Veterans Service Commission - Regular Meeting — Agenda Packet

Chippewa County Veterans Service Commission Regular Meeting July 13, 2026 Chippewa County Courthouse, Room 302 8:00 AM Lee Hennick, Chair District 15 David Kelly, Vice-Chair District 14 Citizen Rep Phillip Sarazen Citizen Rep CW King Citizen Rep Richard VanderMolen Page 1 of 7 Chippewa County Veterans Service Commission Regular Meeting July 13, 2026 Chippewa County Courthouse, Room 302 8:00 AM 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Members of the Public Wishing to Be Heard (Comments will be limited to 5 minutes per speaker.) 4. Consent Agenda (Unless separation of an item is requested, all items will be adopted under one motion.) 1. Approve the Agenda 2. Approve the Minutes — May 18, 2026 3. Schedule Next Meeting Date - September 14, 2026 5. Reports 1. Discuss Wisconsin Veteran's Home @ Chippewa Falls - Phil Sarazen 2. Discuss Veterans Department procedure regarding veterans requesting funds review - Peter Johnston 3. Discuss requested number of veterans served in Dunn, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Counties, along with the amount of money spent by the VA per veteran - Peter Johnston 4. Discuss review of Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Fund for purchasing flags - Peter Johnston 6. Business Items 7. Agenda Items for Future Consideration 8. Adjourn Chippewa County shall attempt to provide reasonable special accommodations to the public for access to its public meetings, provided reasonable notice of special need is given. If special accommodations for a meeting are desired, contact the County Clerk’s Office at 715-726- 7980. Members of the Chippewa County Board of Supervisors who are not members of this committee are entitled to attend this meeting. It is possible that the attendance of one or more such nonmember Supervisors may create a quorum of some other county board committee, board or commission. Such a quorum is unintended and the nonmember Supervisors are not meeting for the purpose of exercising the responsibility, authority, power, or duties of any other committee, board or commission. Published: 7/9/2026 Page 2 of 7 Chippewa County Veterans Service Commission Regular Meeting May 18, 2026 Chippewa County Courthouse, Room 302 8:30 AM 1. Call to Order Peter Johnston called the meeting to order at 08:31 AM. 2. Roll Call Members Present: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Members Absent: Philip Sarazen Others Present: Peter Johnston, Wendy Krumenauer, Jaclyn Sadler 3. Members of the Public Wishing to Be Heard (Comments will be limited to 5 minutes per speaker.) There were no members of the public wishing to be heard. 4. Consent Agenda (Unless separation of an item is requested, all items will be adopted under one motion.) Motion: Approved Result: Passed (4 - 0) Mover: Richard VanderMolen Seconder: David Kelly Ayes: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Nayes: None Absent: Philip Sarazen 1. Approve the Agenda 2. Approve the Minutes - November 10th, 2025 5. Business Items 1. Elect the Chair Motion: Approved Result: Passed (4 - 0) Mover: Richard VanderMolen Seconder: David Kelly Ayes: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Nayes: None Absent: Philip Sarazen Supervisor Kelly nominated Supervisor Hennick for Chair. Page 3 of 7 2. Elect the Vice-Chair Motion: Approved Result: Passed (4 - 0) Mover: Richard VanderMolen Seconder: Lee Hennick Ayes: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Nayes: None Absent: Philip Sarazen 3. Establish the Regular Meeting Date/Time Motion: Approved Result: Passed (4 - 0) Mover: David Kelly Seconder: Richard VanderMolen Ayes: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Nayes: None Absent: Philip Sarazen Motion to move the meetings from 8:30 am to 8:00 am and keep the same day - every other month on the second Monday. 6. Reports 1. Update on Agenda Management Software and Agenda Notifications - Jaclyn Sadler County Clerk, Jaclyn Sadler, showed the commission how to sign up for meeting notifications. 2. Discuss Wisconsin Veteran's Home @ Chippewa Falls - Phil Sarazen Phil Sarazen was absent from the meeting. However, Peter Johnston spoke briefly on the Veteran's Home. 3. Discuss Veteran Relief Fund - Peter Johnston Peter Johnston spoke on the item and explained that they have given out several gas cards and food gift cards this year and may need to tap into the non-lapsing fund if more requests come in. 4. Discuss Memorial Day Activities - Peter Johnston Peter Johnston told the commission that the Chippewa Valley Patriotic Council would be coming the courthouse on Friday for a Memorial Day ceremony. 5. Review Veterans Office Dashboard Data - Peter Johnston Peter Johnston reviewed the data on the dashboard. 7. Agenda Items for Future Consideration Chair Hennick would like to see the # of veterans are being served in Dunn, Eau Claire and Chippewa Counties and the amount of dollars being spent by the VA per veteran. Mr. Vandermolen would like the department to look into the Soldier's and Sailor's Relief Fund for purchasing flags and to bring that information back to the commission. Page 4 of 7 Peter Johnston informed the commission that the department will be working on a policy regarding veterans requesting funds to bring forward for review. 8. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at: 09:20 AM Result: Passed (4 - 0) Mover: Richard VanderMolen Seconder: David Kelly Ayes: David Kelly, Lee Hennick, CW King, Richard VanderMolen Absent: Philip Sarazen Page 5 of 7 VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE 711 N Bridge St, Room 113, Chippewa Falls WI 54729 Phone: 715-726-7990 ~ Fax: 715-726-7821 Email: veterans@chippewacountywi.gov Peter Johnston ~ Service Officer Wendy Krumenauer ~ Veterans Services Specialist How Relief Funds are processed RELIEF FUNDS 1. Someone asks for money. We do the following: a. Ask whether the applicant has applied for assistance through ESS and/or Housing Services. If they have not, they should apply for those benefits first, as our program is intended to serve as a last resort after other available resources have been exhausted. b. We need: i. DD214 – honorable, general ii. Eviction and/or shut off notice iii. Completed applications c. They need to complete and return our application as well as one for VORP and SSVF d. Resident of Chippewa County for at least 30 days e. Anything $501 or more needs authorization from the chair of the Veterans Commission. f. Any financial assistance provided should have a meaningful impact on the applicant's situation. For example, if an applicant requests $3,000, we may not be able to provide the full amount, but a $500 grant should still help move them toward stability rather than simply delaying the same financial hardship. g. Applicants requesting gas or grocery gift cards are generally asked to complete an application, particularly if they have received assistance previously or are making repeat requests. h. Applications: 1. VORP Referral 2. VORP brochure 3. SSVF Referral ii. All three can be sent to: 1. Karla.peterson@dva.wisconsin.gov 2. Angela.friend@cvivet.org iii. Once we receive a response from the agency regarding the assistance they are able to provide, we determine what additional support is needed. We work closely with the agency to coordinate assistance and help address any remaining unmet needs.. Page 6 of 7 VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE 711 N Bridge St, Room 113, Chippewa Falls WI 54729 Phone: 715-726-7990 ~ Fax: 715-726-7821 Email: veterans@chippewacountywi.gov Peter Johnston ~ Service Officer Wendy Krumenauer ~ Veterans Services Specialist July 13, 2026 Reports 1. Veterans Department policy regarding veterans requesting funds review. a. Review the “How Relief Funds are processed” document 2. Requested number of veterans served in Dunn, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Counties, along with the amount of money spent by the VA per veteran. 2024 figures (latest national data). Pop C&P EC 5638 32,542,545$ 5,772.00$ Dunn 2329 19,306,095$ 8,289.44$ Chippewa 4658 29,117,382$ 6,251.05$ Buffalo 937 7,755,702$ 8,277.16$ Dane 23073 114,663,437$ 4,969.59$ Milwaukee 37933 202,637,240$ 5,341.98$ 3. Review of Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Fund for purchasing flags. a. Reached out to Dunn County , they purchase new flags each year for all veterans b. Reach out to St. Crox County, they purchase when Veteran Orgs need them, store the rest c. Other Counties do something like what these counties do Peter Johnston Veteran Service Director Chippewa County Veteran Services 715-726-7990 Veterans@co.chippewa.wi.us Page 7 of 7