Physical Facilities & Utilities Committee — Minutes

1 VILLAGE OF EPHRAIM PHYSICAL FACILITIES & UTILITIES MINUTES TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2026, 8:00 AM 9996 WATER STREET Action Items: Lohman moved, Reinhardt seconded, to approve the minutes of September 1, 2026, all ayes. Motion carried. Lohman moved, Reinhardt seconded, to recommend approval of the 2027 Public Works to the Village Board, all ayes. Motion carried. Lohman moved to adjourn at 9:15 AM, Reinhardt seconded, all ayes. Motion carried. Present: Scott Lohman, Brian Reinhardt, and Matt Meacham – Chair. Absent: Paul Flottman. Staff: Brent Bristol – Village Administrator, Justin MacDonald – Maintenance Manager/Fire Chief, and Kim Roberts - Deputy Clerk. Guests online: None. Guests in person: None. 1. Call to Order: Meacham called the meeting to order at 8:00 AM. 2. Quorum: A quorum was present for this meeting. 3. Changes in Agenda: There were none. 4. Approval of Previous Minutes: Lohman moved, Reinhardt seconded, to approve the minutes of September 1, 2026, all ayes. Motion carried. 5. Visitors’ Comments: There were no Visitor’s Comments. 6. Maintenance Manager Report: MacDonald reported on September activities: • Daily tasks and bathroom upkeep continued, with bathroom cleaning and garbage pickup scaled back to every other day. • Work on the 2027 budget was completed. • The obelisk at Anderson Dock was painted, as well as the adjacent fence. • Graffiti pressure washing at Anderson Dock was completed. • The stop sign at CHT Q and Moravia Street was adjusted for better visibility. • The beach bathrooms were pressure washed, and the interior and doors were painted. • Mowers, tractors, and other equipment received routine maintenance. Village trucks are cycling through DOT inspections. • Staff also assisted a volunteer group with five loads of mulch for re-mulching the wetlands trail. In response to a question from Meacham about the number of AEDs in the Village, MacDonald stated that both the Village Hall and Administration Office have AEDs. 7. Discussion and consideration of the 2027 Budget: MacDonald presented the Maintenance Department's 2027 budget. He explained that the salary-related line items highlighted in green were to be decided by the Village Board. Health insurance, retirement, 2 and related costs would be calculated once the Board sets 2027 wages. He then reviewed the main changes of the 2027 budget: • Mowing (100-20-53301-220): The line item decreased to reflect that the Town of Liberty Grove ditch mowing is performed two to three times a year. A small amount was retained in case additional mowing was required by the county. • Sweeping and related categories (100-20-53301-221): The line increased slightly due to supplies related to the equipment request that included a line striper and the related paint. • Snow removal (100-20-53301-223): The line decreased by $2,000. The category covers equipment repairs as well as salt purchased from the county. Because of a forecasted salt shortage, MacDonald planned to secure salt early to ensure an adequate supply. • LP Gas (100-20-53322-304): The line was increased to $5,000 to reflect the true cost of heating the maintenance building. • Brush and mulch grinding (100-20-55200-225): The line increased from $5,000 for 2026 to $13,500 for 2027. MacDonald had received a quote to double-grind the existing brush pile at the dump and leave the mulch in place. The contractor proposed to then set up to grind the wood chips at the maintenance shop as well. However, the Maintenance Department intended to instead haul the chips to the dump so that the work could be done in one location and the shop area cleared. MacDonald said the cost could come down depending on how many hours the grinding required, since the contractor had scheduled a full eight hours at both sites. • Plumbing (100-20-55200-229): The line increased by $2,000 in anticipation of installing new toilets at several facilities next year. • Other Improvement Outlay (100-20-55200-830): The line increased to $33,440. The increase covers the following items: o Line striper ($5,000): The department spent roughly $3,500 this year to have 17 crosswalks and several additional lines striped by a contractor. MacDonald said striping in-house would allow work at off-hours in early May rather than waiting for the contractor's availability in mid to late June. o Sweeper bucket & gutter kit for the skid steer ($11,000): The kit would help clean gutters where space is tight, and debris could be dumped directly into a truck. o Dump widening ($17,440): The dump entrance would be widened to two lanes so two vehicles could pass. Some of the tree removal might be done in-house. • MacDonald reviewed the Recycling Contract and Services (100-20-53620-210) line item, which remained unchanged, and Clerk/Treasurer Collak was comfortable with the budgeted amount. The $4,200 weed-spraying line (100-20-53640-210) represented the fertilizer contract, under which the vendor fertilizes Village properties. MacDonald reported that the overall budget came in at approximately a 3.4% increase over the prior year. A discussion was held regarding the 2027 budget. Bristol asked about the large increase in the mulch line item and whether it would continue beyond one year. MacDonald responded that the cost was expected to return to roughly $5,000–$6,000 in a typical year. He noted that there was a large influx of residents who had used the dump since it was redone last year, and once the pile was cleared, the department should be able to manage it more easily. Bristol also asked whether the line striper could be paid for from the current year's budget rather than increasing the 2027 budget. MacDonald agreed that it was possible to keep the expenditure in 2026. MacDonald and Bristol would continue to communicate before the budget was finalized. MacDonald also noted that work on the fire alarm system in the Village 3 Hall building was still pending for 2026 expenses. Meacham observed that an increase of about 3.4% was well within the realm of inflation. Bristol provided the Committee with context on levy limits. Last year the Village levied up to the maximum allowed. He noted that while the Village had been fortunate to have flexibility in past years, that flexibility was ending. Lohman moved, Reinhardt seconded, to recommend approval of the 2027 Public Works to the Village Board, all ayes. Motion carried. 7. Walkthrough on North End Path for Light Bollards and Tree Placement: Meacham announced that the Committee would conduct a brief walk-through of the North End Path to review light bollard and tree placement for discussion purposes only. 8. New Business for the next meeting: No new business was discussed. 9. Adjournment: Lohman moved to adjourn at 9:15 AM, Reinhardt seconded, all ayes. Motion carried. Recorded by Kim Roberts – Deputy Clerk