Board Meeting — Minutes

1 VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES 2 Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 6 P.M. 3 Approved as amended 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 President Nate Bell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 21, 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, Finance Specialist/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Village Clerk Julie 12 Thyssen. Others: John Lijewski, Terry Wolf Zoom: Marina Manager Dave Lienau, Utilities Director 13 Megan Barnes, Parks & Streets Director Erik Linczmaier, Abby Doobie, Kristin Fine, Michael Miller, 14 Sarah Bertges 15 16 2. Approve Agenda 17 Motion to approve the agenda was made by Kelly and seconded by White. Motion carried – all ayes. 18 19 3. Approve Meeting Minutes 20 a) June 16, 2026; Regular Meeting 21 The Board noted two corrections to the June 16, 2026 Regular Meeting minutes: changing "golf 22 festival" to "goat festival," and clarifying that the approved color change applied to the rooftop, 23 pergola, and stair access structure. 24 Motion to approve the minutes as amended was made by Bell and seconded by Bacsi. Motion carried 25 – all ayes. 26 27 4. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public 28 John Lijewski, President of the Sister Bay Historical Society, addressed the Board regarding the 29 Society's barn preservation and renovation project, proposed as the Center for History, Education, 30 and Community. He described the facility's capacity for events, educational programs, and 31 community gatherings, noting its similarity in size to the Crest Center. The project's total fundraising 32 goal is $6,000,000, of which $4,500,000 is designated for construction and $1,500,000 for 33 endowment. Mr. Lijewski formally requested a village contribution of $750,000, payable over three 34 to five years, and noted alignment with the Village's 2025 Comprehensive Plan. He indicated that a 35 formal proposal would be submitted to the Finance Committee by the following day. The Board 36 directed that the matter be added to the Finance Committee agenda for their next meeting. 37 38 5. Ordinances & Resolutions 39 a. Resolution 2026-004; Adopting a Disconnection Policy 8:39 40 Andrews presented the Disconnection Policy, noting that it primarily codifies existing requirements 41 under Wisconsin Administrative Code as regulated by the Public Service Commission (PSC). Two 42 points of clarification were raised during discussion. First, regarding Section 2, the billing example 43 referencing a 31-day period was explained as reflecting the Village's quarterly billing cycle, wherein 44 bills are issued on the 10th of the month. Second, regarding Section 4B(1)(a), Heidler questioned 45 why language in that subsection specifically referenced "residential customers" in the context of 46 disconnection notices rather than all customers. Utilities Director Barnes indicated she would verify 47 whether the code draws a distinction between residential and commercial customers for 48 disconnection notice purposes, and it was agreed the language would be reviewed and clarified 49 accordingly. 50 Minutes of the July 21 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as amended 2 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-004 as amended, with clarification on Section 4B(1)(a) to be 1 verified by the Utilities Director, was made by Bell and seconded by Heidler. Motion carried – all ayes. 2 3 b. Resolution 2026-005; Adopting a Leak Adjustment Policy 4 Andrews noted that, unlike the other utility policies, the Leak Adjustment Policy is not regulated by 5 the PSC, as sewer is generally unregulated for municipalities. The policy was developed in response 6 to recurring requests for billing adjustments following events such as frozen pipes or undetected 7 leaks. Barnes confirmed that approximately five to six such adjustment requests had been received 8 over the past five years, underscoring the need for formal policy. The Board concurred that a repeat-9 offender provision was unnecessary. 10 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-005 as amended was made by Champeau and seconded by 11 Heidler. Motion carried – all ayes. 12 13 c. Resolution 2026-006; Adopting a Deferred Payment Policy 14 Andrews presented the Deferred Payment Policy as required under PSC administrative code. The 15 policy defines the process for offering deferred payment agreements (DPAs) to residential 16 customers, with discretionary extension to commercial customers. The policy includes the DPA form 17 as an attachment. 18 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-006 was made by Heidler and seconded by White. Motion carried 19 – all ayes. 20 21 d. Resolution 2026-007; Adopting a Tax Certification Policy 22 Andrews presented the Tax Certification Policy, also required under PSC administrative code, noting 23 the process is rarely invoked. It was clarified that delinquent balances are applied directly to the 24 property tax bill rather than placed as a formal lien. 25 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-007 was made by Bell and seconded by Howson. Motion carried 26 – all ayes. 27 28 e. Resolution 2026-008; Approving the Receipt of 2025 Audit 29 The Board received the physical copy of the 2025 Audit, which had been presented in final form the 30 previous month. It was confirmed the document is identical to the version previously reviewed, 31 without the draft watermark. 32 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-008 accepting receipt of the 2025 Audit was made by Bell and 33 seconded by Bacsi. Motion carried – all ayes. 34 35 f. Resolution 2026-009; Adopting Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) Assistance Policy 36 White explained that the policy was created to consistently evaluate TIF assistance requests, 37 especially for TID No. 2, which lacked a framework before. The policy focuses on housing and 38 infrastructure projects. Andrews noted that issuing TIF incentives requires such a policy, per the TID 39 No. 2 project plan. Key amendments were made: The cap in Section C was changed to 20% from 25% 40 for consistency, with both capped at 20% of total development cost or $1,000,000. Language 41 distinguishing "project total cost" from "total development cost" was combined under 20%. 42 In Section E, costs incurring prior to project approval were clarified as non-eligible unless authorized 43 by the Board. After adoption, Andrews stated the policy would become an application on the Village 44 website. 45 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-009 as amended was made by Kelly and seconded by White. 46 Motion carried – all ayes. 47 48 g. Resolution 2026-010; Adopting Technology and Device Policy 49 Andrews explained the policy shifts away from village-issued devices to a stipend model for 50 members using personal devices via the designated cloud platform. Legal counsel advised adding 51 Minutes of the July 21 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as amended 3 that departing officials must remove all confidential documents within seven days. Amendments 1 included: 1) Transition Provision: “current term” use of Surface Pros, aligning with an orderly 2 transition and hardware upgrade schedule, and 2) Cloud Platform, changed from “Microsoft 365” to 3 “Village’s official cloud platform” to future-proof policy. 4 Motion to approve Resolution 2026-010 as amended was made by Howson and seconded by Heidler. 5 Motion carried – all ayes. 6 7 6. Discussion/Action Items 8 a. ClearGov; Budgeting Software 9 Andrews presented a proposal to implement ClearGov cloud-based budgeting software to replace 10 the Village's long-standing Excel budgeting system. He explained that the current process relies on 11 complex spreadsheets that pose risks related to formula errors, institutional knowledge, and 12 inefficiency. After evaluating both Cassell and ClearGov, staff recommended ClearGov because it 13 offers integrated operating and personnel budgeting, capital improvement planning, digital budget 14 books, and public transparency tools. 15 16 Treasurer Gannik supported the recommendation, stating the software would standardize budgeting 17 processes, improve transparency, reduce reliance on individual staff knowledge, and provide time 18 savings after the initial implementation year. The Board discussed contract costs, annual price 19 increases, data ownership, and implementation timelines. The Finance Committee recommended a 20 January 1, 2027 implementation date to allow sufficient time for onboarding and staff training. 21 Board members agreed the long-term operational benefits justified the investment. 22 Motion to approve the ClearGov service agreement with a January 1, 2027 start date as 23 recommended by the Finance Committee was made by Howson and seconded by White. Motion 24 carried – all ayes. 25 26 b. Sludge Storage Tank Aeration System Replacement 27 Barnes reported that the primary sludge storage tank's aeration system sustained damage over the 28 winter due to ice-related pressure buildup. She recommended replacing the system using the 29 original contractor, August and Winter, at an unbudgeted cost of approximately $113,000, to be paid 30 from the wastewater treatment plant replacement fund. Barnes also outlined operational changes 31 to prevent similar damage in the future. 32 Motion to approve the Sludge Storage Tank Aeration System Replacement was made by White and 33 seconded by Kelly. Motion carried – all ayes. 34 35 c. HydroCorp; Non-Residential Renewal Program Agreement 36 Andrews presented the annual renewal agreement with HydroCorp for commercial cross-connection 37 inspections. Because HydroCorp updated its contract language, legal counsel recommended adding 38 language preserving the Village's statutory municipal liability protections, and HydroCorp agreed to 39 the change. Barnes explained that commercial cross-connection inspections require specialized 40 certification, making the contracted service appropriate. 41 Motion to approve the HydroCorp Non-Residential Renewal Program Agreement incorporating legal 42 counsel's recommended contract language was made by Kelly and seconded by Heidler. Motion 43 carried – all ayes. 44 45 d. Utilities 2016 Chevy Silverado; Surplus Property 46 Andrews reported that the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado was declared surplus in accordance with the 47 Village's surplus property policy after no departments expressed interest in retaining it. Barnes 48 stated the truck is in good condition, with expected sale proceeds of at least $10,000 to help offset 49 the cost of a new utility service truck already budgeted. The Board approved the surplus sale and 50 directed staff to sell the vehicle through the Village's surplus auction process. The Board also 51 Minutes of the July 21 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as amended 4 discussed evaluating electric vehicles for future fleet replacements and agreed that a cost-benefit 1 analysis should be incorporated into the Capital Improvement Plan process. 2 Motion to approve the surplus sale of the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado was made by and Kelly seconded 3 by White. Motion carried – all ayes. 4 5 e. Monthly Financial Report & Appropriations 6 The Board reviewed the monthly financial report. A question was raised regarding a payment on 7 page 190 to the Public Service Commission in the amount of $4,434.37, dated June 24, 2026, coded 8 as "sewer rate complaint." Barnes confirmed upon review that the invoice represents hours billed by 9 PSC attorneys for review of a pending complaint case. Andrews noted that no final decision has been 10 issued; a decision matrix outlining the review framework has been released. Staff was directed to 11 follow up with legal counsel to determine whether the cost should have been split with the 12 complaining party. 13 14 Additional questions were raised regarding engineering expenditures for the new marina building 15 and a Cellcom billing increase, both of which were addressed by staff. 16 Motion to approve payment of bills in the amount of $422,871.32 was made by Bell and seconded by 17 Howson. Motion carried – all ayes. 18 19 7. Staff Reports 20 Staff reports were received. Discussion included the status of the historical signage project, with 21 Andrews confirming that the Sister Bay Historical Society has agreed to take on the project. A formal 22 agreement will be prepared. Regarding the water quality sign near the beach, Andrews indicated he 23 would contact the county to clarify the ongoing operational cost, which had not been disclosed at 24 the time the sign was installed. The Board expressed preference for a more visible and cost-effective 25 solution, such as a visible indicator flag and QR code, over the current electronic sign arrangement at 26 approximately $600 per year. 27 28 8. Committee Reports 29 Committee reports for Marina, Finance, Library, and Green Tier were received. Bell requested that 30 the Community Coordinator report, previously absent from Board packets for an extended period, 31 be repositioned under Committee Reports rather than Staff Reports going forward. 32 Regarding the Library Committee, it was reported that a fee dispute with the Sister Bay 33 Advancement Association (SBAA) related to the Marina Fest event had been discussed and appeared 34 resolved. A separate matter regarding the removal of a shared dumpster following the relocation of 35 maintenance staff was noted; it was confirmed that waste pickup service is provided at no cost to 36 the library as a village building. 37 38 9. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 39 a. Special Village Board Meeting – August 5th, 2026 40 The Board confirmed a Special Village Board Meeting to be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 41 10:00 AM for the purpose of convening in executive session regarding the Sister Bay fiber optic 42 litigation matter, with legal counsel in attendance. 43 44 b. Regular Village Board Meeting – August 18th, 2026 45 No discussion. 46 47 10. Executive Session 48 a. Wisc. Stats. 19.85(1)(g) – Fiber Optic Discussion 49 b. Wisc. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) – Employee Performance Evaluation 50 Minutes of the July 21 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as amended 5 Motion by Bell, seconded by Kelly, to convene in closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 19.85(1)(g) 1 to confer with legal counsel regarding strategy in the fiber optic litigation matter, and Wis. Stats. § 2 19.85(1)(c) to consider the performance evaluation of an employee over whom the governmental 3 body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. Roll call. Motion carried – all ayes. 4 5 11. Next Meeting 6 Special Village Board Meeting – August 5th, 2026 7 Regular Village Board Meeting – August 18th, 2026 at 6:00 PM 8 9 12. Adjourn 10 The Board remained in closed session. No action was taken. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. 11 while in closed session. 12 13 Minutes respectfully submitted by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 14