City Council

Minutes Town of Vermont Board Meeting September 8, 2025 Vermont Town Hall 4017 County Rd JJ, Black Earth WI 53515 7:00 P.M. To Join the meeting by phone: +1 347-896-0991 PIN: 481 262 925# In attendance Kirk Lynch Polly Kawalek Nick Balster Alex McKenzie , Doug Meier (by phone) 1.​ Call to Order and certification of notice posting Kirk Lynch called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. Katie certified the meeting had been posted according to statute and emailed to subscribers 2.​ Approval of agenda Alex made a motion to approve the agenda. Kirk made a motion to move the treasurer’s report to item 13. Motion carried 5-0 3.​ Approval of August minutes Polly made a motion to approve the August minutes. Motion carried 5-0. 4.​ Citizens’ Input none 5.​ Treasurer’s report (moved to below item 12) We did get the check for the half of the Bohn Road Bridge project. Shared revenue is coming in November. We will also make the loan payment in November for the fire truck. 6.​ Clerk’s report It was a very light month so far for bills, likely due to the early meeting following a holiday, many of the monthly bills have not arrived. 7.​ Payment of bills Nick made a motion to approve payment of the bills. Motion carried 5-0. 8.​ Patrolman Report, Mt. Horeb Fire Department, Black Earth Fire District and District 1 EMS Reports Jack has been doing lots of tree clean up and some signage. He has started mowing and has about 35 hours of mowing to go. Chief Minter was here in person to present some slides on the upcoming budget proposal. Kirk made a motion to approve the Mount Horeb proposed budget increase not to exceed $77,000. Tim asked since we don’t have the equalized value how we would want to handle it if it exceeds that amount. Kirk amended his  motion to “approve the 3.9% increase of the Mount Horeb budget”. Motion carried 5-0. Doug provided an update on the Black Earth Fire budget, which will increase considerably due to the change proposed to the pay scales to bring them into parity with adjoining districts and also a change in equalized value for Vermont. 9.​ Consideration and possible approval of the rezone for the Anderson property 4551 Pleasant Valley Road to 3 lots to be rezoned to RR-8 Made a motion to rezone from FP-35 for the Anderson property at 4551 Pleasant Valley Road to create 3 lots to be rezoned to RR-8, with a deed restriction with the supplied language proposed by the planning commission. Motion carried 5-0 The planning commission wishes to place the following stipulation on approval: “No development shall take place on the properties until such time as the landowner obtains development approval from the Town of Vermont. The approvals include site development, driveway placement, and ridge-top protection compliance. No zoning permit or building permit shall be obtained until such time as Town development approvals are granted.” 10.​ Planning commission notes on the DCTA survey Should we support reducing the number of land uses listed as conditional uses in the County Zoning Code to get greater discretion and control over the land use. The planning commission sent the following notes: · Unsure, we need more information. · Could put problematic issues in a separate zoning category. · Zoning is a much stronger category and gives us more discretion. We support requiring that applicants submit the same application to both Tim provided clarification that DCTA has been discussing proposing a new zoning category for some of the more controversial items such as quarries. 11.​Draft 2025 Town of Budget budget preparation Heather talked through some of the updated numbers for the levy limit worksheet, and it looks like we will levy about 538,000, which is an increase from last year. 12.​Consideration and possible approval of electronic payment for the following regular bills: electricity, internet/telephone service, newspaper legal notices, insurance Nick made a move that we autopay electricity, internet/telephone service, newspaper legal notices, insurance. Motion carried 5-0. 13.​Town of Vermont 2025 Picnic debrief It was a nice time. We had about 80 people. One person complained about the game being on the radio. Next year we will advertise at the august election.  14.​Agenda items for October Budget Review treasurers salary Budget approval for Black Earth Fire 15.​Adjournment Alex made a motion to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:43 The Town Board’s agenda includes a period for public comments. That period, which is not mandated by state law, is offered to permit orderly and civil discussion of Town public business and matters. During the remainder of the Town Board meeting, persons other than Board members and Town officers are permitted to speak only if recognized by the Chair. Public comment may address any matter pertaining to Town, but must not be repetitive, involve personal attacks, profanity, or disruptive comments. The Chair may rule any person out of order and terminate their comment period. By adhering to these principles, we aim to ensure productive and fair discussions while respecting the rights of all to be heard. We appreciate active engagement and encourage participation in the governance of our wonderful Town of Vermont.