[0:00] I declare the next
[0:02] meeting of the Board of
[0:03] Trustees
[0:04] open on Tuesday,
[0:06] October 6, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
[0:09] I will conduct a roll call.
[0:10] Caretaker Keller.
[0:12] Present.
[0:12] Caretaker
[0:13] McGurren.
[0:13] Present.
[0:14] Caretaker Nelson
[0:15] .
[0:15] Present.
[0:16] Caretaker Pike.
[0:16] Present.
[0:17] Caretaker Porter.
[0:18] Present.
[0:19] Caretaker Rowdy.
[0:20] Present.
[0:20] And President Watken,
[0:21] absent. The next
[0:23] item will be
[0:24] the appointment of an
[0:25] interim
[0:26] village President for the
[0:27] meeting on October 6, 2026
[0:29] .
[0:30] Nominations are open. Are
[0:31] there any suggestions?
[0:35] I propose to elect
[0:36] John Porter as
[0:37] Acting
[0:38] President.
[0:40] I support
[0:41] the candidacy.
[0:42] Good. Are there any other
[0:44] candidates? OK.
[0:49] Since there are no others, the
[0:51] nomination is complete.
[0:53] We have already voted.
[0:54] Sorry, we have a
[0:56] second candidate. We will
[0:57] now vote
[0:58] on
[0:59] Trustee
[1:00] Porter's nomination for the position of
[1:01] interim
[1:01] Village President.
[1:04] Can we move on to
[1:05] the voting of the
[1:06] Council members? The vote,
[1:09] sorry, was in
[1:10] support. Those who are "in favor",
[1:11] please say "in favor".
[1:12] By. Who is "against"?
[1:14] OK. The proposal
[1:15] is accepted.
[1:17] Trustee
[1:17] Porter has been elected
[1:18] interim
[1:19] Village President and will
[1:20] preside over the
[1:21] remainder of the meeting.
[1:25] We have, I have a book that will
[1:26] help you
[1:27] navigate
[1:28] what... Here I was
[1:33] asked to start with
[1:34] point number two.
[1:38] Good. The next
[1:40] item is approval of
[1:42] the minutes of the meeting
[1:43] of September 1, 2026.
[1:45] Is there a proposal
[1:46] to approve the protocol?
[1:48] I propose to approve
[1:50] the minutes for September.
[1:52] Is there support? I
[1:53] support.
[1:55] Good. The proposal
[1:59] was put forward and
[2:00] supported. Are there
[2:01] any corrections or
[2:02] discussions? OK.
[2:09] I see that there is none. Who is "
[2:11] for", please say "
[2:12] for".
[2:12] By.
[2:14] Who is "against"? I don't see.
[2:19] Okay, the offer
[2:20] is accepted. Number three,
[2:24] comments from the audience. This is the
[2:28] next item,
[2:29] comments from the floor. This is an
[2:34] opportunity for
[2:37] North Hudson residents, property owners and businesses
[2:38] to inform Council of
[2:39] new topics, issues or
[2:41] opportunities that are
[2:42] not on
[2:42] today's
[2:43] agenda but
[2:44] that require
[2:45] consideration at a
[2:46] future
[2:46] meeting.
[2:50] There are 3 minutes for comments
[2:51] , and although there are
[2:53] no members of the public,
[2:54] I read it anyway.
[2:55] Good.
[2:56] OK.
[2:56] Of course.
[2:58] You know,
[2:59] the public is
[3:00] important.
[3:01] Yes.
[3:02] So, with that we move on
[3:07] . Well, okay. New
[3:11] cases, item number
[3:13] four.
[3:14] Administrator
[3:15] Albert, do you have
[3:16] any comments or
[3:17] updates for the Council?
[3:18] I have. Just
[3:20] a reminder that we are
[3:21] in budget
[3:22] season now. We have already
[3:23] held several
[3:24] working meetings. We are on
[3:28] schedule
[3:29] to submit the draft
[3:30] budget to the
[3:30] Finance Committee
[3:32] at the next
[3:32] meeting, which, as
[3:34] we will discuss later,
[3:35] will be postponed to
[3:36] October, even though this is
[3:37] officially a November
[3:38] meeting. If the
[3:40] Finance Committee
[3:42] decides to make such
[3:43] a recommendation, this
[3:44] budget will be
[3:44] presented to the
[3:46] Village Council for review
[3:47] and discussion.
[3:50] Assuming that
[3:51] any changes that
[3:52] arise from
[3:53] this discussion
[3:54] are made to the
[3:57] public hearings scheduled for late November,
[3:58] it is at these that the budget
[3:59] will be approved for
[4:00] further
[4:01] progress. So,
[4:05] things are progressing well with the budget
[4:06] .
[4:08] It is also
[4:09] election season, and we
[4:11] remind you again that the
[4:11] next elections
[4:13] will be held on
[4:13] November 3rd. We began
[4:16] sending out absentee
[4:17] ballots on September 17, and we
[4:19] would like to remind you that
[4:20] in-person absentee voting
[4:23] begins on
[4:24] October 20, the schedule is
[4:26] listed on the my vote website.
[4:27] So, we have hours
[4:31] available for
[4:31] in-person
[4:33] absentee
[4:34] ballot voting. We also
[4:37] want to mention
[4:38] flyers from third
[4:39] parties. The
[4:42] Wisconsin Election Commission
[4:43] sent out a
[4:44] notice about the
[4:45] increase in
[4:46] third-party mailers being
[4:48] sent to
[4:49] Wisconsin voters,
[4:50] they notified the
[4:51] clerks, and I
[4:52] just wanted to
[4:53] pass this
[4:54] information along because I think it's
[4:55] important. This
[4:56] causes a lot of
[4:57] confusion. So, if
[4:59] you received a postcard,
[5:00] letter, or form
[5:01] encouraging you to
[5:02] vote
[5:03] absentee
[5:04] or telling you to
[5:06] register—I've already
[5:07] posted about it on
[5:08] Facebook. While some of these
[5:10] mailings look
[5:12] quite official, they
[5:13] may not be coming
[5:14] from the Wisconsin Election Commission
[5:15] or the
[5:16] clerks.
[5:17] Please be aware that these
[5:19] forms, which you may
[5:20] receive from
[5:21] third parties, are not
[5:22] your
[5:23] ballot. I think this
[5:24] caused a lot of
[5:25] confusion. People
[5:26] assume they are
[5:27] already registered
[5:28] to vote by
[5:29] absentee ballot
[5:31] , but they are not, and in
[5:32] some cases they
[5:33] provide a pre-
[5:34] filled
[5:35] absentee
[5:36] ballot request form. They just
[5:39] say to send it to
[5:40] your secretary, but the
[5:41] fine print
[5:42] says
[5:43] to make sure
[5:44] you have the ID in the database.
[5:45] We see them
[5:46] coming without ID. So
[5:48] now we have to
[5:49] send them back to
[5:50] people. So we simply
[5:52] ask everyone to carefully
[5:53] review the mail
[5:55] you may
[5:55] receive.
[5:57] Make sure
[5:58] it is truly from the
[6:00] Wisconsin Election Commission. Some
[6:02] of them even have the
[6:03] secretary's name on them, even though
[6:05] we didn't send them.
[6:06] Again, they
[6:07] may contain
[6:08] outdated or
[6:09] incorrect
[6:10] voter information. So, what
[6:12] we and the
[6:13] Wisconsin Elections Commission
[6:15] are reminding you of is:
[6:16] please visit the
[6:17] official Wisconsin
[6:18] Elections Commission website
[6:19] , where you
[6:20] will find out if
[6:21] you are registered and
[6:22] where you can also request an
[6:26] absentee ballot. So we
[6:28] really encourage
[6:29] people to use
[6:30] this particular election
[6:31] site. I repeat, this is
[6:34] myvote.wi.gov. This will be your
[6:36] reliable source of
[6:37] information. So if
[6:38] you have any
[6:38] questions, please
[6:40] call us.
[6:41] We understand that this
[6:42] can be confusing.
[6:44] One other thing
[6:46] we wanted to mention
[6:47] about absentee voting
[6:48] : there's a
[6:49] certain perception or
[6:50] idea that
[6:52] absentee voting is a
[6:53] safer way to vote
[6:54] than in-person
[6:55] voting, and I
[6:56] want to clarify again:
[6:58] Minnesota and
[6:58] Wisconsin
[6:59] are different. In
[7:02] Wisconsin, if you
[7:03] send an
[7:06] absentee ballot by mail
[7:07] or come and
[7:08] vote in person,
[7:09] that ballot is
[7:10] actually
[7:10] counted or
[7:11] filed the same
[7:13] day the
[7:14] polls open. So
[7:16] if something happened on
[7:17] Election Day that
[7:17] prevented
[7:18] vote registration,
[7:19] it would affect all
[7:20] votes in Wisconsin.
[7:21] Early
[7:22] voting does not
[7:23] mean that your
[7:24] ballot
[7:24] is counted
[7:25] early. You just
[7:26] make your choice, and
[7:27] we store it
[7:29] here. So there is some
[7:30] confusion between
[7:31] early
[7:32] voting in
[7:33] Minnesota and
[7:33] in-person
[7:35] absentee voting in
[7:36] Wisconsin. These are slightly
[7:37] different processes. So we
[7:39] just wanted to
[7:40] remind people about that
[7:41] . There are no security advantages here
[7:43] .
[7:46] Do you know when
[7:47] they arrive? Are
[7:48] they scanned immediately,
[7:49] or how does it happen
[7:51] when they...
[7:53] Yes, we record that
[7:55] they are received or
[7:55] returned, and then
[7:57] they are stored in a
[7:58] secure place until
[7:59] Election Day, after
[8:00] which they are counted
[8:01] or...
[8:02] Are they processed on
[8:03] Election Day immediately,
[8:04] or...
[8:05] During the day, when the
[8:06] time comes.
[8:07] Of course. I
[8:08] was just curious
[8:09] how it works.
[8:09] Yes. So, a few more
[8:12] updates. I would like to remind you about
[8:15] the motorcycle rally, especially
[8:16] for residents of
[8:17] the southern part of
[8:18] the city, which is
[8:18] planned for this
[8:19] weekend. So on Saturday
[8:21] mornings you may
[8:22] notice an increase in
[8:23] traffic.
[8:25] Last month,
[8:26] 11 new
[8:27] licenses for
[8:28] construction workers were approved. We
[8:31] also approved two
[8:32] new licenses for
[8:33] door-to-door delivery people—people
[8:34] who are allowed to
[8:35] go door-to-door—
[8:36] and this is another update
[8:38] from Anderson. They were
[8:40] here earlier this year
[8:41] and applied for a
[8:42] new license, which
[8:43] was approved. And one more thing:
[8:45] the permit for
[8:46] specialized
[8:47] repair crews is valid
[8:48] until the end of this weekend
[8:49] . We have one
[8:50] operator license,
[8:51] no
[8:52] utility permits,
[8:53] which were obtained in
[8:54] September. We did
[8:55] receive one new
[8:56] utility permit
[8:57] this week.
[8:59] So, you may
[9:00] notice that some
[9:01] cable companies
[9:02] are starting
[9:03] to step up, but
[9:04] as of September, they
[9:05] weren't. Additionally,
[9:08] we did not have a Zoning
[9:10] Board meeting in October
[9:11] , and
[9:12] at this point,
[9:13] nothing is
[9:14] scheduled for November. This is all
[9:15] my information.
[9:17] Very good. The next
[9:18] issue is consideration of
[9:19] postponing the
[9:20] November
[9:21] Council meeting. Is there
[9:22] an offer?
[9:24] I move that the
[9:25] next meeting of the
[9:27] Board of Trustees be postponed from
[9:28] Tuesday, November 3,
[9:30] 2026, to Tuesday,
[9:32] October 27, 2026,
[9:34] due to the
[9:35] 2026 general election.
[9:37] Is there a second party that
[9:38] supports it? I
[9:39] support.
[9:40] Thank you, Mary. Em.
[9:44] The proposal was
[9:45] made and
[9:46] supported. Are there
[9:47] any discussions,
[9:49] pertinent debates, or
[9:50] explanations?
[9:52] Yes, I think we
[9:53] see this
[9:54] every two years,
[9:55] certainly because of the
[9:56] November elections.
[9:57] So we just want to
[9:58] move the meeting a
[9:59] week earlier so that there is
[10:01] no conflict with the
[10:02] election period.
[10:04] Will the Finance
[10:05] Committee meet
[10:06] before the Council meeting?
[10:08] Yes.
[10:13] Good. Are there any other
[10:15] discussions? If
[10:17] there are no "for", please
[10:19] say "yes".
[10:20] Yes.
[10:20] Who is "against"?
[10:22] The proposal is accepted. The
[10:25] next item is
[10:26] consideration of the adoption of the
[10:27] proposed
[10:28] resolution. Is there
[10:29] an offer?
[10:31] John, I move to
[10:33] approve amendments to
[10:34] Chapter 94 of the
[10:35] North Hudson Township Code of Ordinances
[10:36] , Articles 1, 2, and 3,
[10:38] relating to
[10:39] water and
[10:40] sewer, to
[10:41] reflect the transfer of
[10:43] utilities
[10:44] to the City of Hudson.
[10:47] Thank you, Brian. Is there a
[10:49] second party that
[10:50] supports it?
[10:52] I support.
[10:53] Thank you, Kirk.
[10:55] The proposal was
[10:56] made and
[10:57] supported. Are there
[10:59] any discussions?
[11:01] Let me provide
[11:02] a little context on
[11:04] this. So, when we
[11:06] signed a contract with
[11:08] the
[11:08] utility to
[11:09] transfer the
[11:11] township's water and sewerage to the
[11:12] City of Hudson, we
[11:13] agreed to adopt the
[11:14] city's
[11:15] water and
[11:16] sewerage ordinances. So,
[11:20] our ordinances
[11:21] will remain in effect
[11:22] for stormwater, but
[11:23] for water and
[11:24] sewer—that was
[11:26] part of the signed
[11:27] agreement. The reason for
[11:30] the slight delay
[11:31] is that
[11:32] the city was in the process
[11:33] of reviewing its
[11:34] ordinances and they
[11:35] just approved
[11:36] their new rules.
[11:39] So now they
[11:40] have asked us to
[11:40] adopt those
[11:41] resolutions that they
[11:42] recently updated and
[11:43] approved. So,
[11:44] again, this
[11:45] applies to their
[11:46] water and
[11:47] sewer policies,
[11:48] as they are now
[11:49] responsible for those
[11:50] utilities.
[11:53] So, essentially, ours
[11:54] looks the same as
[11:55] theirs. Good.
[12:00] So, Gino, I have a
[12:01] question. The unification of
[12:07] water supply and
[12:08] sewage made the
[12:09] village equal to the city,
[12:10] we are the same, and we have the
[12:12] same tariffs, and
[12:13] this decree that they
[12:14] just passed... I don't
[12:15] know if it was in
[12:16] their previous
[12:17] decree or if it's just in the
[12:18] new one, where they
[12:19] really create
[12:20] different categories of
[12:21] consumers for
[12:22] sewage.
[12:27] The distinction between
[12:29] the city and those
[12:30] outside the city, and this
[12:31] seems to reveal
[12:32] something that I
[12:33] thought we had already
[12:34] agreed on in our
[12:35] initial agreement. And I
[12:39] just want to
[12:39] make sure that
[12:40] accepting this doesn't
[12:42] invalidate the
[12:43] agreement we signed that
[12:44] we are ratepayers at the
[12:45] same rates as the
[12:46] city.
[12:48] No, that's a valid
[12:49] question, and the reason
[12:50] it's still in
[12:52] their ordinances is
[12:53] because they
[12:54] serve other
[12:55] groups outside the city as well
[12:57] . But no, that's not true, and I
[12:59] was in charge of the contract
[13:00] , and the ordinances were
[13:01] reviewed by Becky
[13:02] Norman after
[13:04] we received them from the
[13:05] utility director
[13:06] . This will not
[13:09] cancel the agreement we
[13:11] have. So when you
[13:12] read this
[13:13] wording, we
[13:14] will be considered the same as the
[13:15] city, since
[13:16] we are now part of
[13:17] this
[13:18] utility. As they
[13:19] continue
[13:20] to offer and
[13:21] expand their
[13:22] water and
[13:23] sewer services outside of
[13:24] the city, these
[13:25] customers may be
[13:26] treated as
[13:27] wholesale customers,
[13:28] another
[13:29] utility when they
[13:30] move to other
[13:31] towns, and so on. But this is a
[13:32] valid clarifying
[13:33] question, but
[13:35] it does not
[13:35] apply to us. Our
[13:37] contractual status.
[13:38] Thank you. And one more
[13:39] additional question:
[13:40] from what I heard, our
[13:42] lawyer has already
[13:42] reviewed this.
[13:43] They both
[13:44] watched it, yes.
[13:45] Thank you.
[13:47] Okay, is there any more
[13:48] discussion?
[13:52] Since there is none, everyone in
[13:53] favor, say "yes."
[13:55] Yes.
[13:56] Against? Okay,
[14:02] the offer is accepted.
[14:06] Next we have the
[14:07] committee recommendations, number seven, the
[14:10] planning commission recommendations.
[14:13] Since the
[14:14] planning commission did not
[14:15] meet in September,
[14:16] we will move on to
[14:17] personnel and
[14:17] finance. Uh-huh. The
[14:24] next item is
[14:25] approval of
[14:26] the accounts. Is there
[14:27] an offer?
[14:28] I move that
[14:29] the council
[14:30] approve the
[14:31] irregular accounts
[14:33] for October 2026 in
[14:35] the amount of $121,688.17
[14:36] cents.
[14:37] I support.
[14:38] Second proposal.
[14:39] Okay, the motion
[14:40] has been made and is
[14:41] seconded. Are there
[14:42] any discussions?
[14:44] I'll just add a few
[14:46] larger items: we
[14:47] had a payment to the city of
[14:48] Hudson of
[14:49] approximately
[14:50] $84,000. This is under our
[14:52] fire service contract. This is the
[14:53] second installment of this
[14:54] payment. Again,
[14:56] this was planned
[14:58] and
[14:59] budgeted for, along with
[15:00] $5,700 for further
[15:01] tree management,
[15:02] i.e. removal of
[15:03] dead and diseased
[15:04] trees within the township.
[15:06] We are close to
[15:07] completion, but this
[15:08] was the last payment
[15:10] this year for
[15:10] helping
[15:11] manage our
[15:12] trees. Are
[15:17] there any other
[15:18] discussions? If not,
[15:21] we will proceed to a
[15:22] roll call
[15:23] vote. Mary?
[15:27] Yes.
[15:28] Good. John? Yes.
[15:31] Brian?
[15:33] Yes.
[15:33] You are okay. Trustees,
[15:36] the proposal is approved.
[15:41] Next, we have
[15:41] an offer to
[15:43] purchase a tractor. Is
[15:45] there an offer?
[15:46] John proposed
[15:48] recommending for
[15:49] approval
[15:49] the use of up to 24,000 from the
[15:51] utility vehicle fund
[15:53] to purchase a
[15:54] compact tractor
[15:55] -loader. Is there
[15:57] anyone who
[15:58] will support?
[16:00] I support.
[16:01] Very good, thank you.
[16:04] The proposal was... a
[16:07] lighter piece of
[16:08] equipment that would help
[16:09] with
[16:10] park and roadside maintenance, that wouldn't
[16:11] cause damage
[16:13] while working. They
[16:14] plan to
[16:15] use it
[16:16] for
[16:17] weed control,
[16:17] clearing Ferry
[16:18] Landing, removing blackberry
[16:19] bushes,
[16:20] tree care, and
[16:21] general
[16:23] park maintenance. They are asking
[16:28] that instead of a pickup truck,
[16:30] which they
[16:31] would normally request at this time of
[16:32] year from the
[16:33] utility
[16:33] vehicle fund, which is
[16:35] about
[16:36] $40,000, we
[16:36] consider this
[16:37] compact tractor.
[16:44] Their reason is
[16:45] that after purchasing a
[16:46] loader and
[16:47] other
[16:48] snow removal equipment,
[16:50] the team uses the
[16:51] pickup trucks less often, so
[16:52] their
[16:53] service life is longer.
[16:58] And while the vehicle pool
[17:00] is great and
[17:01] appropriate, they
[17:02] prefer a
[17:03] compact tractor
[17:04] for
[17:05] maintenance rather than a
[17:06] pickup truck, which is why they are
[17:07] asking for it.
[17:14] So, Brian, this
[17:15] compact tractor,
[17:16] what is it? I'm
[17:17] sure it's not
[17:18] some big John
[17:20] Deere. Is it like a skid
[17:21] steer loader or
[17:22] something?
[17:23] Well, it's a tractor.
[17:24] This is a real tractor.
[17:26] It will have a bucket
[17:27] in the front and a mower
[17:28] in the back.
[17:29] Of course.
[17:30] Or additional
[17:31] equipment in front.
[17:33] Remove the bucket and
[17:34] put the mower on. This
[17:36] allows them
[17:37] to enter areas
[17:38] where large
[17:38] forklifts
[17:39] cannot reach.
[17:40] Ugh.
[17:41] And it's lighter, so he
[17:42] believes that
[17:43] using lighter
[17:44] equipment in parks is
[17:45] better. You can
[17:46] check this. This,
[17:48] you know, you see, he's
[17:49] almost
[17:49] his photo now.
[17:51] And you rightly noted
[17:52] that he raised this
[17:53] issue a few
[17:54] years ago.
[17:55] Well, yes, a while
[17:56] ago, yes. But the work
[18:01] they did,
[18:02] trying to take out the
[18:03] equipment, the
[18:04] playground, just with
[18:05] big
[18:06] loaders, it
[18:07] just destroyed the
[18:08] park, and you had to
[18:09] fix it. Are
[18:14] there any other
[18:15] discussions?
[18:17] So how will this affect the
[18:19] next pickup truck? Do
[18:21] we need to
[18:22] add additional
[18:23] funds, will the purchase
[18:24] be far enough
[18:25] away that it
[18:26] will be replaced by
[18:27] then, or how will it be
[18:28] affected?
[18:29] Good question.
[18:31] I think there are several
[18:32] factors here. Yes, I think
[18:34] in their five-year
[18:35] plan they don't
[18:36] foresee a need for a
[18:37] pickup truck in the near
[18:38] future. So, again
[18:41] , when we
[18:41] look at these funds,
[18:43] these trust funds, this is
[18:44] not something we
[18:45] put in the budget.
[18:46] These are the funds that we
[18:47] direct to these
[18:48] funds if
[18:49] we have a budget left at the end of the year
[18:50] . And
[18:52] so we absolutely
[18:53] can continue to
[18:54] do this, and we should
[18:56] continue to do so if
[18:57] we have that money. But
[19:00] his expected
[19:01] use of these
[19:02] funds is less because of
[19:03] the durability of the new
[19:04] pickup trucks. With
[19:09] that in mind, we also had
[19:10] conversations with Ellers
[19:11] about when it's appropriate
[19:12] to take out loans, what do
[19:13] they recommend
[19:14] regarding loans? And I think
[19:17] in the past, there
[19:18] may have been some
[19:19] hesitation about
[19:20] using
[19:21] credit to buy
[19:22] vehicles
[19:23] . Ellers says the
[19:26] situation for
[19:26] municipalities
[19:28] has changed dramatically, and they
[19:29] say: if we
[19:30] can still continue to
[19:32] put money into these
[19:33] trust funds, that's
[19:34] great, and we should
[19:35] consider ourselves
[19:36] lucky, because
[19:37] most
[19:37] municipalities do
[19:38] n't. And,
[19:40] in fact, almost all
[19:41] the municipalities
[19:42] they work with
[19:44] take out loans for
[19:45] new equipment. So
[19:47] , if we were in
[19:48] a situation where
[19:49] something happened to the truck
[19:50] and we
[19:51] needed to make
[19:52] a purchase, but we didn't have
[19:53] enough funds in the
[19:54] fund, taking out a loan would
[19:55] be a perfectly
[19:56] acceptable option
[19:57] , which is currently being chosen by
[19:59] most
[19:59] municipalities.
[20:02] Well, you certainly have
[20:04] the ability to do
[20:05] that within our
[20:06] debt limits, and it would greatly
[20:07] expand our
[20:08] spending capabilities.
[20:09] So, I think that's nice to
[20:11] hear, actually.
[20:12] Yes. Agree.
[20:14] I think we started this
[20:15] because these numbers were
[20:16] just killing us.
[20:17] So we decided we had to
[20:18] prepare for
[20:19] this. So, that's why
[20:20] it all
[20:21] started in the first place.
[20:21] Well, another thing is that back
[20:22] then we were clearing
[20:24] snow with all our
[20:24] pickup trucks. We
[20:26] no longer use them to clear
[20:27] snow, so
[20:27] their lifespan
[20:29] has extended.
[20:31] The situation is
[20:32] different with police cars.
[20:32] We said at the time
[20:33] that this did not
[20:34] mean that
[20:35] it was the
[20:36] wrong decision at the time. It's
[20:38] just that a lot
[20:39] has changed,
[20:40] obviously, with where we
[20:42] are now and
[20:43] with the municipalities and
[20:44] our capabilities,
[20:45] so the advice
[20:47] is changing a little bit, and Ehlers
[20:48] acknowledges that, so.
[20:53] Very good. Are there any other
[20:55] discussions? If there are none
[20:57] ,
[20:58] we will proceed to a
[20:59] roll call
[20:59] vote. Brian?
[21:01] Yes.
[21:05] Mary?
[21:06] Yes.
[21:07] Thank you. Okay,
[21:09] the offer is accepted. The
[21:13] next item on the
[21:14] agenda is,
[21:15] um, the
[21:18] WPPA union contract. This is the
[21:19] Wisconsin
[21:20] Association of
[21:20] Professional
[21:21] Police Officers.
[21:22] John, I have this for...
[21:23] Yes, John, I have this
[21:24] for us today.
[21:25] What do you have?
[21:26] Yes. Therefore, I propose
[21:28] to approve the
[21:31] WPPA union agreement as presented and
[21:31] to authorize the
[21:32] Village President and
[21:33] Administrator/
[21:34] Secretary to sign
[21:35] the agreement on behalf of the
[21:36] Village of North
[21:37] Hudson. I
[21:39] support.
[21:41] Good, very good. Uh,
[21:43] further discussion
[21:44] ? Any discussions?
[21:47] Um, since
[21:47] President Viken
[21:48] is away today,
[21:49] do we need to
[21:50] amend the
[21:51] signing proposal to
[21:52] make sure we
[21:54] approve it in time? I
[21:55] don't know if there's a
[21:56] deadline or something else
[21:57] we need to
[21:58] consider.
[21:58] Um, no, uh, that's a
[22:00] fair question. Um,
[22:02] there's no, uh,
[22:03] preliminary
[22:04] deadline. The current
[22:05] contract is valid until the end of the
[22:07] year. Um, so I think
[22:09] everything will be fine, but
[22:10] that's a good, that's a good
[22:12] idea. Um, if,
[22:13] of course, we
[22:14] find ourselves in a situation
[22:15] where he can't
[22:16] do it in time,
[22:17] then we'll go back
[22:18] to this issue and
[22:20] ask for another
[22:21] signature. I think. Um, and
[22:26] we'll just talk a little bit
[22:27] about the fact that
[22:28] we, you know, have completed
[22:30] negotiations and
[22:30] collective bargaining between the
[22:32] uh,
[22:33] police
[22:33] department union and uh,
[22:35] some of us in the
[22:35] village that were
[22:36] approved at one of
[22:38] our previous
[22:39] meetings. Um, so the
[22:42] proposed agreement
[22:43] reflects the terms that
[22:44] were agreed upon or
[22:46] negotiated between
[22:47] the village and the WPPA and then,
[22:48] um, you know,
[22:49] prepared for
[22:51] your formal review and approval.
[22:53] I wonder, boss, if
[22:54] you could provide an
[22:54] update on the information
[22:55] you provided to the
[22:56] finance committee
[22:57] . I think you
[22:58] summed it up very well.
[22:59] Yes, of course. So,
[23:00] one of the issues that
[23:02] came up in the
[23:02] finance committee
[23:03] was what
[23:04] salary increases and
[23:05] things like that
[23:06] were being discussed. In
[23:07] our previous
[23:08] contract, or in the
[23:09] current one, which
[23:10] expires
[23:11] at the end of this
[23:12] year, there are three
[23:12] pay levels. There is a
[23:14] base rate,
[23:14] an allowance for an
[23:16] associate's degree, and an
[23:17] increase for a
[23:18] bachelor's degree.
[23:20] It was agreed to
[23:21] effectively abolish the
[23:22] base
[23:23] rate level and make the
[23:24] old
[23:24] junior
[23:25] specialist level the new
[23:26] base rate, and the
[23:27] educational incentive
[23:28] would be provided for both
[23:29] junior
[23:30] specialist and
[23:31] bachelor's degrees. With
[23:33] this bonus, it's a
[23:35] two-year contract
[23:36] for the 27th and 28th years.
[23:38] So, essentially,
[23:39] the increase in 2027
[23:40] is about 5
[23:42] % due to the adjustment to the
[23:44] new base, and the
[23:45] increase in 2028
[23:47] will be about
[23:49] 3.5%. Another thing that was
[23:50] agreed upon was
[23:52] that the
[23:53] seniority clause was
[23:54] removed from the contract,
[23:56] and 5 cents was actually added
[23:57] to the
[23:57] maximum
[23:58] salary. In our
[24:01] village, the maximum
[24:02] salary is reached
[24:03] after 5 years, and after
[24:05] that point they
[24:06] only receive an
[24:07] annual raise,
[24:08] which comes at the beginning of the
[24:09] contract year.
[24:13] So, these are the main
[24:14] changes related to
[24:15] wages.
[24:17] There were other contracts
[24:18] or discussions, but I
[24:19] think ultimately
[24:21] this was the main change
[24:22] that happened in
[24:23] this contract. And
[24:25] he will outlive me in
[24:27] my position in the
[24:27] department, so that's
[24:28] also good, someone
[24:29] else can
[24:30] negotiate for the
[24:31] next one.
[24:34] Ai.
[24:38] Okay, is there any more
[24:40] discussion? Well,
[24:43] if there are none,
[24:44] let's proceed to a
[24:45] roll call
[24:46] vote. Mary?
[24:48] Yes.
[24:49] Nick?
[24:51] Yes.
[24:52] Very good. Thank you.
[24:54] So, the proposal
[24:55] is accepted. Next, we
[25:02] move on to
[25:03] updates from the mayor
[25:04] regarding
[25:05] utilities. You are the first.
[25:06] Chief Pike, do
[25:07] you have any updates?
[25:09] Of course, we
[25:10] met. We
[25:11] discussed the
[25:11] parking
[25:12] lots, both
[25:13] lots: the one
[25:15] right here and the one
[25:16] down by Browns Beach
[25:17] . The design for this
[25:18] site has been
[25:19] finally
[25:20] approved. There was a
[25:21] question about
[25:22] lighting. We
[25:23] found out that there
[25:24] was already electricity there.
[25:26] So if we decide we
[25:27] want to
[25:28] enlighten him, that
[25:29] possibility is there.
[25:31] Requests for proposals were sent out
[25:32] .
[25:33] We ask them
[25:34] to apply for
[25:35] both properties
[25:36] at the same time, believing
[25:37] that this will
[25:38] save money. Um,
[25:40] they have to be
[25:41] submitted by Friday, the 9th
[25:42] . And then, uh,
[25:44] after the 9th, we'll
[25:46] have a special
[25:48] public works meeting on
[25:49] Monday at 1:00 PM to
[25:50] open the
[25:51] bids and
[25:52] make a decision. This is
[25:55] all I have. That
[25:56] sounds good. Uh,
[25:59] public welfare
[26:00] , uh, Chairman Nelson,
[26:02] do you have an update?
[26:03] Oh, I'm sorry.
[26:04] They bypassed me.
[26:05] I'm fine.
[26:07] It's okay, John.
[26:08] Everything is fine.
[26:09] Okay, the next
[26:10] item is public,
[26:12] uh, works.
[26:12] Public safety.
[26:14] It.
[26:14] Safety, Tim.
[26:15] Public safety.
[26:16] OK.
[26:17] He just wanted to
[26:18] deliberately
[26:19] avoid it. Chairman
[26:20] Keller. Uh
[26:21] , we actually
[26:22] met. Uh,
[26:23] we mainly
[26:24] focused on
[26:25] approving our
[26:26] budget items
[26:27] to pass them on to the
[26:28] finance department.
[26:29] Uh, and we were talking
[26:30] about, uh, e-
[26:31] bikes.
[26:32] At the moment,
[26:33] nothing
[26:33] concrete has
[26:34] come of this. Otherwise, that
[26:35] was pretty much it. We won't
[26:37] be meeting
[26:38] this time, uh, at the
[26:39] October meeting.
[26:40] So our next
[26:41] meeting will be in, uh,
[26:42] November.
[26:43] Thank you. Now, head.
[26:45] Wait, wait, wait,
[26:47] question.
[26:47] OK.
[26:48] What do you mean
[26:49] by "nothing worked out
[26:50] " with
[26:50] electric bikes?
[26:52] It. We kind of
[26:56] focus on
[26:57] what...what the state is doing
[27:01] , and then on the regulations
[27:02] . I mean, we're
[27:03] still
[27:04] looking into this in detail,
[27:05] but there's not much we
[27:06] can do at this point
[27:07] . So,
[27:11] we are focusing on
[27:12] awareness, and we
[27:13] also plan to
[27:14] raise this issue
[27:15] during the
[27:15] bike meetings in
[27:16] April. So we are
[27:19] trying to
[27:19] work with the
[27:20] parent
[27:20] committee and other
[27:21] similar
[27:22] organizations to
[27:23] hold an event to
[27:23] promote
[27:24] bicycle safety. And then
[27:25] hopefully we'll have
[27:26] more
[27:27] information about
[27:28] e-bikes
[27:29] that we can
[27:30] present to
[27:30] the public, but that's
[27:31] still in the
[27:32] development process.
[27:33] I mean, we all
[27:34] got that
[27:35] last
[27:36] league newsletter where there
[27:37] was a discussion about
[27:38] electric bikes.
[27:39] Yes.
[27:40] It seems like this is something
[27:41] we'll have to
[27:43] deal with eventually.
[27:45] Ultimately, but
[27:46] the situation is still
[27:46] open because there is little we
[27:48] can do
[27:49] at this
[27:50] point. It's more a
[27:52] question of awareness.
[27:55] I think, going back
[27:56] to your comment
[27:57] about the publication
[27:58] coming out of the league,
[27:59] you know, there's actually already a
[28:00] state
[28:01] law that deals with
[28:02] a lot of these things;
[28:03] and it's a matter of educating
[28:04] young people who
[28:05] may not have been taught by their
[28:06] parents, or their parents
[28:07] have taught them, but they
[28:08] do what
[28:09] young people do and don't listen to
[28:10] their parents. So,
[28:11] we try to
[28:12] educate people as we
[28:13] talk to them,
[28:14] but I think there are
[28:15] other options for other
[28:16] ordinances that the
[28:18] public safety committee
[28:19] wasn't ready for at the time, and
[28:20] wanted to try an
[28:21] educational
[28:22] approach. We've held
[28:23] bike rodeos in the past
[28:24] , usually in early
[28:25] spring when people
[28:26] start getting out their
[28:27] bikes. So,
[28:28] hopefully,
[28:29] working with the
[28:30] parent
[28:30] committee, we
[28:31] will bring this
[28:32] information to our
[28:33] children, as well as to the
[28:34] adults who are now
[28:35] also riding them.
[28:36] We plan to actively
[28:37] engage in this.
[28:38] Good.
[28:38] We also
[28:39] learn a lot. I know we've had them
[28:40] before
[28:41] , and
[28:42] not many people showed up,
[28:43] but we want to
[28:44] make sure we
[28:45] implement something right away, and
[28:46] every month, at every
[28:47] meeting,
[28:47] we remind people,
[28:48] "Hey, here's the date." "This is
[28:50] what we're going to do."
[28:51] We will pay attention to
[28:52] education. I've
[28:54] only had two people come up to me and
[28:55] say, "Are you
[28:55] going to
[28:56] do something about these kids
[28:57] riding
[28:58] bikes?" Just,
[29:01] you know, passersby.
[29:02] Many of the questions at Pepper
[29:04] Fest were about the same thing.
[29:05] Truth? Good. Okay,
[29:08] thank you.
[29:10] Okay, very good. The
[29:11] next item is the
[29:12] report of the
[29:13] Public Works Committee,
[29:14] Chairman.
[29:15] We weren't going to.
[29:16] Good. Next
[29:19] item—the report of the
[29:20] Parks Committee, Chairman
[29:21] McGurn, do you have the report?
[29:23] Yes, we were going to.
[29:27] The Park Board
[29:28] submitted
[29:30] recommendations for the
[29:32] 2027 budget to the village administration.
[29:35] Our top
[29:35] priority was Summer's
[29:37] Landing: building a
[29:38] stationary
[29:39] restroom and planting
[29:40] trees around the
[29:41] pickleball court to provide protection
[29:43] from the heat. And if it is not
[29:44] possible to make a
[29:45] stationary one, then
[29:46] consider the option of a
[29:47] temporary toilet.
[29:49] The second was a
[29:50] conceptual plan
[29:51] for Fairy Landing so we
[29:52] could begin seeking
[29:53] funding for
[29:54] the concept. The
[29:59] third priority
[30:00] was expanding the
[30:01] ice rink at Pepper
[30:02] Fest Park. The fourth was
[30:05] installing a fence
[30:06] for the
[30:07] pickleball court in Glen Oaks and
[30:08] installing an
[30:09] auxiliary restroom.
[30:10] This is what we put forward,
[30:11] and from what I understand from
[30:13] our
[30:13] administrator, these
[30:14] issues
[30:15] have been discussed, and we will
[30:16] hear more during the
[30:17] upcoming
[30:18] budget presentation.
[30:21] Very good, thank you. Well, the
[30:24] next item is
[30:25] closing the meeting.
[30:28] It looks like we're closing
[30:30] this meeting at 6:32.
[30:33] Completion proposal
[30:34] .
[30:36] Great, thank you.