Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Board of Public Works of the City of Fitchburg met on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 5:30 PM. All members were present: Kim Lobdell, Dave Wilburn, Alder Jetter, Alder Herbst, and Don Gutkowski, along with the chair, Director of Public Works Tim Volker, and utility staff Carrie.
Tim Volker presented a resolution from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, asking municipalities to support long-term state transportation funding as a lobbying effort ahead of the 2027 state budget. Board members expressed that while the need for increased road funding is clear—the city’s road maintenance budget has not kept pace with inflation, and state general transportation aids increased only 60.4% since 2000 while CPI rose 90.7%—they questioned the resolution’s immediate impact and timing, especially given the recent $40 wheel tax. However, they agreed it supports a necessary effort and passed the resolution unanimously.
Carrie explained that the Public Service Commission allows a simplified application for a 3% rate increase, with an effective date of September 16, 2026. The utility’s rate of return was 3.84%, below the allowed 6.4%. The increase would add $1.42 per quarter ($5.68 per year) for an average home. Board members discussed the benefits of incremental adjustments over large jumps and questioned the rate base ($15.2 million utility-financed, $25 million developer-contributed) and inclining block rate structure. The resolution passed unanimously.
The agreement covers public improvements for a 17-acre plat zoned T5 (smart code). Questions addressed a required street light outside the plat, street tapers for traffic safety at a future intersection, tree grates (constructed just prior to occupancy), and developer-paid updates to GIS and water model. The board approved the resolution unanimously.
Get connected, Fitchburg. We're launching Fitchburg Connect, the city's new monthly e-newsletter that keeps you informed about all the events, services, and updates that matter to you. Get it in your inbox once a month. Our first edition is live now. Sign up today to get Fitchburg Connect. Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby. And I'm Nick Bouchet. We're your host 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 Pittsburgh. Find Talking Fitzburg 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 Fitzburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors. It is 5 30 on June 1st of 2026. I'm calling to order this meeting of the Board of Public Works. First item in business is a roll call. We are running at full strength tonight. Kim Lobdell, Dave Wilburn, myself, Alder Jetter, uh Alder Herbst and Don Gutkowski. Moving on to public appearances for non-agenda items. We have no one in chambers and no one online, so I will skip forward to uh approval of minutes. I'm looking for a motion to approve the minutes of the May 18th, 2026 meeting. I still move it approval the 18th meetings. Thank you, Dave. We got Dave W and Dave H. Any comments or questions. Seeing none, I will call the vote all in favor of the minutes as drafted in the agenda packet. Say aye. Aye. Any opposed? It is unanimous. And moving on. Report from the director of public works, Mr. Tim Volker, PE. Thank you. Just a follow-up item from our last meeting on May 18th regarding the tennis courts at the City of Middleton Stonefield Park. So I I reached out to the director of public or our director of parks and recreation at the uh city of Middleton. Uh her name's Kylie. Uh, she did not have firsthand knowledge of the original project details for that. Um, kind of the exact material or the installation timeline. So she recommended I I reach out to Fred Kochman, who does a lot of our work on our tennis courts and pickleball courts. So I reached out to Fred and he wasn't sure of the material either. He said he worked at their stricker park. Um, but he was I sent forward him the pictures, Don, that you email me, and he he was curious. So he said next time he's in the area, he's gonna go out and take a look and and let me know kind of what what material he thinks that was installed and why it deteriorated like it did. So I'll report back to the board one once I hear back from Fred regarding that. Did the public work or parks uh mention other locations they had this? No, she she just mentioned she didn't even mention that the material or any other areas that they are are seeing that.