Kettle Moraine Fire Board — Minutes

KETTLE MORAINE FIRE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Approved May 28, 2026 Call to Order: President D. Miresse called the meeting to order at 6:30pm on May 28, 2026, at the Eagle Municipal Building at 820 E. Main St, Eagle, WI. Roll Call: C. Mommaerts, J. Davis, G. Planning, R. Spurrell, C. Wood, and D. Miresse were all present. A. Shird was excused. Pledge of Allegiance: D. Miresse led the Pledge of Allegiance. Announcement of possible closed session pursuant to WI State Statute §19.85(1)(f) for preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to or involved in such problems. Discussion/action as necessary to approve minutes from April 23, 2026: Motion by C. Wood to approve the minutes as submitted. Motion seconded by C. Mommaerts. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Citizen comments/concerns: no action will be taken on any items brought forward: Matt Leppard commented on agenda item #8; he expressed concern that someone was looking for a reaction of fear and concern and was not trying to reassure residents that we are working on trying to make this a better situation. He asked the board to be a little less dramatic on the agenda items in the future. Lori Kugel also addressed agenda item # 8, and stated the framing was inappropriate, unnecessarily inflammatory, and does a disservice to the residents we serve. She emphasized that the board’s responsibility is to ensure transparency, compliance with the agreement and evaluate service options based on performance, governance, financial sustainability and accountability. Lori stated residents deserve a professional, fact-based driven process and to know decisions about fire and EMS are being based on evidence, audits, operational realties and long-term planning. She is urging the board to avoid framing agenda items in a way that creates fear or limits discussion. Discussion/action as necessary to approve the financial report and monthly account payables: R. Spurrell inquired about an employee having a paycheck outside of payroll. C. Cliffgard explained it was a bank issue. R. Spurrell questioned who Kohn Law Firm was and C. Cliffgard replied it was for a garnishment. R. Spurrell also noted that the credit card detail report was missing from the financial reports. Motion by C. Wood to approve the financial report and monthly account payables as presented. Motion seconded by C. Mommaerts. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Report from Administrative Assistant: C. Cliffgard reported that the audit is scheduled to resume the week of June 8th. Discussion regarding if the Fire Board is a caretaker of a dying fire district or should we proceed as if our community will likely not find a better option than KMFD and what direction to take in these two scenarios: C. Wood requested this item and stated his intent wasn’t to be dramatic but thought it was important for him to do his best service on this board and to know what our goals are. He stated that the latest movement was that the Village and Town of Eagle boards voted they didn’t want to be part of the Kettle Moraine Fire District. He stated he sits only on this board and the only information he receives is from the Fire Board, not from gossip, Facebook, or anywhere else and he tries to do his best with what he is provided with. R. Spurrell stated that the Village of Eagle rescinded the motion to terminate the agreement at their last meeting. C. Wood replied that was great news and was not aware that was done. Discussion only. Discussion/action regarding Fire Service Fees: C. Mommaerts shared sample materials outlining a potential Fire Service Fee Schedule. C. Mommaerts feels as a smaller community we need to do this to help with revenue and is asking the board to consider this as an option. R. Spurrell commented on the SOG that billing rate is for the highway bill, and we currently do not bill residents for calls. Chief Nottling mentioned he did some research on this and he felt the sample fee schedule was AI generated, the facts were outdated and the individual who put the fee schedule together could have reached out to him for the department’s current rates for emergency medical services. He also advised that we not use North Shore as a comparison as they serve 8 communities, have more calls in a year and more staff and that we need to use districts that serve 3 communities as a comparison. R. Spurrell thinks the sample fee sheet is a hybrid and would call some of it an invoice fee basis. He asked for clarification on the fee schedule that if someone has a grass fire we want to charge them for that service and he understands that is different than a fire fee, but he noted the membership fee and was wondering if that is not a fire fee. C. Mommaerts replied number one on the sheet is a fire fee and number’s 2-5 are fire service fees; they are different scenarios. R. Spurrell also was wondering how we could charge a non-resident for a structure fire, he understands a charge for a vehicle fire. C. Mommaerts stated that the board would need to talk more about the fee schedule. The board discussed the options on how to adapt a fair Fire Fee schedule. C. Mommaerts mentioned each municipality needs to have their own talks about Fire Fees. J. Davis stated he thinks the Fire Fee Research Committee needs to be re-activated and that we should have only one district-wide Fire Fee Schedule; R. Spurrell, D. Miresse and C. Wood agreed. C. Wood noted that the research committee should be all communities and a strong emphasis on a fairness doctrine. R. Spurrell suggested that the board holds off on Fire Service Fees to see if Fire Fees is a more reasonable way to increase our income in a fair, equitable way. Discussion only. Discussion regarding informational presentation by the KMFD Intermunicipal Agreement Workshop Committee: John Jesse, Chairperson of the Intermunicipal Fire Department Workshop provided an explanation to the board regarding the purpose of the Workshop. He started with mentioning that the workshop has never discussed disbanding the fire department, firing the staff and the rumors going around are not true John Jesse stated it is made up of representatives from all three municipalities and they openly discuss their concerns regarding the Fire District and they try to come up with a collective agreement on how we can move things forward. The workshop will continue to address key topics including budget, staffing, equipment, and facilities. Discussion only. Discussion/action regarding email to Chief Nottling from the Town of Eagle: Chief Nottling was requesting direction from the board on how to proceed regarding the email he received from the Town of Eagle with a list of requests, which he felt should be coming from the Fire Board opposed to one of the three municipalities. R. Spurrell stated though it might not be the exact process, it is an open records request, and we need to oblige by it. The board requested that C. Cliffgard provide them with a copy of the KMFD Human Resources Policy. Discussion only. Chief’s Monthly Report: Chief Nottling summarized his written report. He stated as of May 27th, we are at 201 calls, all apparatus are in service, Engine 33 will be getting new tires and will be going to Reliant fire for an alignment due to the steer tires wearing irregularly. Chief Nottling mentioned the training at the house on Wilton Rd was completed on May 16th. The district was able to do multiple live burn evolutions and ultimately burn the structure down. The homeowner was extremely grateful to the department and was impressed at all the operations and teamwork that he was able to witness. Chief Nottling stated that the grant application period has started and he has been working with Lexipol and Motorola in hopes that we can build out an application that will be successful. Lastly, the fire fee research committee remains on hold. Motion to enter closed session pursuant to WI State Statute §19.85(1)(f) for preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to or involved in such problems: Motion by C. Mommaerts to enter closed session pursuant to WI State Statute §19.85(1)(f) for preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to or involved in such problems. Motion seconded by J. Davis. Roll Call Vote: C. Mommaerts – yes, J. Davis – yes, G. Planning – yes, R. Spurrell – yes, C. Wood – yes, D. Miresse -yes Closed session: Closed session at 7:21pm. Motion to reconvene into open session: Motion by J. Davis to reconvene into open session. Motion seconded by G. Planning. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Open session: Open session at 8:25pm. Discussion/action regarding any closed session item if needed: No discussion/action will be needed. Upcoming Meeting: The next regular Fire Board meeting is Thursday June 25th at 6:30pm at the North Prairie Municipal Building. Motion to Adjourn: Motion by C. Wood to adjourn. Motion seconded by J. Davis. All in favor. Motion carried. D. Miresse adjourned the meeting at 8:26pm.