OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City of Monroe Common Council Meeting - 2026-08-17

Common Council & Commissions — Monday, August 17, 2026
BodyMonroe, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & Commissions
DateMonday, August 17, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 41:53
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Okay, so it's 6 30.

0:03

We'll call to the city council meeting to order, and we'll stand for the pledge of allegiance, please.

0:28

First order businesses roll call, please.

0:30

Older gentlemen here, older true heart.

0:33

Here, older Wartonweiler.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Older Shaver.

0:36

Here, older Frankie.

0:37

Here.

0:38

Older McGuire.

0:39

Here, older Bestine.

0:40

Here, older Vokley.

0:42

Here.

0:42

An older motion.

0:44

Here.

0:47

Item E are there, or excuse me, D, any corrections to the August 3rd and 10th minute meetings.

0:56

Meaning minutes.

1:00

Hearing none, those will stand as written.

1:02

Item E presentations and petitions of petitions and communication.

1:06

And we have one order of business tonight.

1:10

The Monroe Chamber of Commerce has a presentation.

1:22

Thank you.

1:23

Thanks for having us tonight.

1:25

So we were just wanted to share with you what we've done over the past year and kind of looking forward to what we're going to be working on in the next year and some of our partnerships that we are doing with the city.

1:35

So just to bring um tell you a little bit about how we look at the mission of the chamber.

1:42

We look for promotion, promoting our businesses, offering them networking opportunities and then educational opportunities.

1:50

So currently we have 277 members.

1:53

In 2025, we had 21 new members come into the chamber, and as of today for 2026, we're already at 24 new members.

2:02

So our membership is on a really good up wet board trajectory.

2:06

And the thing that I'm really excited about is that we've had members just this year join us from Lena, Argyle, Freeport, Janesville, New Glaris, and Monroe.

2:15

So we've even kind of spread out of just the boundaries of Monroe, which I think that shows that they're they're seeing what we're putting out there.

2:23

So we're really happy about that.

2:28

We do our business after fives, our ribbon cuttings, just really promoting a lot of our businesses, working our social media numbers are really good.

2:37

We've had a lot of people that interact with us.

2:40

We have our ambassador program, and we currently have 25 ambassadors, and those are business leaders in the community.

2:47

They meet once a month, they come and do a business meeting and then they go out and they site visit for a business.

3:06

Um that program as well.

3:08

Over the last year, we had educational sessions for business business people on fraud marketing.

3:15

We had a half day AI summit and a couple new things that we added this last year that some of you participated in.

3:22

We had sessions where they uh when the elections were being held, where we had meet the council members, which gave the council city council members who were running for office a platform to get in front of the community, and that was community-wide.

3:34

That was not just for our business members.

3:36

Um, and then we also did one of those for the mayors.

3:39

So we had probably a hundred people turn up to each one of those and had a really good feedback about that.

3:47

And we also added um some fireside chats that we've been holding at the Y, and again, we partnered with the city Brittany and and Mayor Douglas did one, um, and then Joe Monroe and Ron Olson did one right before the referendum to talk about the new school.

4:00

And then the other big thing that we added this last year is our Derby event, our chamber derby, um, which we did on the day of the Kentucky Derby, and we raised about $6,500 for that for our first year, and have really heard I think it's gonna be a big event for us.

4:19

It was very well received.

4:21

Um, people came dressed to the nines, and um I talked to some people there that I didn't recognize.

4:27

There were some people, there were two couples from Rockford, and there were a group of girls from Madison.

4:32

I think there were six of them.

4:33

I'm sorry, from Appleton that had come to stay for the weekend.

4:37

So it seems like we might be getting some heads and beds for that event as well.

4:43

And then this year we did add um right now the way that we were staffed, is I'm part-time as the executive director.

4:50

We had a part-time events person, and we just added a third part-time person who's doing development, helping us raise money for sponsorships, getting more businesses involved, um, you know, just helping with our sustainability.

5:03

So what are we doing going forward?

5:06

We're not adding any new events.

5:07

We're not looking to add any new events.

5:09

We just want to kind of keep enhancing the things that we're already doing.

5:12

I think we've kind of figured out how to work well with the city.

5:16

We also meet Brittany and I and Olivia and Jordan meet, try to meet on a monthly basis just to make sure that we're kind of staying in our lanes and enhancing what each other is doing, but not um doubling up on efforts.

5:28

And so that seems to be going well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████30%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████18%
Zoning And Land Use██████████████████18%
Economic Development███████████████15%
Event Planning███████7%
Transportation Safety██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Monroe Common Council Meeting - 2026-08-17

The Monroe Common Council met on 2026-08-17 (Monday, August 17, 2026), at City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Miller was out of town, so the mayor's business item was skipped. All roll-call votes taken during the meeting passed unanimously. The council approved licenses, stop-sign installations, special events, a certified survey map, a public participation plan for a comprehensive plan amendment, and a hydro excavator purchase. The council also heard a presentation from the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and received administrative updates.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of the August 3 and August 10, 2026 meetings were approved as written (no corrections).
  • The consent agenda, including Miscellaneous Licenses and the Claims List, was approved unanimously by roll call.

Treasurer's Report

  • No council comments or questions were raised; the report stood as presented.

Presentations & Communication

  • Monroe Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marcy presented an annual update. She reported 277 current members, 21 new members in 2025, and 24 new members in 2026 to date, with new members from Lena, Argyle, Freeport, Janesville, New Glarus, and Monroe. The Chamber has 25 ambassadors. Recent activities included 'Meet the Council Members' and mayoral forums (about 100 attendees each), fireside chats, and a first-year Chamber Derby fundraiser that raised about $6,500. Staffing now includes a part-time executive director, a part-time events coordinator, and a newly added part-time development coordinator. Future plans include no new events, continued recruitment, an HR essentials workshop taught by four local HR professionals, review of the city's ten-year plan for gaps the Chamber can fill, and a new board finance committee. She expressed appreciation for the city's support in 'time, talent, and treasure.' She said revenue comes from city support, the visitor promotion board, membership dues, and events, and the Chamber wants to reduce dependence on dues. She attributed Lena's membership to Lena residents who shop in Monroe.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No citizens or property/business owners appeared to address the council.

License Committee

  • Approved unanimously a resolution granting Green County House a temporary Class B premise extension and an outdoor beer garden in conjunction with Cheese Days. Conditions include water-permeable coverings over any storm sewer grates in affected street areas and licensed operators on site at all times.
  • Approved unanimously a resolution granting the Monroe Lions Club a temporary Class B fermented malt beverage license and outdoor beer garden for the 2026 Green County Fall Nationals Tractor Pull at the Green County Fairgrounds, from September 12, 2026 at 10 a.m. through September 13, 2026 at 1 a.m. The licensed premises include the grandstand, the fenced section of the infield with bleachers, and the exhibition hall or an outside fenced area south of the building (weather permitting). Underage persons are permitted under Wis. Stat. § 125.266, and the beer garden is subject to fire inspector inspection.

Public Safety Committee

  • Approved unanimously a resolution authorizing installation of stop signs at 4th Street and 22nd Avenue and at 4th Street and 25th Avenue, plus a stop bar at 22nd Avenue. Staff explained a 'stop bar' is a white pavement line. The traffic controls are permanent, not just for construction.
  • Approved unanimously three special events:
    1. Monroe Rural Fire District pancake breakfast fundraiser on October 4, 2026, 7-11 a.m.
    2. Green County Fall Nationals Tractor & Truck Pull on September 12, 2026, 8 a.m.-11:59 p.m. at the Green County Fairgrounds.
    3. Green County House Inc. Huber Bock Run on September 19, 2026, 12:30-1:45 p.m. in the 1400-1600 blocks of 13th Street and the 1200 block of 14th Avenue.

Plan Commission

  • Approved unanimously a certified survey map combining four parcels for Cheese Louise at 905 30th Street. Council discussion clarified that this is an existing local cheese business (Knox family/Matterhorn) planning to expand smoking and packaging operations, not full cheese processing. It is not expected to affect water or wastewater usage.
  • Approved unanimously a resolution establishing public participation procedures for amendments to the City of Monroe Comprehensive Plan. This begins a 30-day public comment period before a formal amendment is considered. The pending request involves Wisconsin Power and Light's parcel adjacent to a substation; the parcel is currently mapped residential and proposed for light industrial rezoning to allow substation expansion and relocation or expansion of a storage yard. An alderperson noted a typo in the resolution preamble, which referred to a noticed public meeting held August 17th but should have said August 12th for the Plan Commission meeting. Alders raised questions about future use and property tax implications (the utility parcel is exempt from property tax), and emphasized that the public should have full details. Staff confirmed the parcel has no public access and the plans would not affect neighboring residences. This process adoption also applies to future comp plan amendments.

Judiciary & Ordinance Review Committee

  • Agenda items M.1 and M.2 listed separate resolutions to set public hearings for September 8, 2026: (1) an ordinance repealing and recreating Monroe City Zoning Code § 5-2 regarding in-home daycare, and (2) a zoning text amendment for signs in the Historic Preservation Overlay (HP-O). The transcript does not record a separate motion or roll-call vote on these two items before the council moved to the Board of Public Works item.

Board of Public Works

  • Approved unanimously the purchase of a hydro excavator trailer-mounted unit from MacQueen (spelled 'McQueen' in the transcript) for $72,250, funded from the capital budget moderate depreciation account. Staff explained the unit uses high-pressure water and vacuum excavation to identify unknown water service line materials, including lead service lines, by digging down about six feet without excavating entire terraces and roads. Each service identified as copper can save roughly $850 versus contractor identification. An alderperson noted the resolution said 'Council of the Whole,' but it should have been the Board of Public Works; the recommendation had originated with the Board of Public Works.

Alderpersons' Business & Administrative Updates

  • Alderpersons highlighted the Concerts on the Square series, including a well-received Saturday concert by 'The Jimmies,' with one more concert on the Thursday of Cheese Days. An upcoming Chamber golf outing was mentioned.
  • An alderperson noted the TID/TIF 101 presentation at the August 12 Plan Commission meeting and encouraged colleagues to watch the video, calling TIDs and TIFs key economic development tools.
  • The administrator provided further detail on the Wisconsin Power and Light comp plan item: the company plans a substation expansion and would move or expand its storage yard into the adjacent parcel it owns.
  • The council was reminded that there is no meeting on August 31, 2026 (a fifth Monday), and the next regular council meeting will be Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
  • Alderpersons and staff thanked poll workers and election officials for the previous Tuesday's election and praised the new voting system.
  • One alderperson initially cited a '2.9% growth' figure for the city but corrected that the 2.9% figure was for Wisconsin as a whole, not Monroe.
  • No public comments or press questions were presented.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Green County House and Monroe Lions Club temporary alcohol licenses and beer gardens approved unanimously.
  • Stop signs and a stop bar on 4th Street approved unanimously.
  • Three special events approved unanimously.
  • Cheese Louise certified survey map approved unanimously.
  • Comprehensive plan public participation procedures adopted unanimously; a 30-day public comment period begins for the proposed WPL land use and zoning change.
  • Hydro excavator purchase approved unanimously.
  • Public hearing dates for September 8, 2026, were listed (in-home daycare zoning and HP-O sign text amendment), though no separate vote was captured in the transcript.
  • The meeting adjourned after a motion and second.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, so it's 6 30. We'll call to the city council meeting to order, and we'll stand for the pledge of allegiance, please. First order businesses roll call, please. Older gentlemen here, older true heart. Here, older Wartonweiler. Here. Older Shaver. Here, older Frankie. Here. Older McGuire. Here, older Bestine. Here, older Vokley. Here. An older motion. Here. Item E are there, or excuse me, D, any corrections to the August 3rd and 10th minute meetings. Meaning minutes. Hearing none, those will stand as written. Item E presentations and petitions of petitions and communication. And we have one order of business tonight. The Monroe Chamber of Commerce has a presentation. Thank you. Thanks for having us tonight. So we were just wanted to share with you what we've done over the past year and kind of looking forward to what we're going to be working on in the next year and some of our partnerships that we are doing with the city. So just to bring um tell you a little bit about how we look at the mission of the chamber. We look for promotion, promoting our businesses, offering them networking opportunities and then educational opportunities. So currently we have 277 members. In 2025, we had 21 new members come into the chamber, and as of today for 2026, we're already at 24 new members. So our membership is on a really good up wet board trajectory. And the thing that I'm really excited about is that we've had members just this year join us from Lena, Argyle, Freeport, Janesville, New Glaris, and Monroe. So we've even kind of spread out of just the boundaries of Monroe, which I think that shows that they're they're seeing what we're putting out there. So we're really happy about that. We do our business after fives, our ribbon cuttings, just really promoting a lot of our businesses, working our social media numbers are really good. We've had a lot of people that interact with us. We have our ambassador program, and we currently have 25 ambassadors, and those are business leaders in the community. They meet once a month, they come and do a business meeting and then they go out and they site visit for a business. Um that program as well. Over the last year, we had educational sessions for business business people on fraud marketing. We had a half day AI summit and a couple new things that we added this last year that some of you participated in. We had sessions where they uh when the elections were being held, where we had meet the council members, which gave the council city council members who were running for office a platform to get in front of the community, and that was community-wide. That was not just for our business members. Um, and then we also did one of those for the mayors. So we had probably a hundred people turn up to each one of those and had a really good feedback about that. And we also added um some fireside chats that we've been holding at the Y, and again, we partnered with the city Brittany and and Mayor Douglas did one, um, and then Joe Monroe and Ron Olson did one right before the referendum to talk about the new school. And then the other big thing that we added this last year is our Derby event, our chamber derby, um, which we did on the day of the Kentucky Derby, and we raised about $6,500 for that for our first year, and have really heard I think it's gonna be a big event for us. It was very well received. Um, people came dressed to the nines, and um I talked to some people there that I didn't recognize. There were some people, there were two couples from Rockford, and there were a group of girls from Madison. I think there were six of them. I'm sorry, from Appleton that had come to stay for the weekend.

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