board_meeting_minutes_july_2026.pdf

Village of Siren is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Complaints of discrimination should be sent to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington DC 20250-9410 VILLAGE OF SIREN – VILLAGE BOARD MEETING WEDNESDAY JULY 8, 2026 MINUTES The Regular Village Board meeting held on July 8, 2026, was called to order at 4:15 p.m. by Village President Steve Young. Members Present: Kelly Gunderson, Nick Haessly, Sara Reimann, Eileen Thiex, John Tinman (4:25 p.m.) Steve Young Members Absent: Aaron Bentley Others Present: Ann Peterson, Clerk/Treasurer; Jim Jaskolka, Public Works Director; Trevor Thiex, Police Chief; Becky Strabel, Burnett County Sentinel; Sarah Radomsky, Inter County Leader; Teresa Anderson, MSA; Dick Hartman, Burnett County Economic Development; Peter Meidal, Ehlers & Associates President Young called for Public Comments. None were presented. A motion was made by Kelly Gunderson and seconded by Nick Haessly to approve the amended agenda as presented. Motion carried without negative vote. A motion was made by Eileen Thiex and seconded by Sara Reimann to approve the Regular Village Board minutes of June 10, 2026 and the Committee of the Whole meeting minutes of June 30, 2026. All in favor, motion carried. A motion was made by Kelly Gunderson and seconded by Eileen Thiex to approve payment of the bills in the amount of $159,406.09 general vouchers and checks cut since the last regularly scheduled board meeting in the amount of $365,160.56 for a grand total of $524,566.65. Motion carried without negative vote. Dick Hartman, the Burnett County Economic Development Director gave an update on Housing and Family Workplace Incentive. There is a grant through Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation which allocated a grant of $165,000 to Pierce, Polk, St. Croix, and Burnett Counties. The grant will award incentive payments to households that comply with one or two pathways – either households that have a child under the age of 18 and the other will be available to a household with an active job offer from an employer. Additional information will be coming out on the grant program. President Young gave the President’s Report. He has been attending the weekly progress meetings on the State Road 35/70 reconstruction project. The street lighting has had some ongoing delays. The Main Street intersection has been closed. He also attended the monthly progress meeting on the water system upgrades. He has also reached out to Attorney Wagman on the Landquist project but the Village has not heard anything back currently. He has forwarded information to REM from a local commercial business that had issues with how a permit process was done. He will be checking with the State of Wisconsin on how commercial businesses are inspected and if the Village needs to make a change on how we proceed with the additional inspection requirements that were recently implemented. Clerk/Treasurer Peterson gave the Clerk’s Report. She had hoped to have a draft 2027 budget available for board members by this meeting but was not able to get it finalized. The draft budget will be forwarded later. Chief Thiex presented the May Police Report. The June Police Report will be included in Village of Siren is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Complaints of discrimination should be sent to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington DC 20250-9410 the August Board meeting packet. President Young spoke with the State Patrol officer in Spooner about the truck traffic that was happening on the detour. There were some issues with how the detour was originally posted but that has been corrected and Chief Thiex did order some signage specifically for the semi traffic. The weekend of the Fourth of July was busy. Board member John Tinman reported that the Siren Fire Association has not had a meeting because it conflicted with the Ambulance Committee meeting. Board member Sara Reimann had nothing to report on the Burnett County Towns Association Meeting as they have not met since the last Board meeting. Board member Kelly Gunderson reported that the final Burnett County Housing Committee will be on July 22nd. OLD BUSINESS Peter Meidel of Ehlers and the Board discussed financing options for the Village’s portion of the State Road 35/70 Reconstruction Project. Ehlers is recommending that the Village secure a loan through Community Bank at 4.3%. The loan would be structured for twenty years with a balloon payment in ten years to be refinanced. The Board discussed how the loan would impact the overall tax levy. A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by Nick Haessly to structure the debt through Community Bank without a principal payment in 2027 to keep the debt service levy constant. All in favor, motion carried. The final borrowing resolution will be brought back to the August Board meeting with loan closing to occur in later August. The Board discussed the 2026 Road Projects. Bids were received from Burnett County Highway Department and Fahrner. The Village allocated $50,000 for road work in 2026 and there is additional funds in the Street Outlay Fund with income coming in from the sale of the crushed concrete. The Fahrner bid did not include a cost for the spray patch so the overall bid by the Burnett County Highway Department was lower. Public Works Director Jaskolka explained that the overall bid from the Highway Department was around $75,000 but he is recommending that the Village do a chip seal on Johnson Street, Third Avenue, Lofty Pines/Shady Lane, Fourth Avenue, and Bradley Street; spray patching Park Street, and mill the south end of First Avenue for a total cost of around $59,750. This is slightly over the budgeted amount of $50,000. A motion was made by John Tinman and seconded by Kelly Gunderson to award the 2026 Road Work bid to Burnett County Highway Department for the chip seal for the roads specified with the addition of milling the south portion of First Avenue. All in favor, motion carried. Teresa Anderson from MSA gave an overview of the ongoing water projects. The Wellhouse portion of the project is nearing completion with the start-up of the chemical feed scheduled for late July. Other work will need to happen during the water tower portion of the project. The Watermain loop is mostly complete with DeSantis needing to still install the additional hydrant at the water tower once the tower is drained. The Water Tower project is starting with the pressure tank being installed. There will be an on-site construction progress meeting on Thursday. NEW BUSINESS A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by Nick Haessly to apply for a 3% simplified water rate increase through the Public Service Commission to be effective October 1, 2026. Clerk/Treasurer Peterson explained that a notice will be included in the July water/sewer bills for residents. There will also be a Class II Public Notice put in the Village of Siren is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Complaints of discrimination should be sent to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington DC 20250-9410 Burnett County Sentinel on the increase. All in favor, motion carried. A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by John Tinman to approve Resolution #2026-03: Resolution Designating Officials Authorized to Declare Official Intent Under Reimbursement Bond Regulations. Clerk/Treasurer Peterson explained that Ehlers recommended the Village pass this resolution which would authorize the Clerk/Treasurer to declare official intent for the Village to reimburse ourselves for expenses that are paid prior to securing funding for projects. President Young called for a roll call vote: Gunderson aye Thiex aye Haessly aye Tinman aye Reimann aye Young ayd Motion passed. A motion was made by John Tinman and seconded by Nick Haessly to Approve Pay Request #11 for B & B Electric in the amount of $54,604.10 for Wellhouse Improvements Project. MSA recommended approval of the pay request. All in favor, motion carried. The Board and Public Works Director Jaskolka discussed the repair/replacement of the 2018 Silverado truck that has an oil leak. The cost to repair would be around $3,000 through Larson Auto in Frederic. Public Works Director Jaskolka would recommend repairing the leak and then extending the life of the truck for one year to be replaced in 2028 rather than 2027. A motion was made by Kelly Gunderson and seconded by Sara Reimann to repair the truck. All in favor, motion carried. The meeting schedule was set as follows: a. Committee of the Whole: August 5th at 4:15 p.m. b. Planning Commission & Board of Appeals: To be set if needed. c. Tourism Commission: September 9th at 9:00 a.m. d. Ball Park Committee: August 26th at 6:00 p.m. A motion was made by Steve Young and seconded by Sara Reimann to adjourn the Village Board Meeting at 5:22 p.m. Motion carried without negative vote. Submitted by Ann L Peterson, WCMC/CMTW Village Clerk/Treasurer