Town Of New Hope August Regular Board Meeting — Minutes

Minutes Town of New Hope Regular Board Meeting Monday, September 15, 2025 6:00 pm North New Hope Church, 845 County Road T North, Amherst Junction, WI Members Present: Chair Todd Knepfel, Supervisors Timm Raddatz and Ray Reser Also Present: Treasurer Dorene Stolpa and Clerk Pat Zellmer Guests: Amanda Haffele (Portage Co. Solid Waste), Dave Swenson 1. Call to order, followed by Pledge of Allegiance. The Regular September Town Board Meeting was called to order by Chair Knepfel at 6:03 pm. 2. Review/Approval of Minutes. Prior to the meeting, August Regular Town Board Meeting minutes were circulated to the Board via email, and posted as a draft on the town website. Reser moved to accept the minutes as written, seconded by Raddatz. Motion carried, 3-0. Approved minutes will be posted on the town website. 3. Persons who wish to address the Board. a. Recycling: Amanda Haffele, Portage County Solid Waste, appeared before the Board to request consolidating the Town of New Hope into the County’s Responsible Unit for recycling in an attempt to reduce County-wide recycling costs. i. New Hope is contracted with Harter’s through December 21, 2028; recycling and trash pick-up will not be impacted. ii. The contract would go into effect from January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2028, at which time it would be reviewed by the County and Town Board for possible continuation. iii. Portage Co. Solid Waste would apply for and receive the DNR Responsible Unit (RU) grant starting in October 2025 (for 2026). New Hope would complete the 2025 RU Report in spring 2026, after which time Portage Co. Solid Waste would take on that reporting. iv. New Hope could continue the annual recycling event if desired. After discussion and review of contract details, Reser moved to accept the three-year contract as written, seconded by Raddatz. Motion carried 3-0. Knepfel and Haffele signed the contract. 4. 2025 Fall Recycling Event. The Fall Recycling event was held 9-1 Saturday, September 13, staffed by Aubrey Raddatz, Jonathan Intribus, Timm Raddatz, Todd Knepfel, and Pat Zellmer. Participation was significantly down compared to previous years. $709 was collected for tires and freon appliances, plus cash for scrap metal (Weller’s 5. Road Report. Road work has been completed on Jerry’s Lane, Grayson Road, Nerlien Road, Koziczkowski Lane, Hotvedt Road, Rainbow’s End, and Maple Ridge Road (under warranty) for 2025. 6. Town Hall. A letter was sent in early September to Bryan Shulfer to determine the next step on the Town Hall. Paula and Dale Shulfer had previously offered to move the building onto adjacent private property at their expense. 7. WI Towns Association Unit Meeting Monday, Sept. 22 hosted by Town of Plover, 5081 Hoover Ave, Plover. Zellmer and Reser plan to attend. 8. New Business. a. Portage County Planning and Zoning will hold a public hearing at 5:00 pm, Tuesday, September 23 for the Fechter property (parcel # 026241015-12.13). Neighbors were notified by mail. b. Jonathan Intribus was offered a job to assist in snow-fence installation later this fall. c. Knepfel attended the WTA Fall Workshop; Zellmer will attend the virtual workshop. 9. Payment of Bills. Raddatz moved to pay the August bills, totaling $129,084.72, seconded by Knepfel. Motion carried 2:0. 10. Next Meeting Dates: a. Initial 2026 Budget Planning Meeting: 6:00 pm Thursday, Oct. 9, North New Hope Church b. Regular October Town Board Meeting: 6:00 pm Monday, Oct. 27, North New Hope Church 11. Adjournment: Raddatz moved to adjourn at 7:06 pm, seconded by Knepfel. Motion carried, 2-0. Respectfully submitted by Clerk Zellmer Draft published 09/16/2025 Approved minutes to be posted after the October meeting. Any person wishing to attend this or any other town meeting who, because of disability, requires special accommodations should contact the clerk at 715-677-4784 (clerk@tn.newhope.wi.gov) prior to the meeting.