February

VALDERS VILLAGE BOARD MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 2026 Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance Village President Schneider, called the regular monthly meeting of the Valders Village Board to order at 7:00PM at the Valders Village Office, 207 S. Liberty Street. Trustees present: Devan Schneider, Paul Baroun, Marcus Bartelme (arrived to the meeting at 7:10PM) & Dan Sabel. Ann Galley absent & excused. Motion by Baroun, second by Sabel to adopt the agenda Motion carried. No one was present for public input. Motion by Bartelme, second by Sabel to close public input. Motion carried. Motion by Sabel, second by Baroun to approve minutes from 1/12/26 as presented by Clerk/Treasurer Bruckner. Motion carried. Motion by Sabel, second by Baroun to approve the January Treasurer’s reports as presented by Bruckner for all department funds. Motion carried. Motion by Sabel, second by Baroun to approve January Village, Fire & EMS vouchers; payroll direct deposits # 2012 - #2065; checks #22721 - #22778 & electronic payments totaling $654,007.01 as presented by Bruckner. Motion carried. Motion by Schneider, second by Sabel to approve January Utility vouchers; checks #9186 - #9199 & 2026 budgeted transfers totaling $89,028.99 and check #1093 for $5,000.00 as presented by Bruckner. Motion carried. The board discussed potentially holding a Farmers Market/Vendor Fair at the Valders Memorial Park Lot on Wednesdays from June to the end of September from 3:30 - 6:30PM. Adam Mejia resident and office assistant talked to Schneider about it and said he already has interest from several vendors. It was discussed to possibly have the Lions Club involved in the weekly event. Schneider suggested the possibility of small local bands to play at the event and food trucks . The board is in favor of the idea but want to find out what other communities with established markets charge for a vendor fee and vendor requirements. A motion by Baroun, second by Sabel to postpone the matter to obtain more information until the next meeting. Motion carried. Board reviewed the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Patrol January reports. Fire/EMS Reports for January were presented by Christopher Dallas, Fire Chief & EMS Director. There were 82 EMS and 12 Fire calls for service in January. 16 of 23 members attended training for EMS Operation s, cot & stair chair operations, ambulance inventory equipment locations and Fire Engine inventory. Tender #34 is still at Stocks Manufacturing for repair. Ambulance #9 had two bad alternators replaced. The inverter was bypassed and a battery kill switch to the power system was added. Ambulance #9 passed DOT inspection. All overhead doors at the Fire Station were serviced and cable wires replaced on three. One door panel has crack down the middle and vendor recommended door replacement. One of the f our applicants for a part-time paramedic after review has been referred for pre - employment physical and awaiting results prior to hire. Cvikota will virtually present a review of the 2025 accounts receivable the March 9th meeting. Review of the 2025 Ambulance Budget with EMS municipalities served will be on 3/26/26 at 6:30PM at the Valders Fire Station. Dallas provided background information on the ambulance replacement planning process initiated in 2024, including vendor research, specification development, and financial forecasting. In June 2024, the department identified vendors capable of meeting our operational and safety requirements. In November 2025, Request for Bids (RFBs) were issued to multiple venders, specifically: American Rescue Vehicles (ARV), Pomasl / Crestline / Demers, Lifeline, Horton / Foster Coach, North Central / Braun / Osage, and Everest. Only t wo bids were received by the February 3 rd deadline. Bidder representatives Kelly Silha of American Response Vehicles and Ryan Lynch of Pomasl Fire Equipment were present at the meeting to provide information and answer questions pertaining to their bids submitted. Dallas stated the only the bid submitted which was compliant with our specifications was by ARV. Vendors advised to expect a 20–24-month lead time, once the order was placed. Based on operational needs, provider and patient safety considerations, and long-term financial planning, Dallas recommended approval to proceed with the purchase of one new ambulance utilizing the door -forward configuration under the outlined financial strategy and submitted by American Response Vehicles (ARV), who met the bid specification in entirety. Pomasl could not meet door forward concept with a type 3 ambulance, as the bid specification required. Pomasl submitted an exception to the bid and a Crestline mini- mod model was presented a 166” body, the bid requested 172”. They also submitted a Demers ambulance without the door forward concept. The service currently has a Crestline ambulance and we do not like it, and do not want another Crestline. MEETING CONVENED & ROLL CALL AGENDA APPROVED NO PUBLIC INPUT MINUTES APPROVED TREASURER REPORT S APPROVED VILLAGE/FIRE/EMS VOUCHERS APPROVED UTILITY VOUCHERS APPROVED POSTPONED ANY DECISIONS PERTAINING TO FARMERS MARKET & VENDOR FAIR AT THE PARK REVIEW MCSD PATROL REPORTS JANUARY REVIEW FIRE AND EMS MONTHLY REPORTS REVIEW OF AMBULANCE BIDS 2/09/2026 MINUTES Pomasl did not provide any bid specification exceptions for consideration, only two sheets with ambulance information, warranty and price were included. The board asked many questions of Dallas. Each bidder representative was given opportunities to provide additional information on their ambulance bids or to answer questions by trustees. After lengthy discussion Schneider could tell the board members present were in a disconnect in making a decision and would like to give this more thought and further research the rigs presented in the bids received. Motion by Schneider, second by Sabel to postpone decision until the March meeting. Motion carried. Motion by Baroun, second by Sabel to approve to transfer 2025 Fire Budget Balance amount of $6,000 to the Fire Replacement from the Fire General Fund. Motion carried. Motion by Bartelme, second by Baroun to approve to transfer 2025 EMS Budget Balance amount of $10,000 to the Retire/Sick Pay Fund and amount of $36,000 to the EMS Replacement from the EMS Non-Restricted Fund. Motion carried. DPW/OIC Shillcox reviewed the monthly Public Works report with the board. The second quarterly large refuse drop cycle was completed. So far both events have not brought in enough revenue to cover the expense of the dumpster fee. The contract for the containers at our Recycle Center with Waste Management will expire 12/2026. The board advised to continue the current operational practices and advised Shillcox to do Request for Proposals in early fall to award prior to 2027 budget preparation. Shillcox explained he is in the early stages of exploring consolidation of a portion of water distributions sanitary sewer lines that extend north on North Adams Street past Kennedy Street up to the stone quarry scale house, the services were deactivated in 2015 leaving about 1,000 feet each of unnecessary utilities that pose more cause for concern than benefit. Valders Stone and Marble have indicated they have no future use for these utilities. I am awaiting this in writing. There are many large stones and quarry material on top of where mains are buried and in the event of failure, access would be very difficult to repair. More on this process will be provided to the board when available. Effluent phosphorus levels average 1.177 mg/L for January over the permit limit of 1.0 mg/L resulting in a noncompliance report submitted to the DNR. Freezing temperatures caused hindered settling and reduced treatment efficiency for the system that relies heavily on microbial activity. Both clarifiers are 32 years old and will need to be rehabilitated with the next upgrade or sooner. The next permit cycle beginning in Fall 2027 will likely require upgrades including installation of an effluent flow meter and disinfection equipment. We are evaluating existing infrastructure at the facility that has not been in use for many years to be retrofitted to fit future needs, particularly the existing chlorine contact tank and how it could be modified as cost savings for future upgrades. Staff was busy in t he Clarks Mills Sanitary District this month responding to several alarms related to mechanical failures on one of the lift station pumps and a frozen discharge pipe at another station. DPW/OIC Austin Shillcox added Brad Stuczynski of MSA Professional Services Inc. virtually to the meeting to provide information pertaining to proposals to provide services for the Investigative Testing – Well #2 discussed at the January meeting . The board reviewed proposal s from CTW Corporation ; Base $63 ,080 and Supplemental Items $20,210 and Municipal Well & Pump Base; $93,846 and Supplemental Items $41,756. Both of the companies have done satisfactory work on our systems in the past. Shillcox noted the supplemental items may or may not be needed. Shillcox and Stuczynski answered questions and explained CTW can do the testing much sooner than MWP , which is important to be able to make future decisions for necessary PFAS reduction actions to be taken . M otion by Baroun, second by Bartelme to proceed with outlined proposal services by CTW Corporation, due to cost and work timelines, utilizing PFAS Litigation Funds. Motion carried. Shillcox again reviewed quote and necessary upgrade to the SCADA System by PJ Kortens & Company Inc. for $26,342. This computerized system is at its end of life and runs our treatment plant, lift stations, wells and tower if it goes down so do our systems. Motion by Sabel, second by Bartelme to proceed with the SCADA upgrade utilizing WWTP, Sewer Main, Tower & Water Repair Funds. Motion carried. Schneider u pdated the board to a conference call on 1/29/26 pertaining to the termination of contract with VC3 for computer and cyber security services. This is the third call with different up the ladder company representatives. The entire chain of events was again explained, with an end result they will need to get back to us with numbers. Schneider felt the company has shown a complete lack of understanding of the situation financially and we have not gotten any closer to terminating the contract since the October board decision to terminate the contract. Motion by Sabel, second by Bartelme to adjourn meeting at 8:57PM. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, VILLAGE OF VALDERS Lori Bruckner Village Clerk/Treasurer MOTION TO POSTPONE TO AWARD OR REJECT AMBULANCE BIDS TO THE MARCH MEETING APPROVED TO TRANSFER 2025 FIRE & EMS BUDGET BALANCES TO THREE INVESTMENT FUNDS REVIEW OF PUBLIC WORKS MONTHLY REPORT APPROVED CTW CORPORATION TO PROVIDE WELL #2 INVESTIGATIVE TESTING SERVICES UTILIZING PFAS LITGATION FUNDS APPROVED TO UPGRADE SCADA SYSTEM UTILITILZING SEWER AND WATER REPLACEMENT FUNDS VC3 CONTRACT TERMINATION UPDATE MEETING ADJOURNED 2/09/2026 MINUTES