Plan Commission

PLAN COMMISSION City of Kaukauna Council Chambers Municipal Services Building 144 W. Second Street, Kaukauna Thursday, December 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM MINUTES In-Person in Council Chambers Mayor Penterman called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 1. Roll Call Members Present: Brett Jensen, Giovanna Feller, John Neumeier, John Moore, Michael Avanzi (via Zoom), Ken Schoenike, Pennie Thiele Members Absent: Mayor Tony Penterman Others Present: Associate Planner Adrienne Nelson, KHS Civic Engagement Teacher Tim Roehrig, KHS Civic Engagement Student Representatives Lily Wendt and Luke Tetzlaff, and Times Villager Reporter Brian Roebke Theile made a motion to excuse the absent member. Seconded by Jensen. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Approval of Minutes a. Approve Minutes from November 20, 2025 Neumeier made a motion to approve the minutes from November 20, 2025. Seconded by Feller. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Old Business a. None 4. New Business a. KHS Civic Engagement Class – DNR Grant Proposal for Grignon Park Facility Kaukauna High School Civic Engagement Teacher Tim Roehrig introduced student representatives Lily Wendt and Luke Tetzlaff, who presented on their Grignon Park project. This project includes: a warming shelter to be constructed at the park with an estimated cost of $400,000; a 302’ tow rope with a one-day initial set up and cost of $110,000, a $3,000 replacement fee (rope life is 8-10 years), and agreement with the City of Kaukauna for annual set up and take down; 150 soft-bottom and double rider tubes with a cost of $22,825, with replacement approximately every 4 years; 430 pairs of skates in a variety of sizes for $21,250; a portable ice rink with a chiller that will be in operation November through March; and picnic tables for outdoor seating at the hill and rink that will be built by the KHS Tech-Ed Department. Currently there is parking available for 420 people at the bottom of the park and 84 people at the top, not including street parking. The City has purchased a piece of land that will potentially provide more parking. The Civic Engagement class is trying to get sponsorships as part of its business plan to help fund the project. The Nelson Family Foundation committed to the naming rights of the warming shelter with a donation of $250,000. The naming rights for the rink at $300,000, and hill at $200,000, are still open. Unison Credit Union bought the naming rights to the tubes for $75,000. There is also a sponsorship snowflake wall where people/businesses can donate $500 for an 8”x8” snowflake. There are also medium and large options to purchase. The Civic Engagement class also created a website: grignonmountmajesty.com. This is for people to learn more about the project, donate, and get involved. The economic outlook for the project is to become a destination spot for the Fox Cities and boost tourism within the area. The hope is to increase cash flow by drawing families to the area and spending time at this one-of-a-kind park. The rink and hill are larger than the nearest competitors. They anticipate this facility would bring in 60,000 visitors per year. Current partners include: Baisch Engineering, Kaukauna Utilities, Fox Cities Visitors Bureau, Unison Credit Union, and the Nelson Family Foundation. The Civic Engagement class has had good discussions with current and potential sponsors that may make this project happen sooner than expected. They are working with construction companies to help lower the cost of building and also with TDS for sponsorship. The class has been filling out numerous grant applications and sending out postcards to residents and small businesses around Kaukauna to get support from them. The timeline of the project is as follows: in 2021, students came up with the idea; in 2022, students met with the mayor and Common Council to get approval; in 2023, students met with city engineers, Baisch Engineering, and Kaukauna Utilities for the warming shelter and park design; in 2024, students started reaching out for funding; and in 2025, students created a TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram account to promote the project and continue to work on getting more donations. Today, the students are asking the City to sign a deed saying that Grignon Park will always stay a public park. This would allow the class to apply for a DNR grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which could potentially pay for up to half of the $1.6 million project costs. The class has been working with John Neumeier to take the proper steps to fill out this grant request. Neumeier noted that the City has received similar grants for La Follette Park and Bayorgeon Park development. The grant requires the owner to have full rights to the land and requires the owner to put a restriction on the deed ensuring the property will be a public facility in perpetuity. The Civic Engagement class wants to make sure the Plan Commission would recommend this to the City Council if they are able to get this grant. Neumeier stated that we have done this in the past for other parks. Another possible option is the City leasing the land to the Kaukauna School District for perpetuity, and the school would own the piece of land that the project is on, and the City would have a use agreement with the school district for the building. There was some clarification regarding the land involved in the grant restriction. Neumeier explained that any land that would fall under the grant in terms of public use would need to be designated by a legal description, preferably a Certified Survey Map. This area would not include the Grignon Mansion, blacksmith shop, and historical areas on site.  The Commission complimented the students for their hard work put into the project and is in favor of applying for the DNR grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. b. Park Donation Guidelines Update Associate Planner Nelson presented the City’s finalized version of the park donation guidelines with suggested updates from the November 20th Plan Commission meeting. These new guidelines simplify verbiage, add additional donation options, specify costs, and list available locations. Changes include a list of possible donations under the “other” section as well as clarification on what is all included in the cost of donation. The image under the "other" section will be changed, possibly to a little free library. Feller made a motion to approve the park donation guidelines update. Seconded by Neumeier. The motion passed unanimously. c. Park Donation Application Review – Bench Associate Planner Nelson presented a park bench donation application submitted by Karen Harris for a bench to be installed at Horseshoe Valley Park, in memory of Kenn Harris. The bench would be in the City’s standard bench style and would include a plaque. Staff worked with the donor to find a suitable location, and it is proposed to be installed behind the outfield of the main softball diamond. Installation would take place in the summer of 2026. Jensen made a motion to approve the park bench donation at the location presented. Seconded by Schoenike. The motion passed unanimously. d. Park Donation application Review – Seasonal Portable Toilet Associate Planner Nelson presented a donation application for a seasonal portable toilet submitted by Kaukauna Utilities. The portable toilet would be placed at the head of the Konkapot Trail from now until April. This is an annual donation and, due to a staff miscommunication, has already been installed. Staff is looking for a blanket approval, so  this wouldn’t need to come before the Commission annually and could be approved by staff going forward. Thiele made a motion to approve the seasonal portable toilet at the location presented with no need to come back annually, allowing the Planning Department to give approval in the future. Seconded by Jensen. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Other Business a. None 6. Adjourn Jensen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Schoenike. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:31 p.m. Christina Nelson, Deputy Clerk