Board Meeting — Minutes

1 VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES 2 Tuesday, April 21, 2026 3 Approved as Amended 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 President Bell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. 7 8 Present: President Nate Bell, Patrice Champeau (via zoom), Skip Heidler, Louise Howson, Terry Kelly, 9 Brigid White. Steve Bacsi Excused 10 11 Staff: Finance Specialist/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Admin Assistant Sarah Bertges. Zoom: Marina 12 Manager Dave Lienau, Utilities Director Megan Barnes, Parks & Streets Director Erik Linczmaier, 13 Village Administrator Benjamin Andrews 14 15 Others: Jessica Hatch, Steve Musinsky, Abby Doobie, Erin Peddle, Mary Pat Carlson, Denise Bhirdo 16 17 2. Approve Agenda 18 Motion to approve the agenda was made by White and seconded by Heidler. Motion carried — all 19 ayes. 20 21 3. Approve Meeting Minutes 22 Administrator Andrews noted that due to staff workload related to elections, meeting minutes were 23 not finalized in time and will be included in the following month's packet. 24 25 4. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 26 President Bell noted two letters received, one included in the packet and one received the previous 27 day and distributed to the Board. 28 29 Bhirdo addressed the Board regarding the proposed land use and zoning map changes pertaining to 30 parcels at 2629 and 2649 South Bay Shore Drive. She stated that both parcels are currently zoned B-31 1 General Business on the October 15, 2025 zoning map, and expressed concern that the proposed 32 reclassification to R-1 and R-3 constitutes spot zoning, as there is no other residential zoning in that 33 immediate area. She noted the Plan Commission's discussion appeared to be based on an incorrect 34 assumption that the parcels were zoned Countryside, and cautioned that such a change could invite 35 further rezoning requests along the commercial corridor. 36 37 5. Presentations 38 a. Broad Band Update; Door County; Jessica Hatch 3:58 39 Jessica Hatch, Door County Broadband Coordinator, provided an update on broadband 40 infrastructure and digital adoption efforts. 41 42 Frontier/Verizon Construction: Frontier, now operating under the Verizon brand as of January 2026, 43 is actively deploying fiber throughout the county from Jacksonport through the northern third of Egg 44 Harbor. Construction within Sister Bay is anticipated to be completed within one to two years, with 45 broader county buildout extending four to five years. Eight Wisconsin DOT permit extensions for 46 highway fiber work have been issued. Village streets have not yet been entered under active 47 permits, with one previously approved 2025 permit extension on file for the Gateway Right-of-Way 48 area. 49 Minutes of the April 21, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as Amended 2 Make-Ready Process: Hatch explained the make-ready and joint-use permitting process required by 1 WPS before ISPs may attach to utility poles, noting this process can create delays, particularly in 2 rural or farm-field areas. 3 4 Digital Adoption: Hatch noted that her county committee has transitioned from broadband access 5 advocacy to broadband adoption and digital skill-building. Sister Bay is considered a served 6 community due to existing Charter Spectrum service, making affordability and digital literacy the 7 primary gaps. Frontier's base fiber plan is available at approximately $29.99/month, representing a 8 significant savings over current cable bundles. 9 10 Device Distribution: The United Way of Door County has over 300 federally funded laptops available 11 for distribution to eligible residents. Hatch encouraged outreach through Northern Door venues, 12 churches, and NWTC to reach eligible recipients. 13 14 Action Items: 15 • Staff to invite Frontier/Verizon representatives to a future meeting to present a construction 16 timeline, phase map, and service coverage plan for the Village. 17 • Parks Committee to continue broadband-related discussions and consider volunteer digital 18 navigator opportunities. 19 20 6. Ordinances & Resolutions 21 a. Ord. 2026-001; Amending the Village of Sister Bay Future Land Use Map 22 Andrews presented the proposed Future Land Use Map (draft dated April 13, 2026), reflecting 23 changes recommended by the Plan Commission following a public hearing. The Board discussed 24 several amendments, including correcting two parcels referenced as "multifamily" to "residential" 25 consistent with Plan Commission minutes, and changing the Bay Ridge golf course parcel from 26 "commercial" back to "open lands/countryside," reflecting consensus that the corridor presents 27 significant access challenges and that the open character of that land should be preserved. The 28 Board noted the Future Land Use Map is a planning tool and not binding. 29 30 Motion to approve Ord. 2026-001 amending the Future Land Use Map, as amended to reflect 31 residential (not multifamily) for the two parcels near Open Hearth and open lands for the Bay Ridge 32 corridor parcel, was made by Heidler and seconded by White. Motion carried — all ayes. 33 34 b. Ord. 2026-002; Adopting a New Zoning Map for the Village of Sister Bay 35 Andrews presented the proposed Zoning Map (draft dated April 13, 2026). The Board discussed the 36 proposed rezoning of parcels at 2629 and 2649 South Bay Shore Drive to R-1 and R-3, respectively, 37 noting that while these parcels do not meet the dimensional requirements for Countryside zoning, 38 they are contiguous with residential uses to the south and the existing development is residential in 39 character. 40 41 Significant discussion centered on two large parcels (approximately 40 acres each) near Maple Drive. 42 The northern parcel is currently zoned R-2 (multifamily) and no change was proposed. The southern 43 parcel, currently Countryside-1 (CS-1), was proposed to be changed to R-2. White expressed strong 44 concern that an R-2 designation would facilitate high-density condominium development 45 inconsistent with community character. Bell acknowledged the fiscal argument for density but 46 agreed to a compromise. Champeau indicated preference for retaining the Plan Commission 47 recommendation. 48 49 After deliberation, the Board agreed to leave the northern parcel as R-2 and retain the southern 50 parcel as CS-1, with no change from its current zoning. 51 Minutes of the April 21, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as Amended 3 A first motion to approve as presented failed. 1 2 Motion to approve Ord. 2026-002 adopting a new Zoning Map, with the amendment that the parcel 3 south of 2277 Maple Drive be designated CS-1 rather than R-2, was made by Bell and seconded by 4 Howson. Motion carried 5-1, Champeau nay. 5 6 7. Discussion/Action Items 7 a. Savor BBQ Company, Inc. 10663 N. Bay Shore Drive Class B Beer Class C Wine 8 Andrews presented the application on behalf of Village Clerk Julie. Savor BBQ Company is relocating 9 and requires new Class B Beer and Class C Wine licenses for the new location. All application 10 requirements were confirmed as met. The license period runs through June 30, 2026, after which a 11 standard renewal will be required. 12 13 Motion to approve the Class B Beer and Class C Wine licenses for Savor BBQ Company, Inc. was made 14 by Kelly and seconded by Heidler. Motion carried — all ayes. 15 16 b. Operational Agreement – Boathouse 17 Andrews reported that following legal review by both the Village Attorney and the Historical 18 Society's attorney, the operational agreement was revised to remove a duplicative default provision. 19 The Village Attorney confirmed no liability concerns with the revised agreement. A numbering 20 correction was also made in the executed version. 21 22 Motion to approve the Boathouse Operational Agreement as presented was made by Bell and 23 seconded by White. Motion carried — all ayes. 24 25 c. Future Administration Building; RFP for Architecture and Engineering Services 26 Andrews presented the RFP for Architecture and Engineering Services as modified by the Parks 27 Committee. Minor grammatical corrections were identified by Heidler, including removal of a 28 duplicative word in the Overview section and a clarification that selection criteria are listed in no 29 particular order. Staff noted that a survey of the parcel will be required as part of the process. 30 31 Motion to approve the RFP for Architecture and Engineering Services for the Future Administration 32 Building, with the noted amendments, was made by Heidler and seconded by Kelly. Motion carried — 33 all ayes. 34 35 d. Pavilion Rental – Waterfront Park; Fee Schedule 36 Andrews presented the Parks Committee recommendation to establish a flat $200 per event rental 37 fee for the waterfront park stage/pavilion, eliminating the prior tiered structure. Discussion was held 38 regarding whether to differentiate between nonprofit and for-profit users. The Board agreed that a 39 tiered structure was appropriate. 40 41 Motion to approve the pavilion rental fee of $200 per event for Door County-based nonprofits and 42 $400 per event for all other users, to be incorporated into the revised 2026 fee schedule, was made 43 by Bell and seconded by Heidler. Motion carried — all ayes. 44 45 e. Technology Device and Cloud Services Policy; Discussion 46 Bell introduced the proposed Technology Device and Cloud Services Policy, which would phase out 47 Village-provided Surface Pro tablets in favor of a reimbursement model allowing trustees and Plan 48 Commission members to use personal devices. Key provisions discussed included a per-term 49 reimbursement (proposed at $600), a prorated repayment clause for early departures, and a cloud-50 Minutes of the April 21, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as Amended 4 use requirement directing all Village business to be conducted through Microsoft 365 online services 1 to protect Village records and limit public records exposure on personal devices. 2 3 No action was taken. The item will be returned at a future meeting. 4 5 Action Items: 6 • Staff to obtain legal opinions on the proposed policy. 7 • Staff to prepare a cost comparison for trustees and Plan Commission members, modeled on 8 $600 per term. 9 • Staff to clarify eligible reimbursable expenses and finalize prorated repayment language. 10 11 12 f. Grants and Projects Overview 2:09:13 13 Andrews provided an introductory overview of grant funding opportunities aligned with Capital 14 Improvement Plan (CIP) projects. Key programs noted included the Community Development Block 15 Grant (CDBG) Public Facilities Program (up to $1,000,000 with 2:1 local match), Clean Water Fund 16 and Safe Drinking Water Fund low-interest loans through the DNR, stewardship and recreation funds 17 for parks, and the T-Mobile Hometown Grant for placemaking (up to $50,000). Andrews noted that 18 CDBG funding would require engineering to be completed prior to application and would delay 19 construction to approximately 2028. 20 21 The Board discussed incorporating funding source identification and application timelines into the 22 annual CIP process and directed that all significant grant applications be brought to the Board for 23 authorization prior to submission. 24 25 Action Items: 26 • Staff to incorporate grant funding sources and application calendar into the CIP. 27 • Staff to present CDBG eligibility and timeline for the administration building and Triangle 28 Street project at a future meeting. 29 • Staff to coordinate with the Baird financial advisor to schedule a joint finance 30 committee/board TIF and investment overview session. 31 32 g. Monthly Financial Report & Appropriations 33 Motion to approve payment of bills in the amount of $1,935,365.35 was made by Bell and seconded 34 by Heidler. Motion carried — all ayes. 35 36 8. Staff Reports 37 Andrews reported that he is preparing a new Elected Official Handbook summarizing key Wisconsin 38 state statutes and Village procedures for new board members. He is also coordinating with IT to 39 standardize and issue Village email addresses for all new officials. One-on-one onboarding meetings 40 will be scheduled upon completion of the handbook. 41 42 9. Committee Reports 43 Committee reports were included in the packet. No additional discussion was held. 44 45 10. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 46 Heidler requested that the Baird financial advisor TIF and investment overview be noticed as a joint 47 Board meeting and scheduled at a time accessible to all Board members. Bell concurred and directed 48 staff to schedule accordingly. Discussion of a zoning code rewrite was referred to the Plan 49 Commission for an initial assessment of scope and cost. 50 51 Minutes of the April 21, 2026 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees – Approved as Amended 5 11. Next Meetings 1 a. Monday, April 27, 2026; Proposed Special Meeting 2 A Special Meeting was scheduled for Monday, April 27, 2026 at 2:30 PM for committee 3 appointments, new Board member orientation, and closed session matters. Attorney Nesbitt will 4 attend in person. 5 6 b. Tuesday, May 19, 2026 – 6:00 PM; Regular Meeting 7 The next Regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM. 8 9 12. Adjourn 10 Motion to adjourn was made by White and seconded by Heidler. Motion carried — all ayes. 11 The meeting was adjourned at 7:56 p.m. 12 13 Minutes submitted by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 14