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 July 9, 2025 MEMBERS PRESENT Chair Bob Stupi, Supervisors Rick Hauser, Jeff Herlitzke, Michael Hoffman, and David Weber STAFF PRESENT Town Crew David Carlson, 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 Hoffman/Stupi to approve the minutes of June 10th and 11th. MOTION carried. CITIZENS’ CONCERNS Rick Hauser, W7915 Prairie Meadow Street, asked for clarification on last month’s vote to approve a walking path. Item will be added to next month’s agenda. COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPORT: None given. STORMWATER UTILITY COMMISSION Fonstad Road: Pedretti opened the bids for culvert/ditch work on Fonstad Road. Discussion followed. Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to accept WS Trucking bid in the amount of $8,810 for the Fonstad Road culvert project proposal. MOTION carried unanimously. Country Estates culvert work: Hoffman reported the culvert lining went very well with little disturbance to traffic. He reported there are still residential culverts in the Country Estates addition that need cleaning out after two notices were sent. David Carlson, Town crew, had a list of the culverts, needs and list of six questions. Discussion followed concerning clean out at the ends, retaining wall around culverts, time and expense for crew to dig out, whether to restore with rock or grass, water flow issues and wash-outs due to sod build up along the road. Motion by Hauser/Herlitzke to charge a fee of $100 to clean out culvert ends and restore to the state that it should be in, not the original state. MOTION carried unanimously. Doug Klenke, N6954 Sunrise Lane, relayed a message of thanks to the crew for the work they did at the corner of Sunrise Lane and Meadow Way. Motion by Herlitzke/Stupi to send out another letter to residents on the list reminding them to clean out their culverts or they will get charged and estimate date of when it can be done. MOTION carried unanimously. Stupi confirmed this letter should go on Town letterhead, not GEC. PARK COMMITTEE Hammes Park sign: Carlson explained the letters are peeling off the George Hammes Park sign. Stupi reviewed a quote received to replace the sign. Discussion followed. Motion by Hoffman/Hauser that we spend $950 on a new sign for George Hammes Park from Sign Ranch. MOTION carried unanimously. County Road MH bike path: Stupi reported he, Pedretti and County Highway Commissioner reviewed and ranked the proposals to hire a designer for the County Road MH bike path from the high school to Sunrise Lane and the top 3 companies have been sent to the DOT for approval. He noted Phase 2 could be engineered at the same time as Phase 1 to Draft 2 help with submitting a grant proposal, which would save money and get a more accurate cost estimate. Item will be discussed during the engineering approval process. Holland Bike Trail: Stupi reported on a meeting with the Origin engineers last week and that, if we do not meet deadlines, the project could be delayed by two years. He noted there would be paperwork to move quickly over the next few months in order to make deadlines. Motion by Hoffman/Herlitzke to authorize the Town Chair sign upcoming advisory paperwork for construction and bid of the project, not to exceed $1,500. MOTION carried unanimously. Stupi explained there is a cottonwood tree at the corner of Sylvester Road and US Highway 53 that needs to be removed for the bike trail project and suggested it could be done through the Town, rather than part of the bike trail project contract. Hauser suggested the cost of the tree removal should be taken from the powerline money. Motion by Hauser/Hoffman to contract with a tree service to remove the tree at the corner of Sylvester and US 53. MOTION carried unanimously. Stupi reported the Origin engineer notified the Town they do not have the staff available to perform the construction oversight. He noted that due to Federal funds, the Town will need to go out for an RFP, rank the proposals and send to the DOT. PUBLIC WORKS Rain event: Carlson reported the rain events of the week of June 23rd caused a washout on Flaten and it has since been repaired. Hoffman thanked the crew for their hard work in removing a tree due to the storm. Road repair on Maple Street: Pedretti explained the resident at W8090 Maple Street had some work done on their driveway but it has caused a gap with the Town road. She reviewed the two quotes received. Discussion followed concerning repair options and reimbursement. Motion by Herlitzke/Weber to approve hiring La Crosse County to patch Maple Street at a cost estimate not to exceed $1,700 and authorize the Town of Holland charge back to the resident the cost of the work due to not having the proper work permit. MOTION carried unanimously. Sweeping rock: Stupi explained there are some roads in Country Estates that need additional sweeping of the rock from last year’s seal coating work. Discussion followed concerning process, costs and effectiveness of the seal coating work. Motion by Herlitzke/Weber to authorize the Town to re-sweep the listed streets with the County doing sweeping with 50/50 cost share. MOTION carried unanimously. The crew was directed to monitor the roads after they have been swept. Future road work: Stupi reviewed the memo describing engineering work that could be completed this year for future road work and grant writing, including boring, pavement design and construction estimates. Discussion followed. Motion by Hauser/Weber that we approve the boring, pavement design and construction estimates for Garfield Road, Amundson Coulee Road and Folkert Road not to exceed $25,200 with reaching out to the Farmington community to see if they would split the cost of Amundson Coulee Road with us. MOTION carried unanimously. Stupi explained our Long Range Plan was to reconstruct approximately one mile of road a year, but the roads previously noted will take time to analyze. He suggested conducting just the road boring and pavement design on four roads listed in the memo, totaling approximately one mile, that could be constructed in 2026. Discussion followed. Draft 3 Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to approve the boring and pavement design for Green Place, Oak Drive, Long Coulee Court and Wolfe Road not to exceed $16,600. MOTION carried unanimously. Town crew report: Carlson reviewed the Town crew report. FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire station study: Stupi reported a joint meeting to discuss the fire station study has been scheduled for Thursday, July 31st at 6:30 pm at the Holland Town hall. Report on 6/17/25 meeting: Herlitzke reviewed the draft minutes from the June 17th meeting. REGIONAL BLUFFLAND COALITION Weber reported they are working on land acquisition and they have $193,000 in funds for trails. He has been in discussion with possible partnership on the Town’s walking trail. RESOLUTION: KNOWLES-NELSON STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM Stupi reported we were asked by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy to support re- authorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, even though the budget was passed without it. Pedretti read the following into the record: RESOLUTION #2025-3 A Resolution in Support of Reauthorization of State Funding for Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Legislature created the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in 1989 to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries, and expand opportunities for outdoor recreation (Per Ch. 23.09 | 5(c)(d), Wis. Stats.); and WHEREAS, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is set to expire in 2025 and the program has supported land acquisition and capital development by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), local governments, and nonprofit conservation organization to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and expand outdoor recreation for public benefit around the state; and WHEREAS, the Town of Holland has directly benefited over the years having received Stewardship grant funds to preserve the Holland Sand Prairie and develop other public outdoor recreation opportunities; and WHEREAS, the Town of Holland Board considers the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program a valuable tool to preserve and restore natural areas, wildlife habitat and water quality while support the development of public nature- based outdoor recreation opportunities that promote economic development; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Town Board of the Town of Holland to express its support for the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in 2025 with sufficient funding allocated to fund projects over the next ten years to our State Legislators and the Governor. NOW, THEREFORE be it resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Holland hereby expressed to the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor its full support for the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and request that sufficient funding be allocated to support projects for the next ten-year period. Draft 4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Clerk shall forward a copy of this resolution to the State Legislator representing the Town of Holland and to the Office of the Governor. Dated this 9th day of July, 2025. Motion by Hoffman/Herlitzke to approve Resolution 2025-3. MOTION carried unanimously. OPERATOR’S LICENSES Pedretti reported all was in good order with a server’s training certificate and background check. Motion by Herlitzke/Hoffman to approve the operator’s license for Jacqueline Millette o/b/o Drugan’s Castle Mound. MOTION carried unanimously. TREASURER’S REPORT AND BILLS The Treasurer’s report and invoices were reviewed. Motion by Herlitzke/Weber to accept the treasurer’s report and pay the bills in the amount of $161,048.86. MOTION carried. ANNOUNCEMENTS Pedretti asked members to contact her if they are interested in attending the annual WTA convention in October. ADJOURN Motion by Hoffman/Hauser to adjourn. MOTION carried. Adjourned 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marilyn J. Pedretti Town Clerk