Village Board Meeting — Minutes

Village of Benton May 22, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes Members present: Ken Farrey, John Perkins, Jill Knight, Bill Mowry, Joseph Slater, Steve Brink, Scott Cruse Absent: Village employees present: Sonya Silvers, Jared Roling, Brian Hammill Others Present: Michelle Savatski, Evan Chambers, Greg Droessler, Adam Linden The regular board meeting of the Benton Village Board was called to order by village president Ken Farrey at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Benton Business Incubator Building at 244 Ridge Avenue on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. In compliance with the open meeting law, proper notice of the meeting had been posted in four public places: the Zephyr Depot, Benton State Bank, Benton Post Office, and the Benton Business Incubator Building. The minutes from the village board meeting on April 22, 2026, were presented. Motion (Cruse, Knight) to approve the minutes from the regular village board meeting held on April 22, 2026, as presented. Voice-all ayes. Carried Ken Farrey will amend the agenda and allow Adam Linden from Kluesner Sanitation to present a bid proposal to the board for trash and recycling pickup. Ken Farrey announced that the contract with Republic Service has renewed in May because there was no 60 day notice to terminate the contract. Michelle Savatski updated the board on the progress of the community center project. The cabinetry has arrive and the appliance were ordered. Painting and work in the restrooms has begun. Still waiting on roofing company to come back and finish the front part of the roof. Pavers have been delayed two weeks due to shipping cost. Sonya Silvers, Michelle Savatski, and Jill Knight had a zoom meeting regarding the final steps before receiving USDA funds. Michelle and Scott also had a meeting regarding solar funding. This would be funding of up to $25,000 and we will find out in 3-4 weeks. Alliant Energy has a tariff that limits the amount of solar allowed on a building that the village has to follow. This would allow a 60% savings on utility bills for the community center. After possible grants and funding the cost to install the solar would be around $38,000. At the last board meeting Bill Mowry inquired whether the solar on the roof would void any warranty on the roof. The solar will not penetrate the roof and it will not affect the warranty. Joe Slater provided a brief update on the Beginning Point Church parking lot and due to cost they will not be taking out the parking lot. The cracks will be filled and the weeds will be sprayed and pulled. Ken Farrey mentioned that the Red Church request for being on the public historical records has been denied. The Lafayette County dairy breakfast is at the UWP Farms in Platteville and will be hung around town. Brian Hammill has had some trouble with kids destroying the parks. There has been 150 calls for service this year. Sonya mentioned that a letter was sent to Jack Carrington who owns lot 20 in the subdivision regarding the covenants violation of the building requirements. The auditors caught a utility billing error with the PCAC. Letters are going out to commercial residence and they have been back billed per the Public Service Commission’s rules. Sonya worked with the auditors, Public Service Commission, and the software company to rectify the error. Payment plans will be allowed. Jared Roling and Greg Droessler need board approval to move onto the design phase of the wastewater treatment plan project to stay on the timeline provided in the facilities plan to begin in Spring of 2027. The price is estimated at 4.3 million dollars with completing high and medium priority needs. $246,000 is the amount of the design contract for engineering and that amount was part of the facilities plan amount. The Village of Benton May 22, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes water and sewer committee has reviewed the plan as well as water/sewer operator Jared Roling. Greg introduced Evan Chambers who works out of their Platteville office and will be the lead on design. Plans are due to the DNR by Sept. 30 to be able to begin in 2027. Motion (Perkins, Cruse) to approve the design contract from Town and Country Engineering for the Waste Water Treatment plan project. Roll-all ayes. Carried. Ken Farrey mentioned that a date and time has been set with Adele Rowe, Jim Goffinet, and Pat’s Plumbing to change the water meter and do the cross connections survey. Jill Knight asked about the status of the interceptor project. Owen’s Excavating is waiting on the manholes. Treganza Street has been approved by the engineer and just waiting on the DNR approval. The street can be staked out and it will need a tracking pad. Payment of Bills Motion (Knight, Slater) to pay the bills. Voice-all ayes. Carried. Bill Mowry presented a map showing a parcel by the sewer plant that the village could potentially sell. The board is not opposed to the idea but a survey would need to be done to determine how much land is there. The status of the low income housing was also questioned and there has been no updates after an extension to build was given by the village. The 39 W. Main Street gift to the village has fell through Michelle mentioned a grant was submitted to the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin for the community center. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 P.M. Motion (Mowry, Slater) to adjourn. Voice-all ayes. Carried.