Finance Committee Meeting

1 FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 2 Monday, February 23, 2026, 1:00 PM 3 Approved 4 5 1. Call to Order 6 Chair Bhirdo called the Finance Committee meeting to order on Monday, February 23, 2026 at 2:00 PM. 7 8 Present: Chairperson Denise Bhirdo, and members Louise Howson, Brigid White, Mike Laszkiewicz and 9 Andy Woerfel 10 11 Staff: Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Financial Specialist/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Utilities Director 12 Megan Barnes, Village Clerk Julie Thyssen 13 14 Other: Nick and Mary Deviley 15 16 2. Roll Call 17 Committee members present: Bhirdo, White, Laszkiewicz, Howson, and Woerfel. 18 19 3. Approve Agenda 20 Motion by Laszkiewicz, second by Howson to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried - all ayes. 21 22 4. Approve Meeting Minutes 23 a. February 9, 2026 – Regular Meeting 24 Bhirdo requested amendments to the minutes including striking a line about committee agreement on 25 future budget documentation and clarifying the TID incentive request section to note that Deviley 26 provided documentation confirming properties within TID 2 after initially being told he was not in the TID. 27 28 Motion by Howson, second by Laszkiewicz to approve the February 9, 2026 meeting minutes as amended. 29 Motion carried - all ayes. 30 31 5. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 32 No public comments were made. 33 34 6. Discussion/Action Items 35 a. 2026 Budget; Review Allocation for SAIL 36 Andrews provided research on municipal donations to SAIL (Senior Advocacy for Independent Living). The 37 findings showed that Sister Bay and Liberty Grove are the only municipalities within the county that 38 contribute to SAIL, with both allocating $10,000 for 2026. Some communities like Gibraltar have no 39 donation policies, while Ephraim has a partial donation policy. SAIL's service area includes Bailey's Harbor, 40 Ephraim, Liberty Grove, and Sister Bay. 41 42 Andrews explained that SAIL charges $150 for nine visits over a period of time, with other donations 43 potentially covering costs for those unable to afford the fee. Laszkiewicz inquired about the funding 44 structure and whether Sister Bay's contribution would provide priority access for village residents. 45 Andrews clarified this would be a general sustaining donation, not service-specific. 46 47 The committee took no action on this item. 1  Minutes of the February 23, 2026, Meeting of the Finance Committee – Approved 1 b. Hwy-57 Trail-Utilities Infrastructure Discussion 2 Andrews presented the Highway 57 multi-use trail utility extension project, explaining that while initially 3 planned for spring 2026, the trail project will likely be delayed. This presents an opportunity to extend 4 utilities along the corridor before trail construction to avoid future disruption and relocation costs. 5 The utility extension was partially budgeted with $650,000 allocated ($400,000 for collection and 6 $250,000 for water distribution). The total project cost estimate from Robert E. Lee Engineers is $921,600, 7 not including the lift station, which could cost between $1,000,000 and $2,500,000 depending on design 8 requirements. 9 10 Utilities Director Barnes joined remotely and confirmed she is working with engineers on lift station 11 design. She explained that gravity service can reach approximately 400 feet south of Eagle Mechanical, 12 but anything beyond requires the lift station. 13 14 Laszkiewicz expressed concern about approving an unbudgeted expense representing a significant budget 15 variance two months into the fiscal year. He questioned the project's merit without a comprehensive 16 process including public hearings and clear cost understanding. 17 18 Property owner Nick Deviley addressed the committee, explaining he initiated discussions with Barnes 19 about bringing laterals to his properties. He expressed concern about potential special assessment costs, 20 estimating $750,000 over his quarter-mile frontage, which would result in $75,000 annually over ten years 21 plus taxes. Deviley indicated this would not be financially feasible and he might pursue private installation 22 instead. 23 24 White raised questions about special assessment methodology, asking whether costs would be divided by 25 total project linear footage or calculated per section. Barnes explained that assessments typically consider 26 which properties benefit from specific infrastructure, with lift station costs allocated only to properties 27 requiring that service. 28 29 Committee members White and Woerfel noted they own properties along the proposed route and would 30 abstain from voting due to potential conflicts of interest. 31 32 Discussion revealed that properties requiring lift station service would bear both main line and lift station 33 assessment costs, while properties served by gravity would only pay for main line infrastructure. 34 This could result in significantly higher costs for properties south of Eagle Mechanical. 35 36 Woerfel suggested considering TID financing since most affected properties are within TID 1 and TID 2, 37 noting that such infrastructure investments align with TID purposes and could generate increased 38 property values and tax increment. 39 40 Laszkiewicz identified three concerns: lack of established special assessment methodology, unknown total 41 project costs significantly exceeding the $650,000 budgeted amount, and the need for a robust public 42 process including stakeholder input. 43 44 Action Items: 45 • Staff will work with consultants to finalize engineering and develop financing alternatives 46 • Andrews and Barnes will collaborate on developing special assessment calculations and TID 47 financing options 48 • Information will be brought back to Finance Committee for further review 2  Minutes of the February 23, 2026, Meeting of the Finance Committee – Approved 1 7. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 2 -TIF Incentive Policy 3 -Utility Extension 4 -Fiber optic bond discussion was added to future agenda items per board direction. 5 -A TID 101 presentation by Baird was discussed for scheduling after April 20, 2026 to accommodate the 6 new board composition. 7 8 8. Next Meeting 9 a. Monday, March 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM 10 The next Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM 11 12 9. Adjourn 13 Motion by Laszkiewicz, second by White to adjourn at 3:19 PM. Motion carried - all ayes. 14 15 Minutes by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 3