Common Council — Minutes

Page 1 of 2 The Common Council met in special sessio n at City Hall in the City of Black River Falls on August 19, 2026 at 6:00 P.M. Alderpersons M. Rave, Busse, Gearing-Lancaster, and Ammann were present. Alderpersons Wussow and Peloquin attended remotely via Zoom meetings. Alderperson E. Rave was excused. Mayor J. Eddy presided. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster, seconded by Alderperson Peloquin to dispense with the reading o f the minutes of the August 4 , 2026 Common Council meeting and approve as presented . Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ CITIZENS IN ATTENDANCE There was one citizen in attendance remotely via Zoom meetings for agenda items. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- COMMITTEE REPORTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- It was moved by Alderperson Busse, seconded by Alderperson M. Rave to place on file the minutes of the August 6, 2026 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster to place on file the minutes of the August 13, 2026 Business Improvement District (BID) Board meeting. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ The Department Head monthly reports were reviewed. Department heads present were Mark Nordahl, Darryl Nelson, Jarod Mayer, Travis Brown, Cara Hart, and Brad Chown. 1. The City Administrator advised an ordinance is being drafted in response to the request to prohibit smoking at Marks Field and hope to present it to Council at the September meeting. 2. The Fire Chief presented two options for disposing of the used ambulance: 1) donate the ambulance to the Jackson County Animal Shelter for transporting animals. The Chief met with the staff and they feel the vehicle would meet their needs until they can acquire a van, 2) sell it on Wisconsin Surplus. 3. It was moved by Alderperson Ammann, seconded by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster to authorize the Fire Chief to sell or donate Rescue 2, the 2015 Mercedes Sprinter ambulance, as he chooses. Motion carried. 4. The Street Superintendent advised the levee inspectors praised our levee, and he commended the Parks Department for mowing the top and bottom of the levee. The Superintendent also advised the current mechanic has expressed interest in the upcoming General Laborer position opening with the retirement of Greg Rush so they would need to hire a full-time General Laborer/Mechanic. 5. It was moved by Alderperson Busse, seconded by Alderperson M. Rave to approve the Street Department’s request to fill the full-time General Laborer/Mechanic position. Motion carried. 6. Mayor Eddy stated we would miss Greg Rush and commended Greg for his years of service to the City Street Department. 7. The Police Chief introduced a new full-time Patrol Officer, Officer Jacob Featherly and the new K-9, Kor. Officer Featherly advised Kor is a Dutch Shepard purchased from Double Dutch Kennels in Delavan, WI and has training in narcotics detection, and they will be going to training in September where Kor will get certified in narcotic detection and also work on tracking. Chief Brown advised he is impressed with the donations that are coming in already to support the K-9 program. 8. Mayor Eddy advised the Council that he contacted the Police Chief the day after the last Council meeting at which a citizen presented concerns regarding the Police Department. The Chief did some additional investigating and determined the actions taken by the officer were what we would expect them to be. Upon further look, the Mayor had no more concerns with this particular situation. Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster advised she had contacted the citizen as well and he indicated that he had talked to the Chief and that he was satisfied. Page 2 of 2 9. The City administrator presented an overview of the first monthly report for the Make My Move talent recruitment program and the details behind each stage of the program being reported. There was one offer automatically extended to an applicant prior to the Council’s action to give the Mayor and the City Administrator authority to review and extend offers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- There was lengthy discussion on the application for a TIF VI Façade Improvement Grant for the property located at 34 South First Street. The application lists total Phase I project cost of $288,510.00 and a request for $144,255.00. The Historic Preservation Commission met and reviewed the application last month and recommended the Council approve the grant not to exceed grant program’s maximum award of 40% of total cost of eligible expenses or $120,000. The City Administrator advised this is a reimbursement grant so, if approved, the property owner would need to complete the work and submit for reimbursement, and the grant program is funded from tax increment dollars from the downtown TIF District which currently has annual revenues of approximately $93,000 and it shares revenue with TIF #3 so money could be moved. He also advised that the property owner had indicated that the plan is to eventually transfer ownership of the property over to the Jackson County Historical Society which is a tax exempt entity and would not pay property taxes. The City Administrator stated it was a great project, and they have beautiful plans for that building and programming and ways of driving traffic in to our community and the downtown and it will be a huge asset for the City. He also advised that financial assistance at the requested level would typically have a developer’s agreement that would spell out what the developer would do and in turn what the city would do, and he recommended an agreement be drafted between the City and the property owner to outline any stipulations the Council may want to place on the grant. Possible stipulations discussed included prohibiting ownership transfer to a non-profit for 5 to 10 years to allow time for the increment to reimburse the TID. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Gearing-Lancaster to have the City Administrator to draft a developer’s agreement with stipulations for consideration at the September Common Council meeting along with the consideration of the approval of a TIF VI Façade Improvement Grant for the maximum of 40% of total eligible costs for Phoenix Properties. Motion failed for lack of quorum 5-0-1 with Alderperson Peloquin abstaining. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Ammann to approve the vouchers for July 2026 Check #77238 - #77361 totaling $661,807.98. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson M. Rave, seconded by Alderperson Busse to approve the City Treasurer’s Report for July 2026. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Wussow, seconded by Alderperson M. Rave to approve the Revenue & Expense Report for July 2026. Motion carried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ It was moved by Alderperson Wussow, seconded by Alderperson M. Rave to adjourn. Motion carried at 6:43pm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ A. Brad Chown City Administrator