Common Council Meeting

Common Council Meeting Whitewater Municipal Building Community Room, 312 West Whitewater St., Whitewater, WI 53190 *In Person and Virtual Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 6:00 PM Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone. Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods. Please click the link below to join the webinar: Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/281185701128636?p=MoXZJGnpZaSDkRWdFo Meeting ID: 281 185 701 128 636 Passcode: T9it2Ds3 Dial in by phone +1 929-229-5663,,593516002# United States, Phone conference ID: 593 516 002# Please note that although every effort will be made to provide for virtual participation, unforeseen technical difficulties may prevent this, in which case the meeting may still proceed as long as there is a quorum. Should you wish to make a comment in this situation, you are welcome to call this number: (262) 473-0108. AGENDA MINUTES CALL TO ORDER 1. Swearing in of Newly Elected Council Members. Gavin Kelleher, Aldermanic District 2, Brian Schanen, Aldermanic District 4, Orin Smith, Councilmember At Large, - City Clerk City Clerk Heather Boehm swore in new Councilmember Gavin Kelleher, Aldermanic District 2, Councilmember Brian Schanen, Aldermanic District 4 and Orin Smith, Councilmember At Large. ROLL CALL PRESENT Council President Patrick Singer Councilmember Michael M.Smith Councilmember Orin Smith Councilmember Steven Sahyun Councilmember Brian Schanen Councilmember Neil Hicks Councilmember Gavin Kelleher Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 2 City Manager John Weidl City Attorney Steven Chesebro Public Works Director Brad Marquardt City Clerk Heather Boehm PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF AGENDA A councilmember can choose to remove an item from the agenda or rearrange its order; however, introducing new items to the agenda is not allowed. Any proposed changes require a motion, a second, and approval from the Council to be implemented. The agenda shall be approved at each meeting even if no changes are being made at that meeting. Motion to remove items #35, #36, and #37 from the Agenda and move items #19 and #20 to the Consent Agenda made by Councilmember Schanen, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 2. Election of Council President and Pro Tem- City Manager Motion to elect Patrick Singer as the Council President made by Councilmember Hicks, Seconded by Councilmember Schanen. Voting Yea: Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher Voting Abstaining: Council President Singer Motion to elect Orin Smith as the Protem made by Councilmember Schanen, Seconded by Councilmember Sahyun. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher Voting Abstaining: Councilmember O. Smith PRESENTATION 3. Presentation of America 250 Flag. Pat Blackmer presented the America 250 Flag on behalf of the Walworth County Board of Supervisors, Pat Blackmer read a proclamation on celebrating the 250th Anniversary. 4. Presentation on Comprehensive Plan Update by RDG Planning & Design. Charlie Cowell from RDG gave a presentation on the Comprehensive Plan Update. CONSENT AGENDA Items on the Consent Agenda will be approved together unless any council members requests that an item be removed for individual consideration. Motion to approve the Consent Agenda with items #19 and #20 added made by Councilmember O. Smith, Seconded by Councilmember Schanen. Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 3 Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 5. Approval of Common Council Meeting Minutes from March 17, 2026. 6. Landmarks Minutes of March 4, 2026. 7. Public Works Committee Meeting Minutes from March 10, 2026. 8. Plan & Architectural Review Commission Minutes of March 9, 2026. Plan & Architectural Review Commission Minutes of March 30, 2026 Special Meeting. 9. Park and Recreation Board Meeting Minutes from January 21, 2026. 10. Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes from December 11, 2025. 11. Urban Forestry Commission Meeting Minutes from September 29, 2025 and February 2, 2026. 12. Purchase approval for Digital Sign. 13. Purchase approval for fishing piers at Cravath and Trippe Lakes. 14. Skate Park update. 15. Wastewater maintenance quotes for televising (CCTV), Cured in Place Pipe (CIPP)- Spot Repairs, and CIPP- Manhole to Manhole. CITY MANAGER REPORT 16. City Manager Report. City Manager Weidl gave his bi-monthly update of City events and accomplishments, including reports from the following departments: Public Works, IT, Police, Fire & EMS, Library, Community Development, Parks & Recreation, and Human Resources, Media Services and gave recognition to employment anniversaries. 17. Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Proclamation.- City Manager City Manager John Weidl gave a proclamation for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. 18. Arbor Day Proclamation.- City Manager City Manager John Weidl gave a proclamation about Arbor Day. STAFF REPORTS 19. Recommendation on incorporating public safety on Boards and Committee structures.- City Manager This item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 20. Coordination of Public Arts Committee with Whitewater Arts Alliance.- City Manager This item was moved to the Consent Agenda. 21. Squirrel Trapping in the City of Whitewater.- PD Police Chief Meyer gave a staff report on squirrel trapping in the City of Whitewater. Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 4 22. Update on Food Pantry Lease.-Parks Parks and Rec Director Kevin Boehm gave a staff report on the Food Pantry Lease. Motion made to provide direction to defer any revenue efforts with the Whitewater Food Pantry and their space and also to work towards a policy and costing for occupancy of the first floor and bring that back for consideration at the latest the second Council meeting in June made by Councilmember Schanen, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher HEARING OF CITIZEN COMMENTS No formal Council action will be taken during this meeting although issues raised may become a part of a future agenda. Participants are allotted a three minute speaking period. Specific items listed on the agenda may not be discussed at this time; however, citizens are invited to speak to those specific issues at the time the Council discusses that particular item. To make a comment during this period, or during any agenda item: On a computer or handheld device, locate the controls on your computer to raise your hand. You may need to move your mouse to see these controls. On a traditional telephone, dial *6 to unmute your phone and dial *9 to raise your hand. Denay Trykowski (248 Woodland Dr) spoke about the squirrel trapping. Brad Marquardt, Public Works Director read the following statement into record: Council and Community Members I just want to take a few minutes and make everyone aware of operations at the Wastewater Facility that nobody typically sees or hears about. As you are aware, the city received a tremendous amount of rain last week. At the Wastewater Facility, the total was just under 9 ½ inches for the week. During the evening of Friday, April 17, the Wastewater Facility was pumping close to 10 million gallons a day, or about 7,000 gallons a minute, which is near the capacity of the plant. Knowing the collection system was being overwhelmed, the Wastewater team had the forethought and made a difficult, yet prut� decision, in discharging approximately 120,000 gallons of wastewater, which at • time was mainly rainwater, from the sanitary system on to the ground. This decision was made to prevent the likelihood of basement backups from occurring. Later that evening, staff responded to an alarm in the grit removal/screening building. The bar screens which remove grit and stones and other debris that should not be coming through the sanitary sewer pipes became clogged due to an excessive amount of these materials and became inoperable. The clogging caused the influent wastewater in the building to rise from the basement to the first floor. This resulted in all available Wastewater staff reporting to the facility Friday night. Through quick and creative thinking, the staff was able to sandbag all entrances and direct the flow to a drain on the first floor to get it back into the system. All staff remained on site overnight to monitor the situation. The quick action helped contain the wastewater inside the building diverting an unexpected overflow situation. On Saturday, staff took turns monitoring the situation. Available pumps and piping were located in Oshkosh and delivered on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, all available staff again reported to set up the 2 pumps and connect the 8 inch hoses to bypass the wastewater around the bar screens. Bypassing operations began early Monday morning and continued into Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 5 Tuesday. I am happy to report that as of tonight, staff was able to assess the damage and make adequate repairs to one of the bar screens to put it back into operation. All bypass pumping has been completed and the plant is back to, semi-normal, operations. With the amount of rain water, grit and stones that went through the entire system, staff will be spending the next couple of months monitoring and tweaking flows and operations, and cleaning other operational systems of the plant. And with that, I just want to give a big thank you to the Wastewater Utility staff for their diligence, perseverance, critical and creative thinking and the long hours they put in over the weekend to keep the wastewater plant operational. RESOLUTION 23. 2026-R-08- Resolutions to accept offer to purchase from Lifetime Manufacturing LLC for Tax parcel numbers /A444300002 and /A444200002 in Technology Park. - Community Development Motion to adopt resolution 2026-R-08 made by Councilmember M.Smith, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 24. 026-R-09- Resolution to Remove the Deed Restrictions for the following Tax Parcel numbers: /A503200002, /A323600001, /A323600002, /A503200001, /A410400001, /A410400002 /A414000003 and /A410400004 located along Bluff Road. - Community Development Motion made to approve resolution 2026-R-09 made by Councilmember O. Smith, Seconded by Councilmember Sahyun. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 25. 2026-R-11-Resolution approving Whitewater CDA to Repurchased Property located at 1212 E Bluff Road-Community Development Motion to approve resolution 2026-R-11 made by Councilmember O. Smith, Seconded by Councilmember Schanen. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher CONSIDERATIONS 26. Boards and Commission Council Appointments by Council President and City Manager.- City Manager Motion to approve the slate of appointments with the amendment of removing O. Smith from Board of Review and moving the Whitewater Fire Department from Singer to O. Smith. made by Councilmember O. Smith, Seconded by Councilmember Sahyun. Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 6 Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 27. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Crypto ATM ban in the City of Whitewater.- City Attorney No action taken. Cannot ban. Future Staff Report for education awareness on the topic. 28. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Recommendation from Innovation Center Advisory Panel to approve connection of AT&T fiber optic service to Innovation Center. - Community Development Motion to approve AT&T fiber optic service to the Innovation Center made by Councilmember Hicks, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 29. Discussion and Possible Action regarding setting a date for Council Visioning Session.- HR Meeting set for Thursday, May 14th, 2026 at 5:30pm. 30. Councilmember Requests for Future Agenda Items or Committee items. Questions Councilmember Hicks - Looking at our low turnout Elections for both polling locations and combining them to be held at the Starin Park Community Building. Councilmember M. Smith - Look into a requirement for helmets for scooters and e-bikes. Councilmember Schanen - Send trapping to Urban Forestry. Short after action report on last week's storm. Councilmember O. Smith - Staff Report from the Police Department and the Food Pantry item. Review our current requirement to have the campus council meeting both fall and spring, incorporating both University and School District as well as one of the assisted living facilities in the area to hold a meeting. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 31. Update on MOU between the City of Whitewater and Downtown Whitewater, Inc.- Q1 Finance, Q2 Council 32. Whitewater Comparative Analysis. - Finance 33. Discussion on Flock Cameras- Police Department CLOSED SESSION Adjourn to Closed Session, TO RECONVENE to OPEN SESSION, pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 19.85(1)(c) Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. AND 19.85(1)(e) Deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session and Wis. Stat. 19.86 Notice of Collective Bargaining Negotiations. Items to be discussed: Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 7 34. City Manager Employment Agreement, specifically Section 8 – Vacation, Holidays, Sick Leave and Administrative Leave. Motion to go into Closed Session at 7:50pm made by Council President Singer, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher Motion to come out of Closed Session at 8:45pm made by Councilmember Schanen, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher 35. Development Agreement for Stonehaven Development on Bluff Road- Community Development (if necessary) This item was removed from the Agenda. CONSIDERATIONS 36. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the Development Agreement for Stonehaven Development on Bluff Road.- Community Development (if necessary) This item was removed from the Agenda. 37. Discussion and Possible Action regarding the approval borrowing from City of Whitewater Wastewater Utility for Stonehaven Development Project.- Community Development (if necessary) This item was removed from the Agenda. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn at 8:46pm made by Councilmember Schanen, Seconded by Councilmember O. Smith. Voting Yea: Council President Singer, Councilmember M.Smith, Councilmember O. Smith, Councilmember Sahyun, Councilmember Schanen, Councilmember Hicks, Councilmember Kelleher Anyone requiring special arrangements is asked to call the Office of the City Manager / City Clerk (262-473-0102) at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. The City of Whitewater’s strategic goals for 2026–2028 are: expanding single-family home development, strengthening community communication, supporting a thriving business community, increasing access to healthcare resources, improving staff recruitment and retention efforts, advancing transportation options, and prioritizing expenditures based on available resources. Common Council Meeting Minutes April 21, 2026 Page 8