[0:03] Good evening, everybody. It is Tuesday, June 9, 20, 26, 7 p.m. I'd like to bring rice-light common counsel to order, roll call, please.

[0:12] Mayor Dodge. Here.

[0:13] Comments of member Anderson. Here. Fisher. Here. Worst to be. Here.

[0:17] Kelley. Here. Sokiyak. Here. Allman. Here.

[0:20] Resek. Present. Edwards. Here. Everybody here in accounted for. I do not see anybody here for prayer this evening.

[0:29] So, we will go to the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:48] Thank

[0:52] you, everybody.

[0:54] Disclosure of conflict of interest by voting members regarding any item on this agenda.

[1:00] Hearing none, I will go to public appearances and I will have Victoria Coleman come to the podium.

[1:08] You have three minutes, just state your name and address and you can speak to the City Council, but they cannot answer you.

[1:15] My name is Victoria Coleman. I live up on Hazelwood Drive, not Avenue, the sign is incorrect, but that's minor.

[1:22] I thank everybody here to hear my concerns about what I have.

[1:25] And it's in regards to side-by-side usage and for will usage.

[1:31] I live on Hazelwood Avenue.

[1:34] I got a citation from the DNR, which I'm totally agree with,

[1:41] on what's going on, and we'll work on that with them

[1:43] and district attorney and stuff.

[1:45] My issue with it is that I live on Hazelwood,

[1:49] and then there's less stout on the other side that goes to the hospital.

[1:53] So, there's no access from that point into the city, until Wisconsin, the street light there.

[2:03] I was on Light and Street, London Street, coming, going west, going back to my house.

[2:09] And I was alongside the road where the bike trail was, you know, where they had the bike path for the bike's to ride.

[2:15] So that anybody that was behind me could get around me and still be able to get keep going on the direction of 48 in that street.

[2:24] I also notice that when you come back the other way, the next closest street from that area, that goes to the hospital, which is what's out on coming back east.

[2:34] The next road that you could take to get to off a little highway there, 48 in the app, is Paskin, is the closest street.

[2:43] Those are the two closest street points that a person on an SUV or a side-by-side can get to.

[2:51] I can still get home.

[2:53] They have their on a trail.

[2:53] They have an emergency.

[2:55] They can still get to the hospital.

[2:56] If they need to.

[2:58] But otherwise, they're going to run into the same problem I ran into,

[3:02] which I wasn't aware of.

[3:05] The need are our guy, talk, meet through everything,

[3:07] but answer questions.

[3:09] I understand that stay highway 48

[3:11] And certain town, certain streets in the city, you cannot drive on, just because that's the state laws and stuff to us, not just city.

[3:20] I thought it'd be in within the city limits that I was doing, I would have then okay.

[3:25] But I was not, that is not a low, Wisconsin's the last cutoff to go across to get to the trails, to either direction, and that there's no way of me

[3:36] trailer in my side by side? I have no access to a vehicle that I can use to trailer my side by side.

[3:42] I have to go almost half a mile to my daughter's house, which she lives on West Stout Street,

[3:49] which I could trailer to her house if I could get there. And they're going to have no way to store it

[3:53] there or anything else either. And I have no way of going to her house or anything to get there.

[4:00] I don't know which way you guys want to look at that. If you want to go from Wisconsin up to West Stout,

[4:06] Right there with a hospital cross to get to the hospital and you can have hazel with the other way

[4:11] So they have two different directions to go

[4:14] To get to the trails the shortest moment

[4:16] Because I do know on 48 according to the DNR guy unhighly 48. There's an access from

[4:24] That up all way up to the vulnerable

[4:27] Varn stuff that you can drive the side by side that far up so far up and go both directions

[4:33] But there's nothing for anybody that's on a trail that has an emergency and they can't get to the hospital without running the risk of the city cops

[4:44] Which they also said they'll give tickets and I talked to two of your officers, which were very

[4:49] Analogical and everything else sir. I appreciate them. I can't remember their names. Sorry about that

[4:54] But they informed me of it too, and I've also talked to the swunner DNR and find out and I have educated myself

[5:03] sense this on all trails which ones I can use and what I can use. And there is a

[5:08] property between my property and another street but it's privately owned and it's

[5:13] a development and they will not know me to have access to go through that property

[5:17] to get over to that street because they eventually want to develop it and they

[5:21] don't want the property tore up and whatnot. I can understand that. So I'm right

[5:27] know, would like to see either option from Wisconsin up to West out, just enough to get to

[5:34] the hospital, because then go the street up, or they can go over and he's wouldn't

[5:38] go up that site street and go across at the light, going west, becoming east, the only thing

[5:46] you're option you have is to come down west out to pastions, and then over to West out

[5:53] and then go that way to get on the trails.

[5:56] So I don't know if you guys want to go to all the way to Wisconsin and do it that way or if you want to just use those two streets.

[6:02] I already will have to wrap it up.

[6:03] Yes, those problems.

[6:04] Thank you for your time.

[6:06] Thank you for your time.

[6:06] Thank you Victoria.

[6:09] Mr. Mark Sherman.

[6:12] The floor is yours sir.

[6:15] Thank you.

[6:16] First let me say I really love writing my bicycle and rice like this very bicycle friendly.

[6:23] This fun.

[6:25] But I'm left I'm up here tonight because I'm asking a question if the rules of the road apply to people on bicycles.

[6:32] Did when I was younger and I don't know if it still does I was I think it does.

[6:38] So and it bothers me because I don't think we're actually following the rules of the road in many cases.

[6:45] The second thing I'm wondering about is sidewalk use.

[6:51] I always suppose to have bicycles on the sidewalk and other vehicles on the sidewalk.

[6:57] I've been passed by electronic scooters riding down the sidewalk faster than I can go on my bicycle.

[7:06] And that brings me to the last question I have is what actually constitutes a motorized vehicle now.

[7:13] So, that's all I had.

[7:15] Thanks.

[7:16] All righty.

[7:17] Thank you, Mark.

[7:18] And we'll get you some answers for that.

[7:20] All right.

[7:21] Thank you very much.

[7:23] Second time public appearances.

[7:24] Anybody else for public appearances?

[7:28] Third and final time.

[7:30] For public appearances, seeing none, the portion of the meeting is not closed. We do not have a public hearing this evening. I would like to go to the consent agenda. Is there anything that the council members would like to bring down and discuss on the consent agenda?

[7:45] I'd like to bring down item 4H please.

[7:51] 4H I have.

[7:54] Anything else that Council members would like to bring down?

[7:58] Hearing none, I'd like to have a motion to approve the consent agenda.

[8:01] A through G.

[8:06] I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda.

[8:09] I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda.

[8:12] Is there a second?

[8:13] A second.

[8:14] There is a motion and a second on the floor to approve the consent agenda.

[8:18] A through G, as written, any further discussion.

[8:23] Roke, all please.

[8:24] Johnson, my professor.

[8:26] Yes, what's to be?

[8:27] Yes, Kelly.

[8:28] Yes.

[8:29] So, Keak.

[8:30] Yes, Bowman.

[8:31] Yes.

[8:31] Resack.

[8:32] Yes.

[8:33] Edwardson.

[8:33] Yes.

[8:34] Anderson.

[8:36] Yes.

[8:36] And that motion carries.

[8:38] Council Member Edwardson.

[8:42] The reason I pull this down is, you know, the four H's approve appointment of Deputy

[8:48] clerk treasurer and employment agreement. And my comment is that we know that's a vital position.

[8:54] Very needed position. It's a key position in the city and Julie certainly needs this person

[9:00] in place. So I'm not questioning the need for it. But what I did read was that there were 92

[9:05] applicants from that it was sorted down to 5 and ended up in 1. I may have the numbers wrong but it's

[9:10] something like that. And there's no information for us about this person, yet we're being asked

[9:17] to approve this. And it was just asking S.J., or Julie, or the mayor. We just give us a 60

[9:25] second overview of a 30 second overview about this person, where they're coming from, where

[9:28] they what qualifies them to this. I'm not doubting the work that the committee did in selecting

[9:34] this person. That's not the point. But I think it would be nice to be familiar with,

[9:38] Remember, it is in their qualifications, all right?

[9:42] And it's a customer.

[9:43] Maryly is coming to us from, actually,

[9:46] she currently works tribal, and I don't remember which one

[9:49] because she's worked for both St. Craig and LCO.

[9:52] She has worked for Washburn County in payroll.

[9:55] She has worked for the Hayward School District in payroll.

[9:58] Currently, what she's doing with tribal

[9:59] is more background doing a lot of accounting stuff.

[10:04] She does reconciled bank reconciliation.

[10:06] She's been doing grant accounting grant tracking and stuff like that. So she has a background in government

[10:14] She's got a background in other stuff. She's done big reconciliations

[10:17] a lot of stuff that this position does

[10:20] We did start out with 92 applicants. We put it out on indeed everybody sees the word clerk and oh, I'm a clerk at the grocery store

[10:26] So I can apply

[10:28] Kind of scary. We did put out for five to interview

[10:33] One that out because she had taken another position, one was going to be out of town, one never responded any way shape or form, so we did interview two.

[10:42] So, and this was the top candidate of the two.

[10:45] S.J. and Mayor Dodge were also in on the interviews.

[10:51] Thank you for that.

[10:52] I was just hoping for an overview on understanding the qualifications.

[10:55] I don't have any more questions.

[10:58] Anybody else?

[10:59] Any other comments?

[11:00] All right. I'll make a motion to approve item number four, H to approve an appointment of Debbie Clark Treasurer and employment agreement.

[11:08] All right. Is there a second? Second. There are the motion on the floor to approve consent agenda item H. Is there any further discussion?

[11:18] Then, roll, please.

[11:21] Council Member West to be.

[11:23] Yes.

[11:23] Pelly.

[11:25] Yes.

[11:25] Sugeic.

[11:26] Yes.

[11:27] Reset.

[11:30] Yes.

[11:31] All right.

[11:32] That motion carries.

[11:33] Before we go into closed session, we would like to ask a request from City Council.

[11:39] If we could move item eight.

[11:42] Up to number six and do the closed session last.

[11:44] I need your permission to do that.

[11:46] I'm good with it.

[11:48] Council good already we will do reports and comments or pending retirement S.J.

[11:55] We have a pending retirement that he would like to let you know about.

[12:00] Well, I wouldn't like to let you know after let you know. So there's that.

[12:07] A lot of you probably know that we're losing chief over. He's turned in his paper, so to speak.

[12:15] So, it'll be sorely missed, you know, I've got to work with him for about a year and a half now and he's, he's been a real friend and a real champion for the city and a real champion for the fire department and I know you as long as you've known him a lot more than I have and longer and I'm sure you guys all will miss his input and leadership as well.

[12:38] And with that said, the reason that I have to tell you that, and I just whisper to him,

[12:43] and then I might not tell him that I hate to lose him.

[12:47] I really do.

[12:48] He's been a good friend and a great component to the leadership team.

[12:54] We're going to be working together, and he thank you to him for the very generous timeline

[13:03] that he's given us.

[13:04] He didn't try to keep it a secret or wait till last minute and make it a big surprise.

[13:09] He's very dedicated to getting the right person and helping that person transition.

[13:16] And I highly, highly hope that we can take advantage of that.

[13:21] It's a really big job and as all department heads are, and to be able to work with the

[13:28] former department head before he or she has gone is a huge benefit.

[13:32] So, we're trying to start early.

[13:37] It feels like we have a long time December seems like, forever away, it'll go quick.

[13:43] Everything takes so long to get it done and start it and then the recruitment and interviews it.

[13:50] We'll burn that time up before we know it.

[13:53] So, this is really just a heads up that the chief and I are going to be working on the actual job description.

[14:00] It hasn't been updated obviously since he came on in several years.

[14:06] Maybe we'll have changes and maybe we don't, we don't know yet.

[14:10] And then we'll come to PNC with any changes and request for us to post the position.

[14:17] At that point, we'll get with the police and fire commission because they will do the

[14:21] interviews.

[14:22] I'm not involved, Council has not involved, but we will help them get the job description

[14:27] posted and it will probably come to me so I'll just read those over to whoever their

[14:34] designated. So just wanted you to know that that was coming and that the process will try

[14:41] to move that really quickly and we hope to go to PNCH at PNCH next meeting in three weeks.

[14:48] That's all I have on that. Thank you. Thank you, SJ on that. Any other council member comments?

[14:55] Mr. Edwardson.

[14:57] Me again.

[14:59] Yeah.

[15:00] This is a line of point. I've got some thank you to put out takeout or put out. But last Saturday, the rice-like area of

[15:07] men's club had their annual kids fishing, Derby, and this is an event that's been going on for like 40 years now. So it's a big deal. And we had over 400, actually there are 410 boys and girls 12 and under who registered to participate in this event.

[15:26] So, big defense, and then when you consider every one of these kids had mom or dad, mom and dad, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, I mean, we had probably over 1,000 people who were there for this event, and they just had a great time, they were stretched out along the shoreline, from veterans park, almost up to the moose, you know, fishing and having a good time, and the giga line of laughter, and the weather cooperated was just great.

[15:53] And this is a service to the community.

[15:57] We serve hot dogs to the families for 25 cents.

[16:01] They can get a hot dog, 25 cents, chips, 25 cents of pop.

[16:04] So a family of, if I have a calculator,

[16:07] a family of four can equal our, let's just say $4,

[16:11] it's close enough, you know.

[16:13] And so it's family friendly, it's, you know, in so many ways.

[16:17] But it does take a lot of coordination, a lot of people,

[16:21] and a lot of support, you know, a lot of people

[16:22] involved besides the men's club and spouses and others, you know, so a shout out to the community

[16:28] services department and the support that your folks gave us, Tyler, thank you so much

[16:34] and setting up the street closures and so forth, the police department helped us, you know,

[16:39] in that way too, making sure we have the streets closed, Julie's department administration,

[16:44] helped us making sure we had the right paperwork signed, the fire department, I don't know what

[16:50] before we get me or may not have been involved with so many people were. Regardless, the

[16:55] Lake Protection District made sure that we had more of the weeds cleaned up than other,

[17:00] then typically the library had a role there. And so thank you to the library. And I appreciate

[17:06] all that you've done from the city. You know, from the community, we had a number of sponsors

[17:12] and our big sponsor McCain Foods really stepped it up this year and happened the past year.

[17:18] So we shout out to them, but there are other suppliers who don't need a different things

[17:23] or sow the things that cost.

[17:25] We gave 100 rods in reals away this year to kids, hundreds of prizes.

[17:31] So as a big deal, we put on every year,

[17:36] what else could I tell you?

[17:37] The only thing that comes to mind is that we seriously depleted the blue-gill inventory along

[17:42] the Lakeshore, but I just want to say thank you to so many people who made this big

[17:48] success. Thanks, Opelian. Appreciate it. Thank you, Doug. Thank you to the

[17:53] Rice Tech Mams Club, too, for this event that they've been putting on for 40

[17:56] years. It entertains the children for one day and off their phones and grab their

[18:00] fishing poles in a way they go. Are there any other council member comments?

[18:04] Joel Lee Anderson. Yes, Mayor, I'd like to recognize Team Abbey and Race

[18:08] like utilities. They recently received a safety achievement award through the

[18:13] Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin. They received a gold award for

[18:17] safety in terms of training and practice and protocol, and so I would like to say thank you to

[18:22] them and their leadership team. It's an honor for them to represent ice-like and get that

[18:26] gold award. All right. Thank you. Good job utilities. Way to be Tim OV.

[18:34] Any other council member comments?

[18:35] Gina? I just wanted to, I already sent him a text, but I wanted to give a shout out to Tyler Seaver at

[18:42] our new Community Services Director. We all probably have felt the pains of road construction around

[18:47] for a flight right now, there's a lot going on, but I think I speak on behalf of a large

[18:54] amount of parents, the appreciation for him holding off on the Wisconsin Project until

[18:59] school was out, is very much appreciated because that would have been a big headache.

[19:06] So, thank you for all you're doing as you are transitioning into the new role, and it doesn't

[19:10] go a notice.

[19:12] All right, and the other council member comments, Abby Fisher, Doug.

[19:17] Thank you to the men's club for including the library in the fishing derby.

[19:21] My understanding is we had over 200 youth register for the summer reading program at the derby and then also I think well over 50 or 60 adults.

[19:31] This summer the Rice Lake Public Library is encouraging all of us to read over 250,000 minutes worth of reading the summer.

[19:37] So if you're interested please swing by the library and you can join the reading program.

[19:42] Also adults, you would be eligible to maybe win one of the fabulous book collections that are out there.

[19:48] They're awesome.

[19:51] And additionally, our public library is working on a five-year strategic plan.

[19:55] And there are multiple ways that you all can give your input into what our library should look like.

[19:59] Look like in the next five years.

[20:01] So please take some time this summer to engage with our public library.

[20:05] Thank you.

[20:06] All righty, thank you, Council Member Fisher, anybody else?

[20:10] All I have is, Tyler Seeper, to again, Abby, did you want to keep going?

[20:16] I'm going to officially ask that we add to the PNC agenda for two weeks from now, just developing the process for the city administrator evaluation.

[20:31] That's how I'm making a motion for that.

[20:34] to be able to begin to the PMC agenda.

[20:36] It is simply the process.

[20:36] It would then come to the process, in my head,

[20:39] is it comes the counsel for like, yes,

[20:41] this is a tool we want to use, yes,

[20:42] this is a process we want to use similar

[20:44] to what we did last year?

[20:48] Well, second, putting that on the agenda.

[20:52] But, it's all right.

[20:54] Anything else?

[20:57] I'll go back to community services

[20:59] and I would like to thank Tyler for their job

[21:01] that they did today.

[21:02] And I invite the residents of Rice Lake

[21:05] surrounding area to go to Indian Mount Park and see the new floating dock system that they put in,

[21:11] that has a kayak launch and load. And I'm not sure if that one has handrails on it for handicapped.

[21:17] Also done at the swimming beach and narrowed park. There's two of them there. One does not have

[21:22] railings on. The other one is handicapped accessible. And there you also have a kayak loading and unloading

[21:28] ramp. So a new system that's out there, these docks will not be taken out in the winter time.

[21:33] they will be left there. So let's maintenance to do. And I was assured by a shell lake

[21:38] marine that the docs will do just fine over the winter time. They've done this before

[21:43] and they've done it for years. And then also community services were recognized, bird city

[21:50] Wisconsin recognizes a city of race lake for implementing sound practices and fostering

[21:55] public education on important bird conversation issues for 26. I have a letter here that

[22:02] have posted it out here on the wall or anybody could come in and read. With that,

[22:09] I would like to have a motion to go into closed session.

[22:11] I'll make a motion to convene in a closed session for

[22:14] Sue with Wisconsin Statute 1985,

[22:16] Sub-1, Sub-E, deliberating or negotiation of public properties,

[22:21] investing in public funds or conducting other specified public business

[22:25] whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session.

[22:30] The sole item item A potential developer agreement negotiations.

[22:35] Do we have a second? Second? Julie, is this a roll call? Roll call, please?

[22:41] Council Member Pellie. Yes.

[22:43] Yes.

[22:46] Edwardson. Yes.

[22:47] Anderson. Yes. Fisher. Yes. What's to be?

[22:50] That motion carries. We will be on close session.

[22:53] Thank you, everybody.

[22:58] All right.

[22:58] Good evening, everybody.

[23:00] The City of the Resulate Common Council is back in open session.

[23:02] I'd like to have a motion to do this.

[23:05] I'll move that we can go back into open session.

[23:07] Second, motion in the second to go into open session.

[23:10] All of those in favor say aye.

[23:12] Aye.

[23:13] Those opposed.

[23:14] We are back in open session.

[23:16] I'd like to let everybody know that we had no action taken during our closed session.

[23:21] And with that, I will adjourn this meeting.

[23:24] We are adjourned.

Common Council - 6/9/2026

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