Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

country. Yeah, I'll be back. Move everything. It's all your ready to go. One minute.

You got it. How you been? Good.

Yeah. Good. Good to hear. I like the I like the little bump, you know. What the heck is that? I like that all the time. Just do it. Yeah. It just, you know, Mr. D signaling you. Oh, but you can't see him. Well, we got it. We're good to go. Okay, great. Thank you. All right, this meeting will come to order. Um, we'll first call the roll. Miss Lazeris here. Mr. Greedy here. Miss Heim Street here. Mr. Mr. Hman here

and Dr. Mason and Miss Silva previously informed staff that they would be unavailable for this evening's meeting. Okay, great. Thank you. Um, so next on the agenda is correction and approval of minutes from our last meeting on March 19th. Any objections to the meetings to the meeting minutes that were shared. Okay, see no objections, corrections, or edits. The minutes from March 19th are declared approved. Um, and then next on the agenda, um, is questions and public comment. Um, go ahead. Your name and your address, sir.

Hello. My name is Greg Waters, 1019 South Main Street. And I'd like to thank the commission members for allowing the community to speak tonight. Um, I'm here tonight to actually address uh and thank Pam Lazarus for her service here in the city of Lake Mills, not only with the city but also with the community. I think the first time I met you was uh when you were doing community service um working with the Boy Scouts and um and had the honor to work with you there for a while. And then um and then one time you knocked on my front door cuz I had wrote a letter to council members. This was before I was a council member, but uh but uh I was having uh an issue in front of my house where the sewer was backed up and it was freezing temperatures and water was splashing on the sidewalk and freezing and people were slipping and sliding on the sidewalk and uh and you responded to my to my email and uh came out and provided a great example for me as I later became a council member and tried to live up to those same standards and and uh reached out to the community in the same ways that you have. Um, I know that you've been not only a city council member, but also you've served on many boards and commissions within the city, and I understand tonight's your last night uh serving on the planning commission. So, I wanted to stop by and and thank you for all your service and and make a special effort because you've made a special effort for the citizens of uh of Lake Mills for for many years. So, thank you, Pam, for all your service here. Thanks.

Okay. Thank you. Go ahead. Uh Greg Coots, 933 East Lake Street here in Lake Mills. Um that's a tough act to follow. Uh, I just wanted to say uh thank you Pam for your years of service. Uh when I first started on planning commission, you were the chair and then you were the chair for as long as I was on there, which it it you looking back at it, you know, I couldn't believe it was 8 years that, you know, it it just seemed like I had been on there for so long and just realizing that uh your career of service here just stretches so much f is so much further than that. I always think of you as the chair of the planning commission, but you've done a lot during during your time here, and I'm not going to try and quantify it because I I honestly don't know uh how much it all was, but uh thank you very much for all your years of service over the years here. It's it's truly appreciated. It's something that I try try to strive to try and live up to. Thank you. Hi, I'm Mary Schmagger, 327 South Ferry Drive, and I am here also to say thank you to Pam. When I learned you have over a quarter of a century of experience and contributions at the city of Lake Mills, I had to come and just say thank you. Uh obviously your commitments to the city is um like it's award-winning and I know your contributions have made the city a much much better place and so thank you for all you have done for the city of Lake Mills.

Okay. Any other comments? Okay. Um we will uh move on uh to our next agenda item. So that is just recognition. I say just, but that is recognition of Pamelazeras. Um, as her term as planning commissioner comes to an end. Um, and so we want to recognize her. And before we do that, I just want to see, do you have any comments that you'd like to share? I do. Please do. I I just I

just can't stop smiling for the kind words from from the people in the audience. And uh I've had the honor and the privilege to serve with Pam for two and a half decades and it has been such a wonderful experience, such a learning experience. um the camaraderie that she brought to the commission as a whole. Um her tenure on the council, the other things that she did did in the community, even the little motivational talks that she gave me over the course of the time. Our issues aren't necessarily as as deep as maybe the city council, but sometimes the issues are they're um big to whoever it can it is concerned and just a in-depth indepth um explanation from an educated planner uh is just so inspiring and it's just I there it's it's like the people that spoke. There just is simply isn't enough words um to express how I feel and and reiterate what the people that spoke before me. I uh one thing Pam, you certainly have earned retirement from this. The amount of work that you've done, the the the notes and your preparation as as the chair and it's it's it's just exciting, fun to watch. Like I say, it's an honor and a privilege just to have sat next to you and and serve with you. Thanks so much. And I truly hope you thoroughly enjoy your retirement and maybe once in a

while express additional opinions if you see something that needs it. So anyway, thank you. Do you have anything? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Pam, I just want to say thank you so much. I did not I did not realize the amount that you have done and your love for this community and Lake Mills in the city. I I just so appreciate you were so welcoming. You were the chair when I first started and so kind and and as Mr. Hman said, just always so prepared and so professional and just words of encouragement and yeah, I I just I'm sad you're leaving. Um, but I understand that it's time it's time for you to enjoy retirement. And so I just want to thank you. Like everyone else said, thank you so much for everything you've done. And hopefully we will still hear from you and see you quite a bit. So thank you so much, Pam. I would just like to thank you for your service and in my opinion uh local government is the most accessible and impactful uh form of government on our communities and our residents daily lives and to have dedicated 27 years of service uh to the betterment of Lake Mills is commendable and and laudable and I it's not possible to quantify but I think you know if we could look back at every um every project or every um every achievement that you had a that you had a role in. Um I think that um we could all see that Lake Mills is a better place for your service to the community and that we are lucky to have benefited from your dedication. Um and we can only we can only hope that uh residents of this community continue to have a a commitment to service and that um we can continue to to benefit from it. But thank you very much for your service to your community. We are very lucky to have you. Misty, any thoughts?

Sure. Everybody said a lot of great things and I agree with everything that's been said, so there's not a lot more to say except for thank you. Um, congratulations. It's been an honor to be able to work with you for for the years that I have and you're definitely going to be missed here at Plan Commission. And I agree, we uh hope that we get to see you around still. I just wish we would have done this when we had 200 people in the audience. Um I I wrote I wrote this. I'm going to read it. Um I said, "Serving alongside Pam on this commission has been one of the true privileges of my life here in Lake Mills. Her leadership has it hasn't just been steady. It's been a quiet unwavering force that I think has shaped very much how everyone thinks about this town. And everyone who lives in this town loves this town. I think that's because of of what you put in. Um she is you Pam have given um so many years of your life to this community and and all that time. I can't recall a single meeting where you weren't present. I was thinking you have like 28 years but I don't ever remember you ever missing a meeting while I was here. Um, and every single time you've been present, prepared and engaged and for, you know, and that's for a volunteer role too, you know, and that kind of commitment I really feel is extraordinary. Um, but I don't think you see it that way. I don't think you see it as sacrifice. You treat this work as an honor. Um, and that mindset has permanently changed how I think about service. It's um, one of the more important lessons I carry with me. So thank you for that. And then uh a lawyer and American leader named Marian Wright Edelman said, "Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. And Pam, you've served this community. Um with that mindset, we're better because of you." Um, I said

perhaps what I'll remember more so uh is that you've taught me um uh that that in this kind of you talked about the small town leadership like just how we all listen to one another. I think on this planning commission like we're we actually like just think of our whole government actually listen to each other and actually try to pay attention to what you're saying and glean some sort of perspective from that and listen truly to listen not to challenge you or defend me or to do anything but just to try to gain some perspective and I thought you brought that to this commission. I think we have respectful ears because of you, open hearts because of you, thoughtful minds because of you, and uh kind mouths. And so, um, so thank you, grateful for you. And so, because of that, um, we got you a little something to remember us by. So, um, we got we got a gavl and it says your name on it. Um, and big thanks to Missy and Drake for this. Um, it says 27 years of service, city of Lake Mill, Wisconsin. Um, and you're on the city council from 1999 to 2010 and on the planning commission from 1999 to today. So, thank you.

Anything you'd like to share, Pam? Well, everyone that is um that is so so kind and and actually over overwhelming um and and that gift is amazing. I I really enjoyed it and um it it doesn't seem like it's been that long, but um it's uh I I I really I can't think of anything that I liked I like doing more and it was uh it was such a such a great experience. And I think about the forerunners too um this whole time, you know, like um going back to the days of Vern Johnson

and also Millie Johnson who was so uh kind and supportive and I remember Vern Johnson giving me a tour of um Lake Nolton pointing out specific things that um should be addressed and Okay. So, um, and then I, um, actually it's, um, Jim Hill's fault that I'm, I've been here such a long time because he was council president and, uh, and then he, um, he appointed me to um to the plan commission. And uh well, you know what happened is that I was um I was persuaded to accept a um temporary position with a city council because there was there was a vacancy and they said it's just for one year. It's okay. It's just for one year. We we saw your that you applied for the plan commission, but we want you to um to be uh to stand in in the seat in the city council. after the year you can leave if you want and then I was there for 11 years but so but um but that was what happened he appointed me as representative of the council that's how I ended up on the plan commission I was representative of the council and then when I left then it was like well we're going to have to we're going to have to appoint you as a regular person okay that's fine And and then we had um the exciting time that Steve remembers where we did the rewrite of the zoning ordinance and had the different parties coming in and and we were all sitting down here to talk to different groups of people that um I

emailed them said you have to come to this because we need to hear from you about this topic and without your expertise we can't proceed. So we hauled people in to sit down with us and until we went through one subject after another. And my did we spend a lot of time on um on storage of um of vehicles and um how big they could be and oh my goodness all that. So it was part of the excitement. Um and then you you have you listen to everybody because you know opinions on any topic can be so far apart and what are we going to do? So then after you listen then and you talk about it then you you feel it and you say well we could try this. Okay. So fine. But um there are so many people starting with Burn Johnson and Jim Hail back in the day. Um former council president Dan Stevens, former council president Ed Grrenon who was also very kind and um you know Vicky Schmidt was uh an important resource back in the day too. And of course um and of course Steve Wilkkey was um uh also very much so. So, you know, there are so many people that um helped me along the way and I'm really grateful for having this experience and I know the plan commission will

always uh do well and I'm especially pleased with the new chairman and and it was um that was a good good choice and So, I know this is going to continue uh very well and thank you for the for for all of you here that that got up and spoke. I'm I'm very thankful for such kind comments. Well, we appreciate you, Pam. Thanks so much. All right. Anything else?

No, sir. Okay. So, would you like to make a motion to adjourn? No. I I I've I I will tell you this. I The whole time on the city council, whole time on plan commission, I have never made a motion or a second to adjurnn. WOW. Let others do it. That's Mr. Cooch is like scratched his head. He's like, I'm always a second. Would you like to make a motion? Sure. I'll make a motion to adjourn.

I'll second it. Okay. All in favor say I. I. All oppose? No. Okay. The meeting's adjourned. I got to give you a hug. You're the best. Congratulations. That is so special. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Pretty cool, right? Oh, hi Jim. Missy got it. Oh, that's that's so nice. That's so nice. You got to use that one. Yeah. You don't even realize it's a long time. Yeah. This will this will come out next time I have a family event at at