Finance Committee Meeting

1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 2 Monday, October 13, 2025, 1:00 PM 3 (Approved with Amendments) 4 5 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 6 Chairperson Bhirdo called the Finance Committee meeting to order on Monday, October 13, 2025, at 7 1:00 PM. 8 9 Present: Chairperson Denise Bhirdo, and members Louise Howson, Brigid White, Mike Laszkiewicz and 10 Andy Woerfel (arrived after the meeting began) 11 12 Staff: Financial Specialist/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Village Clerk Julie Thyssen 13 14 Other: Adam Ruechel of Baird (via Zoom) 15 16 2. Approve Agenda 17 Motion by Howson, second by Laszkiewicz, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried-all ayes. 18 19 3. Approve Meeting Minutes: August 25, 2025 20 Motion by Laszkiewicz, second by White, to approve the meeting minutes of August 25, 2025. Motion 21 carried-all ayes. 22 23 4. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public 24 No public comments were offered. 25 26 5. Discussion/Action Items 27 a. Review of 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan and 2026 Budget 28 The committee began by reviewing the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Bhirdo 29 acknowledged that Andy Woerfel had joined the meeting. 30 31 White inquired about projects in the CIP, particularly expressing concerns about the wastewater 32 treatment plant's $15 million expense. She emphasized the importance of due diligence and having clear 33 answers when taxpayers ask about large expenditures. Bhirdo clarified that decisions were still being 34 made regarding the wastewater treatment plant, and the amount currently serves as a placeholder. 35 White also mentioned concerns about sewer and water laterals. Howson asked about the Wiltse 36 subdivision infrastructure, noting that $3.5 million had been removed from the 2025 CIP. She provided 37 an update from a recent Housing Committee meeting she attended where Tom Landgraf, a housing 38 consultant from University of Wisconsin-Madison, had discussed development models for the Wiltse 39 property. Howson explained that the Housing Committee needed funding (estimated at $50,000- 40 $75,000) for a site design to develop a model for the first phase of development at Wiltse. Howson 41 detailed that the Wiltse property is 57 acres, with approximately 49 developable acres due to soil and 42 arsenic issues [this acreage is incorrect]. She described "pocket neighborhoods" or cluster homes that 43 could be built on the property. The Housing Committee needs professional design assistance to create a 44 viable model but requires funding to proceed. White expressed concerns about housing restrictions, 45 questioning how the Village could ensure homes would be used for full-time workforce housing rather 46 than vacation homes. She suggested obtaining legal guidance before committing funds to design work. 1  Minutes of the October 13, 2025, Meeting of the Finance Committee – Approved with Amendments 1 Bhirdo suggested allocating $5,000 from the undesignated balance fund for legal consultation regarding 2 deed restrictions and housing models. She further proposed reallocating $75,000 from the trackless 3 equipment budget ($150,000) to fund the Housing Committee's design work if the legal consultation 4 proved favorable. The committee had discussed housing models from communities like Crested Butte 5 and Telluride in Colorado, as well as Sturgeon Bay's Geneva Ridge, all of which have implemented 6 various restrictions for workforce housing. 7 8 Regarding other CIP items, Bhirdo expressed concern about the $150,000 trackless equipment purchase 9 after a recent major overhaul. Laszkiewicz questioned whether the library painting should be in the 10 operating budget rather than the CIP. Ruechel explained that per Village policy, items over $5,000 are 11 typically considered capital improvements. 12 13 Laszkiewicz sought clarification on how TID 1 funds were being applied to the CIP. Ruechel explained 14 that TID 1 is reimbursing the CIP fund for earlier projects that should have been funded by the TIF but 15 weren't able to be at that time. 16 17 The committee also discussed the broadband loan interest of $125,000 listed as revenue. Financial 18 Specialist Gannik explained that while interest is earned on the unused loan funds, there is also a 19 corresponding expense to pay interest on the bond. Various options for the $3.2 million broadband 20 bond were discussed, including reallocating it to the administration building project. Ruechel confirmed 21 that the Village could: 1) use the funds for broadband as originally intended, 2) reallocate the funds to 22 another project, or 3) pay off the bond through a defeasance process. The committee agreed to 23 recommend to the board that the broadband loan funds be reallocated to the administration building 24 project. 25 26 The committee discussed the projected tax levy impact, with Bhirdo noting that the finalized mill rate is 27 estimated at 4.8586, down from 5.2357 the previous year. This represents a savings of approximately 28 $38 per $100,000 of property value, or about $190 on a $500,000 home. The committee reached 29 consensus on recommending the CIP to the Village Board with the following amendments: allocating 30 $5,000 for housing legal consultation, reducing the trackless equipment line to $75,000, and adding 31 $75,000 for potential Wiltse housing design work. 32 33 Motion by Laszkiewicz, second by Howson, to recommend the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan and 34 2026 Budget to the Village Board as presented and amended. Motion carried – all ayes. 35 36 b. Waterfront Museum Rent 37 White explained that the Waterfront Museum's lease term was originally 10 years with a payment in 38 lieu of taxes (PILOT) capped at $50,000. The Marina Committee had suggested extending this to 30 years 39 since the museum is investing significantly in building restoration. Howson noted that the compromise 40 proposal was that after 10 years, the rent would be the annual payment in lieu of taxes minus $10,000 41 plus a Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment. The committee agreed that PILOT would be capped at 42 $50,000 for the first 10 years. From year 11 to 30, it would be $40,000 plus annual CPI. Gannik 43 commented that the audit team would appreciate the simplified formula. The committee agreed to 44 forward this consensus to the Marina Committee. 45 46 c. Wiltse Subdivision Design 47 The committee had already discussed this topic extensively during the CIP review. White clarified that 48 she supported the housing initiative but wanted to ensure it would be implemented successfully with 2  Minutes of the October 13, 2025, Meeting of the Finance Committee – Approved with Amendments 1 proper legal guidance regarding deed restrictions. The committee discussed whether property owners 2 in Wiltse should pay for their own infrastructure as other property owners in the Village do. White 3 questioned why taxpayers would fund infrastructure for Wiltse when other property owners must pay 4 for their own sewer and water extensions. Bhirdo explained that Sister Bay is one of the few Door 5 County communities addressing workforce housing, and the approach is meant to help create affordable 6 housing for workers who support local businesses and services. She emphasized that infrastructure 7 subsidization was viewed as a community investment. Laszkiewicz suggested that further community 8 discussion was needed on this topic, and the initial legal work would help determine what restrictions 9 could be legally implemented. 10 11 6. Next Meeting 12 a. Discuss Public Hearing Schedule 13 The committee reviewed the upcoming schedule for budget approval: 14 • October 21: Village Board receives CIP and budget recommendations 15 • November 11: Potential Finance Committee meeting (placeholder if needed) 16 • November 17: Public hearing and budget adoption at 5:30 PM 17 • November 18: Regular Village Board meeting 18 • November 19-21: Budget submission to the county 19 20 7. Executive Session 21 Motion by Bhirdo, second by Howson, to adjourn into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 22 §19.85(1)(c) to consider employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any 23 public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility: Village 24 Administrator compensation and benefits. 25 26 Roll call vote: Bhirdo - aye; Howson - aye; White - aye; Laszkiewicz - aye; Woerfel - aye. Motion carried 27 unanimously. 28 29 The committee entered closed session at 3:05 PM. 30 31 7. b. Reconvene into Open Session 32 Since no decision was made the committee adjourned in closed session at 3:51 PM. 33 34 8. Adjourn 35 See item 7. b. 36 37 Minutes by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 3