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CITY OF GILLETT COMMON COUNCIL Council Chambers – Municipal Building 150 N McKenzie Ave – Gillett, WI 54124 THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026 AT 6:00 PM MINUTES 1. Council President Mohr called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Roll Call Present: Clerk Treasurer Chelsea Anderson, Council President Nanette Mohr , Alderpersons Keri Hicks, Jerry Luther, Ashley VanStraten, Matt Young, David Bunker, Utility Operator Matt Wickman, Public Works Department Head Tim Via, Police Chief Shane Breitenbach, and Fire Chief Kurt Hicks. Librarian Shannon Stoner and Mayor Jon Blaskowski are excused. 3. Clerk Treasurer informs the Council that the Open Meeting Law has been complied with. 4. Public Input: None 5. Discussion & possible action on Meeting Minutes from December 4, 2025 MOTION: Luther/Young Motion to approve minutes from December 4, 2025 Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 6. Library Report: Librarian Shannon Stoner’s written report: January 2026 1. Programming a. Newsletter now available for January-April 2026 b. Program planning i. America 250 -Copper Culture Museum will join our SRP 2026 lineup to highlight Oconto County archaeology. -I wrote a PBS Grant for $500 to host a Community Conversation to reflect on America’s 250th birthday. Jan. 19 is when the winners will be announced. ii. Potato Derby? 2. I was asked to inquire about other Library Director salary. I asked Lena, Oconto Falls, and Lakewood and they are all in the range of 53-55K. Suring: (Salary)-41K 3. We were approved for the Let’s Compost STEM Worm Farm Program. After looking at the contract and considering the potential impacts of the library, I reached out to Jacob Timm, the GSD Agricultural teacher to see if he would want the kit for his instruction. He is reviewing it and will let me know if he will take it on behalf of the library. 4. Whitney from The Children’s Museum contacted us about an Engineering Contest they are doing and asked if we could help. They are going to give us 10 kits for kids to build a bridge. They fill out a short form and they get the kit. They present their bridge to the museum, and they can win free playtime as a reward. 5. Annual Report 2026 Highlights a. Programming: We had 1,030 more program attendees in 2025. 2023 2024 2025 3230 2742 3778 b. Circulation: 2023 2024 2025 7536 7361 NOT AVAILABLE YET 2 7. Tourism & Marketing Commission/Gillett Area Chamber of Commerce: Alderperson Luther stated next month the Council will be discussing to join the TEDCOR Room Tax Tourism Entity Agreement, where TEDCOR would help us advertise on many different platforms. Will also be looking to approve the ATV Capital of the World trademark for 15 dollars a year for ten years. Chamber of Commerce thanked Public Works for putting up the “Gillett is Open” directional signs. Stated we will be starting our Random Acts of Kindness campaign and Passport to Gillett program. 8. Financial Report: Clerk Treasurer – a. Updated Monthly Check Register MOTION: VanStraten/Luther Motion to approve December Check Registers. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 9. Police Department Report: Police Chief Breitenbach a. Discussion on Training, Public Relations, and Incident Summary Report -Chief Breitenbach provided the incident report: Training and Public Relations- From the Chief's Desk: Gillett Police Department / 208 incidents / December 2025 Now that the STH 22 road/utility construction project has begun, we have taken a proactive approach to the traffic issues occurring throughout the city. The officers and I have been educating motorists on road closures and alternative routes to all our businesses, churches, and homes. We also have been working closely with the project managers, WI DOT officials, and other city officials by keeping the public informed of daily changes with traffic routes and closers. This project will be impacting the city well into the spring/summer months. When traveling in the construction areas, use extreme caution around workers and their equipment. Please restrict you travels to a minimum on W. Main St/ N. Mckenzie Ave. and use alternative routes to get to your destinations. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to us or Gillet City Hall. We will do our best to address your concerns! Here is a link for some of the most commonly asked questions about construction sites and proper protocols when traveling in or near them. https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/in-together/workbook/handling-traffic.aspx I was able to secure three used Taser units from the City of Oconto Police Department. The City of Oconto Police Department is replacing all their existing Tasers with new units. With the addition of these units, we are able to provide all our officers with a Taser unit while working large-scale events. I wish to thank Oconto City Police Chief Kassie Dufek for considering us! Public Works Foreman Tim Via and I have been working on a plan to remodel and expand our evidence room. The current evidence storage room has outgrown its usefulness. We are hoping to double the size of the current evidence room and not have any of the shop floor space affected As we move forward into January of 2026, and with the transition of Officer Braun back to part-time status, I will be working varying shifts with emphasis on maintaining a daily police presence in the city. I have been reviewing the limited applications we received and have begun the initial background investigations of the several applicants. I would like to thank Sheriff Skarban and the rest of the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office for their continued assistance with staffing as we work through filling our department vacancies. 3 10. Fire Department Report: Fire Chief Hicks a. Discussion on Training, Public Relations, and Incident Summary Report 10 Fire Calls: Co2 Gas, Lift Assist Auto Aid Underhill, Bomb Threat Suring MABAS, Fire Call Co2 Town of Gillett, Gas Leak Construction in City of Gillett, Fire Call Smoke Detector Gillett, Lift Assist Gillett EMS, Traffic Control Underhill, Car Accident Underhill. Training schedule is set for the next year. Underhill and Suring will have 3 training courses together with ladder and aerial truck. Most trainings will be with Underhill because we auto aid with them and training together helps efficiency. Will also plan a training day to go to Oconto Falls to work on the burn tower. 1st and 3rd Tuesdays are training days. We have a Rescue Task Force; it consists of two firefighters from Gillett and many other fire departments. We responded to the bomb threat in Suring immediately. Training is important, we want our firefighters to be trained to act on the scene effectively. Respond with confidence and understand the Incident Command and fundamentals. Keep moving forward and being progressive. 11. Health, Protection and License Committee Report: Alderperson VanStraten wanted to extend a huge thank you to Fire and Police Chief for their hard work. No meetings this past month. 12. Utility Committee Report: Utility Operator Matt Wickman has been busy with the construction. PTS is a great crew to have working on our roads. 3 water main breaks so far, just by moving ground near the lines, it’s very old infrastructure; about 1920s. 13. Board of Public Works Committee Report: Alderperson Hicks Department Head Tim Via stated he put up directional signs for road construction, upgraded the parts room shelving and organizing, and will touch up garage as he has time. Received a quote from Green Boyz for the cemetery lawn cutting and weed control. Public Works would like to keep this in house, quote is $700 per time to cut. Weed control would stay contracted out. It’s a one-time spray per year, per location: Zippel Park, Honey Park, Orchard Circle, and Cemetery. Would also like to simplify the truck fleet if possible. The large snow plow is used very little. Oconto County Code Red is no longer, now they use RAVE alert system for weather alerts, please sign up with the system. There is a salt shortage, we have half of our supply left and have ordered more, unsure when it can be delivered. We may not get a delivery until March. Possible to get sand and mix with our salt to add to our supply. Public Works cut many dead trees down in park for the playground. New uniform shirts were ordered with the City logo and names so citizens can better identify us. 14. Finance and Personnel Committee Report: Alderperson Mohr a. Discussion & possible action on Mayor’s election inspector appointments for a two-year term: Carol Swim, Betty Bubolz, Theresa Nelson, Kevin Smith, Autumn Covert, Jane Frederick, Leone Christensen, Joann Finnell, Jerry Luther, Lori Anderson, Lisa Henry, and Marie Blaser. MOTION: VanStraten/Bunker Motion to approve the election inspector appointments as listed. Voice Vote: 5 Voting Aye, Luther Abstains - MOTION CARRIED 15. Park and Cemetery Committee Report: Alderperson Luther a. Discussion & possible action on Finnegan Lake Walleye Club Event February 28, 2026 MOTION: Hicks/Young Motion to approve the Finnegan Lake Walleye Club Event. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 4 b. Discussion & possible action on FFA Alumni Auction April 19, 2026 MOTION: Bunker/Hicks Motion to approve the FFA Alumni Auction Event. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 16. Planning Committee Report: Alderperson Bunker- Working on Housing Study brochure. 17. Clerk Treasurers Report: City Clerk Treasurer Chelsea Anderson stated I am working on the preliminary audit fieldwork items, preparing for the audit in February, collecting taxes, and working on USDA sewer funding. I updated Google to reflect road work in Gillett. Google Maps depends on citizen contributions to update. The road closures were entered into the DOT but that does not change Google Maps. Family Dollar donated a large box of different sized batteries to the City of Gillett and reported business is great, no problem with the construction. 18. Attorneys Report: Conway, Olejniczak, and Jerry S.C. Attorneys at Law- Attorney has been working on Pre-Trials for court and working with the USDA on road project items. 19. Public Input: None 20. Mayor's Report: Mayor Blaskowski written report: I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I am excited for 2026 and the many projects we have planned for the City of Gillett. I understand there has been some difficulties with the project taking place on Hwy 22. The City is trying to work with everyone involved in this project and trying to resolve issues that arise the best we can. This is a big project which is much needed and is what's best for the City of Gillett, our goal is to continue moving forward. 21. Adjourn at 7:20 PM MOTION: Luther/VanStraten Motion to adjourn. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED Respectfully submitted by Clerk Treasurer Chelsea Anderson