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Bayfield County · Bayfield County · meeting of Aug 25, 2026 · Minutes

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Bayfield County Clerk Lynn M. Divine Jeran Delaine, Deputy Clerk Erin Tibbits, Clerk II Ph: 715.373.6100 ● Email: Lynn.Divine@bayfieldcounty.wi.gov ● 117 E. Fifth Street, PO Box 878, Washburn, WI 54891 MINUTES MONTHLY MEETING of the BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AUGUST 25, 2026 Meeting held in the Bayfield County Boardroom, Courthouse, Washburn, WI Call to Order: The monthly meeting of the Bayfield County Board of Supervisors was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Chair Jan Lee. Roll Call was taken by County Clerk, Lynn Divine, as follows: Steve Sandstrom – present: Jamie Tucker – present; Larry Fickbohm – present; Charly Ray – present; Jan Lee – present; Jeff Olsen – present; Dennis Pocernich – present; Fred Strand – present; Jeff Holte – present; Marty Milanowski – present; Jackie Roguski – present; Jim Crandall – present; Sue Rosa – present. Present-13; Absent-0. A quorum was present to conduct business. Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison, County Administrator; Kelly Westlund, Deputy Administrator; Lynn M Divine, County Clerk; Mary Motiff, Tourism Director; Vanessa Kane, Baker Tilly Auditor; Meagan Quaderer, EMS/PSAP Director; Bryan Ziemann, EMS Coordinator Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance. Approval of July 28, 2026 Minutes: Milanowski made a motion to approve the July 28, 2026, meeting Minutes, seconded by Rosa. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Resolution 2026-74 Appreciation of Town, City, Village, County Clerks, and Election Workers for a Smooth August 11, 2026, Primary Election: Abeles-Allison introduced the resolution. Fickbohm made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-74, seconded by Milanwoski. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Resolution 2026-75 2026 Bayfield County Fair Recognition and Report: Tourism Director Mary Motiff reported that twice as many season tickets were sold this year. Fair attendance, camping, food vendors and sponsor donations were up, t-shirt sales doubled due to having a merchandise booth, and the Dirt Dash and Tuff Trucks events went very well. There was a 14% total revenue increase from last year. Motiff stated that this was the first year attendees could pay with a credit card at the gate and the Lion’s Club put on a breakfast for the first time each morning. Holte made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-75, seconded by Crandall. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Resolution 2026-76 Recognition of Badgerland Midways: Abeles-Allison introduced the resolution. Motiff spoke about the difficulties of running a carnival and the great efforts made by Badgerland Midways to provide a clean, safe and enjoyable event. Tucker made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-76, seconded by Crandall. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. 2025 Audit Report, Baker Tilly: Vanessa Kane gave a 2025 audit summary and discussed the three audit reports issued: Financial Statement Audit Opinion; Report on Federal and State Awards and the Reporting and Insights Letter. Countywide EMS Rollout Plan: Meagan Quaderer, EMS/PSAP Director, reviewed the draft of EMS Performance Assistance Plan for providing funds to local EMS services to improve performance. She discussed the three core objectives of the program: recruitment and retention of EMS personnel, strengthened on-call and hourly compensation, and improved reliability of 9-1-1 response coverage. She stated that a final version of the plan will be brought to the Sheriff’s Committee in September for approval and then to the County Board in September or October. Ad Hoc Bayfield County EMS Advisory Committee Appointments: EMS Coordinator Bryan Ziemann discussed the Executive Committee’s motion to reinstate the Ad Hoc EMS Advisory Committee with goals of supporting ongoing system improvement, coordination and strategic planning across Bayfield County’s EMS network. He also outlined the specific tasks that the committee will take on and is seeking diverse viewpoints from different parts of the county. Ziemann discussed appointment recommendations: Marty Milanowski and Jeff Holte from the County Board; Lyn Cornelius, Bayfield EMS; Joseph Labouton, Washburn EMS; John Swanson, AFD; Dr. John White, Tamarack Health; Tony Janisch, City of Washburn; Ryan Matthews, Dispatch Coordinator. No interest from Tribal leadership yet. Chair Lee appointed Marty Milanowski, Jeff Holte, and Larry Fickbohm from the County Board; Lyn Cornelius, Bayfield EMS; Joseph Labouton, Washburn EMS; John Swanson, AFD; Dr. John White, Tamarack Health; Tony Janisch, City of Washburn; PSAP, Ryan Matthews, to the Ad Hoc EMS Planning Committee. Lee also appointed James Small, Meagan Quaderer, Bryan Ziemann, Kelly Westlund and Mark Abeles-Allison as advisory members. Crandall made a motion to approve Lee’s selections, seconded by Roguski. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Public Comment: John Swanson, Ashland Fire Department, spoke about being appointed to Ad Hoc EMS Committee and stated he looks forward to being a part of the evolution of EMS in his community. Rich Nemitz, Town of Iron River, expressed concern with EMS funding going directly to municipalities instead of EMS providers. Zoning Committee Recommendation for a Data Center Moratorium Ordinance: Kelly Westlund, Deputy Administrator, discussed the draft of the ordinance based primarily on ordinances from Sawyer and Manitowoc Counties. Westlund stated that if a temporary moratorium was put in place, the County can then develop the regulatory zoning ordinance to govern how they work going forward. The moratorium would sunset after 18 months or once the new zoning ordinance takes effect, whichever comes first. Westlund stated that the ordinance has not been reviewed by corporation counsel yet. Consent agenda: a. Bayfield County Resolution 2026-77 Condemnation Committee Compensation b. Bayfield County Resolution 2026-78 Dome Project/IT Capital Improvement Budget Amendment c. Bayfield County Resolution 2026-79 Establishing a Device Depreciation and Distribution Policy and Approving Donation of Digital Navigator Program Devices to the Northwest WI Workforce Investment Board d. Bayfield County Resolution 2026-80 Law Enforcement Mental Health Grant Support Resolution e. Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve f. Bayfield County Amendatory Ordinance 2026-10, Larry & Judith Hinz Property Rezoning from Residential-2 (R-2) to Residential-1 (R-1) Fickbohm made a motion to approve consent agenda, seconded by Rosa. Roll call vote: Sandstrom – Yes; Rosa – Yes; Lee – Yes; Strand – Yes; Tucker – Yes; Crandall – Yes; Fickbohm – Yes; Pocernich – Yes; Ray – Yes; Roguski – Yes; Holte – Yes; Milanowski – Yes; Olsen - Yes. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Bayfield Resolution 2026-81, EMS Sustainability and Statewide Funding Resolution, Advocating Statewide Investment, Modernization and Workforce Support for EMS: Lee introduced the resolution and stated it will be considered at the WCA legislative meeting. Sandstrom made a motion to approve Resolution 2026-81, seconded by Tucker. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Reports: a. Abeles-Allison stated that budgets are being finalized and provided a memo from Attorney John Carlson regarding short-term borrowing. He stated any short-term borrowing will have to be adopted before the County Board adopts the budget. b. Westlund provided a snapshot of the Housing Investment for fiscal year 2027 Budget and discussed current housing initiatives and requests for 2027. c. Abeles-Allison provided a Delta Dam update stating that an informational meeting should be held to discuss potential ownership and future of the dam. He stated a potential public meeting may be held in October or November. d. Abeles-Allsion provided a Department of Energy Update, stating that ten of the projects were released and the environmental assessments were approved. There are four other projects awaiting environmental approval. e. Abeles-Allison provided a WCA update, stating that WCA platform resolutions were released last week and all six of the county resolutions were approved. f. September Executive Committee Budget 2027 Meetings: Thursday, September 10th Monday September 14th Wednesday September 16th Monday, September 28th Future County Board Meetings: a. September 29, 2026 b. October 27, 2026 c. November 10, 2026 d. December-possible skip Closed Session: Milanowski made a motion to enter into Closed Session, seconded by Roguski. Roll Call vote: Ray – Yes; Sandstrom – Yes; Crandall – Yes; Milanowski – Yes; Lee – Yes; Tucker – Yes; Fickbohm – Yes; Olsen – Yes; Strand – Yes; Holte – Yes; Pocernich – Yes; Roguski – Yes; Rosa – Yes. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Motion made by Sandstrom to return to Open Sesson, seconded by Crandall. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Pigeon Lake Property Purchase/Sale: Motion made by Sandstrom to approve the signing options to purchase the Pigeon Lake Field Station property and to direct staff to continue negotiating terms for the subsequent sale, with final terms subject to County Board approval, seconded by Tucker. Motion carried. Yes-13; No-0; Absent-0. Adjournment: Ray made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Olsen. Motion carried. Yes-13: No-0; Absent-0. There being no further business to discuss, Lee adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted Lynn M. Divine Bayfield County Clerk lmd/ejt Copies of Bayfield County Resolutions may be obtained by contacting the Bayfield County Clerk’s Office at (715) 373-6100 The Bayfield County Code of Ordinances can be found at https://www.bayfieldcounty.wi.gov/752/County-Ordinances

Source: Bayfield County website. First collected Oct 12, 2026.