City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call to order this meeting of the Fond du Lac City Council. Our first item of business is roll call, which is done electronically. I will declare a quorum is present with Ms. Luring absent. Next item on our agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance. And a moment of silent reflection. Please rise.

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.

Thank you all. And up next, we have a proclamation which recognizes Altruist's 75th anniversary. So if the folks who want to accept that proclamation can meet me down front, that would be wonderful. No? Oh, man, that was like one of those cell phone commercials. Can you hear me now? Okay, all right, let's do this. Whereas Altruza International of Fond du Lac celebrated its 75th year of service to the city of Fond du Lac in 2026, and whereas Altruza International improves the quality of life in Fond du Lac, Through its commitment to promoting community service, patriotism, literacy, and whereas Altruza International's efforts have improved literacy in Fond du Lac through donations to New Beginnings, Reach Out and Read, and WI Bookworms programs, also by supporting the Altruza Reading Program and the Domestic Violence Center, providing funds and volunteers for the Fond du Lac Literacy Services and providing books and bookshelves for the new Fond du Lac County Habitat for Humanity homes. And whereas, Altruisa International has served Fond du Lac's youth by granting scholarships to graduating seniors for college expenses, students of both MPTC and Marion University, and providing donations to the Children's Museum and foster care program, And whereas Altruza International has helped feed Fond du Lac's residents by organizing drivers to deliver meals prepared by St. Amos Hospital through the Altruza Mobile Meals Program and by donating to the Fondie Food Pantry and the Holy Land Food Pantries. Now, therefore, I, Keith Heisler, President of the Fond du Lac City Council, do hereby congratulate Altruza International of Fond du Lac on its 75th anniversary and recognize its many years of contributions to our great community. Thank you all. Okay, you're closest so you get to hold it. Anybody want to speak?

Otherwise, we're just doing a picture.

Okay, sounds good. Terry, Mike's here. Shall we pass? Oh, absolutely.

Since we have the mic.

I got nothing but time, you're good.

Thank you very much. We appreciate your acknowledgement of our work and our efforts. And I hope no one says to themselves, Altruza, have I heard of that? Because that's certainly where we wanna make sure that you have heard of us. We do a lot for this community and our bottom line is that we're a group of dedicated individuals that believe service is the way to enhance and improve the community. And one of our main service projects we're very proud of is the mobile meals project over through St. Agnes that serves people in the community every day, right? It's at Monday through Friday and we oversee, actually Rosie right here, oversees the scheduling and obtaining volunteers and they take meals every day to people who need them. And that's probably our largest service project, but we can put a plugin for the book sale, which is our largest fundraising project, which helps everything else run. Anyone want to say something about the book sale? You can donate books anytime.

Actually, there's book donation Tuesdays starting in November from 9 until 2 at the fairgrounds, and we take in a lot of donations, and then we have to sort them all and then sell them. And the dates are March... 26? Second week of March, it's a Thursday through Sunday sale at the fairgrounds, and we usually get a really good turnout. Check Facebook, okay, okay, yeah.

We also have some funds, so in November, we have a SOCOP. For those of you who remember SOC OPS. And so we have a lot of fun at that too. So I think November 8th, we're not quite sure. 7th, okay, 7th. Yeah, but the Del Rays come and they're really good and we have a good time.

Okay, thank you.

All right, thanks everybody. I mean, if you guys want to take the rest of the meeting, you can. They're all here to see you. They're not here to see us. Let's fight. You bet. Thank you very much. Can't we start every meeting with a fun proclamation like that? Wouldn't that be great? Okay, let's go ahead and move on to the consent agenda, which finalizes the proposed actions for the meeting, A, the 22nd of July, 2026, B, the list of claims dated August 3rd, and C, the denial of claim. Is there any discussion or corrections to the consent agenda? Seeing no discussions or corrections, I'll entertain a motion at this time. Got a motion from Mr. Zimmerman. Got a second from Ms. Sproul. Thank you both. Any further discussion on this? Seeing none, please proceed to vote. I think we all should have the Moen signs. I'm just saying. That passes unanimously. Thanks, everyone. Now we're gonna move on to audience comments. That includes agenda and non-agenda items. The presiding officer shall limit the speaking time to agenda items to five minutes and items not on the agenda to two minutes. Ms. Hefter, do we have anyone wishing to speak? We do, it appears. I do, I have one. That's okay. I've got Wayne Heisler who's at 90 Aurora Lane who wishes to speak on the public works budget and the fish cleaning station.

an item that's broken. So it was broke a couple years ago, numerous times, it was broke last year again, it's broke again this year. My question is, I was told we were getting a new fish grinder, Or, and my question is, did we get a new fish grinder or did we get a rebuilt fish grinder? Double question. And one or the other, is it not covered under warranty? Because it's from this year, why wouldn't it be? It's broke again this year, so I don't understand why it continually is a problem. From my standpoint as a fisherman, I'm there all the time. You can go to Sheboygan, they can run 20 pound king salmon through that fish grinder. We can't seem to run, you know, a 12-inch perch through our fish grinder. So I don't know if what we have is under capacity, if it's too small, if it wasn't the right one. I understand it was donated a long time ago, so that's a whole different issue, but I would love to see that replaced and make it functional for the people that fish there because I'm there all the time. The people I talk to all the time are really frustrated with the fact that you can't use it And I mean, it's a great thing to have there, but when it doesn't work, it's useless. We all pay our launch fees for, I don't know where that money goes to. I don't even wanna get into that, but is that used for the Parks Department for this, or is it used somewhere else within the park's budget? The other thing I always see is because of that always being broken is being abused and therefore should there be a security camera in that shelter to see who's doing what to it that's causing this thing to constantly be broke. I'd love that, then at least we know what's going on and why it's always a problem. And the other thing is for me as a fisherman, there used to be a hose on the south side of the fish cleaning station It would be great if you just put a 50 foot hose there because when you come out of that big hole, it's green as green can be right now. So it would be nice if you could take a hose and hose your boat off before you drive away from it to spray off all the weeds that are accumulated underneath the trailer. I know this is peanuts in the dollar amount of what your budget is. but for the people that use it on a regular basis, it would be great if we could have it work versus always have it be broken. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Heisler. And with that, I believe that concludes our audience comments this evening.

So now that we have audience comments concluded, we're going to move on to our action items tonight.

And action item A, oh, just as a reminder to anyone who makes audience comments, you are welcome to stay for the length of the meeting, but you do not have to. Thank you for coming. Moving on to action item A, which is the Class A Fermented Malt License. And that would be Sonja Dienieder-Wright and doing business as Rightway Candy, Snacks and More. Business address is 80 South Macy Street. Ms. Hefter has that introduction for us.

Thank you, President Heisler. Sonya Wright is applying for a Class A fermented malt license to allow carryout sales at her store located at 80 South Macy Street. Background checks were done on the owner and city staff and alcohol license committee recommend approval.

Thank you very much, Ms. Hefter. Any questions from council for Ms. Hefter on this? Seeing no questions, I'll entertain a motion at this time. We've got a motion from Ms. Mayweather and a second from Ms. Sproul. Thank you both. Any further discussion on this issue? Seeing none, please proceed to vote. And that passes unanimously. Mr. Mullen, I'm gonna need you to hold that sign up a little longer. Thank you. All right, let's move on to action item B, which is the selling of fermented malt beverages in the city park. The applicant is the Operation Wisconsin for the 9-11 remembrance 25 years later.

Location is Lakeside Park and the dates are September 11th and 12th of this year. Ms. Hefter has that introduction as well.

Thank you again, President Heisler. Operation Wisconsin is requesting to sell fermented milk beverages on park property at Lakeside Park on September 11th to 12th for a 9-11 concert fundraiser remembering 25 years later event. A special event application has been submitted and approved by city departments. Staff recommends approval with the condition that no carry-ins are permitted in the designated area.

Thank you very much, Ms. Hefter. Just a point of clarification. If this is passed, the no carry-ins is already included in that, correct? Correct. Okay, thank you very much. All right, with that, are there any other questions from council for Ms. Hefter on this?

Mr. Biber. I'm just trying to read. Does that say concert fundraiser?

Yes, they will be having concerts each night.

I just wanted to clarify that word.

Thank you.

All right, thank you. Seeing no further questions in the queue, at this time I'll entertain a motion. Mr. Biber has a motion on the floor, and I need a second for that. It did not come up. Now we've got the motion in from Mr. Biber. Can I get a second? Thank you, Ms. Perl. There we go. Could have done that too. Thank you, Mr. Zimmerman. All right, thank you both. With that, we've got the motion by Mr. Biber and the second by Mr. Zimmerman and let's proceed to vote. And that passes unanimously. Thank you, sir. Ms. Wright, at this point you can exit the meeting should you so choose, although you're welcome to stay. No, you're good, you're good. Thank you so much for coming, we appreciate you.

I'll send that to you tomorrow.

City Clerk will take care of that for you. You bet, thank you so much for coming. All right, with that, we're gonna move on to a resolution number 9256. This is the one where Tricia makes me read all the big numbers. It's the resolution authorizing the issuance and sale up to $1,128,237 taxable private LSL replacement loan program revenue bonds series 2026 and providing for all other detail and covenants within respect thereto and the approval of the related financial assistance agreement. Ms. Davey, it's yours. Thank you.

So a few weeks ago, you approved a resolution to authorize a loan with the DNR for wastewater for their biogas project. So tonight's resolution is a similar DNR loan for water for their lead service replacement program. The loan of $1.1 million will allow us to provide financial assistance to approximately 200 property owners for their lead service replacements. And then this particular loan also comes with a principal forgiveness component of 25%. So the DNR will be forgiving just over $280,000 of the principal amount for this loan. So happy to answer any questions.

Excellent. Thank you very much. Are there any questions for Ms. Davey on this? Seeing no questions, I'll entertain a motion. We got a motion from Ms. Brault, but then it just said the motion failed. Okay. Ms. Brault has the motion and Mr. Biber has the second. Thank you both. Any further discussion on this? Seeing none, please proceed to vote. And that passes unanimously, thank you. All right, we'll move on to action item, I believe that's D, that's the resolution 9257, making appointments to the Fond du Lac Public Library Board. Mr. Moore, floor is yours.

Thanks. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, I'm nominating Kiwan Brown to the library board. He would serve through June of 2029. I think you've probably all met him. He's a police officer who serves as a school resource officer. Really good fit for the library. Thank you. Excellent.

Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Any questions for Mr. Moore from council on this? Seeing none, I'll take a motion. Ms. Mayweather has a motion. And Mr. Biber has a second. Thank you both. Any further discussion on this? Seeing none, let's vote. And that passes unanimously. Thanks, everyone. And that closes out our action items for this evening. So we are gonna move on to our input items. We have three of those tonight. First up, we are going to do our presentation for the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. And Brian Grunewald, the floor is yours, my friend. Take it away.

All right, sounds good. Thank you for having me here this evening. I'm Brian Grunewald with Clifton Larson Allen. And I do want to thank Tricia and Tessa and the rest of your team for the assistance that we received throughout the audit process. We obviously ask for a lot of information and certainly appreciate all the questions and responses that we get as part of that process. For purposes of tonight's discussion, I did just put together a brief PowerPoint, just intended to give you a high level overview of the annual comprehensive financial report. If you do have any questions as I'm going through the discussion, certainly please feel free to ask. Thank you. This first slide is just intended to give you an overview of the different reports that are included within your financial statements. There's actually three different reports included in there. The first I'll refer to as the audit opinion. That covers the annual comprehensive financial report. It's considered to be an unmodified opinion. Essentially means that I believe that your financial statements are complete and accurate and in accordance with professional standards. In addition, the second item there is in reference to internal control. We do not issue an opinion on internal control, but we are required to gain an understanding of your internal control environment so that we can properly plan and perform the audit. Happy to report that from an internal control perspective. And again, think of that as how you handle cash, how you pay your bills, how you handle your accounting transactions. No issues, no concerns, and no findings relative to internal control. And then the last item there is in reference to compliance. Because of the amount of federal and state aid that you receive, we also have an additional report and additional compliance testing that we do relative to the federal and state aid programs that you receive. We've completed that testing. Again, happy to report no issues, no concerns, no findings relative to compliance. Okay, this next slide, I just wanted to take a minute to recognize the city. In addition to the audit process, you also go through a voluntary submission and review by the Government Finance Officers Association. So this certificate is included in your report. You can see it's for 2024, but just wanted to, again, acknowledge your participation in that program, acknowledge receipt of the Certificate of Achievement, and also just wanted to highlight it's the 31st consecutive year that you've received that, so certainly a very impressive streak that you've got going there. And it is my understanding that the current year report has also been submitted, so they're in the process of completing that review as well, so congratulations on that award. Then this slide, just wanted to give you an overview. There is information that we are required to communicate as every audit that's conducted in accordance with government auditing standards. This slide gives you an overview of some of those topics. You can see that the topics there have not changed significantly from what you've seen in the past. a lot of accounting specific accounting terminology included within there. From my perspective, certainly nothing that's a red flag, nothing unusual. A couple items to highlight there in terms of audit adjustments, just want to highlight all adjustments that I'm aware of are included in your financial statements. Meaning again, those are complete and accurate. And then I also just wanted to touch on the representation letter as a part of the audit process. Every year we request the city sign a representation letter. The purpose of that is to make sure that we've received all the information that we've requested as a part of the audit process. So just wanted to acknowledge that. And we do attach that to the back of that governance communication letter. And then I just wanted to move into a few financial highlights. The number one thing that I always like to look at in terms of financial condition is the fund balance for your general fund. I like this slide because it gives you some perspective on what your trends have been relative to fund balance. Here you can see the, I'll say the strong, steady growth in terms of your overall fund balance reserves. You do see the different categories below the slide. Just wanted to highlight particularly, and again, maybe as a reminder, the assigned and committed categories, I always refer to those as planning opportunities. When the city identifies purposes for which they want to set aside money, they've got the ability to do that. You have done that. There is additional detail of that on pages 76 and 77 within the financial statements. Non-spendable dollars are based on the nature of that amount. It's money that has already been spent. Think of that as cash has gone out the door. Therefore, we're required to present that as non-spendable. The remaining balance is the unassigned category. Think of that as what's left. And again, just want to highlight the trend that you see there. I mean, overall going from approximately 5.7 million back in 2021, up to 11.5 million for 2024, and then ending 2025 with just under 14.4 million. So certainly very strong trend in terms of your overall fund balance. Nice to see the increase in that unassigned fund balance. If you do have additional questions or thoughts with regards to the year and how things went, I would recommend that you take a look at the management discussion and analysis section of the financial statements. That gives you a narrative overview. And then also the budget to actual report for the general fund, which can be seen on page 24 of the financial statements. If we move on to this slide, this is really just intended to give you an overview or a snapshot of how much unassigned fund balance you have. So this is only looking at that unassigned category, and it's comparing that to the amount of actual expenditures that are flowing through your budget and your financial statements. You can see the results there consistent with what we saw in the previous slide with the increase in the unassigned fund balance dollars. You can also see the increases in the percentages here ending 2025 at 36.8%. Just wanted to highlight, and again, just another indicator that the city continues to be in real strong financial condition with regards to their overall fund balance and fund balance reserves. From a benchmarking perspective, From an audit standpoint, we tend to look at things like the Government Finance Officers Association, Moody's and bond rating agencies to see what kind of benchmarks and standards are out there. Just wanna highlight, there is no statutory limit. There's no requirement for where you need to be at. Common benchmarks typically are in the 20 to 25%. Obviously you're slightly above that. So certainly again, a strong indicator of where you are at financially. Any thoughts or questions on that before I move on? And then in addition to those fund balance reserves, whenever I look at financial conditioning, I always like to look at your long-term liabilities. And I know when you go through that process, this is just focusing on your general obligation debt, but obviously a very structured process with regards to board approval, being built into the budget and whatnot. This is really just intended to give you a snapshot of your general obligation debt and focusing on that statutory debt limit for how much general obligation debt you can have. The blue line is the statutory limit. You can see the steady growth or increase in that. That is based on the increase in the equalized value of the city. And what sticks out to me is if you look over that time period, your statutory debt limit has actually increased over 40%. So strong growth in your equalized value and your statutory debt limit. The green line represents the amount of outstanding principal that you have on that general obligation debt. You can see that line has been fairly consistent. Back in 2021, you had approximately 89 million. At the end of 2024, you had approximately 96 million. And then at the end of 2025, had approximately 102 million. There is a lot of information within your financial statements, beginning on page 62, if you care to see more debt information. I just wanted to highlight that. And maybe I should also reference, one of the things that I always look at is the gap between those two lines. Back in 2021, the gap was approximately $74 million At the end of 2025, it's growing to $140 million. So certainly, again, see the growth there. And from a capacity standpoint, at the end of 2021, you're using about 53.5% of your debt limit. At the end of 2025, you're using approximately 42.1%. So just wanted to reference that. Again, I know as you go through the budget process, you're very structured again in your approach to long-term capital, capital needs and whatnot, but just wanted to highlight those balances as of the end of the audit year. And then I also just wanted to take a real brief opportunity. The reference to the governmental accounting standards board is again, because you are required to follow those regulatory requirements. They issue standards or statement numbers in chronological order. They've been very busy the last several years. And you can see just some of the upcoming standards that the city will be required to deal with in the upcoming audits. There's a lot of information out on our website if you care to see more information on that. But just wanted to assure you that we will work closely with your team to make sure that those standards are properly implemented when they are required to be implemented. And that's all the comments that I had prepared. But if anyone has any questions about the audit process or about your audited financial statements, I would certainly be happy to entertain any questions.

Thank you, Brian. Another excellent presentation as always. You do such a great job of breaking down a very complex system. And thank you, Ms. Davey, for all the hard work on that. I'm going to begin questions tonight with Mr. Mullen.

I really don't have a question. I just wanted to congratulate Ms. Davey and her team. We've come to expect excellence, but every once in a while, it's nice to actually acknowledge that. So thank you very much.

Excellent. Thank you very much. And seeing no one else in the queue, I just want to remind everybody if there is more information that people at home are seeking or members of council, you can find all the information on the website too. We'll have everything uploaded there. So thank you very much.

Appreciate your time as always.

Sounds good. Thank you very much.

And closing out of that input item, we're going to move on to action item B, which is the 2027 public works budget. And that means we turn it over to Mr. DeVries.

Thank you, President Heisler. I appreciate the opportunity to share the Public Works budget with you tonight. On the screen, you'll see our mission statement, and I'll leave that up for reference for a bit. But I did want to further dive into what I like to describe in Public Works, a few other words like community, collaborative, versatile, reliable, accessibility, sustainability, safety. And those are just a few that come to the top of my mind. And while there are many more that we can use to describe public works, the team behind me and next to me are responsible for that. So I'd like to publicly thank them for their work and what they've put into each day and also put into this budget that you see before you. We have Travis Klitsky from Water Works. Cody Schepke from Wastewater, John Redman from Parks, Adam Schmidt from Construction and Maintenance, Aaron Colers, Fleet and Electrical, and Nicole is our Transit Manager. Chris Johnson, City Engineer, is unable to make it tonight, but this team is what you see making everything work in public works, and it's great to have them. It makes my job a lot easier, for sure. I also wanna thank Joel Moore and Tricia Davey and her team for support of the budget and helping put numbers to it, giving us the criteria and working with us where we need to make some changes, adjustments, things like that. And it's great to have a collaboration with, not only with our department, but with other departments in the city as well. The bottom of this slide does show our staffing levels. It also shows our capital improvement plan, our dollar amounts. I'll note that the general fund and utilities are separate. Utilities are funded by rate payer dollars, and that's different than our general tax levy. Our solid waste and transit also have other funding sources as well. Next slide, please. So here's org chart, just shows how your investment is spread across public works. Just note in the upper corner, we do have 66 general fund employees. The rest are, as I mentioned before, either from utilities, water and wastewater, or solid waste and transit, which have other funding sources. Next slide, please. So I include these next three slides every year, and it's basically the information that shows not only what the staff have been doing on a yearly basis, but also the assets we do have. I'm not gonna go through these. If you wanna use these when you're talking with your constituents or just for information, by all means do so and reach out to us if you have questions on them. There's a lot of information here and sometimes people might ask you a question and you can refer to these slides and hopefully provide those answers. And if you don't have it, like I said, reach out to either myself or one of the division heads. Maggie, if you can go on, another one, and then one more. So the first division I'll highlight is housed at the Municipal Service Center. So here we have Adams Construction and Maintenance, and then Aaron's Fleet and Electrical. A lot of the work done with these divisions are traditional public works that you'd see out plowing snow, cleaning the streets, fixing sewers and basic street repairs, curb and gutter, sidewalks, streets, things like that. We also see the electricians out on streetlights, traffic signals, and other various things like cracked ceiling, things like that, that Adam and his crews do. Next slide, please. Along with that, they also provide yards for bulky waste drop-off and for yard waste drop-off. Those are popular sites down on Doty Street. We also complement that by holding annually electronics recycling and then also a hazardous waste drop-off event. So we do that yearly and that has also been found to be very popular with the residents. So in summary, these crews do a great job at helping keep our city clean and up and running with Aaron and his fleet, keeping all the vehicles running for the city and all the equipment that we have. And a lot of times they have to use their expertise and knowledge to make decisions on the fly. and in short order and they're tasked with a lot and they do a great job at getting those things done. Next slide, please. Engineering and traffic is next. So a lot of what Chris and his team do are project related, meaning you'll see them on streets, whether it's reconstruction, like on Western Avenue, that's right outside this building. Stowe Street Bridge is also being replaced this year. And then we have ongoing maintenance programs, concrete rehab, mill and overlay, projects like that that take care of more smaller repairs. But a lot of what engineering does is plan for larger projects on an annual basis. And even beyond that, a lot of projects take many years to come together. Next slide, please. One other thing to highlight that engineering helped with this year is the subdivision investments that City Council has made in the last two years. We've ran those contracts and design review through engineering. So that's a few of the sites are listed there. We also were able to fund some of the bike loop safety improvements. We're adding some flashing beacons along with signs and pavement markings at key locations to further enhance safety around the loop for both cyclists and also for those driving and affected by where those cyclists are going. One of the bigger projects for 2027 is Pioneer Road. So that's a joint project with the county in Wistock. That one is by Main Street just starting west of there. If you know where the Culver's is there, where the project about 15 years ago or so left off. And that'll continue through Park Avenue which is near the Galloway House, that property. So it's a large project. It's been in the works for over five years now, and there'll be some significant impacts to traffic access, things like that. We're working very hard with the county and the DOT to get that out for bid this fall and then a contractor on board next spring. And further information will be coming out. We've been working with property owners for a number of years as well on that project. Other projects we're doing next year would be some LE work in the downtown by the Portland ramp behind the rut law. The pedestrian bridges on South Street, which is by the quick-freeze site, if you know where that is, kind of where Fruth Field is. And then Elizabeth Street popped up on the radar due to a recent inspection, and that's on the Dutch Gap. And so that one is also being proposed to be replaced next year. That's a connection that two subdivisions just west of Main Street have and is heavily used by the responses we received from people when we had to close it down. So that's in the CIP as well for next year. One other project that I wanted to highlight was East Division Street between Maher and Park. That one, the pavement has degraded for some time now, and we've been doing our best to keep it drivable, but it's time for replacement, so it's up for next year, and that'll be a full reconstruction. As you can see, the pavement surface underneath the pipes are also in need of replacement, aging out, so it'll be a full underground replacement, ALL THE STREET, THE CURB, MOST OF THE SIDEWALKS, TREES WILL BE IMPACTED JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PROJECT. WE WORK HARD TO DO WHAT WE CAN WITH TREES, BUT A LOT OF TIME THEY HAVE TO BE TAKEN DOWN IN ORDER TO RECONSTRUCT OUR PROJECT. AND THEN WE ALWAYS COME BACK AND REPLANT TREES. SO THAT'S A CONCERN WE ALWAYS HEAR ON PROJECTS AND THIS ONE WILL BE NO DIFFERENT. There will also be a detour on that just because of the heavy traffic volume that's there. We'll get a detour set up and make sure people can get around. Next slide, please. Next up, engineering also handles stormwater. So we recently completed the Lincoln Avenue pump station, which is a large investment that will greatly impact that neighborhood. So that's up and running, which is a great effort by multiple teams at the city. And we look forward to having that be a great investment for years to come in that neighborhood. The other areas of stormwater that we work on, TMDL improvements, that's usually a pond. If we can find a location for that, we have that revolving in the CIP to meet DNR requirements. We're also working on stormwater flooding areas and then also bank stabilization along drainage ways. So next slide, please. We can move on from there. We covered that. Thank you. Next, we have parks. So this year, we were able to do a few improvements in parks. One is adding cameras and Wi-Fi to Buttermilk, so that's ongoing right now. We also have Taylor Pool, which is in need of a new liner. So once the season wraps up in a few days, John will be working with a crew to get that liner replaced sometime this fall, and it'll be ready to go next year when we open it back up. So those are just a few of the projects that happen in parks and John and his crews also have a lot of other daily and weekly tasks that they're working around to keep all our facilities in great shape for residents and for visitors that come. John always gets some compliments and his staff does a great job at keeping the parks uh looking looking well the uh one short update i want to provide the carousel we've had some questions on that that's under contract with a contractor we started some work and found some different soil conditions than what we expected unfortunately so we had to go back to the drawing board so we're working with the architect and the contractor to redesign the footings and foundation. So that's ongoing right now. We expect to have a design in another month or so with some work hopefully started this fall before the snow flies. And depending on weather, we will start mason work after that and working with the contractor. And if it has to go into the spring, that winter will dictate that. But we will have that work done in the spring and be ready for next summer in operation. And that'll be a great addition to preserve that carousel, which has a lot of important pieces that are in need of protection out there. So that'll be a great addition. And I'll just comment on the fish cleaning station briefly. I'll work with John on that. I know we've had some issues with fishermen putting too much in and it's clogging it up. And so staff have been working on that. And so we will take a look at that. But yes, it has had its problems. We did replace it a couple years ago, right? The second year that it's been in operation, unfortunately, still having issues with it. So we will be looking at that and making sure we can get something that's satisfactory and maybe a camera or something to help figure out who's putting in the large fish heads that are clogging it up and causing some problems. So we'll be taking a look at that. Next slide, please. So in 27, we're gonna continue some work in Lakeside Park West. So we put the new pedestrian bridge over the river, as everybody is aware. So there's a gravel parking lot there. We're gonna pave that parking lot And then we're going to continue the trail and off street trail all the way to the dog park. So that's part of the plan for next year. That'll get people even closer to the dog park, but also to that trail that's around the back and to the boardwalk that goes out in the marsh. So that has been in the plan for a number of years as well. And so that'll be on the docket for next year. A few other projects in the parks will be painting of the train that's in Lakeside Park and then the covered bridge will have some work done to it as well as staining maintenance type items, but needed nonetheless. And then a few parking lot in court resurfacing. We try to get that stuff done on a regular basis. So those are rotating through the CIP. Next slide, please. So transit is next and we have Nicole has taken over as transit manager and done a great job at providing this service with her drivers and it's an important service for customers and residents in the city. A lot of community engagement and education has to happen And Nicole and her staff do a great job at that. And we continue to work on that. And I'll highlight a couple of things we do in a little bit. The one thing I did want to highlight for this year yet was the successful triennial review. It's an audit every three years by the FTA. AND IT'S A CHALLENGE TO GET THAT DONE, AND NICOLE DID VERY WELL ON HER FIRST GO AROUND, SO CONGRATULATIONS TO HER ON THAT. NEXT SLIDE. WE CONTINUE TO DO RIDERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, BUSES TO BOOKS, OUR FREE FAIR DAY WHICH IS COMING UP August 28th, so we do that right before school starts. And we help train parents and riders how to use the bus, where to go, where to maybe switch if they have to, timings of it, and things like that. So that's a great way to get out in the public and show them what transit's all about and what they can offer. We also do a lot of learning to ride. They'll take out various groups or even some individuals just needing to know how to ride the bus, where to go, and just kind of navigate the system. So they do a wonderful job at that as well. We're also looking at improving the wheelchair securement systems in our buses. So we're going to pilot one this year. And if all that looks good, we're going to look to do that in all our fixed route buses. And then we are really excited for a new fare collection system. This will be upgrading how we collect fares. It'll be more of a card-based system where we'll get rid of passes, tokens, things like that. And it'll be just like scanning a card or a credit card for bus passes now. So we're looking forward to that getting implemented next year, hopefully. And then we will be working on the transit development plan It's kind of hard to think about that already since we just, I feel like we just did that, but every five years we do an updated plan. So Nicole is working on getting that started, and we will be working with a consultant to do that in 2027. I will note that transit funding, we have about 65%, as the slide shows, from state and federal grants. Next slide, please. So in Water Works, they continue 24-7 providing clean, quality water and in a reliable service. You see Travis and his staff out fixing water main breaks at all times and all seasons, and just to make sure we're providing clean water for the residents and customers. Him and his staff do a great job at that. One of the other things we're doing that you are probably aware of is lead service replacements. So that's an ongoing program that we've been since 2017 and in kind of full force. And that will continue for a number of years yet. So that's a top priority to get that done on both the public and the private side. And then there's always just aging infrastructure as the lower right picture shows. We have that around the city that we have to deal with and our crews have to go out and our construction teams have to go out and get that stuff fixed. Next slide, please. So in 27, we will continue the lead service DNR funding, which thank you for approving that loan just a few minutes ago. So we'll continue to utilize funding when available to help not only the utility, but also to our customers and residents. We are also replacing a water main on Bishop Street. So that one is one that popped up on us that had a handful of breaks time after time. And similar, if you recall in front of WLA last year, we had a break and then it, broke again and then it broke, you know, and so once we have some of those, we put a higher priority on it. So Bischoff will be on the replacement and reconstruction program next year. There's also some work on the Water Works business office on Macy Street. So that'll be a renovated space. Also working on this year and into next year, a storage building on Morris Street site. The big item you'll see in the CIP will be the advanced metering infrastructure. So that'll be replacing all the meters within the system. And that's something our meters have aged out. And Travis has been planning with Tricia the replacement of these for a number of years. We will work on replacing them all next year, but you'll see in the CIP that payment will be over the next three years. just due to the cost of that. Next slide, please. So wastewater is up next and we've heard a few projects that that Cody and his team have been doing and they continue to get awards and accolades not only from CESA 6 but treatment plan operator magazine and and that's just to name a few. So him and his team always do a great job at staying on the cutting edge of treatment and. They get visitors from all over coming to see what Fond du Lac's doing. And that's a pretty cool thing that he gets to show off him and his team. And some of those that I'm sure will come shortly will be the biosolids dryer, which is ongoing right now. and the renewable natural gas. Those are two large projects that we started last year. Getting close to wrapping those up this year and be in full force and working next year. So that'll be exciting and I'm sure we'll have plenty of tours that people will be coming to take a look at those projects. One of the other things in the photo, water quality trading, that's something to help meet our phosphorus compliance that's done at the airport. We worked out a lease agreement with them. That'll be included in our permit from the DNR, which is now scheduled for renewal in January of 2027. Next slide, please. So as I mentioned, completion of the large projects, the dryer and the RNG, Cody and his team are also working on the design of the administration building expansion that will be under construction next year and provide some better lab space and some better HVAC, just to name a few things, but a good project for the plant to expand and meet their needs. Phosphorus will always be ongoing. So a lot of projects are geared towards that, including just INI in our system. And that's a top priority for Cody and his team as well. And so that's something that I wish we would not be able to talk about at some point, but we'll have to wait and see what the DNR and EPA say. But that is the main focus for him at this point at the plant. So with that, we can move on to the next slide. So just to wrap up, you have such a great and diverse team here. not only with the leaders here, but especially with the staff as well. They do a lot of different jobs and tasks, and they do it all very well. And a lot of it goes unnoticed, and it's just great to see the efforts sometimes being able to be publicly recognized and noticed, and that's where I want to say thanks to not only this team, but also the entire Public Works team for what they do. A lot of times it is unrecognized, but they get out there, they get it done, and we appreciate everything that they do. So with that, I would be happy to answer any questions along with my team. Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr. DeVries. Appreciate the presentation as always. At this time, I'll take some questions from council, if there are some. I'm gonna go ahead and go to Mr. Weber first.

Thank you, Keith, appreciate it. Paul and directors, very, very good job. I've seen everything's clean even. I met with John Redman at parks last week, and I was even impressed with how clean the trucks and maintenance area was, kept nice. It's a small thing to notice in a way, but it shows how they treat their whole operation and keeping it on a well-run machine. I had a couple questions on future projects. Is Hickory Street still a priority for, I know you've got to do a lot of infrastructure in the road in 28, I think.

Correct. So Hickory Street from Johnson, I believe it's to...

The bridge, I think, somewhere around there.

Well, to the bridge, we're doing it in two phases. Right. So Hickory Street from Johnson to the bridge by milk specialties will be done in 28 and 29. The bridge in 29 will be replaced as well. Okay. So yes, that project is in our future CIP.

Right, we had discussed it. I just had a lot of constituents that asked about it. So I'd say that they're getting on it. There's a lot to do for it. The Ruggles Road by the south side of Taylor Park, are they having a little bit more issues they came across and try to redo that one?

The street? Not on Ruggles itself. That pavement is going down tomorrow, I believe, and that'll wrap that project up. Okay, good, good.

Yep. I get people ask me on that one too. They're getting to it. And then the Learn to Ride program, who's that aimed at? Just so I know.

have worked with the ARC. Groups from the ARC will come and we'll ride along with them just to try to get them some independence and being comfortable with that. We've also worked with the Senior Center just to get them

That's the first time I'm hearing about it, just so I know who to talk to if they have questions and such, or propose.

Really any group that wants to, you know, we're willing to work with.

But you're mainly associated with the ones you just mentioned, correct? Okay.

Yeah, oh, and Sophia, Sophia Partners, we've worked with them too. Okay.

And then, thank you very much. And the Pioneer Road, what's going on down there? Are they widening the road, or?

So if you're familiar with Pioneer Road, kind of by J.F. Ahern in front of Mercury, that whole kind of look of that road, the cross-section, typical section as we call it, that'll extend through Main Street and go past the railroad tracks towards Park. It'll be a little bit... narrow. It won't be four lanes. It'll be two lanes with a two-way turn lane in the middle as we get further east. And then that last connection between Park and Martin by the Galloway House, that'll be, in a couple years, we'll be finishing that stretch off.

If anyone turns, you're stuck behind a whole long line there. Appreciate it. And off time ahead, that's all I have questions for. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Ms. Brown, you're up. ...to get after it and do what we need to do. It's hard to nail down. It goes a little bit in cycles, but consistently there's been a shortage. And, you know, we're working towards it, working with HR.

Division heads and HR do a good job at getting together and...

You know, we've tried a few different kind of incentive type things with hiring people without CDLs and then training them and planning to keep them. So we've changed a few.

I want you to hear how city staff experiences IT in their own words.

On what we can do with AI. We use Copilot for creating first drafts of policies, drafting emails and responses, as well as image generation. Our YouTube analyzes users' behavior to predict videos for the users. And our Rapid7 SIEM product uses pattern recognition and data analysis to detect cyber attacks before they spread. Next slide, please. Thinking of AI like having a very knowledgeable assistant sit next to you, it can help you brainstorm ideas, summarize information, write documents, and find solutions quickly. However, just like an assistant, it can make mistakes. AI does not truly understand things the way a person does. We still need to review its work and use our own judgment before making decisions. If you ask an assistant to write a report, you still need to review it before sending it to your boss. AI should be treated the same way. AI tools work by processing information, so we need to be careful about what we share with them. Sensitive information such as passwords, personal information, sieges, HIPAA, or other sensitive information should never be entered into AI tools unless the organization has approved it. You wouldn't hand a stranger a folder containing private employee records. We should treat AI tools with the same level of caution. AI learns from information created by people, and sometimes that information can contain mistakes, opinions, or even biases. Because of this, AI responses may not always be fair, accurate, or complete. We need to think critically and make sure the information makes sense. If AI gives an answer that doesn't seem right, don't assume it's correct just because it came from a computer. Every organization has rules about how technology should be, and AI is no different. Before using AI tools for work, make sure you understand your organization's expectations, approved tools, and what information can or cannot be shared. Complete your know-before training. AI is built into that platform to help train our users. AI is a tool designed to help people work faster and more efficient. It should support our decisions, not make decisions for us. The most valuable part of AI is combining its ability to process information with human experience, judgment, and creativity. A calculator can help you do math faster, but you still need to know if the answer makes sense. AI works the same way. AI is increasingly becoming part of technology we already use. In many cases, we're not going out and purchasing an AI product. These capabilities are being built directly into the software we already have. AI isn't a separate system we're adding. It's becoming a feature of a tool we rely on every day. Right now, we're evaluating AI the same way we evaluate any new technology. When we vet software, we look at security, privacy, how CD data is being used, and the risks associated with the technology. AI is simply another factor in that review process, not a standalone initiative. We're also already moving forward on education. Employees are receiving AI-related awareness training through Novi4, helping them understand both the opportunities and the risks that come with these tools. This is laying the foundation for the responsible use across the organization. Looking ahead, we'll continue building on that education. We'll develop more formal guidelines around responsible use and identify opportunities where AI can provide real value to the organization. The goal isn't to adopt AI simply because it's available. It is to make sure we're using it thoughtfully, securely, and in places where it can actually make sense. Next slide, please. Once again, I'd like to highlight the team behind the technology that supports the city every day. Next slide, please. And on the final note, I'd like to leave you with this. When AI is used safely and responsibly, it can make our work better, more efficient, and more effective. Thank you.

All right. All right, and to wrap things up tonight, I wanted to talk about our strategic priorities. So these projects make up our strategic technology priorities for 2027, and we're really looking forward to the year ahead. On the left are the major capital investments we're recommending to strengthen the city's core technology infrastructure. Each project serves a different purpose, but all support the same goal, reliable, secure, modern technology departments can depend on. Two key upgrades stand out, the phone system and the physical access control system. Both have served the city well, but at roughly 15 and 20 plus years old, they're nearing end of life and becoming harder to support. These are significant but expected life cycle investments and addressing them now allows us to plan the transition and prevent operational issues down the road. On the right side are the strategic focus areas guiding these investments, stronger cybersecurity, modernized business systems, emerging AI technologies, and infrastructure that boosts reliable and future growth. Overall, these efforts strengthen the technology foundation every department relies on today while making sure we're positioned for what the city needs tomorrow. And tonight, everything really comes back to one simple idea. Technology powers our city. Whether it's public safety, public works, utilities, transit, finance, parks, administration, every department depends on technology to serve our community. Our role in IT is to make sure the technology is protected, dependable, and ready when it's needed so our employees can stay focused on providing the great service to the people of our community. And none of what is accomplished happens through IT alone. It really takes everyone in this room across the organization working together. And I'm incredibly thankful for the IT team, the city council, the support of the partnership that we received from our employees, the city leadership, council, I think I already said that, but everything we've accomplished really has been a team effort. And at the end of the day, that's what it's all about, serving our community. Thank you.

Thanks, Ms. Dubeney. Great presentation. Questions from council for Ms. Dubeney? Mr. Byburn, you go first.

Thank you, President Isser. A good presentation, and I think the workday is a good solution. A lot of the larger businesses are using it, and it seems to be very well for several departments. You guys are testing on some challenges that you're coming across, and what areas of where the challenges are and how you're overcoming them.

Challenges of what specifically? Because I was having a hard time hearing you.

Sure. Any challenges you have that you're having in the implementation of it and how are you overcoming it?

The landscape is changing so rapidly. Like technology is changing and we have to adapt and evolve with it. And we are, you know, by partnerships with other municipalities, by training, by attending our webinar sessions, we are looking at some next steps of like creating frameworks and guidelines. And instead of just like creating the policy, actually like thinking it through and making it something that we can utilize for a long time.

Okay, thank you.

Excellent. And Mr. Zimmerman, you're up. Thank you, President Heisler.

When it comes to like the phone system upgrades and the network stuff, do you guys work with the county also? Or is it just us doing?

It is just us.

It's just us. So they have their own separate phone and we have our phones?

Yes, we have our own separate phone system and the security system.

Okay.

Thank you. We do share some city fiber, but those systems are separate.

Okay. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Zimmerman. Just a couple quick questions for you, Ms. Duveneck. I'm just curious if you could kind of give me a really high-level overview of what data we keep locally versus what goes to the cloud.

Because I know we've got a mix of both going on.

We have a mix. So I'm not sure how I can quantify that for you off the top of my head. Because we do have certain systems that we do host in the cloud. We still have a lot of systems that still currently stay within our environment.

So I guess that's a great way for me to ask the follow-up, and I'm sorry, I should have done that better.

Would you feel like the majority of the data is still local, or are we shifting to more cloud?

I would say it's a good mix. I wouldn't say that we're completely shifting to the cloud. There have been some certain systems that are pretty significant, like with our body-worn cameras, for instance. Sure. That's a tremendous amount of data that's supported in a cloud infrastructure that's no longer supported within our environment. But I'm trying to think. I mean, we're implementing a new water system. I could get back to you with a better answer. Off of the top of my head, because they're all running through my head right now, and I'm trying to think which one is where and where it's physically located right now.

Yeah, that was a pretty full answer as it is. I appreciate that. And then the only other question I had is, Sam, you're doing a great job with the AI stuff. I'm just curious, is the primary AI tool right now co-pilot, or are you guys using a bunch of different AI?

I would say it's a mix. Our in-house one is co-pilot. That is just within our organization. Okay.

Excellent.

Well, thank you so much for a great presentation. I think anytime you get all those great people in a video, that's pretty good stuff. Anytime I get a random Lori Mitner signing at city council, it's a good night for me. That's what I'll tell you. Thank you all very much.

Appreciate your time. Mr. Moore, I'll go to you. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Biber asked a question about challenges. And I wanted to mention this to you just as colleagues and also as our board of directors. In modern life, it's gotten pretty hard to hack the hardware. Kat talked about the multi-layered approach. It's really difficult to get in the system. So what the alternative is, hack the user. So just think about that when you're connected to the system, because... We get phished all the time, you know? And you're one sort of naive move away from giving away information. So my offer is this. If it doesn't feel like you're sure that it's an official communication that you're comfortable with, let us know. Let Kat and one of her team know that so that we can intervene. And I would say as an example of great tools that we have, changing the subject and then I'll stop. But take, for example, Travis's operation in Waterworks. And imagine homeowners who have leaking commodes, but they don't know they're running all the time. hundreds of gallons, big water bills. Well, IT can set an alarm. We can have that system tell us when that water's being used unusually, call the user, have them figure out where that overuse is, and then they can get it fixed, just as an example of one of many things that we have behind the scenes that nobody knows about. But remember, hack the user. That's what the effort is these days. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Moore. Appreciate it. And thank you, Ms. Duveneck and your team. Great presentation as always. All right. With that, that closes out our input items, which means I just need a motion to adjourn because I'm one day closer to a sidewalk on Western Avenue. Zimmerman, give it to me. There it is. Motion to adjourn from Zimmerman. Second by Mr. Mullen. It's not debatable. Please proceed to vote. Thanks, everybody. That's it. We're adjourned. Thanks everyone.