Special Village Board Meeting

1 VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES 2 Thursday, September 18, 2025 3 (Approved) 4 5 6 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 7 8 The September 18, 2025, meeting of the Sister Bay Village Board of Trustees was called to order by 9 President Nate Bell at 11:39 A.M. 10 11 Present: President Bell and trustees Louise Howson, Chad Kodanko, Brigid White, Kurt Harff, Patrice 12 Champeau. Denise Bhirdo was absent 13 14 Staff: Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer, Utilities Director Megan Barnes, and Administrative 15 Assistant Sarah Bertges 16 17 Others: Mary Smythe, Jill Wiebe, Barb Meyer, Laurel McDermott, Tyler Duvall Esq BS53436 18 19 2. Approve Agenda 20 Motion by Howson, second by Harff to approve the agenda. Motion carried – All ayes. 21 22 3. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public 23 Resident Mary Smythe expressed regret regarding the departure of Administrator Julie Schmelzer. 24 She praised Schmelzer's effectiveness, dedication, and vision during her tenure, noting Schmelzer 25 had secured significant grant funding for village projects. Smythe stated concern about staff 26 turnover and questioned the transparency of the Village Board, referencing multiple executive 27 sessions and questioning where the contract was that the board was to discuss that day under item 28 c. She also expressed support for having separate zoning administrator and village administrator 29 positions. 30 31 4. Discussion/Action Items 32 a. Job Description; Village Administrator/Zoning Administrator 33 Schmelzer explained that in anticipation of her resignation announcement the previous week, she 34 had approached the Personnel Committee in August to review the administrator job description and 35 update it. The committee forwarded the description to the board. She encouraged the board to 36 separate the zoning role from the administrator role, but added that while separating the roles 37 might be beneficial, it was not currently budgeted. 38 39 Howson noted she had reviewed job descriptions from other municipalities for consistency and 40 discussed the variation in administrative structures across Wisconsin municipalities. She explained 41 that some have administrators, some don't, and very few combine administrator and zoning 42 manager roles, emphasizing the importance of the job description rather than title. 43 44 Schmelzer added that with the Finance Specialist no longer serving as Finance Director, more budget 45 responsibilities had been added to the administrator job description. 46 47 Bell inquired about the two common tracks for village administrators - zoning focused versus finance 48 focused. Schmelzer confirmed this distinction, adding that most administrators specialize in either 49 budget/finance or community development. She explained this specialization typically begins during 50 education and suggested finding someone with both skill sets would likely require an experienced 51 candidate.  Minutes of the September 18, 2025, Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - approved 1 2 Kodanko advocated for separating the positions, arguing the community would be better served by 3 having a community-focused administrator who could be more visible while having a separate 4 zoning specialist. 5 6 Schmelzer agreed, explaining that combining roles puts the administrator in the difficult position of 7 being both the "good cop" (administrator) and "bad cop" (zoning administrator), which has damaged 8 the reputation of the position. She also noted the village's zoning code was somewhat cumbersome 9 compared to other municipalities so finding an administrator to do both roles may be difficult. 10 11 Howson questioned whether the zoning administrator position would require full-time status, which 12 Schmelzer confirmed it would. Discussion ensued about the workload created by village 13 development projects and enforcement requirements. 14 Kodanko expressed frustration with what he characterized as overly nitpicky code enforcement that 15 consumed staff time and negatively affected community feeling. He suggested the village should 16 focus on improving the code rather than on enforcement. 17 Schmelzer agreed the code needed improvement, noting that many permitted uses required 18 unnecessary plan commission and board approval when they could be handled administratively, but 19 added Sister Bay's code has many good elements, but does require a major overhaul, which the Plan 20 Commission is aware of. 21 22 White agreed with the need to revise the code and consider adding a zoning administrator who 23 would work with the new code. 24 25 Bell asked about code interpretation challenges, and Schmelzer explained that the issue wasn't 26 interpretation but rather the requirement for many decisions to move up the approval ladder, 27 increasing time and costs for applicants. 28 29 Harff expressed frustration with specific code requirements, particularly regarding driveways at 30 short-term rentals, and recounted examples of problems in residential neighborhoods. 31 32 After extensive discussion about code revision needs, staffing requirements, and administrative 33 workloads, the Board reached consensus to proceed with the job description as written while 34 considering changes to the position at a later date. 35 36 b. Contract; Innovative Public Advisors; Administrator Recruitment 37 Howson reviewed the scope of work provided by Innovative Public Advisors (IPA). She detailed their 38 recruitment process, which would include: 39 ● Position assessment surveys completed by trustees and staff 40 ● Review and possible enhancement of the job description 41 ● Development of marketing materials including a profile brochure and custom landing page 42 ● Advertising through multiple channels including WCMA and LinkedIn 43 ● Promotion through IPA's extensive network with targeted outreach to administrator 44 professionals 45 Howson outlined the anticipated timeline with week 1 consisting of a kickoff call and posting the 46 position, and in-person interviews occurring around week 6. She explained the interview process 47 would include separate group interviews with trustees, supervisors, and community leaders, all 48 moderated by Jess Wilde from IPA. 2  Minutes of the September 18, 2025, Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - approved 1 She noted that while IPA was a relatively new firm, the individuals had extensive experience and 2 networks in Wisconsin municipal government. Bell added that IPA was confident they could find a 3 qualified candidate within the timeline and offered interim services if needed. 4 5 Motion by Kodanko, second by Champeau to accept the proposal from Innovative Public Advisors for 6 administrator recruitment services. Motion carried – All ayes. 7 8 c. Contract; Finalize Administrator Agreement 9 The Board reviewed the administrator agreement as provided via email. 10 11 Motion by White, second by Howson to accept the administrator agreement as signed and 12 presented. Motion carried Aye -4 (White, Bell, Champeau, Howson); Nay -2 (Kodanko, Harff). 13 14 5. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official or Employee 15 The Board directed the following items to be placed on future agendas: 16 ● For the Plan Commission: To begin exploring options for revising/rewriting the zoning code, 17 including identifying potential consultants and estimating costs 18 ● For the Personnel Committee: To explore alternatives for zoning administration, including 19 potential third-party options 20 21 6. Adjourn 22 At 12:48 P.M. a motion was made by Kodanko, second by White to adjourn. Motion carried – All 23 ayes. 24 25 Respectfully submitted, 26 27 Sarah Bertges 28 Administrative Assistant 3