Plan Commission — Minutes

Regular March Plan Commission Meeting Tuesday, March 4th, 2025- 5:30 PM The meeting was posted on Thursday, February 27th, 2025 at the Bayfield Town Hall bulletin board and the town website. Plan Commission members present were Dennis Clark, Robert Feyen, Jim Steffenson, Carol Fahrenkrog, Robert Meierotto and Annalisa Bermel. Chairman Chuck Finn was excused. Clerk Kelly Faye was also in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairperson Fahrenkrog at 5:30 PM. Public Comment: None. Communications and Correspondence: None. New Business Presentation by Kate Kitchell of Bayfield Area Trails related to a proposed installation of an accessible boardwalk on the Salmo Lakewalk Trail, from the second bridge to the lake: Kate Kitchell was in attendance via Zoom. A handout with a summary of the proposed project was provided to the Commissioners. Kitchell explained that she is requesting approval for a time-sensitive grant application due on March 15th. She recognized that the Bayfield Town Board would be the last approving entity. The proposal is to upgrade the trail to become fully accessible. The 1st bridge would require a 50-ft slope but the second bridge doesn’t need too much work. The 3rd bridge would need replacement including resetting of the pilings. Kitchell stated there would be no funding requirement from the Town of Bayfield and volunteer labor would be used when possible. Discussion took place. Feyen noted that the accessible issue is somewhat secondary as the trail has had some issues since it opened. The repairs needed are important. The fact that the Town Board recently stated they were not in support of obtaining grants for new trails at this time was brought up. It was acknowledged that the Salmo Trail is not actually a new trail, but that this grant would support maintenance and improvement of an existing town trail. Concerns were brought up that if the trail is not maintained soon it could pose liability issues in the future. Discussion and possible action on request for support for the Salmo Lakewalk Trail proposal and the submission of grant applications for the project: A motion was made by Steffenson, seconded by Bermel, to recommend to the Town Board that Bayfield Area Trails submit the grant application(s) for the Salmo Lakewalk Trail. Discussion took place about ensuring the additional workload placed on the Clerk be manageable and that the approval be contingent on that. Motion carried. Set date and time for next Plan Commission Meeting: Tuesday, April 8th, 2025, 5:30 PM (April 1st is the date of the Spring Election). Clark suggested the following items for future agendas- 1) Friends of the Apostle Islands Dark Sky Initiative and 2) Sanitary District Boundaries. Adjourn: A motion was made by Clerk, seconded by Meierotto, to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 6:05PM. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Kelly Faye, Clerk