Committee of the Whole Agenda & Packet (PDF)

CITY OF PLYMOUTH, WISCONSIN TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2026 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING, IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINANCE & PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, ROOM 302 CITY HALL, 128 SMITH STREET AGENDA 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Approve the Minutes from February 10, 2026 3. Mill Pond Dam Update from Ayres Associates 4. Adjourn It is likely a quorum of members of other governmental bodies of the municipality may be in attendance at the above stated me eting to gather information. No action will be taken by any governmental body at the above stated meeting other than the governmental body specifically referred to above in this notice. Please note that, upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through appro priate aids and services. For additional information or to request this service, please contact the City of Plymouth ADA Coordinator Leah Fe derwisch, located in the Plymouth Utilities office at 900 County Road PP, Plymouth, WI or call 920-893-3853. CITY OF PLYMOUTH, WISCONSIN TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2026 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING IMMEDIATELY AFTER PUBLIC WORKS & UTILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, ROOM 302 CITY HALL, 128 SMITH STREET AGENDA 1. Call to Order and Roll Call: Mayor Pohlman called the meeting to order. On the call of the roll, the following were present: Angie Matzdorf, Diane Gilson, Mike Penkwitz, John Binder, Jeff Tauscheck, Dana Haucke, Dave Herrmann, and Kevin Sande. Also present: City Administrator/Utilities Tim Blakeslee, Assistant Administrator/Community Development Director Jack Johnson, Deputy Police Chief Matt Starker, Director of Public Works Cathy Austin, and City Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Paul Seymour. 2. Approve the Minutes from January 27, 2026: Motion was made by Matzdorf/Tauscheck to approve the minutes for January 27, 2026. A unanimous aye vote was cast. Motion carried. 3. Discussion and Potential Recommendation on Composting Resolution – Alder. Binder: Binder detailed his and the Plymouth Environmental Action Team’s (PEAT) gratitude for the City to recognize their group’s goals of educating the public about composting and for the writing of the resolution. There was discussion about what the City’s role would be in the promotion of the resolution and the composting. The City would maintain a role as an educator without being a partner to the group. Motion was made by Binder/Tauscheck to advance the resolution as written to the next Common Council Meeting, February 24, 2026. Motion was made by Tauscheck/Herrmann to approve the minutes for November 25, 2025. Upon the call of the roll, the motion passed with a vote of 6-2, with Matzdorf and Penkwitz voting nay. Motion carried. 4. Adjourn: Motion was made by Sande/Tauscheck to adjourn the meeting. A unanimous aye vote was cast. Motion carried. 1 | Page City of Plymouth 128 Smith St. - P.O. Box 107 Plymouth, WI 53073-0107 Telephone: (920) 893-3745 Facsimile: (920) 893-0183 Web Site: plymouthgov.com DATE: February 19, 2026 TO: Committee of the Whole FROM: Tim Blakeslee, City Administrator Utilities Manager. RE: Mill Pond Dam Project Update – May In 2015, the City of Plymouth received a notice from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) requiring that the spillway capacity of the Mill Pond Dam be brought into compliance with NR333.06 within 10 years (by 2025). As part of the 2023 budget, the City included funding to hire an engineering firm to assist in deciding whether to remove the dam completely or make necessary upgrades or replacements to meet DNR regulations. At the Common Council meeting on February 13, 2024, the Council approved Resolution 1 to replace the Mill Pond Dam and Resolution 2, which authorized the City to participate in the Department of Natural Resources Municipal Dam Grant Program. At the same meeting, the Council approved moving forward with the design of the Hydraulic Crest Gate. In early June 2024, the City was awarded an additional matching grant of up to $640,000 for the project by the DNR . An agreement for access on the western edge of the dam was finalized at the September 24, 2024 Common Council Meeting. In February 2025, an update was provided regarding project schedule and in April 2025 an update was provided on final design and cost. In May of 2025, a $227,000 second DNR matching grant was provided given the project cost increases. Since that time the design package was finalized and submitted to the DNR for review. Ayres Associates will present on the status of the DNR review process at the meeting tonight, which has taken more time than initially anticipated given the need to navigate several technical regulations in coordination with the DNR. Updated project schedule: • Ayres to provide the preliminary design package to the City for review: Completed • Ayres to provide the final design package to the City for review: 6/15/25 Completed • Ayres to submit WDNR Ch. 31 permit application for the dam project: 7/1/25 Completed • WDNR permit review period: 7/1/25–11/1/25: Ayres Associates continuing to work with DNR on permit • Bidding period: Mid-2026 • Construction contract in place: 12/31/26 • Mill Pond drawdown for construction: 4/1/27–6/1/27 • Construction: 6/1/27–12/1/27 • (Updated) Mill Pond refill following construction: Spring 2028 (maybe sooner pending completion of project and approval from DNR) Mill Pond Dam Project Cost: $3,471,000. Funding Sources: • $1,000,000 State Budget Earmark (unchanged) 2 | Page • $640,000 First WDNR Grant (June 2024) • $227,000 Second WDNR Grant (May 2025) • $1,604,000 City Debt Issuance Recommendation: Receive update on Mill Pond Dam Project Attachments: • Attachment 1: Presentation Plymouth Dam Improvements Update to City Council Adam Schneider, PE February 24, 2026 Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Existing Dam • Classified by DNR as low hazard. • Low-hazard dams must pass the 100-yr flood without overtopping. • The existing dam has a capacity of about 300 cubic feet per second (cfs). • 100-yr peak flow rate is 3,200 cfs. • 100-yr peak flow overtops existing dam by about 2 ft. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. DNR Directive • Issued after 2015 Dam Failure Analysis. • Increase spillway capacity to pass the 100-yr flood without overtopping. • City retained Ayres in March 2024 to design a crest-gate spillway to meet the DNR’s directive. • Ayres submitted the proposed design to DNR in June 2025. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Proposed Crest Gate Spillway • Hydraulically operated crest gate 32 ft long and 9 ft high. • Design based on current Sheboygan County Flood Insurance Study (FIS) flows. • Q100 = 3,200 cfs • Estimated cost $3.5 million. • City receiving $1 million earmark from State, as well as partial reimbursement from Municipal Dam Grant Program. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Proposed Dam (Viewed from Upstream East) Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Proposed Dam (Viewed from Downstream East) Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. DNR Plan Review Status • Design package submitted to DNR in June 2025. • Review comments from DNR received in October 2025. • Based on the vastly increased spillway capacity, DNR requested an approximate dam failure analysis be run to confirm the proposed dam’s hazard rating (currently low). • Ayres configured and simulated several different failure scenarios for the proposed dam. All scenarios indicated that the proposed dam would likely have its hazard classification increased to high. • High-hazard dams in Wisconsin must pass the Q1000 flood. The proposed dam can only pass the Q100. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. WDNR Plan Review Status • Current design flows were carried over from the FIS. • Q10 = 1,700 cfs • Q100 = 3,200 cfs. • Q1000 = 5,100 cfs (approximate). • DNR acknowledges that these design flows are likely very conservative. For example: • Existing spillway has capacity of only 300 cfs. • However, dam has no history of ever overtopping. • Modifying the dam to pass the Q1000 peak flow of 5,100 cfs is untenable. • Significant increase in construction cost and project footprint. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Plan Forward • Ayres has been tasked with updating the design flood hydrology for the Mullet River above the dam. • Goal is to get more accurate and realistic design flood numbers. • Ayres has developed a watershed rainfall-runoff model and has calibrated it to 3 historical events. • Preliminary results are encouraging. Storm FIS 2026 Update (Preliminary) Q10 1,700 cfs 300 cfs Q100 3,200 cfs 700 cfs Q1000 5,100 cfs 1,300 cfs Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Next Steps • Ayres is finishing the hydrology update and will submit report to DNR for review. • DNR review may take several months. • Presuming reduced hydrology is approved, City will have a choice: • Maintain current design, which can pass 3,200 cfs (much greater than the proposed Q1000). No re-design needed, but spillway size would be overkill. • Re-design the spillway to pass the reduced Q1000 of 1,300 cfs. Some re-work would be required, but construction cost savings would be significant. Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence. Questions?