Board of Supervisors Meeting — Minutes

Minutes of the May 21, 2026 Meeting of the Sawyer County Board of Supervisors Sawyer County Courthouse/Virtual Voting Committee Members Present (X) Roll Call Dis tric t Wards Steve Kariainen 01 T Lenroot W-1, T Hayward W-7, C Hayward W-5 Kay Wilson- Absent 02 T Lenroot W-2, T Round Lake W-1 Steve Longtine 03 T Hayward W-1 & 2 Stacey Hessel 04 T Hayward W-3 & 4 Randy Neumann 05 T Hayward W-5 & 6 Marc D. Helwig 06 C Hayward W-1 & 2 Jim Miller 07 C Hayward W-3 & 4 Marshal Savitski 08 T Bass Lake W-1 & 2 Jim Evans 09 T Bass Lake W-3 & 4 Chuck Van Etten 10 T Sand Lake, T Edgewater W-1 Jeff Hoehne 11 T Edgewater W-2, T Bass Lake W-5, T Meteor, T Couderay, V Couderay John Righeimer 12 T Spider Lake, T Round Lake W-2, T Winter W-1 Ron Kinsley 13 T Hunter, T Radisson W-1, T-Ojibwa W-1, V Radisson Ron Buckholtz 14 T Radisson W-2, T Ojibwa W-2, T Weirgor, V Exeland, T Meadowbrook John Minto- Absent 15 T Winter W-2, T Draper, V Winter Also present: Jay Kozlowski, Doug Mrotek, Mike Markgren, John Pinnow-virtual, Atty. Rebecca Roeker virtual Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance–Chairman Kinsley called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Roll call was taken; quorum was met. Sheriff Mrotek led the Pledge of Allegiance in observance of National Law Enforcement Week. Certification of Compliance with the open meeting law was met. Meeting Agenda – Set Public Comments – Linda Zillmer, Patricia Keahna Kruzan, Jayne Schroeder Minutes from the previous meeting dated: April 21, 2026 Motion to approve by: Mr. Neumann Second by: Mr. Righeimer Motion carried without negative vote. Minutes from the previous meeting dated: April 30, 2026 Motion to approve by: Mr. Evans Second by: Mr. Helwig Motion carried without negative vote. Committee Appointment Amendments— Amendments to appointed committees were presented as follows: NWWIB Steve Kariainen Travel NW WI John Righeimer Weiss Library- Remove Steve Kariainen, add Kay Wilson SC LCO Transit Commission- Remove Steve Longtine, add Marshal Savitski Senior Resource Center- Remove Steve Longtine, add Marshal Savitski Sawyer County Fair- Remove Steve Longtine, add Marshal Savitski Motion to approve the committee amendments by: Mr. Buckholtz Second by: Mr. Helwig Motion carried without negative vote. Change Meeting Time— Motion to change the monthly Board of Supervisors Meeting to 5:00pm by: Mr. Van Etten Second by: Mr. Righeimer Motion carried without negative vote. Zoning Committee – Mr. Buckholtz gave the Zoning Committee report: the committee heard 4 Conditional Use Permit cases and 256 LUPs to date. Zone District Map Amendment for RZN #26-007 for Russel & Laurie Key and Stephen Atherton to rezone 5.28 acres from A-1 to RR2 was approved on a motion by: Mr. Van Etten Second by: Mr. Hoehne Motion carried without negative vote. Amendment to the Sawyer County Code of Ordinances- Appendix D- Section 2.0 (23) Definitions and Section 17.6 (B) Commercial-One Zone District regarding apartments within a C-1 zone district was approved on a motion by: Mr. Miller Second by: Ms. Hessel Motion carried without negative vote. Amendment to the Sawyer County Code of Ordinances- Appendix D- Section 2.0 (23) Definitions and Section 17.7 (B) Industrial-One Zone District regarding data centers within an I-1 zone district was tabled for further work in Zoning Committee on a motion by: Mr. Helwig Second by: Mr. Kariainen Motion carried without negative vote. Amendment to Sawyer County Code of Ordinances- Solar Moratorium Extension Ordinance was approved on a motion by: Mr. Longtine Second by: Mr. Miller Motion carried with one opposed. Sawyer County Solar Energy System Ordinance was approved on a motion by: Mr. Buckholtz Second by: Mr. Kariainen Motion carried without negative vote. (Note- the Solar Energy Ordinance immediately supersedes the Moratorium Extension) Public Works Committee— Mr. Helwig updated the Board on department reports for Maintenance, Airport, and Highway. The committee approved the 2026-27 ATV/UTV Routes along with the new routes approved by the LCO Tribal Governing Board. Annual Approval of ATV/UTV Routes— Motion to approve the 2026-2027 ATV/UTV Routes by: Mr. Van Etten Second by: Mr. Righeimer Motion carried without negative vote. The Ad-hoc committee worked with LCO Tribal Members to open new routes on county roads within the LCO Tribal boundary, approved by the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board. The proposed routes were presented to the committee with the following restrictions: 10pm-6am time of operation and use between May 1-October 31. Motion to approve the new ATV/UTV routes within Tribal boundaries with specified restrictions by: Mr. Van Etten Second by: Mr. Evans Motion carried without negative vote. Public Safety Committee — Mr. Buckholtz reviewed the Clerk of Courts, Sheriff’s Department, Jail, Emergency Management, Dispatch, Child Support, Code Enforcement and Emergency Services and Tower reports for the board. Meadowbrook Tower— Mr. Markgren explained that the Bug Tussel tower will not be built and proposed funding a county-owned Meadowbrook tower with $167, 000 of contingency funds from the Public Safety Radio Tower Project, and the remaining $83,000 from the Resource Development Fund. The savings on monthly rent and the possibility of leasing space to a cellular phone company would offset some of the expense. The Resolution was approved at Public Safety for consideration by the full board. The timeline would still be summer 2026. Motion to approve Resolution 2026-____ Meadowbrook Public Safety Radio Tower Upgrade Project at $250,000 contingent upon approval by Zoning was made by: Mr. Helwig Second by: Mr. Savitski Motion carried without negative vote. Land, Water and Forest Resources Committee— Mr. Kariainen reviewed the Register of Deeds, Land Records, Surveyor, Forestry, Zoning Conservation and Trails reports. Mr. Kinsley requested a thank you note for Neil Magnuson, who repaired the Price Dam gate saving the county thousands of dollars. Finance Report - Mr. Righeimer provided an update on county finances and department budgets. HHS Report— Mr. Van Etten reported on the May 12 meeting of the HHS Board and shared reports from LCO, HHS, ADRC and Adult Protective Services, Community Support and Mobile Crisis, Child Protective Services, Youth Justice, Economic Support and Public Health. Economic Development and UW Extension Committee— Mr. Righeimer gave the May Economic Development and UW Extension Committee report on activity by UW Extension, Hayward Lakes Visitor & Convention Bureau, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, and the Sawyer County Economic Development Corporation. Administration Report— Mr. Kinsley reported that the Administration Committee met and heard reports from the County Clerk, Veterans, IT, and HR departments, the County Administrator, and the Veterans Tribute. Resolution 2026-____Requesting Greater Local Control for Wisconsin Counties was approved on a motion by: Mr. Righeimer Second by: Ms. Hessel Motion carried without negative vote. County Administrator’s Report— Mr. Markgren updated the committee on a recent Department Head meeting, attending the Governor’s Fishing Opener Banquet, a meeting with the new EDC director Brian Priester, the audit and 2027 Budget work in Finance, successful Ad-hoc committee meetings with LCO Tribal Members, attending an Airport conference with Mr. Leslie, continuing work on the Public Safety Radio Network, and a meeting with Greg Peterson and Anew on the marketing of the county’s carbon credits. CJCC—the Committee approved the TAD Grant Pre-Application of $100,000 for Diversion and $150,000 for Treatment Court and noted that Melinda Hoyos has had excellent results working with families and reducing truancy. Board Appointed Committee Updates— Mr. Kariainen attended the Weiss Library board meeting and ICAA meeting and noted that CEP funding has not come through yet. Ms. Hessel stated that Hayward High School Graduation is May 22. Correspondence, Reports from Conferences and Meetings- Mr. Kinsley read a letter from Chanz Green stating that the state had approved a 3% increase in GTA funds for towns, and a letter from Lynn Fitch asking the county for a proclamation making August ALS Awareness Month. Future Agenda Items- ALS Awareness Proclamation Meeting Adjourned at 7:57 pm Next meeting: Thursday, June 18, 2026 Time: 5:00 pm Location: Board Room Minutes recorded by Liz Klein, County Clerk