City Council - Regular Meeting

I have my old school, this is how we used to do it Okay.

I'm good with paper and voice. You tell me when everyone's in. Okay.

Yeah, probably. If we're ready.

This should be offset. Let's do this. We got one speaker.

It's okay. All right, now we're set.

Ready to back to head? All right, we're ready. Good evening, everybody. You are at a Common Council meeting. It is Tuesday, May 26th. At 2026, it is now 6.50, Wausau City Hall Council Chambers. We'll call the meeting to order. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. Clerk, call the roll, please.

We have nine members present, two members excused.

All right.

First up, we have a couple of proclamations.

halfway through the month here, but we have bike month that we traditionally observe and we do several events. So May has been recognized as national bike month. since nineteen fifty six promoted by the league of american bicyclists and celebrated in communities across the nation and whereas the city of wasa has prioritized bicycling for decades including creation of the bicycle and pedestrian committee in twenty ten a commitment to the development of bicycle infrastructure improvements and ongoing bicycle promotion efforts and whereas throughout the month of may see wasa will celebrate biking and freedom the joy and the well-being it imbues within us, as well as the power that more people riding bikes has in making life better for everyone. And whereas May 11th through 17th is Bike to Work Week, May 15th is Bike to Work Day, and we had about eight of us from staff get out there in the rain the other day on the 15th and Ride to Work Day. And whereas Wausau seeks to promote use of the bicycle as both a means of transportation and recreation year-round to attract more visitors to enjoy our local parks and trail systems. And whereas Wausau seeks to promote greater public awareness of bicycle operation and safety education during bike month and year-round in an effort to reduce collisions, injuries, and fatalities and improve health and safety for everyone on the road. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Doug Dinney, Mayor of the City of Wausau, do hereby proclaim May 2026 as Bike Month in the City of Wausau and commend this observance to all citizens. File that with the clerk. And we have some gentlemen waiting patiently for this next one. This is one of my favorites. The governor, about seven years ago, proclaimed May 14th as Hmong Lao Veterans Day in Wisconsin. And in that observance, we flew the flags at half staff. There's also a ceremony out at the high grounds in Nealsville and another ceremony in Kadat, Wisconsin. And it's been our tradition that I attended that. We read the proclamations there, and then we like to bring them in to honor them here locally on behalf of the city. If you remember, May 14th, some of us older folks here, 51 years ago was the last helicopter, if you remember that image of the helicopter UH-1 on top of the embassy in Saigon, making the last flight out of Vietnam, ending the war, and just started the journey for these gentlemen and their families. So the proclamation reads, whereas the Hmong Lao community's constitute approximately 12% of Wausau's population, making the city home to the highest per capita Hmong population in the United States. And whereas under the leadership of General Vang Pao, more than 19,000 Hmong men were recruited into the CIA-sponsored special guerrilla units, playing critical roles such as providing intelligence on enemy operations, guarding U.S. strategic installations, and rescuing downed American pilots in northern Laos. And whereas by 1969, approximately 40,000 Hmong were serving under General Vang Pao with an estimated 17,000 Hmong soldiers and 50,000 Hmong civilians killed or wounded as a result of the secret war. And whereas following the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty and the fall of South Vietnamese government, the North Vietnamese Army Pathet Lao launched aggressive campaigns against Hmong families and soldiers allied with the CIA, leading many to flee on foot to refugee camps in Thailand. And whereas many of these refugees resettled in the United States, including Wausau, where they have significantly contributed to the city's economic success and enriched its social fabric. and whereas the bravery and sacrifices of the Hmong and Lao veterans who served alongside U.S. forces before becoming American citizens exemplify the highest ideals of patriotism and service. Now, therefore, I, Mayor Doug Denny, do hereby declare May 14th, 2026 as Hmong Lao Veterans Day in honor of the courageous Hmong and Lao men and women who gave their lives in support of the war efforts of the United States government. Let us remember and honor their legacy, ensuring that their contributions are never forgotten. Signed on this day, Doug Denny, Mayor City of Wausau.

Am I following this?

Yes. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Dennis Danz for providing this proclamation for our Hmong Lao Veterans of the American Corporation. And we appreciate for the mayor. And also, thank you very much for the city council member in Warsaw. Yeah, so you recognize all the Hmong, Lao people, like us, we come to this country. The settlement is 51 years ago. And I settlement in Warsaw is 30 years in Warsaw, never moved anyway. Yeah, so all my children grew up in Warsaw. Yeah, so I really appreciate for liking this community better. And then other part, thank you very much for your work. We will help for our community to safety and educate more or whatever, understand each other. So we really appreciate for our city government. Yeah, and finally, I want to thank you for the United States government and like the state, city, county, and consider to bring our people come to this country. So settlement, if we have opportunity to have a high education, yeah, and really nice place and land to live here. become a good American citizen for the community in the future. Thank you very much, and God bless the city of Warsaw, Wisconsin, and all Americans. Thank you.

All right. Here you go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

First chance to wear my medal from General Vang Pao's son that we got last year at the 50th anniversary. Thanks, gentlemen. All right. Next up is item three, consideration of the minutes of the preceding meeting. May 12th, regular Common Council meeting. Would entertain a motion. From Killian, second from Watson. Any discussion, any issues? Seeing none.

You may vote. Motion passes nine to zero.

Okay, we do have one pre-registered citizen. We'll read the comment sheet first. Oh, by the way, I'm sorry. Rachel Brown, everyone, our new city clerk.

Thank you. The city of Wausau recognizes the value of public comment on local issues and the importance of allowing members of the public to express themselves on city matters. Please identify yourself by name and state your address. Each statement may be a participant, should be limited to three minutes. Direct all comments to the chair, not to the members, staff, or other participants. Please, people addressing the council shall not disrupt the orderly course of business. The chair values civil discourse and may interrupt, terminate, or prohibit public comment that do not adhere to these rules.

Thank you. Keith Montgomery.

I'm Keith Montgomery, I live at 1017 McIndoe Street. I'm going to make a few comments on the ordinance 10.4, bicycles, e-bikes and similar devices regulated. I like that title. Three points. First of all, I believe this is in the consent agenda. So I would like it to be taken out of the consent agenda and debated. So that's three points. The speed limit is given as 15 miles an hour. I've experienced that speed limit. My wife and I were walking down the river walk and three bicycles came past us without any warning. And I was absolutely shocked at how fast 15 miles an hour was. I know they were going 15 miles an hour because I said, could you slow down? And they said, we're going 15 miles an hour. So by their own admission, they were going 15 miles an hour, which is the limit. And I appreciate that that's lower than what they could be doing. They could be doing 20 or 28. But 15 is still too fast. And I'd like it to be reduced to 10 or 8 miles an hour. And there was a comment made at the committee meeting that policing could be a problem with that, and I understand that. I don't think the police are going to be out there with radar guns, but it still sends a message of safety to riders when you lower the speed limit to 10 miles an hour. I also would like to see that riders have a bell or a horn, or as they might say, some kind of sonic device that could warn pedestrians. Because it gives them a reminder that they have to give a warning to people. I can tell you that the number of people who give a warning is a rounding error. I mean, I walked that walk so many times, and almost 100% of riders do not give a warning at all. I mean, there you are walking along to a breast in the right lane and you see the left lane is empty and they just go straight past there. Maybe you're walking a dog or two dogs in our case. Maybe you're walking a child or just walking along. I mean, there's a certain element of unpredictability in the way that pedestrians walk. So I'd like to see that there'd be some kind of device on the bike that for sure at least is there for a bicycle rider to use. The other thing at the committee meeting, administration said one thing to recommend this ordinance is that it creates uniformity across the metro district. I kind of get that, except sometimes uniformity leads to the lowest that's possible, the lowest that everybody can agree on. And I really think that with this ordinance, Warsaw can do better. I think that we should set a higher standard in the protection of pedestrians. After all, they were there before the bikes came. This is a new technology. It's a little bit like wake boats on lakes, right? It's a new technology and should be regulated very carefully.

Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Montgomery. Any other preregistered? Anyone else to speak? All right, committee reports. Item six, we have the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Committee. And that is entered into the record. Oh, go ahead. Oh, sorry. You're representing the seat committee. Come on up and give us your report.

Yes, so I was actually talking to Kerry I feel very lucky that I'm not here for any budgetary discussion So I just get to talk to you about our role as an advisory committee and Kerry wrote something very Eloquent here, and I just wanted to read that the sustainability energy and Environment Committee Acts as an advisory body to the Common Council in the development of policies programs and decisions that affect the city's relationship with the environment regular updates from the SEC provide the council with clear and timely information on the committee's ongoing projects, initiatives, and areas of focus. These reports highlight progress and opportunities related to the city's sustainability and environmental goals. By sharing this information, SEC helps ensure the priorities remain aligned and that decision making supports the broader objective established by the city. So with that, I've been honored to be the person that presents kind of our progress and our initiatives to you all. And I thought it would be pertinent here to kind of reiterate the purpose in the ordinance for the committee, and that is the relationship between the built environment and the natural environment has a major effect on the quality of life. The Sustainability, Energy, and Environmental Committee is hereby created to act as an advisory board to the Common Council in the development of policies, programs, and decisions that affect the relationship between the city and the environment. And as I said in the past when I was speaking on behalf of the committee, we would invite all of you to send questions our way, to send ideas our way that you think would be beneficial to the council and to the city of Wausau as it pertains to things that pertain to the environment, sustainability, and energy, particularly when it comes to reductions in costs, which I know are a common subject at this point. Our current initiatives include a sustainability plan, which we've been working on for quite a while now. At this point, we began the process, and we're projecting a five-year climate action sustainability plan. The plan is following the Great Plains Institute framework, which includes an introduction, an assessment of existing conditions, municipal greenhouse gas emissions, and a five-year work plan with actionable strategies. And we felt like this is a golden opportunity to revisit the greenhouse gas emissions resolution that the city had put in place with the goal of 100% sustainability by 2025. And that commitment is still standing. So we haven't really talked much about that. We haven't been as a city like revisiting that concept, but we think that that resolution is really important. And as a committee, we felt like we accomplished quite a bit by bringing it to the council. Let's see. So the The sustainability plan is the primary focus of the committee as of late, and we really hope to have something more for you as things progress. We did help put together a UW backyard gardening class. It was run by Janelle Weir, and she is the horticultural educator at the UW Madison Extension. Some of her comments on the experience were the program ran over four weeks with two in-person sessions offered each week, total of eight sessions at the UW Marathon County Public Library. ACROSS THOSE SESSIONS, A TOTAL OF 102 PARTICIPATIONS WERE RECORDED, AND MANY ATTENDEES WERE RETURNING FOR MULTIPLE SESSIONS, SO SHE ESTIMATED IT WAS 30 TO 40 PARTICIPANTS. I THINK WITH THAT KIND OF OUTREACH AND WITH THAT KIND OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, THIS WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. WE HAVE PEOPLE NOW THAT ARE BETTER EQUIPPED TO MANAGE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES, BUT ALSO TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION AND SHARE IT WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS. and to offer them opportunities to grow food on their properties and to better keep their properties, mitigating some of the concerns that people may have about pesticides. And a big part of this gardening class was to focus on the integrated pest management approach, which looks at pesticide use and minimizing and reducing waste and conserving water, which are all huge portions of the sustainability model that we're hoping to make a much more accessible for the people in Wausau. The Grow Solar Central Wisconsin is an organization that is centered on educating people about how to access renewable energy through the solar. They actually just ran a session last Wednesday at 5.30 p.m. at the Marathon County Public Library with the city of Wausau hosting that event. Again, these are the kind of things that we really want to see people interacting with. We want to make sure that people have access to the education if they want to participate in getting the city to a better place when it comes to sustainability. And that kind of opportunity for individuals to engage, again, brings the education to the smaller person, but then also spreads it out wider throughout the community as they engage with their members. And then finally, the Community Outreach Tree Planting Program. So Mayor Dinney and the SEC members, some of them anyway, attended an Arbor Day tree planting event hosted by Wausau Marathon County Parks. This was on April 23rd, and it was followed by an Earth Day planting on the 25th. And these types of things may seem benign, they may seem less impactful, but I think, again, it connects people in the community with the idea of environmental sustainability. And I think it also gives those people who are participating a sense of kind of ownership over their community. They get to see how these things are done and then maybe take that home with them. And then, as we outlined in the mission statement previously, our committee is meant to offer as much guidance as we can to the council, and we're a direct advisory committee. So as questions come up or as opportunities we feel warrant your attention come up, we hope to collaborate with you, and we are opening the door to any of you who would like to reach out to us if you would like us to collect information or offer you any kind of education we can give you. Thank you.

Thank you, Jesse. Sure, sure. Question from Alder Lukens.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm just wondering, for the elders that are on council now that weren't last term, so I'm the council representative. a member on the Sustainability Committee, and it's a great committee because everyone is so vibrant, dynamic, just all sorts of ideas, very committed to this. And I'm just wondering if you could also fill them in on the meetings with the department heads, the department chairs, because I think that was really an awesome project. And Carrie, just another shout out to you for all of your work on the committee because it's just amazing. So it is a really dynamic group of people People on the committee that are just so dedicated so it's really wonderful doing many many many different things because there's a lot a Lot that goes under that whole sustainability energy in the environment

And we got to meet with, so there was basically a sort of effort to try to reach out to different department heads to see if they could tell us how can we help you and more how can we help them find a way or find ways that we can help to bring sustainability and to look out for ways of savings and or modifications we can make to the city. It was really productive meetings. Everyone was very approachable, and we actually have talked about planning those meetings quarterly or biannually or annually just so that we can keep a good finger on what other groups in the city have as ideas so that we can carry those forward.

Thank you, Jesse. Any questions for Jesse?

Thank you, guys.

Okay. Thanks, Kerry. Up next is the consent agenda, and we have one item that we are going to pull, and that is 260507. That is the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee upgrade to the ordinances. Oh, we're ready already. Okay, so I would entertain a motion to... For the consent agenda, less 26-0507. Alder Watson, second from Slonsky. No.

Voting can begin.

Okay, so then up next is the item 8 ordinances and resolutions and we'll take that item first and And that is file 26-0507. It's an ordinance from the Infrastructure and Facilities Committee and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee repealing and recreating Wausau Municipal Code Chapter 10.40, Bicycles, and repealing Chapter 10.41, Bicycles. Electric scooters, Chapter 10.42 go-karts, mini bikes, and motorized scooters, and Chapter 10.43 motorized bicycles. I would entertain a motion on that. Slonsky with the main motion Alder Killian seconds and just just a point of clarification and maybe we can have our PD spokesman speak to this the speed limit on the Riverwalk the Riverwalk is considered a park. So that was a that was adjusted at the parks committee This ordinance is really concerned primarily with the streets and and the regulation of the different types of scooters, motorcycles, et cetera, that are out there now. There's a lot of them under the sun, and that needs to be addressed as well. But as far as that parks thing, it can be, why don't we let you set the stage

Captain Pauls. I would refer to Carrie from Parks and Rec as well when it comes to the speed limit in the parks. They did a great job implementing that ordinance and working with our city attorney. So she can give an idea of where that speed limit came from. I would say our biggest concern right now as a police department is the safety of citizens. We are seeing more and more of these electric bicycles, mopeds, scooters, and we're really trying to get something in place so we can start addressing some of the concerns that we have. So regarding the speed limit, Carrie may have a better explanation of that.

Yeah, that's correct. I mean, it was Parks Committee, I think, was the ultimate determiner of the speed limit. The speed limit is in this ordinance, but mainly to reflect, you know, that that's the speed that up till now we have thought was a safe speed for the River Edge Parkway. And just for a little background, good evening, Mayor, members of the council. So we had been hearing quite a lot about e-bikes at Bike Pad Committee. It's something that of late has garnered a lot of attention. There's a lot of safety concerns. People in general are very concerned with them. And so when the MPO bike pad subcommittee was looking at creating like a model ordinance or model language, the timing was really great from our standpoint to have some continuity throughout the region. To have some suggested language. We are able to customize the ordinance and we have I mean I think we're the only community in the MPO that has a river edge Parkway So that multi-use trail speed limit is unique to us Yeah for everyone's information MPO I Yeah, Metropolitan Planning Organization. So they create overarching regional transportation planning for the region, Wausau, and the immediate suburbs, and they have a bike pad subcommittee that we staff, as well as the regular MPO. And we have, the city attorney's office did a great job. We had a lot of code sections that were kind of pieced together through the decades. As different devices became popular, you can probably tell from the heading, go-karts, mini bikes, motorized scooters, things would kind of get added on. So they helped us integrate everything, bring everything current, and basically organize the ordinance where the police department, parks, community development, We all can read through it and easily understand and implement as needed. For example, another section that's unique to Wausau is rules of the road. Our bridges, bikes are allowed to operate on the sidewalks. That would be unique to our community. So a fair amount of it's unique to the community, but the structure of it, I would say, and the overarching structure condition, I guess what's included is very similar to our municipal bordering municipalities. So that as people cross over to different cities and villages, the rules aren't different, basically.

Thank you. Any questions for Carrie? Okay. I see what I'm able to see. I'm sure. Alder Larson.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, I appreciate the work the Bite and Pet Committee and Infrastructure Committee has done on this. I do believe that if we can't talk about the parks, I do believe Mr. Montgomery has some valid points that need to be taken up. For me, I don't even know why we would even allow motorized equipment on our trail that's meant to be more as a leisurely family enjoyment type of thing. But that's, I guess, a story for another day. But one other thing that's kind of bothersome is that the Public Health and Safety Committee was left out of this decision. This is... Public health and safety and and when it comes to to legislation it's it's in the public health and safety definition to I will just read it will be the duties of to investigate and make recommendations concerning needed new and revised legislation to recommend policies for the administration of the police and fire department along with the police and fire chief so WHILE I CAN APPRECIATE THAT THE BIKE AND PED COMMITTEE IS A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE, I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THESE ITEMS ALSO ARE A PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE AND PERHAPS THAT IN THE FUTURE WHEN THESE THINGS COME UP, WE COULD HAVE A JOINT MEETING AS SUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALDER MARTIN.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU KNOW, I'M GLAD TO SEE THESE, WELL, FIRST OFF, UNFORTUNATELY, I SIT ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE AND I WASN'T ABLE TO SPEAK ON THIS BECAUSE I WAS OUT OF TOWN THAT WEEK, BUT I'M GLAD TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY NOW. AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, DOING SOMETHING WITH OUR ORDINANCES ON BICYCLES, SCOOTERS, SCHOOL CARDS, MINIBIKES, ET CETERA. creating a new ordinance that is realistic and addresses the needs of today's cycles, e-bikes, and motorized transport. Because e-bikes are here, and e-bikes are here to stay, and we need to address it. And there are issues, definitely, IN THE COMMUNITY WITH E-BIKE RIDERS AND ALSO CONFLICTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE ROADWAYS. AND I HATE TO SEE THAT HAPPENING BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A VERY VALID FORM OF TRANSPORTATION. IT GIVES PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY MAY NOT, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY CAN USE AN ALTERNATE FORM OF TRANSPORTATION WHERE A STANDARD BICYCLE MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR THEM. SO I LIKE THAT there's been this wide acceptance. I have concerns with the latest generation of e-bikes out there. They are quite powerful and they can go quite fast. I've seen e-bikes in the bike lane on Thomas Street going at the very least 28, 29 miles per hour because I could clock them and I would be breaking the speed limit if I were to overtake them while they were in their lane and I was in my lane. So we know that they that they can go fast and that's that should be a concern for us And you know we we may need to look at a greater level of education For cyclists in our community, especially the e-bike riders so that they know you know that the safe you know how to handle their cycles in a safe manner because I've ridden, I've bicycled across the state multiple times in numerous cities and rule number one when you're bicycling is that a cyclist will fare best when they know and follow the rules of the road.

so um and i don't know if captain paul's wants to add a little bit to that it looks like you've got something to add i would love to if you don't mind yeah we actually were able to talk in length at infrastructure about the education and that is a huge component of this is just the education within bicycle and juveniles especially. We talked about trying to get into the schools and maybe getting some education out there. We're already planning a new Emoto type of public service announcement video with our videographer, as well as some educational handouts. So I agree with you, education is important.

Yeah, and I think if we can have proper and repeated education, hopefully that will help stem some of these issues with the e-bikes. Now, as it goes for the multi-use paths, though, you know, 15 miles an hour on a bicycle, If you're a pedestrian, 15 miles an hour seems fast when a bicycle passes you. If you're on a bicycle, 15 miles an hour is an average cruising speed. 12 to 16 would be considered on a flat surface an average cruising speed. I don't think it's sustainable to reduce the speed to 6, 8, or 10 miles an hour on a multi-use path. Is it smart to grow those speeds on a multi-use path? Absolutely. The River Edge Trail is fraught with challenges, especially between Washington Street and BRIDGE STREET. THAT SECTION IS CONGESTED WITH PEDESTRIANS, AND I DON'T LIKE TAKING MY BIKE DOWN THAT STRETCH JUST FOR THAT REASON ALONE. IT'S JUST DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE, AND YOU'RE EITHER RINGING THE BELL OR SAYING, ON YOUR LEFT, ON YOUR LEFT, CONSTANTLY. And that would, but if we want people to cycle in a safe manner in our city streets, you know, we need to, the streets need to afford cyclists that opportunity. And if you can't get from point A to point B safely, you're going to take a shortcut, and the shortcut might be the multi-use path, and that might be where, you know, that's where we're going to run into our challenges, our conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians. Um, I, you know, I think this is, you know, uh, as, um, the Carrie Edmondson said, you know, this is a, this is a framework. I think we'll, you know, we might see some changes in the future, but I think it's, it's this, you know, the changes that we've, we've done so far, you know, that, that have been presented to us so far is, is, is well needed. And, um, it's, it's going to be a starting point to, you know, get a handle on this, on this situation, especially with, uh, e-bikes. So thanks.

I might add that the police department put some content together for the next newsletter that Michelle's going to mail out this week. Two pages of definitions. Get everybody up to speed on what is an e-bike versus what is an e-motorcycle. There's differences and different capabilities. So we'll get that out, two pages worth of rules and tips in that coming up. Alder Lukens.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciated Mr. Montgomery's comment, public comment, because I've received some calls from residents who have the same concerns. One was walking with her neighbor and their elderly, and the same kind of situation happened where they were they were very taken by surprise as these bikes flew past them. And for anyone, you could get injured by it, especially if you're elderly. A fall could lead to death. So anyway, her concern was for the Riverwalk area, but it also was for even on the southeast side on the paved paths that go along by the health care center and to Memorial Park. So I appreciate as well, also I should say, the work that the bike and ped and that you all did in infrastructure as well. And I'll just echo again what Alder Larson said. I do think this is a public health and safety issue as well. And I know it's a new term and we're all getting, you know, I think I know on one of the other committees that I'm on, I asked if we could please, like, review the descriptions, the committee descriptions. And I think, I hope we can do that in each committee because, you know, hopefully then the different committees can look at it or have some joint meetings because we did hear clearly from staff as well. you know, about trying to save some time. But anyway, so I do think this is a public health and safety issue as well. I know that you report bike and ped reports to infrastructure, so maybe we can always look at that. But Yeah, I also appreciate knowing or hearing from you, Carrie, about having things uniform from community to community. So I guess I hope we can... you know, continue to make progress on this. I do appreciate all the safety information because I know that there are a number of folks that are, um, quite, quite scared. And, and, and my grandson actually, he's in eighth grade and a friend of his has an e-bike and this was in Weston, but ran into a a pick and save the thing outside that holds the carts and like really messed up his knee bad. And I don't know how fast he was going, but I think it was probably decent enough. So anyway, thank you very much.

Thank you. Alder Slonsky.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm on both bike and ped and infrastructure. So I've seen this a couple of times and I support it fully for a few reasons. One is that we really do need to get this ordinance updated with the new definitions in line with the definitions by the state of what these terms mean. Another is that I do think that it's very important to have some uniformity as bicyclists pass from one municipality into another, that they're not in compliance and then suddenly out of compliance and then back in compliance. And then just to raise up what Alder Martins had said earlier, 15 miles an hour is very much a normal bicycling pace for a regular non-motorized bicycle, and I don't think that we want to get in the position where we're necessarily making e-bikes go slower. I recognize that they're heavier and they could probably do more damage if they hit people, but I think that we need to focus our attentions on Making sure that people understand the rules of the road and respect one another. Motorists respecting bicyclists, bicyclists respecting pedestrians, and vice versa all the way around. And with some education and some enforcement, I think we can get there.

Thank you. Thank you. Alder Watson.

Thank you. So I had, I guess, one question, because I've heard a lot about age requirements on e-bikes. And I noticed that the class two doesn't have any e-bike age limits. Is that a state thing, or is that our choice? Because that's the motorized one that goes up to 20 miles an hour, I think.

That's state.

Okay. So they let kiddos go 20 miles an hour on a motorized bike. Correct. Yeah.

Based on the classification and the speed of the bike, you don't need a driver's license or a B of H to operate.

Of any of those. Okay. So that... Unfortunately, I can't nip some of the issues that I've heard in the bud, because there's a lot of young people under 16 or even younger around on some of those, on the city streets and stuff. Okay, so when I was younger, I remember getting a license for my bike. It was like this little sticker that I would have to put on my bike, and I got a rules of the road book, and I had to do a little thingy. But when I came here to Wausau and I got my first bike, I'm like, I have to get my bike license, but we don't have it, right? Do we? Or I mean, I have mine if I'm required to.

We can. You don't have to. We do give the option to have bicycles registered, but it's not something that's mandated.

Well, I wondered if that's something maybe Park and Rec can look at or Bike and Ped can look at because I'm not saying like fees. Don't, don't. say fees, I'm not saying fees, but fees for maybe like if you didn't get it, you know, and you were caught like multiple times, but I don't know, just be a way to like, A, know what we have out there in our population, like is it a lot of class three, is it a lot of class one, you know, like maybe it would help us a little like know what we're dealing with too, plus also get at them with that rules of the road kind of stuff. So it was just an idea to think of.

I do agree it's a good idea to get it registered. We do offer that at the police department. It's also in the newsletter, the option to get that registration. It would help us if bicycles go missing or get stolen. We have record of that as well. So yeah, all around, it would be a great piece to add to our educational aspect.

So maybe that's something we can like talk about and because I was looking at the fee schedule you know like the fee that because I just applied for a fire permit and but it wasn't on there like like a bike license so I think it would be cool if we could do that I don't know as a wider approach but thank you thank you. Thank you.

Alder Trueblood.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As we discussed at the infrastructure meeting, this is more of a jumping off point than a final destination for this. There were some great ideas for the educational component. There were some great ideas presented about lane markings on the pavement. It was pointed out that when the river walk was put in place, e-bikes didn't exist. So it was designed around... the technology that was available at that time. So we do believe there needs to be a broader review of all of this and how can we, we say we want bikes but we keep building cities for cars. So there are many countries that prioritize bikes. They have established methods that work. So we will be reviewing some of those ideas and taking those items into consideration. This was that jumping off point. We wanted to get into, compliance wasn't the word. I forget the word we kept using. But it was so that we were working with the regulations of the communities around us so that we were accepting the state's recommendations so that cyclists, as they came from community to community, would have that uniformity. So I do think we can do better, and I do think there are some really great ideas on the table for that. We will be looking forward for those to come forward to be reviewed in the near future. So this again was just a starting point. I would not consider this the destination.

Thank you. Plus it gives them ordinance to enforce because for lack of an ordinance, enforcement then becomes subjective. Alder Killian.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I personally have not had a lot of concerns expressed to me about the bikes on the streets. I have had multiple concerns expressed to me about the ped trails, which we've discussed at Bike and Peds. And the two primary concerns that I heard were about enforcement, that even though there's a law or a rule, it's difficult to enforce them because the PD can't have people, from what I understand, regularly enforcing on the trails. The other thing is, as Mr. Montgomery said, when someone is passing you, there's no warning as a whole. And I think the idea of requiring a bell would be a small thing and it would be a requirement that would be enhanced safety for people. And I think it would be something that would be simple. So I don't know if that's something that could be added or modified in these ordinances. But I think those are the two maybe Ms. Pauls can address the enforcement difficulties because that has been brought up multiple times and I what I was told initially was that when something happens call the police department will by the time it happens and then get there it's done somebody's been hurt and the people who are not being cautious are gone so what are the options for better enforcement

We have talked about the difficulty. One of the things being the speed enforcement on the trails. It's not typically some place where an officer can park and use a radar unit. So that is something that we're looking at doing as far as having officers, especially when this ordinance goes into place and beginning of the summer here, really addressing the concerns right away. So actually doing dedicated patrols and enforcement on those parkways for speed as well as just the visibility once we have our community service officers out and that ability for them to be out there on bicycles just to be more aware of what's going on as well. So we are thinking about those things. With many crimes, they're over before we get there. So I, as always, would suggest when it happens to call, if somebody could take a picture or a video of something, that always helps us. We do have a lot of city cameras on the river walkway, so we do have the ability to look back and see some of those incidents when they do happen as well. So yes, it is difficult, but it is something that we're willing to work.

I'm happy that you're very aware of the problem.

We are. It's something that we have concerns every day. We're hearing more and more complaints.

Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you. So it sounds like we have two paths here. We have this and we also have Parks and Rec that monitor the parks and the trails. 15 feels a little fast to me if you're walking, so maybe that can be looked at again. Anyone else looking to speak? Yes. But I do have something. Go ahead, Alder Larsen.

I appreciate everything that's been said. I agree with Alder Martins. But my main concern is, you know, and as far as, you know, it comes to policing the trails and stuff, maybe we really need to look at we not having our e-bikes use our Riverwalk Trail. I mean, we've got bike trails. We've got bike lanes. The Bike and Ped Committee has been very, very good in getting bike trails and bike paths on our main streets and stuff. So, I mean, in the interest of public health and safety, maybe that's something we should look at in the future. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Alder Killen. Are you pushed, okay, I have Mr. Trueblood.

Just for clarity's sake, and it was mentioned, laws don't matter unless we can enforce them. We have a notification law on the books already. We have notification, for example, turn signals. Yet all the time you follow people and they don't turn on their turn signals and they just change lanes whenever they want. It's not the law that modifies behavior. It's education and enforcement, whether that's legal enforcement, parental enforcement, societal enforcement, shaming, whatever you want to call that. The law is only there to enforce or correct when the behavior is not done and the individual is caught. So other than a passive noisemaker, so you hear the bike coming, like we used to put cards in our spokes when I was a kid. there's really no way without enforcement that any ordinance whether it's a bell whether it's passing on the left whether whatever the statement may be is going to do us any good until we get a broader adoption as far as where people are cycling My understanding is we are promoting Wausau as a base camp for our trails, and one of the things we're promoting is bicycling on those trails, connecting our river walk, or the river path to other trails. So you can bike, walk, whatever it may be, these much larger structured trails. So it seems incongruous that we'd say you can't use this section, but we want you to come here, buy our goods, participate in our activities, and then join that pass someplace else. So I do think this is a valuable discussion. I do think it is something that needs to be addressed because there are places we should not, people should not be riding their e-bikes through the concert on the square. that is not an appropriate place. There are other places that we need to encourage and make appropriate. And I think that's the greater question that has to be addressed, not how do we stop them from doing this, how do we, as a council, as a community, work together so that it is still enjoyable and safe for our walkers, our pedestrians, our bike riders, our motorists, our boaters, whoever we're gonna encourage to come participate in our city activities. So this again, 15 does sound fast, especially if you're going down a hill and have Difficulty stopping it often. It's not the brakes. That's the problem. It's the judgment of the writer and As was mentioned by the speaker Walkers also have that responsible walkers can be very erratic Especially if the dog is pulling you more than you're pulling it so we all have the responsibility to take and to make recommendations. How can we live together? A community is about working and living together, not just saying this is bothering me so we can't do it. Which I don't think is being said here, but it seems like we're looking at restricting and prohibiting rather than working together and encouraging. I think what this ordinance does for as far as it goes, I think it's a really good start. Does it mean we can't improve? Everything we do can be improved. That's why we have two meetings a month. So I would encourage us to give it some time, see how the dust settles, and then come up with suggestions on how we can tweak rather than redo. Thank you.

Thank you. Alder Haneke.

There's been a lot of discussion, Mr. Chair, and I just want to confirm, we have a motion on the floor, correct?

You are correct.

Perfect. So I think in hearing everyone's thoughts, and I do see that Alder Tiernino has asked to speak after me, I think we all have agreed that this is, you know, in Alder Trueblood's comments, this is a starting point. It's not the finish line. I would just ask to call the question, considering that we are in a position where I think we've all agreed there needs to be broader discussion around this, but I don't know that now is the time or place.

So the question has been called, and we did have one left in the queue. So we have a vote on calling the question. Do we have a second to call the question? Second from Tierney. So you're throwing us for a curve here. Yep.

Voting is open. The voting has passed nine to zero.

Thank you. And I did see a couple in the queue, but they went away. Are you still there? Nope.

I was going to call the questions.

Got it. Alder Killian, you're good? Okay. Then we, with the motion to adopt the ordinance, this is file number 26-0507. Seeing no further comments.

This also has passed 9-0.

Sorry, this is also passed nine to zero.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, up next under item eight is filed 25-1109D, resolution from the Finance Committee adopting the 2026 budget modification for the Department of Public Works for City Hall sidewalk and Central Fire Station apron repair and replacement projects. Would entertain a motion from Larson, second from Martins. We do have Eric here if we have any questions. Any comments? Seeing none.

Voting is open. And passed 9-0.

Up next is file number 26-0502, confirming appointments of the mayor of the city of Wausau to the Transit Commission Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Commission. Committee, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Ethics Board, Joint Review Board, and Administrative Review Board. We're filling them up. Mr. Mayor, may I please? Alder Larson. I'm looking for a motion first. Henneke, second from Trueblood. Alder Larson.

Thank you. I would like to have the appointment for the transport the transit commissioner Taking a separate vote on that and I also would like a little discussion on on the ethics committee appointments.

Thank you Okay So we're gonna have to split split Okay, so we're gonna split those two up

Alder Larson, you want both of those split out, the Transit Commission and Ethics?

No, I just would like discussion on the Ethics Committee.

Okay, but you are pulling Transit out?

Yes. Actually, we could vote on them separate. Let's vote on them separate. Ethics Committee as well.

So then if you wish to speak on the appointments, not including those two, you could request to speak.

Okay, so right now we are considering all except for transit and ethics board.

Voting is open. Pass nine to zero.

All right, highly unusual, but we will take up discussion of the Transit Commission appointment. I would entertain a motion. Alder Killian, second from Haneke. Alder Haneke.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to make mention of the fact that the previous mayor, I don't believe, has faced such scrutiny in recommendations for appointments to be made by the mayor. I find that extremely frustrating. I did take the time prior to the meeting to go through the individuals recommended. I don't see any concerns whatsoever. I've heard no concerns from any of my constituents. And I'm just slightly confused about the concerns with this mayor, but not having concerns with our previous mayor.

Thank you. Any other discussion on transit? Seeing none. Oh, sorry, Alder Martins.

Okay, I'll just throw my two cents in here. I do know Mr. Williams. I've met him. He used to live in my district. I think he would make a fine member of the Transit Commission. He's a vocal member of our community, but I do believe he does. He uses transit on a regular basis. I think he would do well on that commission. Thank you.

Thank you. Alder Killian.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I, too, agree that Mr. Williams would be a good candidate for this. He's very involved. He cares. I've only met him personally a couple of times, but he has put a lot of thought into this and into many city things. And I see no reason that he should not be allowed to be on transit. Thank you.

Alder Trueblood.

Mr. Mayor, may I request why or clarification as to why this one was pulled out? Because Alder Larson wanted to speak to it separately.

And? I didn't confer with the city attorney, but I'll allow it.

Okay. So I am requesting of the council member who requested this be pulled out to get a reason why it was pulled out, and when the question was asked, are there any questions or comments, none were forthcoming. Hence my confusion. Okay.

I guess that's a question for Alder Larson.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. I just don't... I wish to... not make my reasons public, because every time I do, it seems I get backlash for it. So I have my reasons, and I will keep them to myself. Thank you.

And thank you. Alder Tierney.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I would like to concur with both Alder Martins and Alder Killian. Mr. Weems does use public transit on a pretty regular basis. And I think having somebody that utilizes public transit would be very valuable on this committee. So I do intend to support him. Thank you.

Thank you. And I might note, if someone does have true concerns, you can always call me. I put these forward, worked very hard with Michelle Van Cray to get people to sign up for committees. As you can see, the last three council meetings, we filled a lot of them. But there are a lot of citizen committees out there, and we need people who want to participate. Seeing no further discussion.

Voting is open. Passed, eight to one.

Thank you. And then up next is the appointment to the ethics board. Is that a separate item? Okay, we're creating that right now. I would entertain a motion for the appointment of Judge Mark Seidel to the Ethics Board. Motion from Slonsky, second from Watson. I have Alder Larson.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. My main concern, my main question is here, it's not about the candidates themselves, but it's about the candidate that consistently gets passed up. Mr. Kearns is in the chambers here. He's served well. He's as an alternate on the committee for how many terms? I don't know, but... I know that for the last two or three times an ethics appointment has come up. He's applied for it, and it has been turned down, and I just would like to know the reasoning because of this. And like I said, it's not anything with the candidates you have on here. It's the one that keeps getting passed by. Thank you.

I did make that appointment for the record, and it is a valid appointment, and it is a designated seat on the ethics board as serving as an alternate. So we're looking to put new people on, and that's what we're doing. Alder Lukens.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I would like to... amend the motion. I too, I don't know the other two candidates. It's nothing about the other two candidates. But seeing as Mr. Kerns has been an alternate and has applied to be appointed to it as a regular member. I would like to amend it that, I don't quite know how to do, but that Mr. Kerns be appointed to one of the regular terms and that then one of the others be appointed as an alternate so that Mr. Kearns could serve a regular term. He does have the experience and he has reapplied. So that was my ask. So I'm making a motion. I'm making a motion to amend to appoint.

Could I ask for a point of clarification? Just from Alder Larson, when you asked for that item to be moved, did you want both appointees to be voted on right now or just Mark Seidel?

We just passed Weems. We just passed Weems. Okay, so the motion is not valid because it's an appointment made by the mayor. So your choice is to confirm that appointment or not confirm that appointment.

Well, I won't be confirming it because I do believe that, again, it's not about either of the other two. But I do think, out of respect for Mr. Kearns, that he has been serving as an alternate and has applied, you know, again, just recently. And I know in his other application or in his... in december he also sent an email with the suggestion of he was interested then and asked in order to stagger the terms in order to help stagger the terms um to align with what what mayor dinny had wanted um so he had done that in december and um then and i don't think there were any Anyway, I don't know if there are any appointments right now, but he just reapplied recently, again asking. So out of respect for Mr. Kerns that he has been faithfully serving, I will not vote for, I will not approve this one. I will not vote in favor of it because I really would like to see him be appointed and then whoever of the other two. So thank you.

Thank you. Just for the record, they have been realigned, and we align them through appointments of shorter terms or terms that would align with the five-year cycle.

And I appreciate that. I do. And I'm not... Point of order.

Mr. Mayor, it is... What's your point of order? According to Robert's rules of order, when a speaker is finished... There's not a continuation of the conversation until re-recognized. Point well taken. Alder Haneke.

Thank you. I just want to reiterate once again that I think it's important for us to keep in mind that these appointments are done at the behest of the mayor to be approved or denied by the city council. I don't think it is this body's responsibility or authority right to surmise truly what the mayor should or shouldn't do based off of who should or shouldn't be in one position or another. I would again just say that I think we are called to say whether or not we would or wouldn't support the candidates that were put forth. I think the one thing that I keep coming back to that doesn't make sense to me is We're not concerned about the candidates put forth, which is the mayor's responsibility, but we'll vote no out of consideration for a candidate who the mayor did not put forth. Again, Mr. Mayor, I'm just a little confused here about our responsibilities and roles as council members and your role as the mayor. I don't see any concerns about with either individual and we'll be happy to approve them at your recommendation as is the ask of the council.

Thank you. Alder Lukens.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I would just like to, I guess it is the mayor, up to the mayor to appoint. It is up to the council to confirm or deny that. The mayor is not the head of the council. And I don't mean that with any disrespect. I just want to clarify that the mayor is the... you know, the head of the city, the administrator, head of the CEO, okay, head of the staff, yes. The council is separate, and this council's a legislative body, so the council has the right. And so if I didn't want to say this, but Mr. Kern served on the last, he was serving during the, the hearings with the mayor. And when he's passed up repeatedly, it does not look good. I don't know of any other reason that he would not be appointed. So the mayor has the choice, yes. But the council does have the right to confirm or deny. So I would, I would, I do take offense to the council being accused of voting just purposely like against the mayor because that is not the case. And Mr. Kearns is an upstanding citizen. I said it's nothing about the others. So I would appreciate if we're all going to work together as has been said recently. by the alder who is accusing the rest of us, then please work with us and just, you know, there doesn't need to be comments about intent. Thank you.

Thank you.

Alder Trueblood. I can speak to Mr. Seidel's qualifications. to the judge's qualifications. He has served the citizens of the county, city, and state for many years with honor. He was appointed appellate judge to the state court. He is a man who has served many positions where ethics were required to be of the highest priority, and he would definitely fulfill that role for our city as a judge. honorable man so i would definitely recommend him the other one i'm not as familiar with however it should be noticed they noted they have 34 years in civil service so they also have that experience that would speak well and although i do not know mr seidel i cannot say that there's any reason not to accept these two if that is the will of the mayor at this time.

Thank you, and I guess I forgot about Jan Brown. So she is being appointed to a alternate position that has not been filled in three plus years. Tried a number of times, didn't get it passed. So the alternate position is a valid role, SHE WILL SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY. AND AS MR. KEARNS, IT'S A FUNCTIONING, THEY ENJOY ALL THE SAME RIGHTS AS ANYONE ELSE ON THE BOARD. ALDER HENEKE.

POINT OF ORDER. POINT OF ORDER. EVERYONE NEEDS TO SPEAK AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE MULTIPLE PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING?

THAT IS CORRECT. ALDER WATSON.

THANK YOU. CALL THE QUESTION.

OKAY. Second for calling the question. Trueblood, second? Putting our clerks through some training tonight.

Voting is open. passed eight to one.

Okay, so if I saw this correctly, we had Alder Tierney in the queue and Alder Haneke. Alder Tierney.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I do agree with Alder Lukens that at the council level, we do have the right to approve or not approve who the mayor is recommending. But I don't believe that we have the right to tell the mayor who we feel should be recommended. So that's the way I understand it, and that's really all I had to say other than I will be supporting your recommendations. Thank you.

Thank you. Alderhan and Keith.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do have a question for you before that. I just want to clarify, again, I feel like I've done this in multiple instances. Observations are not the same as insinuations of motivation. I just want to make that abundantly clear. My sharing my observations of previous council meetings Business is not an insinuation of any motivation or implied direction that people received on what they should or shouldn't do in voting for things. So I don't mean for that to be taken that way. So I just want to clarify observations are slightly different. One thing that again that we've come back to is just this notion of well. It's not about the two candidates I've got nothing against the two candidates who are recommended, but so with that I would ask you mr. Mayor if I could seed the remaining time that I have to ask you a some, I guess, some backing as to why you picked these two candidates of the candidates who had asked to participate on this specific ethics committee. What was it about them that stood out to you and why are they your recommendations for this committee?

Sure. Well, I can tell you that Ms. Brown applied probably two years ago And so had been in the queue. Michelle and I went through them here recently to see what was still fresh out there. And then how often does a judge come and ask to be on the ethics board? So I think his qualifications speak for themselves. So I took that opportunity. I've spoken to him over the phone. I don't know that I've ever met him. I don't know him personally other than who he is.

Voting is open. Passed, seven to two.

All right, thank you. Up next is announcements from the mayor and Alders. I can go first tonight. I was considering canceling the second monthly meeting of the June, July, and August, as has been tradition. So without objection, we will not hold a second council meeting June, July, and August. I guess we would be able to if we needed to call one, and we'll let the circumstances dictate that, but... Seeing no objection, that's my announcement tonight.

Mr. Trubelit. If we're going to cancel the second meeting in light of the survey that's going around, couldn't the first meeting become that and then still have the second meeting? Since we almost all are always here anyway for the meetings. I'm talking about the retreat. Couldn't we just have the retreat during the time of that first meeting since we're almost always here every meeting anyway, and then just have the second meeting as the only meeting of the month?

Well, how about if I confer with Alder Killian tentatively for staff, it would be helpful for them for planning to know. So I will confer with Alder Killian, and if we come up with a date that fits, we'll use it. Thank you for that suggestion. Any other Alders? Comments? Seeing none, any public comments or suggestions from citizens? Anyone? All right, I would take.

Just one thing. Okay. If we were going to be looking at using the retreat As a council meeting, wouldn't it have to be on a Tuesday?

It would.

Thank you. The reason I'm asking is the dates that were proposed were Wednesday and Thursday. That's why I asked. Thank you. Okay.

I had one more thing. Sorry, Mayor. Alder Watson. I know we won't be together before that, so I'm just wishing everybody happy Dairy Month and happy Pride Month.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Stand by for communication from the clerk on the next meeting. I would entertain a motion to adjourn. From everybody, Tierney, Larson, all in favor? Aye. Good night. See you. Meeting's adjourned.

Thanks for challenging us tonight. We appreciate it.