Board of Supervisors Meeting- July 6, 2025 — Minutes

Town of Milladore Board of Supervisors Meeting July 6, 2025, 6:30 pm Minutes Town Board Members Present: Chair Ned Ruesch, Supervisor Joel Kuehnhold, Supervisor Ron Koziczkowski, Clerk Leslianne Ruesch, Treasurer Terri Grassel. Citizens Present: Bob Ashbeck, Al Gruenke, Bill Voight, Ray Milz, Sally Furo, Don Furo, Paul Haffenbredl, Karen Wallner, Connie Smith, Jay Stuttgen, Hank Nigh, Nick Nigh, Russ Haffenbredl, Julius Linzmeier, Mae Linzmeier. The meeting was called to order by Chair Ned Ruesch at 6:30 pm. The secretary report was read. A motion was made by Supervisor Joel Kuehnhold to approve. Seconded by Ned. Motion approved. The treasurer report was received. The Sherry Fire Department has representatives present, and have asked to be added to the agenda to speak about their contract with us. Old Business: The liquor licenses for Swetz have been completed. The clerk performed the necessary background checks etc, and issued the Class A Retailer, Operator, and Tobacco licenses. Operator licenses for Empty Nest Winery were issued. A letter was sent to The Sherry Fire Department with a 90 day notice to rescind our contract. A list of conditions was also sent that would need to be met in order to be considered for a contract with The Town of Milladore in the future if desired. The chair read the list of conditions Town of Milladore is asking met to be considered for a fire contract. The Sherry Fire Department asked for clarification to the list. They brought a copy of paperwork the board had given them in 2024 and questioned whether or not this was a valid contract. The board reminded them it was not an official contract, it was never signed by the board or the fire department, and instead, was a brief description of basic information meant for record keeping that the town used in order to issue them their payment, as we had nothing in writing from them that was current, and were still under the original 2012 contract. The Sherry Fire Department asked for clarification to what Milladore would like inspected. The board responded that all equipment, hoses, trucks, engines, etc must be inspected by a third party. They stated that they self inspect their equipment, but could reach out to a third party instead to have this done. Sherry Fire Department stated that they have always done a presentation for Milladore annually. The board clarified that we are looking for more detailed information such as run times, as well as their budget and financial report. Sherry Fire Department responded that they are a private and non- profit group and they don’t believe they should be made to show their financial information. The board gave them a copy of Wisconsin Statute 19.32.1. The board had been advised by the WTA attorney that this statute applies to them as they receive more than 50% of their funding from a municipality. The Sherry Fire Department informed us they use the 2% dues given them on programs within the schools, and other means of providing education about fire safety. The Sherry Fire Department asked for more clarification on the hose size we are requesting. The board responded that they are concerned about the lack of updates on equipment, and the Sherry Fire Department said they would provide updates if necessary. The Sherry Fire Department stated they don’t believe the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is a valuable tool, however if Milladore requires them to use it, they will join MABAS. The Sherry Fire Department stated they will be willing to provide the town with a physical, updated contract, and invoice yearly as requested. The Sherry Fire Department stated that they do yearly in house trainings and would be willing to provide us with information about that. The board asked if they do trainings outside of their own, and if they could provide information for those. They responded that they could. The Sherry Fire Department asked for time to complete some of the things on the list. The board agreed, and stated that although some of these things can’t be done immediately, we will need to see effort made by the Sherry Fire Department by the August meeting on at least some of the items listed. A motion was moved by Ned to table the Auburndale Fire Department Contract until the August 2025 meeting. Seconded by Joel. Motion carried. The clerk reported that the Maintenance of Effort report was filed with the Department of Revenue. The clerk had a meeting with the DNR in regards to the annual recycling report as well as standard operating procedure that the joint recycling center should be following. Joel will be handling the recycling center for Milladore. He shared with us the concerns that we have been made aware of, and has reached out to The Town of Sherry to help fix some of these things. Our board attended the Town of Sherry meeting on June 10th to ask questions about some of the current policies. We will continue to work with them in making the recycling center more efficient and cost effective for both towns. Joel will continue to update us on a monthly basis. The chair shared the new information we had received from Emery Nigh, our former employee who had lost his glasses at the recycling center on May 10, 2025. The board had requested a receipt from him for the glasses he had purchased that were lost, as he stated they were only 2 weeks old. Instead, he sent us a quote from Shopko Optical Center for $953.98. The board discussed Milladore’s culpability in this matter. They agreed that it was not through the fault of The Town of Sherry, Town of Milladore, or the recycling center itself that resulted in the glasses being lost. A motion was moved by Joel to give Emery a donation in the amount of $125 as a gesture of appreciation for his years of working at the joint recycling center. Seconded by Ron. Motion carried. The clerk has been in contact with DNR representatives in regards to the grant money we have not yet received for the Smokey Hill project. The delay seems to be caused by a new representative taking it over who did not have access to the original files we had sent. The clerk reissued all contracts and receipts and was informed we should receive the funds soon. Paperwork was sent to the county as requested to finalize the assessor’s certificate for the board of review. New Business: We have requested to participate in the Wood County Highway Department 50/50 program. A check will be mailed out for $5,000 to help fund this. The board looked at a survey map that was received for a property on Mayflower Road. It was signed off by the chair and will be mailed out to the county. Road Repair Concerns: Work was done on the grader and the results of the oil sample have been received. New granite will be laid on part of Brookside Road soon. Clerk Mail: The clerk received a bill from Fabick that we believe is an error. It was for shipping charges on a part we never ordered. It listed an unrecognized address on the statement that does not correlate with The Town of Milladore. She attempted to reach out to their billing department; but was not satisfied they would remove the charges. It was handed off to Ron, who has regular, local contacts outside the billing department. The clerk and Ron will be staying on top of this matter, as we have had multiple issue with Fabick billings in the past. There was no restitution made by the former treasurer in the month of June. He dropped off a payment in person, in July, to the new treasurer. The clerk will send out a reminder letter to him of the terms of his agreement and reiterate that payments must only be sent to the Town of Milladore official address at PO Box 46, Blenker, WI, 54415. Public Comment: A citizen expressed their frustration over not being able to hear the board well due to train activity. The board answered they will do their best to be louder in those circumstances. A citizen questioned why we were allowing the former treasurer to make late payments, and what steps would be made in the future to avoid this. The board answered this is a new situation, that the letter previously mentioned will be sent to him, and he will also be notified of our intent to pass his payment records on to the District Attorney as needed. A citizen asked to be added to the agenda to speak about the fire department. The board answered that we would need to get advice from our legal representatives as to if or how that is allowed. The clerk took the citizens information down and will contact them when she knows the answer. A motion was moved by Ned to pay bills. Seconded by Ron. Motion carried. The next meeting will be held on August 3, 2025 at 6:30 pm, at the town hall at 3720 County Road P, Milladore, WI, 54454. A motion was moved by Joel to adjourn. Seconded by Ron. Meeting adjourned.