October 14

City of Bayfield Common Council • October 14, 2025, Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 2 SPECIAL MEETING | COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City of Bayfield Common Council October 14, 2025, Meeting Minutes 7:0 0 a.m. • Bayfield City Hall, 125 South First Street, Bayfield, WI 54814 Meeting called to order at 7:00 a.m. Present Council Members: Acting Mayor/Council President Lyn Cornelius; Alders Bill Bland, Matt Carrier, and Diane Fizell City Staff: City Treasurer Anne Adams, Harbormaster Nick Hays, and City Clerk Grace Stolen Public: In Person—None; Online—[Waiting for name], X Review/Approve Agenda Motion by Carrier, seconded by Fizell, to approve the agenda as drafted. All ayes. Public Comment and Suggestions from Persons Present on Agenda Items None Agenda 1. 2026 Budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Requests—Discussion This was just a discussion item and was informational only—no votes were taken. $15,000 has been budgeted for temporary office space rent. It was suggested that an additional $5,000 be set aside for moving-related expenses and that $50,000 be budgeted as a CIP for city hall planning. Discussion ensued regarding changing the CIP table’s column headings. Alder Bland suggested that the City refine what it considers to be a capital expense. It is unclear if the City has a formal definition; the City of Ashland’s definition is an initial cost of greater than $2,500 and a lifetime of greater than two years. There was consensus to utilize that definition and shift CIPs to operating lines accordingly. It was also suggested that funds should not automatically carry over if a project comes in under budget. • Courthouse: Hold off on CIPs that are not an immediate safety issue and discuss funding with the Park Service. • Fire: The cost for an unfinished 2025 CIP should be reflected in a table for 2026 or ongoing CIPs. • Library: Hold off on the new retaining wall in 2026 while details are further refined. • Harbor (City Dock Finger Piers): o Considerable discussion ensued regarding the $1mil in borrowing for the City Dock finger piers CIP . Harbormaster Nick Hays stated that there is $300,000 in leftover Army Corps of Engineers grant funding that can be used on a similar project this year, like the City Dock, on City of Bayfield Common Council • October 14, 2025, Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 2 a use-it-or-lose-it basis. The current fingers are failing and will need to be closed and removed whether there is a replacement for them or not; this would reduce the revenue the dock generates. The City Dock per-passenger fees are restricted and must be utilized for improvements to the dock infrastructure, which could help make the debt payment. o Some alders stated that they feel there should be more documentation for this CIP prior to including it in the budget, suggesting it not be included in the budget but that it could be added back with a budget amendment later. Concerns were expressed regarding the grant funding potentially being lost by not including this project in the budget. o The topic of how much of the dock is currently for transient recreational use was raised, with a desire for more of the dock to be used for that purpose. Hays shared that the project will intentionally increase the space allocated for transient use. The harbor is working with owners of private vessels docked there to try and relocate them to the marina. • Parks and Recreation: o Work at Dalrymple could include new campsites, a reservation system, or infrastructure. o East Dock Park cost is higher than last year’s estimate and will need to be updated, and the $25,000 allocated for site planning in 2025 has not been spent yet. Playground equipment has needed more frequent repairs. o Some parks and recreation CIPs could pull from tourism savings. • Pavilion: Look at using tourism savings as the funding source. • Police: Mandatory radio upgrade should shift from the operating budget to a CIP . • Public Works: City should only fund one of the vehicle acquisitions. The City should explore using water and sewer enterprise savings as a funding source for their CIPs. The City is currently looking at budgeting for a 1.5% to 2% increase in compensation for cost of living. Health insurance premiums could increase substantially and may warrant a smaller increase in compensation depending on what the numbers look like. Bayfield County’s budget may include a fairly high levy increase, with much of it contributing to a shift in EMS toward a county-wide ambulance service. The City should consider how that could impact the Bayfield Community Ambulance Service and the City’s own levy limit. 2. Correspondence: None Meeting adjourned at 9:39 a.m. Next Meeting: October 21, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.