Kettle Moraine Fire Board — Minutes

KETTLE MORAINE FIRE BOARD MEETING MINUTES Approved January 22, 2026 Call to Order: President C. Mommaerts called the meeting to order at 6:30pm on January 22, 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. Vacant: Village of Eagle resident representative. Pledge of Allegiance: C. Mommaerts led the Pledge of Allegiance. Discussion/action as necessary to approve minutes from December 18, 2025: Motion by C. Wood to approve the minutes as submitted. Motion seconded by J. Davis. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Citizen comments/concerns: no action will be taken on any items brought forward: Matt Leppard, 205 Main St, Eagle, is requesting information on equipment that was borrowed from Palmyra, who is conducting our DOT inspections, vehicle tire conditions, the status of a prior labor law matter and he urged the board not sign any contracts with Palmyra. Rick Kugel, W351S6795 Ulrickson Rd, Eagle, raised concerns with the Intermunicipal Agreement. First, he wanted to bring attention to Article 5: Fire Board, section 4 it states that the Fire Board President shall initiate the audit and submit a complete detailed report to the municipalities by June 30th of each calendar year or we are in breach of contract. The other is Article 6: Fire Commission, paragraph A, which he would like to see changed due to a conflict in section K regarding discipline. Rick feels it’s the Fire Commissions responsibility to hear and act on disciplinary within the department. He agreed with Matt Leppard about the board not signing the agreement with Palmyra or Western Lakes. Chuck Roberts, S94W34310 Jericho Dr., requested an update on the fire fee committee. C. Mommaerts confirmed that a committee has been formed, currently no meetings have been set up. C. Wood wanted to mention the Chief has been working on the staffing issues and new models, such as the agreements for options for coverage, since Chuck’s request from the October meeting. Chuck Wood, 409 Karin Dr, North Prairie, spoke as a resident and commented that the Village of North Prairie held a meeting regarding their police services, there were also budgetary talks and 2 trustees Donna Samuels and Deb Hall mentioned that there were issues with the Fire District regarding the limited monies the committees have, they both feel North Prairie’s contribution percentage is too high, and that Donna Samuels has been looking to have a meeting with the other municipalities to address these matters. Chuck mentioned that according to the agreement there is a proper way to go about filing a complaint and that was not followed. He stated this is a young fire district and we are trying our best with limited funds and the 25- year-old equipment we have. C. Wood asked D. Hall if he misstated what she said at that meeting. She replied she did not agree with everything Chuck just said, but as far as the percentage split, no he did not. Deb Hall added that her feelings have been known for years regarding this agreement and that it was not right for the taxpayers of Village of North Prairie. Regarding proper channels that were not being followed, she noted that prior attempts to schedule joint municipal meetings were declined. Deb stated this is about the Intermunicipal Agreement not the operations of the Fire District. Assistant Chief Steve Wilton suggested a joint discussion among all the Fire Board members and the other municipal boards to address the district-wide issues. Discussion/action as necessary to approve the financial report and monthly account payables: R. Spurrell question what the payment to Macqueen was for. Assistant Chief and C. Cliffgard replied it was for turn out gear and SCBA fit test for a new hire. R. Spurrell asked about North Prairie’s quarterly payment and why it’s not at 25%. C. Cliffgard stated she had already contacted the village clerk regarding the shortage and a check for the difference was going to be sent out right away. J. Davis mentioned the payment to Buelow Vetter for general matters and is concerned that we are already at 49% of our budget for legal services and we are only in January. He asked if there is a major issue that the board is not aware of. C. Cliffgard replied those are conversations the Chief had with the lawyer and mentioned the invoice stated general matter with a little detail to the matters discussed. Motion by C. Wood to approve the financial report and monthly account payables as submitted. Motion seconded by D. Miresse. Further discussion, R. Spurrell asked C. Cliffgard why the total of expenses is roughly $110,000 but the budget report is only showing roughly $80,000 and asked her to check into it. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Report from Administrative Assistant: C. Cliffgard updated the board on the QuickBooks monthly per employee fees which will start in April. J. Davis asked if there’s an update on the audit, and C. Cliffgard replied there has been no contact from Wendi. He requested that we add to next month’s agenda a line item for discussion/action regarding the audit and the services provided for us. C. Mommaerts also mentioned that we include researching additional firms. Discussion/action regarding approval of a contract for EMS coverage on days when KMFD scheduling falls short of minimum staffing: Chief D. Nottling emailed a copy of the contract proposals from Western Lakes and the Village of Palmyra to the Fire Board prior to the meeting since he would not be in attendance. Assistant Chief Wilton stated the Chief is hoping to get approval from the board to sign the contract with Palmyra since their rates for coverage are lower. He mentioned this would be our Plan B option with agenda item #8 regarding the new staffing policy as Plan A. J. Davis asked if Palmyra has enough staff to cover both districts. Deputy Chief Rydzik replied that is why Palmyra is requiring 72-hour notice so the Chief of Palmyra can get extra coverage to be dedicated to both communities. J. Davis is also concerned about the sleeping quarters requirement, which is located at North Prairie station and that it will be manned on a more regular basis than the Eagle station, which has the most residents and calls. C. Mommaerts mentioned that our issue is we have the staff, but they aren’t signing up for shifts or going on calls. Assistant Chief Wilton mentioned that agenda item #8 is about the new staffing policy and hopefully will solve some of the staffing issues. R. Spurrell stated we are being asked to agree to an agreement that is going to cost us money and is wondering where that money is in our budget. R. Spurrell asked if that is what agenda item #9 is about. C. Cliffgard stated item #9 is the combining of current payroll budget line items. R. Spurrell clarified it was not to reallocate money for the contract. C. Cliffgard replied that item #9 has nothing to do with the contract. R. Spurrell does not think the board can financially approve these contracts. Motion by C. Wood to table the contract until either an earlier emergency fire board meeting or the February meeting to be addressed by Chief Nottling. Motion seconded by D. Miresse. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Discussion/action regarding the approval of the new KMFD staffing policy: The board reviewed the new staffing policy drafted by Attorney Lauren Burand and Chief Nottling. R. Spurrell stated there needs to be clarification regarding the wording and the definitions of the shifts. Motion by C. Wood to approve Kettle Moraine Fire District Administrative Policy and Procedures Staffing with one caveat that likely with the approval of legal under section 2 we will add definitions, explanations for part-time and paid on call. Motion seconded by G. Planning. No further discussion. 5-1 vote. R. Spurrell voted against. Motion carried. Discussion/action regarding amending the 2026 KMFD approved budget lines specific to salaries and wages: C. Cliffgard explained the Chief’s request to combine part-time, paid on call and the nighttime crew wages into one category titled Employee Wages. R. Spurrell thought at budget time there were talks about combining them, but the decision was made to leave for visibility of the categories. Motion by R. Spurrell to table till the board can get clarification from the Chief. Motion seconded by C. Wood. No further discussion. All in favor. Motion carried. Chief’s Monthly Report: Assistant Chief Wilton summarized the Chief’s written report. In 2025 the district received a total of 573 calls, as of January 21st were are at 22 calls, all apparatus’s are currently in service, we are continuing to use the structure on Wilton Rd for non-destructive training, still in the process of learning the new NERIS system, the Chief is working on creating an end of the year report and is still working on the AFG grant for the new radios with Lexipol and Motorola. Assistant Chief Wilton mentioned the department has hired 7 part-time and 2 paid-on call employees with 2 more interviews scheduled. He gave a breakdown for the Major Incident Review for the large scale MABAS incident at the lumber and steel yard in the Village of Palmyra. KMFD successfully deployed a Chief Officer and an Engine Company while maintaining adequate coverage for district boundaries, command staff collaborated with the Village of Eagle to establish a tender fill site at Generac, and an estimated 150,000 gallons of water were utilized and the Village of Eagle DPW providing critical support by salting the fill site repeatedly to ensure safety in the frigid temperatures. Lastly, the Chief received resignations from Bob and Kathy Baker and Anne Chruchill and wanted to thank them for their many years of dedicated service to the communities and wish them the best in their future endeavors. Angie Hanson and Travis Schultz also resigned from the district and the Chief wanted to thank them both for their dedicated service and wish them the best in their future endeavors. Upcoming Meeting: The next regular Fire Board meeting is Thursday February 26th at 6:30pm at the North Prairie Municipal Building. Motion to Adjourn: Motion by J. Davis to adjourn. Motion seconded by R. Spurrell. All in favor. Motion carried. C. Mommaerts adjourned the meeting at 8:18pm.