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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Board of Public Works Meeting - January 5, 2026

Common Council & City Boards — Monday, January 5, 2026

BodyFitchburg, Wisconsin

SessionCommon Council & City Boards

DateMonday, January 5, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 17:58

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby.

0:01

And I'm Nick Boucher.

0:02

We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city, Talking Fitchburg.

Speaker 2

0:06

Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Fitchburg.

0:12

Find

Speaker 1

0:12

Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web.

0:18

Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service.

Speaker 2

0:23

This is your city.

0:24

Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors.

Speaker 3

0:35

Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left.

0:41

Enter your email and or phone number, whichever is best for you to get notifications.

0:46

Scroll down the list and select all the topics you're interested in to receive email or text messages about.

0:51

You'll be notified every time one of your topics is updated.

0:54

Sign up for Notify Me.

0:56

One more way to keep up with your Fitchburg government.

Speaker 4

1:24

This January 5th, 2026 at 5 30 p.m.

1:28

We have our full slate of board members tonight present with us.

1:33

Kim Lobdell, Dave Wilburne, Bill Jetzer, and Don Gutkowski and Remote.

1:38

We have live with us via Zoom, Alder Dave Herbst.

1:43

Um I guess we are looking for public appearances for non-agenda items.

1:48

I see no one in chambers and no one online.

1:51

So we can move on to agenda item three subsection A, approval of the December 1st, 2025 meeting minutes.

Speaker 5

2:00

We approve December 1st, 2025 meeting.

Speaker 4

2:04

Second.

2:05

All right.

2:06

Uh any discussion.

2:10

Seeing none, I will call the vote.

2:12

All in favor of the December 1st meeting minutes.

2:15

Please say aye.

2:16

Hi.

2:17

Hi.

2:17

Hi.

2:18

Any opposed, say nay.

2:20

It is unanimous.

2:23

Moving on.

2:23

Item four A public appearance uh public hearing for the 2024 sidewalk assessment adjustments.

2:32

We have no one in chambers.

2:34

We have no one online.

2:35

All right.

2:36

I am opening the public hearing.

2:39

And seeing no one in chambers and no one online, I will close the public hearing.

2:46

And we can move on to agenda item five.

2:48

Report from the director of public works, Mr.

2:51

Tim Volker, PE.

Speaker 6

2:54

Thank you.

2:54

I'll just uh start with a refuge and recycling collection update.

3:00

Uh Pelleteri's been working with Ben Schulte, our principal environmental engineer, and a couple of the collection days have been revised starting uh beginning in the first week of 2026.

3:17

So what was happening was our collection day on Thursday was becoming a little heavy, and it was uh becoming harder for Pelleteri to to pick everything up in a reasonable time frame on Thursdays.

3:33

So what was happening, what's gonna happen is they're moving some of that to Wednesday to lighten the load on Thursday, and then also some collection on Tuesday will be moved to Wednesday also.

3:49

So all the residents have been notified by Pelleteri back back in December.

3:55

That the city's been posting on social media.

3:58

I'm just bringing it to everyone's attention tonight that uh it is 2026 and that these uh new collection dates will be starting, and it's about a a thousand properties that were were changed.

4:12

And uh the Thursday collection days really the the eastern part of the city, kind of terravesa, Southdale, and south of those neighborhoods.

Speaker 4

4:27

Yes, yep.

4:31

Thousand households is a pretty big chunk of the isn't aren't there like sixty, five hundred total households?

Unassigned speaker

4:37

I think

Speaker 4

4:38

close to set seven thousand.

4:40

Even still, that's that's 15% of the city.

4:43

Wow.

Speaker 6

4:50

With that, any questions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Stormwater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████57%

Procedural██████████████18%

Waste Management█████████████16%

Fiscal Sustainability████5%

Public Works███4%

Summary of Proceedings

Board of Public Works Meeting - January 5, 2026

The Board of Public Works met on January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM, adjourning at 5:47 PM. All board members were present: Kim Lobdell, Dave Wilburne, Bill Jetzer, Don Gutkowski in chambers, and Alder Dave Herbst via Zoom. The meeting opened with no public appearances for non-agenda items.

Public Hearing (2024 Sidewalk Assessment Adjustments)

No public testimony was offered; the hearing was opened and closed with no participants in chambers or online.

Report from the Director of Public Works (Tim Volker, PE)

Refuse and Recycling Collection Update: Pelleteri and environmental engineer Ben Schulte revised collection days starting in the first week of 2026 to alleviate an overloaded Thursday route. Approximately 1,000 properties (roughly 15% of the city's ~7,000 households) are affected: some Tuesday and Thursday pickups were moved to Wednesday. Residents were notified in December; the city also posted updates on social media.
2026 Project Updates: Design, specifications, and bid documents are being finalized. A resurfacing project and a sidewalk project will be advertised shortly. The Fitcherona Road Reconstruction Project is nearing completion of property acquisition, with bid documents expected out in early 2026.

Review Items (Utility P-Card and Check Payments)

A question was raised about a $1,300 line item for a “beehive grate.” The director clarified it is a stormwater manhole grate (shaped like a beehive) used to keep debris and animals out, not specifically for bees. Tim Volker will follow up with Ben Schulte and report back at the next meeting.

Discussion and Approval of Resolution R232-25

Resolution authorizing a contract with Dane County Land and Water Resources for stormwater permit review and erosion control inspection in 2026. The existing contract was established in 2017 (Resolution R 35-17).
The 2026 operating budget allocates $35,000 for these services. In 2025, expenses through November totaled about $31,000, of which $23,416 was charged back to private developers and $7,300 was for city projects. The county charges an hourly rate of $75.66 (adjusted by CPI since 2017), with travel time billable. The same rate applies to other Dane County communities (Middleton, Stoughton, Oregon, Cambridge, etc.).
For private development, the county performs in-depth review and inspection; the city conducts a cursory review. For public projects, the city takes a more active role alongside the county.
Board members inquired about liability (falls on the city), staffing consistency (county staff has been stable), and whether the $35,000 cap applies to gross spending or net city expenses (uncertain; finance handles allocation).
The motion to approve was made and seconded; the vote was unanimous in favor.

Key Outcomes

Approval of December 1, 2025 Meeting Minutes: Unanimously approved.
Resolution R232-25 (Dane County Stormwater Services): Approved unanimously.
Next Meeting: The regular meeting scheduled for January 19, 2026 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) was moved to January 26, 2026. A potential February 2, 2026 meeting will be determined based on agenda items.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 5:47 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby. And I'm Nick Boucher. We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city, Talking Fitchburg. Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Fitchburg. Find Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web. Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service. This is your city. Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors. Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left. Enter your email and or phone number, whichever is best for you to get notifications. Scroll down the list and select all the topics you're interested in to receive email or text messages about. You'll be notified every time one of your topics is updated. Sign up for Notify Me. One more way to keep up with your Fitchburg government. This January 5th, 2026 at 5 30 p.m. We have our full slate of board members tonight present with us. Kim Lobdell, Dave Wilburne, Bill Jetzer, and Don Gutkowski and Remote. We have live with us via Zoom, Alder Dave Herbst. Um I guess we are looking for public appearances for non-agenda items. I see no one in chambers and no one online. So we can move on to agenda item three subsection A, approval of the December 1st, 2025 meeting minutes. We approve December 1st, 2025 meeting. Second. All right. Uh any discussion. Seeing none, I will call the vote. All in favor of the December 1st meeting minutes. Please say aye. Hi. Hi. Hi. Any opposed, say nay. It is unanimous. Moving on. Item four A public appearance uh public hearing for the 2024 sidewalk assessment adjustments. We have no one in chambers. We have no one online. All right. I am opening the public hearing. And seeing no one in chambers and no one online, I will close the public hearing. And we can move on to agenda item five. Report from the director of public works, Mr. Tim Volker, PE. Thank you. I'll just uh start with a refuge and recycling collection update. Uh Pelleteri's been working with Ben Schulte, our principal environmental engineer, and a couple of the collection days have been revised starting uh beginning in the first week of 2026. So what was happening was our collection day on Thursday was becoming a little heavy, and it was uh becoming harder for Pelleteri to to pick everything up in a reasonable time frame on Thursdays. So what was happening, what's gonna happen is they're moving some of that to Wednesday to lighten the load on Thursday, and then also some collection on Tuesday will be moved to Wednesday also. So all the residents have been notified by Pelleteri back back in December.

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