Special City Council Meeting — Minutes

____________________________________________________________________________________ City Hall • 123 Mechanic Street • P.O. Box 447 • Hillsboro, Wisconsin 54634Phone: (608) 489-2521 • Fax: (608) 489-3905 • www.hillsborowi.com SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTESJuly 27, 2026The Special City Council Meeting was called to order by Mayor Zach Bender on Monday, July 27, 2026, at 7:00 PM. All present stood and recited the Pledge of Alliance. Mayor Bender asked for affirmation of proper public notice to which City Administrator Isaacs confirmed the meeting did receive proper public notice.Roll call was taken with Alderpersons Julie Erickson, Leanne Beyer, Tom Hotek, Pat Moen, Elizabeth Parish, Randy Seeley, Mark Lankey, and Darrow Novy present.Others attending were City Administrator Cory Isaacs, Nicolette Nauman from the Hillsboro Sentry Enterprise, Police Chief Pat Clark, Mike Burch from the Street Department, Greg Kubarski, Nolan Hammer, Layne Hammer, and Reece Hammer. There was no registered public comment.Beyer said she talked to Caleb Dawley from Tree Sixty Tree Service by phone. She said she asked him questions and explained her reservations about what he can do—and about the timeframe in which he can do it. She said she wasn’t entirely satisfied with his responses. Beyer also said she reminded him the council had decided to impose a 10% penalty if the tree service that was awarded the job didn’t finish the job within six weeks. Finally, Beyer said she was surprised and disappointed that at the last meeting she was the only council member to ask the tree cutters questions.Moen told Beyer she was sorry they disappointed her.Parish said she cared about how long it would take to cut the trees but especially cared about how much money it would take to cut them. She said she was conditioned to take the lowest bid and then moved to award the project to The Tree Handlers.Lankey seconded the motion.A rollcall vote was taken. Lankey, Parish, and Moen voted yes, and Erickson, Beyer, Hotek, Novy, and Seeley voted no. The motion failed.Novy and Seeley both discussed the 10% penalty and the 6-week deadline. Both said it was important to enforce the penalty if the tree service that gets the job doesn’t meet the deadline.Moen asked about Saemisch’s Tree Care’s experience and qualifications. ____________________________________________________________________________________ City Hall • 123 Mechanic Street • P.O. Box 447 • Hillsboro, Wisconsin 54634Phone: (608) 489-2521 • Fax: (608) 489-3905 • www.hillsborowi.com Bender said the owner was impressive and eager but lacked experience. Bender said the owner worked for another tree service for several years but had just recently started his own tree service.Beyer said she believed Saemisch’s Tree Care hadn’t cut down many trees this year.Bender said he wanted to remind the council that his recent election demonstrated the people of Hillsboro want positive change. He urged the council to listen to the voters and make positive change.Seeley reiterated the importance of the 10% penalty and the 6-week deadline: if the tree service that is awarded the project doesn’t complete the job within 6 weeks of the date it started the job, the city will impose a penalty equivalent to 10% of the total price. Seeley then moved to award the project to Tree Sixty Tree Service.Erickson seconded the motion.A rollcall vote was taken. Erickson, Hotek, Moen, Novy, and Selley voted yes, and Beyer, Lankey, and Parish voted no. The motion passed. Tree Sixty Tree Service will be awarded the project.Bender said he would let Caleb Dawley of Tree Sixty Tree Service know that he was awarded the project. Motion to adjourn at 7:12 PM by Beyer, seconded by Moen. Motion carried by voice vote. Meeting adjourned at 7:12 PM.