City Council - Regular Meeting

All right being 630 we'll call the Common Council meeting to order please stand for the All right, roll call has been taken, correct? Yes. All right, motion to adopt the agenda.

Your Honor, I move to adopt agenda for tonight's meeting.

Motion made by Mr. Barrington. Second. Second by Mr. Roberts. Any further discussion? I'll wait for Ms. Charlene. Ms. Magowski, any further discussion on the motion for adoption of agenda? No. Carrying none. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion carried by all. Moving right into approval of the 421-26 Common Council Meeting minutes.

Your Honor, I move to approve the April 21st, 2026, Common Council Minutes.

Second. Second by Mr. Bissau. Any additional comments or corrections? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion is carried by all. All right, authorization to pay the bills, Mr. Dorsey.

I'm going to have you guys log in again to capture if you don't mind logging in again.

Thank you.

Mr. Dorsey. Your Honor, I make a motion to pay the bills in the amount of $1,772,973.91.

Motion made by Mr. Dorsey. Second. Second by Mr. Barrington. Any additions or corrections? Hearing none, please cast your ballots. And that motion carried. All right, now we move into public comment. Ma'am, go ahead and sit there. Name, address, and please keep it to three minutes.

Okay. Susan Davis, 1104 A. Montgomery Street. Bringing to your attention today, though, I feel it's a safety issue. I live on a private driveway off of Montgomery. In front of me is 1104. I'm 1104A, a full house. I have addressed this with Paul when he was working here, Hannah, and then with Dave now twice, about doing something to verify my address with the emergency vehicles. And the post office said, we know it's down there, but we don't know where. Because the mailbox is at the end of the street out on Montgomery. Does the ambulance know? Does the fire department know? Does anybody know where that house is? Now that I'm getting up in age, I'm concerned for health-wise and, you know, issues that way. Is there anything that can be done to rectify that address or get it out there permanently to the EMs, the emergency vehicles to know where it's at?

So this portion is for public comment. We can direct you on what to do afterwards. Mr. Deeb's behind. He's also a good contact.

Yeah, my suggestion would be to talk to Austin at the end of this meeting, and he can help you direct to help you with that question, right?

Okay.

Austin, you want to raise your hand?

Yeah, we'll chat after. Okay.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Any further public comment? Public comment? Hearing none, we'll move into standing the special committees. Board of Public Works, Mr. Barrington. There was no meeting this month, Your Honor. Thank you. Finance and Personnel, Mr. Dorsey.

We did not have a meeting, but I will make a motion to consider approval of the monthly license list as recommended by the police department.

The motion has been made by Mr. Dorsey. Second. Second by Mr. Roberts. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? That motion's carried by all. That is all I have, Your Honor. Thank you, Mr. Dorsey. Parks and Recreation, Mr. Biesau.

There is no meeting. I make an approval motion for public art permit application.

Second. That motion's been made by Mr. Biesau, second by Mr. Dorsey. Any further discussion? Hearing none, please cast your ballots. That motion is carried by all. Thank you, Your Honor. Thank you. All right, Planning Commission, Mr. Ritchie. There was no meeting this month, Your Honor. Economic Development Committee, Ms. Croy.

There was no Economic Development Committee meeting in April, Your Honor.

Capital Projects and Equipment Committee, there was no meeting there, which leaves us right into minutes and reports. We'll stand as read in your packet. And reports of officers and recent events and announcements to the public. First is the Mayor to do the mayoral appointments of Planning Commission, Cemetery Commission, Police and Fire Commission, Housing Authority, and Revolving Loan Fund Review Board. That needs a motion and a second. So move, Your Honor. Motion's been made by Mr. Barrington. Second. Who called the second? Second. Second, Mr. Roberts. Any further discussion? Hearing none, please cast your ballots. Motion carried by all. And that leads us right into today's proclamation. Poppy Day Proclamation. Whereas millions of Americans have served in the United States Armed Forces, and millions more have lost their lives in battle to preserve and defend the freedoms and quality of life enjoyed by people throughout our country. And whereas we must remind of the price of war and the debt owed to those who have died fighting for our country, and whereas born out of the tragedy of World War I, the red poppy that bloomed all over Europe following the war now symbolizes the sacrifice of lives in all wars. And whereas each year the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Wisconsin, Department of Wisconsin reminds all Wisconsinites of this debt through the distribution of the Memorial Papapi, those flowers made by disabled veterans of Wisconsin. Whereas this month and every month, we honor our veterans for their service and pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to uphold the values we share. Therefore, I, Mark Herter, Mayor of the City of New London, Counties of Outagamie and Wapaka, Wisconsin, do hereby proclaim May 22nd and May 23rd, 2026 as Poppy Days in New London. Furthermore, I ask that all citizens honor those who paid that price by remembering them on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th, 2026. Thank you all. All right, that is all that I have. We can lead into the city administrator, Mr. Hurt.

Thank you, Your Honor. First off, to let any of the flood victims out there know that we are still accepting flood damage debris at the municipal garage. However, since it's slowed down quite a bit, we're transitioning into a by appointment only instead of just having it open. This is just going to be a little bit more efficient with our staff time. I don't know how long we're going to do this for. We're going to kind of see how the need goes. But if you have any debris that has been flood damaged, definitely make an appointment with our public works office by calling 920-982-8503 to schedule an appointment for dropping off that flood damage. Secondly, the city is still accepting business facade grant applications. Now that we fulfilled the first round, which was targeting the downtown, we are accepting applications from any commercial business within the city limits. So if you have a facade project, you can download the application off the city's website, go to the business link, and then click on economic development. If anyone has any questions about the application process, please contact me in the office at your convenience. And then, Carol Ann, I've been talking, we want to remind everyone who has annual licensing out there, this includes alcohol, tobacco, amusement devices, those license applications are due at the end of this week. They're slowly coming in, but there are quite a few out there. So please, if you have an application license, whether you're a bar or a restaurant or even a grocery store type thing, that you have your licensing due, those applications are due at the end of this month because they have to be approved by council They are due at the end of this week because we have to get them processed and get them on the council agenda for next month. And lastly, unfortunately, he's not here tonight, but I'd like to recognize Robert Garsky, our Director of Public Works, for completing four years of service on May 9th. And that's all I have, Your Honor.

Thank you, Mr. Hurd. Chief of Police, Mr. Wilson.

Thank you, Your Honor. First, I want to recognize Officer Chad Ewing. He's completed six years of service. He's currently serving as our school resource officer up at the high school. If you've seen some of the commercials, law enforcement does the click it or ticket campaign during this time of year enforcing seatbelt violations. And then finally, just a reminder is the summer construction time is near and approaching that we have road closed signs and barricades and traffic directions. Those are up there for a reason, and it could be a result in traffic citations if you choose to go around the traffic barricades. Those are up for our safety and the safety of the workers as well. That's all I have, Your Honor.

Thank you, Chief. Director of Public Works, Mr. Garsky is absent. Does somebody have a report?

I do. He lets us know that the Wisconsin DOT is planning on closing Highway 15 and 45 intersection on June 1st. This is in conjunction with the Highway 45 project. So June 1st, that intersection, Highway 15 and 45, will be closed for a five-day window to do work, and then they will reopen. The DOT will release more information on and an official statement later this week. But we just want to get a heads up there that that main intersection will be closed for a five-day window June 1st. Also, a crew from our engineering firm, McMahon, will be on Mill Street and Beacon Avenue in the next week doing topo and survey work for our next 2027 utility and road reconstruction project. So if you do see any locates that are out there, please do not disturb them until at least another full week to two weeks so that we can do the correct survey work for the upcoming projects. And that's all he has. Thank you.

Director of Park and Recreation, Ms. Sowell.

Thank you, Your Honor. The Parks and Recreation Department is in full swing for summer with Camp Hatton and program registration open for all. The Recreation Department is holding their annual Kids Fishing Day on Saturday, June 6th. There is still spots available. Anyone that registers a child gets a fishing pole, tackle box with supplies, and lunch. The Aquatic and Fitness Center will reopen after their yearly cleaning weeks on Tuesday, May 26th to start off their summer schedule. That schedule and all of our other programming can be found on our website at newlondonwi.org or in our new summer fall activity guide that can be found at any city building, the Chamber of Commerce, or could be found in any It's backpacks as they come through. And then just a parks note that by the end of this week, all park bathrooms, docks, and piers will also be open for summer and in. So if you have any questions about our programs, facilities, or offerings, you can give us a call at 982-8521.

Thank you, Ms. Soule. Director of Community Development, Mr. Deeb.

Thank you, Your Honor. Community Development Department remains to be very busy at this time. Last month in April, we issued 24 building permits, which was up from March, and this month already in May, we have greatly exceeded that number already. Much of that is as a result of the flood damage that the city has received, in addition to much of the growth we've been seeing as well. So with that being said, the department is actively out in the community in flood damage assessments. That's where we're going door to door and taking a look at houses that may have been inundated by flood water and assessing those properties for cost and applying the 50% rule for properties that apply. With that being said as well, I will be having a presentation next week at our planning commission regarding the 50% rule and substantial damage. So I encourage any council members and public listening in to attend that meeting or tune in just to learn about what the 50% rule is, substantial damage, and what the city is doing to regulate that, as well as options for property owners that may have been affected by flooding. Other than that, we're very busy, but always here to help out and serve residents in the lawn. If there's any questions, please let me know. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Debs. Utility Manager, Mr. Bessemer.

Thank you, Your Honor. We received several calls questioning if we were going to reschedule our spring flushing that we canceled due to the flooding. We do not plan on rescheduling that. We will continue our flushing schedule in the fall. We have a new water operator, Anthony Van Dalwyk from Appleton is starting employment with us this Monday. And then at last, I'd like to recognize Henry Fabisac for eight years of service with the utilities. That's all I have tonight, Your Honor.

Thank you, Mr. Bassett. And the last thing I see is a motion for adjournment.

So moved.

Motion made by Ms. Croy. Second. Second by Mr. Barrington. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carried by all. We are adjourned.