Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Common Council of the City of Antigo met in regular session at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 700 Edison Street, with Mayor Thomas C. Bauknecht presiding. The meeting included recognition of a lifesaving act, a presentation of the 2025 audited financial statement, approval of the consent agenda, and authorization for an Opportunity Zone application.
Fire Chief Corey Smith presented Adam Darr with a certificate and letter of recognition. On May 6, 2026, Adam Darr called 911 and activated an emergency response for his mother, Dawn Darr, who was experiencing stroke-like symptoms in a Walmart parking lot. Her condition worsened during transport, requiring a helicopter transfer to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Chief Smith commended Darr for his heroic actions, which ensured his mother was at the exact place she needed to be when her condition deteriorated, and encouraged the public to learn the signs and symptoms of strokes.
Scott Sternhagen of CliftonLarsenAllen presented the 2025 audited financial statement. He reported the City received a clean (unmodified) audit opinion, the highest possible. A required Federal single audit resulted in no findings. Two standard findings were noted for the regular audit: that the auditors prepared the financial statements and the year-end adjusting journal entries. Sternhagen stated these are very normal for a municipality of Antigo's size.
Key financial highlights from the presentation included:
The following items were approved as part of the Consent Agenda:
City Administrator Michael Wetzel presented the resolution to apply for a ten-year Opportunity Zone designation under the 2.0 program created by the 2025 Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBBA). He explained the program is not a grant but a private equity incentive (Qualified Opportunity Fund) for private developers. Wetzel noted that in the 1.0 program, 93-95% of funds went to distressed metro areas, but the 2.0 program specifically targets rural areas like Antigo with higher incentives. The Council approved the resolution, authorizing the City Administration to apply to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) by the July 31, 2026 deadline, with the option to apply jointly with the County.
The Council approved a "Class B" Beer/Fermented Malt Beverage and Intoxicating Liquor License for HomeField, LLC, located at 527 Field Street, contingent upon completion of inspections.
Mayor Bauknecht announced a Committee of the Whole meeting on July 29, 2026, to kick off the budget season and address the departure of Land Surveyor/Project Manager Charley Brinkmeier. City Administrator Wetzel noted a Special Finance, Personnel and Legislative Committee meeting on July 15, 2026, will specifically address the future of that position.
Alderperson Hayes initiated an introduction for Luke Schmidtke, the new Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator. Schmidtke introduced himself and expressed excitement to be on board.
Alderperson Edwards congratulated Sarah Repp, Parks, Recreation, and Cemetery Director, and the involved departments (Street, Police, Fire, County, Chamber of Commerce) on a successful 4th of July community fireworks event. The event was praised for positive community feedback and excellent coordination.
Yeah, okay. Okay. Okay. Edwards? Here. Henriks? Here. Quagner? Here. Rexat? Here. Here. Serrano? Here. Here. Thank you very much. This is approval of the minutes from the June 10th meeting. Make a motion to approve the minutes of the June meeting. Second. Second. Second additional correction. This is one of the more enjoyable things for this job. Do we have a presentation? Adam Bar for life making that take a doing for the chief. All right, thank you. Uh so tonight I have the privilege of uh presenting Adam Darr with a token of our appreciation for some actions that he took uh during a medical emergency that his mother experienced. And to go into detail, I'll read the the letter that I typed up to include with his uh uh gift here. On uh May 6th, 2026 at approximately 7 p.m. Dawn Darr was in the Walmart parking lot with her son Adam when she began to suffer stroke-like symptoms. Adam called 911 to request an ambulance for her. Upon arrival, the EMS crew discovered that Dawn was displaying weakness in her extremities and developed some difficulty speaking during transport. She was quickly transported to a spirus lane hospital where she experienced a seizure as well as a cardiac arrest prior to being transferred to aspirus Wassaw Hospital via helicopter. I was informed that Dawn is now at home and recovering as of May 11th, the day after a couple days after the call. She's continuing to receive treatment for her neurological condition. Strokes are an extremely time-sensitive emergency, whether caused by an occlusion in a vessel in the brain or a bleed, strokes disrupt the flow of oxygen to the brain, which can result in tissue death. Treatments for stroke must be administered in strict time frames, and any delays in treatment can greatly affect the outcome of the stroll. Time truly is brain matter when it comes to strolls. When Adam called 911 to activate an emergency response, he performed an heroic action, which resulted in his mother being at the exact place she needed to be when her condition worsened. And in addition to that, would encourage everyone to learn the signs of strokes and the symptoms that can be displayed by people as well as the ability to call 911. So at this time I'd like to call Adam and this mother dog forward. And I have for him a certificate that we created along with my letter that I've just read. So I'm gonna present that to Adam now.