Town Board minutes 11.10.2025.DRAFT

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT Tow n of Winchester 7228 CTH W Winchester, WI 54557 winchesterwi.com DRAFT Meeting Minutes Regular Town Board Meeting Monday, November 10, 2025 C hairman Discianno called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm on MondayNovember 10th, 2025. Chairman Discianno, Supervisor Newton, Supervisor Silvis, Clerk Newton and Treasurer Grimmer attended at Town Hall. There wereseven other in-person attendeesand six attendees on Zoom. The pledgeof allegiance was recited. Su pervisor Newton made a motion to approve the agenda. Supervisor Silvis seconded the motion, and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. C hairman Discianno made a motion to approve the minutes for the 10/13/2025 regular meeting and the 10/7/2025, 10/17/2025, and 10/24/2025 special meetings. Supervisor Newton seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. T reasurer’s Report: Treasurer Grimmer shared the treasurer’s report and reported the balance in Town checking accounts as $130,592. Mr. Grimmer reported thathe had received about 13,000 in accommodations tax payments that were not yet deposited. Mr. Grimmer reported that a 39,000 payment for WI shared revenue was expected to be received on November 17th. Mr. Grimmer discussed the interest rate decrease at Associated Bank for the Money Market savings account in comparison to the higher current rate for the LGIP account. Supervisor Silvis asked if the accommodations tax report is capturing a high percentage of short-term rentals in Winchester. Treasurer Grimmer explained that he believes Winchester is collecting the accommodations tax from a high percentage of known short-term rental properties and indicated that he will develop a strategy to find properties that are currently unknown. Chairman Discianno asked that further discussion about the accommodations tax be left until the agenda item for it. Chairman Discianno made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report as given. Supervisor Silvis seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. C lerk’s Report: Clerk Newton indicated she did not have much to share other than working on the budget as well as the postings for the hearing and levy limit. Clerk Newton reported that there would be shared services meetings held in Winchester next week. DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT Town of Winchester Chairman and Supervisors’ reports: Chairman Discianno reported that the Town Crew had transported the catwalk from Manitowish Waters to the Winchester transfer station and that it is in use between dumpsters to make disposal easier. Chairman Discianno reported that the Crew had worked to remove trees that had come down in high winds, continued shoulder work, and placed gravel on Old County Rd O. Chairman Discianno explained that the Crew had closed the park bathrooms at the beginning of November as well as removed all boat docks and opened the dam. Chairman Discianno explained that he was expecting installation of the new truck bed after the first of the year. Chairman Discianno reported that on December 6th the tree lighting at the Winchester Town Park will take place as well as a celebration afterwards at the Bear Lodge. Chairman Discianno explained that Vilas County’s sign installer is back on duty and is working to complete installation of signs on CTH W that hadn’t been put up yet. Chairman Discianno reported that grant applications were submitted for road improvement of W Birch Lake Rd, Mud Lake Rd, and Rainbow Lake Rd and that he expected to hear about awarding of the grants in January. Chairman Discianno reported that vendors had been out for furnace and generator maintenance at Town properties. Chairman Discianno reported that at the last Winchester Cemetery meeting it was brought up if the Cemetery could be covered under the Town’s liability insurance and he explained that the Cemetery ownership would have to be transferred to the Town to be covered by the Town’s liability insurance. Chairman Discianno reported that the Budget Hearing is scheduled for Monday November 17thwith special Town meeting of electors to follow. Chairman Discianno discussed reports of beaver issues on No Man’s Lake as well as between Birch and Tamarack lakes. Supervisor Newton reported that he intends to accept Starlink’s offer for free Starlink mini equipment to trial its use at the transfer station. Supervisor Newton reported that he will attend the shared services meetings next week as well as sit on a panel in Mercer on Wednesday evening to discuss hazardous wake concerns and ordinances. Supervisor Silvis reported that the Winchester Fire Department would hold it’s election for officers this month. Supervisor Silvis explained that he had been in contact with WinMan regarding noise/activity complaints and indicated that there seemed to be confusion of who was causing the noise. Vilas County District Supervisor’s report: District Supervisor Logan explained that the Manners Café nutrition site at North Lakeland School is temporarily closed until a new site manager is found and indicated delivered meals may still be able to be fulfilled. District Supervisor Logan reported on changes to the Vilas County Health Department, explaining that the county used to partner with UW-Oshkosh for services that will be done in-house going forward. Mr. Logan indicated that after a transition period he expects the County Health Department to be able to provide better and more timely service. Mr. Logan also spoke about the range of vaccinations DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT Town of Winchester available through the County and indicated that residents could call the County for more information and to schedule appointments. Correspondence: Clerk Newton reported that she received correspondence about a property undergoing construction on Hiawatha Lake Rd that was reported to not have a permit posted and causing noise and traffic issues in the area. Clerk Newton indicated that she passed the info to Supervisor Newton. Supervisor Newton reported that he had spoke with the contractor at the property in question and advised him to post the permit as well as advised him of the complaints received. Treasurer Grimmer reported that he had correspondence from a tax payer wanting to pay the 2025 tax bill early. Public Comment: Jerry commented on the beaver dam between Birch and Tamarack lakes being on private property and asked if the Lake Association or the Town is responsible for removing the dams. Chairman Discianno explained that it is the Town’s responsibility to remove the dams when they block culverts. Sulo Wainio stated that dams can’t be removed from water because it is considered private property of the adjacent land owners. Old Business: 1. Road/lane name changes: no submissions 2. Winchester Information Technology: Supervisor Newton was asked about pricing for the Starlink mini he intended to accept with Treasurer Grimmer expressing that it was a ‘gotcha price’ and that believes it would not be able to run concurrently with the main dish. Danny Dye (on Zoom) gave a price breakdown from Starlink regarding the Starlink mini add-on to regular service. 3. NEMSD update: Chief Jason Joling reviewed the October 2025 NEMD report and explained that the District will not send staff out of the district unless the District is fully staffed for response simultaneously. Chief Joling reported that NEMSD received authorization to offer first responder training and explained that they will be holding weekly responder trainings starting in January 2026 that will allow attendees to become licensed responders and that there would be no cost for District residents. Chief Joling explained that NEMSD had received a grant to pay for training materials and that a partnership with Nicolet College would allow credits from the training to be accepted at Nicolet towards a paramedic degree. Chairman Discianno pointed out the NEMSD provided mutual aid three times for Onieda County and recollected that Onieda County didn’t want a mutual aid agreement with NEMSD. Chief Joling explained that at the time the NEMSD response was unknown and indicated that he would approach Onieda County again to discuss a possible agreement and if they did not form an agreement, NEMSD may need to bill for mutual aid given in the future. DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT Town of Winchester 4. Assessment Proposal from Municipal Group, Ryan Kernosky: Ryan Kernosky, attending on Zoom, introduced himself as the owner and primary assessor of Municipal Group and explained the services proposed for Winchester including a re-assessment expected in 2027. Treasurer Grimmer asked Mr. Kernosky how many communities Municipal Group has agreements with and how many they can handle. Mr. Kernosky explained that for 2026 there are 17 communities and that they determined they can provide services for 20 communities at the current staffing. Chairman Discianno asked about the extra work that goes into a re-assessment. Mr. Kernosky explained that increased field work is part of it, and also explained how record updating and modeling for property values would also add extra work. Chairman Discianno made a motion to approve the agreement with Municipal Group for Assessment services. Supervisor Newton seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. 5. Transfer Station electronics recycling: Supervisor Silvis indicated that he had sent out a proposed agreement for services to other Board members and suggested a one year trial of service. Chairman Discianno asked if the company will provide a collection container and Supervisor Silvis explained that a container is provided, and it will have to be kept indoors. There was discussion about the types of electronics collected as part of the services. Supervisor Newton made a motion to enter an agreement for one year of service and to allow Chairman Discianno to sign an agreement once prepared. Supervisor Silvis seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. 6. Room Tax fee adjustment for short-term rental properties in Winchester: Chairman Discianno explained that he has been speaking with John Hanson about how the accommodations tax fee should increase and encouraged Mr. Hanson to pursue an increase. Treasurer Grimmer spoke about compliance and stated that he believes about 50% of properties in Winchester are compliant and that Winchester is collecting about 75% of potential income. 7. New signage for Winchester public boat landings, including ‘No Swimming’ signage: Chairman Discianno spoke about the safety concern of allowing swimming at/near boat launch and would like to see no-swimming rule added to lake user guide and as an update to the existing ordinance. Chairman Discianno made a motion to send to the Planning Commission a request to add no-swimming verbiage to the existing ordinance. Supervisor Newton seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. New Business: 8. Resolution 2025-04 in recognition of Veterans’ Day on November 11, 2025: Clerk Newton read-aloud Resolution 2025-04. Supervisor Silvis made a motion to adopt Resolution 2025-04. Supervisor Newton seconded the motion and the motion passed 3- 0 in a voice vote. 9. Refund of Tax Overpayments Ordinance: The Town Board reviewed the ordinance as received from the Planning Commission. Chairman Discianno made a motion to DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT Town of Winchester adopt the Refund of Tax Overpayments Ordinance. Supervisor Silvis seconded the motion and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. 10. Point and Pay, online payment system for taxes: Treasurer Grimmer explained that Vilas County uses Point and Pay to accept online tax payments. Mr. Grimmer indicated that it is not an option this year, and that he would look at other systems for next tax season. Supervisor Newton asked if an online payment system would also be used for accommodations tax payments and Treasurer Grimmer responded that he does not know. 11. Tax bill information sheet: Treasurer Grimmer indicated that he circulated the current version of the info sheet included with tax bills pointing out that it is a one- sided document and asked what should be included this year. Supervisor Silvis suggested that the letter include information about the town, advertisements and potentially solicit pertinent causes. Treasurer Grimmer explained that he doesn’t know the timing of the letters but asked suggestions to be sent to him and indicated he would prepare something to share at an upcoming special meeting. Future agenda items: Chairman Discianno indicated items for a future agenda could be emailed to him. Approval of Vouchers: Disbursements were reviewed and Chairman Discianno made a motion to approve October disbursements beginning with check 31793 dated 10/1/2025 through liability check EFT332329 to WRS. Supervisor Silvis seconded the motion, and the motion passed 3-0 in a voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 pm on November 10th, 2025. Erin Newton, Town Clerk for Winchester DRAFT minutes submitted 12/8/2025