Village Board — Minutes

VILLAGE OF FOOTVILLE-MEETING NOTICE REGULAR BOARD MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026 MINUTES 1. The January 8, 2026, Regular Board Meeting of the Village of Footville was called to order by President John Thomson at 6:00 pm. Board members present: J. Thomson, N. Conaway, D. Harnack, J. Harnack, R. Nath (via Zoom), and D. Wells. Also present: O’Malley Lomax, Robert Shrock, Hope Kowalski, Melody Harer, Tami Johnson, Sandy Baertschi, John Pounder, Diane Pounder, Robert Selck, Chuck Duncan, Julie Meehan, Ryan Meehan, and Marilyn Runaas. 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Harnack. Motion carried unanimously. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the minutes of the 12/2 Economic Development Committee Meeting, 12/4 Regular Board Meeting, and 12/19 Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 4. CITIZENS WISHING TO BE HEARD: Chuck Duncan asked about properties that need to be cleaned up. J. Thomson stated the information on these properties will be given to the new police officers that are starting this month. Bob Selck noted there are people parking on the grass again at the Veteran’s Park. Julie Meehan stated her son had a sewer backup last fall; she wanted to know what is being done to prevent this from happening in the future. She also asked how to get ahold of the DPW in case of an emergency. The DPW number is on the Village website. 5. VOUCHERS: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Wells to approve the vouchers. Motion carried unanimously. 6. REPORTS: Treasurer’s/Water: Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the treasurer's and water report. Motion carried unanimously. 7. OPERATOR’S LICENSE: Taliyah Jackson – Toe Town Tap: Motion by D. Harnack, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the operator’s license for Taliyah Jackson. Motion carried unanimously. 8. SEWER CREDIT: 228 Haberdale Dr – Thurn (outside faucet left on): Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Harnack to approve the sewer credit of $740.22. Motion carried unanimously. 9. REPORT: Economic Development Committee: Bob presented the board with a drawing of the proposed new bathrooms for the park. The grant application was sent in, and they should hear soon if they are a finalist for a grant. He will get a cost estimate from Tom Naatz for the new restrooms. D. Harnack talked about the need for covenants for the new subdivision and suggested using the Clover Lane covenants as a starting point. The next meeting of the Economic Development Committee will be February 12, 2026. 10. REPORT: Planning Commission: The next meeting of the Planning Commission will be January 13, 2026. 11. REPORT: Parks and Recreation Committee: A representative from the Parks Committee will start attending the Viking Youth meetings. The next Viking Youth meeting is January 14, 2026, at 6:30 pm. Chuck Duncan will look at the awning on the concession stand and get an estimate for repairs. The flag at the park is ripped. Bob Selck will get a new flag. The Klusmeyer family has donated a new flagpole to be installed by the new scoreboard. The committee is working on fundraisers for the spring and summer. 12. REPORT: Footville Department of Public Works – Mike Tinder, Greg Richter, Mike McGuire, David Landis: Mike M. and David took certification tests on January 6th. J. Thomson will be meeting with them in the next week. There are new stop signs to be installed at the intersection of Edward Street and Century Lane when weather permits. 13. INTRODUCTION OF NEW POLICE OFFICERS AND ADMINISTRATION OF OATH OF HONOR: Officers Robert Shrock and O’Malley Lomax were introduced. Officer Shrock was officially sworn in, and both officers were given their oath of honor. 14. Police Department update: Patrolling will start in the next couple of weeks. There will be daily coverage with varying hours and shift times. The officers will also attend events held in the Village. 15. TIME System access for police department: The TIME system allows officers to look up people and run license plates on a larger scale than Spillman. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the TIME system. Motion carried unanimously. 16. Body armor purchase for police department: The purchase of a soft armor plate and outer carrier for Officer Shrock was discussed. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by J. Harnack to approve the soft plate carrier for Officer Shrock for $1,372.73. Motion carried unanimously. 17. Two-way radio purchase for police department: Two-way radios need to be purchased for the police department. Previous officers were using borrowed radios. Newer radios allow officers to talk to dispatch and to other agencies. Nichole asked about the longevity of these radios. Officer Lomax stated they should last 8 - 10 years. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Wells to approve sales quote 39692 for $7,280.40 from General Communications. Motion carried unanimously. 18. Bathroom project at the park: Bob spoke on this during the Economic Development Committee report. They are hoping for construction to start in the spring. There are two different grants – one awarded in the spring and one in the fall. They are hoping to be awarded a spring grant. Can this be turned over to the non-profit for construction? J. Thomson stated we should get permission to request quotes as public funds are being used to build the new restrooms. Bob would like to explore how the non-profit could work with building this. Could there be more flexibility if the non-profit was in charge of the construction? Motion by J. Thomson, 2nd by J. Harnack to authorize the Economic Development Committee to put together a bid package and secure quotes for the board for review for the bathroom project at the park. Motion carried unanimously. 19. Request to approve $16,578 from the money saved in 2025 due to not having a police department, to upgrade the ball diamond: The upgrade to the ball diamond will cost $16,578. The park committee would like the board to approve using the money saved on police wages in 2025 to go towards the cost of the ball diamond renovation. This renovation will take all of the non-profit’s money, and they would like to have that money to do other upgrades to the park. J. Harnack stated they had said in the past that all this would be paid for by donations. The extra money should go towards the sewer plant and roads. D. Wells stated the Village has not put any money into the park in years. Motion by J. Thomson, 2nd by D. Wells to approve the renovation of the baseball park big diamond for $16,578 and funding will be determined no later than the March board meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 20. Request from Economic Development Committee to allocate 20% of TID income to park improvements: The Economic Development Committee will keep fundraising and applying for grants, but they would like to request this money will help to ensure the park improvements and other projects will happen. They are not asking for any money until the TID has money coming in. They are projecting close to $3 million in new revenue over 15 years. If the public knows the Village Board is committed to these projects in the future it may help get more grant money and donations. TID money can be used for stormwater issues and sewer plant upgrades but not for roads. Using the TID money for these projects will free up money in the budget for park and road improvements. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Wells to approve allocating the equivalent of 20% of TID income to park improvements. Roll call vote: D. Harnack – yes. D. Wells – yes. J. Harnack – no. N. Conaway – yes. R. Nath – yes. J. Thomson – abstain. Motion carried 4-1-1. 21. Taxed Incremental District Update: Bob Selck, Chuck Hagmann, Chuck Duncan, and Frank McKearn will be on the committee to interview prospective developers. Financial stability will be one of the most important criteria for a potential developer. Bob wants to know where the Village Board is on this. Do they want to let the committee negotiate everything? What are their parameters? The board needs to tell them what they want – number of homes, size of homes, etc. There will need to be a separate meeting just to discuss the subdivision requirements. They will use the Clover Lane covenants as a starting point. There will be a Request For Proposals put out but we must first decide what our requirements are. 22. Request to appoint administrators for subdivision planning: This item will be tabled to a future meeting when the Village is closer to having a developer for the new subdivision. 23. Purchasing gantry crane: Money was approved for this at the last meeting. We will check with Nate and Mike to see if this has been purchased. 24. Dodge Ram 550 deletion: D. Wells is looking into this. Motion by R. Nath, 2nd by J. Thomson to table this item until Dave has more information. Motion carried 5-1. 25. Approve 2026 water and sewer budgets: J. Thomson asked if there was a water rate increase or inflation rate increase. The office will look into when the last increase was. Motion by J. Harnack, 2nd by N. Conaway to approve the 2026 water and sewer budgets. 26. Humane Society contract: State Statute requires the Village to have a provider to take in animals. John will write a letter to send to the humane society detailing why we have reservations regarding continuing the contract. Motion by N. Conaway, 2nd by D. Harnack to continue the contract with the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin for $1800. Motion carried unanimously. 27. Village operations update: J. Thomson made a task list which is broken down weekly, monthly, and seasonally. He would like the board to look at it and see if anything needs to be added. John will meet with Mike and David on Monday and come up with a plan for plowing. There will be clear expectations set and accountability for the DPW. Mike Tinder will be working now on Tuesdays and Fridays only. 28. Discussion regarding the merging of Footville Fire Protection District with Orfordville Fire Protection District and all other matters related to this item including grants, budgets, call volumes and impacts and benefits to service: A study was done to look at merging the Orfordville and Footville Fire Departments. A copy of the study can be obtained from the Village office. J. Thomson stated the reasons he is not in favor of combining fire departments. He stated 98% of Footville EMS calls last year did not require paramedic care. If Footville joins with Orfordville the Footville Fire Department would lose 6-8 volunteers that currently work on the ambulance due to not having the training that would be required with the merger of departments. There were 9 paramedic intercept calls in 2025, 8 of those intercepts were with Janesville and 1 with Orfordville. If the departments combine, all of the equipment, including the fire station, would go to the joint district. The initial proposal is for a 3% increase for the first four years. In year five the Village would be paying over $50,000 more than we pay now. Footville has added new volunteers recently. If the merger does not work out down the road we don’t own the building or equipment to reform a department, we would have to start from scratch. D. Wells asked if we don’t combine now what happens in the future if Footville does not have enough volunteers to maintain coverage. N. Conaway stated Craig and Parker High Schools will have EMT courses in the high schools. The fire department will work with these programs to recruit volunteers. N. Conaway stated she has talked with members of the Footville Fire Department and several members stated they will leave if the merger is approved. She had also requested financials for the Orfordville Fire Department and was only given their budget. She did receive an email from Dennis Burtness, Village of Orfordville President, with some budget information showing they are operating at a deficit. Motion by J. Thomson, 2nd N. Conaway to recommend to the Footville Fire Commission that we do not wish to participate in the reorganization of the fire department combining with Orfordville. Roll call vote: D. Harnack – Yes. D. Wells – Yes. J. Harnack – Abstain. N. Conaway – Yes. R. Nath – Yes. J. Thomson – Yes. Motion carried 5-0-1. 29. Set meeting with Fire and Police Committee and Footville Fire Protection District regarding response letter received by the Village related to PSC required reporting and billing of water used outside the utility area: The Fire and Police Committee will meet with fire department representatives to discuss the letter and concerns on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 5:00 pm at the Village Hall. 30. 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. Conaway, 2 nd by J. Harnack to move into closed session. Roll call vote: D. Harnack – yes, D. Wells – yes, J. Harnack – yes, N. Conaway – yes, R. Nath – yes, J. Thomson – yes. Meeting moved into closed session at 8:34 pm. 31. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION: Motion by J. Harnack, 2nd by D. Harnack to reconvene into open session. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting moved into open session at 9:04 pm. 32. Take action on any matters discussed in closed session: Set Health and Human Resources meeting for Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 4:00 pm at the Village Hall. 33. PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION ON OTHER MATTERS NOT PROPOSED FOR BOARD ACTION: D. Harnack – none. D. Wells – none. J. Harnack – none. N. Conaway – none. R. Nath asked about the brush pile and the chipper. He would like the brush pile chipped before they pull the chipper out. The Village needs to find another compost site. Look into hauling chipped brush down to the place on Townline Road. J. Thomson noted we need to look at crack filling and seal coating Edward Street this year. He asked Roland to look into that. 34. ADJOURNMENT: Motion by J. Harnack, 2nd by J. Thomson to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:11 pm. SUBMITTED BY STACY NEAL CLERK-TREASUER, VILLAGE OF FOOTVILLE