Minutes

Town of Rock Elm Elmwood, Pierce County, Wisconsin MINUTES Town Board Meeting - Tuesday, October 7, 2025 Meeting called to order at 8:00 p.m. by Chairman Tim Bates. Others present: Matt Holcomb, Supervisor; Chris Thibado, Supervisor; Dave Bechel, Patrolman; Pam Reitz, Treasurer; Dawn Churchill, Clerk; and 3 residents. Motion to move the CAFO update to the 3rd agenda item made by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Motion to approve the amended agenda was made by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. CAFO update The letter has been sent to the lawyer, Nick Vivian; will await a response from him. Animal units has been reverted back to 1000 units based on prior discussions. Water quality can be affected by the entire community, not just farmers; do we want to look at a Water Quality ordinance? This is something to consider. Rock Elm is wondering how we can get the County to get on board with the CAFO issue. There is a legal challenge against Ridge Breeze that won’t be heard until January, 2026. They can build, but cannot move more cows in until this is heard. It was clarified that if a CAFO application is received, language allows a board member or designee to follow up and/or physically inspect the farm. There is concern about possible CAFO violations being reported for investigation being unfounded. If this happens, the town may be the one that would need to pay the bill. It is felt that the application fees are collected to put towards this. It was asked if we want to do water testing again since it has been about a year since it was last done. This will be considered. Minutes from previous meetings Minutes from the September 9, 2025, meeting were read. Motion to approve minutes with one addition made by Matt Holcomb, second by Chris Thibado, motion carried. Financial Report Dawn Churchill gave the financial report. Current balance before bills are paid is $300,286.88. This month’s bills total $58,265.72. There is expected income from the quarterly General Transportation Aid in the amount of $28, 830. Motion to approve payment of bills by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. New wi.gov email addresses for board members; website revisit All board members, patrolman, and the elections officer have a new .wi.gov email address. Everyone will attempt to have their account operational by the end of October. Concerns that the information for the Rock Elm portion of the Pierce County website is not up to date. Dawn will research prices of website development by other companies for comparison and report back. Re-eval for next year for the Town of Rock Elm Rock Elm is out of compliance and re-evaluations are mandated by the State. Chimney Rock Appraisals will do this at a cost of $24,600. The new contact is for three years and includes an additional two years of maintenance at a cost of $13,200, for a total cost of $37,800 for the three-year contract. This is paid at a rate of $4,200 in January, May, and September in each of the three years. Board of Review will be done in the fall of 2026 to allow for the re-evaluation to be completed. Motion to do the re-evaluation in 2026 at a cost of $24,600 made by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Set date for budget meeting The budget meeting will be October 22nd immediately following a special board meeting that begins at 8:00 p.m. that will address unpaid bills to the town. Highway Report Presented by Dave Bechel, Patrolman. • He’s been grading roads. • Rocked 570th Ave., blacktop around October 15th. • Hand patching blacktop. • Mowing ditches • 09/18/25 - Took dump truck to Premier Truck for dead batteries. Found all batteries were bad, replaced under warranty. • Took pickup to Kent’s Auto, as it would default to 4th gear. Had to replace valve body with solenoids. • 10/06/25 – Tim and Dave met with Brent Fetzer on hauling manure on 450th Ave. Checked roads and got their routes. • Tim talked to Lance Elbe on helping out this winter; he agreed to help. Tim has received one driveway permit on 170th. Motion to approve driveway permit made by Matt Holcomb, second by Chris Thibado, motion carried. Public Input Chris reported on the Emergency Management meeting he attended and suggested we have a Mutual Aide Plan or Agreement. He will research verbiage and report back. Correspondence This was reviewed. Next meeting The next board meeting will be November 12th, following the Budget Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m. Motion to adjourn made by Matt Holcomb, second by Chris Thibado, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Dawn Churchill, Clerk Approved 11/12/25