Common Council - Regular Meeting

Two minutes. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD TONIGHT.

I'LL CALL THIS COMMON COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER SEPTEMBER 8, 2026, AT 7 PM.

CAN I HAVE A ROLL CALL, PLEASE? PRISBILL. HERE. HILL. HERE. CAULEY. HERE. FAMALI. HERE. CLEVITER. HERE. SORRINSON. HERE. ALL PRESENT.

THANK YOU. NUMBER TWO IS SEATING VIRTUAL ATTENDEES, WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE ANY. Number three is the Pledge of Allegiance. Let's stand for a pledge, please.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Number four is general public comments. I have one from Dick Schramer. Dick, can you come up to the imaginary mic again for me? Speak loud, please. State your name and your address.

My name is Dick Schramer. I'm on 426 Van Horn Road here in Maryland.

Item 9 on your consent agenda deals with that

street use permit in Shacktown here in South Adams. That happened on my watch, so I feel a little bit responsible for following through with another possible solution to that problem. I talked to Brian Brock, the current owner of Shack, and what I was proposing is that he buy the rights to any land that is vacated by the city on each side of that parcel and then approach the city to petition the city to vacate that right of way that way once it's vacated he has the rights to it it's his so i would like someone to take that off the consent agenda at least table it for a month let him work that out

THANK YOU. SO THEN WE ARE ON TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. DO WE HAVE A MOTION OF ANY SORT TO EITHER APPROVE OR

Would we have to remove that item off of there for him, for Brian Bracker, whoever, to pursue that? Yes. There are two differences. All this was for denying him the permit, which he can come back and reapply for at a further point.

I don't think that has to be removed. Right. That was just for the permit for the new, the potential owner, not for Brock. Right. Correct.

There isn't any permit for Mr. Brock on this agenda. The consent item was for Mr. Roxbury's request for a permit.

I'll make a motion that we approve the consent agenda.

I second. Motion by Victoria, second by Jamie. We'll call vote, please.

Criswell. Aye. Hill. Aye. Colley. Aye. Amali. Aye. Leveter. Aye. Sorensen. Aye. Sixth, aye.

Thank you.

So that takes us to number 15. Let's halfway through the packet.

Two thirds?

Okay, so we will move on to number 15, which is the appeal of vicious dog determination requested by Madison, Maine, pursuant to section 10-10A of the City of Vermont Municipal Code. This appeal will be held in a quasi-judicial manner. Just to go through the steps here, the Common Council will hold a hearing on the appeal. First, the Common Council will hear from the Vermont Police Department. The Common Council will then hear from the applicant, and then next the Common Council will hear from other interested persons wishing to testify in opposition of the appeal. The Common Council will then receive any written evidence related to the appeal. And then we will also have a potential to go into closed session for deliberation and then point out for action.

Okay.

So we'll call the case of a vicious dog appeal by Madison Maine, which seeks an appeal to the vicious dog determination pursuant to section 10-10A1 and section 2. of the City of Berlin Municipal Code. During the public hearing, a member of the Berlin Police Department will present witnesses, evidence, and testimony. Following the Berlin Police Department's presentation, the applicant will present their witnesses, evidence, and testimony. After that, all interested persons present wishing to testify will be heard. Please add your name to the sign-in sheet at the entrance if you wish to speak. Do we have a sign-in sheet? All persons presenting testimony will also be sworn under oath. Again, throughout the Common Council, we may convene into closed session as allowed by state law. A roll call vote will occur at those times and the Common Council will leave the room. Actually, Council, when we go into closed session, we're going to exit and go to the conference room across the hall. I know there's multiple times tonight that we're going to go into closed session, so we're just going to go across the hall instead of making everybody else leave like normal. So if there's anybody here tonight that wants to speak on the vicious dog appeal, you'll have to sign in for us. What do you want? Madison, you do not. Name and address, I think. Name and address, sorry if you already have your license.

You don't need that. Basically, there's one here. Sorry.

Council, just as a reminder tonight, obviously a lot of you have not been here for this in the past. If you have questions, our attorney is here tonight for a reason, so feel free to ask her how to roll out something or if there's something that comes up. That's what she's here for tonight. At this time, I will invite the Berlin Police Department to present witnesses, evidence, and testimony about the matter.

Do you want to open this? Do you have some, I guess, information to hand out to each of you?

Can you hand it up, Vince? We're going to swear you in.

Okay. Where am I signing in to? You can go right there.

Okay. Do you swear that the testimony you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Today we do. Okay. So the information that we have, we'll hand out to each one of you. Just a copy of my report and some photos that were taken.

Thank you.

And let's mark this as Exhibit A for the record.

We have a couple more copies of that one.

Yes, but you're right. I believe I have this. I have a puppy.

So I don't know if you're planning on asking me questions related to the incident or if you would like me to explain basically what transpired or how you would like to go about this at this point.

So counsel knows nothing at this point.

Okay. You can start by explaining. Here's a summary of what happened.

Okay. So on July 24th of 2036 this year, about 850, a gentleman by the name of Mr. Stephen Dane came to the Borough Police Department. He reported that his dog had been attacked while he was out on a walk in the morning. He said that he was walking with the dog on leash. He was in the area of Wisconsin Street in Park Avenue in the city of Berlin near the residence of 133 North Wisconsin Street in the city. He said that upon the attack, what had happened was a dog at that residence had broken its leash and had come across the street and attacked his dog. He stated that he couldn't get the dog separated So the only thing that he could do was use his pooper scooper that he carries with him for his dog. He was trying to defend himself and his dog by trying to beat the other dog to get it off of his. In the process of this, his dog had gotten bitten multiple times. He was carrying a napkin that had quite a bit of blood on it that he said that he was given by Ms. Main to wipe the blood off of his dog's face after it had gotten bitten. So I went with Mr. Dane. I went out to look at his dog. I did see several injuries from dog's face, one being the ear, one being the side of the face. It was very apparent that there was obviously some type of attack that occurred on Mr. Dane's dog. So after I gathered that information, I took some photos. The photos that you have in front of you are the photos that I took. I understand that what you're looking at there in black and white. So it's a little bit more challenging to see the blotter what you would would commonly see as a red or what have you but you can see if you look closely there's some injuries to the ears some injuries to the face pretty much consistent with what would be a dog fight um so i got mr dean's information i left uh mr dane he went back home uh his dog was really vaccinated his dog was probably like properly licensed all of those things were in order So I went to 133 North Wisconsin Street and I attempted to make contact with the animal owner there. As I rang the doorbell, or actually prior to going there, our dispatch had received a report from Madison Maine of the incident that had happened and she had reported that her dog had been involved in this altercation. So as I went there, I tried to make contact with her. I had learned that she had already left for a meeting and she wasn't available. I noticed that there was a dog tag that was laying, man, I don't remember where it was. I think it was on the porch at that time, but it had the name Fez on it. So then I went back to my squad car and I placed a phone call to Ms. Main, and I had an opportunity to speak with her. Ms. Main did report to me that her dog, or that she knew that her dog was somehow involved in an altercation, but she had told me that she was in a residence and she was getting ready for work. When she was getting ready for work, she had heard some commotion outside, had gone out and found that I believe Mr. Dane had her dog or at least that her dog had just attacked his dog. He requested her name and some information and also something to clean up the blood, which would have been consistent with the napkin that she provided to him to clean up the blood from the dog, his dog getting bit. So at that point, it was clearly in my determination that her dog had gotten off its leash, had run across, all the way across Northwest Johnson Street, and attacked Mr. Dean's dog. When I spoke with Matt some more about it, she believed what happened. She had found that dog tag named Fez laying on the front walk to her residence or the sidewalk area. So what she believed to happen was maybe she attached the leash to the dog tape, dog tape ring, rather than the actual ring on the collar. And that's why her dog was able to get off and go and attack Mr. Bingham's dog. Regardless of that, the attack did occur. It is in violation of our vicious dog ordinance that you guys are all aware of. And that vicious attack, being that it did harm another animal, did mean that the dog was vicious at that point i issued a vicious dog warning notice to miss name along with copy of the berlin ordinance so she could proceed accordingly and also knew what the requirements of that ordinance actually was i don't think that it's disputed at any case that this incident happened i don't think that it's disputed where the incident happened but it was off the property of Ms. Main and that it literally did attack the dog causing injury to that other dog. So it is at that point that I determined that the dog was vicious. Along with that, there was some other citations that were issued. Running at large and registration are the two citations that were issued along with the vicious dog notification. So that is my rendition of what occurred during the day. Again, it was July 24th, 2026. When I received the report, it was about 8.15 a.m. Since that time, I had made contact with Mr. Dane, who is present with us here today. I did confirm the location, and he did confirm with me that he was walking along Park Ave. He was at the Wisconsin Street intersection. He was on the opposite side of the road of Ms. Main's house. The dog did break off his leash. It did cross all the way over Wisconsin Street. AT WHICH POINT IT ATTACKED HIS DOG AND CAUSED AN INJURY. MR. DAIN IS HERE TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF THAT TONIGHT AS WELL. DO YOU OR ANY OF THE COUNCIL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME?

I DO. DO YOU KNOW IF THIS WAS THE FIRST ISSUE WITH THIS DOG?

I DO NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC INCIDENCE OR KNOWLEDGE OF THAT. IT HAD NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY BEEN VICIOUS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT. I don't know offhand if we have had prior recourse of problems with that dog. You had done some research on this. Do you remember if she was ever born for Fez's involvement with anything? OK, I can't give you an answer on that. I would say for this case. Just to be clear and then we're Adding anything into it, I would say no. I can't testify for that.

Chad, were there any more witnesses, evidence, or any other testimonies?

The only evidence that I have is the photographs that I took and Mr. Dean's own testimony. Okay.

Any other questions for the PD?

No. No?

Okay. At this time, then, we will invite the applicant and a representative if we have one. to the podium to present your witness, evidence, and testimony.

And then- Am I correct that this doesn't work?

Yes, it does not work. It looks, yes. She's just gonna swear you in person.

If you raise your hand, do you swear that the testimony you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so is that? I swear. Thank you.

My name's Madison Main. I live at 133 North Wisconsin Street here in the city of Berlin. Officer Krause is correct that I am not here to dispute the evidence that's been presented or what happened on the morning of this incident. Specifically, my request is to appeal the determination of viciousness. Has the council been provided with the packets of my appeal?

No. So do you have... Okay.

you gave them to her we could not receive them yet so if that's something you want passed out to council we just okay can we have the packets and we'll this is exhibit b yes and then can you take a look at the package before it's sent out to everyone to make sure you agree with everything in it it's just the application thank you yes do you have an extra copy for me i believe i do okay those are all the same okay this is the application that's the application itself this is your introduction okay just type your statements one through 15 and then your proposed response

I'm sure we had to take one, pass it down.

How can I be of help to enter those? Okay, I thought we'd start at one there and then I'll take a poll there and then hand them off. Ms. Main, all these documents were attached to the same location? Yes, I trimmed everything in together.

Okay. With the new appropriate timeline to Ms. Belcom and Ms. Smith here at the city office, everything was at a large notification with appropriate time frame for these information to provide those information for the appeal. um once they pass out is the application for the appeal the formal written objection 15 character statements um and a suggested um alternate contract that i'm willing to enter into with the city should viciousness itself not be determined that will protect both the city's interests as well as my own as an owner and my dogs to continue living within the residence

We're almost there. I bet you're 11.

Thank you.

I feel like I'm cheating.

Oh, sorry.

okay that is exhibit c yes now that you all have it in front of you i'll share again the um applicants allocation um provided to the city um along with my formal written objection supported by 15 character statements um and including an alternate proposal to enter into between myself and the city um to protect both the city and myself as an owner and my dog going forward as residents of the city of Berlin are all included in the activity. Certainly, I don't expect you to read through all those things at this moment, but I do hope that you'll give appropriate attention to the details that have been provided, most notably to the question asked by Alderperson Leveter. This is the first incident in seven years of my dog's life across seven different municipalities between three different states, so there has been an incident of any kind. Many of the character statements include information about my level of care and attention provided to my animals, as well as the interactions that others have had with my animal over those seven years, including professionals in the pet field. My own grandmother, who I included mostly because it felt good to me that she spoke to my character. friends who have provided care both inside of my home and outside of my home for my dog. What's not written in there is also that he attends a daycare and boarding facility where he plays in a space with almost 30 other dogs regularly. I did ask for documentation provided from them, but they were not able to contact their corporate office in an appropriate time to provide that information to you today.

As I'm trying, not that I'm trying to quickly read over these. How many of these 15 are neighbors-ish?

Specifically one neighbor, two houses down with a vacant house between us. Okay. And I believe four or five residents of Berlin.

So this proposed responsible ownership agreement, this is from you. This is not from, okay. Can I, have we ever, do we have anything like this? Is this something that's even?

Not that I'm aware of.

Chad, you've been here. I didn't hear your question. I apologize. Can I go back and forth? Is that okay?

So let's save that for the deliberation.

Never mind. I'll ask it in a minute. Are you going to have a chance to rebuttal on this?

You can, yes, as long as that's okay with you guys.

I would like to address some of the things that she's proposing.

Okay. Does anybody have, I know we have a lot to go through. Does anybody have any questions right off the bat? anything to address medicine was there any vet pills or anything that occurred no ma'am i was not contacted at all after the incident is it possible to hear from he will be mr dean yeah he'll be nice okay right he'll be after if anyone's speaking on behalf of me okay just wanted yeah

How long have you lived in the city?

I've lived in the city of Berlin since 2023. I've lived in the town of Berlin since 2021. Prior to that, the city of Oshkosh, the state of South Dakota and Mobridge where Fez was adopted, but he's lived in a couple of places in between there as well.

Has he been licensed?

EVERYWHERE EXCEPT HERE AND THAT WAS THAT WAS AN OVERSIGHT OF MINE ARE YOU GUYS OKAY IF WE UM MOVE ON TO THE ANY OF HER WITNESS CAN I ASK ONE MORE QUESTION IS BEZ REGULARLY TIED OUTSIDE IN THE MARINES

Like I said, how he does his morning business.

That's correct. Until this incident, that is correct. Myself and my 16 year old son occupy my home. I have an 18 and 19 year old sons as well, who are at times home, but very seldom responsible for the dogs. It's an expectation of mine that if the dogs are outside, that someone is on the main level of our home, as we do have the two story home. Since this incident, I have required that not only is somebody downstairs, but they are outside on the porch with him and that he has a harness on, not just a collar.

And this was in the front of the house, correct?

Correct. There is no backyard to my home, but there is a side, which is the leashes don't reach the sidewalk. So the dogs... can't access a person on the sidewalk, that they have access to the yard outside the front of the home.

I was going to suggest while we're going, while people are looking through these, can we move on to, I'm assuming, are these... Yes.

Let's have the police department, you guys had some questions for Ricardo.

That's just sort of like a question, but it would probably be more of a police statement.

Okay. But we'll save that too. In the interest of fairness, if you want to give a final statement at the end, we're allowed to do that. Sure. It's up to you after everyone has testified, then you can come back up just like the police department. Okay.

Thank you.

So fair to assume that Alexis and Mindy, you guys are here for Madison, correct? Correct. Alexis, I will have you come up first.

Raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony we shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help me God. I do.

My name is Alexis Zahner. I reside at 1556 Kingswood Drive, Nita, Wisconsin. I'm here as a character witness for Madison, Maine, as well as Feds. I've known Madison for 11 years, and I've known Feds since she adopted him seven years ago. I've had the pleasure of being one of the dog sitters when she is out of town or away for the night. I've spent numerous hours around her animals. I've seen Fez interact with numerous different animals as well, and I've never seen any sort of issue. I personally am not, I would not consider myself a dog person. I am a cat person, but I will spend an afternoon and evening with Fez and be perfectly comfortable and happy and content in his area. And just also to speak on Madison as well, because she's not going to brag about herself or talk about herself in the light that she deserves. She is the most responsible person and the most kind and caring person that you will ever meet. Sorry, she's a foster mom for the state of Wisconsin. Obviously, she's very young. She has the 16, the 18, and 19-year-olds. That's why she's a foster mom. She also works for the Boys and Girls Brigade. She's the director of the Boys and Girls Brigade. She just has a kind soul and a kind heart. She's a very responsible person. The only thing I can think of of this incident happening is a mere mistake. And Fed's being overwhelmed in this situation and not knowing how to react because he's used to being leashed out. So I'm here today just to speak for her, not on her behalf, but for her to shared that she is a very responsible, very kind, caring person. She takes great care of her animals. And as far as Fez goes, he's a very life-loving, kind, he is an energetic dog by any means, but never have seen him have any sort of issue or been uncomfortable around him, feel unsafe around him. Me speaking as a cat person, Like I said, I won't go out of my way to spend time with him if she's needing it. I understand that there are ordinances and laws to label him as a vicious dog, and just as an adjective for him is not an accurate adjective for him. He's definitely more loving, kind, caring for a dog. And it's just really saddening to hear that that's the label that's been put on him when it's not accurate. And I believe that she has come up with, you know, a plan in place so that this never, ever happens again. And I truly believe that she would never, ever let this situation happen again either. So to hear her out today, I think would be really awesome. I know that she has a lot of, and I am also one of the letters that is in that packet as well. Just explaining more of the, you know, where I fall into play. But to consider her and hear her out, I know that would mean the world to her and to her surrounding support system as well because we all love Fez and he is really a kind and caring dog. So thank you today for hearing her out and I know that she appreciates it. We appreciate it. But yes, that's all I have to say.

Mindy?

Do you swear by the testimony you shall give in a matter today shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So I'll keep that.

My name is Mindy Schrock. I live at WW or W 4438 County Road E here in Berlin. Um, I have known Madison for almost two years. I work with her at Boys and Girls Club. So I can attest to her character as a very caring, loving human being with children. And I've known Fez about this as long as I've known Madison, albeit not very well. I've been introduced to him a few times, coming to her home, meeting him at the door. He's very energetic, but he's a very sweet dog. I have seen him interact with the other dog in her home, a little bit of tussling, a little bit of playing, nothing that I would say is vicious. I've been around dogs my whole life, very aggressive dogs, some, some not. He does not come across as aggressive to me in any way. This, to me, feels like a very tragic accident that happened. She's very responsible. I speak to her on the phone a lot. We work very closely together. So at times she is taking care of us in the morning when she's speaking to me, and you can hear her getting him set, making sure he's on leash. with obviously with the tag instead of the ring on the collar he's a very sweet animal i think this was just him out of his comfort zone he saw another animal i'm not sure if he was maybe trying to play and got a little too excited there but he's not vicious he's not thank you

Savannah, what do you want me to move on to next? Are we giving Mr. Dane?

Well, is there anyone else here to speak on behalf? Okay, yes.

Okay, Mr. Dane, then you can come up to the non-working mic.

Okay, you can raise your right hand. Do you swear that testimony you shall give in this matter is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God?

Yes.

What do you have for us tonight, Mr. Dan? What do you want to speak about? That bill.

Curling veterinary claim. 7-24-26. $320. This is the 2026 single dog license. Dog is licensed and vaccinated. I'm a disabled veteran.

I have to walk. High blood pressure.

Diabetes. Strokes. Blood clots. That's my therapy dog. Not officially. He's not a dog. Expensive dog from someplace else. My son brought him from Phoenix, Arizona. Gets me out walking every day. I had an incident when I first got him walking out by the Berlin Conservation Club. A vehicle come up over a hill. His speed limit's 55, I believe, on the other side. Slows down to 35 in Berlin. And he saw me. Going about 50. My dog was in the bushes on the leash. He apparently didn't see the dog or care because when he saw me, he swerved off the gravel, trying to hit me.

I was a concealed carry permit holder. I drew my handgun. This guy was going to kill me.

At the last second, just as I was going to fire, he prowled around. I reholstered and continued my walk.

Got back into Berlin.

This officer was there, took my handgun, cost me $5,000 in legal fees in Green Lake County, eventually get it straightened out. But I'm a mobility impaired guy, veins are dead in my legs, hips deteriorated, knees are shot, neck shot. I had about 20 surgeries. Anybody knows major surgery takes about 10 years off your life. I'll never live to be 200, but I'm also on a blood thinner. I can't be bit by dogs. I bleed to death before you got me to the hospital. So a fence or a table or a chain would be a more effective means than a string or rope. Try and hold your dog and keep it away from the public. German Shepherds and Rottweilers, my dogs, Rottweiler, Black Lab Mix, are notorious enemies going back to the time of the Roman legions and Isigoths in Europe. They fight each other. They're fighting dogs. German Shepherd would probably attack a Rottweiler out of anywhere, but I'm no expert.

Mr. Dane, do you remember that day, what kind of a leash do you lock your dog on?

A retractable nylon cable.

So when you say retractable, at what length does it?

16 feet.

And what are you allowed in town, or do you remember what your dog was at in town?

I have no idea, but it has a lock on it. You can lock it at any length.

I have it so that I don't get a jerk.

might be being physically impaired. I can't have the dog go after a squirrel, for instance, and knock me down. I might not get up with you. So it's just a comfort thing.

I don't need to use it. Mr. Dane, would you say that your dog is protective of you?

Oh, sure. Is he reactive?

His name's Buddy. But is Buddy reactive? No, no. I'm just saying he's my buddy. Is he protective? He's my dog. Is he reactive?

I would say no. He likes, he's vocal.

And, excuse me, my mouth's dry.

Socializing, I don't like to socialize. I like to keep my dog to myself. Doesn't mean he's vicious. It just means I'm anti-social. I did try being social when I first came to this town.

I was an American Legion. Did the Brock Fries, VFW, Knight of Columbus, ushered at All Saints Church. And then people started trying to run me over in the church parking lot. Crossing the street, people tried to hit me. Example, like I mentioned with the... Can we try to keep the facts to this case? I have to understand. If you want to know why I am the way I am,

Was there anything that happened right before the dog broke loose? Did the dogs talk to each other or you're just walking down the street and the dog broke loose?

Same as always. He needs those walks and I need those walks.

I've seen you around walking him.

It's his job.

It's my therapy dog. I was just wondering if there was any barking or anything before. Nope.

Didn't even know she was there. That was a vacant house for the longest time. Then suddenly, one day, there's a German Shepherd running at me. Never knew it was there or she was there or nothing. Even was for sale with everything inside included.

That's true.

I know we had asked if the dog had been, has your dog ever been involved in any other incidents with other dogs in town?

Yeah. The officer asked me not to mention. He's been attacked several times. Once at the park, there was a gal following me, and I kept changing sides of the street. She changed sides of the street. Finally got way the heck down. I even testified about that, because her dog attacked another dog where she lived, and they got abused in that one. When I first moved here, or first got the dog, rather, Some people who moved or are in the process of moving, their pit bull ran out from, somebody opened the door or got the door open and there was nobody around unrestrained, no police, nothing. Pit up my dog. Both were reported to the police department. My dog's been pit up by a bunch of other dogs in this town. It's the third time.

OK, any other questions for Mr. Dane?

Did you wish to introduce anything in the evidence? You have a piece of paper right there.

Just the vet bills and the licensing. Proof of licensing. OK. Licensed and vaccinated.

Can we see the vet bill? At least I want to see it.

There's so many women up here. I don't know which one of you.

You're freaking me out, man. I was just married to one woman. Is it Mormons? Yeah. Wasn't me.

Are there any other questions for Mr. Dane?

Mr. Dane, you can have a seat then at this time.

Thank you.

Can we move on then back to the PD? Yes. Okay.

Okay. Several things that I'd like to address. Mr. Dane mentioned that I had asked him not to speak about the other incidents that had happened involving him. Since he brought it up, he was a victim. of several other dog bites in this city. And I wanted to keep the attention focused on the incident at hand and not portray him to be a victim of multiple incidents and have that weigh in on your judgment here. Mr. Dean, certainly I wanted to keep him on track, even though he has been involved with other incidents of drawing a gun on someone and things along those lines. I think it's important to keep looking at the facts of this incident not necessarily other incidents that have unfortunately surrounded him. So let's talk about what Ms. Main had produced here. And the ordinance requires consideration of whether exemptions apply. In each of those matters, WisDOT initiated the encounter. So to identify that, which Ms. Main clearly identified by herself that she was not disputing any evidence of the case, her dog broke a leash, ran across the street, and engaged Mr. Dane's dog. That's a fact. It's not been disputed. And so, obviously, her dog initiated the encounter. But the encounter involved mutual aggression. Mr. Dane's dog was not being aggressive. He was walking the dog. He was being peaceful with the dog. So what he has testified is that There was no barking. There was nothing. Her dog broke the leash, crossed the road, and attacked his dog. That is not mutual aggression. That is aggression on one side, and that is her dog by the other side. Whether my dog was acting defensively. Her dog is the one that broke the leash, ran across the street, and attacked his dog. Her dog was not acting defensively. But her sufficient provocation existed under the ordinance. So provocation, when we talk about provocation, there needs to be something. And so what Mr. Dane just specified, too, is there was no barking, there was no interaction. An excellent question, and it was clearly answered by Mr. Dane that there was nothing other than the dog simply attacking Gibbs. There was no provocation. And so the elements of the viciousness of Ms. Dane's dog is clearly met under what she presented to you. I don't think that there can be any dispute. I've worked with Ms. Maine through the Boys and Girls Club. And her character is outstanding. I think that what we need to focus on here today is the character of her dog. And to what they testified to, her witnesses testified to, is seeing the dog interact when she's present. Unfortunately, in the situation that happened here today, or on the 24th, we saw what could happen when she isn't present. and that wasn't attacking another dog. And that's exactly what the city ordinance is established to prevent when we have a dog that is known to attack another dog, that we do not want a reoccurrence of what could potentially happen that this dog has not clearly exhibited, which based on what she provided, clearly presents evidence to. Any questions?

Okay. Thank you, Chad. Madison, if you want to come back up for your closing.

To follow up Officer Kelsey's appropriate question of the appeal, I wasn't present for the event. So I suppose those notes are more about my own QUESTIONING OF WHAT HAPPENED, I CAN'T PERSONALLY TESTIFY TO WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. WE'RE TRUSTING MR. DANE'S ASSESSMENT OF WHAT HAPPENED TO HAVE BEEN TOLD APPROPRIATELY AND ACCURATELY TO THE OFFICER AS IS THE OFFICER. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED. AND WHEN I SAID I WASN'T DISPUTING THE EVIDENCE, THAT IS WHAT I MEANT IS THAT, YES, THIS ALTERGATION HAPPENED. at least at a high level, my dog is responsible for injury. I didn't include it. My dog had a scratch on his paw, not that worthy. And to me, at this point, those pieces of what we're discussing are not important. My ability to continue to maintain my pet inside of my home, inside the city of Berlin is. Some of the pieces outlined in the expectations of an owner after label omissions exist are nearly impossible for me to uphold. So that is what I decided to bring specific attention to today. That's all. Thank you.

Does anybody else have any last questions?

Same question for you, ma'am. As for Mr. Dane, is your dog reactive? TO OTHER DOGS.

YES. THANK YOU.

ANYBODY ELSE?

IF NOT, I THINK WE WILL GO... LET'S GET MR. DANCHINGS TO HAVE A CLOSING, IF YOU WOULD LIKE.

OKAY. MR. DANE, DID YOU WANT A SECOND TO DO A CLOSING, OR ARE YOU ALL GOOD?

I TRIED EXPLAINING, AND SHE SAID IT DIDN'T PERTAIN TO ANYTHING IN THIS CASE.

Mr. Dane, can you come up to the podium? An older person has a question for you.

I'm just looking at the invoice from the vet on 7-24-26. Is that the day that he was vaccinated?

I don't think that's the vaccination. It says rabies. That's the vaccination. I had thought that He had a three-year, and when I checked at the city hall, they say no, that the three-year had run out. So I went and got it done again. So it's very recent. He was lapsed, I believe. But not as of this incident. He had all the stuff before that.

Okay, so if you guys are okay, I think we could take some time to deliberate.

Let's just read the evidence into the record.

Okay.

The exhibits. Yep.

So we have exhibit A, which is the police department's report and photos. Exhibit B is the packet from Ms. Main, starting with application to appeal vicious dog determination and then all of the character witnesses or character statements. And then her proposed responsible ownership agreement, that's all part of exhibit B. And then exhibit C would have been the vet stuff that's been passed around. Is there anything else we need to enter into?

Now can I move to go to close? Okay.

So at this time, I will be looking for a motion to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statute 19.8518, deliberate concerning the hearing regarding the appeal of the vicious dog determination pursuant to section 10-10A1 of the City of Bruins Municipal Code. So moved.

Second.

Motion by Victoria, second by Missy. I'll need a roll call, please.

Criswell?

Aye.

Hill?

Aye.

Aye.

Fomali? Aye. Cleveter? Aye. Sorenson? Aye. Six aye.

Okay, I am going to... What time? Sorry, it's 7.55. I'm going to go ahead and mute this. We're keeping the cameras rolling because I'm not going to restart this every... That's fair.

So we are back in open session. We are looking for action.

I will make a motion to deny the petitioner's request to reconsider and deny the vicious dog determination pursuant to section 10-2 of the City of Berlin Municipal Code and direct the city staff to prepare the written decision and circulate it to the council. Each council member will be asked to confirm that written decision is as intended. And if any member disagrees, that matter will be set for a subsequent meeting for the sole purpose of reviewing the wording of the written decision, reflecting the determination reached today. If you wish to appeal this decision, your notice of appeal and required documentation is required to be filed with the circuit court within 30 days.

Motion? Looking for a second. I'll second. Motion by Terry, second by Jamie. Roll call, please.

Criswell? Aye. Hill? Aye. Cauley? Aye. Romali?

Aye.

Clubbeater? Aye. Sorenson? Aye. 6-I.

Motion passes. Ms. Maynard, I hope you can hear it in our voices tonight that this is not about a judgment calling your character by any means. That we are forced to make a determination that's in black and white according to the law. and they all wanted me to make sure that you understand that this is not about you as a person, that we, again, had to deal with the facts that were presented to us tonight.

Will I receive a copy of the signatures after the meeting today?

Yep, within, as soon as everything is prepared between the attorney and our city administrator, they will get those out to you. As far as the timeframe, I don't know how long it's going to take the attorney and the administrator, but once that gets to you, is when your timeframe would start. You're 15 days after that to follow the vicious dog ordinance.

10 days to comply with the ordinance or 30 days to file the circuit court. Okay.

Thank you, everyone. Oh, sorry. I'm going to go ahead and move up number 17 so that, Tiffany, you don't have to wait through another one. I'm sorry. We are going to go to number 17, which is a special event, Think Pink 5K Run Walk event from noon to 4 p.m. The walk will run at 1 p.m. on October 11th, 2026. Special events on streets, highways, and municipal parking lots to allow use of the city's streets. Event to be held at the Berlin High School.

The recommendation is to review the request, confirm an application, discussion, and action as appropriate.

Tiffany, you can come up to the podium.

All right. No, I need to go forward in the packet.

Okay, what do you have for us?

I do have the copy of insurance. I do have for each occurrence limit is a million as well as the general aggregate limit.

So it's well above the required limit. Tell us a little bit about your event.

So Think Pink 5K1 Walk is a fundraiser to raise money for breast cancer awareness here in the area. I have recently founded 920 Pink to help provide care packages, and hopefully within 2027 and 2028, my goal is to start providing grants for women in the area with breast cancer, just to kind of ease their place a little bit. With the event itself, I'm looking at setting up around getting registration to open up by 12.30, and then the walk itself starting at 1.00.

I do want to note that I don't see on here where the city is named as insured.

Do you have, okay, I can add that to there. I do not know that they had to be put on there, but I can definitely get that, no problem.

Okay. So just note that that needs to take place in pending. Okay. Do you have any? Go ahead.

No, I was just going to ask if anybody had any questions for you.

So you mentioned that you formed an organization and the intention is to have this as an annual event? It is.

Cool.

Yeah, my idea kind of went off of the one CHM used to do their helping hands run. I was going to say that route looks familiar. That's the exact route. I was working with Noah on getting what route was going to be the best.

All right, as the person who came in last on that run and everybody had left, please keep track of the last person.

No, I believe that gentleman was very old. He was an older gentleman. I photographed that for many years. And you weren't last. No, no. It was the turkey trot one that I was last in.

This was a long, long time ago. Anyway, I was there. Everybody left. The banners were gone. The people were gone. I was like...

One of the main concerns that I did talk to the police chief with was the intersections on Wisconsin Street, the north and the south end. And I do plan on having volunteers there to help cross runners over there. I will also have a safety packet with safety guidelines for all of the runners to look over before the run, just to ensure that they're well aware of road guidelines, runner expectations on the road with vehicles, just to ensure that there's a lot of safety had there. for our runners and drivers on the road.

I'll make a motion to approve the special events on streets, highways, and municipal parking lots permit to allow the use of city streets on October 11, 2026. For the Think Pink 5K Run Walk, such approval is contingent upon the insurance being amended to include the city as an insured, thank you, noted on the special event permit checklist prior to the event.

I second it.

Motion by Victoria, second by Angie. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you.

Hey, Tiffany? Yeah, she's good. Or, Jessie's good. Jessie's a copy of the certificate of liability insurance, but

Okay, awesome, thank you Okay Then we are back up to Number 16, which is a discussion and possible action regarding authorization for the city attorney to prosecute municipal cross appeals of manufacturing real estate assessments appeal number four six nine three zero six one one two and and appeal number 946014976 for the property at 242 South Pearl Street. At this time, we can do, are we going to directly and close? Yeah?

If you would like, we certainly can.

Let's get this done. Okay. Do you need a motion? We're looking for a motion to go into.

Motion to go into closed session?

I'll second that. Motion by Missy, second by Terry. Roll call. Sorry.

Aye. Criswell? Aye. Hill? Aye. Cawley? Aye. Famali? Aye. Claviter? Aye. I was on a streak.

Sorenson? Aye. 6-8. Okay, motion to go into closed. Accepted at 836. Same deal. We're going to go across.

Oh wait, we're the only ones in the room, so.

i figured i'm the only one left well then i have to stop the whole thing too so yeah just keep we'll keep it like we were going across okay only because i don't want to have to stop and start the darn

One mute.

It's still earlier than the last one, Missy. It is. We're doing good. I'm working on it. It's still good.

All right. Then we are looking for... We are on to two...

which is immediately following a closed session, the City Council reconvene into open session and may take such action as it deems appropriate regarding the matters discussed in closed session.

Where is that motion?

Right here.

Is that the one? I'll make a motion to authorize the City Attorney to prosecute and take all actions necessary in connection with the City's Municipal Prosecutes of the Manufacturing Real Estate Assessment for 242 South Pearl Street. appeal number 469306112, and appeal number 946014976, and to submit Common Council's authorization to the State Board of Assessors.

Second. Motion by Victoria, second by Missy. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Number 18 is the Amend Chapter 66 of the City of Borland Municipal Code to authorize non-residents to serve on the Travel and Tourism Commission. Recommendation is to approve the recommendation of the Committee of the Whole to approve Charter Ordinance 11-26. And Angie, bring me up to speed. We have been talking for several months. It was brought to the Council not only, but I mean, we've talked, several of us have talked about this for a while, but to a constituent saying, hey, open up some of your boards so that we can all, you know, whatever. So we did go through kind of tooth and comb and I'm done for tonight.

Or a fine comb. Fine tooth comb. I quit.

We went through it and we did, Jesse did a lot of research with our attorney to find out which boards actually this could work on. And so it was minimal, but it does open it up. So we are looking for A MOTION TO ADOPT THAT CHARTER ORDINANCE.

I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO APPROVE CHARTER ORDINANCE NUMBER 11-26. I'LL SECOND.

MOTION BY ANGIE. SECOND BY TRACY. NO CALL TO ORDINANCE.

11-26. Criswell? Aye. Hill? Aye. Hawley? Aye. Kamali? Aye. LaVita? Aye. Sorenson? Aye. Six aye.

Motion passed. Number 19 is amend Chapter 2 of the City of Berlin Municipal Code to authorize non-residents to serve on certain boards, committees, and commissions. Recommendation is to approve... THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO APPROVE CHARTER ORDINANCE 12-26.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE TO APPROVE CHARTER ORDINANCE NUMBER 12-26.

I'LL SECOND.

MOTION BY TERRI. SECOND BY TRACY. ROLL CALL.

PRISBILL. AYE. HILL. AYE. CAULEY.

AYE.

DEMALLE. AYE. CLEVITER. Aye. Sorensen? Aye. Six aye.

Motion passes, thank you. Number 20, the Common Council may convene into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statute 19.85 to deliberate or negotiate 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, specifically for discussion and consideration of benefit negotiations under the Police Association's collective bargaining agreement. If you're looking for a motion to go into closed.

Make a motion to go into closed.

Second. Motion by Terry, second by Missy. Sorry.

Criswell? Aye. Hill? Aye. Cawley? Aye. Kamali? Aye. Leveter? Aye. Sorensen? Aye. Six-aye. Are we going to receive the information that was there?

Mm-hmm.

Okay, for our one person that's still watching. Wow, thank you. We are back into open session after our closed session. So number 20, there is no action taken. So we will move on to number 21, which is old business. Does anybody have anything to add for old business? Number 22, new business. Anything for new business? Number 23. Motion to adjourn. Seconded. Motion by Missy, seconded by Victoria.

No, it was me.

Angie, sorry.

All in favor say aye. Aye.

Any opposed? Motion carries at 9.52. This is honestly the worst.

Guess what? Hold on.