Minutes

Town of Rock Elm Elmwood, Pierce County, Wisconsin MINUTES Town Board Meeting - Tuesday, September 9, 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 and 6 non-residents. Motion to approve the agenda was made by Matt Holcomb, second by Chris Thibado, motion carried. Presentation by Kevin Masarik, Director for the Center of Watershed Science Kevin from UW Stevens Point gave a good overview of what nitrates are and where they come from. Pierce County as a whole has 1.5 times the state average in elevated nitrates. Rock Elm is considered low to moderate when it comes to nitrates, but the sampling is very low due to population concentration. Ground cover is good and there is lots of forest land, which helps with nitrates. He stated there is no perfect way to determine or test where nitrates come from and the only way to clean contaminated water is to remove the contamination source, i.e. change land use, and water improvement takes years or decades to happen. Presentation from Loberg Law Office Bob Loberg from the firm gave background information, overview of services he’s provided over the years, and outlined how fees worked. The board had a brief discussion and it was decided to continue services with Loberg Law Office. Minutes from previous meetings Minutes from the August 12, 2025, meeting were read. Motion to approve by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Financial Report Dawn Churchill gave the financial report. This months’ bills total $53,697.34. There is no expected income. Motion to approve payment of bills by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. Obtaining .gov emails and revisit website development Discussed available providers and 24/7 Telecom is the most cost-effective option with a set up fee of $300 and ongoing monthly cost of $24.95; this fee is for up to 10 email addresses for the account. There is a $600 grant available that will cover the setup and first year’s cost; this will be applied for. Discussed benefits of having a TownofRockElm.com website and the board will keep this in mind. Motion to move forward with obtaining .gov emails with 24/7 Telecom made by Chris Thibado, second by Matt Holcomb, motion carried. CAFO Committee The letter for the lawyer has been drafted and will be sent to Tim to review before it is sent. Mike attended the Isabelle township CAFO ordinance meeting and there was lots of information shared. The animal units issue was discussed and the board needs to decide if it wants to set it at 1000 units or 2500 units; DNR standard is 1000 units. The groundwater ordinance will be researched more and there are individuals at the County level that would help with this. Pierce County will be starting their well testing soon. The CAFO ordinance will be brought back next month for discussion. Highway Report Presented by Dave Bechel, Patrolman. • Has been grading road when possible. • Weekend of August 16th, six inches of rain hit and did flooding on 450th Ave. It plugged culverts and filled ditches with gravel and dirt. One big washout was 14’ deep and 12’ wide. Cleaned fence line and pushed ditch back, used spoilings from the ditch to fill washout and then rip rapped. Rest of material went to the coulee. Replaced the culvert at the intersection of 450th and 130th. 450th Ave. ditches are seeded, eco matted, and eco logged. • 70th St. Sebelko Hill – cleaned up debris that washed down to the double culvert and plugged. Hauled that material to 60th St. and finished shaping ditches. No other washing happened; previous work that was done helped. • 9/5/25 Tractor Central came out to look at the tractor as it was blowing blue smoke. Ran several tests and did a manual force regen on exhaust. • Will be rocking 570th starting 9/10/25. • Mowing operations will be next on the list. • Will also be hand patching. Tim reviewed the bridge grant application and the bridge on 430th was not on the State approved list. An engineering firm was contacted, and after consultation their recommendation was to install a box culvert. Pierce County will be contacted regarding this. Public Input 570th west of 170th, sloping is good. Is there any information on what the tax breakout is for property tax? It was stated that this should be available from the County Treasurer. A representative from Ridge Breeze reiterated that anyone can reach out to them if the need arises. How does the township not get sued by a CAFO? This is a concern. Correspondence Reviewed. Tim shared that the Land Preservation Program will possibly be returning. Next meeting Due to a schedule conflict, the next board meeting will be October 7th at 8:00 p.m. Motion to adjourn made by Matt Holcomb, second by Chris Thibado, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:08 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Dawn Churchill, Clerk Approved 10/07/25