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Record of Proceedings

Altoona City Council Meeting - January 23, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, January 23, 2025
BodyAltoona, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, January 23, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 30:03

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Yes, we

Speaker 2

0:01

are.

Speaker 3

0:01

All right, let's go ahead and call the regular council meeting of Thursday, January 20th order.

0:07

Pledge allegiance.

Speaker 4

0:18

One nation.

0:21

Well, in Justice Rao.

Speaker 3

0:27

All right.

0:28

Roll call for council persons.

0:30

Roll call for department heads.

Unassigned speaker

0:32

Can

Speaker 5

0:32

you turn on the light back there?

Speaker 1

0:35

Mayor Brendan Pratt.

0:36

Councilperson Dale Stuber.

0:38

Councilperson Timothy Lima.

Speaker 6

0:40

Here.

Speaker 1

0:41

Councilperson Matthew Beerin.

Speaker 6

0:42

Here.

Speaker 1

0:43

Councilperson Caitlin Leopold.

0:45

We have via Zoom Councilperson Susan Rowe.

0:49

We also have uh department heads attorney John.

0:52

I'm sorry, attorney Sam Bach Hansen, City Administrator Michael Golott, Director of Public Works, Scott Quick, City Engineer, Assistant Director of Public Works, Christian Hubert, Planning Director Taylor Greenwell, Parks and Rec Director Chad Durkup, and Cindy Bowers, City Clerk.

1:09

We have a quorum.

Speaker 3

1:10

All right.

1:10

Citizen participation period, no more than 20 minutes unless it's extended by two thirds.

1:16

Per section 2.04.051.

1:20

Time limited to three minutes per person.

1:22

Anybody like to speak on anything this point?

Speaker 2

1:28

Seeing there are none, Lima moves to close citizens' participation period.

Speaker 4

1:32

Leopold a second.

Speaker 3

1:34

We have a motion on the second.

1:35

All in favor say aye.

1:37

Aye.

1:38

Proposed.

1:39

Motion carries.

1:40

Discuss, consider approval of the minutes of the December 19th, 2024 regular council meeting.

Unassigned speaker

1:53

Okay.

Speaker 3

1:53

We have a motion and a second.

1:55

All in favor, say aye.

1:56

Aye.

1:57

Aye.

1:57

Opposed.

1:59

Motion carries.

Speaker 4

2:00

Relative state.

Speaker 3

2:02

Yep.

2:02

Okay.

2:03

All right, reports, city officers, department heads, city committees.

Unassigned speaker

2:07

Um,

Speaker 5

2:08

I have a few things.

2:09

Um first I'm happy to report that you may recall a couple years ago we authorized an application for a safe room grant for Hillcrest.

2:19

And we received that this week.

2:21

1.4 million.

2:22

Um, so we're working through the contract documents with the state, and um, we've already had our kickoff meeting, so that's that's good news.

Unassigned speaker

2:32

Um

Speaker 5

2:33

we're hiring two positions, uh grant writer and utility billing.

2:38

Uh we're gonna do an internal person, Julie that we hired at for public works is going to move over to the utility billing position, and we'll fill that behind her.

2:48

And uh we got two quote just two applications for grant writer position, but I think uh either of those look pretty good.

2:57

So we'll we'll draw in two interview those next week.

3:03

Uh we continue to work on our sewer rate appeal with the city of Eau Claire and hope to have a meeting set up within a few weeks on that.

3:15

Umnection ordinance.

3:19

You recall when the Bowers came in, we're gonna make some changes there.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Public Safety██████████████████████22%
Transportation Safety█████████████████████21%
Technology and Innovation██████████████████18%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Public Works█████5%
Youth Programs████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Altoona City Council Meeting - January 23, 2025

The Altoona City Council met on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting covered routine approvals, department reports, and several new business items, including a proclamation, a youth sports agreement, funding for traffic cameras, and a closed session on property acquisition. All actions were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Proclamation Recognizing National Human Trafficking Awareness Month 2025: The council unanimously approved the proclamation, which was read by the mayor. The proclamation highlights the ongoing work of Fierce Freedom and calls on the community to combat human trafficking. The consent agenda was approved with a motion and second.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the Citizens Participation Period.

Discussion Items

  • Reports: Mayor Brendan Pratt reported receiving a $1.4 million safe room grant for Hillcrest, ongoing hiring for grant writer and utility billing positions, progress on the sewer rate appeal with Eau Claire, and updates on the connection ordinance. Planning Director Taylor Greenwell reported that the city was not awarded a pro-housing grant (over 200 applicants, 14 awards, none to small communities), but the city earned a SolSmart bronze designation for solar energy, and an energy audit resulted in an A- rating. Assistant Director of Public Works Christian Hubert updated on the Spooner Pedestrian Bridge: a December 2024 inspection revealed deterioration in gusset plates, leading to a weight limit reduction to 5 tons. Planning for a potential replacement (estimated $750,000) is underway, with coordination with the county.
  • 2025 Altoona Youth Softball and Baseball Agreement: The city administrator presented the annual agreement, noting a proposed $250 increase to ensure fee recovery above 75% of costs. The president of AYSB agreed. The council approved the agreement unanimously.
  • Traffic Cameras at River Prairie Drive Intersections: Christian Hubert explained the need to replace outdated video detection systems at two intersections (Bluestem Boulevard and Blazing Star Boulevard). Three quotes were obtained; the lowest was from TAPCO at $42,716 for eight cameras and two logic controllers (including five years of monitoring and AI capabilities). The system would also allow remote monitoring and incident alerts. The council approved allocating $60,000 from 2024 capital funds to cover equipment and installation, awarding the contract to TAPCO.
  • Closed Session: The council voted unanimously to enter closed session at 6:28 PM under Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(e) to discuss the acquisition of property. After reconvening in open session at 6:48 PM, the mayor reported that no action was taken and discussions with the property owner will continue.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved (Proclamation).
  • 2025 Youth Softball and Baseball Agreement: Approved with a $250 increase.
  • Traffic Camera Improvements: Approved allocation of $60,000 from 2024 capital funds and awarded contract to TAPCO for $42,716.
  • Closed Session: No action taken; continued discussions.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:49 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Yes, we are. All right, let's go ahead and call the regular council meeting of Thursday, January 20th order. Pledge allegiance. One nation. Well, in Justice Rao. All right. Roll call for council persons. Roll call for department heads. Can you turn on the light back there? Mayor Brendan Pratt. Councilperson Dale Stuber. Councilperson Timothy Lima. Here. Councilperson Matthew Beerin. Here. Councilperson Caitlin Leopold. We have via Zoom Councilperson Susan Rowe. We also have uh department heads attorney John. I'm sorry, attorney Sam Bach Hansen, City Administrator Michael Golott, Director of Public Works, Scott Quick, City Engineer, Assistant Director of Public Works, Christian Hubert, Planning Director Taylor Greenwell, Parks and Rec Director Chad Durkup, and Cindy Bowers, City Clerk. We have a quorum. All right. Citizen participation period, no more than 20 minutes unless it's extended by two thirds. Per section 2.04.051. Time limited to three minutes per person. Anybody like to speak on anything this point? Seeing there are none, Lima moves to close citizens' participation period. Leopold a second. We have a motion on the second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Proposed. Motion carries. Discuss, consider approval of the minutes of the December 19th, 2024 regular council meeting. Okay. We have a motion and a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed. Motion carries. Relative state. Yep. Okay. All right, reports, city officers, department heads, city committees. Um, I have a few things. Um first I'm happy to report that you may recall a couple years ago we authorized an application for a safe room grant for Hillcrest. And we received that this week.

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