March

VALDERS VILLAGE BOARD MEETING MINUTES MARCH 9, 2026 Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance Village President Schneider, called the regular monthly meeting of the Valders Village Board to order at 7:0 1PM at the Valders Village Office, 207 S. Liberty Street. Trustees present: Devan Schneider, Paul Baroun, Marcus Bartelme, Ann Galley & Dan Sabel. Motion by Bar telme, second by Sabel to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion carried. No one was present for public input. Motion by Baroun, second by Bartelme to close public input. Motion carried. Motion by Bartelme, second by Baroun to approve minutes from 2/9/26 as presented by Clerk/Treasurer Bruckner. Motion carried. Motion by Sabel, second by Baroun to approve the February Treasurer’s reports as presented by Bruckner for all department funds. Motion carried. Motion by Baroun, second by Sabel to approve February Village, Fire & EMS vouchers; payroll direct deposits # 2066 - #2102; checks #22 779 - #22825 & electronic payments totaling $517,244.26 as presented by Bruckner. Motion carried. Motion by Galley, second by Bartelme to approve February Utility vouchers; checks #9200 - #9214 totaling $37,810.19 and check #1094 for $1,100.00 as presented by Bruckner. Motion carried. Gary Bruckner of 300 West Wilson Street was present to speak to the Board about recent Valders Stone & Marble quarry blasting which is much stronger and closer and concerned it may cause damage to his home’s foundation, other homes or facilities in the neighborhood. Schneider explained the quarry has its blasting done by a separate company called Quick Supply and they must comply with strict regulations and follow USBM criteria. Schneider referred to seismograph readings and other data provided to him by the quarry. They are permitted to operate through other agencies and their guidelines and as a Village we really can’t do anything. The company will provide a 6-hour pre-blast notification to anyone by email. Schneider suggested for Bruckner to meet with the company directly to address his concerns. Schneider also suggested the quarry always notify the school district so the kids know what is going on when they hear or feel a blast. Schneider offered to provide Bruckner copies of the information provided to him from the company pertaining to the matter. The scheduled Introduction of owners of Cross Bones Production will be placed on the April agenda. The Board discussed at great length with Fire Chief/EMS Director Christoper Dallas the bids received from Pomasl Fire Equipment and American Response Vehicle for purchase of a new ambulance. These bids were reviewed at the February meeting and a decision was postponed to obtain additional information. Trustees made calls to or visited other departments regarding the types of ambulances presented for purchase by the two bidders. Various opinions were provided for the different units and what they liked or disliked about the Forward Door model vs the style we currently have. It was also discussed if we should have a 4 -wheel drive chassis . Dallas stated we had one and did not keep due higher repair costs. Dallas felt it is unnecessary and is also more expensive at time of purchase. All trustees agreed Gas not Diesel is the better option. It is a 20 -year investment and a big decision. After continued opinions expressed by trustees regarding the units bid, a motion was made by Schneider to award the purchase bid to American Response Vehicle, for a 2028 AEV Traumahawk Type III, 172 x 95 x 72 Ford E450 LWB 4 x 2 Gas, Door Forward with delivery in early 2028 for $275,400, as it provides more workspace , patient safety and privacy, second made by Bartelme. Ayes Schneider, Bartelme, Galley and Sabel. Baroun Nay. Baroun was in favor of the Demers unit instead. Motion carried. The Ambulance #8 loan will be paid off a year early in 2028 and a new loan for this rig will be secured just prior to delivery in 2028 with the first payment being in 2029. Fire/EMS Reports for March were presented by Christopher Dallas, Fire Chief & EMS Director. There were 46 EMS and 5 Fire calls for service in February. 1 8 of 23 members attended training for self-contained breathing apparatus at Manitowoc Fire Station 3. Tender #34 is still at Stocks Manufacturing for the age condition repairs. Ambulance #8 has all fluids changed and front brakes replaced . A virtual presentation by Joel Kent, of Cvikota MBS regarding EMS billing and collection statistics which compared 2024 to 2025. Trustees asked various questions. This then led into a discussion with Kent and Dallas and the review of a proposed contract with Creditor Advocates Inc. for EMS debt collection of unpaid services. The company would be utilized after collection all efforts by Cvikota and the State TRIP program are unsuccessful. Kent works with this company for other clients and has had good success in additional collection s. Motion by Baroun, second by Bartelme to approve to execute the contract with Creditor Advocates. Inc. to collect as much revenue as possible for EMS services. Motion carried. MEETING CONVENED & ROLL CALL AGENDA APPROVED NO PUBLIC INPUT MINUTES APPROVED TREASURER REPORT S APPROVED VILLAGE/FIRE/EMS VOUCHERS APPROVED UTILITY VOUCHERS APPROVED RESIDENT CONCERNS REGARDING RECENT VALDERS STONE & MARBLE QUARRY BLASTING CROSS BONES PRODUCTION WILL BE ON NEXT AGENDA FURTHER DISCUSSION ON AMBULANCE BIDS FROM LAST MEETING - BID AWARDED TO AMERICAN RESPONSE VEHICLE-TRAUMAHAWK REVIEW FIRE AND EMS MONTHLY REPORTS REVIEW EMS BILLING & COLLECTIONS-CVIKOTA APPROVED TO CONTRACT WITH CREDITOR ADVOCATES INC-EMS COLLECTIONS 3/09/2026 MINUTES The board reviewed the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Patrol February reports. DPW/OIC Shillcox reviewed the monthly Public Works report with the board. Staff has started the rotating 2 -year cross connections inspections as required for commercial, public authority and industrial accounts as required by the DNR connected to the public water system. CTW Corporation is currently onsite at Well #2 working on the Investigative Testing relating to PFAS. They are pumping and sampling at various depths. Our staff has been heavily involved monitoring for issues related to the water and sewer systems as the DNR mandated that the testing discharge water must be pumped into the sanitary sewer system rather than the storm water system. Effluent phosphorus levels averaged 0.985 mg/L for February below the permit limit of 1.0 mg/L, but above the MDV target of 0.2 mg/L. The permanent chemical addition project is substantially completed and in use. REL Engineers have deemed it to spec and the DNR will notified for a future inspection. Shillcox attended the 2026 Government Affairs Seminar on 2/19/26. The DNR updated attendees that future WPDES permits reissued will likely have mandatory monitoring requirements for PFAS in sludge and effluent. Therefore, another requirement which will require additional time, sampling and testing expense. Sanitary sewer televising i n mainline sewers that have not been check for many years is scheduled for 2026. Vizu-Sewer will be performing the work when they are here for the pipe relining project approved in 2025 to save on immobilization costs. We passed the annual WI State Laboratory of Hygiene Proficiency Tests for TSS, BOD, Phosphorus and Ammonia inhouse wastewater testing to maintain our registered laboratory status. Shillcox with board approval would like to submit an application for Local Small Structure Improvement Program. The State available funding is for up to 90% cost share for replacement of 6’ to 20’ storm water structures inventoried last year. The application would be for replacement of the culverts under Lincoln Street and is due May 1st. After application we may or may not be awarded funding. Motion by Sabel, second Bartelme to approve application submittal for this program. Motion carried. Galley reviewed in detail the draft Farmers Market/Vendor Fair Policies and Contract to be held and at the Valders Memorial Park Lot on Wednesdays from June to the end of September from 4:00-7:00PM, with a proposed annual fee of $25. Fire Chief Dallas suggested Food Trucks be added to this same contract as well as they are becoming more popular at events or at a stand-alone location. He also presented Fire Safety Regulations to be followed. The board thought this was a good idea to add Food Trucks to the se documents, instead utilizing separate documents . T hen Schneider suggested extending the market until the end of October for fall produce and craft items. A motion by Baroun, second by Bartelme to add Food Trucks to the Farmers Market Vendor documents presented, to set the annual fee for Vendors & Food Trucks at $25 and to hold the Farmers Market from June 1st thru October 31st, from 4:00-7:00PM at the Valders Memorial Park Lot. Motion carried. Bruckner will make the revisions approved to all applicable documents. They will available at the village office and will also be added to the Village Website as soon as possible. The board reviewed current Money Market interest rates versus Certificate of Deposit rates and after discussion being there is only 0.4 to 0.5% difference and the liquidity of funds postponed to invest any of our current Money Market Funds for Village, Fire, EMS, Public Utilities at this time into Certificates of Deposit. Schneider updated the board pertaining to the termination of contract with VC3 for computer and cyber security services . VC3 is willing to terminate the five -year service contract if all services thru March 31, 2026 invoiced are paid in full, totaling $6,937.50. Dallas suggested that after termination payment and offboarding to continue to discuss with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities the services and fees which were never established during that time for the additional 7 users at the Fire Station, which has been one of the issues from the onset. Motion by Baroun, second by Galley to agree to make the final payment to terminate the contract as discussed, but to pursue after the fact termination discussions regarding the services never established. Motion carried. Notification of resignation on 2/12/26 from Adam Mejia, part -time Administrative Assistant for a new full -time position with benefits at his other part -time employer. The board discussed with Bruckner an internship program at UWGB. Motion by Schneider, second by Sabel to pursue intern applicants from this program. Motion carried. Motion by Sabel, second by Bartelme to adjourn meeting at 9:20PM. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, VILLAGE OF VALDERS Lori Bruckner Village Clerk/Treasurer REVIEW OF MCSD REPORTS REVIEW OF PUBLIC WORKS MONTHLY REPORT APPROVED TO MAKE APPLICATION - LOCAL SMALL STRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FUNDS APPROVED TIMES AND PERIOD OF NEW FARMERS MARKET AND VENDOR AND FOOD TRUCK POLICIES & FEE POSTPONED TO INVEST MONEY MARKET FUNDS INTO CD’S BASED ON RATES VS LIQUIDITY VC3 CONTRACT TERMINATION UPDATE RESIGNATION OF OFFICE ASSISTANT & APPROVED TO PURSUE UWGB INTERNSHIP PROGRAM MEETING ADJOURNED 3/09/2026 MINUTES