2026 02 12 meeting minutes approved

Town of Mercer Public Hearing Regular Board Meeting Mercer Town Hall February 12, 2026 at 5:30 1. Order of business of the Public Hearing a. The public hearing was called to order at 5:30 b. Pledge of allegiance c. Roll call: Present were Supervisors Christan Brandt, Rick Boes, Scot Lundquist, Chairman Mike Lambert, Attorney Fritz Schellgell and Clerk Deb Hohner. On the phone was Treasurer Becky Bettin and attending later was Road Foreman Jake Saarnio. d. The Clerk acknowledged that the meeting was properly posted e. Proposed Ordinance 2026-02 Restricting Certain Artificial Wake Enhancement- Border Lakes f. Proposed Ordinance 2026-01 Restricting Certain Artificial Wake Enhancement- Mercer Lakes Todd Jeros from the Turtle Flambeau Flowage Association spoke that his group did a survey of the landowners and 94% wanted an ordinance pursued and 92% wanted a total ban of wake boats. Fritz informed them that there can’t be one size fits all ordinance for all lakes. Each individual lake needs a study before a proposed ordinance can be presented to the DNR. There were multiple questions as to why there isn’t an ordinance for all lakes, who will do the study for each lake, and questioning that a study does not need to be completed. Miller Johnson from the Wilderness Alliance affirmed what Atty Schellgell stated that the DNR requires a study of each lake. Richard Phillips from the Wilderness Alliance stated that he is impressed that the town is willing to look at this for the largest body of water in the state and that the town is working on this in an orderly pace. Phil Thomas from Mercer Lake would like to work with the town for an ordinance for Mercer Lake. There also was discussion about enforcement issues. g. Adjourned at 5:59 2. Order of business of the Regular Meeting a. Mike called the regular meeting to order at 6pm b. Rick made a motion to approve the January 8, 2026 Regular Board meeting and January 13, 2026 special meeting, seconded by Christan. Carried 3. Open comment- limit 2 minutes per person- no formal discussion or action will be taken Roxanne Lutgen, President of the Mercer Library Board, wants to promote communication with the town board and the library. She presented updated information and pictures of the changes to the library. 50 people helped pack up and reset up is planned for February 17-27. March 2nd is the plan for reopening. 4. Items for Discussion/Possible Action a. Proposed Ordinance 2026-02 Restricting Certain Artificial Wake Enhancement- Border Lakes: Atty Schellgell stated we do not have positive feedback from the DNR because the Town of Sherman has not submitted their ordinance. Christan made a motion to table, seconded by Scot. Carried b. Proposed Ordinance 2026-01 Restricting Certain Artificial Wake Enhancement- Mercer Lakes: Not yet approved by the DNR. Christan made a motion to table, seconded by Scot. Carried c. Tourist Rooming House Permit at 4804W Lake of the Falls Rd, Mercer, WI for GMR Lakeside Adventures LLC.: Scot made a motion to approve with no more than 4 guests, seconded by Rick. Carried d. Tourist Rooming House Permit at 2964 N Hiawatha Rd, Butternut, WI for Chad Empereur.: Rick made a motion to approve with no more than 6 guests, paying a $50 fine for renting without a permit, and paying 4.5% room tax for prior rentals, seconded by Scot. Carried e. Tourist Rooming House Permit at 5583N Creekside Ct., Mercer, WI for Andrew & Suzanne Stone.: Scot made a motion to approve with 6 guests, seconded by Rick. Carried f. Mercer Business Park Lot #9 Inquiry from Tim Tyler, Mercer Vacation Rentals.: consider approval with a completed commercial design and construction within 2 years. g. Abandonment of roads fee and form: Scot made a motion to approve the fees and form, seconded by Christan. Carried h. Hiring Town Treasurer and Clerk: discussion only i. Bids for 2026 Tandem Truck and Equipment: One bid was received. Truck County for a Western Star 47X in the amount of $170,084 or if add an additional $425 has a back up camera. The chassis will be her within 30 days and outfitting of the truck is 300 days out. Scot made a motion to purchase the plow truck with the camera, seconded by Christan. Carried j. Increase in tax levy in the future: Will discuss in the future k. Library change order: Scot made a motion to approve, seconded by Christan. Carried 5. Legal Fritz has recorded the deed for the park purchase. 6. Approvals a. Vouchers (issue of checks): Scot made a motion to approve, seconded by Rick. Carried b. Treasurer’s report: Rick made a motion to approve as read, seconded by Scot. Carried c. Operator’s licenses: none d. Liquor licenses: Scot made a motion to approve the new agent Amber Monic at the Krist Oil, seconded by Rick. Carried with Christan abstaining. Scot made a motion to approve a Class B Beer and Liquor License for Crafty Cup, seconded by Rick. Carried with Christan abstaining. Scot made a motion for a one day beer liquor license for the VFW on February 14th, seconded by Rick. Carried e. Cemetery deeds: none 7. Operation Reports a. Chair’s report: Stated that the crew is doing an excellent job. b. Supervisor’s reports a. Scot- The park is working on the 4th of July events, will re-evaluate the floor and will get back to work with the dog park in Spring. The library will not have any services February 17-27. Questioned about Highway 51 repair during the summer. Also likes taking the time to discuss the wake boats to protect the town and taxpayers. b. Christan- discussed how there are some issues with employee insurance, questioned if there is an updated EMS Assistant Director job description and asked to send a reminder to the Mercer SnoGoers regarding roads being routes. c. Rick- new officers are in the Fire Department, EMS has had 25 calls the past month with 90% of them being run by Jim and that Park Falls might not be providing service to the Town of Sherman. The safe and non-pain meds are in both trucks, but pain meds will not be ordered until the camera is installed. The Tourist Rooming Commission met and discussed how they will work. Has been speaking with Bill Elliott from the state who handles complaints regarding the spending on room tax funds. He stated that the commission is following the correct procedures. c. Clerk’s correspondence: insurance issue already discussed d. Road report: Should be receiving $35,000 in grant funds for the Thanksgiving snowstorm clean up, crew has been doing truck maintenance and moving snow. e. Planning Commission report: will be working on a Business Park Application form. f. Park Board report: none Adjourned Respectfully submitted, Debbie Hohner, Clerk Town of Mercer Approved