranted. 2. State Highway Updates – J. Leech Leech reminded commission members of the importance of using damage claim tags whenever state property is damaged. She encouraged submitting claims for minor issues as well, including shoulder damage, sign damage or significant ruts within the right-of-way. She also reminded the group to report any emergency lane closures to the Traffic Management Center (TMC) so the information is accurately reflected on the 511wi website. She then provided an update on current state road construction projects, noting in particular that STH 178 will undergo a full lane closure overnight on August 13 for the installation of monotubes over the highway. She also reported that the intersection of STH 178 and Chippewa Crossing Blvd will be evaluated due to a recurring pattern of crashes involving vehicles turning left from Chippewa Crossing Blvd onto STH 178. She emphasized that this review does not guarantee that a project will result. 3. City of Chippewa Falls Street Projects – B. Cesafsky Cesafsky was not present at the meeting, so no update was provided. 4. Chippewa County Highway Projects – C. Elstran Elstran provided an overview of current County construction projects. He noted that this information is also available on the Highway Department website. 5. Chippewa County Crash Statistics – A. Clark Bauman reviewed the year-to-date crash data for Chippewa County, noting that the first fatality of the year has occurred. 6. Wisconsin DOT Traffic Safety Updates – D. Kontos Kontos presented information from the Bureau of Transportation Safety (BOTS), which included county and state crash data through the second quarter of the year and highlighted recent updates to the MUTCD manual. 7. Roundtable report – All 7. AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION 8. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 AM RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Tonnancour SECONDER: Moses