Village Board

1 VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES 2 Tuesday, June 17, 2025 3 (Approved) 4 5 Agenda Item No. 1. The June 17, 2025 meeting of the Sister Bay Village Board of Trustees was called to 6 order by President Nate Bell at 6:00 P.M. 7 8 Agenda Item No. 2. Roll Call 9 Present: President Bell and trustees Denise Bhirdo, Louise Howson, Chad Kodanko, Brigid White, Kurt 10 Harff and Patrice Champeau. 11 12 Staff: Village Administrator Julie Schmelzer, Finance Director/Treasurer Vlad Gannik, Utilities Director 13 Megan Barnes, Parks & Streets Director Erik Linczmaier, Marina Manager Dave Lienau, Administrative 14 Assistant Sarah Bertges, departing Clerk Heidi Teich and incoming Clerk Susan Clarke 15 16 Others: Laurel Harff, Amber Drewieske, John Blossom, Ellen Roberts, Jerry Phelps, Tyler Duvall, Elizabeth 17 McMasters, Mike Goldstone, Walt Swietlik, Sally Pfeifer, “19206349297”, Andrew and Christina Torcivia, 18 Benjamin Andrews and David Schwartz. 19 20 Agenda Item No. 3. Approval of the Agenda 21 Prior to the motion, Bhirdo questioned Bell on why the Administrative Building Task Force Report, which 22 was supposed to be on the agenda, per the Resolution that authorized that committee, was not on the 23 agenda. Bell explained he decided not to put it on the agenda since the Chair of that task force could 24 not be present. Bhirdo objected to the matter not being on the agenda as has been assured via the 25 resolution. 26 27 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko that the Agenda for the June 17, 2025, meeting 28 be approved as presented. Aye – 6; Nay -1 (Bhirdo). 29 30 Agenda Item No. 4. Approval of Minutes 31 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko that the minutes of the May 20, 2025, meeting of 32 the Village Board of Trustees be approved as presented and amended to correct several typos. Motion 33 carried – all ayes. 34 35 Agenda Item No. 5. Comments, correspondence, and concerns from the public 36 Correspondence received for this meeting and included in the meeting packet were: 37 • A letter from Donna Johnson which spoke about the need to preserve the charms of the village. 38 • An email from Wendy Cooper who spoke about the need to preserve the wild areas of Sister Bay 39 and limit development. 40 41 President Bell asked if anyone wished to offer any additional comments. Jerry Phelps, manager of the 42 Yacht Club at Sister Bay, was acknowledged and spoke about the disruptions to the condo residents with 43 the on-going construction happening at 2399 Maple Dr. They are not opposed to the time extension for 44 the development, as they would like to see it completed, but ask that the timeline for loud work begin at 45 9:00 AM. 46 47 Trustee Bhirdo requested to read the resignation letter from Clerk Teich, who resigned her position this  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 month. Bhirdo then read a letter she composed to Teich thanking her for her service. 2 3 Trustee Howson requested that the late correspondence they received from Lilly Orozco be included 4 again as correspondence in the July meeting packet. Bell announced the letter would be referred to the 5 Plan Commission. 6 7 Agenda Item No. 6. Recognition: Tom Sadler; Years of Service 8 Tom Sadler, former Village Board President, Plan Commission member, and most recently Chair of the 9 Zoning Board of Appeals, has tendered his resignation from service this year. Sadler was recognized by 10 the trustees for his service and commitment to the village for the past 30+ years. A plaque was presented 11 by President Bell. Schmelzer offered her own words of thanks, and Bhirdo read a prepared statement 12 personally thanking Sadler for his service. Sadler thanked the board and his colleagues who served with 13 him on the Zoning Board of Appeals over the years. 14 15 Agenda Item No. 7. Presentation 2024 Audit 16 Amber Drewieske and Elizabeth McMasters of CliftonLarsonAllen were present to lead the trustees 17 through the 2024 Audit report, which was distributed at the start of the meeting. After their presentation, 18 Kodanko raised a question on the cash flow of the marina accounts. Drewieske explained that both the 19 seasonal slip fees, commercial vendor fees, and daily dockage were all included in the figure presented. 20 21 Drewieske thanked the village staff for all their efforts in preparing the audit report and noted that she 22 and her staff would be available after the meeting to address further questions. 23 24 A request was made by Trustee White to receive the audit report a bit earlier to give them a chance to 25 thoroughly review before the board meeting at which it is presented. Gannik explained he first received 26 the report the day the meeting packets were organized. 27 28 Agenda Item No. 8. Ordinances & Resolutions 29 a) Ordinance 2025-009; Map Amendment; Former Wiltse Property; I-1 to R-4 & P-1 30 A recommendation was made by the Plan Commission to change the zoning of Sister Bay Parcel 181-00- 31 04312831Q from I-1 Industrial to R-4, Small Lot Residential and P-1 Park District. The entire parcel would 32 be placed in the R-4 Small Lot Residential zoning district, except for the easternmost 10.6 acres which 33 would be zoned P-1 Park District. 34 35 A motion was made by Bhirdo, seconded by Harff to approve Ordinance 2025-009 as presented to rezone 36 Sister Bay Parcel 181-00-04312831Q from I-1 Institutional to R-4 Small Lot Residential and P-1 Park District 37 as illustrated. Motion carried – all ayes. 38 39 b) Ordinance 2025-010; Map Amendment; Former Logerquist Property; I-1 to I-1 & P-1 40 A recommendation was made by the Plan Commission to change the zoning of Sister Bay Parcel 181-00- 41 04312822A, consisting of 40 acres, to 20 acres designated as I-1, Industrial and 20 acres designated as P- 42 1 Park District. This change would make zoning consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for the village. 43 44 Trustee Kodanko asked for the rationale in rezoning 20 acres as I-1, and Bhirdo responded that prior 45 discussions considered the need to preserve the existing farm buildings, with potential for other village 46 facilities and/or a fire station in the future. Schmelzer further explained that the 20 acres designated as 47 P-1 does not necessarily mean that the land would be a park, as many uses are permitted in that zoning 2  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 district. Other considerations for the land include urban gardens and a dog park area that would allow 2 space for both a large and small dog area. 3 4 A motion was made by Bhirdo, seconded by Champeau to approve Ordinance 2025-010 as presented to 5 amend the official map of the Village of Sister Bay to rezone Parcel 181-00-04312822A to I-1 and P-1. 6 Motion carried – all ayes. 7 8 c) Ordinance 2025-011; Text Amendment; R-4 Dimensional Standards 9 A recommendation was made by the Housing Committee, to the Plan Commission, to revise the rules of 10 the R-4 Small Lot Zoning District as the affordable homes they are exploring for that area will not fit on an 11 R-4 lot. Proposed amendments to Chapter 66 of the Village of Sister Bay Municipal Code were included 12 in the meeting packet for the members to review. 13 14 Trustee White spoke in support of the side yard setbacks concerning accessory structures to 15 accommodate safety equipment which could be needed in the event of a fire. She recommended a 16 change to the setback to at least eight (8) feet. 17 18 A motion was made by White, seconded by Champeau to approve Ordinance 2025-011 which revises 19 portions of Chapter 66 of the Zoning Code as presented and amended to clarify that the side yard setback 20 for Accessory Structures be eight (8) feet on one side. Motion carried – 6-1, with Bell opposed. 21 22 d) Resolution 2025-017; Adopting the 2024 eCMAR 23 The Compliance Maintenance Annual Report prepared by the Utilities Department and submitted to the 24 Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was included in the meeting packet. The utility received a 25 rating of 4.0, which is considered good standing. 26 27 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko to approve Resolution 2025-017 as presented which 28 adopts the 2024 eCMAR. Motion carried – all ayes. 29 30 e) Resolution 2025-018; Concession Stand Bids 31 A bid was recently let for work to construct restrooms at the Sister Bay ballfield concession stand. The 32 village received multiple bids, all of which were considerably higher than the anticipated budget for the 33 project of $75,000. State law requires that the lowest bid be accepted, in this case $193,900, unless the 34 board chooses to reject all bids which can be done via resolution. The trustees determined that all bids 35 be rejected based on the cost, which the village does not have a budget for. 36 37 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by White to approve Resolution 2025-018 which rejects all bids 38 received for the concession stand restroom addition at the ballfield as presented. Motion carried – all 39 ayes. 40 41 Agenda Item No. 9. Discussion/Action Items 42 a) Appoint Village Clerk & Oath of Office; Susan Clarke 43 The Village Clerk position was recently vacated with the resignation of Heidi Teich. Susan Clarke was 44 hired to fill the position effective immediately with formal board approval and upon taking the oath of 45 office. Teich, as a notary public authorized to administer oaths, was present to administer the oath after 46 the board motion to approve the appointment. 47 3  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 A motion was made by Bhirdo, seconded by Howson to appoint Susan Clarke as Clerk for the Village of 2 Sister Bay, effective immediately. Motion carried – all ayes. 3 4 Sarah Bertges, the new Administrative Assistant for the Village of Sister Bay was also introduced. 5 6 b) Development Agreement Waterfront Museum; 10697 N Bay Shore Dr; Sister Bay Historical Society 7 The Sister Bay Historical Society has been working for the past several years on a plan to convert the 8 village’s boathouse, formerly used as a summer rental property, into a waterfront museum. In order to 9 move forward with the project, formal approval of the village board is required, and a discussion on the 10 terms of development between the parties regarding use and maintenance of the building needs to take 11 place. A draft development agreement was included in the meeting packet for the members to review. 12 13 A special request was made to pour concrete in the interior during the summer months. This would take 14 about an hour of pouring time. Blossom stated that no jackhammering would be required. They would 15 simply open the door and set up a chute to fill the area, then smooth the concrete to create a level 16 walkway. Schmelzer explained that state approvals and permits are still required, so this would not be 17 happening in the next couple weeks. It was suggested that they aim to work on the slowest tourism day 18 of the week, with approval from the Marina Manager. 19 20 It was also clarified that an event is more than just a meeting, so a meeting of the Historical Society 21 members would not be an event which requires approval from the Marina Committee per the terms of 22 the development agreement. 23 24 A motion was made by Kodanko, seconded by Champeau to enter an agreement between the Village of 25 Sister Bay and Sister Bay Historical Society regarding the conversion and use of the village boathouse as a 26 waterfront museum, subject to the terms and conditions presented and discussed at this meeting to allow 27 pouring of concrete yet this summer. Motion carried – all ayes. 28 29 c) Development Agreement Amendment; 10553 Country Walk Dr.; Za Za’s Pizzeria/Lundquist Realty; 30 Torch Brothers LLC 31 The village previously entered into an agreement with Torch Brothers LLC for the development of a 32 pizzeria and realty office at 10553 Country Walk Dr. It was anticipated that the project would not take 33 the standard two years offered by a development agreement, but the original agreement was only for 34 ten months. Torcivia was present to explain that unforeseen setbacks require that they now ask for 35 additional time to complete the renovations. 36 37 Torcivia asked the board if an amendment could also be made regarding the need for him to plant trees 38 along the property lines where a neighboring property already has a full line of trees planted. Bhirdo 39 noted that this would need to go back to the Plan Commission and Schmelzer explained that the 40 amendment being reviewed tonight does not mention landscaping, so a new amendment would be 41 needed. 42 43 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko to amend the Development Agreement between 44 the Village of Sister Bay and Torch Brothers LLC to extend the deadline for completing the renovation at 45 10553 Country Walk Dr. as presented. Motion carried – all ayes. 46 47 d) Development Agreement Amendment; 2399 Maple Dr.; Luna View; Al Gokey 4  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 The village has entered into a development agreement with Allen Gokey – Packerland Builders, for the 2 construction of a 15-unit hotel/motel/condominium on property located at 2399 Maple Dr. The 3 agreement was for two years, commencing May 22, 2023. At this time, the building is constructed but a 4 stormwater pipe, which has been delayed to the vendor’s shipping schedule, has not been installed. 5 Gokey is requesting that he be given an extension to install the pipe once it arrives. 6 7 Schmelzer noted that they heard concerns from the Yacht Club at Sister Bay tonight regarding the early 8 start time of exterior work. Gokey was contacted about the issue and Schmelzer indicated that he is 9 agreeable to not starting loud construction activity until 9:00 AM. 10 11 Bhirdo raised the concern that the subcontractors at the development are consistently violating the 12 parking rules of the village. She recommended that enforcement be increased to ensure that the road is 13 passable as intended. Bell suggested that the Plan Commission review this issue. Schmelzer noted that 14 they can be told to park at the beach in the designated lots. Phelps was asked for his opinion, and he 15 noted that the cars parking along the road do obstruct the view of the condo owners to enter and exit 16 the condominium lot. 17 18 It was the consensus of the village board that this matter be referred back to the Plan Commission for 19 further discussion. The work at the site will therefore cease immediately, other than general cleanup to 20 prevent runoff to neighboring properties. 21 22 e) Contract; Irrigation System; Jaco Management 23 Chris Schmeltz of Jaco Management owns several lots adjacent to Sister Bay parcel 181-53-0006. He is 24 requesting the village grant him permission to install an irrigation system on village lands as he has done 25 for his properties to keep the entire area aesthetically pleasing. 26 27 A motion was made by White, seconded by Harff to enter an agreement between the Village of Sister Bay 28 and Jaco Management. Motion carried – all ayes. 29 30 f) Contract; Ice Rink Land Lease; Friends of the Ice Rink 31 A recommendation was forwarded from the Parks, Property & Streets Committee to enter into a land 32 lease with the Friends of the Ice Rink group. 33 34 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko to enter an agreement between the Village of Sister 35 Bay and Friends of the Ice Rink. Motion carried – all ayes. 36 37 g) Fire Board Donation Request 38 It was the opinion of the village attorney that the village could reimburse the Hecht family for their 39 housing costs as they await improvements in his health out of state. 40 41 Bhirdo shared high praise for Chief Hecht and all he has done for the community but cautioned the 42 board that this action could be considered unethical. She believes that they all feel this would be a good 43 gesture to the family, but the village did not respond in the same manner when a former village 44 employee had a serious health concern in the past. She did suggest an alternative option of 45 participating in a benefit with the proceeds to go directly to the family. Harff agreed, noting that the 46 GoFundMe account established for Hecht had a substantial amount available and questioned why this 47 isn’t being used. Goldstone replied that those funds are being set aside for Hecht’s return home and his 48 rehab needs. 5  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 2 Kodanko was in support of the donation, stating that Hecht was attending a fire department function 3 when his health crisis occurred. Goldstone clarified that the expenses accruing now are due to the fact 4 that he is still too unstable to be transported back to Wisconsin and his family is with him in Indiana. 5 6 A motion was made by Kodanko, seconded by White to reimburse the Hecht family for lodging costs and 7 related expenses not to exceed $10,000 while they are in Indiana awaiting improvements in Hecht’s health. 8 Motion carried –5-2, with Bhirdo and Harff opposed. 9 10 h) Annual License Review; Cigarette, Electronic Vaping Device, and Tobacco Licenses 11 Prior to recusing herself from the discussion on this agenda item, Bhirdo pointed out that the 12 applications from Sister Bay BP and Sister Bay Petro had checked the box that they had an overriding 13 entity, but did not include the name of that entity on the application. 14 15 At 8:26 PM, Bhirdo recused herself from further discussion and vote. 16 17 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Bell to approve Cigarette, Electronic Vaping Devices and 18 Tobacco Licenses as presented with the condition that Rana LLC correct their applications to include their 19 parent company. Motion carried – all ayes. 20 21 At 8:27 PM, Bhirdo resumed her duties on the board. 22 23 i) Annual License Review; Alcohol Beverages and Operators 24 A report was prepared for the meeting packet which included all applicants for the various alcohol 25 license types being sought for the 2025-2026 license year. Bhirdo stated there were incomplete and/or 26 incorrect applications from the following establishments: Boat House on the Bay, Chop, Church Hill Inn, 27 Country House, Dorr Hotel, Goose & Twigs, Grasse’s, Lou Group and McEvoy’s. 28 29 Bhirdo recused herself at 8:36 PM. 30 31 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Harff to approve the issuance of Class A/Combination 32 Class A Liquor Licenses presented in packet, as corrected to address the incompleteness and errors 33 discussed. Motion carried - All ayes excepting Bhirdo’s recusal. 34 35 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Kodanko to approve the issuance of Class B/C Liquor 36 Licenses as presented in packet. Motion carried - - All ayes excepting Bhirdo’s recusal. 37 38 Kodanko recused at 8:38 PM. 39 40 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by White to approve the issuance of Class B Liquor Licenses 41 as presented in packet. Motion carried - All ayes excepting Bhirdo’s and Kodanko’s recusal. 42 43 At 8:39 PM, Howson recused. 44 45 Bhirdo stated discrepancies with operator’s licenses from Northern Grill, Open Hearth, Steamboat 46 Missy’s and Roots. 47 48 A motion was made by Bell, seconded by White to approve the issuance of Operator’s Licenses. 6  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 Motion carried - All ayes excepting Bhirdo’s, Kodanko’s and Howson’s recusal. 2 3 Bhirdo, Howson and Kodanko resumed their duties on the board at 8:40 PM. 4 5 j) Utilities; Simplified or Conventional Water Rate 6 Utility Director Barnes was present to discuss the options in pursuing a Simplified or Conventional Rate 7 Case Study for future rate studies. 8 9 A motion was made by Howson, seconded by Bhirdo to proceed with a Simplified Rate Case Study 10 Application as presented. Motion carried – all ayes. 11 12 k) Monthly Financial Report & Appropriations 13 Bhirdo asked if it was necessary to include multiple versions of the same bills in the meeting. Staff 14 explained the copies were actually from two months, and therefore not duplicates. 15 16 A motion was made by Bell, seconded by Kodanko to approve the monthly bills in the amount of 17 $385,248.14 as presented. Motion carried – all ayes. 18 19 Agenda No. 10 Committee Reports 20 Bell opened up discussion on the minutes in meeting packet. 21 22 Questions on the committee reports raised by the members included: A question from Bhirdo on 23 whether the husband of the Chair of the Library Commission is a conflict of interest for the commission. 24 The attorney will be asked. 25 26 Bhirdo also asked for clarification on the Personnel Committee minutes referencing the supervisor 27 contracts. Schmelzer responded to her inquiry. 28 29 A motion was made by Kodanko, seconded by Harff to accept the various committee reports as 30 presented. Motion carried – all ayes. 31 32 Agenda Item No. 11. Matters to be placed on a future agenda or referred to a committee, official or 33 employee 34 It was the consensus of the committee that the following items be included on a future board meeting 35 agenda: 36 • Report from the Ad Hoc Administration Building Review Task Force 37 • Request of Andrew Torcivia regarding tree planting be referred to the Plan Commission 38 • The Luna View Development Agreement Extension be referred to the Plan Commission 39 • Operating Agreement with the Friends of the Ice Rink Group 40 • Review of the village’s Fee Schedule 41 42 The next meeting of the Village Board of Trustees will take place on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 6:00 P.M. 43 44 Agenda Item No. 12. Executive Session 45 Bell announced he was exercising his authority as Village President that he would no longer be admitting 46 any trustees participating remotely to attend executive session without prior notice, citing the Board 47 Bylaws allowed him to do so. Champeau logged off from the meeting. 7  Minutes of the June 17, 2025 Meeting of the Village Board of Trustees - Approved 1 2 a) Consider a motion to convene into Executive Session pursuant to Wis. Stats., §19.85(1)(g) to confer 3 with legal counsel who either orally or in writing will advise the Village Board on strategy to be adopted 4 with respect to current or likely litigation: 5 i.Alliance Construction Contract 6 7 b) Consider a motion to convene into Closed Session pursuant to Wis. Stats., §19.85(1)(c) to consider 8 employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over 9 which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility: Village Administrator 10 compensation and benefits 11 12 At 8:55 P.M., a motion was made by Bell, seconded by Bhirdo to convene into Closed Session pursuant to 13 Wis. Stats., §19.85(1)(g) and §19.85(1)(c). 14 15 A roll call vote was taken on the motion, and the members voted in the following fashion: 16 17 Bhirdo – aye; Harff – aye; Howson – aye; Kodanko – aye; White – aye; Bell – aye 18 19 Motion carried. 20 21 b) Motion to reconvene into Open Session 22 At 9:31 P.M. a motion was made Bell, seconded by Kodanko to reconvene into open session. Again, a roll 23 call vote was taken and the members voted in the following fashion: 24 25 Bhirdo – aye; Harff – aye; Howson – aye; Kodanko – aye; White – aye; Bell – aye 26 27 Motion carried. 28 29 c) Motion for Action, if Appropriate 30 31 A motion was made by Bell, seconded by Harff to extend the contract with Alliance Construction per the 32 schedule discussed. Motion carried - all ayes. 33 34 A motion was made by Bhirdo, seconded by Kodanko to amend the document as discussed in Closed 35 Session and be presented by the Village Attorney. Motion carried – all ayes. 36 37 Agenda Item No. 13 Adjourn 38 At 9:33 P.M. a motion was made by Bhirdo, seconded by Kodanko to adjourn. Motion carried – all ayes. 39 40 Respectfully submitted, 41 42 Susan Clarke 43 Village Clerk 8