Board Meeting — Minutes

VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES 1 Tuesday, August 18, 2026 2 Approved 3 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 President Nate Bell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. 7 8 Present: President Nate Bell, Lousie Howson, Brigid White, Terry Kelly, Steve Bacsi, Skip Heidler, 9 Patrice Champeau. 10 11 Staff: Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Administrative Assistant Sarah Bertges. Zoom: Finance 12 Specialist/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Utilities Director Megan Barnes. 13 14 Others: Abby Doobie, Erin Peddle. Zoom: Michael Miller. 15 16 2. Approve Agenda 17 Motion to approve the agenda was made by Howson and second by Heidler. Motion carried – all 18 ayes. 19 20 3. Approve Meeting Minutes 21 a. July 21, 2026; Regular Meeting 22 A few corrections were noted prior to approval. 23 Motion to approve the July 21, 2026 Regular Meeting minutes as amended was made by Heidler and 24 second by Bacsi. Motion carried — all ayes. 25 26 b. August 5, 2026; Special Meeting 27 Motion to approve the minutes as presented was made by Kelly and second by White. Motion carried 28 – all ayes. 29 30 4. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public 31 32 Abby Doobie, representing the Sister Bay Advancement Association (SBAA), addressed the Board to 33 express interest in establishing a long-term rental arrangement for the Village Hall building. She 34 noted that SBAA would need to vacate its current location by year's end and identified the Village 35 Hall as an ideal site given its downtown location and foot traffic, which would benefit both its visitor 36 center and office operations. Doobie requested that the Board consider placing the matter on a 37 future agenda for further discussion. 38 The Board acknowledged additional correspondence included in the packet. 39 40 5. Ordinances & Resolutions: N/A 41 42 6. Discussion/Action Items 43 a. Employee Handbook; Fire Station Support 44 Andrews presented a proposed Employee Handbook policy regarding village employees who also 45 serve as volunteer fire department members, noting the policy was referred from the Personnel 46 Committee following two reviews. The policy formalizes longstanding informal arrangements and 47 clarifies expectations for participation, compensation, and leave. 48 Discussion focused on two areas of concern raised by Heidler: the handling of training time that 49 occurs during work hours, and the discretionary language allowing supervisors to require employees 50 to use PTO following fire department service for safety or fatigue reasons. The Board agreed that the 51 safety and fatigue provision should be amended to place the decision regarding PTO or unpaid time 52 Minutes of the August 18, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved 2 off with the employee rather than the supervisor, removing the subjective element. The training 1 provision, which requires supervisor approval with an encouragement to reasonably accommodate 2 requests, was retained as written. The Board acknowledged that the current two village employees 3 who serve as fire department members would effectively receive overlapping compensation during 4 the first covered hour, as they receive both village pay and fire department call pay during that 5 period. 6 Motion to approve the Employee Handbook policy for Fire Station Support as amended was made by 7 Bell and second by Howson. Motion carried — all ayes. 8 9 b. Village Administration Building; Request for Proposal Architecture/Engineering Services 10 Andrews reported that fifteen firms submitted proposals in response to the Village's RFP for 11 architecture and engineering services for the Village Administration Building. The Parks, Property, 12 and Streets Committee reviewed the submissions and narrowed the field to four finalists: Birchbach 13 and Associates, the Bolt Company, Somerville, and Wold Architects. Following an apples-to-apples 14 comparison prepared by staff, the Parks Committee recommended Wold Architects based on the 15 breadth of inclusions offered and competitive cost. 16 The Board noted that Wold has relevant municipal experience, including work on the Palatine Village 17 Hall and the Long Grove Village Hall, and that the assigned project manager also led the Palatine 18 project. Discussion touched on several contract-related matters, including the need to obtain 19 updated certificates of insurance prior to execution, as the submitted certificate expires September 20 1, 2026, the firm's primary insurer (RLI Insurance) carrying an A+ superior AM Best rating, and the 21 monthly payment structure tied to proportional progress. Heidler offered to review the contract 22 carefully prior to execution. Andrews confirmed that the contract would be brought back to the 23 Board at the following meeting after review by Heidler and the Village's attorney. 24 Motion to accept the Parks Committee's recommendation of Wold Architects as the preferred firm 25 was made by Kelly and second by Champeau. Motion carried — all ayes. 26 27 c. Donation Proposal; Sister Bay Lion's Club; Flagpole 28 The Board considered a proposal from the Sister Bay Lion's Club to donate funds for the installation 29 of a flagpole on Village property. Andrews explained that the Village would receive the donated 30 funds, coordinate with a flag company for procurement and installation, and retain ownership of the 31 pole. The Lion's Club requested the opportunity to add a commemorative plaque in the future and 32 asked that the Village consider landscaping around the installation. The flagpole will include a dark-33 sky-compliant downward-facing solar light and will come with a U.S. flag and Wisconsin state flag. 34 Discussion was raised regarding the proposed location and the completeness of the overall proposal. 35 Heidler expressed a preference for a more comprehensive submission inclusive of landscaping and 36 plaque details. The Board agreed that the donation itself would be accepted and that remaining 37 details — including final placement, landscaping, and the plaque — would be worked through the 38 appropriate process, which may include Plan Commission review given the pole's anticipated height 39 relative to the Village Hall building. 40 Motion to accept the donation proposal from the Sister Bay Lion's Club for a flagpole as presented 41 was made by Bell and second by Champeau. Motion carried 6-1 with Heidler opposed. 42 43 d. Strategic Planning; Public Administration Associates; Schedule for Implementation 44 Andrews provided an update on implementation of the strategic planning engagement with Public 45 Administration Associates, noting that facilitator Clint would lead a two-day workshop consisting of 46 approximately five to six hours per day, with sessions ideally held on consecutive days. Day one 47 would focus on mission, vision, and values development; day two on strategic goal development. 48 The Board discussed scheduling and settled on October 26 and 27, 2026 as the proposed dates, with 49 the Plan Commission meeting to be rescheduled to October 29, 2026 to accommodate. The NWTC 50 facility was identified as the preferred venue. The Board also agreed to establish an informal steering 51 Minutes of the August 18, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved 3 committee to work with the facilitator in advance of the sessions. Bell and Heidler volunteered to 1 serve on the steering committee alongside the Village Administrator. 2 3 e. Monthly Financial Report & Appropriations 4 Motion to approve payment of bills in the amount of $500,251.07 was made by Bell and second by 5 Heidler. Motion carried — all ayes. 6 7 7. Staff Reports 8 Staff reports were presented. No questions were raised by Board members. 9 10 8. Committee Reports 11 Motion to accept the committee reports was made by Bell and second by Bacsi. Motion carried — all 12 ayes. 13 14 9. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 15 White noted that the Sister Bay Public Library had requested an official proclamation related to a 16 Winnie the Pooh event in October. After brief discussion, the Board declined to issue a formal 17 proclamation, though members expressed appreciation for the request. 18 Andrews noted that the Highway 57 Trail project timeline may shift from 2028 to 2029 due to design 19 coordination delays with the Wisconsin DOT, though the 2028 timeline remains possible. It was also 20 noted that the Village successfully argued against additional clear zone improvements, retaining 21 project funding. 22 The Board discussed the need to prioritize Village-owned property and capital projects in a broader 23 planning context. It was agreed that the matter would be more appropriately addressed following 24 completion of the strategic planning process. 25 With respect to the SBAA request made during public comment, the Board directed the item to be 26 referred to the Village Hall Task Force and the Parks, Property, and Streets Committee for initial 27 review prior to returning to the full Board. 28 29 10. Next Meeting 30 a. September 15th, 2026; 6:00 PM 31 32 11. Adjourn 33 Motion to adjourn made by Heidler and second by White. Motion carried — all ayes. 34 The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m. 35 36 Minutes respectfully submitted by Sarah Bertges, Administrative Assistant 37