Kettle Moraine Fire Board — Minutes

KETTLE MORAINE FIRE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Approved February 26, 2026 Call to Order: President C. Mommaerts called the meeting to order at 6:30pm on February 26, 2026, at the North Prairie Municipal Building at 130 N. Harrison St, North Prairie, WI. Roll Call: C. Mommaerts, J. Davis, G. Planning, R. Spurrell, A. Shird, C. Wood, and D. Miresse were all present. Pledge of Allegiance: C. Mommaerts led the Pledge of Allegiance. Discussion/action as necessary to approve minutes from January 22. 2026, and Special Meeting on January 29, 2026: R. Spurrell noted a correction in the January 22nd minutes in the Chief’s report, it should read “creating an end of the year report” instead of and. Motion by C. Wood to approve the minutes from January 22nd with the noted change and the Special Meeting on January 29, 2026. Motion seconded by J. Davis. All in favor. Motion carried. Citizen comments/concerns: R. Kugel W351S6795 Ulrickson Rd, Eagle, addressed three concerns regarding the Kettle Moraine Fire District not meeting the requirements of the Intermunicipal Agreement. First, the agreement requires a yearly audit be done, without these audits the municipalities can’t verify spending, budget accuracy or compliance with financial control. Secondly, the Fire Commission is not being allowed to perform mandated duties, including hiring, discipline, and responsible oversight. Lastly, the previous month’s Chief report included conflicting statements regarding personnel left on scene and related discipline. R. Kugel is requesting the board take immediate action to bring the district into full compliance with the Intermunicipal Agreement. Discussion/action as necessary to approve the financial report and monthly account payables: C. Mommaerts asked about payroll distribution. C. Cliffgard reported that payroll is paid through direct deposit under QuickBooks payroll services. R. Spurrell questioned the two workers’ compensation payments. C. Cliffgard stated West Bend conducted their final audit for 2025 and this was their final bill and Sentry is our new provider. R. Spurrell noted the payment to Buelow Vetter for $2900, it looked like most of the legal charges were coded under Fire Board- Legal Services and some under Fire Operations. Chief Nottling replied this bill contained both fire board and staffing policy items. R. Spurrell requested a monthly report on the breakdown of the credit card charges. R. Spurrell mentioned from a budget aspect 2 items stuck out to him. First, Ambo Operating Expenses is already at 38% and we are only 16% through the year and asked the Chief if this was due to restocking. Chief replied yes. Secondly, he was wondering if we have received the bill for the EMT Refresher. Assistant Chief Wilton replied he is working with the school to correct an error in the bill. Motion by J. Davis to approve the financial report and the monthly account payables. Motion seconded by C. Wood. All in favor. Motion carried. Report from Administrative Assistant: C. Cliffgard reported she has received audit documentation requirements from Baker Tilly’s and will update the board on the progress. C. Cliffgard clarified prior month discrepancies between the expense amount on the Profit & Loss and the amount on the Check Detail report, noting December expenses and payroll fell in the previous budget year. Discussion/action regarding the audit and the possibility of researching new audit firms: C. Cliffgard reported we are set to begin the audit with Baker Tilly. J. Davis asked if there is another contact at Baker Tilly in case we don’t get a response from Wendi in a timely matter. C. Cliffgard replied she will reach out to Wendi and see if there is an alternate contact. Discussion included the Eagle Fire audit and R. Spurrell stated for the record he believes the Eagle Fire audit should still be completed. Discussion only. No action taken. Discussion/action regarding the approval of the new KMFD staffing policy: The staffing policy previously approved with changes, was recommended by legal counsel to get reapproved. Additional amendments were made by the board. Motion by C. Wood to re-approve the Kettle Moraine Fire District administrative policy procedure for staffing with the noted amendments and changes. Motion seconded by G. Planning. All in favor. Motion carried. Discussion/action regarding amending the 2026 KMFD approved budget lines specific to salaries and wages: Chief Nottling requested combining POC and Stipend funds into Part-Time Wages. Motion by R. Spurrell that we don’t change the budget, however all payroll can be charged to Part-Time because we are truly part-time employees. Motion seconded A. Shird. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Discussion/action regarding the approval of a contract for EMS coverage on days when KMFD scheduling falls short of minimum staffing: Chief Nottling requested the approval of the EMS coverage contract to better serve our communities. R. Spurrell has concerns about signing this contract with Palmyra but thinks it has become a necessity with the rumors he’s been hearing regarding all three municipalities wanting to leave the district and if the staff is hearing these rumors why they would want to work here if we won’t have a department in two years. Chief Nottling clarified regarding response times, the contract states Palmyra would be staffed at one of our stations with their ambulance. Motion by C. Wood to approve the EMS primary coverage memorandum Palmyra contract for EMS coverage as submitted with the understanding there is no liability if we don’t use their services. Motion seconded by G. Planning. Further discussion, R. Spurrell noted under equipment it states that Palmyra Fire and Rescue may supply one of their ambulances. Chief replied that it was put into the contract due to them having issues with one of their older ambulances and if we do need to use their services, we would need to have that discussion if we would want them to use one of ours if they couldn’t provide their own. R. Spurrell stated if the Chief has that discussion, he should ask if we are paying a contract for staff and equipment, but we aren’t using their equipment are we still paying full price. He also requested that the board receive a monthly report of how many times we have had to use their services. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Discussion/action regarding the possibility of establishing an employee of the month program: C. Mommaerts proposed establishing an employee of the month program as way to support our members in the department. Discussion only. No action taken. Discussion/action regarding parameters for fire district facility maintenance/ emergencies/ projects defined by Fire Board policy creation: The Chief requested a defined documented policy for proper procedures for general maintenance, emergencies, and projects that need to be done at the stations. R. Spurrell suggested they start with the agreement because each municipality has retained ownership of the stations. R. Spurrell stated he will look at the agreement and draft something up for the next board meeting. Discussion only. No action taken. Discussion/action regarding expectations and KPI’s for the Fire Chief defined by Fire Board policy creation: Chief Nottling requested clearer expectations and KPI’s. C. Wood asked if the Chief could get reference materials from his department so they could review and get ideas. Discussion only. No action taken. Discussion/action regarding the sale of the canteen and support vehicle and disbursement of funds from said vehicle: Chief Nottling explained the vehicle was purchased with fundraised money by the North Prairie Ladies Auxiliary and titled through the North Prairie. He is hoping the board will support the department in selling the vehicle and donating the proceeds to the KMFD Membership Association. R. Spurrell stated the Chief would need to make that request to the Village of North Prairie board. Discussion only. No action taken. Chief’s Monthly Report: Chief Nottling submitted a written report to the board. As of February 26th, we are at 66 calls and Ambulance 35 is currently out of service due to oil leaks. Chief wanted to publicly announce that if any citizen, municipal board members, fire board members, or anyone else has questions regarding the fire district operations, he is available through all forms of communication. His contact information is as follows: cell phone: 262- 212-5784, office phone number: 262-594-3302 ext. 3, and email: chief@kettlemorainefd.com. He mentioned that the district is working on putting together what they will call Fire Ops 1 and 2, which will be an opportunity for the municipal leaders and citizens to come to the firehouses to learn about the Kettle Moraine Fire District and tour the stations. Chief Nottling wanted to thank all the employees at the Kettle Moraine Fire District and that he truly appreciates every one of them. Upcoming Meeting: The next regular Fire Board meeting is Thursday March 26, 2026, 6:30pm at the Eagle Municipal Building. Fire Commission meeting on the same date at 6:00pm. Motion to Adjourn: Motion by R. Spurrell to adjourn. Motion seconded by C. Wood. All in favor. Motion carried. C. Mommaerts adjourned the meeting at 7:46pm