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.

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

They have been determined to all be city residents.

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

They all live in Waukeshaw.

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

Okay.

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.

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

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

Good evening, everybody.

Thank you so much for having me here this evening.

Um, as you have probably seen from my materials, I am an attorney, obviously licensed to practice in the state of Wisconsin.

Uh my law firm is in downtown Waukesha.

It's Hippenmeyer, Riley, Blum, Schmitzer, and Fabian.

I've been at that law firm since 1999 as a legal secretary and moved up my way into graduating from Marquette University in 2003 and have been practicing there since that time.

Um I have been a city resident since 1999.

Um my husband and I are homeowners in Waukeshaw, and then I'm also a downtown business owner as our um law firm is in downtown Waukesha.

Um I have been practicing for essentially 23 years.

Um primary area of practices are municipal prosecution as well as family law, which includes divorce work, custody and placement work, um, guardian ed light and work.

In my roles as municipal prosecutor, I personally have been the lead village prosecutor for the village of Peewaukee since 2004.

Um we have uh one to two court dates each month.

Um I prosecute everything that our court here is doing, such as um speeding tickets, other minor infractions, municipal ordnance violations, the most serious things we see are operating while intoxicated offenses.

In addition to that, we also have the high school is in the village of Peewaukey, so we do their juvenile court as well.

Um I know that that's a part of this position on Mondays that there are juveniles that the court sees and um handles matters for.

In addition to that, our municipal our office has represented five municipalities.

I have also represented the village of Eagle, and I've done their traffic court.

I did that from 2003 until 2019 when one of my associate attorneys took over that position.

So we also represent currently Village of McGuanago, Village of East Troy, and City of New Berlin.

I have substantial knowledge and understanding of the Missimal courts, how they work, how they operate.

And in addition to that, I also have my family law practice as I've indicated.

With that, we um I have a substantial litigation practice.

Sadly, we are in court a lot on family cases, as you can likely all imagine.

Um, but I have trials there where I'm presenting evidentiary matters, um, I'm presenting a case, um, and then that is also in our municipal court where I have trials there as well, um, where I handle prosecution of cases that would become before a municipal court.

So those have been my primary areas of practice, um, and I believe that that is well suited for this position in stepping into a judicial role when it's something I can essentially do and just walk into the position tomorrow with the first court date.

There will not be much of a learning curve for me other than procedurally how this court operates.

I was able to observe two of the traffic courts last this past Wednesday and the Wednesday prior, just to get kind of a sense of what court was like and how uh the city of Waxhaw handles things.

In addition to my legal experience, I have really strong ties to community service, and that's a huge part of what I find to be important.

Um I have been on the Waukesha and Pewaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau since 2003.

So 23 years doing that as well.

Um I was past president, I'm the current president and chair of that now.

Um, in addition to that, I serve on the police and fire commission since 2019.

I was involved in the process of handling hiring our two chiefs who are here tonight, both Chief Thompson as well as Chief Goplin.

Um, and I'm currently the chair of the police and fire commission presently.

Um that's a little bit about me.

I don't know if there are questions now that you'd like to ask, but that kind of runs through the gamut of my experience and where I'm at in my practice.

Okay, any questions.

Go ahead.

Alden Rick Limke.

One of the things I liked about uh Judge Wimmer is when he was dealing with youth, uh and they were, for example, truant and that sort of stuff, he tried to get them on the straight and narrow with uh uh sentencing the community service rather than putting a stain on their record.

So how do you feel about that?

I think that's a very solid practice.

We do that in all the courts that I practice in for my municipal court.

Community service is often a really great deferred prosecution option.

Um, in addition to community service, there are also classes that can be offered to juveniles.

There's a shoplifting class, there's a drinking course, there's a drug-related class.

Those are all things that can be considered in lieu of sort of a you know, a one-strike, you know, one strike, we're not gonna cause any issues for you.

We want you to be on the straight narrow.

We want you to be able to move forward without having this on your record, albeit it would be a juvenile record.

But nonetheless, I'm fully in support of that and would want that to continue in the city as well, which I know is something they already do.

So thank you.

Okay, Alan Piper.

Thank you.

Um Lori, thank you for your interest in the position.

And I have two questions, and I'll have them for both the candidates this evening.

One I think is probably a short one, and then the other one may be a little bit more lengthy.

Um, first question is do you intend to run for the position in April?

Good question.

So, what I would say is that my practice is winding down.

This timing of where we're at now provides me a unique opportunity to, so I guess this is not going to be a short answer, if that's okay, if I may.

Um, my so full transparency, my plan is I am winding down my practice as of the end of the year into early next year.

Um, this unique opportunity, albeit sad, as why we're here, um, really presented itself with a short-term appointment.

If there is a candidate that is very interested and qualified and seeks to have a write-in campaign, obviously, as we know, whomever gets this appointment, their name will not be on the ballot.

It'll be a write-in.

If there's a candidate who comes across, you know, presents themselves, then it's not something that I would pursue.

Um, if it doesn't appear that there's really anybody interested, then it is something I would think about.

Um, however, what that does is based on my what I intend to do is it would result in obviously there needing to be another election sometime in the next year, because I would resign before the end of the term.

I would say I'm not sure for purposes of today because this appointment is just through the end of April, and there's no issue with that and me doing this role in that capacity.

Also, whomever gets appointed, there's no guarantee that they are going to get a write-in campaign and be elected.

So my other question, um, and you've touched on this a little bit, but I still want to ask it.

Can you talk to the council a little bit about your um trial experience and how it pertains directly to the role of municipal judge?

Sure.

So I've had hundreds of trials that I've participated in where I've been either representing a party in a divorce case, a husband or a wife or a parent or something like that.

And in addition to that, um, I've done all my municipal traffic court trials.

I understand the rules of evidence.

That's a huge important part that a judge needs to understand.

Um, if there are objections that are being presented, um, a judge needs to be able to rule on that objection and has to understand the rule, um, the rules of evidence associated with that.

Um, in addition, I understand and have seen how judges operate in the sense of their demeanor and how they treat their um the people who come before them in court, and I believe that my personality can um accommodate sort of being respectful to all the litigants that might come before me, um, as well as um giving everybody the opportunity to be heard, and I think that's what I can bring to the table is I've seen that on a regular basis.

Um in addition to that, I guess what I've seen from the municipal traffic court side is I fully understand the elements associated with any case that might be before this court, a speeding ticket, an operating while intoxicated ticket.

I understand that the burden is clear, convincing, and satisfactory.

There is no um question in my mind that uh without a lot of reference.

I understand that I know the case law, I understand I've done motions to suppress, so I'm able to understand the law that's associated with the um issues that are going to be presented to this court.

Um so from my perspective, I think I've got that background from not only my experience in circuit court, Waukesha County Circuit Court, but through the municipal court trials as well.

Great.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else?

I've got one.

Alvin Dean Lemke.

Thanks for uh putting your name in the hat.

I really appreciate it.

You mentioned operating well intoxicated twice now.

Is that OWI?

Correct.

And what's DUI?

Same thing.

Driving under the influence.

There's a difference, but I want to know what it is.

So in Wisconsin, the statute is operating while intoxicated.

The first element is is are you operating a motor vehicle?

So DUI under Wisconsin law, it would be considered the same thing.

That makes sense.

Statutorily, it's operating while intoxicated.

Thank you.

So I'm not sure if I answered your question, but you did.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yep.

You're welcome.

All right.

Anyone else?

All right, thank you very much.

Okay, thank you, everybody.

Appreciate your time.

Christopher.

And just please start.

Sure.

Good evening, everybody.

Um, just to begin, I'd like to give my condolences to Judge Wimmer's family and to his friends.

It's an unfortunate circumstance.

Um, and that's what's brought us here.

Uh I have practiced law since 2004, about 22 years.

I've been in private practice my entire life.

I graduated from Marquette Law School.

Um, I uh had been uh promoted to a partner with my previous firm.

Um I had worked there for two thousand for about 16 years.

Uh we handled foreclosure and bankruptcy matters.

I mostly practice in federal court.

I did get hired by a national law firm just uh this past year to run their uh national bankruptcy department.

The law firm is expanding throughout the country.

We see that creditors are hiring firms that are located in multiple states rather than individual states.

So I saw kind of the writing on the wall, and uh went to this firm and have implemented their practice for bankruptcy.

Um I have learned about 20 different jurisdictions, their rules, their local rules, uh implemented our structure for our firm and how to handle cases in each district.

I manage 15 staff and oversee about 24 attorneys throughout the country.

Um I'm interested in this position because I have a sense of civic duty to the community.

I've lived here since 2010.

I grew up in Cottage.

I'm in a Wisconsin resident my entire life.

Uh married my high school sweetheart.

We have three children.

We moved here uh in 2010, and we've uh had a wonderful life up until now.

Um coach throughout uh my children's lives, and I enjoy giving back to the community.

I was a Cub Scout uh PAC leader.

I have coached hockey, I've coached baseball, I've coached soccer, I've coached basketball.

Um I volunteer at our local church.

Uh so it's a opportunity to give back to the community, especially in a dire moment like this.

Okay.

Are you done?

I'm sorry.

All right, any questions?

Uh older person uh haven't slept in.

Yeah, um, and looking at your experience that you've laid out here and and some of what you've talked about, um, it looks like you've got a lot of bankruptcy court experience.

Do you have any municipal court experience that um would lend itself to this role?

Not necessarily a full amount of municipal court.

I have appeared at municipal court hearings for some some items, uh speeding tickets, things like that.

Um, but most of my my experience is through federal court and circuit court state court uh cases.

What I can tell you though is um I'm a quick learner.

Uh it's a municipal code that is structured, and I've been looking at it, and uh if I was appointed this position, I would step into it and handle it like I've handled every other position I've taken uh going into cases.

Thank you.

Um old person Rick Lemke, then older old person uh Piper.

I just want to ask the same question how you would uh handle juvenile court, uh more of a community service uh uh penalty or like I did with the last candidate.

Sure.

So for me, uh I would want to apply the law how it how it should be applied with discretion.

Um I would prefer community service when appropriate.

I do have children myself.

They kids don't make the right choice all the time, and you'd want them to have the opportunity to write that.

And I think it's fair to give them that opportunity and not mark them for the rest of their lives.

Uh so I would probably lean towards that, but I would have to go by each fact in each case and make that determination.

Okay.

Thank you.

Christopher, thank you for your interest in the position in being here this evening.

Um, same questions or set of questions that I have uh for Laurie, I'll have for you.

Number one, do you see an interest or will you run for the position when it comes up in April?

I I do see an interest in it.

Um I would welcome this opportunity and see how it plays out, uh, but I would certainly have an interest in running for that position.

And then can you talk to the council a little bit about your trial experience as it relates to municipal court?

Yes, sir.

I've had trials in state court uh for foreclosure actions.

I've had uh trials in bankruptcy court, federal court, on uh evidentiary hearings in front of judges.

I know the rules of evidence.

I uh you know, filing motion in limines, motion practices for for trials, um, conducting cross-examination.

Uh I've had uh testimony for debtors for my clients.

Um I'm very familiar with trial procedure.

Uh yeah, and that would not be a problem handling cases.

Great, thank you.

Okay, any other questions?

All right, Christopher, thank you very much.

Have a seat and we'll it'll now come back to the common counsel um for uh making a determination uh for the who to appoint as an interim judge.

So um this is going to be an open discussion and as well as an open vote.

The only time you get a um a paper ballot vote is one for common council president.

Um so who wishes to start discussion or a motion piper.

I'll move to appoint Lori Fabian as the interim judge for the city of Waukesha.

Almond Eric second pain, Eric Payne seconds.

All right, discussion on that.

The disc the motion is to appoint Laurie Fabian as the interim judge.

I just go ahead, go ahead.

Um my vote for Laurie doesn't uh doesn't downplay your experience um in your type of law, but because she has uh municipal experience is why I voted that direction.

My vote for Laurie doesn't uh doesn't downplay your experience in your type of law, but because she has uh municipal experience is why I voted that direction.

So Piper.

Yeah, I will I'll concur.

I said Mr.

Drowney certainly appreciate your interest in the position, but my motion for Miss Fabian is based on the fact that she simply has a little bit more municipal experience.

But we appreciate your interest in the role.

Thank you.

And obviously we're not done yet.

Yep.

Alderman Rick Lemke.

When I look at both candidates, I think they're very capable of doing the job.

And when I um originally looked at the packets uh at home, uh I did have a favorite.

Um I I would be voting for Christopher uh because he at least expressed an interest in running again in April.

Whereas Lori stated that if she did get the um win, she would have to resign within a year.

I know we're only appointing till April, uh but when I when I tried to come before the council to be appointed as an alderman, uh I mean I investigated first uh what my intent was after the three-month or four-month appointment and found canvassed the neighborhood and found out what the support was for my position because I I didn't want to take a temporary uh job.

It's either all in or not.

So uh my advice, even though I I think that uh Lori, if it's the municipal bill, I was just disappointed when she said that she would resign because she's uh winding up her her practice, and that's where I had the problems.

So that's just my feeling.

Uh thank you.

Okay, anyone else?

All right, so the motion is to appoint Laurie Fabian as the interim judge.

Um please vote.

Rick Lempke, no.

Christine, notion passes seven to five.

Um so at this point we'll do the administration of or the oath of office.

Um Lori, can you please come up here and Katie will do the oath of office?

And just so everyone knows, I'm stepping down.

I want to talk to Christopher.

Just raise your right hand.

Okay.

Hi Laurie.

And the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin.

And the Constitution of the City of Wisconsin.

And we'll faithfully discharge the duties of interim judge.

And I'll faithfully discharge the duties of interim judge.

Of the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

I'm the City of Waukesha.

For the term to expire, April 30th, 2026.

For the term to expire, April 30th, 2026.

That's my ability to the best of my ability.

So congratulations.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you, everybody, for your time.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Is there anything else that you need for?

No, I'm uh congratulations.

Um, and uh you will be contacted I'd probably tomorrow um to work through the details of starting as municipal judge.

Thank you.

Thank you, everybody, for your time, and I appreciate your support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Uh next item is consent agenda.

Is there any items to be removed from consent?

Was that an objection?

Um, so uh without any um requests to remove items, the entire consent agenda is approved approved unanimously.

The next item is uh introduce a resolution to vacate a portion of West Avenue right of way in connection with the sale of surplus property at 223 South West Avenue.

Um Brian, I'm gonna look to you to just explain this.

Thank you.

Uh, you'll recall that we declared a former water utility building on West Avenue to be surplus property and to dispose of it, and we have a buyer.

Uh the complication arose that a portion of the building extends into the right of way of West Avenue, and so we can't convey the property with a building that crosses over the property line.

We would have to separate out that piece of the building that's within the right-of-way, which of course makes no sense.

So this is the beginning of a process to do what's called vacate that little portion of the right-of-way.

And it's only that part of it on which the building extends.

That will stay.

This motion to vacate or this action to vacate will not change anything physically.

Sidewalk remains the same.

The building stays in the same place.

So it's a process that's controlled by statute.

It requires the introduction of a resolution.

And that's all this is tonight.

There's no final action taken on this tonight.

It's just an introduction of the resolution.

And if you looked at the attachments to your agenda, you'll see that we also recorded a Liz pendants, which is one of the other procedural steps for starting this process.

We have to wait at least 40 days before the resolution can pass, because we now have to send out or post and publish notices that this is happening, giving the public an opportunity to weigh in on it if they want.

So this will come up for final action.

Uh we intend on March 17th, which is a little bit more than 40 days from now, and then we can uh continue the process uh and wrap up the sale of the property.

So if there are any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

Yeah, Eric.

Yeah.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Sorry, Your Honor.

That's right.

Uh Brian.

Um I I know you did all your due diligence and and all, but my question is down the road sometime.

Is there ever a chance that they could lay claim to the part of the road that's going to be vacated?

That who could?

That the property at 223.

Well, they will lay claim to it because that's the intent that they own it outright.

It goes into the roadway, right?

No.

It it encroaches into the area where ordinarily there would be sidewalk.

All right.

And the sidewalk does a little zigzag around the building, but it doesn't affect the road at all.

It doesn't go past the sidewalk.

Terrace or street.

Right.

It it's only the uh the extent of the building.

Thank you.

Okay, sure.

And between now and March 17th, if you if you're kind of confused as to exactly what's happening, just go down there and you'll see that the building pops out a little the sidewalk pops towards the road a little bit, and the building is closer to most other.

Basically, just look at it, and I think you'll have an understanding of what's being vacated.

With this all goes through.

Any other questions?

All right.

So there is no action on this.

Um if you do if you end up with questions, please give Brian a call so you can.

Well, let me note one thing also that the caption of the resolution will change slightly because the resolution that was attached to the agenda says a resolution discontinuing and vacating a portion of sidewalk within the right-of-way of West Avenue, and that's a little misleading.

We're really not vacating any portion of the sidewalk.

So the caption on the final resolution on March 17th will say resolution discontinuing and vacating a portion of the right of way of West Avenue.

Didn't want you to think that we were uh amending or altering the existing sidewalk at all.

Okay, thank you.

Um next item is um reports.

Uh transit commission anything, uh no meeting, no report.

Okay, water utility commission.

Um there's a meeting.

I think it may be this Thursday.

If not, it's next Thursday.

No, it's it's it's a it's it's a couple of weeks away.

Whatever.

Uh I didn't look it up.

Uh IT board, alder person manion.

Meeting tomorrow night, 6 p.m.

Uh City Hall training room.

All are welcome to attend.

Thank you.

Landmark commission report, alder person cuisine.

Thank you, Mayor.

Our meeting was canceled.

We have not had any applications as of yet, and we're still seeking out uh our funding for the part of the program.

Okay, thank you.

Redevelopment authority report, Alder Person Rick Lemke.

No meeting and none scheduled yet.

Okay, Park Recreation and Forestry Board Report, Alder Person Wells.

No meeting, no report.

Uh Library Board Report, Alder Person Heaven Slevan.

Um at the last council meeting, I mentioned the year-round reading challenge that is now live.

Um so I encourage everyone to download the Bean Stack app and join the reading is lit challenge.

If you have questions about how to do that, you can see me after.

We also have two important things coming up this coming week.

Uh we have Library Legislative Day on Tuesday, where um director Bruce Gay, as well as multiple library board trustees, will be in Madison, including myself talking to our legislative, excuse me, our legislators about the importance of libraries, and we also have our next meeting on Thursday at 4 45 in the library board room.

And of report.

Okay, just going back.

Uh next water utility commission meeting is the 19th.

Um community development block grant.

Uh Maria, anything?

Okay.

Um, and I uh skipped uh cemetery commission report.

Alder Person Chris.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh all our action items were on consent agenda at our last meeting.

So no meeting this month.

Okay.

Uh housing authority report, alder person Piper.

Thank you.

Um, we had a meeting on the 21st of January.

Um, Alderman Chrisine attended.

Thank you, Mike, for coming.

Um at the at the meeting, we discussed a variety of different things.

Um the building at Saratoga on Saratorga scored a 99% out of a hundred uh with HUD, which is a rarity that the that HUD scores any property that high.

So that's certainly a compliment to uh the maintenance staff of the housing authority.

Um the audit work is wrapping up and it went well.

Um we also had uh two new landlords inquire about set the section eight program and a property in Brookfield.

Uh we have three new families in the new bishops, uh Bishops and Brookfield property along along Blue Mound Road.

Um so it's nice to see the program expanding um into Brookfield.

Um our next meeting is on the 25th of February, 9 a.m.

at the Housing Authority on Arcadian Avenue.

All are welcome to attend.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Public art committee report will um come back come to at the next meeting.

Um Plan Commission, no action.

No report.

Uh finance committee report, all the person piper.

No report this evening.

Building and ground report committee report.

No report, thank you.

ONL, Alder Person Witeska.

All items on consent.

Uh HR, Alder Person Widgerson.

Um, just letting everybody know as a reminder, the your performance review surveys are due February 13th.

If you have any questions or are having struggling getting that in on the date required, please see me.

We would like a response from everyone because um, as you know, it is our most important job that we got to um provide performance review action to our city administrator.

And our next HR meeting will be um Wednesday, February 18th.

End of report.

Thank you.

Board of Public Works.

Uh yeah, all items were on consent.

Um we are entering bidding season, so you'll start seeing uh project bids for 2026 CIP projects uh during this report at pretty much every future meeting going forward.

That's all I got.

Here it's bidding and contract season.

So um city attorney's report.

Report uh city administrator, no report.

Okay, uh mayor's report.

Um the only thing I have is the proclamation for National Engineers Week.

Um I've uh this is uh a proclamation that we've done for quite a few years, and I always get a kick out of uh whereas engineering has been called invisible or stealth profession because everything around us and the things we use every day have been engineered in some way, yet we may not see the engineers behind the scenes or know much about engineering.

Um attorneys think they know a bunch about engineering, but uh we'll leave it at that.

I always did.

I always did um so uh this has been uh National Engineers Week has been uh happening since 1951.

It's dedicated to ensuring the diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.

Um we're proud of our talented engineers and our team, and they help improve our community and quality of life.

So we proclaim February 22nd through the 28th, 2026, 2026 as National Engineers Week, and urge all citizens to join me in recognizing the important contributions of engineers to our daily lives, which I'm sure we will have the entire community come out and proclaim our engineers as um really good people.

So that's what I have under Mayor's report.

Are there any referrals?

I make a referral to I think it would probably be uh whoever's printing up our our uh activity guide, and and I guess we're getting rid of the workspace.

So uh my referral is if we mention AARP, I'd also like to have AMAC, A M A C listed as well.

And I'll send that over to Katie.

Thank you.

Okay.

Tony, why don't you follow up with Steve on that?

Um, any other referrals.

Okay, if there's no objections, we are adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.