OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Waukesha City Council Meeting - February 3, 2026

Public Meetings — Tuesday, February 3, 2026
BodyWaukesha, Wisconsin
SessionPublic Meetings
DateTuesday, February 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:56

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Hello, everyone.

0:05

We'll call the common council meeting of Tuesday, February 3rd to order.

0:09

We'll start with roll call.

0:11

Alders Molson and Matthews are unable to attend tonight.

0:15

Christine here.

0:17

Payne.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Wigderson.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Piper.

0:20

Bandrieste.

0:21

Here.

0:21

Wells.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Manion.

0:24

Moltson's absent.

0:25

Mateska?

0:26

Anderson.

0:27

Here.

0:27

Calvin Slaven here.

0:28

Matthews is absent.

0:30

Dean Lemke.

0:31

Here.

0:32

Rick Lemke.

0:33

Here.

0:33

Camacho is absent.

0:40

Okay.

0:41

We do have a quorum.

0:42

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:45

Tonight we have Ray Wells leaders in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:50

Go ahead, Ray.

0:52

Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God.

1:01

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:07

Thank you very much, Ray.

1:09

Next item is public comment.

1:11

No one has signed up for public comment.

1:14

We'll move to approval of the minutes from January 20th, 2026.

1:20

I'll make the motion to approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026.

1:25

Second.

1:26

Alman Dean Lemke, second.

1:29

Any discussion?

1:31

Okay.

1:32

Please vote.

1:34

Christine I.

1:36

Rick Lumpke aye.

1:46

That motion passes unanimously.

1:49

The next item is appointment of interim judge.

1:52

We had three people apply for this position.

1:56

Richard Steckroth, Lori Fabian, and Christopher Drought.

2:03

Between the clerk's office and myself, first of all, you have to understand for judges.

2:18

And that's why what you've received in your packets does not include their address or their phone number.

2:25

They have been determined to all be city residents.

2:29

And also they have all had background checks and they've all come back without any issues whatsoever.

2:36

They all live in Waukeshaw.

2:39

And what we want to do real quick is Richard Stuckbroth here.

2:46

Okay.

2:46

So we're gonna go the way we're gonna do this is um Laurie Fabian and Christopher Laurie Fabrian will come up first, have a short introduction.

2:55

You can ask questions, and then um we'll then go to Christopher Drought, short introduction and ask questions.

3:02

So uh Laurie Fabian, please come up to the microphone and provide your introduction and we'll go from there.

3:13

Good evening, everybody.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Pending Litigation█████████████████████████████████████37%
Procedural████████████████████████24%
Community Engagement████████████████16%
Zoning Regulations████████████12%
Public Engagement██████6%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Waukesha City Council Meeting - February 3, 2026

The Waukesha Common Council met on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting lasted approximately 35 minutes, adjourning at 6:35 PM. Key actions included the appointment of an interim municipal judge following the passing of Judge Wimmer, unanimous approval of a consent agenda containing numerous contracts and agreements, and the introduction of a resolution to vacate a portion of West Avenue right-of-way for a property sale.

Consent Calendar

  • ID#25-02572: Renewal of contract with Accurate for commercial appraisal work.
  • ID#26-02849: Extension of the City’s audit contract with Baker Tilly, LLP for audit years 2025 and 2026.
  • ID#26-02889: Contract for technical rescue services with the City of Watertown.
  • ID#26-02882: Other license applications (approved by Ordinance & License Committee).
  • ID#26-02860: Contract extension with United Liquid Waste for bio-solids hauling at the Clean Water Plant.
  • ID#26-02861: Contract Amendment No. 6 with Strand Associates for operational assistance services not to exceed $20,000.
  • ID#26-02868: Contract Change Order No. 1 with August Winter & Sons, Inc., for Fire Station #1 Boiler Replacement.
  • ID#26-02869: Developer’s Agreement with Tukka Properties, Inc., for the Lillyrose Road Senior Living Facility Development.
  • ID#26-02870: Storm Water Management Practice Maintenance Agreement for Lot 1 of the Lillyrose Road Senior Living Facility.
  • ID#26-02871: Storm Water Management Practice Maintenance Agreement for Lot 2 of the Lillyrose Road Senior Living Facility (with Waukesha SL Holdings, LLC).
  • ID#26-02872: Storm Water Management Practice Maintenance Agreement for Lot 3 of the Lillyrose Road Senior Living Facility.
  • ID#26-02888: Contract Change Order No. 1 with LaLonde Contractors, Inc., for the 2025 Silvernail Road Utility and Street Improvements project.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None. No speakers were present for public comment.

Discussion Items

  • Appointment of Interim Judge: The Council interviewed two candidates: Lori Fabian (attorney with municipal prosecution experience) and Christopher Drout (attorney with bankruptcy and foreclosure experience). A third applicant, Richard Stueckroth, was not present. Fabian stated that if appointed, she would likely resign within a year due to winding down her practice, but would consider running if no other candidate emerged. Drout expressed interest in running in April. After discussion, a motion to appoint Lori Fabian as Interim Judge (term expiring April 30, 2026) was approved on a vote of 7 to 5 (Ald. Pieper, Payne, Wells, Manion, Wuteska, Anderson, Halvensleben in favor; Ald. Chrisien, Wigderson, Van Trieste, D. Lemke, R. Lemke opposed). Fabian was immediately sworn in.
  • Introduction of Resolution to Vacate West Avenue Right-of-Way (ID#26-02899): City Attorney Brian explained that a portion of the former water utility building at 223 S. West Ave extends into the public right-of-way. The resolution begins the process to vacate that small portion so the property can be sold. This was only an introduction; no final action was taken. Final action is scheduled for March 17, 2026, after a 40-day public notice period. The sidewalk and roadway are not affected.

Key Outcomes

  • Interim Judge Appointment: Lori Fabian appointed as Interim Judge from February 3, 2026, to April 30, 2026 (vote 7-5). Oath of office administered.
  • Consent Agenda: Passed unanimously with no items removed.
  • West Avenue Vacation: Resolution introduced; final action planned for March 17, 2026.
  • Proclamation: Mayor declared February 22–28, 2026 as National Engineers Week.
  • Referral: Ald. Van Trieste referred a recommendation to include AMAC (American Association of Retired Persons alternative) alongside AARP in the city’s activity guide. This was referred to staff for follow-up.
  • Reminders: Ald. Wigderson noted that performance review surveys for the city administrator are due by February 13, 2026. Ald. Halvensleben promoted the library’s year-round reading challenge and upcoming Library Legislative Day.

Meeting Transcript

Hello, everyone. We'll call the common council meeting of Tuesday, February 3rd to order. We'll start with roll call. Alders Molson and Matthews are unable to attend tonight. Christine here. Payne. Here. Wigderson. Here. Piper. Bandrieste. Here. Wells. Here. Manion. Moltson's absent. Mateska? Anderson. Here. Calvin Slaven here. Matthews is absent. Dean Lemke. Here. Rick Lemke. Here. Camacho is absent. Okay. We do have a quorum. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Tonight we have Ray Wells leaders in the Pledge of Allegiance. Go ahead, Ray. Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much, Ray. Next item is public comment. No one has signed up for public comment. We'll move to approval of the minutes from January 20th, 2026. I'll make the motion to approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026. Second. Alman Dean Lemke, second. Any discussion? Okay. Please vote. Christine I. Rick Lumpke aye. That motion passes unanimously. The next item is appointment of interim judge. We had three people apply for this position. Richard Steckroth, Lori Fabian, and Christopher Drought. Between the clerk's office and myself, first of all, you have to understand for judges.

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