_04212026-1668

PRICE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MINUTES Date: April 21, 2026 Time: 9:00 a.m. Place: Courthouse County Board Room 101; 126 Cherry St; Phillips, WI 54555 Call to Order: Meeting Called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Meredith Hueckman, County Clerk. Invocation: Invocation prayer by Pastor Larry Tenut. Pledge of Allegiance: Recited by those in attendance. Roll Call Members Present (13): Jenifer Baratka, Joe Baratka, Michelle Drobnik, Doug Erickson, Brian Ernst, Jason Hastings, Paula Houdek, Robert Kopisch, Larry Palecek, Jordan Spacek, Patricia Stephan, Jeff Ulrich, Dennis Wartgow Also present: Honorable Mark Fuhr, Judge; Carrie Kyle, County Finance Director; Megan Norris, County Corporation Counsel; Nick Trimner, County Administrator Oath of Office Honorable Judge Mark Fuhr administered the oath of office to all 13 elected Price County Board Supervisors. Communications and Announcements Clerk Hueckman welcomed the members to the board. Public Comments Ginny Strobl from the Town of Georgetown commented publicly on a non-agenda item. Board Elections 1. Chairperson: Brian Ernst was declared County Board Chairperson by election, and he chaired the remainder of the meeting. 2. Vice-chairperson: Paula Houdek was declared County Board Vice Chairperson by election. 3. Review of Board Policy and Procedure a. Policy and Procedure Manual Motion Drobnik/Spacek to accept the Policy and Procedure Manual. Roll call vote to accept the manual: Yes (12): Joe Baratka, Drobnik, Erickson, Ernst, Hallstrand, Hastings, Houdek, Kopisch, Palecek, Spacek, Stephan, Ulrich, Wartgow. No (0). Abstain (1): Jenifer Baratka. Motion carried. 4. Executive Committee Appointments (3 members) Chair and Vice- chair are A utomatic Members: Chairperson Brian Ernst was automatically elected to the Executive Committee Chairperson seat. Paula Houdek was automatically elected to the Executive Committee Vice Chairperson seat. a. North (Dist. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10) : Larry Palecek was elected to the Executive Committee North seat. b. Central (Dist. 8, 9, 11 and 13) : Jordan Spacek was elected to the Executive Committee Central seat. c. South (Dist. 2, 4, 6 and 12): Michelle Drobnik was elected to the Executive Committee South seat. 5. Highway and Transportation Committee Appointments a. North (Dist. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10) : Larry Palecek was elected to the Highway and Transportation Committee North seat. b. Central (Dist. 8, 9, 11 and 13) : Jordan Spacek was elected to the Highway and Transportation Committee Central seat. c. South (Dist. 2, 4, 6 and 12) : Doug Erickson was elected to the Highway and Transportation Committee South seat. d. 2 (two) members at -large: Joe Baratka was elected to the Highway and Transportation Committee Member -At-Large seat #1. Jeff Ulrich was elected to the Highway and Transportation Committee Member-At-Large seat #2. Education 1. Wisconsin Counties Association Intro Video : WCA video entitled “What are Counties” was presented. 2. Presentation: Walking Quorums, Robert’s Rules, Open Meetings – Administrator: The County Administrator presented an informative slideshow on Walking Quorums, Robert ’s Rules, and Open Meetings, and it is on file. 3. Overview of Handouts – Clerk: Items listed below: a, c-f, were presented and are on file. Item b: Price County 2026 Budget can be emailed upon request. a. Wisconsin Counties Association Handbook & Materials b. Price County Policy and Procedure Manual c. Price County 2026 Budget d. Price County Directory e. Committee Meeting Calendar f. Committee Interest Checklist Committee of the Whole Convened into the Committee of the Whole at 10:15 a.m. 1. Board Chair Report a. Updates: Chairperson Ernst gave general updates and discussed more in depth under committee reports below. b. Bug Tussel Update: Discussed below. 2. County Administrator’s Report a. Updates: No new updates, and the executive financial summary will be presented on April 28th. 3. Committee Chair Reports a. Administration: Administration Committee met on April 14th, and the next meeting will be on May 12 th. The update for new -hires, terminations, and recruitments was received. Reviewed and recommended a resolution creating up to two (2) new positions in Behavioral Health because the current caseworker covers 71 cases and the state recommends each worker cover 25 cases. The resolution will be at the next County Board meeting on Tuesday, April 28th. Discussion on accountability for the Price County Administrator died for lack of a motion. Discussion on revising the handbook to summarize current policies. Discussion on bringing forth a policy to set future election wages. b. Executive: Executive Committee met on April 16th, and the next meeting will be on May 14th. Updates from the Treasurer reported there are 46 properties at this point in the In Rem process ; and presented the monthly treasurer reports. The Register of Deeds reported listing a number of documents and roughly $5 million in straight sales in March 2026. The Clerk reported the Spring 2026 Election went well . Bug Tussel representative Jesse Lane gave a brief presentation, and Lane will update the full County Board with an in-depth presentation on April 28th. The Committee stressed the imperative need to receive specific information from Bug Tussel including a timeline for when the towers wil l be put up, planning for numbers and locations of towers. The County Emergency Management System requires updates and they depend on the type of technology cellular towers provide. The County has not received c oncrete details from But Tussel. Reviewed and recommended an annual resolution for b udget amendment to reflect actual expenses incurred last year. Approved two Requests For Proposal (RFPs) one for a Courthouse electrical panel update, and the second to hire a consulting company for the towers, radio, and emergency management project. c. Forestry & Parks / Buildings & Grounds: The Forestry & Parks/Building & Grounds Committee met on April 7th and will meet again on May 5 th. The 2026 Spring Timber Bid Packet was presented and approved with 19 new sales, 25 total. Discussed changing the diameter of tops from 4” to 5” to promote sales. There will be a sale of Ash and timber sale extensions at Timms Hill in the fall of 2026. The Committee gave their a pproval for the Forestry and Parks Administrator to move forward and replace deck boards with grant money at Smith Lake Park. A Carbon Credit update was presented, and the County has 145,000 credits ready for sale to buyers. There are two categories of sale, one selling for between $8-$16 per credit and the other between $18-$26 per credit. Total estimated sales for all 145,000 credits could be between $2-$3 million on average. The County receives 75% of the total sale after expenses. Discussion was had over ways to invest Carbon Credit funds. The Forestry Department has been working on cleaning up the parks and new water softeners were installed at Solberg Lake Park. Lugerville Grade Road is partially a county forest road and needs repairs. Two new summer hires were made to the Forestry Department, not new positions. There was no meeting scheduled for the Buildings & Grounds department and they will hold discussion at the May 5th meeting. d. Health and Human Services: The Health and Human Services Department met on April 8th and will meet on May 13 th. Appointments were recognized and quarterly reports were presented. The Health and Human Services Director received a letter recogniz ing the Behavioral Health Unit for excellency and caseworker contact at least once monthly. Updates on July 2026 Medicare training for new software. The Woodland Health Ad Hoc Committee meeting reported adequate funding. Senior Service Unit presented updates for services and dining sites, and those reports are on file. Discussion on continuing to pursue an electric bus purchase for the County. Reviewed and recommended a resolution to the full County Board for up to two ( 2) new positions for social workers . Financial and Administrative Services presented reports on High- Cost Placements for both AODA and Children and Youth. e. Highway & Transportation: The Highway & Transportation Committee met on March 4th and will meet on May 6th. The Highway crew has been repairing eight miles of Highway 70 to the West, and various locations. Crews have been chipping trees, doing shoulder work, guard rail repair and sign repair. Bridges have been washed, a s well as shop work and maintenance on plows and other vehicles. A new loader for snow removal was received at the airport after waiting for roughly four years. Repairs and maintenance have been made to the airport grounds. All dams are in sufficient working order. f. Land Use & UW-Extension: The Land Use & UW Extension Committee met on March 19, and will meet on May 21st. The Committee held two ( 2) public hearings for special exemption permits, and one of which improved structuring of the lot. Both were approved. The land division filed by the Town of Elk was approved. The final plat map for the Town of Worcester was approved, for subdividing the land. The USDA Land Conservation representative Austin Dodge has taken another position, and Chairperson Barkstrom thanked him for his service. g. Law Enforcement: The Law Enforcement Committee met on April 9th and will meet on May 7 th. Amy Casey is the new Coroner Appointment. Alexis Nash is the new District Attorney appointment. The Circuit Court is fully staffed. County representatives met with Motorola and Bug Tussel to discuss the radio and tower projects. The County adamantly requested Bug Tussel present a timeline and plan for the tower project with a deadline of 60 days, and there were about 30 days left at the time of the Committee meeting. There has been some movement in the staffing of the Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff law incidents and reports were presented and are on file. Convene out of Committee of the Whole Convened out of the Committee of the Whole at 10:53 a.m. Date of Next Meeting April 28, 2026, Business Meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the County Board Room Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 10:53 a.m. by Brian Ernst, Price County Board of Supervisors Chairperson. Respectfully Submitted by Meredith Hueckman, Price County Clerk