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Record of Proceedings

Monroe Common Council Special Meeting - August 10, 2026

Common Council & Commissions — Monday, August 10, 2026
BodyMonroe, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateMonday, August 10, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
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0:00

Okay.

0:01

We'll call the special meeting, the common council to order.

0:06

Um start off with the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:14

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:21

One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice rural.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

Thank you.

0:32

Roll call, please.

0:34

Older Tolman.

0:36

Here.

0:36

Older true heart.

0:38

Older Wartwiler?

0:40

Here.

0:41

Alder Schaefer.

0:42

Here.

0:43

Alder Frankie.

0:45

Older McGuire.

0:46

Here.

0:47

Alder Vestine here.

0:49

Older Vokley?

0:50

Here.

0:51

And older Mosher.

0:52

Here.

0:53

Okay, we do have a quorum.

0:56

The one item on our meeting agenda tonight is public safety committee.

1:03

We have a resolution establishing school zone, stop control, and parking restrictions in the vicinity of Northside Elementary and the new Monroe High Schools.

1:17

That public safety committee needs to present that.

1:21

Yeah, well, so I guess maybe administrator indeed.

1:24

So this is an item that was tabled from last week's council meeting.

1:27

So you're kind of resuming from that table discussion.

1:30

Um that we had the proposed recommendation with the school zones and stop signs, but there was uh questions and discussion about if it could be 15 miles per hour all the time.

1:42

Um I did include a memo with the agenda packet that um as the staff kind of discussed over the last week between public works and and public safety, um, some of the impacts and considerations to have.

1:55

Um do you want me to just go forward with summarizing maybe that first?

2:00

Okay.

2:01

So some things to be concerned or considerate of if you do go 15 miles per hour speed limit all the time.

2:09

That would then remove we could not have school zone signs also in place when you have a school zone sign, it's understood that enforcement of that is only when children are present.

2:20

And so you're eliminating kind of the yellow flashing and and kind of more alerting that to be mindful of pedestrians are in the area.

2:30

Um you would be going slower.

2:31

It also can propose some challenges for enforcement.

2:35

Um when and we would have to post that as typically residential and streets are the 25 miles per hour.

2:42

Um, so you would want to make sure it's well known throughout that area.

2:46

Um, and obviously while at some point it could become well known that to the people locally and that are going to the schools.

2:55

I think there's gonna be a lot of alternative traffic in that area with people coming to sporting events or otherwise that would typically think, especially a wider street such as Chichis Maker Drive would be a 25 mile per hour if they're not looking for a 15 mile per hour sign that you would normally be looking at at that point.

3:14

Um so that could could cost some more for enforcement or otherwise.

3:19

We uh the one other time that we have done a 15 mile per hour, so something that's kind of recommended if you really wanted to go that route is we did on 22nd Avenue by SSM House.

3:30

Um, they have a lot of consistent pedestrian traffic throughout all times of the day, weekends, and year round.

3:36

Um, and they did request and do a traffic study.

3:39

So if we were to do something like this, we would recommend that we would have to go that route for consistency.

3:46

Um then uh also I guess a noteworthy thing is being mindful of a precedent.

3:54

If you're doing this here, what do we do about our other school zones as well?

3:58

Or or what makes this one different than the other areas.

4:02

I think I don't know if Chief or Al have anything.

4:06

I try not to read through all that for Ratham, but hit some of the high points.

4:16

So I understand your request for a traffic study, but how good a traffic study would be if we're if it's not really in use for school yet.

4:26

Right.

4:27

Exactly.

4:28

Yeah, you would have to do the the study because you always evaluate pedestrian movements and everything else on there where you're getting more legitimate, but they can always do projections based on population at the school and everything else, but you're kind of better off gathering that kind of do a mix of both if you would do that type of study.

4:52

You know, I mean, as Brittany said, yeah, to all of our school zone signs, say when uh when present.

5:00

So after after school hours, weekends, everything else.

5:03

If there's a child on the sidewalk outside of a fenced area, you should be doing 15 miles per hour in those zones on that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████69%
Procedural████████████████████31%
Summary of Proceedings

Monroe Common Council Special Meeting - August 10, 2026

The Monroe Common Council held a special meeting on August 10, 2026 at 4:55 PM in City Hall Council Chambers to consider a resolution from the Public Safety Committee establishing school zones, stop control, and parking restrictions in the vicinity of Northside Elementary and the new Monroe High School. The item had been tabled from the previous week's meeting. Discussion focused on whether to implement a 15 mph speed limit at all times versus the standard school-zone-only enforcement, and the implications for signage, enforcement, and consistency with other school zones. The council ultimately voted unanimously to approve the resolution as originally proposed.

Discussion Items

  • The City Administrator summarized a memo addressing concerns about a 15 mph speed limit at all times. Staff noted that such a limit would preclude the use of school zone signs (which only apply when children are present) and could create enforcement challenges, especially on wider roads like Cheesemaker Drive where unfamiliar drivers might expect 25 mph. A traffic study would be needed for consistency, as was done for 22nd Avenue by SSM Health. Setting a precedent for this school would also raise questions about other school zones.
  • Alder Mosher, who had concerns at the prior meeting, indicated that the memo answered their questions and that they were comfortable proceeding with the original proposal. They noted the need to act before the start of school.
  • Discussion clarified that flashing beacon school zone signs can only be set for school hours (per state manual), whereas standard "when children present" signs are effective at all times if children are visible. The proposed signs are the standard non-flashing type.
  • The resolution adds school zones on 31st Avenue, 32nd Avenue, and Cheesemaker Drive (which was not previously available as a dedicated road), and extends existing zones on 29th and 30th Avenues further south based on citizen comments and staff observations during construction.
  • Alder inquired about the removal of old school zone signs from the former high school area. Staff stated they plan to leave some signs on 14th Avenue and 25th Street pending further committee review, but acknowledged that removing signs effectively rescinds those zones and that formal council action may be needed.
  • Staff recommended starting with the standard school zone signs and evaluating later if a 15 mph limit is desired, though that would require a traffic study and potentially changing all school district zones.

Key Outcomes

  • The council voted 7-0 (Alder Tolman, Whartonweather, Schaefer, McGuire, Vestine, Vulkley, Mosher all in favor) to approve the resolution as originally proposed (motion by Alder Schaefer, second by Alder Frankie, carried over from the prior meeting).
  • The resolution establishes school zones, stop control, and parking restrictions near Northside Elementary and the new Monroe High School, with signage to be installed before school starts.
  • The council noted that formal action to remove old school zones at the former high school site will need to be brought back for consideration.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. We'll call the special meeting, the common council to order. Um start off with the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice rural. Okay. Thank you. Roll call, please. Older Tolman. Here. Older true heart. Older Wartwiler? Here. Alder Schaefer. Here. Alder Frankie. Older McGuire. Here. Alder Vestine here. Older Vokley? Here. And older Mosher. Here. Okay, we do have a quorum. The one item on our meeting agenda tonight is public safety committee. We have a resolution establishing school zone, stop control, and parking restrictions in the vicinity of Northside Elementary and the new Monroe High Schools. That public safety committee needs to present that. Yeah, well, so I guess maybe administrator indeed. So this is an item that was tabled from last week's council meeting. So you're kind of resuming from that table discussion. Um that we had the proposed recommendation with the school zones and stop signs, but there was uh questions and discussion about if it could be 15 miles per hour all the time. Um I did include a memo with the agenda packet that um as the staff kind of discussed over the last week between public works and and public safety, um, some of the impacts and considerations to have. Um do you want me to just go forward with summarizing maybe that first? Okay. So some things to be concerned or considerate of if you do go 15 miles per hour speed limit all the time. That would then remove we could not have school zone signs also in place when you have a school zone sign, it's understood that enforcement of that is only when children are present. And so you're eliminating kind of the yellow flashing and and kind of more alerting that to be mindful of pedestrians are in the area. Um you would be going slower. It also can propose some challenges for enforcement. Um when and we would have to post that as typically residential and streets are the 25 miles per hour. Um, so you would want to make sure it's well known throughout that area. Um, and obviously while at some point it could become well known that to the people locally and that are going to the schools. I think there's gonna be a lot of alternative traffic in that area with people coming to sporting events or otherwise that would typically think, especially a wider street such as Chichis Maker Drive would be a 25 mile per hour if they're not looking for a 15 mile per hour sign that you would normally be looking at at that point. Um so that could could cost some more for enforcement or otherwise. We uh the one other time that we have done a 15 mile per hour, so something that's kind of recommended if you really wanted to go that route is we did on 22nd Avenue by SSM House. Um, they have a lot of consistent pedestrian traffic throughout all times of the day, weekends, and year round. Um, and they did request and do a traffic study. So if we were to do something like this, we would recommend that we would have to go that route for consistency. Um then uh also I guess a noteworthy thing is being mindful of a precedent. If you're doing this here, what do we do about our other school zones as well?

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