Minutes

Town of Rock Elm Elmwood, Pierce County, Wisconsin MINUTES Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Meeting called to order at 8:00 p.m. by Chairman Tim Bates. Others present: Matt Holcomb, Supervisor; Adam Carson, Supervisor; Dave Bechel, Patrolman; Dawn Churchill, Clerk; Pam Reitz, Treasurer; and 2 residents and 4 non-residents. Motion to approve the agenda was made by Adam Carson, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. ARIP Engineering Representatives from SEH and JT Engineering were present. Board members reviewed fee proposals from both firms. It was asked if services could be billed by time and material instead of by the job and both firms indicated this was possible. There was discussion and board members indicated that they felt either firm would do a good job and costs are relatively close. A vote was taken and SEH will be completing the project; they will send a contract and move forward from there. Minutes from previous meeting Minutes from the June 9, 2026, town board meeting were read. Motion to approve minutes made by Adam Carson, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Minutes from the June 16, 2026, special meeting were read. Motion to approve minutes made by Matt Holcomb, second by Adam Carson, motion carried. Financial Report Dawn gave the financial report. Balance at the end of the month before bills are paid was $84,506.55. This month’s bills total $38,102.56. There is expected income from transportation aid of $30,896.85. August settlement income is expected of $154,059.57. Motion to approve payment of the bills made by Adam Carson, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Tractor and mower • Loan Dawn presented the loan application to secure financing for the tractor and mower; this is from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. The following preamble and resolutions were read: By the provisions of Sec. 24.66 of the Wisconsin Statutes, all municipalities may borrow money for such purposes in the manner prescribed, and, By the provisions of Chapter 24 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the Board of Commissioners of Public lands of Wisconsin is authorized to make loans from the State Trust Funds to municipalities for such purposes. (Municipality as defined by Sec. 24.60(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes means a town, village, city, county, public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, town sanitary district created under Sec. 60.71 or 60.72, metropolitan sewerage district created under Sec. 200.05 or 200.23, joint sewerage system created under Sec. 281.43 (4), school district or technical college district.) THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Rock Elm, in the County(ies) of Pierce, Wisconsin, borrow from the Trust Funds of the State of Wisconsin the sum of One Hundred Thirty Two Thousand One Hundred Sixty Six And 39/100 Dollars ($132,166.39) for the purpose of financing the purchase of tractor and rotary cutter and for no other purpose. The loan is to be payable within 4 years from the 15th day of March preceding the date the loan is made. The loan will be repaid in annual installments with interest at the rate of 5.75 percent per annum from the date of making the loan to the 15th day of March next and thereafter annually as provided by law. RESOLVED FURTHER, that there shall be raised and there is levied upon all taxable property, within the Town of Rock Elm, in the County(ies) of Pierce, Wisconsin, a direct annual tax for the purpose of paying interest and principal on the loan as they become due. RESOLVED FURTHER, that no money obtained by the Town of Rock Elm by such loan from the state be applied or paid out for any purpose except financing the purchase of tractor and rotary cutter without the consent of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. RESOLVED FURTHER, that in case the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands of Wisconsin agrees to make the loan, that the chairman and clerk of the Town of Rock Elm, in the County(ies) of Pierce, Wisconsin, are authorized and empowered, in the name of the Town to execute and deliver to the Commission, certificates of indebtedness, in such form as required by the Commission, for any sum of money that may be loaned to the Town pursuant to this resolution. The chairman and clerk of the Town will perform all necessary actions to fully carry out the provisions of Chapter 24 Wisconsin Statutes, and these resolutions. RESOLVED FURTHER, that this preamble and these resolutions and the aye and no vote by which they were adopted, be recorded, and that the clerk of this Town forward this certified record, along with the application for the loan, to the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands of Wisconsin. Adam Carson, Supervisor, made a motion to accept the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands application and resolutions in full as presented and written for an amount of $132,166.39 for a 4 year term at 5.75% interest. Motion seconded by Matt Holcomb. Motion carried with 3 yes votes, 0 no votes, from the town board consisting of three voting members. • Sale of old equipment on surplus auction The new equipment should be in at Tractor Central the end of August. The current equipment will be put on the Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction when the new equipment is viewed and acceptable. Operator’s license applications Two applications were received and reviewed. Motion to approve licenses made by Matt Holcomb, second by Adam Carson, motion carried. Update to liquor/operator’s/cigarette license fees Dawn presented comparables she received from other townships. Reviewed our current fees and how they compare to other townships; maximums are set by the State. Suggestion was made to move to a 2-year operator’s license to be renewed July 1st of odd years starting 2027. There will be no proration for applications received mid-term. Discussed increases as follows: Class “B” beer - $100 yearly (no increase) “Class B” liquor - $500 yearly (increase from $225) Operators - $20/2 years (currently $10 for 1 year) Publication fee - $30 (increase from $25) Cigarette - $25 (no increase) Motion by Adam Carson to update the 2026 fees as noted, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. A letter will be sent to bar owners in regards to these changes for 2027 applications. Poll worker approval Motion made by Matt Holcomb to approve Monica Robey, Pam Reitz, Theresa Voth, Cheryl Mutchler, and Sue Thompson as poll workers, second by Adam Carson, motion carried. Shop door repair/replacement The shop door was installed incorrectly and moisture has gotten in and rusted the outer portion. Discussed replacement; the estimate is approximately $5600 to completely replace. We will look at ways to reduce cost including reuse of the handle, kickplate, and frame. No action at this time, but will need to continue to address the issue. Comp Plan Will continue to gather information on updating process. We will review again at the August meeting. Solar farm ordinance Discussed what is contained in the two ordinances we have from others. Concerns with information in the two documents will be summarized and sent to committee members. Motion to table the solar farm ordinance for more review and guidance made by Adam Carson, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Highway report Presented by Dave Bechel, Patrolman • Has been grading roads • Has been mowing ditches • Pierce County came with excavator and smashed and loaded the cement culverts on trucks and hauled to Bell Hill • Replaced some road signs throughout township • Started on 570th road project, hauling fill to steep parts of the ditch • Removed bad culvert on 10th Street, added gravel and black dirt to make water drain • Installed new tractor tires • Installed chain on the dumpster at refuse site • Will begin second mowing of ditches in August The County wants clarification on what work they will be preforming on the 570th road project and Tim clarified this with board members and Dave. The town dump truck will not be in the parade this year. Public Input Google Maps drove roads in the township so your house may appear in Maps; these images are quite detailed. There is a way to have these images blurred if so desired. Correspondence Reviewed. Set date and time for next monthly board meeting Due to the election on August 11th, the next meeting will be August 18, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. Motion to adjourn made by Adam Carson, second by Tim Bates, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Dawn Churchill, Clerk Approved 08/18/2026