Town Board and Plan Commission — Minutes

TOWN OF RIVER FALLS – REGULAR BOARD MEETING Monday, May 4, 2026, River Falls Town Hall The meeting was called to order by Chair Terry Kusilek at 7:02pm. Terry took roll call. Elected officials and staff present: Terry Kusilek, Chair; Mary Foster, Siri Smith, Joe Mahoney, Jerome Rodewald; Supervisors; Rita Kozak, Treasurer; Sarah Meyer; Clerk; Don Rodewald, Zoning Administrator; Guests present: Brandon Ruf, Luas Gallot, Brad Peterson, Kathleen Svoboda, Wayne Svoboda, Mary Bergman, Eric Bergman, Patti Weigand, Jason Schaar, Wendy DiPeso, Kristin Nyquist, Troy Bellrichard, Pam Bellrichard, Mary Merta Siri made a motion to approve the agenda as posted. Joe seconded. M.C. Open and Take Action on Sealed Bids for Chip Sealing and Crack Sealing Projects for the 2026 Season: The Town plans to complete chip sealing on 945th Street, 850th Street, 710th Avenue (starting at county rd E), and 945th Street. Also included in the request for bids was an option to also do work on 710th Avenue starting at county road O. Bids were submitted by Scott Construction & Fahrner Asphalt. Terry opened and read the bids aloud. Scott Construction’s bid for the entire project was $79,345.00. Fahrner Asphalt Sealers’ bid was $78,850.00 for the entire project. Jerome made a motion to add the topic to the May 18, 2026, agenda for discussion and approval. Siri seconded. M.C. Joe moved to approve the minutes of the April 20, 2026, Regular Board meeting. Siri seconded. M.C. Financial Report/Fire Call Report: Treasurer Rita provided the Treasurer’s Report. The current available balance is $533,712.30. Joe moved, and Mary seconded to approve the financial and fire call reports. M.C. Public Comments & Requests: Eric Bergman asked about the process to appeal the tax bill for their home. They have spoken with the assessor at Open Book and were directed to make an objection at the Board of Review. Kathleen Svoboda gave thanks to the Board for their time. She also reiterated her frustration about the broad range of activities happening at N8057 920th Street. This property is zoned residential, but she believes that they are in violation of this zoning with the business taking place there. Patti Weigand lives on 710th Avenue and has concerns about the former junkyard located on 710th Avenue and any clean-up happening there. She does not feel that cleanup is happening fast enough. This topic will be on as an agenda item at a future meeting. Zoning Administrator Report: Zoning Administrator Don Rodewald provided the zoning report (attached). Mary made a motion to accept the Zoning Administrator’s report. Joe seconded. M.C. Plan Commission Report: Siri shared that the Plan Commission approved a dwelling site review for the proposed Jensen residence on 770th Avenue. Siri brought forward a recommendation from the Plan Commission to approve the alternate building site for Heather Reed, 820th Street. Mary moved to approve the alternate building site for the replacement of an existing farm dwelling. Joe seconded the motion. M.C. Discuss and Take Action on Possible Nuisance Property, N8057 920th St: This property is 1.3 acres, zoned R1, single family ETZ, owner is St. Croix Chippewa Indians of WI, occupant is Jason Schaar. Terry and Don did a site visit in late April. Don shared his report of the site review. They did observe that a home based business is being operated from this location but do not believe business work is being done there as they leave to work on the wells and well pumps. Terry shared his observation that the grass has been mowed and there was no evidence of rodent activity. Don and Terry did see potential violations from City’s ordinances but nothing concerning from a Town Zoning perspective. Jerome shared some historical information about the property, complaints received and action taken. The resident, Jason Schaar was present and gave the Board information about the vehicles parked around the property. All vehicles but two are registered. He has been working to sell several vehicles, including one of the campers. The two unregistered vehicles belong to a cousin and the cousin plans to move them out by end of summer. Jason said that the new owner of Gordy Schaar trucking is also the owner of neighboring land and parks on Jason’s land to keep the equipment less visible. The pipe rack is visible but there is not another accessible location to keep it usable for jobs. Jason shared a proposal to build a garage/accessory building to get more vehicles indoors and out of view. Don said it will have to go to City for approval since it is in ETZ and possibly in violation of the number of accessory buildings allowed by the City. Siri recommended that Jason move forward with applying for a permit for an accessory building and to check back in at end of summer to see how vehicle sales and building application progress. Joe made a motion to table the issue until September 1 and check in on progress at that time. Jerome seconded. M.C. Discuss and Take Action on Findings from April 28 Town Road Tour: The Town Board used a school bus to visit and assess roads across the town. They reviewed where work was done last year and where work is planned for this year and what may be completed next year. No action needed at this time. Discuss and Take Action on Implementing No Parking on Portions of 975th Street: Terry shared that residents on 975th Street are parking cars in a narrowed area of the street where it switches between Town and City. Terry said that the City will be putting “no parking” signs up along their section of the street. Siri moved and Mary seconded to place “no parking” signs from the town line for approximately 100 feet. M.C. Discuss and Take Action on Snow Plow Truck Sale: Mary made a motion to authorize Terry to form a committee to research and develop of a plan to sell the old snow plow truck. Siri seconded. M.C. Discuss and Take Action on Resolution 2026 - E - Resolution Setting Amounts of Recoverable Fire Department Response Fees: Siri moved to approve Resolution 2026 – E – Resolution Setting Amounts of Recoverable Fire Department Response Fees. Mary seconded. M.C. Review 2026 First Quarter Budget Update: Sarah shared an updated accounting of revenues and expenses January 1, 2026, through March 31, 2026. Board and Staff Communications: Jerome complimented Terry on his leadership on the road tour experience. Joe said Recycling Center staff have started the roll out of residential permits and passed out over 100 last Saturday. Siri attended the Rural Fire Association meeting on behalf of Terry on April 26. She brought back updates from the fire department including that they will be doing driveway clearance inspections throughout the summer. Sarah will put this on facebook and the website. The Taylor good intent call was denied because the call was not canceled before the fire department had arrived. Mary told the group that working continues on the Halverson Park bring and they hope to get the bridge in place by May 20. Sarah gave a reminder that the Board of Review is scheduled for May 18 from 3- 5pm. Terry had an inquiry from Dean Bergseng about making 790th into a Class B road. Siri requested that Terry do more research and bring it to a future meeting. Terry is scheduling a time with Vanguard for the Board and Plan Commission to tour the anaerobic digester at the Peterson Dairy Farm. Terry has received several complaints about speeding on 760th Avenue, 810th Street, 690th Avenue due to the extra traffic due to culvert work on state road 65. He has put up temporary lowered speed limit signs in the area. Terry received an email from a resident about the junkyard on 710th Avenue. Don responded that he is slowly working to clean things up and hopes to get mobile homes out this year. Mary shared that she has recently visited the property and observed that much has been planted into pollinator habitat and that she can see the progress. Terry talked to state DOT officials about fixing the intersection on 920th and state road 65. They have no plans to make changes at this time. Audit and Pay Bills Joe moved to audit and pay bills, Siri seconded. M.C. Future Agenda items: • Approve Agenda • Minutes from May 4, 2025, Regular Board Meeting • Financial/Fire Call Report • Public Comments and Requests • Zoning Administrator Report • Plan Commission Report • Review and Take Action on Sealed Bids for Chip Sealing and Crack Sealing Projects for the 2026 Season • Discuss and Take Action on Parking Issue on 862nd Street • Discuss Future ETZ Committee Roster and Meetings • Discuss and Take Action on Purchasing a Buckthorn Puller • Discuss and Take Action on Findings from April 21, 2026, Annual Meeting • Review and Discuss Proposed Updates to Chapter 1 Regarding Boards and Commissions • Discuss Plans for Town Hall 125th Celebration • Review and Discuss Recycling Center Staff Duties • Board and Staff Communications • Future Agenda Items • Audit and Pay Bills • Adjourn Joe moved to adjourn. Jerome seconded. M.C. Meeting adjourned at 9:01pm.