Parks, Recreation, Tourism, & Land Use Planning Commission — Minutes

Town of Lafayette PARKS, RECREATION, TOURISM, LAND USE and PLANNING COMMISSION July 14, 2025 7:00 PM Lafayette Town Hall CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Chair Scott Faris at 7:00 PM. The following members were present: Scott Faris, Jenna Hazelton, DeWayne Krumenauer, Sue Lane, Doug Matthews, Mark Sedlacek, and Jerry Zais; a quorum was present. Neil Mathwig arrived at 7:04; Tourism Commissioner position is va - cant. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETING MINUTES & AGENDA A motion to accept the Agenda for the July 14, 2025 meeting and to approve the Minutes of the June 9, 2025 PRTLU Regular meeting without correction was made by Sue Lane / Mark Sedlacek; motion was approved by unanimous voice vote. GENERAL PUBLIC WISHING TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION None EXPEDITED ITEMS 1) Lafayette ATV Club – Jim Adamson explained that the ATV group is requesting sections of County highways be opened to ATV use, specifically CTH “K” from 72nd Ave. south to CTH “X”, and CTH “J” from the round-about at CTH “X” south to 40th Ave. Some Commissioners expressed concerns with the slower speed required for ATVs vs. the speed of the other vehicles on these heavily traveled roads. Fol- lowing questions, a motion recommending the Town Board approve opening the requested roads was made by Mark Sedlacek / Sue Lane; motion failed on a 3 to 3 voice vote, with one abstaining. 2) Tourism Update – Sue Leonard presented updated information on the economic impact of tourist vis- its to the Town and distributed samples of newly published brochures on County trails. Also included was information on the number of visitors to various sites in Lafayette and planned marketing efforts going for- ward. Commissioners requested some additional historical data for comparison purposes. No further Commission action was taken. FINANCIAL REPORT Doug Matthews reported that the Disc Golf account balance was returned to the Room Tax account and the Disc Golf account was now $0.00. The Commission agreed with removing the account from the re- port sheet. The General Use account for June 30, 2025 had no expenditures, leaving a balance of $3,963.56. No new 1st Quarter Room Tax revenue was received. Expenditures included $5,700.00 for Boat Parade prizes and for a donation to the SandBar’s fireworks expenses. Also, $2,500.00 was re- turned to the account after excess was paid toward the new dugout benches. The resulting balance is $71,184.61. Jenna Hazelton said the First Place prize money for the winning boat was returned because the owner could not be contacted. A motion to accept the Financial Report was then made by Jerry Zais / Sue Lane; motion passed by unanimous voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 1) 2025 Boat Parade – Jenna Hazelton reported there were approximately 20 participating vessels this year; she said she has some ideas to improve the event for next year and will be writing them down for reference. There was discussion regarding the date for the 2026 Boat Parade, and the consensus was to hold it on Saturday, July 4, 2026. No additional Commission action was taken. Page 2 of 2 2) July 3 Fireworks – Scott Faris noted that there were traffic issues in the area around the SandBar and that the Chippewa County Sheriff’s personnel were present only in a boat; consequently land traffic control fell to Town workers. There were large crowds, both on the water and on land. No additional Commission action was taken. 3) Town Parcel Development - A large-scale aerial photo of the parcel was made available, and it shows where the existing “trails” are located. Approximately a half-dozen residents of the subdivision were present, and together with Commissioners put forward suggestions regarding the ATV trail. One portion of it will follow along the south edge of the covered landfill; it was suggested to install a barrier to prevent the ATVs from driving on the landfill itself; a cost estimate will be obtained. A motion to locate and brush out an ATV trail running north/south through the center/ east-half of the parcel was made by Jenna Hazelton / Sue Lane; motion passed by voice vote with one “No” vote. 4) Tourism Commissioner Update - Mr. Seth Gebauer applied for the position, but could not meet the Lafayette residency requirement. The position remains open. No further Commission action was taken. NEW BUSINESS 1) Chippewa County Comprehensive Plan Community Survey – Since the Commission just received the survey, and since the survey deadline for returning it to the County was May 16, 2025, and since it is unknown if anyone else had completed and returned it earlier, no Commission action was taken. 2) New Projects Proposals – None. COMMISSIONERS’ CONCERNS & COMMENTS None NEXT MEETING DATE - Meeting date is August 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM. MOTION TO ADJOURN A motion to adjourn was made by Jerry Zais / Sue Lane; motion passed by voice vote at 8:25 PM. Submitted for Approval, Doug Matthews PRTLU Commission Secretary / Treasurer