Meeting Minutes

Draft minutes: these minutes have not been approved by the Town Board and are subject to corrections/changes. TOWN OF HOLLAND BOARD MEETING February 11, 2026 MEMBERS PRESENT Chair Bob Stupi, Supervisors Jeff Herlitzke, Michael Hoffman, and Rick Hauser EXCUSED David Weber STAFF PRESENT Town Crew Supervisor John Frauenkron, Clerk Marilyn Pedretti CALL TO ORDER Chair Stupi called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Notices were properly posted. MINUTES Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to approve the minutes of January 14th and 20th. MOTION carried. CITIZENS’ CONCERNS Steve Schaefer, W6303 Folkert Road, asked the status of repairing Amundson Coulee Road and Folkert Road. Stupi explained the Town applied for DOT grant funds and noted the local ratings were favorable but we are awaiting State results, which should be announced next month. Amy Noel, W8015 County Road ZB, introduced herself as running for County Supervisor and gave some background. COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPORT: none given. SAFE STREETS FOR ALL Travis Key, Associate Transportation Planner with the La Crosse Area Planning Committee, gave a presentation on “Safe Streets for All” and noted this is a Federal program. He listed the key issues and systems approach. Key encouraged residents to take the survey to assist in identifying safety concerns. PARK COMMITTEE Holland Bluff Bike Trail: Stupi reported the project is at the 90% planning stage and awaiting DOT go-ahead. He reviewed the schedule. Discussion followed concerning the construction engineering process and it was the consensus to roll the DOT engineering funds into the construction category with the Town taking on the funding of the construction engineering. Walking Path: Stupi reported the crew has been clearing the walking path after snow events. He explained Doug Klenke, N6954 Sunrise Lane (Park Committee member), has been working with the Van Dunk family to dedicate the recently constructed walking path in their name and he has developed a narrative that can be linked through a QR code sign. Stupi shared the signage color, size, wording and style with the Board and noted a dedication date was set for May 16th. Rotary Donation: Stupi reported on a Holmen Rotary and United Way proposal that would install “Born Learning” stations along the walking trail. He noted the signs and stenciling would be installed by the Holmen High School Interact Club, who would cover the costs of materials and continuing maintenance. Discussion followed. Motion by Hoffman/Herlitzke to accept the donation from the Rotary and Great La Crosse Draft 2 United Way for the learning signs placed along the walking trail. MOTION carried unanimously. 2026 Budget: (1) Stupi explained the bids for the pickleball court and basketball court went out too late last year to get competitive bidding. Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to resubmit for bids on the pickleball court and basketball court including fencing. MOTION carried unanimously. (2) Stupi reported the committee discussed replacing the tunnel tube at Dresen Park and suggested installing a culvert similar to the one at the Town Hall park. He noted the crew contacted County Materials and they offered 2 new 8’ by 36” culverts at no cost. Discussion followed. Motion by Herlitzke/Hauser to accept the donation of the two 8’ culverts from County Materials. MOTION carried unanimously. (3) Wildflower Park project proposal was not ready for recommendation. (4) Stupi reported on a plan to remove invasive Chinese Elms between Wildflower Park and the Town Hall Park. Klenke noted he was working with Johnson Operations and provided a plan to remove 15 trees this year and replace with appropriate park trees. He also volunteered to assist with stump grinding. John Frauenron, Town Crew Supervisor, noted the crew could do most of the tree removal. Discussion followed. Motion by Hoffman/Stupi to remove 15 Chinse Elms and to spend up to $2,000 to replace some trees along the edge of the Town Hall Park and rental cost of stump grinding. MOTION carried unanimously. It was the consensus to label the wood “free” and pile in the Wildflower Park lot for public use. Report on 2/9/26 meeting: Stupi noted everything was covered. PUBLIC WORKS Green Earth Yard Waste contract: Stupi reviewed a proposal by Green Earth to switch from a tonnage based contract to a flat fee. He noted the crew runs into timing issues at the scales during the harvest season and that there is a new weighing fee implemented by Dummer Farms. Discussion followed. Motion by Herlitzke to accept the new yard waste proposal recycle fees for 2026 and 2027-2030. MOTION carried unanimously. Snow plow coverage: Stupi noted the on-call driver will be unavailable a few weeks and they discussed coverage with Town board members. Frauenkron had suggested re-hiring Norm Clark for on-call the rest of the season. Discussion followed. Motion by Hoffman/Hauser to hire Norm Clark as our on-call snow plow driver at the same rate as the other on-call driver. MOTION carried unanimously. Town crew report: Frauenkron reviewed the Town crew report. STORMWATER UTILITY COMMISSION 5-year Stormwater Plan: Hoffman reviewed the draft 5-year Stormwater Plan and noted there will always be emergencies but it is helpful to have a plan. Stupi suggested adding language for the 6’-20’ culvert inventory. Item will be discussed next meeting. DOT Local Small Structure grant: Stupi reported the 6’-20’ culvert inventory was conducted a few years ago and it appears the Town has one culvert that would qualify for grant funds. He noted an application will be developed by the May 1st deadline. Report on 2/9/26 meeting: Hoffman noted nothing additional discussed. Draft 3 FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire calls: Stupi reviewed the 2025 fire calls and noted they had a record 1,370 calls with 150 in the Town of Holland. Collaboration meeting: Stupi reported they met yesterday to discuss the collaborative fire department study. He explained that with one of the four municipalities not committing to assist with the study’s costs, they discussed other options. He reported they will ask the consultant to re-work the study into three levels (1) comprehensive, (2) mid-level and (3) a “lite” study. He also noted they discussed splitting the costs 50/50 between both fire departments, rather than per municipality. It was the consensus that the Board was still in favor of pursuing. Report on 1/20/26 meeting: Stupi reviewed some of the items discussed and reported the mold found in the building was not toxic and they plan to seal it in. Hauser noted there is talk of a new fire truck. ADMINISTRATION Town Road School: Members and staff were asked to consider attending the WTA Road School at the end of April. Item will be revisited next month. Winter Salt Week: Hoffman and staff attended a week of webinars on the “Winter Salt Week” and reported some good information was shared. Boundary Agreement: Stupi reported the Boundary Agreement with the Village of Holmen expires in March 2027 and that any amendments or change in participation would need to be submitted six months prior. Members were directed to review the current agreement and item will be discussed next month. TREASURER’S REPORT AND INVOICES The Treasurer’s report and invoices were reviewed. Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to accept the treasurer’s report and approve paying the bills in the amount of $99,385.34. MOTION carried. ANNOUNCEMENTS & FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Pedretti reported some technology changes may need Board input next month. ADJOURN Motion by Hoffman/Hauser to adjourn. MOTION carried. Adjourned 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn J. Pedretti Town Clerk