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CITY OF GILLETT COMMON COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES Council Chambers – Municipal Building 150 N McKenzie Ave – Gillett, WI 54124 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2025 AT 6:00 PM MINUTES 1. Mayor Blaskowski called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Roll Call Present: Mayor Jon Blaskowski, Clerk Treasurer Chelsea Anderson, Alderpersons Nanette Mohr , Keri Hicks , Jerry Luther, David Bunker via phone , Ashley VanStraten, and Utility Operator Matt Wickman, Public Works Foreman Nate Anderson, Police Chief Shane Breitenbach, Fire Chief Kurt Hicks, City Attorney Robert Gagan . Public: Norm Finnell, Deanna Smith, Tracy Ondik, and Kevin Smith. Excused Matt Young and Librarian Shannon Stoner is 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 August 7, 2025 Minutes MOTION: Mohr/Hicks Motion to approve minutes from August 7, 2025 Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 6. Library Report: Library Director Written Report September 2025-Programming Tuesday, September 9, 4-5 pm: Adopt a Reading Buddy! Start the new school year off right by reading to your very own adopted reading buddy! Choose your buddy, decorate his house, get him some food and, of course, Treats!!! Bring your favorite book and get ready to meet your new reading buddy. Wednesday, September 17, 2-3 pm: J&R Animal Rescue returns to our library for National Bird Day. The Friends of the Gillett Library have agreed to purchase a set of “Biggo Blocks” for the library. Newsletter for Fall-Winter 2025 is available on our website. Our Summer Market will become an indoor market as the temps get colder and it gets darker earlier. Starting this month, our market will be held only on the second Thursday of each month. We are looking for vendors, so if you are interested, contact the Gillett Library at 920-855-6224 and speak to Shannon or Dinah. Newsletter for Fall-Winter 2025 is available on our website. I will be attending the Wisconsin Library Association conference in Middleton, Wisconsin at the end of October. I will be presenting a seminar on Gaming for Non-Gamers. 7. Tourism & Marketing Commission/Gillett Area Chamber of Commerce: Alderperson Luther: No meeting. Need to discuss signage for Highway 22 project. 8. Financial Report: Clerk Treasurer – a. Updated Monthly Check Register will be provided next Council Meeting. 2 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: August 2025 / 232 incidents Officer Kurtz has accepted a part-time position with the City of Crandon Police Department. Officer Kurtz has begun their field training process and will be eligible for consideration for a full-time position with their department in November. Officer Kurtz will not be leaving and will remain on our part-time staff roster. I have applied for a grant to replace/upgrade our department’s PBT breathalyzer units. A PBT unit is an alcohol tester that detects the presence of alcohol with precise, accurate, and repeatable results. It also offers a simple passive breath tester procedure for fast screening of multiple subjects, as well as the capacity to “sniff” alcohol in an open container by measuring the headspace over the liquid. Next week members of our department will be attending the State of Wisconsin mandated bi-annual EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations) training hosted by the Oconto County Sheriff’s Office. This ongoing training instructs us on the use of proper defensive and offensive driving applications. The training will also include refreshers on SFST’s. (Standardized Field Sobriety Testing) Another year has come and gone for the Oconto County Youth Fair. During the week-long event several parking issues were addressed but no major incidents occurred on the fairgrounds! 10. Fire Department Report: Fire Chief Hicks a. Discussion on Training, Public Relations, and Incident Summary Report August 7-Structure fire at the Laundry Mat E Main Street Gillett, August 24 fire alarm Gillett, August 25 fire alarm Gillett, August 28 auto aid with Underhill- Car Accident. Training: power point on grain bin entrapment. Then in Person Training: Instructor from Tri Country Pulaski Fire Department- 26 fire fighters got hands on training on the grain bin entrapment procedures. Mahony Farms was the onsite training facility. All the Chiefs worked on incident command because its much different than a fire incident. Worked on scene setup and truck setup, paged it out, and worked on deploying lines and ladders. Hose testing will be done September 17. Breathing apparatus testing will be done as well. Still need to DOT inspect 2 trucks. Took part of Labor Day parade. Would like to set up an open house for the Fire Department. 11. Health, Protection and License Committee Report: Alderperson VanStraten thanked Chief Breitenbach for acquiring the quote from Telford for a generator for city hall. a. Discussion & possible action on Home Occupation Permit- Dog Grooming In Home Andrea Bullock. 221 E Main St Gillett WI 54124. MOTION: Luther/Mohr Motion to approve the Home Occupation Permit for A Wagging Tail. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 3 12. Board of Public Works Committee Report: Alderperson Hicks- Public Works Foreman Nate Anderson stated the Oconto County Fair set up and takedown went great. We repainted the white and yellow lines on Main Street, finished maintenance on plow truck, had PLC Jet cleaners come in and cleaned sewers, and took out the trees at the memorial lot and chipped them. The Veterans are replacing them with bushes that are easier to manage, Corey and Co Landscape will be donating the trees and time to plant them. 13. Utility Committee Report: Utility Operator Matt Wickman a. Discussion & possible action on Bid Award for Highway 22- Leave Lay, USDA has not sent approval of our award. b. Discussion & possible action on Loan Resolutions MOTION: Luther/Mohr Motion to approve Loan Resolutions for USDA for HWY 22 Project. Roll Call Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 14. Finance and Personnel Committee Report: Alderperson Mohr stated in the Municipality Magazine the council receives, there is a small section on the City of Gillett, very nice to see. CESA 8 is having small community forum on September 9th from 8:30 to 1:30. Alderperson Mohr would like the City Clerk to attend. a. Discussion & possible action on Quarles Contract MOTION: Luther/Hicks Motion to approve the Quarles and Brady Contract for the HWY 22 Project for our Bond Counsel. Roll Call Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED b. Discussion & possible action on R&R Assessing Contract MOTION: VanStraten/Hicks Motion to approve the R&R Assessing Contract for 2026-2029, $48,960 total for all years, including a market re-evaluation. Roll Call Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED c. Discussion & possible action on Bid Award for Highway 22- Leave Lay, USDA has not sent approval of our award. d. Discussion and possible action on Kerber Rose MOTION: Luther/Vanstraten Motion to approve the Kerber Rose one year contract for $3,850 a month for accounting and payroll services. Roll Call Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED 15. Park and Cemetery Committee Report: Alderperson Luther stated we were granted 1 million dollars from CDBG for our Zippel Park Playground Upgrade, we are so thankful! Waiting on another grant up to $600,000. 16. Planning Committee Report: Alderperson Bunker discussed working on relocating the Scout Cabins from Zippel Park to the Water Tower land. This would declutter Zippel Park and help the Fair Board with the expansion of the pulling track. 4 17. Clerk Treasurers Report: City Clerk Chelsea Anderson stated she had been working with the USDA to keep the HWY 22 project moving. There was a cost overrun (the cost of the project exceeds what was applied for because of higher prices) and the USDA needed the City to apply for the extra costs. The applications, resolutions, operating budgets, and balance sheets have all been re-submitted. There is a 3 week wait for approval/denial. 18. Attorneys Report: Conway, Olejniczak, and Jerry S.C. Attorneys at Law- City Attorney Robert Gagon also is keeping busy with USDA paperwork. 19. Public Input: None 20. Mayor's Report: Mayor Blaskowski stated there will be a Finance Meeting set for Monday, September 29 at 4:30 and the department heads should schedule a time to discuss their budgets with the committee. 21. Adjourn at 6:35 PM MOTION: Luther/Vanstraten Motion to adjourn. Voice Vote: All Voting Aye - MOTION CARRIED Respectfully submitted by Clerk Treasurer Chelsea Anderson