Sauk County Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Brings us up to item number four. You have an agenda. It is currently undamended. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as presented? And you'll have to bear with me because I've got a dead screen. Motion by Supervisor Spencer, second by Supervisor Burchill. Is there any discussion on the agenda as printed? There's a motion to amend the agenda? No? Wrong button? Okay, all in favor of the agenda as presented, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? Motion carried. We have an agenda. Brings us up to item number five. You have the minutes from a previous meeting. Is there a motion to adopt? We have a motion by Supervisor Spencer, second by Supervisor Pelton. Any discussion on the minutes as presented? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed? The minutes have been adopted. On to item number six. We have a general consent agenda items from the Executive and Legislative Committee. Resolution 59-2026, honoring Jake Rockson, and from the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee, Resolution 60-2026, honoring Sandra Harrison. We have a motion by Supervisor Klitschke, second by Supervisor Alexander. Is there any discussion on the... I got a no? No? Okay. I just started shaking her head, no, I thought maybe I did something wrong. Okay, any discussion on the consent agenda? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed? Motion carried, and I assume, Judge, you are here for a reason. So if you would join me in the front, bring Ms. Harrison with you. In the name of the people of the county of Sauk, this certificate of appreciation is presented to Sandra Harrison in recognition of 29 years of distinguished and dedicated public service rendered into the citizens of Sauk County, issued by the Order of County Board of Supervisors this 15th day of September. And I'm proud to admit I've never had the opportunity to be over on that side of the courthouse and deal with Ms. Harrison. But on that note, congratulations and thank you for all those words.

I just want the county board to know that not only did Sandy serve for 29 years but she was an exemplary public servant in every sense of the word. And I know people always wonder you know whether people just get a county job because I think it'll be cushy or easy or whatever. And I had the privilege of working with Sandy for her last 11 years and she absolutely embodied the notion of a public servant. Her goal every day was to do everything that she could to assist those who came in front of her including those who had nothing to do with our branch but were just lost in the courthouse and needed direction. She was absolutely dedicated to everything that was needed for the courthouse to operate smoothly and for justice to be served for folks. And she wasn't just there to punch a clock and mark her time. And quite frankly, I can tell you when she saw others in the courthouse who maybe took that attitude. It really bothered her and frustrated her because she understood the need that our citizens have to have the county employees really working hard for them. And I don't know that you always get to hear that. And I just thought after 29 years of absolutely dedicated service to the county, she absolutely deserves this public recognition. And I thank you for the opportunity, Chairman, to address the county board. Thank you. Thank you.

Sandy, you do have an opportunity to address the board if you so choose.

Well, I just want to thank the county for hiring me. Being a judicial assistant for 28 years, I worked for the clerk of courts for one year, and I was hired as a judicial assistant transferring over, and that was the most absolute wonderful job I could have ever gotten. I enjoyed it immensely. I worked for two judges, Judge Taggart and Judge Screnock, both very professional people. I learned a lot from them, and I was sad to retire because it was just the best place to work, the best job to have, and it's really hard not coming in every day and seeing the people that I worked with. with my other coworkers, and Judge Garnock just is an exemplary boss, and it was really hard to leave, but thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, I suppose after 29 years, not coming in every day has gotta be a shock to the system, and I'm willing to give it a crack. All right, brings us up to item seven. We don't have any scheduled appearances this evening. On to item number eight, public comment. I think I can steal these from the clerk. Okay, so these have not been sorted yet, so we will give it a shot here. I think a lot of folks are here for the data center thing, so obviously we want to hear from you all. I suspect a lot of the opinions are probably somewhat similar, but if you can be mindful of trying not to maybe duplicate or repeat things that you hear, we'd appreciate it. and uh... we'll try to move through this as fast as we can all right so first uh... we have clear bar from bear bush is registered but not speaking And she checked in favor and in opposition to the moratorium. She's in favor. Favor of the opposite. Thank you very much. Also registered but not speaking is Catherine Cutler of Plain in favor of the moratorium. We have Terry Ott speaking, but from the city of, from Baraboo, Wisconsin. Now, I want to clarify, in opposition to the, oh, in opposition to the 765 transmission line, which is not on the agenda this evening, Debra Moses in favor of, she's here to speak. So Debra, why don't you come up? That'll give me time to sort through this. Debra Moses of Plain testifying in favor of Resolution 7-2026, an 18-month moratorium on data centers. And we will go ahead and queue up Angus Mossman if you want to be ready after she is finished. The best part about the public speaking part is keeping it a secret.

Hello?

There we go.

Thanks. Being the first one, yay. Hi, I'm Deb Moses. I'm here to voice my support for S-2026, the 18th month or moratorium on data centers in Sauk County. I have training to help people heal from emotional trauma. And I come today to not only voice my support for this, but to also offer a broader understanding of what allowing data centers in Sauk County means. Sauk County offers many places of peace, including my farm, where I help people reconnect to their bodies and to the land. Data centers represent the constant grasping for more, more tech, more information, more power. And this is an insatiable grasping that attempts to calm the unease we feel within us when we set the phone down or we have a little time on our hands. This feeling comes from unprocessed grief and the heavy burdens of disconnection and modern life, much of it fueled by the various services that data centers provide. Local organizations such as the Farmer Angel Network seek to support and provide relief for strong farmers already being crushed by the current system, so much so that suicide feels like the only way out. Our communities do not need added stress. And let's face it, we all have unprocessed grief that we carry, especially regarding times in our life that we felt we did not have power over our situations and that others, be they people or governments or companies, could just come and do as they pleased. These situations re-traumatize people, prompting understandably strong emotions and reactions. This is why it's important to use our voices, to be heard, and to remember that we are connected to each other and this beautiful land that we live on, and that we have strength, sovereignty, and autonomy. I thank the County Board for the opportunity to remember that we, the people, do have power and choice. Thank you.

Thank you. Angus Mossman, Hemlock Road, North Freedom, here to speak in favor of the ordinance. You are up. Next is Will Underwood.

Hello. My name is Angus Mossman. I live in Leland by Natural Bridge State Park. I am in favor of the moratorium on data centers. I am concerned with the speed at which things are advancing, requiring our energy. I have recently commented on the Department of Energy's transmission needs study. I live in a community that's highly impacted by the 765 kilovolt Becky transmission line. That project I have never seen in my 31 years of living there. A project brings so many people together over something. and it has united a great group of people who have come across all spectrums to be together against that. Much of the need in Wisconsin for that line, the projected 40% energy increase in Wisconsin from the MISO.

I'm sorry, can you go back to data centers? This transmission line's not on tonight.

Sure.

And on that note, I have to apologize, Will. I didn't realize that's what you had marked. It's not on the agenda, but thank you.

Okay, well, I'm just going to say then, I am in favor of the moratorium on data centers in order to give us more time to think about the needs, the benefits, and the concerns and risks that they could bring to our community.

Thank you. Thank you. Up next, Gene Scolaro, Delona, Wisconsin Dells, speaking in favor of the moratorium on data centers, followed by Elizabeth Brewer. I got it right, that was an R, not an S. Thank you, Jean.

My name is Jean Scalero and I am in favor of the moratorium and I believe that there is such a rush to get AI and then all of a sudden all these data centers are popping up and I'm thinking what are the energy needs for them and our water in Wisconsin, our energy in Wisconsin and so And what will be the cost to us? So I just feel that that's what we, I get the feeling that there might be, a lot of people might be in agreement that maybe are not in agreement in other times. So thank you very much.

Thank you. So Elizabeth Brewer, Freedberg is up in favor of the ordinance of 7-20-26, followed by Joe Scolaro, Wisconsin Dells.

Hi, I'm Elizabeth Brewer, and I'm here in support of the 18-month moratorium. Quote, the people building AI earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing to the press to sound sensible, but I hear the same people express fear privately. Quote, we must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. My first concern is that since roughly this summer, AI has been advancing drastically faster, driven primarily by AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI itself. My second concern is an incident in which a swarm of agents essentially acted as a fanatically devoted collective, conducting cybersecurity attacks on targets they were not asked to attack and that they were unrelated to the task at hand, sacrificing themselves for the success of the group. Those aren't quotes from fear mongers opposed to the technology. That's a former anthropic engineer explaining why he left earlier this month. An anthropic CEO explaining how tech companies should mitigate the risks. The CEOs of OpenAI and XAI agreed with the risk and the need to slow down. When they ask us to build data centers in our communities, they aren't just asking us to sacrifice our farmland, wetland, forests, aquifers, air, and water. They're asking us to build the infrastructure to potentially destroy ourselves. What do we get out of it? Media slop that leaves people questioning reality. Fake products and increasingly sophisticated scams. Spellcheck and predictive text that's somehow worse than ever. Tracking software that erodes the very concept of privacy. An endless lineup of indistinguishable advertisements. More and more people out of work and scrambling to find jobs that aren't being replaced, aren't scams, and are actually hiring. AI agents hacking each other and making it clear no one's information is safe anywhere anymore. No thank you. But thank you for hearing me out.

Thank you. Joe Scolaro, Wisconsin Dells, you are up in favor of the moratorium, followed by Pam Condon, Springbrook Drive, Baraboo.

I was hoping when I planned to speak that someone I would not have much left to say. And I was right, because she said it all right there. So what's the other half of the equation is not why we should have a moratorium, but what are those things that people think why we, what the benefits of having a AIA identity service might be. So I'm gonna talk about that, okay. Jobs, what kind of jobs? Some temporary construction jobs, and who's gonna fill those jobs? We have a shortage of labor right now. The beauty of the landscape, okay? I'm a city boy who retired out here for the beauty of it and data centers are not pretty and they're not quiet and there's a lot of pollution involved with all that power generation. So yes, AI has to be slowed down in general across the globe. There are efforts to do that by the people who know better than I do. But mostly, I also want to counter before someone else doesn't that the jobs and stuff is not going to pan out, and we don't have the labor for it anyway, and they'll be gone. And what's the main reason for it? One of the main goals of the people pushing AI? Eliminating jobs. This just doesn't make sense. So thank you for considering a moratorium.

Thank you. Pam Condon is up, followed by Rachel, I can't talk, Rachel Nygaard, Tarrytown Road, Baraboo. Also speaking in favor of the moratorium.

Thank you, board, for hearing us out. My spiel went a lot like Elizabeth's, but I want to add a few things about, I cringe whenever I see these AI created nonsense memes that are made solely for wow factor and entertainment or clicks and likes. The resources it takes to produce something like that should be enough to make anybody think twice about using AI. For example, for every 10 to 20 clicks or prompts given to an AI platform to generate a meme or an answer uses PEN uses two liters of water and three kilowatt hours of electricity. It uses rare earth minerals, causing pollution, increasing climate issues, the list goes on. Without a good roadmap to know where AI is heading and how much of it is actually necessary or purposeful, there needs to be parameters that limit the use of AI altogether. And I will leave it at that. The Atlantic recently published a piece warning of the speed at which tech giants have been developing AI and the tremendous amount of infrastructure required to support it all still with little or no profit. It's a bubble greater than the housing bubble in 2008 or the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and it will most certainly burst. What will be left will be these hulking giants of data centers and an economy that we don't recognize. So the moratorium is a good first step to be able to prevent some of these water hogging data centers from taking a hold in Sauk County. Thank you.

Thank you. Rachel Nygaard, you are up, speaking in opposition, or in favor, I'm sorry, of the moratorium on data centers, followed by Joan Wheeler of Landau Lane-Paribus on the same.

Thank you. I am here to speak in favor of the moratorium, and others may talk a little bit about the water and land considerations. I want to talk about some of the other pollutants that the hyperscale data centers and the corporations behind them bring to our communities. One of my favorite sounds in nature is the wind rustling the leaves. That's about 30 decibels. With data centers producing 24-7 noise that has been measured at 90 decibels or more, not only do they drown out nature's symphony at those levels, over time, they can damage our hearing. For comparison, a blue jay's screech can be 90 decibels. As I imagine a constant blue jay cry five feet from me, it's easy to understand how the continuous noise pollution generated by data centers can not only ruin our hearing, but can also increase stress, disrupt sleep, harm mental health, and impact cognitive ability to perform well at school or work. Some of the frequencies generated are inaudible to humans, yet they can travel long distances and are audible to many animal species, contributing to chronic stress in wildlife and livestock, such as cows. If noise pollution isn't keeping humans and wildlife awake and contemplating unplanned migration, the light pollution will. Data center facilities require all night lighting, which disrupts the natural circadian rhythms of our bodies, impacting production of hormones, regulating the sleep-wake cycles. Light pollution is also disturbing migration patterns and habitat development among birds, butterflies, bats, cats, turtles, and other animals key to a healthy ecosystem. The list of environmental pollutants and their negative impacts is long. including thermal pollution, contamination from PFAS and hazardous e-waste, all the way to electric magnetic field exposure. While those are also important, I want to talk about another type of pollution that has many of the same negative outcomes on human health as the environmental ones do. I'm talking about how these hyperscale data center deals that are done in the dark pollute our trust in our government institutions that are in place to protect us and our interests. They pollute our sense of agency as citizens in community and democracy. With federal and state institutions failing to protect the interests of planet and people, we turn to our neighbors and our local institutions for that protection. Like most pollutants, remediation is much more costly than prevention. We need your help in preventing all these types of pollutants. We need it done at the local level and we need it done now. So here we are, not willing to wait any longer for state and federal protections, and we are asking you to pass an 18-month moratorium, and hopefully it's an easier decision to make with everyone in the community showing you what they want for our community. Thank you.

Thank you. Wow, that scared me, the bell.

I was like, whoa.

Joan Wheeler is our last registered speaker. She's Landau Lane Baraboo. Speaking in favor of the moratorium.

Thank you. The research that underpins Sauk County's 2026 comprehensive planning process revealed what our county's residents value most about Sauk County. Maintaining the county's rural character, protecting farmland, scenic areas, and contiguous open spaces, promoting economic opportunities that support farming and future generations of farmers, and providing efficient and affordable facilities and utilities and improving residents' access to resources. The unlucky communities in which hyperscale data centers have decided to locate have sacrificed the health and well-being of their residents because of noise, water, and air pollution. They've sacrificed the health of their local environment because of the draining of aquifers and groundwater sources. They've sacrificed the financial well-being of their residents because of increased utility rates and property taxes and lowered property values. And they've sacrificed the trust of their residents when community officials have entered into secret agreements with these developers. These communities have also sacrificed those very characteristics that we value most about Sauk County. So a county is lucky. We see what's happening in other counties. We know that the mega corporations seek open land, tax incentives, and proximity to electrical power and water. We know they seek development in areas with weak zoning on these projects. We have the opportunity to pass a moratorium giving our county government time to study these developments and to prepare zoning guardrails needed to protect Sauk County's residents and the characteristics we value most about Sauk County. Thank you.

Thank you, and just coming in under the bell, one last speaker, County Road W. Baraboo against the moratorium. Tom Creagle, you have the floor.

Thank you. As you've heard from other speakers, data centers have a lot of negatives compared to positives, and data centers are part of the reason for proposals for high-power transmission lines. I can't remember an issue. I've been a lifelong resident of Sauk County. I was on the county board for many years. I can't remember another issue that has caused more people of various backgrounds and interests to agree on than opposition to the high power transmission line. And so there's plenty of reason to be opposed to data centers as well. So obviously I'm speaking in favor of the moratorium on data centers. And I also point out that, again, I don't remember any time on an agenda for the county board. I believe there were 40 communications from most of them from local municipalities. in opposition to the high-power transmission line, and I'm guessing those communities would probably register the same opinion regarding data centers. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, so those that registered but are not speaking, and I will just save a little time, everybody in favor of the moratorium? So we have Randall Leiser of Baraboo, Carla Carpenter, Reedsburg Street. I think that's Reesburg. No, 5359? Yes. Yeah, Reesburg. I got Chris Brewer, Caribou, Rachel Neiman, Loganville, John Neiman of Loganville, George Ann Bieber. of Rock Springs, sorry if I'm slaughtering some names, Alyssa Mance of Baraboo, Carol Wasser of Reedsburg, Alice Schellenberger of Baraboo, Carrie Olson of Baraboo, Tara Fry of Prairie du Sac, and Pat Taylor of Baraboo. So thank you everybody. On that note, public comment is closed. Brings us up to item number nine, communications. There are, we got through the alphabet and then added some. There's quite a few. Communications and Granicus, because of the volume, I won't read them all, but supervisors, you have them, and they are in your packet. On to item number, oh, are there any others that were not included?

Everything's on Granicus.

Everything's on Granicus, thank you. All right, item number 10. We have no appointments, 11, no bills, 12, no claims, 13, no elections, 14, no proclamations, 15. County Clerk, it looks like you have no report. No. Administrator Wilson.

So on Granicus is a copy of the admin report and then an update on our strategic plan tracking. Um, again, as requested, there is an report report from the Sauk County healthcare center, the administrator's report, as well as the resident statistics. If you did not receive my email, um, Corey Nugent is no longer working for the county at the healthcare center. Um, both the HR director cook and I have been working to bring an interim person on board. They have hung their license and will be starting at the facility on the 21st of this month. So we can continue to make sure that we're helping out our team out there and taking care of the residents like we should. Budget process, we are planning to present the administrator's budget on September 22nd. We are still working to bring a balanced budget forward. This has been a very, very tough year. given that the net new construction amount did not go up as much as we had hoped it would, but we are definitely working with the departments, looking at different options, looking at our fee schedules to bring something forward to the county board. So that's all I have.

Thank you. Chair's report. Board members, I did share with you that I had been working, actually attending a number of the 765 events where I've had an opportunity to speak. When I say that this kind of came up quickly, I had a number of people because I think it's been, as many of you know, I know both candidates that are running for governor, so that'd be awesome if we could get them both in the same room. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but we worked together to put a very good, I believe, nonpartisan town hall together. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, I think as a result of some of those calls, did issue a statement that he's opposing the Becky project. Also, we do know that the Congressman wants to come and speak about those lines. as well as I'm very excited that we have Representative Tony Kurtz, Representative DeSanto, Senator Kajewski, not only that I called them because they're all from Sauk County and they agreed to participate, but I also got a call from Representative Maureen McCarvel, out of the forest is going to join us on thursday night uh... so we will have a good roundtable discussion as well uh... after after we take all of those uh... elect officials out there'll be presentation on what's next uh... i think you know and and jeff was i know you were to uh... supervisor neck reiner was an event i've seen a few you and others everybody got their comments and by september seventh so it's it's a discussion for this residents to know what what can they be doing now between now and january to to maybe make a difference uh... i an opportunity since is we talked last month my gut on that was this is a horrible idea just based on where those lines for i think i've become further entrenched in in that I want you all to know that we did have a meeting of the, I keep saying nine counties, but it's actually 10 counties. I think Vernon might have missed the last one, but so nine of the counties were on a call a couple weeks ago. We're gonna be on another call tomorrow. Their objective is to try to combine some legal resources. I will say, because we've talked about it, that each of the counties ultimately, I think, I can't say they all will, but they're all looking at doing their own intervener process. I was there sharing with Supervisor Burchill and I don't want to spill any names tonight I think we found a relatively good attorney that this County Board will be familiar with it's not Andy Phillips who successfully battled a power line in Ozaukee County so we're gonna probably talk to him and bring him for consideration and hopefully have those discussions at ENL. I just will say for those in attendance when it does go to ENL because we will probably be negotiating a potential contract with this individual, we probably will go into closed session for that and we'll see where it goes from there. But hopefully we'll have a resolution at our October board meeting where we can formally address our position on the BECCI lines as well as contract somebody for intervention. So nobody has contacted me in this group saying they oppose that track. So hopefully, if you have any objections, please don't do a group email. Just feel free to reach out to myself or Lisa and let us know, and we'll go from there. Last but not least, next week, Sunday starts Wisconsin Counties Association. It is at the Kalahari. We have our business meeting in the afternoon, followed by conferences and what have you. It's an excellent day. If you're not registered today, It would cost you a little bit more to get in, but if you can attend, feel free to jump on in. I don't think Becky's handling reservations anymore. You'd have to kind of go through the system, through the county's system if you want to be a late add to that list. But it should be a good time. And I think that is all I have off the top of my head, and I'll regret it when I get home and realize I forgot something. Oh, shoot, see, I knew it would come up. So as you all know, last month, one of the little details we didn't share in bringing back Supervisor Ciprinco is we apparently also rehired the party committee. So Supervisor Ciprinco, would you like to share your astonishing news in future venture?

Astonishing, thank you. After a long and sorrowful hiatus of not having a Sauk County Board Christmas party, I'm happy to announce that after exhaustive deliberation of our party committee, which includes the clerk and myself, we would like to have our now annual again Sauk County Board Christmas party on Thursday, December 17th, Write that down on your calendars. Thursday, December 17th at Trapper's Turn in Wisconsin Dells. There will be a prime rib buffet. Details coming. So please mark that on your calendar. We'll have the final RSVP required at our annual meeting in November. December 17th, 6 p.m.

you know i don't know what we did without you all those you know it's and my sort of machine is gone as well in it yet all right thank you supervisor all right now that concludes my report thank you item number sixteen we have no unfinished business that brings us up to item number seventeen under new business executive and legislative committee in public works and my computer died again uh... from the Executive and Legislative Committee in Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, Resolution 61-2026, to terminate a property maintenance management agreement with the City of Baraboo for the Baraboo-Sauk County Campus. We have a motion by Supervisor Lohr, second by Supervisor Kinsman. Supervisor Lohr, do you care to speak to your motion?

Just briefly, Mr. Chair. The resolution background sums this up really well, and I expect a conversation in closed session. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Kinsman, do you care to speak to your second? Are there any other supervisors who care to speak to the motion? Governor Pepper.

I didn't touch my button.

Oh, okay. I thought I was pushed. Thank you. All right, so we had a motion and a second. Is there any other folks who care to be in the queue and discuss the resolution in front of us? He's still pushing my buttons here, so I'm gonna fly blind. At this time, I will put forward Resolution 61-2026 to terminate a property maintenance management agreement with the City of Baraboo for Baraboo Sauk County Campus. Supervisors, you may vote on the resolution now. We have 28 supervisors in favor, nobody in opposition, no abstentions, two supervisors absent. Resolution 61-2026 has been adopted. On to item B from the Finance Personnel and Insurance Committee. Resolution 62-2026 to establish the 27 and 28 health insurance program for Sauk County. Do we have a motion? We have a motion by Supervisor Spencer. Second by Supervisor Ring. Supervisor Spencer, do you care to speak to the question?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Excuse me. I want to first acknowledge Anna for working on this. This was very difficult this year. We were not going to get many breaks, but she worked out some deductions and reduced costs to us, at least for this year. It was something that a lot of the health care providers Providers in the area did not even bother even coming to us to give us a bid. And so I do hope that you go ahead and pass this. It's gonna be a little bit more expensive this year, but we can only expect that out of reality the way things are going. So thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Ring, do you care to speak to your second?

Yeah, thank you. I just want to confirm that I agree exactly what Mr. Spencer said. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any other supervisors who care to speak to Resolution 62-2026? Seeing nobody in the floor at this time for your consideration, Resolution 62-2026 to establish the 27 and 28 health insurance program for Sauk County. You may vote on the resolution now. Supervisor Titone? Hers, she locked up.

Do you want to just say it out loud?

She votes yes. Probably because he's messing with my screen up here. All right, we have 28 supervisors in favor, nobody in opposition, two absent excused. Resolution 62-2026 is passed. And thank you, Anna and staff. Great job on packaging that together. On to C from the Land Resources and Extension Committee. Ordinance 7-2026 to amend the Sauk County Zoning Ordinance to enact an 18-month moratorium on receipt of applications and the granting of all zoning permits or approvals for the siting or placement of data centers. Motion by Supervisor Greenwood, second by Supervisor Kinsman. Supervisor Greenwood, you have the floor.

Thank you, Chair. I am adamantly in support of this moratorium to pause data centers so that we get an opportunity, the staff gets an opportunity to catch up to the zoning and put in some precautions in our permitting to do the best for our residents. Thank you.

Thank you. Well, my screen went blank. Who do I got? Supervisor Kinsman, do you care to speak to your second?

Yes, Mr. Chair. As Supervisor Bernadette already stated, right now, just to clarify, because I get this question a lot, is there are no data centers that we're aware of planning on building in Sauk County to our knowledge. And right now we don't actually have a mechanism in our zoning if someone did want to do a data center in the areas that we control the county. And this was put forth and to give staff time to really research and come before our committee with reasonable things as we would for any other development. in our county to make sure we're protecting our resources and we go forward and we're happy with what we have going on in the county. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Setterstrom.

Thank you. I'll be brief. To protect and enhance the natural, cultural, and historic resources of Sauk County. Those important words come from our county land resources and environment department's website. The citizens of Sauk County depend on that department to handle that difficult task. Supervisors, we're here to support them in that important work. They are currently encountering quickly evolving technologies that have the potential to threaten our air, land, water, and even our farms. The department needs the time to work with the legal department to properly craft zoning rules to ensure only future developments can only do minimal harm to our county. That's the purpose of this ordinance to give them the time to get this right. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Dietrich.

I just have some questions. I did read it over, but I was just wondering how we arrived at 18 months. If anybody could explain that to me. Anybody from the committee want to tackle that or do your staff?

We were talking about 12 to 18 months just basically to give staff. That was kind of the time that staff wanted. With our Chapter 7, this would be part of Chapter 7, but we didn't want to delay Chapter 7 coming before us with all the three years that we put into that. But this would give staff some time. We didn't want to rush it in and do something that would – you know, we'd be unhappy with in the future. So, um, just to give staff time to do the research and, and, you know, make, bring it before committee, you know, with something that's reasonable.

Thank you, supervisor Kinsman. Um, I've been involved in a governing body that, uh, that enacted a moratorium. It was Reedsburg City Council. It involved a parcel of land, which is now very nicely developed, but there were competing interests between the city and a property owner. That was something real and something you could wrap your hands around. And this is just a little bit unknown. It still has the potential nonetheless of being quite messy. Also, I'm confident that Sauk County is not the only county or the only government entity and certainly not the only, you know, we're in the state of Wisconsin, we're not the only state. that is also looking at this. And the big reason I brought up 18 months is because I've heard 18 months over and over again on television and reading it on Google News and Apple News. So it seemed like a number that was... I question whether this was a genuine number for the committee to look at or if this was something on their own. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the... THE CONCERN AND THE POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF WHAT DATA CENTERS CAN MEAN FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND ALSO FOR OUR WELL-BEING. WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE COMPETING INTERESTS THAT ARE NOT AT ALL CONCERNED WITH PUBLIC IMPORT OR CONCERN AND ALSO THE THINGS THAT INVOLVE OUR SECURITY. My only concern, my sole concern for this ordinance is the amount of time because in the event that we do find out after doing due diligence that this is something that perhaps we want but we can't have because we're waiting for a special meeting for LRE to rescind this moratorium and for the county board then to act on it as well. So that's that's it in a nutshell. I'm in favor of a moratorium Just not for 18 months something that can be extended if it needs to be extended, but I think you're Taking a risk that's possibly not necessary and maybe even dangerous I think you supervisor and I we forgot to push the button.

So I think you've got 40 minutes supervisor ring Thank you very much

I thank everybody that presented tonight. You provided some real helpful information to discern the direction to take. I think this is pretty new to everybody as to what's going on here. And as we continue to learn in all different capacities, It makes a lot of sense to put a moratorium in place. I leaned over to my partner here and I asked, when does this go into effect? Is there a specific date the moratorium would start based upon this?

I believe it would go into effect immediately. Yep. Yeah, assuming it's passed.

Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Cross?

The resolution was drafted by our expert counsel. He chose the 18 months, I assume, because it's a term of art. You can't have moratoriums last forever because then it becomes unenforceable. And so the courts have generally held 12 to 18 months as being reasonable periods of time to give the government an opportunity to review issues before it establishes regulations for zoning So 18 months is a reasonable period of time and given the complexities of data centers and their impact on zoning issues 18 months is certainly a reasonable and defensible and

Thank you. Before I call on Supervisor Greenwood, I'll call somebody who hasn't spoken in the first round yet, Supervisor Knackreher.

Yes, I just had a question. 18 months is a good, seems like an adequate amount of time, but if it needs to be extended, can the board do that?

Yes.

Okay, that's what I wanted to know.

Thank you. Anybody else care to speak in the first round before I recognize Supervisor Greenwood? All right, Bernadette, you have the floor.

Yeah, just to reiterate what Supervisor Cross just said, this came up at our meeting, and the staff thought that this number or this time frame was a time frame that they would need to do this, to do the research and to get it done. So that did come up. They considered different time frames. And they also mentioned, obviously, it can't be forever, and so that had to have a cutoff time.

Thank you. Thank you. Any other supervisors care to speak to the question? All right, before we turn it over, oh, Supervisor Toprenko.

Whose idea was this?

Not mine.

Who's the person that brought it forward?

I don't think that's relevant.

Well, I think that person needs accommodation. I think that person was forward-thinking, and I want to buy that person's ticket to the Christmas party. Everybody raise your hand. That ship has sailed now. That was a serious question, but thank you.

Thank you, Supervisor Vann. I was afraid of where you were going. All right, so I just want to say this, and certainly as I say this, please know that I'm not trying to dissuade anybody's vote here one way or the other. I'm actually speaking to our audience in the back. I've been in zoning for a very, very long time, and here's what's gonna happen, and I think it's important for you to recognize it. They need resources, and they are resources that can't be provided in the rural areas of Sauk County, or most counties. So they're gonna be located next to urban areas that can provide those services, and they're gonna be annexed out, and it's gonna be outside of our territory. So I'll be honest with you, I don't know of a city or village in Sauk County that's going to jump all over data centers, but if you, or somebody's going to jump in and offer a pot of gold to somebody, but I mean, if you have some legitimate concerns, I would really strongly encourage you to talk to those, your local leaders, your supervisors or trustees or aldermen and See if they're willing to kind of take up that mantle because ultimately even during this 18 months If Google came in and right next to this and I know this won't happen So please don't go to the media and report something but if they came up the city of Baraboo and Wanted that pot of gold that everybody's been talking about and they decided to go forward. They're gonna annex it and and and it's outside of the county's hands. So I just kind of wanted to share that. I think this is obviously clearly well-intentioned, but wanted to talk about kind of the realities. All right, on that, any other supervisors? Seeing none, for your consideration is Ordinance 72026 to amend the Sauk County Zoning Code to enact an 18-month moratorium specifically related to data centers. You may vote on the resolution now. We have 27 in favor with one in opposition to absent excuse. Resolution 72026 has passed. Brings us up to Ordinance 8-2026 to repeal and react the comprehensive rewrite of the Sauk County Chapter Zone Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 7 Zoning Ordinance, and to amend Section 20.07, Parent 3, Chapter 20, Uniform Citation Ordinance. We have a motion by Supervisor Kinsman, second by Supervisor Pepper. Supervisor Kinsman, do you care to speak to your motion?

I would just wish to say that if you really want to get to sleep at night, just pull that out and start reading through that ordinance. It was a thrilling read. It was a thrilling read. This has been a work in progress for a long time. As with zoning, it's exciting stuff, and no matter what you do, you're going to make someone unhappy and someone else happy at the same time. But the staff has done a good job of putting it out and the changes. They've been doing a lot of videos out to the public. So the public comment and stuff and there has been changes based on public comment and the input from townships. I hope you support it, and if you have questions, I'm probably going to refer them to staff and our lawyer because it's complicated and very specific in certain circumstances, and I will let them handle it.

Thank you. Governor Pepper.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As Supervisor Kinsman just quoted, it was a long draw it out, well, not draw it out, but it was a long process. And as typical with things in government, if one party is happy, it's probably not a good ordinance. So we're both a little miserable, so I say please vote yes.

All right, highly discouraged but appreciated. Thank you. Dr. Pepper supervisor Schrader Thank you.

Mr. Chair and thank you to the committee for all the hard work to get this forward. I'm sure it's quite a slog The township that I do live in a northwestern stock County did bring up One main concern within this I'd like to ask a question about it the question is this if this is adopted and can a township retain or adopt more restrictive regulations concerning the accessory or auxiliary dwellings, which is part of the change that is coming within this ordinance?

I don't see why they couldn't. That's kind of common.

I guess maybe if I can ask a scenario here. For example, like a garage conversion into a primary dwelling would perhaps be allowed under this new ordinance. would a township be able to deny something like that on their own and supersede the county?

An incorporated township that wouldn't be subject to our ordinances per se if they enacted their own? Yeah. Correct, yes. They would have the ability to enact an ordinance to that effect.

Thank you. Supervisor Greenwood?

I also just wanted to thank the staff as, as the other two chairs alluded to, it was a very long process, I think a four year process and they worked really hard on it. And I just want to say thank you to the staff. They did an amazing job. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other supervisors care to speak to ordinance eight 2026? Seeing nobody in the queue for your consideration, Ordinance 8-2026, to repeal and reenact a comprehensive rewrite of the Sauk County Zoning Ordinance, as well as the Chapter 20 Uniform Citation Ordinance. You may vote on the resolution now. We have 28 in favor, nobody in opposition. Two supervisors absent and excused. Resolution 8-2026 has been adopted. On to Resolution 63-2026, to authorize participation in the County Conservation Aids Grant Program. Do we have a motion? We have a motion by Supervisor Kinsman, second by Supervisor Pepper. Supervisor Kinsman, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is something we do annually, and it helps with education and things of that nature, so please support it. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Pepper?

I'll keep it brief. No, thank you.

Good work. Any other supervisors care to speak to Resolution 63-2026? Seeing nobody in the queue, I will put before you Resolution 63-2026, to authorize participation in the County Conservation Aids Grant Program. You may vote now. We have 28 supervisors in favor, nobody in opposition. Two absent, excused. Resolution 63-2026 has been passed. On to resolution 64, 2026, to adopt amendments to the land resources and environment department fee schedule. We have motion by Supervisor Kinsman, second by Supervisor Greenwood. Supervisor Kinsman, you have the floor.

This is basically that we approved chapter seven, so now we have to approve this, which is we have some extra new things coming in. So we have some new fees and permits, things like that associated. So that's what we're doing here. Thank you. Supervisor Greenwood?

No comment, thank you.

Thank you. All right, any other supervisors care to speak to Resolution 64-2026? Seeing none, for your consideration, Resolution 64-2026 to adopt amendments to land resources and environment department fee schedule, you may vote on the resolution now. Chris, aren't you thrilled that they fixed the system for you? All right, we have 28 in favor with nobody in opposition. Two absent, excused. Resolution 64, 2026 has been passed. On to Resolution 65, 2026, authorizing submission of the Lake Monitoring and Protection Network grant application. Do we have a motion? Motion by Supervisor Kinsman. Second by Supervisor Pepper. Supervisor Kinsman.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This one, if you've ever been out on, say, Lake Wisconsin or something on the boat landing, the clean waters, people sometimes provide education on invasive species, things of that nature. So we work with the Upper Sugar River people, and they kind of coordinate for us. So that's what this is all about. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor Pepper?

Thank you.

All right, anybody else care to speak to Resolution 65-2026? Seeing nobody in the queue, Resolution 65-2026 is on the floor for your consideration. Authorizing submission of the Lake Monitoring Protection Network grant application. You may vote now. 28 supervisors in favor, nobody in opposition, two absent, excused. Resolution 65-2026 is passed. On to item number, item number, item letter D. Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee Resolution 66-2026 to approve a request to apply for Cooperative County and Ho-Chunk Nation Law Enforcement Program for Tribal Trust Lands within Sauk County. We have a motion by Supervisor Alexander, second by Supervisor Dorner. Supervisor Alexander, do you care to speak to your motion?

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a contract between us and the Ochoa Nation. They're quite helpful, and a lot of our clients end up there at the casino. But this is a reason we help them, and they help us, and it's a contract between us.

Thank you. Supervisor Dorner?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, and just to add to Supervisor Alexander's comments, it's an annual effort that we do. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other supervisors care to speak to Resolution 66-2026? Seeing nobody in the queue on the floor for consideration, Resolution 66-2026 to approve a request to apply for Cooperative County and Ho-Chunk Nation Tribal Trust Lands within Sauk County. You may vote on the resolution now. Bless you. We have 28 in favor with nobody in opposition. Two absent, excused. Resolution 66-2026 has been adopted. On to Resolution 67-2026 to restructure the fee schedule for civil process fees in the Sauk County Sheriff's Office effective January 1, 2027. We have a motion by Supervisor Spencer, second by Supervisor Pepper. Supervisor Spencer, do you care to speak to your motion?

Yes, Mr. Chairman, I believe it is to bring it up into accordance to what today's market is for civil process. We've been doing it fairly cheap compared to the other counties. We'll be comparable with them.

Thank you. Supervisor Pepper, do you care to speak?

No, thank you.

Are there any other supervisors who care to speak to Resolution 67-2026? Yes. Seeing nobody in the queue for your consideration, resolution 67-2026, to restructure the fee schedule for civil process fees in the county of Sauk. You may vote on the resolution now. We have 28 in favor, nobody in opposition, two absent, and excused. Resolution 67-2026 is passed. On to Eve from the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. Resolution 68-2026, approving the county aid for bridge construction under Wisconsin Statute 82.08. We have a motion by Supervisor Pepper. Second by Supervisor Dorner. Supervisor Pepper, do you care to speak to your motion?

Yeah, this is cost-sharing between our townships, municipalities, and the like for culvert replacement of a certain size or larger. I think the minimum is 36 inches, and this helps out our local communities, and it doesn't put the full burden on our rural areas either, so thank you very much.

Thank you. Supervisor Dorner, do you care to speak to your second?

No, thank you.

Okay, are there any other supervisors who care to speak to Resolution 68-2026? Seeing none, for your consideration, Resolution 68-2026, approving the county aid for bridge construction under Wisconsin statutes, you may vote on the resolution now. We have 28 in favor with nobody in opposition. Two supervisors absent and excused. Resolution 68-2026 has passed. Okay, it brings us up to item number 18. And before we move forward, if the board does vote to go into closed session, obviously Corp Council and key staff would be allowed to stay. We would... need to take some time probably good time to take a recess while we power down the equipment uh... and we would reconvene probably in about ten minutes after that so on that note uh... it is anticipated that the committee for the The county board may enter into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statute 19.85 , for the purposes of deliberating or negotiating the purchase of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business whenever competitive, or bargaining reasons require a closed session. The topic, discussion of possible action regarding ownership and redevelopment of the former UW-Platteville bare-boot Sauk County campus property. We have a motion by Supervisor Fordham, second by Supervisor Greenwood. On that note, we will take a roll call. Turn it over to the clerk.

Shaprinko? Aye. Terry Spencer?

Aye.

Pelton?

Aye.

Schrader?

Aye.

Kinsman?

Aye.

Klitschke? Aye. District 7 is vacant. Dietrich?

Aye.

Walden? Aye. Krieger?

Aye.

Lueb?

Aye.

Clements?

Aye.

Crossroads, Hanson? Aye. Cross? Aye. Dorter? Aye. Fordham? Aye. Pulsarnich?

Bingo! Better Street?

Aye. It took me a minute. You're welcome. McElroy?

Aye.

Greenwood? Aye. Mack Ryder? Aye. Ring? Aye. Virgil? Aye. Tepper?

Aye.

Moore? Aye. Alexander? Aye. Totone? Aye. Edwards absent. Chrysler? Aye. Arnston? Aye.

All right, we have unanimous consent to go into closed session. Again, those welcome to stay are key staff. Related to this, everybody else, thank you for coming. If you do want to wait around until we return to open session, if there is an announcement to make, we will make one. If not, we will do the same. So we are in recess for 10 minutes.