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Record of Proceedings

Altoona City Council Regular Meeting – August 28, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, August 28, 2025
BodyAltoona, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, August 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:13:03

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:00

Yeah, that'll be a quite a little bit.

Unassigned speaker

0:01

I haven't eaten my own.

Speaker 1

0:02

We've got another meeting to yellow vote.

0:06

He's their Paul Ballas' defense.

0:09

Is that one guy?

Unassigned speaker

0:10

Thank you.

Unassigned speaker

0:11

Yeah.

Unassigned speaker

0:15

Put it back here.

Unassigned speaker

0:20

So is that a done deal or is that the same thing?

Speaker 2

0:23

Yeah, that's what it looks like.

0:24

Yeah, that's a matter of phone posted.

Unassigned speaker

0:27

All

Speaker 2

0:27

right, anyway.

0:28

Under official business.

Speaker 1

0:29

I'm surprised uh paying that kind of money, but he's pretty pretty valuable.

0:35

I'll totally change their

Speaker 3

0:37

defense.

0:37

Scott, you weren't here last week.

Unassigned speaker

0:40

Yes, me.

Speaker 3

0:41

Well, I had a lot of questions for you.

Speaker 4

0:43

Okay.

Speaker 3

0:47

Oh no, they answered them for me.

Speaker 4

0:48

Oh, good.

Speaker 3

0:49

I wanted to know how many wheels you actually load that you need a 250,000 dollar wheel loader.

0:55

They said all of them.

Unassigned speaker

0:57

All the

Speaker 5

0:58

275.

Speaker 3

1:00

Oh, I'm sorry.

1:02

It's only two street sweepers.

Speaker 4

1:04

Yeah, remember some of the starting arts were.

Speaker 3

1:07

Whatever.

1:08

Yeah.

1:08

Let's take some out of the parks and rack too.

1:10

Because you might need to move that backstop with that fact.

Speaker 4

1:13

At least that's one item in the bottom that you

Speaker 1

1:16

can catch on to and really

Speaker 4

1:19

last year on the sweeper.

Speaker 5

1:21

That's an old old strategy.

Speaker 3

1:25

Yeah, yeah.

1:26

Look at the pretty bird over here.

1:28

That's what you do, don't you?

1:29

And then you just

Speaker 5

1:32

have for 40 years.

Speaker 6

1:34

I've got us already any time.

1:36

It's on camp.

Speaker 1

1:37

We have to wait for Mike to come back.

1:39

Mike disappeared.

Speaker 7

1:44

I think he sent it this way out.

1:46

We could start with that.

Speaker 1

1:47

Okay, let's go ahead and call the regular council meeting of Thursday, August 28th, 2025 to order.

1:52

We have a pledge of allegiance.

Unassigned speaker

1:57

I

Speaker 3

1:57

pledge allegiance to the United States from

Speaker 8

2:03

what we say.

Unassigned speaker

2:12

Okay,

Speaker 1

2:12

we'll call for councilpersons roll call for department heads.

Speaker 6

2:17

Mayor Brendan Pratt.

Speaker 1

2:18

Here.

Speaker 6

2:19

Councilperson Dale Stuber.

2:21

Here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Affordable Housing████████████12%
Water And Wastewater Management████████████12%
Energy Infrastructure████████████12%
Fire Services███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Zoning Ordinances███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Altoona City Council Regular Meeting – August 28, 2025

The Altoona City Council met on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting covered updates on the zoning code, affordable housing programs, police department initiatives, and new business including a solar investment project, fire inspection ordinance changes, a transportation grant resolution, and a wastewater system repair contract. Several items were approved unanimously.

Reports

  • City Administrator Mike Golot reported that the zoning code update is 90% complete, with a final draft expected by the end of October or November. He also discussed building a stakeholder list for future planning projects and announced a downtown design charrette on September 12–13, 2025, led by UW Extension.
  • Grant and Housing Program Manager Julian Emerson provided an update on the Affordable Housing Fund. Planned programs include a home repair revolving loan fund (critical repairs, energy efficiency, yard cleanup, and possibly home remodeling), with a partnership with Habitat for Humanity expected to reduce administrative costs. He also noted that the 80-acre development on the eastern edge is proceeding without drawing from the affordable housing fund.
  • Police Chief Kelly Bachin presented year-to-date statistics: calls for service at 2,431 (down from 2,514 last year), traffic citations at 810 (up from 720), and crashes at 151 (up from 127). She highlighted the success of the CSO program, which helped fill a recent full-time vacancy. Officer Noah Baumgarten then presented his probationary project to remove inoperable vehicles through partnerships with Vehicles for Veterans and Wheels for Wishes, at no cost to owners. The council encouraged promoting this program.

Discussion Items

  • Lake Altoona Delta Dredge Project Update – Michele Skinner, Lake District Chair, presented plans for a major dredge project, coordinated with Eau Claire County dam repairs. A drawdown of about 8 feet is planned starting mid-September 2026, ending by late September 2026, with the lake kept low until March 1, 2027. This will affect ice fishing and late-season boating. No city funding is requested; the Lake District will cover costs. The council was informed for awareness.
  • Solar Infrastructure Investment Project – Following an RFP issued after the previous meeting, staff recommended awarding the contract to Olson Solar for $268,000 (compared to a prior quote of $616,000). The system includes 30-year panel warranty, 25-year inverter warranty, and an estimated 10–12 year payback. The council approved the contract and authorized a budget amendment from general fund reserves.
  • Ordinance 8C-25 – Fire Prevention Code Amendment – Fire Chief Mark Renderman requested reducing fire inspections from twice per year to once per year for most occupancies, as recommended by a fire study. The change is expected to reduce inspections by about 500 annually. The council approved the ordinance.
  • Resolution 8A-25 – WisDOT TAP Grant Support – The council approved a resolution supporting a grant application for the Spooner Pedestrian Bridge replacement. The grant would cover 80% of costs; the city would be responsible for 20% (estimated $160,000). Partnerships include Eau Claire County and the school district.
  • Kewin St POWTS Repair and Upgrade Contract – The council awarded the contract to Stolt Excavating and Trucking for $69,000 to replace the failing drip-line drain field with a conventional system and add SCADA monitoring. The system serves 13 homes and is expected to last decades.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes of the August 14, 2025 council meeting.
  • Approved a motion to award the solar contract to Olson Solar (unanimous). A budget amendment for financing will be presented later.
  • Approved Ordinance 8C-25 reducing fire inspection frequency (unanimous).
  • Approved Resolution 8A-25 supporting the TAP grant application (unanimous).
  • Approved awarding the POWTS repair contract to Stolt Excavating for $69,000 (unanimous).
  • Council was briefed on the Lake Altoona dredge plan; no action required.
  • City Administrator noted the next public workshop will be on Thursday, September 4, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at City Hall.

Meeting Transcript

Yeah, that'll be a quite a little bit. I haven't eaten my own. We've got another meeting to yellow vote. He's their Paul Ballas' defense. Is that one guy? Thank you. Yeah. Put it back here. So is that a done deal or is that the same thing? Yeah, that's what it looks like. Yeah, that's a matter of phone posted. All right, anyway. Under official business. I'm surprised uh paying that kind of money, but he's pretty pretty valuable. I'll totally change their defense. Scott, you weren't here last week. Yes, me. Well, I had a lot of questions for you. Okay. Oh no, they answered them for me. Oh, good. I wanted to know how many wheels you actually load that you need a 250,000 dollar wheel loader. They said all of them. All the 275. Oh, I'm sorry. It's only two street sweepers. Yeah, remember some of the starting arts were. Whatever. Yeah. Let's take some out of the parks and rack too. Because you might need to move that backstop with that fact. At least that's one item in the bottom that you can catch on to and really last year on the sweeper. That's an old old strategy. Yeah, yeah. Look at the pretty bird over here. That's what you do, don't you? And then you just have for 40 years. I've got us already any time. It's on camp. We have to wait for Mike to come back. Mike disappeared. I think he sent it this way out. We could start with that. Okay, let's go ahead and call the regular council meeting of Thursday, August 28th, 2025 to order.

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