Roll Call
Commissioner Crowe was online. Commissioner Gentz was absent.
- Approval of Minutes
Approved.
- Public Hearing:
- Public Hearing regarding Ordinance 2025-07, an Ordinance rezoning certain lands along Midway Road from Agriculture (A) to Restricted Industrial (I-1).
Request was withdrawn but the public hearing still needed to be held because it was noticed. Mark Vinell works for GFL and spoke thanking the council for all their input on the matter. Susan Lindahl who lives in the neighborhood spoke and thanked GFL for withdrawing the application. She wants to see this area continue to be a livable neighborhood. Michael Hofland works for Albrigala which owns land next to the property. Albrigala wants the area to continue to be zoned as is. He said he attended the zoning meeting and was surprised to see that the rezoning request was consistent with the comprehensive plan.
- Public Comments (other agenda items only).
Mark Vinell spoke again stating he was also at the meeting for Item 6C if Council should have any questions.
- Old Business:
- Ordinance 2025-07, an Ordinance rezoning certain lands along Midway Road from Agriculture (A) to Restricted Industrial (I-1) – discussion, possible waiver of 1st Reading, possible waiver of 2nd Reading, and possible adoption.
Due to GFL’s withdrawal of the Request for Rezone, there is no action needed
regarding Proposed Ordinance 2025-07. Proposed Ordinance 2025-07 will
not be adopted. The parcel will remain in the Agriculture (A) District.
- New Business:
- Proposed Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services Agreement between the City of Menomonie and the Menomonie Rural
Fire/Emergency Medical Services District for the term of January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030 – discussion and possible action.
The new agreement will provide parity across the county. Chief Dennis Klass started by stating this was a two-year process. He spent a lot of time at town meetings explaining the issues. Currently the rural parts of the county pay 8% of the budgeted expenses but should pay 30%. The issue should have been corrected sooner. Over the next 5 years the costs that towns will have to pay will increase by 4% per year. The city is spreading this out over time to make it easier for towns to adjust their budgets rather than seeing a 22% increase in one year. Commissioner Erdman asked if 30% of calls came from outside the city limits. The Chief said 24 to 26% of calls are rural. But the time it takes to travel to and from the calls is 50 to 60% longer than city calls. Using those percentages the Chief felt 30% was a good place to be.
Commissioner Yonko asked what would happen if the city needed to make a huge purchase. How would that get factored into the costs? The Chief responded that the towns provide their own firefighting equipment, and the City has its own equipment. The city does provide the ambulances, however. The towns do not have their own personnel. The City provides the personnel. Only the villages of Elk Mound and Colfax have personnel which can be utilized. The fire budget is 86% personnel costs. Commissioner Schwebs asked if there is any sharing of fire equipment between the towns and the city. The chief said yes, the towns and the City have worked together since 1958. Commissioner Yonko made a motion to Approve the Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services Agreement between the Menomonie Rural Fire/Emergency Medical Services District and the City of Menomonie for the Period of January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030. It was seconded by Commissioner Solberg. All voted aye.
- Review of the Recreation Department 2026 revised fee schedule – discussion and possible action.
The last increase in program rates occurred in 2023. The Recreation Advisory Board recommended approval of the rate increases at their September 2, 2025, meeting. Recreation Manager Mitch Stai provided examples of the increases.
Recreation Programming: will increase by $3.00 per program. For example, Flag Football will go from $31.00 to $34.00 for City residents and from $53.00 to $56.00 for Non-City residents.
Birthday Party Package: will be increased to $200.00 (Currently $150.00)
Adult Volleyball League: will be increased to $225.00 (Currently $200.00)
Leisure Services Center Building Supervisor Rate: will be increased to $20.00/hr. (Currently $9.00/hr.)
Wakanda Waterpark Party Room Rental: will be increased to $100.00 (Currently $85.00)
A Motion to Approve the Recommended Recreation Department
Program Rates, as Presented, to go into effect on January 1, 2026, was introduced by Commissioner Schwebs. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Pickard. All voted aye.
- Award of Solid Waste Site Refuse and Recycling Hauling Bid for the term of January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030 – discussion and possible action.
The current agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2025. City Staff solicited unit price proposals from nine vendors and received three responses. The low proposal was from GFL Solid Waste Midwest, LLC. A motion was made by Commissioner Luther to award the 2026-2030 Solid Waste Site Refuse & Recycling Hauling Contract to GFL Solid Waste Midwest LLC. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Sutherland. It was a roll call vote, and all voted yes.
- Award of Evans Lane Sanitary Sewer Cure-In-Place-Pipe (CIPP) Quote – discussion and possible action.
City Staff solicited unit price proposals and received two on October 1. The low proposal was from Visu-Sewer, LLC. Commissioner Yonko asked what happens if there is blockage in the pipe. David Schofield, Director of Public Works said the pipe is cleaned beforehand. Visu-Sewer did the CIPP on Stout Road. The new pipe should last 50 years. The advantage of this method is that the road doesn’t have to be dug up. A motion was made by Commissioner Schwebs to award the Evans Lane CIPP project to Visu-Sewer at a cost of $41,887.50 The motion was seconded by Commissioner Sommerfeld. It was a roll call vote, and all voted yes.
- Proposed 2026 Safety and Health Consulting Agreement with Keeping Safety Simple, LLC – discussion and possible action.
City Staff recommend continuing this agreement. Commissioner Sommerfeld made a motion to approve the 2026 Safety and Health Consulting Agreement with Keeping Safety Simple, LLC at a cost of $21,000. (Same price as last year.) The motion was seconded by Commissioner Solberg. It was a roll call vote with all approving.
- Proposed Ordinance 2025-09, an Ordinance amending Title 14, Chapter 4 of the City Code to decrease the minimum lot area and lot width for lots served by public sewer – discussion, introduction and possible referral to the Plan Commission.
Mr. Schofield stated that most of the residential neighborhoods platted prior to 1970 contain eight 66 foot wide by 132-foot-deep lots per block. In the 70’s the lot sizes were changed to accommodate ranch style housing which required a larger footprint. The lot sizes became 80 feet wide with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet. This proposal would change the width back to 66 feet wide with a minimum lot size of 8,712 square feet. Mr. Schofield stated that Madison has 5000 square foot lots, but he didn’t think the city should go that small at this point. A motion was made by Sydney Brennan to Introduce Proposed Ordinance 2025-09, an Ordinance Reducing Single Family Residential Minimum Lot Sizes and Refer Proposed Ordinance 2025-09 to the Plan Commission for Review and Recommendation. The motion was seconded. The motion was approved. The Proposed Ordinance 2025-09 will be reviewed at the October 27 Plan Commission meeting, and the November 3 City Council meeting will include a public hearing.
- Clarify membership of the Ad-Hoc Housing Committee – discussion and possible action.
At the September 30, 2025, Ad-Hoc Housing Committee meeting a question arose regarding whether the Mayor is a voting member of the Ad-Hoc Housing Committee. Legal stated that the Council needs to add the mayor to the committee as a voting member. A motion was made by Commissioner Schwebs that the Mayor be a voting member of the Ad-Hoc Housing Committee. The motion was seconded by Mary Solberg. The majority voted aye. Two voted no.
- Authorization to submit WisDOT STP-Urban, STP-Local, MSID, MSIS and TAP Grant Applications – discussion and possible action.
This application is submitted every two years. This is a very competitive process and there is no guarantee that the projects the city submits will be approved. The funding for the higher traffic roads is an 80/20 sharing and for the minor roads a 50/50 sharing. The grant request will include an upgrade to 14th Avenue and Dairyland Road, other curb and gutter and sidewalk upgrades and adding flashing lights that are activated when pedestrians start crossing at several locations. Commissioner Erdman asked what the cost of the flashing light beacons were. Mr. Scofield said it costs $70,000 for a pair but if a handicap ramp needs to be added at the intersection it will be more. Commissioner Brennan made a motion to submit the grant. Commissioner Pickard seconded it. All voted aye.
- Proposal to add three (3) additional firefighter/paramedic positions to the Menomonie Fire Department – discussion and possible action.
The City Administrator reported that the Fire Department has several personnel challenges. Due to staff on leave, the Department is down 6 people, and some people have been working 14 days straight. The Chief reported that there has been forced overtime for the past 6 months. An employee just quit because he was tired of all the overtime. The department doesn’t want to lose more people. The Chief is requesting 3 people immediately which will help until some people return from leave. The goal is to always have 6 people at each station. Potential employees don’t want to come to Menomonie because of the staffing problems. Every day employees are being asked or told to stay for a longer period. Commissioner Yonko asked if the new hires can be more seasoned individuals, so you don’t also have training costs.
The Chief also wants to move to a 48/96 platform which should help attract people. This is where people work two days and then have 4 days off. Menomonie would be the only department in the area that would offer this. Currently only Wausau has this, and it has become popular in other parts of the country. The Chief brought employees with him to the meeting but there were four calls during the meeting, so they had to leave.
The Chief was asked if three people were enough and if the city is having to pay a lot of overtime, doesn’t that cover the costs of adding the people. The Chief said the starting pay is good for the area, but the problem is the forced overtime. He would love to have 10 per shift but if they can start with 6 it will at least allow for coverage if someone is out on leave. The Mayor stated that the city should start with three more people and then see what can be done with next year’s budget to add further personnel. The City Administrator stated that it costs $330,000 for the base salary and benefits for 3 people. Will need equipment too. There are also levy limits and the City doesn’t have all the shared revenue numbers yet. The expense for these positions will be minimal this year because the city is so close to the end of the year. Commissioner Luther motioned to add 3 positions this year and next. Commissioner Schwebs seconded it. All voted yes.
- Budget Transfers
The Police Department has proposed an intra-fund budget transfer of $5,000 for attendance at the National 2026 IACP Officer Health & Wellness Conference.
The Building Inspection Department has proposed budget transfer from
contingency for $800 to purchase updated computer equipment. A required
update to Windows 11 creates the need to replace a computer.
Commissioner Schwebs made a motion to Approve the Budget Transfers. Commissioner Luther seconded the motion. Vote was unanimous.
- Mayor’s Report
None
- Communications and Miscellaneous Business
Pickleball courts to be finished in spring. Shop with a cop event coming up. The housing committee is working with Groww on the rental inspection program. May want to consider extending the program and or change the name so the group can address more areas, for example, economic development. The draft budget is coming. The clerk went to an election conference. October is domestic violence month. There are opportunities to support Bridge to Hope. One is to bring supplies. There is a flyer out that says what they need. There is also the Walk for Paws event which is a joint effort between Bridge to Hope and Humane Society. Commissioner Yonko mentioned a budget forum at Stout. Stout enrollment up across all disciplines. 7100 undergraduates. Higher than projected. Only state school with this. Commissioner Crowe reminded people of the Empty Bowls event at Tanglewood Greens.
- Claims
There was a Revised Claims List. Commissioner Brennan asked about the increase in legal expenses and the mayor phone costs. The mayor phone costs is a budget category which covers more than the mayor and the legal expenses are related to an increase in open records requests and other requests. Commissioner Luther asked why the total between the original list and the revised list was the same. The City Administrator said he forgot to recalculate the total. The motion was made and seconded to approve payment. Roll call vote was a unanimous aye.
- Licenses
- Normal license list – discussion and possible action
No license applications were received.
- Adjourn
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