Regular Board Meeting — Minutes

VILLAGE OF FOOTVILLE-MEETING NOTICE REGULAR BOARD MEETING THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 MINUTES 1. The Regular Board Meeting of the Village of Footville was called to order by President John Thomson at 6:00 pm. Board members present: John Thomson, Nate Beal, Nichole Conaway, Danielle Harnack, John Harnack, Roland Nath, and David Wells. Also present: Chuck Hagmann, Robert Shrock, O’Malley Lomax, Greg Droessler, Billie Kershaw, Bob Selck, Coye Harrett, Finn Rowe, John Pounder, and Diane Pounder. 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by D. Harnack to approve the agenda as written. Motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: J. Harnack noted there needed to be a correction to the 3/5/26 Board Meeting minutes to correct when the park lights were rewired to the late 80s or early 90s. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the minutes of the Regular Board meeting with noted correction, Special Board meeting, Planning Commission meeting, and Health and Human Resources meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 4. CITIZENS WISHING TO BE HEARD: John Pounder gave an update on the assessments. They have viewed approximately 48% of the properties in the Village. They have opened up more spots for residents to schedule viewings. They will be available for individual scheduling also. They encourage people to sign up and will accommodate as best they can. 5. VOUCHERS: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by N. Beal to approve the vouchers. Motion carried unanimously. 6. REPORTS: Treasurer’s/Water: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by N. Beal to approve the Treasurer's and Water reports. Motion carried unanimously. 7. SEWER CREDIT: Breanna Paquin – 116 Janesville St: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Wells to approve the $162.24 sewer credit. Motion carried unanimously. 8. REPORT: Economic Development Committee: Bob Selck reported the committee is interviewing builders and will share the finalists with the board at the Special Board meeting on April 16, 2026. The plans for the new bathroom will be done next week. A Request For Proposals will need to be published for this project. D. Harnack noted paver orders for the Veteran’s Park need to be in soon in order for the pavers to be installed before Memorial Day. 9. REPORT: Planning Commission: They are working with residents and our police department to get some properties cleaned up. 10. REPORT: Parks and Recreation Committee: D. Harnack reported that the Parks and Recreation Committee met to go over duties for the Outlaws and Viking Youth to help with the upkeep of the new ball diamond upgrades that are being planned. D. Harnack thanked Chuck Hagmann, Jeanne Wilson, Rose Baertschi, Rebecca Meaderis, Steve Sagan, Eric Sagen, and Roland Nath for helping with the park cleanup. A new flagpole will be put up at the park. The non-profit will be meeting on Monday, April 6, 2026, at 5 pm. She has also ordered the final sponsor sign for the scoreboard. 11. REPORT: Footville Police Department: Officer Lomax reported that Officer Shrock has successfully completed his field training as of April 2, 2026. He recommends Officer Shrock for solo assignment with regular patrol duties. Officer Lomax also reported that patrol is going well. A few of the nuisance properties have made small improvements. Both Officer Lomax and Officer Shrock completed mandatory firearms training. They also have taser training coming up and EVOC training. The Village will need to purchase another taser which will cost approximately $600. Officer Lomax is still working to get access to Acadis. Officers Lomax and Shrock will go to Tellurian in Monona to familiarize Officer Shrock with the facility, and they will be going to the Rock County Jail to learn the new electronic booking process. Court begins in April. There have been a few complaints on where they sit and also for giving tickets for not coming to a complete stop at stop signs. 12. REPORT: Footville Department of Public Works – Mike Tinder, Greg Richter, Mike McGuire, David Landis: The gantry crane is at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. N. Beal talked to someone that worked for McCanns. They said McCanns should have everything that they televised for the village in their computer files. 13. WWTP facility plan – Greg Droessler: Greg Droessler from Town and Country Engineering was present to explain the process for completing the Wastewater Treatment Facility Plan. The process will take approximately nine months and will require several board meetings when it comes to the decision-making steps. Once the plan is complete there will need to be a public hearing on the final plan. They will send the Village a list of the all the information they need to complete the plan. Wastewater and water collection can be pooled together in the facility plan. All items that are included in the plan are eligible for grant funding from the state. 14. Future plans for Akey Manufacturing – Coye Harrett: Coye Harrett, the owner of Akey Manufacturing, was present to update the board on the business and his future plans. Since Mr. Harrett purchased the business they have increased to 17 employees and plan to get to 25 employees by the end of the year. A second shift will be starting in the next month. They are investing in automation, and new equipment will be arriving later this year. He welcomed the Board to stop in and see the updates. He is looking to expand in the near future and has talked with the Planning Commission regarding the steps he will need to take. 15. Quote for excavation/grading and gravel for Park St lot: A quote from Troy Suer was presented to clean up the old house and foundation, cap the sewer and water and grade the lot and spread gravel. The dirt taken from the lot can be stockpiled to be used on future improvements at the park. Motion by N. Conaway, 2 nd by D. Harnack to approve the quote with 8” of rock and leaving the dirt at the park for $13,876.56. Motion carried unanimously. 16. Approve Conditional Use Permit for Rachael Lindemann – 115 W Centre St: R. Lindeman, owner of HQ Accounting will connect the main building with the secondary building which will become a residence. This residence will only be for her employee; it will not be rented out. The rear setback is currently non- conforming and will remain that way after the renovations so a variance will be required. The Planning Commission has recommended the Board approve the Conditional Use Permit with the variance. Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the Conditional Use Permit with the variance. Motion carried 6-0-1. J. Thomson abstained. 17. Quotes for capping the hydrant at the fire department and Park St. lot: The Board needs to decide if they want to cap the hydrant or move it and put it at the road. They need to look at the options where to cap it. J. Thomson will ask if the Fire Department would split the cost for putting a new hydrant in front of the station. This item will be tabled to next month so more options can be looked at. 18. Sealing streets: R. Nath and Jason Dupuis from Batterman looked at the streets that need sealing/crack filling. Clover lane has wide cracks and should be a number one priority. North and South Gilbert Street and Century Lane need to be sealed and have potholes filled. Spray patch will help, especially with the added traffic expected with the development of the subdivision. R. Nath talked to Local Pavement, and they charge $4,500 for a truck load. Motion by N. Beal, 2 nd by N. Conaway to approve spending up to $9000 on spray patching with R. Nath using his discretion if we want one or two truckloads. Motion carried unanimously. 19. Reopening of compost site and grinding of brush: The compost site opened on April 1 st. The compost can be taken to Steve Haberman’s again this year. J. Thomson will ask Matt at Bass Creek if he is willing to take brush and/or compost. The compost could be spread on the water tower field until construction begins on the new subdivision. R. Nath noted since the tub grinder was stored here all winter the owner of it said he will grind the brush for free before pulling it out of there. There needs to be a plan for weed control in the water tower field. This will be talked about next month. 20. Parking on Depot St - possibly allowing overnight parking in specific areas: Several people have asked for more parking on Depot Street. They would like it measured for angled parking on the west side of the street and regular parking on the east side. J. Thomson will email Jason Dupuis to look at that and see if it is possible. This will be discussed at next month’s meeting. 21. Approve purchase of Yield sign for corner of Depot St and Galena Rd: The Officers would like a Yield sign at the intersection of Depot and Galena Rd. Board members noted they have never seen an accident at that intersection. There is already a sign on Galena that says Oncoming Traffic Does Not Stop. Board members agreed that a Yield sign is not necessary. 22. Authorization to begin discussions with Plymouth Township regarding the possible combining of courts: J. Thomson stated we could start talking with Plymouth about combining courts. N. Conaway noted Plymouth currently has no court and we would be patrolling Plymouth with the goal of enforcing their ordinances. The Board will need to come up with an agreement to combine courts and determine the cost. Footville Officers would enforce Plymouth’s ordinances, and the Village would keep the fee from citations. N. Conaway will type up an agreement to discuss in a Police and Fire Committee meeting. N. Conaway will need to enter their ordinances into the TIPPS program so they can be enforced. A Police and Fire Committee meeting will be scheduled in May. 23. Discussion on administrators for new subdivision: This item will be tabled to the June meeting. 24. Appoint new member for Housing Authority Committee: This item will be tabled to the May meeting. 25. Request to use Veteran’s Park money for spring flowers at the Veteran's Park: Motion by J. Harnack, 2nd by D. Wells to approve using Veteran’s Park money for the spring flowers. Motion carried unanimously. 26. Waive park use fee for Footville Outlaws and Viking Youth Baseball for the 2026 season in return for helping to maintain the new sod and other ball diamond upgrades: The Viking Youth and Footville Outlaws will take care of the diamond maintenance. D. Harnack noted they will water and rake and the Viking Youth will rent a porta potty for the summer. After the upgrades to the diamond are done they will help maintain it and will save the Village money because the DPW employees will not have to do as much maintenance. Board members were not in favor of waiving the fee. If the fee is waived for these two groups then everyone will want their fee waived. Their fees could be reduced since they will be helping to maintain the diamond. Motion by J. Harnack, 2nd by N. Beal to reduce fee in half, to $125 for the season, with the provision that they take care of the field by watering, raking, chalking, and dragging. Motion carried 6-1. D. Harnack voted No. 27. Removal of Village Administrator position from Village ordinances: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Harnack to remove the Village Administrator position from the Village ordinances. Discussion followed regarding leaving the position in the ordinances in case they want to fill it in the future. Roll call vote: N. Beal – No, D. Harnack – No, D. Wells – No, J. Harnack – No, R. Nath – Yes, N. Conaway – Yes, J. Thomson – Yes. Motion failed 3-4. 28. Approval of the updated employee handbook: The Board looked at the updated employee handbook. D. Wells would like to compare the old handbook with the new one. R. Nath asked if the probationary period should be longer than 90 days, maybe 1 year that way they would have an opportunity to work through all seasons. There could also be quarterly evaluations. N. Conaway asked if they would like her to schedule a Health and Human Resources workshop with the Board to work through the handbook. She will wait until the new board is seated in May. This item will be tabled to the May meeting where an HHR meeting can be scheduled. 29. MOVE INTO CLOSED SESSION: The Footville Board of Trustees will move into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statute §19.85(1)(c) to consider the employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any employee over which the board has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by N. Conaway to move into closed session. Roll call vote: N. Beal – Yes, D. Harnack – Yes, D. Wells – Yes, J. Harnack – Yes, R. Nath – Yes, N. Conaway – Yes, J. Thomson – Yes. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting moved into closed session at 7:57 pm. 30. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION: Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by J. Harnack to reconvene into open session. Motion carried 7-0. Meeting moved into open session at 8:37 pm. 31. Take action on any matters discussed in closed session: Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by D. Harnack to retroactively pay CPI increase effective 1/1/2026 of 3%. Motion carried 7-0. Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by J. Harnack to pay an employment bonus for 2026 payable on the 1st pay period of November in the amount of $2,050.27 to Melody Harer. Motion carried 7-0. 32. PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION ON OTHER MATTERS NOT PROPOSED FOR BOARD ACTION: R. Nath listed items for the DPW – use street sweeper, install signs that are damaged or have been purchased, find a place for the spreader and snowplow to sit for the summer, grass torn up around town from plowing needs to be repaired. 33. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by N. Beal, 2nd by D. Wells to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:58 pm. Submitted by Stacy Neal Clerk/Treasurer