Common Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. Item D, there's a working microphone. Item D is our public hearings. Madame clerk, will you please read out item one? Miscellaneous sidewalk repair in the general area bounded by South 108th Street to West City Limits and South City Limits to the Union Pacific Railroad. And yep, go ahead. [snorts]

All right. Thank you, Alderman. My name is Melinda Daskki and I am the city engineer for the city of West Dallas. Tonight, we're going to discuss the uh sidewalk repair program and the public hearing associated with that. Um so during our public hearing, the procedure we're going to follow is um I'll discuss the project scope and the costs. Uh we'll talk about the assessment rates and the payment methods. Um then we will take comments and questions uh from the coming council. Uh the citizens will have an opportunity to also ask questions. Uh we close the public hearing at that time and then the project's been uh will be referred to the public works committee for discussion and a vote and then it comes back to the common council for uh final decision um after the committee meetings. So, but if you have uh if anybody has questions about a specific property, um that would be better answered on an individual basis. So, we would ask that um specific questions on specific properties be directed directly to the engineering department either after the meeting or uh call the engineering office. So, um the reason we have a sidewalk program in West Dallas is that uh sidewalks um like all pavement uh age and and degrade. So, there's uh a couple different kinds of sidewalk defects that we have. Uh you can have cracked sidewalk uh like this picture also. Um cracked uh like uh up in the left corner, heaved slabs uh which you know where the sidewalk is offset. Um you can actually have the slabs settle which is kind of the opposite of heaving where the base underneath settles or it gets washed out. and you can have a sidewalk displacement where it shves or kind of becomes misaligned with the with the rest of the sidewalk. Um, so what we do when we do a sidewalk program is we remove the slabs that have

uh been determined to be not in compliance with our standards. Uh, we do walk the entire area that we are doing the sidewalk program. This year we're doing the area bounded by uh South 108 Street to the west city limits and then the south city limits to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. Um and so we've walked all that. We found all the uh sidewalk in disrepair. And so we remove those. Um and then we go through we take the old slabs out. We they put forms in which are um sometimes metal, sometimes wood. Uh but they're the five foot width uh that's appropriate. They pour concrete in there. They finish it off. And um and then we have to secure it for about 10 days so it cures and has time to uh get hard and set properly. And then uh we'll open it back up for foot traffic. And then we'll come back and repair the sod um alongside each of the each side of the sidewalk with and we again I'm sorry we do that with sod. Again the uh limits of this year's project are um in this area on kind of the west side of town. Um we do inspect the sidewalks. Uh we have them we go around the city uh every 10 to 15 years. we try to com do a complete loop and then uh depending on available funding we try to do those repairs in that 15 to 20 year cycle. Um and uh the reason we do this is because uh again you know the there's hazards when you have broken and uh raised or settled concrete. Uh it's danger to the pedestrians. It makes uh ADA accessibility difficult. So, by replacing these and making sure they're in good condition, uh you know, everybody benefits. Property owners

benefit because it makes it easier to shovel. Um again, ADA people uh just pedestrians in general uh have easier time getting through. And then uh there's uh uh approximately 1,400 properties that we inspected uh this year and we had about 202 of those needing uh sidewalk repairs. Um we're estimating that the project costs approximately $300,000. Uh the last time that we were in this area um was 2007. So, uh, as is the city policy, uh, every property that is improved, uh, has a special assessment. Um, we sent an estimate of the assessment to every property that's going to have work done. Um, the final bill won't come until March until after March of 2027. um because we need to collect all the costs, make sure uh we have that all uh all the measurements done so we can provide an accurate final cost to each property owner. It will not be more than what we've sent out though. Um that is the max unless we would have a new public hearing or have us a property owner sign a waiver to increase their cost. So what we've sent out is the max. Um we have a couple different payment options that uh the city offers. Um the first is if a lump sum payment if it's under $100, a five-year installment plan if it's um between $100 and $250, and uh a 10-year installment plan for any amount over $250. Um there is uh interest charged on any installment plan. uh it's a 4% uh interest and so you can see down here

towards the bottom on the left uh we give an example of a payment plan uh when we send out the final uh bill uh a payment plan will be included on that. So you'll get a you'll be able to see exactly what your payments are and the interest payments. Um, just note that the city charges interest on special assessments because we borrow the money for the improvement to pay the contractor. And so, um, we we it's a pass through cost. The city isn't making any money on this. Uh, we are not we just need to, um, make ourselves whole. So, um, people question why why a special assessment? why isn't it included in my taxes? Um, special assessments are allowed by state law and uh, cities across the state adopt this uh, and use this uh, vehicle to help uh, offset costs for um, improvements. So for West Alice, it's uh, been over 110 years that we have been using the special assessment uh, the special assessment uh, form of um, recouping some of the costs of of projects. Um, and what it helps is um it keeps the the taxes uh it helps with the taxes because uh for these projects we're charging just for what's in front of the property. Um but in West Alice uh we kind of use it blended. It's not 100% of the cost of the project. So for this project, we'll be charging about 25% of the total cost. So, uh, the city does try to share in the cost. The assessment rate for, uh, this project is $3.91 per square foot of sidewalk. Um, driveway approaches have a a little different

cost, little higher cost, but it's still on the square foot. Um, and so the other reason we use special assessments is uh because it's the only way that the city can recoup costs from taxexempt properties such as schools, Wisconsin State Fair, churches, hospitals, county parks, uh different utilities like if we energy zones owns a property, we can special assess them. So it is the a very equitable way to distribute costs across uh all of the properties in the city and everyone is treated equally. Um if the project is approved by the common council and it does move forward, we try to provide updates on the progress of the project through our construction and progress reports. Uh it's an email um thing uh that you can sign up for through the city website and that is updated once a week. Um if you want to know schedules and things like that. Um if there's something that's going to impact your specific property, uh you could talk to the uh city inspector. We have a city inspector for the project uh that watches the contractor do all the work and make sure it's done to standards. Um, but this is a great way to just kind of keep tabs on the schedule. It is put out every week. Um, couple things that uh questions that are frequently asked questions that we have. Um, for sidewalks, trash pickup should not be affected. Um, so the garbage your garbage day will be the same. You'll be able to set out garbage. uh parking. You may uh you may have to park uh not in front of your property if they have to park equipment there or we're doing uh your driveway. You might not be able to park in front of it right away or have access to your driveway. So, you may have to park on the street, but those

are things that we communicate directly with you and in time. The contractor and the city work together to make sure everyone is informed. Um, we will mail if the again if the project moves forward, we will send out a notice in the mail with all the contact information of the inspector that's going to be on the project. Uh, and then we will do other communications either through door hangers or uh put a mail uh notice in your in your door just so trying to keep everybody up to date as much as possible. Um and and uh to reiterate, if you have something specific about your specific property, please reach out to the engineering department after this meeting. If you have just kind of how special assessments work and um general questions about the project, uh we can certainly talk about them tonight. And with that, I conclude my presentation.

Thank you, Melinda. Do any older persons have questions or comments for the city engineer? Mr. President, Alderman Wagel. Uh Melinda, could you go back to that assessment rate? Uh yeah, this this one. Yeah. So, I'm looking at a copy of a estimate sent out to a resident and it's showing five feet of concrete walk. It says five linear feet. So, I assume that's one square, right? Uh yes. Okay. But it says rate is 39.98. So there's a

and then it says the gross comes out to be 199 and then it says 50% discount. Yep. It seems like it's not jing with the process. So um there's two we can assess this in two different ways. Um one is per square foot and one is by linear foot. And um the 391 is the linear foot price. Um we should have included the square foot price in this presentation and I apologize for that. Okay. So, it is a there's a minor difference here of a couple bucks because his this estimate says $99, but the process that you're talking here says $97.75. Right. And and again, if you give me that specific address after the meeting, I can certainly

Yeah, I certainly can. Not that it's a big thing. It just it seems different from what I understood it was going to completely understand. Okay. Thank you. Any further comments or questions from older persons? Then we'll open it up to the public. Do any members of the public have questions or comments regarding agenda item number one or public hearing item number one? Sure. Go ahead. You can come to the podium and sign in at the podium, please. Thank you very much, older person. Hos and tell us your name too, please. I will. [laughter]

Thank you. I've been through this a million times. All right. I first want to make us make a comment. I've been a longtime resident of the city. First, you got to tell us your name.

Oh, thank you. Sorry. Darren Roush. uh address 12021 West Ohio Avenue. Um longtime resident of the city, um longtime homeowner in uh my particular district. I was um privileged to move into my neighborhood about a year before we redid the streets. As Alder person Hos may remember, um I was assessed um my fair share for that street project, which included the 10.4 4 linear feet of sidewalk that I'm being assessed for in 2026 was replaced in 2011. My question to the council, my question to the engineering department is if in 2011 this chunk of sidewalk was replaced that's adjacent to a very large locust tree and it was heaved from the very beginning, very first year it was put in place. I've tripped over it with my shovel every single year. I've salted it every single year because there's been a pool of water and ice there. If 15 years ago or 14 years ago it heaved and I'm now being reassessed basically because of this tree, this act of God, what is to say that I won't be reassessed 14 years from now and on and on and on and I'm happy to follow up with the engineering department specifically on the situation? But I do feel that it was something that needed to be raised this evening as well. Melinda, go ahead if you're comfortable answering. Mr. Roush, my neighbor.

Uh, I I can speak from only from the engineering point. The special assessment policy is something that the councilor, someone else would have to answer. Um, but from an engineering standpoint, we try to inspect all the sidewalk, like I discussed earlier, every 10 to 15 years. It's good practice for the city. It's the way we try to keep all the sidewalks um in in good shape is as best we can. There's a lot a lot of sidewalk um but we have to come up with a plan to do so and this is the the best plan that we have to do that. So, um, the city policy to special assess is not something that the engineering department can ignore or make a judgment call on to not implement or, you know, assign to everybody. So, um, if we come back in another 15 years and you have another slab of sidewalk that needs to be replaced in the special assessment policy exists, the engineering department has to apply it.

Yeah. not just another section of sidewalk city engineer the exact same section of sidewalk and it is my understanding and this I don't know if the council has this answer I paid a special assessment for the road which included the sidewalk pieces as I recall my understanding is I cannot be reassessed for that for 50 years so should I live in the house for another 35 years I should not be reassessed for that street that was in the documentation that I was given in 2011. This feels a little bit like a double dip and it also feels a little bit like a sidewalk tax where I'm paying for a sidewalk that other neighbors in my in my neighborhood aren't paying because there isn't a sidewalk on their side of the street.

I I I can't speak to what you received in 2011. I'd have to go look that up. I don't off the top of as as would I but I specifically recall if I live long enough I won't have to pay for this road again if they need to fix it that was specifically in there. Okay. Um again we can follow up uh afterwards specifically to your property. Um the decision to have sidewalk on one side and not both sides of the street again was a decision a long ago. And again um we are applying the special assessment policy that the city has as it is laid out. So

thank you. Thank you, Mr. Rous. Any other members of the public? Yeah, you can come up to the podium, sign in, and state your name, please. Uh Scott Radcliffe, 3103 South 100 Street. Uh thank you for hearing me. We've spoken Kevin and Martin, we've spoken about this same scenario. What I'd like to know from engineering and from all you guys here, heaving concrete from overgrown trees that were planted, deciduous trees between the street and the sidewalk, heaving concrete, replacing concrete over that same tree, it's going to heave again. So, what is the, you know, plan for that?

Sure. Um, so when we do uh remove sidewalk and there is a tree there, if the roots are at at a position where we need to um uh cut them off, you know, cut them uh along the sidewalk, remove them, uh trim them down, uh shear them off. We do uh try to get them out of the uh base of the sidewalk to the best that we can uh and then get the sidewalk installed. Um and that's a very common thing where we do cut tree roots along on the the front edge of the sidewalk which would be against the tree. So um that's how we treat that. Um if a tree is in really bad disrepair, we can work with forestry and and assess it. at that time as well.

Well, there's another section on a sidewalk there right by my house on the north side of my property on Oklahoma Avenue there that is also heaving from a second tree that forestry put in. I didn't have any say so in the trees being put in. Okay. I came home one day after work. There are the trees. Okay. I love trees. Great. Problem is deciduous trees like that. They all heave. And just taking out one root is not going to stop that tree from growing and replacing that root with another root and another root and going to the sides over here and the side over there next to the new piece of concrete. Now, without removing those trees and doing it the way we should do it, get rid of it. It's too big for the area. Plant a new tree. I'm good with that. We're going to have the same problem in a couple years. Um, again, we can talk with Forest Street to take a look at it, but if it's a healthy tree, we try not to remove those. Um, and and we cut the roots as we come upon them. Uh, when we do sidewalk repair.

Well, I I just I think it's it's it's kind of ludicrous to have a tree there, put a concrete over it, and it's just going to happen again. It's just like you're not solving the problem. The problem is caused by an overgrown tree. And I mean, overgrown tree is an overgrown tree. I I think that we should really, you know, make a decision about that before we go replacing cop pieces of concrete and spending money over good over bad. It's just kind of a waste of time. Okay. All right. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Radcliffe. Any other members of the public wish to comment on public hearing item number one? Thank you. Then moving on, we will move on to uh item E, presentations. Madame clerk, would you please read that out and then I will hand the gavl over to the mayor as he comes by here. Resolution adopting the West Bike pedestrian and mobility plan. Thank you.

Good evening everyone. My name is uh Steve Sher. I'm the director of city planning and zoning. With me tonight is Jack Kineseski, city planner. And in the audience, Emily Wagner, city planner as well. What I'm here to introduce this evening, um I'll turn it over to Jack in a second, but is our presentation on our bicycle, pedestrian, and mobility plan uh for the next 20-year planning horizon. This is a major endeavor which um was set the comprehensive plan that was approved um a couple years ago recommended that the city um update its its bike ped mobility plan. Um so this is a a direct result of um the comprehensive plan in action and then more recently with the uh safety action plan um as as a result of that plan. This plan was also specifically recommended that it be um be brought before council. So this item is just a presentation this evening at this part. It is also on the public works agenda item 39 on your agenda and in speaking with uh you know Alderman wrote the chair of the public works committee we could certainly hold this item tonight if you feel you need more time to review this and absorb the plan. Uh but the plan in itself is is a look forward to the future and uh improving both all of the safety within the community, connectivity for all road users and and um basically just furthering um the strategic vision of the city uh for safer roads, uh less reckless driving and uh rethinking the way we redesign streets in the future through the capital improvement plan. Thank you, Jack.

Thank you. So, we're updating this plan because the last plan that we had in the city of West Dallas was last updated in 2008. Um, between them, we've had numerous comprehensive plan updates that do that does focus on transportation, including bicycles, pedestrian um, and mobility in general. But 2008, I was in elementary school, so it's [laughter] been quite some time. So um with that being said, we want to focus on um what new technology has come about, what safety conditions have changed in the city, and then overall just ensuring that the plan for West Dallas um keeps in pace with our best practices and then also just community expectations. Uh like Steve said, this is directly tied with the 2045 comprehensive plan. Um the specific transportation goals from the plan include traffic safety, walkability, bikeability, transit access and support, vibrant public spaces, and also resilience and innovation. These goals directly shaped the existing plan to lead us into directly what um the plan is. Essentially, it's a resource to help guide the city forward. Um we're looking at enhancing the safety for people driving, walking, biking, or using mobility devices. Additionally, we want to understand where walking and biking connections uh may be incomplete and can be improved upon. Um while also focusing on other methods of transit, including public transit, and then the ability that has to positively impact jobs and business growth. Um we're also looking at prioritizing investments through using objective and objective data along with the existing project schedules and then also just supporting generally economic development with clear coordinated mobility guidance. Uh through our engagement sessions, residents told us a variety of themes. Um, the main themes that arose were safer pedestrian crossings, more predictable, comfortable bike routes,

better sidewalk maintenance and ADA accessibility, improved nighttime visibility, trail connections, and micro mobility options along with a desire for choices. Um, not the sole removal of cars. Uh, right now we're going to look through the existing conditions. Um, this will help show us um our existing networks, our gaps, and the opportunities that will help future improvements. Uh the first slide in this um section um I'm not including every map in detail within the plan, but I'm just highlighting a few sections. Uh this map provides a helpful context for our community. Um while many residents do drive, a not a notable portion of residents um do not have a car within their household. Uh this can be for a variety of reasons including circumstance, preference, um age, or lifestyle. Uh this information doesn't point to any specific project. It just helps understand the neighborhood context and city context. Um the street network that every resident acts with and interacts with daily. Um this shows a um full network across local, county, and state jurisdictions. Um because so many partners um share these corridors, having a coordinated plan helps us make strategic decisions and align with um general reconstruction projects and just support development um when opportunities arrive related to street construction and other um development scenarios. The next map shows where sidewalks exist today and where gaps remain. Um gaps are shown in red while sidewalks are shown in um that light blue color. It helps illustrates how people move throughout different parts of the city and where connections are stronger or weaker. Uh sidewalks sidewalk additions can depend on a variety of factors including context opportunities and policy direction which the city and common council evaluates over time. Um shown here is the existing bike bike

network. Um it shows a mix of lanes, trails, and shared routes along with bubbler stations and then bike rack um locations. While we do have strong assets already in the community, uh several areas remain disconnected from each other. Um strengthening the network includes or would improve recreation, commuting options, safety, and visibility um for businesses and residents alike. The future bike network here was a long-term vision that was adopted within the 2045 comprehensive plan. Um, this network is a clearer, more connected system, including additional bike lanes, um, more infrastructure options along with our neighborhood greenway network shown in that light green. That's a variety of slow um comfortable um streets with traffic plumbing and other features that will allow for biking and then other pedestrian activity along neighborhood streets. Um the next mode of travel people um use within West Dallas shows the um existing bus routes. Uh transit not is not provided by West Dallas. rather it's through MCTS as most people know. Um we however we do shape the infrastructure that does support it. This includes sidewalks, crossings, lighting and also bike connections. Improving these elements makes the entire system more reliable and accessible. Uh back into transit. Um this slide shows um areas within a quarter mile of our highest frequency bus routes, routes 18, 51, and 76 along with the um transit oriented development supportive overlay district that um kind of reflects the changes we made in our 2022 uh zoning code update. Uh this laid the groundwork for land uses that support transit by um allowing more housing flexibility um

citywide, reducing uh parking requirements and then um just overall back to that housing flexibility which included um duplexes by right in certain zoning districts. And then um we've already seen a few duplexes come about and without um complainer issues. A transit supportive overlay would further this by building on the success by offering modest additional flexibility in these well-connected areas. Over time, this kind of incremental infill uh may help support local businesses and gradually strengthen the city's tax base. Uh the next one, um this one's not so positive looking. Um it's the crash hotspots from 2019 to 2024. As you can see, there are a few different corridors and intersections that do have significant issues with traffic um safety. Um identifying these different areas and corridors helps us identify what safety improvements may have the biggest impact at different locations across the city and then also to identify locations that may have less traffic but have a disproportionate number of crashes on them. uh it's working with engineering and um identifying these areas that we can help improve the city for all users. The next section of the plan calls out the goals and objectives. Uh this plan includes clear measurable objectives for safety, connectivity, infrastructure upgrades, innovation, and education. Uh the metrics will help departments work towards shared goals and improve our competitiveness uh for state and federal funding. Just shown here is an example of the goals and object objectives within the plan. This is for the theme of education and culture shift. Uh two objectives here shown are delivering bike and ped safety curriculum to Milwaukee WAWM um school district students each year and then also um continuing on events such as open streets or community bike rides that we've done with the mayor in the

past. uh the implementation section. This shows our strategic funding approach um utilizing the existing um commu our CIP integration combined with a variety of state and federal programs. Uh shown below are just two options that um we've identified as potential funding sources that are either with the US DOT or WIST, Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Uh these implementation um schemes have a phase delivery with near mid and long-term priorities to sequence improvements and then also take advantage of street projects and funding cycles. Additionally, we've done a lot of work with the um Milwaukee County uh Department of Transportation on their safe safer streets toolkit. Um we've adopted the elements of design from their plan into our plan. Um, these designs are based on a variety of different manuals, including the Federal Highway um, administration manual on uniform traffic control devices along with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation manual guides. Uh, these cover safer intersections, clear lane markings, pedestrian visibility enhancements, and then other proven design strategies. Essentially the key takeaways from this plan that we have before you tonight are the plan provides a unified roadmap for transportation decisions across the um city and then also our collaborating municipalities and neighboring municipalities as we work further with the county. Additionally, um it also ensures projects are um aligned across departments to complement on those shared long-term goals and then identifies where improvements um may deliver the strongest benefit. Addition additionally, it also positions West Dallas to be more competitive for future for future federal, state, and local funding opportunities along with just generally building a safer, more

reliable network for all users that benefits residents and businesses. Thank you. If you have any questions, please just let us know. Thanks for the presentation. Are there any questions from the council? Mayor Divine. Alman Gisham. Thank you. Um Jack, it's out of [clears throat] bounds. I'm calling on that 2008 comment, by the way. Way out of bounds, buddy.

Yeah, that's a boo. Uh anyhow, uh thank you for the presentation. I'm going to kind of back up to a few years ago when we discussed sidewalks. And I just want to uh highlight that the areas that we had on the pedestrian network page 32 that highlighted the west end of the city that has uh a significant amount of non-connecting sidewalks. Um what we had discovered when I was one of the representatives of that district is the people who live there did not want them. They were adamantly opposed to them. So part of this plan, as it was explained prior, I believe engineering said that those sidewalks would be placed if the majority of the people on those blocks wanted them. Is this that type of are we including that in this plan or is this we're just going to connect all the streets because that was one of the goals for [clears throat] the entire city to be connected with sidewalks?

Yeah, thank you. Um we certainly do have a goal for sidewalk um sidewalks across the city as they increase safety. However, these can be taken on a case- by case basis as the council desires. Um certain situations may call for different options such as traffic calming rather than sidewalks. So we appreciate any feedback from residents, but it is on a case- by case basis with the overall goal to have sidewalks.

Okay. So to be clear, it will be dependent on if [clears throat] those residents and taxpayers actually want those sidewalks. And I'll use Mr. Roush and Mr. Radcliffe who presented about the sidewalk replacement as an example. One may have it across the street and the other doesn't and they really don't want to look at repairing sidewalks. That's why they purchased their homes in that area for more of a a rural feel versus urban. So I just want to be clear on that whether I would vote yes or no based on on those residents that I represented and still have in mind. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, everything will be ran by the council and then you are correct and then it's also a lot of coordination with the engineering department who ultimately um is overseeing those plans directly.

Fantastic. Thank you. Any other questions from the council? Seeing none, are there any questions or comments from the members of the audience on public hearing number two? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What was it? As this was just Oh, it's a presentation. That actually concludes the proceedings. Oh, I'm sorry. You're correct. My bad.

Uh then after the mayor stumbled through the presentation, we will go to part F, which is public participation. This is where the council may receive information from members of the public during this 30-minute period. We ask that each speaker please announce their name and address for our official record and limit your comments to one statement of no longer than five minutes. The council cannot take action on topics raised by the speakers and will not get into discussions on the topics raised by the speakers. This is just an opportunity for us to listen. Uh if there anyone who wishes to address the council under this section of our agenda, please approach the podium um in the front and turn on the microphone and as I said earlier, begin with your address and your name. That being said, does anybody wish to address the council under public participation? [clears throat] My name is Doug Anick and I live at 2035 South 83rd Street. I am one of the city's flood victims. Um during that flood I lost three vehicles. One with 78 miles on them, one with 1500 miles on it. Um I don't know if the city has actually put anything out there as to uh what happened and what we're doing to prevent this from happening again. But I think it needs to come from what in a newsletter uh in a in a mailing and put it on my garbage can like I got today for another announcement. But I think these flood victims deserve to know what happened and what's going to happen, what's being done about it in the future. Whether it was the city's fault, whether it was Metropolitan, the the sewage district, whether the grade at McCarti Park was plugged, whatever it was, I think they deserve to know what happened. And I want to thank Alderman Rout for stopping by me a couple times,

and I really appreciate that. Thank you. Is there anybody else that wishes to address the council under public participation? All right, then we will close public participation and we will go right to item G. Uh, our standing committees will be meeting during recess. Those room numbers are listed on the top of page two of your agendas. Uh, if you are here for [clears throat] a specific item or a license or some specific business with the city, please make sure you know what room to go to during recess. And if you're unsure, please ask any one of us in front of you here and we'll happily get you in the right spot. Um, moving on to the mayor's report, just a few quick things. Um, last week, the West Dallas Fire Department had a swearing in ceremony and a promotional ceremony for several new firefighter, yeah, firefighters that had passed their probationary periods as well as several existing members of the department that have received promotions. I know um Alderman wrote was was there with me and um there's a lot of very deserving people getting promoted. I just want to congratulate all of them. [clears throat] Also earlier this week um Alderman wrote was there again as well as Alderman Hos can't get can't get rid of them. Uh he we welcomed two new West Dallas police officers who were sworn in. So I want to welcome them to the department and wish them a long and uh successful career with the West Dallas PD. And lastly, I just want to remind everybody as we go into the holiday season that we are in the midst of a community food drive through the end of the year. Uh most needed items include beans, cereal, dressings, canned proteins, boxed milk, canned fruits, veggies, basically things that don't spoil, soups, tomato sauce, peanut butter, pastas, rice. Um that is done

through the health department as well as the West Milwaukee health department and the city of Greenfield's health department as well under the office of the southwest suburban health department. So please keep that in mind. There's information on the city's website and social media. That does conclude the mayor's report this evening. Are there any other person's reports? Mayor Alman Novak.

Um I just wanted to take a quick minute. I'm sure like me, a lot of you up here got a lot of calls about the leaves, the snow, and I just want to thank Dave and his team. They were out there every day. As someone who drove in other cities during a lot of this, trust me, be thankful. Our roads were done very quickly, and I won't call those cities out by name, but a lot better than a lot of other cities around us. And we are in Wisconsin. Leaves fall, snow falls, and sometimes mother nature decides it's got to be at the same time. But the crews were out there. They got it done very quickly. And please just remember, have a little bit of patience. We don't magically double the amount of crews just because we have snow and leaves at the same time. So, give the guys and ladies a break out there. They're doing everything they can and they're doing it well. So, thank you guys. [clears throat]

Thank you, Alderwoman. Any other um older person's reports? Mayor Divine. Alderwoman Keane. Um, I'm not sure if it's full yet, but last I looked, there was still one spot on the veterans giving tree where you can sign up to help bring a little merry Christmas to some of the veterans as well as there is the wish program helping those getting out of domestic violence. And I know a few uh families have been added. So, if you're interested on how to give back during the holidays, you can check out uh the city's Facebook page. they do have both the veterans giving tree as well as the wish program or on the police department's um web page. So, I just wanted to kind of call that out. Thank you. Any other reports from the older persons? Mayor Divine.

Alderwoman Gisham. Um kind of spinning off on Alderwoman Novak's um speech. I would like to take this moment to close out this year with a a lot of gratitude to all of our departments, all of our staff, our colleagues, uh, for pushing the city forward and doing such a wonderful job. I wish you all a really happy holiday, merry Christmas for all of us to celebrate. Thank you. You any other reports from the older persons? Mayor Divine, Alderman Hos, I move for approval of the November 11, 2025 common council minutes. Second. A motion and second. If there are no corrections or adjustments, all in favor?

I opposed. Eyes have it. Minutes are approved. Um item K, standing committee reports. Those be taken out in uh recess. Mer. Yes. Uh just for the council's benefit, this was placed on uh this spot in the agenda in case the council wanted to hear about the joint fire department as a group. It can be referred to committee and handled downstairs as well or it can be handled here. Whatever the council prefers, Mayor Divine, I think it would benefit everyone if we just handle this here right now so everyone can hear it all at once and interact on it or

All right, attorney Decker.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, this item was before the council at the last meeting in which we introduced the topic. uh as you know it's uh a joint fire department in which we are proposing to work with the city of Wawaossa. They received the same thing uh back in November as well. So as a result of those introductions, some feedback was received. What you're seeing now is an updated term sheet that contains a little more detail that was requested. So I'll quickly go through that uh term sheet just to let you know what kind of details are out there. Also within the uh packet on legisar you're going to see draft documents that I put together and those documents are simply draft form right now but it's again an opportunity for you to see where this is um how it would look potentially and give a chance for you to provide some feedback to me uh and then WATS will be doing the same thing tonight with one of their committees and their staff will receiving feedback from their council. The idea is to do this a couple times to make sure that we get a draft a draft document that we can present in the future that the councils have seen and had a chance to weigh in on before being presented with it. So um and also a couple of other details will be disclosed as well. Number one, uh as you can see in this term sheet, all the red areas are the ones that were updated. It makes sure that this corporation that the cities would create together um would be for a limited purpose. So it could only be used to operate as a joint fire department that provides EMF services as well. But it also ensures that this joint department would carry all the same authority and immunities and everything else that a normal fire department would receive um if it were just a municipality. The idea is to propose it for 10 years. Um and the information that uh as to when those 10 years start, that's something that's also new. We're proposing to actually have the joint department start technically on April 27th of 2026.

The reason for that is because the state has established a deadline for applying for the innovation grant and the city would have to be up and running with a joint department before June 30th to be eligible for the first year of that innovation grant um payment. If it's not up and running by June 30 of 26, we simply miss the first year's payment. Those grant payments for the city of West Dallas are estimated between between four and five million dollars each. And so by starting a few months early, it gets the city eligible for four to five million extra dollars. Um before I get into more details, I'll go right into the explanation as to why that date won't be a problem. And that is because although the joint department will start in its existence on April of 26, it actually won't hire any staff. And it actually will not hire any employees at all at first. It will just simply immediately re-ubcontract out with each city so that each city's fire department will continue to operate exactly as it did the day before except as a staffing agency for the joint department. I know I'm getting very complicated with this, but what I'm basically trying to say is is a joint department legally. its responsibility will be handed off to the joint department, but nothing will change dayto-day for either community until they're ready to actually proceed by hiring employees. But we're quite a distance away from there and a lot more has to be discussed before that can happen. So, this is just a way to make sure we qualify for that initial grant payment. But again, nothing would change the next day and it wouldn't change until everyone was ready to make that switch. So, um, and again, I'm just going over all these changes and happy to take questions now or at the end, whatever the council would prefer. Uh, again, 10 years, six-year automatic renewals unless, uh, terminated. If it is terminated in the future for any reason, there's a two-year

notification for termination to allow for, uh, the departments to separate back out. Again, 25% of the cost of operating the fire department is what would be reimbursed, and we've split it up so that each city just gets 25% of whatever it puts in. The budget would also be set for the first five years, 2.84% annually. After that, it would be uh another capped limit, either 4% or CPI plus 2%. Moving forward, again, I'm going to try to skip through a little bit more of this. One thing that also was established is that there will not be any more members. So, it's two members, the city of Wosa, city of West House. They are the members of the corporation. And at this point in time, no further ones would be admitted. Um, and that is because it gets too complicated to try to forecast what it would be like to add in a third um entity and how voting would work and how the budget would work. We're creating it for this one purpose. We want to ever add another municipality to this as a member, we'll just amend the articles of incorporation. See, we have a little visitor in the back. Um there's [clears throat] two bodies that would operate it. One is the board of directors. Um that would be the one who hands the b business side of it. The other one would be the joint fire commission. They handle the hiring and discipline side of things. There would be once it's up and running joint services provided. So each city would actually use its current staffing to u provide support services for the joint department. You can see how they're split up. HR vtosa um attorney would be West Dallas, finance of Vtosa, it would be West Dallas. Again skipping through a little bit more. This concept of the staffing agency is a little new. Uh, and it's it might be a little unusual, but it will work to make sure we're eligible for the grant.

Does anyone have any other questions? I don't want to get too much in the weeds. We've already had a presentation on I just wanted to highlight the changes. Any questions? Mayor Divine Wel um Kale earlier on about termination for cause. What would that be? have to be a violation of the intergovernmental agreement that can't be cured within 30 days.

Okay. And and that would happen then instantly. I mean the 30 days to try to cure and then so yeah the it'd be a notice saying this is we we if one city would thought that the other one would violate the agreement they'd say we believe you violated this term of the intergovernmental agreement and if the other city doesn't cure that issue within 30 days then the city who feels that the other one breached could then move to terminate that agreement and if they decide to terminate that agreement then another provision there obligates the cities to work in good fa to them separate the departments as soon as possible. Okay. Thank you.

Any other questions? Divine. Alderman Hos. I move to adopt item four. There's a motion and a second. If there is no other discussion, I'll ask the clerk to call the role. Other person. Grobe. I. Hos. I. Halverson. Hi. Keane. I. Novak I Noling I Ro I Turner I Wel I Gisham I 10 in favor zero opposed that motion carries and we will move on to item L. Mayor Divine Alderman Hos

regarding the consent agenda. There has been a request to refer item 25 to the public works committee. Do any other council members have any requests regarding the consent agenda? And Mayor Divine, I move for uh referring item 25 to public works. Second. There's a motion and a second. There's no discussion. I'll ask the clerk to call the role. Alder person. I hus Keen I Novak I Noling I Roach. Hi. Turner. I Wel I Gisham I.

Ten in favor zero opposed. and Mayor Divine. That motion carries. Als Mayor Devine. Uh I move for approval of the balance of item L, our consent agenda. Second. There is a motion and a second. If there's no discussion, I'll ask the cler to call the role. Alder person Gro I. Hos I. Halverston. Hi. Keane. Hi. Novak. Hi. Noling. Hi Roach. I Turner. I Wel, I 10 in favor, zero opposed. Motion carries. Mayor Divine, Alderman Hos, I move that the common council stand [clears throat] in recess until the conclusion of our committee meetings. Second.

There's a motion and a second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? We are in recess.

here. Novak here. Nolan here. Ro here. Turner here. Wigel here. Gisham here. 10 in favor. 10 present. I think they're in favor of being present as well. Um let's [snorts] begin with the administration committee. The administration committee recommends approval approval of item 36.

Thank you. Any discussion? If not, I will ask the clerk to call the role. Other person. Gro. Hi. H. I. Halverson. Hi. [laughter] Keane. Hi. Novak. Hi. Hi. Roach. Hi. Turner. Hi. Wigel. Hi. Gisham. I 10 in favor, zero opposed. Motion carries. Then we'll move to the public works committee. I will read out item number 25 separately. The public works committee recommends postponement of item 25 until a committee of the whole meeting on January 20th held at 6 p.m. Mayor Divine, I move in accordance with the committee report.

Thank you, Alderman Road. Is there any discussion? If not, I'll ask the clerk to call the role. Alder person. Gro I H I Halverson I Keane Hi Novak I Noling I wrote I Turner I Wel I. Gisham I. 10 in favor zero oppos. Motion carries. The public works committee then recommends adoption of items 37 and 38 and holding of item 39 until the January 20th meeting. Mayor Divine I again move in accordance to the committee report. Thank you. Any discussion on these three items which are really two items because one's being held. If not, I'll ask the clerk to call the role. Other person Gro I Hus I Halverson I Keen

I Novak I Noling I Roach Hi. Turner I Gisham I. 10 in favor zero opposed. That motion carries and we'll go to economic development. The Economic Development Committee recommends adoption of item 40.

Alderwoman Keane moves uh [laughter] pardon me while I'm drowning over here. I move in accordance. Thank you. Any discussion? If not, I'll ask the clerk to call the role. Other person Gro I. Hus. I. Halverson. Hi. Keane here. No, I Roach. Hi. Turner. I Wel, I. Gisham. I. 10 in favor. Zero opposed. Motion carries. Then we'll do the public safety committee.

The public safety committee recommends granting of item 43 and holding of item 44 until the January 20th meeting. Mayor Divine, I move for approval of the public safety committee report. Okay. We have a motion to approve. Any discussion? If not, all in favor? Any opposed? Eyes have it. Mayor Divine. Alderman House. I move that the council stand adjourned until our next scheduled meeting, Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. Second. There's a motion and a second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? We are adjourned.