Police and Fire Commission Meeting

Police and Fire Commission Meeting Whitewater Municipal Building Community Room, 312 West Whitewater St., Whitewater, WI 53190 *In Person and Virtual Monday, December 15, 2025 - 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. Police and Fire Commission Meeting December 15th, 2025 at 6:00 PM Please click the link below to join the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/24822211517601?p=Di6yB28m9jQgAZJ9yx You can also dial in using your phone: Phone Number: 1-929-229-5663 Phone Conference ID: 869 381 618# 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 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Commissioner Chair Binagi ROLL CALL PRESENT Commissioner Kathryn Boyd Commissioner Beverly Stone Commissioner Mwita Binagi Commissioner Marissa Aranda Commissioner Tom Miller Police Chief Daniel Meyer Police Captain Adam Vander Steeg Police Captain Ryan Taft Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Dion Support Services Manager Sabrina Ojibway APPROVAL OF AGENDA A Commission member 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 Commission to be implemented. The agenda shall be approved at each meeting even if no changes are being made at that meeting. Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes December 15, 2025 Page 2 Motion made by Commissioner Boyd, Seconded by Commissioner Miller to approve agenda. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. CONSENT AGENDA Items on the Consent Agenda will be approved together unless any Commission member requests that an item be removed for individual consideration. 1. Approval of Minutes for November 17th, 2025 Motion was made by Commissioner Stone, Seconded by Commissioner Boyd to approve the consent agenda. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi and Commissioner Aranda. Commission Miller abstained due to not being in attendance at the November 17 th, 2025 meeting. Motion passed. HEARING OF CITIZEN COMMENTS No formal Commission 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 Commission 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. There were no citizen comments. REPORTS 2. Fire Chief's Report a. Personnel Update Full Time Firefighter/Paramedic Ashley Dodd submitted her resignation effective 12/5/2025. Paid-on-Call EMT Jazmine Tomlinson submitted her resignation effective 11/30/2025. Able Turner and Ethan Krause have successfully completed their probationary periods. b. Training Update Members completed vehicle extrication training. The Whitewater Fire Department would like to thank their community partner Kienbaum Iron and Metal for providing the vehicles to train with. The bid for the site work for the training center has been awarded. Completion is slated for late spring/early summer 2026. c. Community Engagement Update On December 8th, 2025, WFD gave a fire safety presentation to an English as a Second Language (ESL) group at Whitewater High School. Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes December 15, 2025 Page 3 On December 9th, 2025, B-Shift participated in the “Shop with a Hero” event at Walmart. d. Departmental Updates to include: New Ambulance in Service and Ladder Truck Status The new ambulance arrived and is in service. The ladder truck is nearing completion, it is slightly behind target delivery, but it is anticipated that it will arrive early January 2026. 3. Police Chief's Report a. Personnel Update Patrol Officer Ben Jacobs was sworn in on October 6th, 2025, and is currently in field training. Anthony Heilberger was promoted to Detective Lieutenant on November 18th, 2025. SRO Update – The Whitewater Police Department would like to thank James Garcia for his service as the School Resource Officer. He is now assigned to patrol duties and the department is in the selection process for the next SRO. Patrol Officer Jeremy Alexander completed the Law Enforcement Academy at WCTC on December 5th, 2025, and is now in field training. Shane Houk, Jacob Golembiewski and Adam Moore have accepted offers as patrol officers and will be sworn in on December 18th, 2025. They’ll begin the academy at WCTC on January 5th, 2026. b. Training Update On September 29th, 2025, PD staff provided all Whitewater Unified School District staff with scenario-based training that aligns with the school district’s active threat response model. All PD staff completed CPR and First Aid training provided by in-house instructors in early December. c. Community Engagement Update On October 9th, 2025, staff delivered meals through Meals on Wheels with Chief of Staff Becky Magestro. Officers met with students at Lakeview on October 14th, 2025, for the Cops ‘N Kids book reading event. Officers met with community members at Coffee with a Cop at Jessica’s Restaurant on November 13th, 2025. On November 18th, 2025, PD personnel met with the staff and students at Studio 84. On November 19th, 2025, staff provided a PD update and held a Q&A session with English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Whitewater High School. On December 9th, 2025, PD staff assisted with the “Shop with a Hero” event where six deserving students from the Whitewater Unified School District are selected to shop for Christmas gifts with local first responders. Each student picked out gifts and brought them back to the PD/FD to wrap them before bringing them home. Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes December 15, 2025 Page 4 d. Departmental Updates to include: PD Evidence/Training Garage, Whitewater Professional Police Association (WPPA) and Whitewater Professional Police Supervisors Association (WPPSA) Bargaining Process and Communication Center Updates PD Evidence/Training Garage – With the passage of the 2026-27 City budget, the PD continues to work with Angus-Young to finalize the design for a dual-purpose evidence and training garage. Construction is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2026. WPPA and WPPSA Bargaining Processes – Both the Whitewater Professional Police Association and the Whitewater Professional Police Supervisors Association are in the process of negotiating their next contract with the City. The current contracts run through December 31st of 2025, and it’s anticipated that the processes will be completed in early 2026. Communications Center Updates – The following updates coincide with some upgrades within our Communications Center: The storm siren control system has been upgraded. It now links the sirens directly to the storm warning polygons created by the National Weather Service, automatically activating all Whitewater sirens if any portion of the warning polygon touches the City of Whitewater. This will help ensure human error factors don’t cause delays in siren activation. There is a new storm siren testing schedule: third Wednesday of every month at noon. The phone system is also now upgraded to Next Generation 911, which is a digital, IP-based system that replaces the analog 911 infrastructure. Any cell phone 911 calls originating within the geographic boundaries of the City of Whitewater will now be routed directly to the Whitewater Police Department Communications Center rather than one of the county communications centers. It should be noted that at this time, the police department does not have text to 911 capability. EXECUTIVE SESSION Adjourn to Closed Session, TO RECONVENE, pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(c) “Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility." Items to be discussed: 4. Interview of FTE EMT/Firefighter Candidates 5. Interview of Detective Candidate Motion made by Commissioner Miller, Seconded by Commissioner Aranda to go into closed session. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. The Police & Fire Commission went into closed session at 6:15 PM RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Aranda, Seconded by Commissioner Boyd to go into open session. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes December 15, 2025 Page 5 The Police & Fire Commission went into open session at 7:37 PM 6. Announcement of Recommendation Concerning Whitewater Fire Department Hiring Process Motion made by Commissioner Boyd, Seconded by Commissioner Aranda to approve the candidate, Theron Spiegelberg, for placement on the eligibility list for a Firefighter/EMT position, effective December 15th, 2025. The position is subject to the staffing needs of the department, medical screening, psychological evaluation and a 12-month probationary period. This eligibility list will remain in effect for 12 months. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. Motion made by Commissioner Miller, Seconded by Commissioner Boyd to approve the candidate, Jordan Wedig, for placement on the eligibility list for a Firefighter/EMT position, effective December 15th, 2025. The position is subject to the staffing needs of the department, medical screening, psychological evaluation and a 12-month probationary period. This eligibility list will remain in effect for 12 months. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. Motion made by Commissioner Stone, Seconded by Commissioner Aranda to approve the candidate, Anthony Vilavong, for placement on the eligibility list for a Firefighter/EMT position, effective December 15th, 2025. The position is subject to the staffing needs of the department, medical screening, psychological evaluation and a 12-month probationary period. This eligibility list will remain in effect for 12 months. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. Motion made by Commissioner Boyd, Seconded by Commissioner Aranda to approve the candidate, Miranda Jasperson, for placement on the eligibility list for a Firefighter/Paramedic position, effective December 15th, 2025. The position is subject to the staffing needs of the department, medical screening, psychological evaluation and a 12-month probationary period. This eligibility list will remain in effect for 12 months. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. 7. Announcement of Recommendation Concerning Whitewater Police Department Promotional Process Motion made by Commissioner Boyd, Seconded by Commissioner Miller to endorse and recommend the promotion of Olivia Monson to the position of Detective for the City of Whitewater Police Department. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Police and Fire Commission Meeting Minutes December 15, 2025 Page 6 No future agenda items were discussed. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Commissioner Stone, Seconded by Commissioner Miller to adjourn. Voting Yes: Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Stone, Commissioner Binagi, Commissioner Aranda and Commissioner Miller. Motion passed Meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM A quorum of the Common Council may be present. This notice is given to inform the public that no formal action will be taken at this meeting. 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.