OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Janesville City Council Meeting – July 27, 2026: Reports, DOT DDA, Affordable Housing Policy, Closed Session

Meeting Portal — Monday, July 27, 2026
BodyJanesville, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, July 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:36

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

We will call to call to order the Monday, July 27, 2026 City Council meeting to order.

0:11

Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:17

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

0:21

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:25

Underground Liberty and Justice.

0:30

Alrighty, thank you.

0:32

In the case of an emergency, use the stairs, not the elevators to exit.

0:36

Walk to the north side of the police department and wait there for further instructions.

0:41

Next, we'll do roll call.

0:42

Clerk, will you call the roll, please?

0:44

Sure.

0:46

President Squire, who is joining us virtually.

0:49

Here.

0:51

Vice President Cass.

0:52

Here.

0:53

Council Member Erdman.

0:54

Here.

0:54

Councilmember Miller.

0:56

Here.

0:56

Councilmember Nino, who was joining us virtually.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Councilmember Pope?

1:02

Here.

1:03

Council Member Seaman.

1:04

Here.

1:04

All are present.

1:05

We do well quorum.

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

We'll move on to item three recognition.

1:10

There are none tonight.

1:12

We'll then move on to item four, public comments.

1:15

Public comments on items not.

1:18

I'm sorry.

1:19

Public comments on items on the agenda and not requiring a public hearing and on matters which can be affected by council action.

1:26

If you're wishing to address the city council, you're asked to complete a speaker form that's at the back table in the lobby and provide it to the clerk.

1:33

When you approach the podium, please state your name and address for the record.

1:36

Keep your comments brief and try not to duplicate the speakers before you.

1:41

Speakers will be asked to end their comments at four minutes.

1:44

There are no public hearings this evening.

1:46

So this is your opportunity to address the council.

1:50

First speaker is Ray Jewel.

1:52

I am Ray Jewel, 624 Cherry Street.

1:56

You guys are getting really used to me here.

1:59

Anyway, tonight I want to focus on what data centers through a bunch of research by people who really dug into it can do to children.

2:12

Before I get into that, you know, first of all, a friend of mine sitting over here, he had this idea of that when we had that the fire smoke and all that stuff from the north.

2:26

It's sort of like a snow globe.

2:27

You know, we're just sort of trapped inside.

2:30

Well, I think that could be the effect that a data center might have as well.

2:35

Now, within two miles of the GM Jacko site, there's 18 schools from preschool all the way through college.

2:46

Not just you know, school of Janesville or district of Janesville schools, but uh we're talking nursery schools and other kinds of schools.

2:56

There are 10 of those schools that are part of the Janesville School District, over four within within four miles.

3:05

Uh there's over 4,000 students that attend Craig and that's like within four miles with Edison and all the elementary schools and some of the pre-school programs as well.

3:23

Uh we also have a Christian school, Oak Hill, Christian School.

3:28

We have the blind school, we have URC, we have uh several other places, boys and girls club, the YMCA, the YWCA, all that serve in one capacity or another children.

3:43

So that's why I think it's important that we look at uh these uh the hazards that can happen because of that.

3:54

Um a friend of mine sent me these uh things.

3:57

He he's this guy's an avid reader, and he keeps up on all kinds of things, uh especially right now data centers.

4:04

Recent assessments including a 2026 exploratory study in frontiers and climate and 2026 pediatric analysis by GMO Science highlight that data centers disproportionately harm children through noise pollution, air pollution, and water resource depletion.

4:22

Noise pollution and cognitive development, chronic noise exposure from 24-7 cooling systems and generators, often exceeding 55 decibels, is linked to poor school performance, decreasing reading comprehension, concentration deficits, and behavioral issues in children.

4:40

The constant low frequency disrupts sleep acts architecture, leading to attention problems and emotional dysregulation with no respite for developing nervous systems, air pollution and respiratory health, diesel backup generators and upstream fossil fuel combustion release, PM 2.5 and nitrogen oxides, which are associated with asthma development, reduce lung uh function uh growth, and neurodevelopmental impacts.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Personnel Matters█████████████████████21%
Disaster Recovery███████████████████19%
Economic Development████████████12%
Affordable Housing███████7%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Water And Wastewater Management████4%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Janesville City Council Meeting – July 27, 2026: Reports, DOT DDA, Affordable Housing Policy, Closed Session

The Janesville City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, July 27, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers, 18 North Jackson Street, Janesville, Wisconsin. All seven council members were present, with Council President Squire and Councilmember Nino attending virtually. The agenda included public comments, city manager recruitment and Convention & Visitors Bureau updates, a FEMA/SBA disaster assistance presentation, consent calendar action, authorization of a DOT Disaster Damage Aids application, amendments to Council Policy No. 100 on Affordable Housing Funds, and motions to enter closed session.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the July 13, 2026 regular meeting minutes, the July 13, 2026 closed session minutes, the June 2026 financial statements, and File Resolution No. 2026-2454 commending Jodi L. Athmann for more than 31 years of City of Janesville service (the transcript referred to 'Jody L. Bathman'), all by unanimous consent without separate discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ray Jewel, 624 Cherry Street: Expressed concern about the potential effects of data centers on children, citing 18 schools within two miles of the GM/JATCO site, including 10 Janesville School District schools, and more than 4,000 students at Craig High School within four miles. He cited recent assessments linking data centers to noise, air, and water pollution and urged the council to consider those hazards.
  • Mayor Solibara, Axe Housing: Expressed support for the amendments to Council Policy No. 100, stating they would open opportunities for Axe Housing and similar organizations to contribute to affordable housing solutions in Janesville.
  • Stephen Atkinson Jr., 449 North Park Drive: Spoke in favor of a moratorium on all hyperscale development until safeguards and protections, including protections in the zoning rewrite, are in place. He also criticized the 'poor rollout' of the Viridian proposal and said the process brought the community together.

Reports & Presentations

  • City Manager Recruitment Update: The recruitment was posted on June 23, 2026. To date, there are 24 applicants, 12 from Wisconsin, and 18 with a master's degree or higher. The council conducted its first review of applicants; a potential interview date of August 4 was noted.
  • Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Mid-Year Update (Christine Rebout): Reported a record 2025 with over $280 million in total economic impact, $184 million in direct visitor spending, more than 1,200 full-time-equivalent jobs supported, and $15.4 million in state and local taxes, which offsets more than $500 per household. The 2026 budget is about $1.2 million. In 2025 the CVB assisted 132 groups, bringing over 400,000 attendees and over $53 million in economic impact. In the Woodman Center's first nine months, the CVB assisted 50 events totaling over $5 million in economic impact.
  • FEMA Disaster Assistance (Craig Browning): Described federal assistance for the April 13-23, 2026 severe storms and flooding, including rental assistance, motel reimbursement, child care expenses, cleaning/sanitizing costs, and personal property replacement. Applications can be submitted at disasterassistance.gov, through the FEMA app, by phone, or at the Disaster Recovery Center at Daniel Hale Williams Resource Center, 1717 Center Avenue, open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Councilmember Miller asked why child care facilities were not covered while family child care expenses were; Browning said he would provide a concrete answer after following up.
  • SBA Disaster Loans (Kareem Gurmy): Reported that over 80% of SBA disaster loans go to homeowners and that more than $2.3 million has been offered to survivors so far. Available loans include up to $2 million for small businesses, up to $500,000 for homeowners, and up to $100,000 for renters. Deadlines are August 31, 2026, for physical damage and March 30, 2027, for economic injury. Interest rates can be as low as 4% for small businesses and 2% for homeowners, with terms up to 30 years and no payment or interest in the first year.

Discussion Items

  • DOT Disaster Damage Aids (DDA) Application: Kelly Badesim, Housing and Emergency Management Director, presented the authorization request. The April 13-23 storm event included about five inches of rain in one night, tornadoes, hail, and damage to roads, culverts, and curb/gutter systems. Eligible roadways must have been closed or impassable during the event. The city must submit a certified DDA petition before August 15, 2026. Reimbursement is 75% of replacement cost, up to 50% of improvement costs, and up to 70% of damage caused by another governmental unit. The council authorized the application unanimously.
  • Amendments to Council Policy No. 100 (Affordable Housing Funds): Kelly Badesim explained that the current policy, adopted in 2022 with a 2023 revision, focused on large-scale multifamily rental development and had left the funds unused. The proposed changes remove restrictions, allow single-family owner-occupied development, rehabilitation, and nonprofit developers, and add a grant option for nonprofit and community housing development organizations. A 100-point evaluation system would assess project description, budgets, financing, long-term operations, and organizational capacity. The council adopted the amendments unanimously after discussion of applicant eligibility, including review of an applicant's history, tax status, and utility bills.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the consent calendar unanimously.
  • Authorized the DOT DDA application unanimously; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Miller.
  • Adopted amended Council Policy No. 100 unanimously on a motion by Councilmember Nino, seconded by Councilmember Seaman.
  • Voted unanimously at 6:49 PM to convene in closed session under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(g) for litigation strategy concerning GM/JATCO and DJF properties and related eminent domain sites, and under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(c) for city manager candidate review. The council reconvened briefly into open session, then voted unanimously to resume closed session for the remaining item and indicated it would not return to open session.

Meeting Transcript

We will call to call to order the Monday, July 27, 2026 City Council meeting to order. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. And to the Republic for which it stands. Underground Liberty and Justice. Alrighty, thank you. In the case of an emergency, use the stairs, not the elevators to exit. Walk to the north side of the police department and wait there for further instructions. Next, we'll do roll call. Clerk, will you call the roll, please? Sure. President Squire, who is joining us virtually. Here. Vice President Cass. Here. Council Member Erdman. Here. Councilmember Miller. Here. Councilmember Nino, who was joining us virtually. Here. Councilmember Pope? Here. Council Member Seaman. Here. All are present. We do well quorum. Thank you. We'll move on to item three recognition. There are none tonight. We'll then move on to item four, public comments. Public comments on items not. I'm sorry. Public comments on items on the agenda and not requiring a public hearing and on matters which can be affected by council action. If you're wishing to address the city council, you're asked to complete a speaker form that's at the back table in the lobby and provide it to the clerk. When you approach the podium, please state your name and address for the record. Keep your comments brief and try not to duplicate the speakers before you. Speakers will be asked to end their comments at four minutes. There are no public hearings this evening. So this is your opportunity to address the council. First speaker is Ray Jewel. I am Ray Jewel, 624 Cherry Street. You guys are getting really used to me here. Anyway, tonight I want to focus on what data centers through a bunch of research by people who really dug into it can do to children. Before I get into that, you know, first of all, a friend of mine sitting over here, he had this idea of that when we had that the fire smoke and all that stuff from the north. It's sort of like a snow globe. You know, we're just sort of trapped inside. Well, I think that could be the effect that a data center might have as well. Now, within two miles of the GM Jacko site, there's 18 schools from preschool all the way through college. Not just you know, school of Janesville or district of Janesville schools, but uh we're talking nursery schools and other kinds of schools.

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