Town Board — Minutes

TOWN OF WHEATON REGULAR BOARD MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, December 10, 2024 1) The meeting has been properly noticed per Wisconsin Statute 19.84 2) The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm with the Pledge of Allegiance being recited and a moment of silence being observed. 3) Roll call was taken and the following members were present: Mr. Deutscher, Ms. Dole, Ms. Kaiser, Ms. Rudd, Mr. Books, and Ms. Droske. 4) A motion was made by Rudd/Kaiser to approve the agenda with the discussed amendments. Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. 5) Mr. Deutscher presented the clerk’s report and check register. A motion was made by Books/Kaiser to approve the November 12, 2024 board meeting minutes with the discussed changes. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. A motion was made by Kaiser/Rudd to approve the November 12, 2024 budget hearing minutes. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. 6) Special Board Action A) No electors expressed interest in being appointed to fill the town chair vacancy. B) No electors expressed interest in being appointed to fill the fire commission vacancy. 7) Public comments: Paul Krumenauer commented on the discussion from the November board meeting on providing help with absentee voting and meeting posting locations. Vinse Morning presented a donation check to the town for fireworks from Wheaton Fire Prevention Association. 8) Committee Reports: A) Ms. Dole presented the treasurer’s report and announced that she would not be seeking re-election as the town treasurer. B) Chief Adam Blaskowski presented the fire chief report on the budget, equipment, runs, and training. C) The next fire commission meeting will be held on January 8, 2025. D) Ms. Droske presented a report on the water testing event held on November 9, 2024. E) The 2025 town budget, County T governmental agreement, dog catcher vacancy, and the winter newsletter have been posted to the website. Information on the April 2025 election and additional links to the ground water page has been added to the website. F) Visit Eau Claire presented the tourism report. 9) Old Business A) An update from the Highway T project meeting held on December 11, 2024 will be made at the January board meeting. B) Adding Wheaton Family Restaurant as a meeting posting location and discontinuing posting meeting notices at the fire station was discussed. A motion was made by Kaiser/Droske to add Wheaton Family Restaurant as a meeting posting location and discontinue using the fire station as a meeting posting location. The motion failed on a 2-2 voice vote. Ms. Rudd and Mr. Books voted no. C) The emergency operations plan was presented. A motion was made by Books/Rudd to approve the emergency operations plan with the discussed changes. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. D) The EMS contract from the City of Chippewa Falls for 2025-2026 was presented. A motion was made by Books/Droske to approve the EMS contract from the City of Chippewa Falls for 2025-2026. The motion carried on a 3-0 roll call vote. Ms. Rudd abstained from voting. 10) New Business A) The Anderson/Rooney/Walton CSM for parcels 22809-1643-08250000, 22809-1643-00020000, 22809-1644- 00020000, 22809-1643-08750000, and 22809-1644-06250000 was presented. A motion was made by Books/Rudd to approve the Anderson/Rooney/Walton CSM for parcels 22809-1643-08250000, 22809-1643-00020000, 22809-1644- 00020000, 22809-1643-08750000, and 22809-1644-06250000. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. B) The ambulance service agreement amendment for 2025 from the City of Eau Claire was presented. A motion was made by Rudd/Books to approve the ambulance service agreement amendment for 2025 from the City of Eau Claire with the discussed changes. The motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote. C) The Silver Award Scout project was presented by Ella Books and Evelyn Sarbeck. A motion was made by Kaiser/Rudd to approve the Silver Award Scout project as presented. The motion carried on a 3-0 voice vote. Mr. Books abstained from voting. D) No one has expressed interest in the dog catcher vacancy. E) Changing the cigarette license fee was discussed. A motion was made by Kaiser/Rudd to increase the cigarette license fee to $10.00. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. F) A motion was made by Kaiser/Books to send a 2nd offense letter to the town resident in violation of the Chapter 16 Dog Ordinance certified with a return receipt. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. G) The board tabled a decision on changing the dog license fee to research the matter further. H) The process of utilizing donations for fire equipment outlay was discussed. A motion was made by Rudd/Kaiser to create a specific budget line item for fire department donations. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. A donation agreement from Wheaton Fire Prevention Association was presented. A motion was made by Rudd/Books to approve the donation agreement from Wheaton Fire Prevention Association up to $80,000. The motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote. I) A motion was made by Books/Rudd to approve the bartender license application received by the clerk. The motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. J) The board will contact Randy Prochnow to request an amended property assessment contract. K) Future Fire Commission meetings will only include personnel related matters. The board decided to continue with a three person fire commission. The board will contact legal counsel for conflicting verbiage between the fire department ordinance, fire department constitution, and the fire department by laws. L) Ms. Rudd will attend the Board of Review Certification Training. 11) Future Agenda Items: Highway T meeting update, Town employee review, and Fire Commission ordinance, constitution, and by laws review. 12) The next meeting date was set for Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 7pm. 13) A motion by Books/Kaiser was made to adjourn. Motion carried by a unanimous voice vote at 9:51 pm. Submitted by Scott Deutscher Scott Deutscher Town Clerk