Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Ordinance & License Committee Meeting - February 23, 2026: License Approvals and Reckless Driving Towing Discussion

Public Meetings — Monday, February 23, 2026

BodyWaukesha, Wisconsin

SessionPublic Meetings

DateMonday, February 23, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 20:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:02

All right.

0:03

It is six o'clock, so we will call to order the Monday, February 23rd, 2026 meeting of the ordinance and licensing committee.

0:13

All members of the committee are present, so we have a quorum.

0:18

Is anyone would anyone here like to make a public comment?

0:22

There is no one in the uh audience.

0:29

Whatever.

0:29

There's no one out there, so I don't think anybody wants to make public comment.

0:32

Moving on to approval of minutes from our February 9th meeting.

0:39

Do any members of the committee object to the minutes as they are presented?

0:47

Seeing no objections, we will consider the minutes approved by unanimous consent.

0:52

Moving on to invited bartender applications.

0:57

First up, we have Sarah Elizabeth Evans for the Q Club.

1:03

Sarah does not appear to be here.

1:07

And we didn't uh take any action last meeting, so we will also hold this application over to the next meeting.

1:25

Moving on, we have Lupita Roque Roke.

1:32

Um who is also not here.

1:46

Um so let's hold that one over to the next meeting.

1:50

Also, yeah, Brian.

1:56

I just want to tell you that for both of those applicants, I didn't see anything in their records that would uh prevent them from being issued a license.

2:06

Everything that's substantially related is far enough in the past that I think it's uh I think it was eight and nine years for those.

2:16

So I didn't have any objection.

2:18

Uh the most recent offenses for the second uh applicant that you mentioned indicate that she's a terrible driver, but uh we really can't hold that against her as far as an operating license goes.

2:36

Um Sarah Evans does appear to not be the best driver I've ever seen, but uh most are related to traffic, not uh well I yeah, and now that you mention it, um I think she self-reported a recent OWI, but it didn't show up on the police check.

2:57

So I would imagine she would not report that if it weren't so.

3:01

So yeah, we probably better follow up on that.

3:04

That was yeah, actually, I think one of the questions from last time we met was how she came up with something we didn't know about.

3:10

Yeah, and if that is the case, then certainly I would object to that in the strongest possible terms.

3:17

Um I know there was a question posed before the meeting started.

3:21

What a the BAC is right, which is done at the hospital level.

3:29

Oh, I it was over 0.08.

3:35

I don't know, it doesn't matter.

3:36

Once it's over zero eight, it's an impermissible blood alcohol content.

3:43

Yeah.

3:47

So I just wanted to let you know that in case I'm not at the uh meeting where you finally take these up for action.

3:53

Okay, thank you, Brian.

3:54

Yeah, we'll we'll see if they show up to the next meeting.

3:58

Um just to kind of keep them to the standard.

4:00

We try to keep most people too.

4:03

Um yeah, Steve, go ahead.

4:06

So will this be on the comma council agenda then?

4:10

No.

4:10

Uh or okay, we'll hold them both over to the next coin meeting.

4:16

Um so we will move on to other applications.

4:22

Um any concerns from the clerk's office about either of these applications?

4:26

Extension of premise.

4:28

I assume that's something we do yearly.

4:31

Correct.

4:32

It's their annual uh St.

4:34

Patrick's Day celebration plans.

4:36

So no concerns from the clerk's office.

4:38

Yep, and then also Magellans for a sidewalk cafe.

4:41

Again, assume this is uh same as every year.

4:44

Okay, perfect.

4:45

Correct.

4:48

I just have one quick question because I know that this has come up in the past with Magellans.

4:52

Um, do we have notes from engineering specifically related to attaching stuff to the sidewalks and and whatnot?

5:02

Any notes would be included on the emails just because I don't have them in front of me, but with the application itself that Paul has.

5:08

Yeah.

5:09

But I do believe it's just the ones that are verbatim for all applications.

5:13

Sure.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████59%

Licensing Regulation████████████████████26%

Procedural██████████13%

Engineering And Infrastructure██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Ordinance & License Committee Meeting - February 23, 2026

The Waukesha Ordinance & License Committee met on Monday, February 23, 2026, at 6:00 PM in Council Chambers. All five committee members were present. The meeting covered routine license approvals, a discussion on adopting state legislation to impound vehicles used in reckless driving, and held several applications pending further review. The meeting adjourned at 6:21 PM.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the February 9, 2026 meeting were approved by unanimous consent.
Magellan's Extension of Premises and Sidewalk Cafe: A motion by Ald. Halvensleben, seconded by Ald. Van Trieste, to approve the annual St. Patrick's Day extension of premises and sidewalk cafe applications for Magellan's was carried unanimously (5-0).

Discussion Items

Reckless Driving Vehicle Impoundment: The committee discussed a referral from Ald. Van Trieste to consider adopting Wisconsin State Statute 349.115 into municipal code, which would allow the city to impound vehicles involved in reckless driving offenses. City Attorney Brian provided a memo from his assistant Michael Radovich, noting that initial discussions with the police department had gone "full circle" on the severity of the remedy, but the final recommendation was to adopt the statute as-is. Alderpersons raised questions about enforcement, costs for stolen vehicles, impoundment periods (60 vs. 90 days), and the need for data on recent reckless driving citations. It was decided to table the item until the next meeting to allow for further input from the police department and Michael Radovich, who will attend to answer questions.

Key Outcomes

Invited Bartender Applications Held: Applications for Sarah Elizabeth Evans (Q Club) and Lupita Stefania Roque were held over to the next meeting. The city attorney noted that both applicants had past offenses (eight and nine years old) that did not appear to be substantially related to license eligibility, but a recent self-reported OWI by Evans required follow-up.
Reckless Driving Ordinance Referred: No action was taken on the reckless driving impoundment ordinance. The committee will revisit the item at the next meeting with additional information from the city attorney's office and the police department.

Meeting Transcript

All right. It is six o'clock, so we will call to order the Monday, February 23rd, 2026 meeting of the ordinance and licensing committee. All members of the committee are present, so we have a quorum. Is anyone would anyone here like to make a public comment? There is no one in the uh audience. Whatever. There's no one out there, so I don't think anybody wants to make public comment. Moving on to approval of minutes from our February 9th meeting. Do any members of the committee object to the minutes as they are presented? Seeing no objections, we will consider the minutes approved by unanimous consent. Moving on to invited bartender applications. First up, we have Sarah Elizabeth Evans for the Q Club. Sarah does not appear to be here. And we didn't uh take any action last meeting, so we will also hold this application over to the next meeting. Moving on, we have Lupita Roque Roke. Um who is also not here. Um so let's hold that one over to the next meeting. Also, yeah, Brian. I just want to tell you that for both of those applicants, I didn't see anything in their records that would uh prevent them from being issued a license. Everything that's substantially related is far enough in the past that I think it's uh I think it was eight and nine years for those. So I didn't have any objection. Uh the most recent offenses for the second uh applicant that you mentioned indicate that she's a terrible driver, but uh we really can't hold that against her as far as an operating license goes. Um Sarah Evans does appear to not be the best driver I've ever seen, but uh most are related to traffic, not uh well I yeah, and now that you mention it, um I think she self-reported a recent OWI, but it didn't show up on the police check. So I would imagine she would not report that if it weren't so. So yeah, we probably better follow up on that. That was yeah, actually, I think one of the questions from last time we met was how she came up with something we didn't know about. Yeah, and if that is the case, then certainly I would object to that in the strongest possible terms. Um I know there was a question posed before the meeting started. What a the BAC is right, which is done at the hospital level. Oh, I it was over 0.08. I don't know, it doesn't matter. Once it's over zero eight, it's an impermissible blood alcohol content. Yeah. So I just wanted to let you know that in case I'm not at the uh meeting where you finally take these up for action. Okay, thank you, Brian. Yeah, we'll we'll see if they show up to the next meeting. Um just to kind of keep them to the standard. We try to keep most people too. Um yeah, Steve, go ahead. So will this be on the comma council agenda then? No. Uh or okay, we'll hold them both over to the next coin meeting. Um so we will move on to other applications. Um any concerns from the clerk's office about either of these applications? Extension of premise. I assume that's something we do yearly. Correct. It's their annual uh St. Patrick's Day celebration plans. So no concerns from the clerk's office.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com