Village Board — Minutes

VILLAGE OF HORTONVILLE VILLAGE BOARD AUGUST 20, 2026 MEETING MINUTES APPROVED SEPTEMBER 3, 2026 President Jeanne Bellile called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center at 531 N. Nash St., Hortonville, Wisconsin. Trustees present: Therese Abitz, Dalton Davis, Carrie Lathrop, Jim Moeller, Jane Olk, and Julie Arendt Vanden Heuvel. Trustees absent: Officials/Staff present: Administrator Nathan Treadwell, Chief of Police Brian Bahr, and Attorney Lynn Lorenson Officials excused: Library Director Alexandrea Krause, Director of Public Works Aaron Steber, and Clerk-Treasurer Jane Booth Consent Agenda Motion [Arendt Vanden Heuvel/Moeller] to approve as outlined. Roll call vote, 7 ayes, 0 nays, motion carried. A. August 6, 2026 Regular Board meeting minutes B. August 6, 2026 COW minutes C. Licenses and Permits D. Presentation of accounts and other claims against the Village Agenda Changes None Preregistered Citizens to be heard Keary Mattson, 316 N Nash Street, said that I am here tonight to just make some comments on Hortonville Auto business that I have heard a lot about. My opinion is that the village has two goals, 1. To bring people into this community and 2. To encourage, recruit and help new businesses. One way for a vibrant downtown and I have been here many years; in fact, I have lived here for 52 years. I remember when the downtown block and a half had two hardware stores, two gas stations, a meat market, a café, pizza place, Ford dealership, a laundromat, dance lessons, a real estate business, a bowling alley, and several different businesses on the corner of M and Main. My family and I were downtown all of the time. Now scattered among four bars and restaurants and a bowling alley there are several small businesses. A former business turned into an apartment complex, a business that is open two hours a day two days a week, a Town of Hortonia administrative building and I think I said the apartment complex already, upstairs and downstairs, I am not sure that is legal and there is a museum, that how many people would actually go in there on a daily basis. Other than going out to eat or a cocktail on occasion, I don’t think I have been downtown for twenty years. We also have an industrial park, which is great, however, it is full, so new businesses can’t come into Hortonville. I looked the other day, and among the industrial park businesses, we have a dance studio, a horse rehabilitation center, and an insurance building. In an industrial park? I understand a building belonging to the county is going to be available soon, and there is going to be four business properties, and the Village is maybe looking into using it as a storage unit. I guess we got a chance to bring four new businesses in and let’s open the businesses and let’s throw away junk. If you don’t allow Hortonville Auto, I will get into that right now, to remain where they currently are, they have nowhere in the Village to go or to build. You now lose a business, you know lose a family. For fifteen years I drove to Gresham for my auto work, the guy would get me in right away, did great work and was honest and reasonable. I tried Alex when he opened three years ago and have been going to him since. He brings in people; they support our local businesses while they wait, and Alex and Shauna are also great supporters of our local businesses. So instead of getting rid of them, and getting rid of their business, I’d like to see you work with them, either find a place for them to build, you guys buy land so that they can have a place to build and other businesses would come into the community. Or give them an exemption on their current business, which say it runs for three years, let them continue to be an important part of this community. They are within a block of Main Street, a small block from M and a half block from where the canning factory was a great community building. It is a beautiful business, with very little traffic, no cars in the streets, and garage doors are closed most of the time. In fact, if you didn’t know it was an auto repair shop you wouldn’t even know the business was there, I don’t think. And just to make another comment about businesses, I don’t know what businesses are on TT, but I got stopped for about ten minutes the other day while a semi backed into a driveway. I guess my question to you is, is that business being shut down? I don’t know, I don’t even know what business it is. It would seem to me, and this is only my opinion again, that unless you make an exemption and allow Hortonville Auto to remain where they have been for the past three years, or you work with them to build a new place in town to keep their business, that you might have a bias against them. I don’t know. That is the first thing that comes to my mind. Consistency is important. If you are going to shut them down, are you going to shut down the other hundred or more businesses that are operating out of their houses, and you know they are out there. I heard something the other day about sheds. Sheds are only supposed to have lawn equipment in them? Are you going to check every shed in town to see if it if full of lawn equipment or are there bicycles and everything else in there? You have got to be consistent. I would hate to see something that seems to have a simple solution get blown up and become a mess, not only for Alex and Shauna but for the Village as well. I hope you can find a way to help them, I hope you don’t tell them what they can’t do and start working with them and tell them what they can do. It has been a great business for me, and I would sure like to see them stay open. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak tonight. I have another speaking engagement at 6:30 so I have to go. Thank you very much. Committee Reports None Unfinished Business from previous meetings None New Business 2026 Halloween Proclamation President Bellile read the 2026 Halloween Proclamation. Discussion on Ordinance to repeal a portion of the parking semitrailers and trucks, amending of the traffic visibility triangle, repealing and replacing travel trailers recreational vehicles and buses for habitation and also to create parking requirements, storage and parking of recreational vehicles, automobiles and utility trailers, storage of trucks, tractors and road machinery, and landscaping and buffer requirements Discussion followed. Report of Village Officials Clerk-Treasurer: The report is in the packet. Director of Public Works: The report is in the packet. Chief of Police: The report is in the packet. The league of Wisconsin Municipalities is putting on a training on E-bikes and I plan on attending. I will report on that at the next meeting. A lot of construction questions on Main Street and school is starting. Library Director: No report. Attorney: Nothing Administrator: The report is in the packet. Dealing with a few calls per day dealing with the downtown. Trying to get signatures for the special assessments and dealing with some of the issues we are having with the Wi-Fi. Any other miscellaneous topics for future discussion Trustee Arendt Vanden Heuvel said I would like to either do a Public Works or joint Public Facilities meeting or just a Committee of the Whole before we do budget. Communications and Miscellaneous Business Black Otter Lake District news: Annual meeting next week at Thursday, at 5:30 pm. Building permit report: None Hortonville-Hortonia Fire District news: Nothing Gold Cross Ambulance run reports and news: None Hortonville Civic Association: Nothing Senior Activities Committee: Nothing Comments and suggestions from citizens present I would just like to say that I heard that the National Night Out was a really great event so good job. Adjournment Motion [Davis/Moeller] to adjourn. Unanimous voice vote, motion carried. The Board adjourned at 6:33p.m. Minutes submitted by, Jane Booth, WCMC Village Clerk/Treasurer