Town Of New Hope Regular Board Meeting — Minutes

February 2026 Minutes Note: These are the proposed Minutes that will be approved at the next Board Meeting. Town of New Hope Minutes - Regular Board Meeting Thursday, February 19, 2026 6:00 p.m. North New Hope Church, 845 County Road T North Members present: Chair Todd Knepfel, Supervisor Timm Raddatz Also present: Treasurer Dorene Stolpa, Clerk Pat Zellmer; Guests: Dennis Kaczor, Loren Birkey, Steve Ellingboe, Ken Kwiatkowski, Laurie Stoltenberg, Andy Wegner 1. Call to order the Regular February Town Board meeting, and Pledge of Allegiance. The Regular February Town Board meeting was called to order by Chair Todd Knepfel at 6:02 pm, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Review/Approval of minutes. Prior to the meeting, minutes from the January Regular Town Board Meeting (January 22, 2026) were circulated to the Board via email and posted on the town website in draft form. Supervisor Raddatz moved to accept the minutes as written, seconded by Chair Knepfel. Motion carried, 2-0. 3. Persons who wish to address the Board. a. Superintendent Dennis Kaczor (dekaczor@rosholt.k12.wi. us ) appeared before the Board to discuss the April referendum and cover the history and future of the Rosholt School System (document presented to the Board posted on website). b. Laurie Stoltenberg appeared before the Board to request permission for Portage Co. Historical Society to video/photograph the Town Hall within the next couple of weeks. Permission was granted. She will contact the clerk to open the building for that purpose. She also inquired about a CAFO Ordinance, and was directed to contact Supervisor Reser. 4. Town Building Inspector. Chair Knepfel will invite the General Engineering Company (Portage, WI), a group currently contracted with Town of Lanark, to the March meeting to discuss options in filling the position of Town Building Inspector. In the interim, the State DHS will fill in. 5. Town Hall. Chair Knepfel reviewed recent history: Bryan Shulfer had appeared at the January meeting to verbally withdraw the offer to take possession of the town hall building. Chair Knepfel will contact Shulfer for confirmation in writing. Ken Kwiatkowski approached the Board to take ownership of the building and move it to his property at his expense as soon as possible (with time allotted for PCHS to complete photo-documentation). Don Romundson expressed interest via email in taking the contents, with details to be worked out between the two. Supervisor Raddatz made a motion to transfer ownership of the building at zero cost to Ken Kwiatkowski, with removal of the building at his expense in spring 2026, and to transfer ownership of its contents to Don Romundson at zero cost, with removal at his expense, pending timely completion of photo-documentation of the building by PCHS. Chair Knepfel seconded the motion. Motion carried, 2-0. 6. Board of Review Training. Chair Knepfel and Clerk Zellmer will complete mandatory BOR training in March. February 2026 Minutes Note: These are the proposed Minutes that will be approved at the next Board Meeting. 7. Road Report. a. Brushing. Brushing on both sides of Sunset Lake Road from Alban town line to Hwy Z has been completed. Supervisor Raddatz moved to have Swenson complete brushing on Sunset Lake Road from Hwy Z to Hwy MM, seconded by Chair Knepfel. Motion carried 2-0. b. Request for hidden road or slow sign on east end of Trout Creek (west of S. Lake Rd). Options were discussed to slow traffic along Trout Creek Road and other town roads. No action will be taken at this time. 8. 2026 Elections. a. Results of Primary Election (2/17): 102 residents cast votes. Bassett and Leppen will continue to the April election for the District 25 supervisor race. b. Authorize appointment of tabulators for all Elections in calendar year. c. Establish location of polling places for all Elections in calendar year: i. Clerk’s office-1501 County Road ZZ N, Amherst Junction (Absentee, IPAV) ii. N New Hope Church – 845 County Road T N, Amherst Junction (Election) Supervisor Raddatz motioned to approve items b and c for all elections in the current calendar year, seconded by Chair Knepfel. Motion carried, 2-0. d. Public Test for Spring Election: 10:00 am, Saturday, March 28, N. New Hope Church e. Spring Election, Tuesday, April 7, 7:00 am – 8:00 pm, N. New Hope Church f. Fall Primary, Tuesday, August 11, Public Test TBA g. General Election, Tuesday, November 3, , Public Test TBA 9. New Business and Announcements. a. Intribus. Payment in full has been completed by Jon Intribus. b. Property Line clarification. Supervisor Reser will be asked to follow up on possible survey of parcel 02624 1029-10.04 and 02624 1029-07.01 to clarify a boundary line. 10. Payment of Bills. February bills for New Hope totaled $577,769.19. Supervisor Raddatz moved to pay those bills, seconded by Chair Knepfel. Motion Carried 2:0. 11. Set Dates for: a. Regular March Board Meeting: The March Regular Board Meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 18, at 6:00 pm (N. New Hope Church). 12. Adjournment. Supervisor Raddatz moved to adjourn the February Regular Board, seconded by Chair Knepfel. Motion carried 2-0. Meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm. Respectfully submitted by Clerk Zellmer