Village Board Meeting — Minutes

Village of Benton November 12, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes Members present: Ken Farrey, John Perkins, Jill Knight, Chuck Wartner, Joe Slater, Cal Robbins Absent members: Scott Cruse Village employees present: Sonya Silvers, Jared Roling, Brian Hammill Others Present: Michelle Savatski 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, November 12, 2025. 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 previous village board meeting were presented. Motion (Robbins, Slater) to approve the minutes from the regular village board meeting held on October 15, 2025, as presented. Voice-all ayes. Carried Michelle Savatski reported that the floor was poured today. Sewer connections will be done by early next week and framing will begin. Ingersoll’s Plumbing and Heating met with their engineers from Delta 3 Engineering regarding the HVAC issue, and they recommended two 5-ton RTUs, plus a mini 1-ton RTU be installed in the building. No 3 phase would be required and it was decided to be the best option. Ken Farrey stated Vierbircher will be starting engineering on the water main project. There was a meeting with Greg Droessler, and plans will be submitted for the wastewater treatment plant. Comelec will be installing the camera in the police squad. Brian Hammill will be out for medical leave, and Lafayette County will be covering Benton. Jared Roling is waiting on chemical heaters from the fluoride grant and has been working on getting things winterized. Jill Knight mentioned a citizen requested to have another leaf pickup because of the late falling leaves. The equipment is put away for the year. Next year we can look at different options. Committee Reports:  The Water/Sewer Committee met to discuss the facilities plan. Jared would like another meeting next week to discuss more in-depth items regarding the facilities plan and the wastewater treatment plant. Pursuant to Chapter 19.85 Sub (1) par (c) of WIS. STATS, Motion (Wartner, Robbins) at 6:45 to adjourn to closed session to discuss employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. Motion (Robbins, Slater) to reconvene to open session at 6:51p.m. Voice-all ayes. Carried. Motion (Knight, Slater) for approval of a part-time clerical police assistant. Roll-all. Cal Robbins-No, Joe Slater-No, Chuck Wartner-No, Jill Knight-No, John Perkins-No, Ken Farrey-No. Motion Fails. Sonya Silvers presented the list of 2026-2027 election inspectors for approval. Motion (Slater, Perkins) to approve the election inspectors for 2026-2027. Voice-all ayes. Carried. Village of Benton November 12, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes Sonya announced that Cal Robbins, John Perkins, and Chuck Wartner are up for the April 7th, 2026 election. Signatures can be collected starting Dec. 1, 2025. Forms must be submitted by Tuesday, January 6th, 2026. 2025-2026 operator license for Colleen Luce. Motion (Knight, Wartner) to approve the 2025-2026 operator license for Colleen Luce. Voice-all ayes. Carried. Jill Knight gave a brief recap of the Planning and Zoning meeting and the recommendation regarding combining parcels. Sonya worked with Lafayette County, an attorney at the League of Wisconsin municipalities, and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which led to the recommendation that anyone combining parcels for the purpose of public fire protection will need to record a certified survey map. The 2026 Preliminary Budget was presented to the board. Jill Knight noted that the short-term loan will be decreasing by $10,000 and that money will start being put in an account for the purchases of new fire trucks in the future. Motion (Robbins, Perkins) to approve the 2026 preliminary budget as presented. Voice-all ayes. Carried Resolution 2025-04 authorizing short-term loan borrowing from Conservation First Bank. Motion (Perkins, Slater) to approve resolution 2025-04 authorizing a short-term loan from Conservation First Bank. Roll-all ayes. Carried The village office printer contract is up at the end of the year, and Gordon Flesch will no longer service the printer. A contract for purchasing a new printer and a contract for leasing a new printer were presented. The printer will be purchased outright, and Sonya will look to see if it makes sense to purchase it this year or next year. Motion (Wartner, Knight) to purchase a new printer for the village office. Voice-all ayes. The 2-year contract for Gardiner Appraisal Service was presented to the board. Motion (Wartner, Perkins) to approve the 2-year contract for Gardiner Appraisal Service. Voice-all ayes. Pay the Bills Motion (Slater, Robbins) to pay the bills. Voice-all ayes. The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Motion (Slater, Wartner) to adjourn. Voice-all ayes.