Utilities 5 pm — Minutes

Village of Whiting Utilities Committee Meeting September 1, 2026 Place of Meeting: Whiting Municipal Center 1. Roll Call – Meeting called to order by Chairman Lutz at 5:00 PM. Committee members Kevin Lutz, Mike Daniels, Karen Curtis, Jeanna Trzebiatowski and Mark Zalewski were present. Superintendent of Utilities and Public Works, Jake Wilcox, Village Trustees: Mike Kaczmarek, Ben Lasecki, Paul Stroik, Village President Bill Taugner; Village Clerk/Treasurer Pam Filtz, Brandi Makuski from the Metro Wire and Village Residents: Diana Szymkowiak, Sara Brilowski, James Kostuchowski, Bernice Kawleski, Jeff Vaughter and Dean Curtis were also present. 2. People wishing to address the committee. - As Needed. 3. Approval of September meeting minutes. – Motion made by Curtis to approve minutes for September as presented. Second, by Trzebiatowski. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 4. Discussion/possible action re. Annual Equipment Replacement Fund Transfer. – Based upon the needs of the sewer utility, Supt. Wilcox is proposing to do a $50,000 transfer in 2026 for the sewer replacement fund. In the past has been around 60,000. Motion made by Curtis to transfer $50,000 to the sewer capital replacement fund. Second, by Zalewski. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 5. Discussion/possible action re Weekly Wastewater Laboratory Services. - Discussion was held regarding changing the company that does our weekly laboratory for our water and sewer testing. There have been errors that have been made in the testing and Supt. Wilcox recommends that we make a change to Badger Labs. Motion made by Trzebiatowski to change our testing Laboratory Services to Badger Labs increasing the annual cost by $600. Second, by Zalewski. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 6. Discussion/possible action re. Wellhead Protection Ordinance. - Discussion was held regarding changing our ordinances to be more in line with the overall county’s ordinances. Currently our ordinances are more restrictive. Would like to be more in line with Point, Plover and Portage County. Chairman Lutz would like the committee to review current ordinance and come up with how we would like our wellhead protection ordinances changed. Motion made by Trzebiatowski to table this action item until we have better information to change our ordinances. Second, by Zalewski. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 7. Discussion/possible action re. Village proposed contract for employee health plan. Cost of the plan to be shared: 40% Village, 30% water, 30% sewer. - Discussion was held regarding changing the insurance carrier for the utility employees from United health Care to Teamcare. There may be added cost due to audits and rate chance if required by PSC. The current carrier, United Health Care’s cost for the coming 12 months would be $105,000, which would constitute a 17% increase from the 2026 cost. The cost would be $97,636 for TeamCare. Concerns were raised since this is part of a union. However, there would not be any other union activities other than providing health care insurance. The employees will be responsible for paying union dues. Motion made by Trzebiatowski to recommend to the village board to change our health care coverage to Teamcare Health Plan M9. Second, by Zeluski. Daniels abstained as he did not have enough information to make an informed decision. Lutz voted no. Motion carried a margin of 3 yes -1 no -1 abstained voice vote. 8. Discussion and possible action re. Multiple vouchers. - Motion made by Daniels to approve multiple vouchers for September as presented. Second, by Trzebiatowski. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 9. Operations and Maintenance report. Supt. Wilcox submitted the following report: • The water treatment plant did meet all requirements for August. The wastewater treatment plant did not meet all requirements for August as a result of a laboratory error. A complete set of results for September is not available yet. ▪ Village of Whiting Pumpage: • Treated – 4,057,000 • Total - 5,972,000 ▪ Neenah Paper Pumpage: • #5 – 14,730,752 • #6 – 35,450,000 ▪ Total – 52,132,752 • The Clean Water Fund loan application for the Sludge Press Replacement Project was submitted. • Bi-annual equipment maintenance was completed. • The new roof hatch at the water treatment facility was insulated. • The private well permitting program is nearly complete with only four (corrected to two during the meeting) non-permitted wells remaining. These well owners have received a third letter regarding the required private well permit and have been assessed a $200 penalty for non-compliance in accordance with our Ordinances. • The weir on Clarifier 2 at the wastewater treatment facility was repaired. • The new SCADA PC’s were installed but only one is operational as the SCADA PC at the water treatment facility will require a new internet service before being fully operational. I am working with our IT services provider to procure the best internet solution for the site. • Quarterly meter reading was completed. • Annual hydrant flushing and maintenance program has started. This will be on- going for approximately the next two weeks. • Annual fall sewer jetting and root sawing was completed. • I have been researching potential alternatives for our wastewater laboratory services after several recent issues have occurred. One of which resulted in the wastewater utility not meeting our monthly testing and reporting requirements. • I attended the Portage County Groundwater Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, and all staff attended the annual Wisconsin Rural Water Association’s Outdoor Expo in Plover. Motion made by Daniels to approve report as presented. Second by Curtis. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote. 10. Correspondence. None. 11. Such other matters as permitted by law 12. Adjourn. Curtis made a motion to adjourn. Second by Daniels. Motion carried by voice vote to adjourn at 5:55 pm. Respectfully Submitted Mike Daniels Recording Secretary