Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Altoona Common Council met on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at Altoona City Hall, 1303 Lynn Avenue, Altoona, WI. Mayor Brendan Pratt and council members Dale Stuber, Timothy Lima, Bruce Thielen, Matthew Beeron, Susie Zilmer, and Susan Roll were present, along with City Attorney Justin Andrews, City Administrator Michael Golott, Assistant City Administrator Roy Atkinson, Police Chief Kelly Bakken, Public Works Director Scott Quick, Planning Director Taylor Greenwell, and City Clerk Cindy Bauer. The council approved land-use agreements, two ordinances, multiple contracts, and a property sale, received the annual police report, and entered closed session on a sewer billing dispute with the City of Eau Claire.
The City Administrator reported on the proposed Chippewa Fire District merger. Next steps include contracting for the grant application, preparing a memorandum of understanding, and presenting it to each jurisdiction during the last week of March. If the grant is successful, approximately $2.6 million is anticipated for a new apparatus, likely a ladder truck and an ambulance. A challenge was noted regarding the existing EMS contract with the City of Eau Claire, because the January 1 notice deadline to terminate by December 31 was missed; discussions would be needed for a possible 2027 start. A congressional directed spending request for a new fire station was submitted to Representative Van Orden's office, and both Van Orden and Baldwin offices were described as supportive.
Planning Director Taylor Greenwell explained that the application is in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), where city subdivision review authority normally requires 10-acre lots for new land divisions. The proposed Certified Survey Map (CSM) would divide a 38.68-acre parcel to create a five-acre lot for estate planning, for the owners' son. The council approved the ETJ agreement with Sandra Strobush, the Town of Washington, and the City of Altoona, which requires annexation and utility connection once the city becomes contiguous to the property. Staff noted potential legal exposure from case law that may prohibit conditioning ETJ subdivision approval on annexation, and recommended a future review/removal of the ordinance exception. A public hearing at 6:05 p.m. on the CSM was opened and closed with no speakers. The council then approved the two-lot CSM as recommended by the Plan Commission on January 13, 2026.
Police Chief Kelly Bakken presented the 2025 annual report. Highlights included the addition of an investigations sergeant, department reorganization, new hires, a training partnership with UW-Eau Claire Police, regional team participation, full WILEAG accreditation, and a successful one-year CalEA review. Technology highlighted included license plate readers that recovered three stolen vehicles, public space cameras, and drones with infrared, used for searches, crash documentation, wildfire assistance, and event security. Community engagement includes National Night Out, Fishing with a Cop, Kids and Cops, school and library programs, a facility dog named Donut, a new diversion program, and a DHS mental health liaison assigned to Altoona. In 2025, there were 3,630 calls for service and 476 reportable crimes reported to the state, with reductions in drug offenses, weapon offenses, thefts from vehicles, and other thefts. The average vehicle pursuit length was 2.08 miles, traffic citations were up 11.7%, and warnings were up 33.3%. In response to council questions about license plate reader privacy, Chief Bakken said data is retained for 30 days unless used for an investigation, is available for open records requests, is only used to track license plates, is subject to supervisor review, and is not accessible by non-law-enforcement third parties. She also said a reported hack involved an old camera, not the Flock system itself.
The council approved the sale of city property (Tax Parcel 18201-2-270925-310-2061) to Grip Development LLC for $10,000, consistent with prior direction. The sale includes an easement running with the property to maintain the existing sewer line and any future facilities; restoration costs for city maintenance disturbances would be borne by the property owner.
The council approved Ordinance 2B-26, amending and renaming Title 18 'Subdivision and Land Division' and Title 19 'Zoning' to Title 18 'Reserved' and Title 19 'Zoning and Subdivisions'. Planning Director Greenwell listed revisions made after prior council feedback, including increasing the allowed garage projection from 15 to 20 feet, aligning manufactured housing definitions with state definitions, requiring manufactured homes outside Hillcrest Estates to have a 5/12 roof pitch and mixed exterior materials, adjusting material percentage requirements, raising the minimum parking lot size that triggers internal landscaping requirements, limiting public gathering space requirements to multifamily dwellings, clarifying land value calculations, and updating temporary sign requirements.
Staff explained that phase two of the River Prairie Townhomes is proposed as a 10-lot condominium product rather than the previously approved 12-lot townhome layout, after phase one sales difficulties. The project site is approximately 1.87 acres and will be maintained by a condo association. The final condominium plat adds 16 parking spaces to address off-street parking concerns. Staff and the Plan Commission recommended approval of the final plat subject to the staff report conditions; the council approved it. The Specific Implementation Plan (SIP), the site plan approval required by the River Prairie ordinance, was approved as presented with the same 16-space parking plan, landscaping, and building elevations. Staff and the Plan Commission recommended waiving the additional masonry base design requirement; the council approved the SIP as is with the stated conditions.
The council adopted Ordinance 3A-26, creating Chapter 13.44 of the Altoona Municipal Code. Public Works Director Scott Quick said the ordinance gives the city authority to require replacement of lead and galvanized water service lines within the EPA's nine-year timeline. The city has identified 64 services needing replacement; a year ago there were about 1,400 unknown service materials, now below 700. Among the remaining 688, staff estimated the number requiring replacement could grow to around 100, but the work should be completed in about four years. The city is considering reimbursements of up to $3,000 per home, with any additional cost the homeowner's responsibility; water reserves committed to the program are estimated at $150,000 to $200,000, with a negligible rate impact. Private wells are not covered because the program applies only to connections to the municipal water supply.
The council awarded PW2026-01 Annual Pavement Replacement to Monarch Paving at $98,150.78. The engineer's estimate was $102,000. The project covers 9th Street West from Spooner to Bartlett, and unit pricing allows additional small projects if budget is available. The council also awarded PW2026-02 City Wide Water Utility and Curb Replacement to Montana and Sun Grading at $48,274.50. The project was estimated at about $49,000; staff noted the value of having multiple contractors available for certified plumber work related to replacing galvanized services.
The council approved a $5,000 agreement with Innovative Public Advisors for professional services supporting the city's Innovation Fund grant submission. The city administrator noted that three of the eight applications accepted by the state so far had been prepared by that firm.
The council unanimously voted to convene in closed session at 7:10 p.m. under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(g) to confer with the city attorney about litigation strategy in the sewer billing dispute with the City of Eau Claire. The council reconvened in open session at 7:50 p.m. No action was taken, and no reportable outcome was announced beyond the closed-session discussion.
Discussion included the Frosty Tuna bike races, a birthday, and public works preparations for an expected snowstorm, with full crews scheduled for Sunday morning and potential snowfall totals around 12 to 25 inches.
I just want an IP for myself. Right, it send it to real IP. Yes. So it was like 700 bucks. Who cares? They're not that expensive. Just money. No member. No. And my daughter bought one. It's been a while since we lost the case. Yeah. That's probably a little overdue. Oh, there you go. We can do a reading. Let's go ahead and call the regular council meeting to order of Thursday, March 12, 2026. I pledge the notice. Roll call for councilpersons, roll call for department heads. Mayor Brendan Pratt. Here. Councilperson Dale Stuber. Councilperson Timothy Lima. Here. Councilperson Bruce Thielen. Yes. Councilperson Matthew Beeron. Here. Councilperson Susie Zilmer. Councilperson Susan Roll. Here. We have President Attorney Justin Andrews. City Administrator Michael Golott. Assistant City Administrator Roy Atkinson. Police Chief Kelly Bachin, Director of Public Works, Scott Quick, Planning Director, Taylor Greenwell, and Cindy Bauer, City Clerk. We have a quorum. All right. Citizen participation period, no more than 20 minutes unless extended by two-thirds vote per section 2.04.051B, time limited to three minutes per person. Seeing there are none of Lemma moves to close citizens' participation period. Burnal second?