Administration Committee — Agenda Packet

1 Sawyer County Administration Committee Meeting Thursday, April 9, 2026 @ 10:00 AM Sawyer County Board Room AGENDA 1. ZOOM LINK a. To view or participate in the virtual meeting from a computer, iPad, or Android device please go to https://zoom.us/j/92546130740. You can also use the dial in at 1-312-626-6799with the Webinar ID: 925 4613 0740. Use *9 to Raise/lower hand and *6 to Unmute/mute. If you are on a computer, click the "Raise Hand" button and wait to be recognized. If you are on a telephone, dial *9 and wait to be recognized. If additional assistance is needed please contact the County Clerk's Office at 715-634-4866 prior to the meeting. This meeting will be recorded and will be available on our website at: https://sawyercountygov.org. 2. CALL TO ORDER 3. ROLL CALL 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 5. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW 6. MEETING AGENDA 7. PUBLIC COMMENTS At this time, members of the public will be given the opportunity to address the Committee. Please adhere to the following when addressing the Committee: • Comments will be limited to 3 minutes or less per individual. • Comments should be directed to the Committee as a whole and not directed to individual Committee members. • The Committee cannot respond to your comments during this time. • Please sign in and fill out a public comment sheet if you wish to speak on an item. 8. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING a. Previous Meeting Minutes 9. APPOINTMENTS TO LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE (DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION) a. Recommended Appointees to LEPC Page 1 of 13 2 10. COUNTY CLERK REPORT a. County Clerk Department Report 11. VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE REPORT a. Veteran Service Office Report 12. VETERANS TRIBUTE UPDATE a. Planning Design and Construction (Discussion and Possible Action) 13. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REPORT a. IT Report 14. HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT a. Human Resource Report 15. ZONING- SOLAR ORDINANCE MORATORIUM DISCUSSION 16. SAWYER COUNTY ADMINISTRATION a. County Administrator's Report 17. BOARD APPOINTED COMMITTEE UPDATES 18. CORRESPONDENCE, REPORTS FROM CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS 19. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 20. NEXT MEETING DATE /TIME: MAY 14, 2026 AT 10:00 AM 21. ADJOURNMENT DISCLAIMER: A quorum of the County Board of Supervisors or of any of its committees may be present at this meeting to listen and observe. Neither the Board nor any of the committees have established attendance at this meeting as an official function of the Board or committee(s) or otherwise made a determination that attendance at the meeting is necessary to carry out the Board or committee’s function. The only purpose for other supervisors attending the meeting is to listen to the information presented. Neither the Board nor any committee (other than the committee providing this notice and agenda) will take any official action with respect to this noticed meeting. Page 2 of 13 3 Copy sent via email to: Committee Members, Associated Staff and News Media. Note: Any person wishing to attend whom, because of a disability, requires accommodation should call the Sawyer County Clerk’s Office (715.634.4866) at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting so appropriate arrangements can be made. Page 3 of 13 Minutes of the Meeting of the March 12, 2026 Sawyer County Administration Committee of the Sawyer County Board of Supervisors Board Room; Sawyer County Voting Committee Members (X) Present: Others Present: Chair: Ron Kinsley Mike Markgren Vice Chair: Ron Buckholtz Liz Klein Tom Duffy Gary Elliot John Righeimer- Excused Stacey Hessel Call to Order –Chair Ron Kinsley called the meeting to order at 10:00 am. Certification of Compliance with the open meeting law was met. Roll Call taken; quorum was met. Meeting Agenda – Set Public Comments – None Minutes from the previous meeting dated: February 12, 2026 Motion to approve by: Mr. Duffy Second by: Ms. Hessel Motion carried without negative vote. County Clerk Report- Ms. Klein provided a written department report and updated the committee on preparations for the April election, one on one training with new municipal clerks and updates to the county website. Veterans Service Office Report - Mr. Elliot provided a written report of February department activity: 521 phone calls, 779 letters/emails/faxes sent and 178 office visits. VSO contacts have been steadily increasing. 30 disability claims have been filed to date with $94,606.72 awarded in Veterans’ favor. Valentines were delivered to area veterans. The department is co-hosting counseling sessions at La Crosse Vet Center, hosting Coffee & Conversation, and hosted a Northern WI Tribal VSO training for 20 counties. The social media report was provided. Veteran’s Tribute Update- Demolition RFPs (Discussion and Possible Action)- Mr. Markgren received 9 responses to his RFP request. The low bidder was JR Excavating at $19,200, with three good references and a COI provided. The project is for the complete demo and removal of materials from the site. Motion to accept the JR Excavating bid at $19,200 with discretion of the Administrator of up to $25,000 total for unanticipated expenses by: Ms. Hessel Second by: Mr. Buckholtz Motion carried without negative vote. Mr. Ken Disher, engineer for Excel Energy, provided information on power lines at the site and will meet with Mr. Markgren and Excel staff at 11:00 am March 12 to look at it. Committee Design Discussion- Ms. Hessel presented proposed design materials to the committee for discussion. The proposed site design includes names and resources for Veterans and is maintenance free and durable, with a stamped cement surface and landscape lighting. The projected completion date is November 1, 2026. Page 4 of 13 Information Technology Department Report - Mr. Coleson provided a written IT report on ongoing IT projects. Human Resources Report - A written report was provided on staffing and recruiting for open positions within the county. Mr. Markgren noted again that the county has been receiving high quality applicants for open positions. Discussion of Tax Levy Freeze— Mr. Markgren presented a resolution other counties are adopting to request the ability to increase the levy beyond net new construction and tie it to CPI, with a 3.5% cap. Resolution 2026-____ CPI Legislative Action to Address County Funding Challenges was approved for recommendation to County Board on a motion by: Mr. Buckholtz Second by: Ms. Hessel Motion carried without negative vote. Closed Session- Chairman Kinsley handed over meeting to Vice-chair Buckholtz for a closed session and abstained from the session. At 10:36am a motion to enter into closed session pursuant to: Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(c), “considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction to employ or exercises responsibility,” to wit, for purposes of discussing separating the Finance Department from Administration was made by: Mr. Duffy Second by: Ms. Hessel A roll call vote was taken: Ron Kinsley- abstained, Ron Buckholtz- aye, Tom Duffy- aye, Stacey Hessel- aye. Motion carried. At 10:43 am the committee reconvened in open session on a motion by: Mr. Duffy Second by: Ms. Hessel Motion to separate the Finance Department from Administration and promote Rhandi Ehn to Finance Director By: Ms. Hessel Second by: Mr. Duffy Motion carried without negative vote (Mr. Kinsley abstaining). Vice-chair Buckholtz handed the meeting back to Chairman Kinsley. Board Appointed Committee Updates – None Correspondence, reports from conferences and meetings– Ms. Hessel stated that the Senate is voting on the Forestry Revitalization Act on March 17. Future Agenda Items- None Adjournment – 10:46 am Next Meeting: April 9, 2026 Time: 10:00 am Location: Board Room Minutes recorded by Liz Klein, County Clerk Page 5 of 13 LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE (LEPC) Section 4: Appointment The Sawyer County Emergency Management Coordinator will submit a Membership Appointment Request to the Sawyer County Board of Supervisors following County Board elections in even-numbered years. The request will include the agency, organization, or profession that each proposed member represents. Upon approval by the County Board, LEPC appointments will be submitted to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) for final approval. The Emergency Management Coordinator will be a continuous member of the LEPC. The following are recommended: Group 1: • Chief Deputy Bryan Deyo – Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office Group 2: • Warden Nicholas Al-Moghrabi – Wisconsin DNR • Forester/Ranger Brody Fischer –Wisconsin DNR • Chief Susie Taylor – LCO Police Department • Scott Johnson – LCO Public Health • Jay Kozlowski – Sawyer County Zoning Group 3: • Celia Horns – Sawyer County Record • Mark Lundeen – WHSM Radio Group 4: • Gary Hilgendorf – Faith/Spider Lake Church • Aaron Jenneman – GenComm/Radio Group 5: • Cory Sulley – LP Zac Deikonski - Enbridge Page 6 of 13 County Clerk Department Monthly Report, Ending March 31, 2026 County Clerk Desk Activity/Revenue YTD: Activity Number of Licenses/Permits Total Revenue (including amounts sent to the State of Wisconsin Dog Licenses Donation to Animal Control 190 $1985.00 $50.00 Marriage Licenses Clerk (County Retains) = $55/license Mediation = $20/license State = $25/license Waivers = $10/license $225.00 Plat Books Mailing Fee Map GL 218-00-42000 GL 218-00-42001 $60.00 Copies $5.00 General Department Report: Dogs- March was very busy with dog licenses- people buying them to avoid the late fee April 1. Elections- We have 13 Relier towns that we perform administration of election duties for. We have had a turnover of municipal clerks this spring who have need help getting up to speed; everything is going well so far. I attended a GO291 FEMA training class in Shell Lake as part of Public Information Officer training: this class focused on setting up a Joint Information System/Center to respond to incidents. I met Jennifer Cadotte from LCO there and we had a good opportunity to network. April will be busy with seating the new County Board, setting up committees, and reconciling the April 7 election. Laura is scanning 1930s County Resolutions as a side project. Letters to County Clerk, Letters to County Board Supervisors: We periodically receive mail from students of all ages doing class projects, requesting information about Sawyer County, making public comment, or requesting/suggesting policy changes. They are asking for a timely response. I have forwarded two letters to the County Board now and I don’t think anyone has responded. I always respond to the Clerk request letters. Can you designate a County Board member to respond to the letters that are addressed to the board? It is an opportunity to demonstrate responsive government and also promote goodwill to our future constituents. Page 7 of 13 Page 8 of 13 Page 9 of 13 Page 10 of 13 Page 1 of 2 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ April 9, 2026 To: Administration Committee Ron Kinsley, Ron Buckholtz, John Righeimer, Stacey Hessel, Thomas Duffy IT Department Report Agenda items: none Service Requests February Completed 44 Open 14 New requests Department Tickets Misc 6 Administration 2 Ambulance/Med Examiner 1 Animal Control 2 Court 4 Health & Human Services 19 IT 2 Land Records/Survey 1 Register of Deeds 1 Sheriff 6 UW Extension 3 Zoning and Conservation 2 TOTAL 49 Mike Coleson Sawyer County IT Director 10610 Main Street, Suite 58. - Hayward, WI 54843 Phone 715-634-8185 Email mcoleson@sawyercountygov.org Page 11 of 13 Page 2 of 2 Tasks completed • Network issues with Central Control Surveillance system. Replaced 3 network switches. • Onboarding 2 Terminations 4 Tasks in progress • Novus updates o Permit streamlining o TRH modifications for 2026 o Ad Hoc reports for Zoning staff • Uniflow Cloud printing conversion: ongoing issues Pending Tasks • Planning for 2027 phone system replacement • Additional surveillance cameras for key Hayward intersections Page 12 of 13 Sawyer County Human Resources April 2026 Report Prepared by: Rose Lillyroot 2026 Turnover 3/19/2026 Scott Prochaska Highway Term 3/20/2026 Philip Barnard Clerk of Court Term 3/22/2026 Katrina Grandadam HHS PT to FT 3/22/2026 Sydney Petersen Ambulance PT to FT 3/27/2026 Lisa Nasser HHS Term Staffing Snapshot • Vacancies: 5 • Had 2 employees move from part-time to full-time employment • Separations: 3 Recruitment Activity Recruiting for Criminal Clerk of Court, Receptionist for Sheriff’s Office, Resident Assistant at Transitions, Jailers Interviewing for Part-Time County Maintenance and Driver/Operator at Highway Have an offer out for LTE Environmental Health Technician Employee Relations Human Resources provided ongoing support related to employee relations matters, including performance management, leave administration, workplace concerns, and accommodation requests. Policy and Compliance Routing to the Committee via email proposed changes to the personnel manual for your review Page 13 of 13