Waukesha Water Commission Meeting - May 21, 2026: Closed Sessions, Commendation, Policy Approvals, Operations Updates
Waukesha Water Commission Meeting - May 21, 2026
The Waukesha Water Commission held a regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 6:04 PM in the Water Utility Conference Room, 115 Delafield St., Waukesha. Commissioners present: Francour, Fowl, Curry, Pyatt, and Holvin Slavin (quorum). Absent: Matthews and Bartels. The meeting included two closed sessions, a commendation for former Mayor Sean Riley, approval of several policies and payments, and updates on operations and finances.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the April 16, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously without discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Commendation for Former Mayor Sean Riley: The commission presented a commendation letter and a gift card to former Mayor Sean Riley in recognition of his 12 years of dedicated service on the Water Utility Commission. His leadership in guiding the transition to Lake Michigan water through the Great Lakes Compact and the Great Water Alliance project was highlighted. Riley expressed gratitude and noted the emotional relief when compact approval was received.
Closed Sessions
- Closed Session – Lawsuit (S.J. Louis Construction v. City of Waukesha): A motion was made and approved unanimously (5-0) to convene in closed session under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(g) to confer with legal counsel regarding status and strategy of the continuing lawsuit.
- Closed Session – General Manager Performance Evaluation: A motion was made and approved unanimously (5-0) to convene in closed session under Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(c) to consider employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation of the General Manager position.
- Reconvene and Action: After closed sessions, the commission reconvened in open session. No actions were taken on matters discussed in closed session; the motions to reconvene were approved.
Discussion Items
- New Operations Center Updates: Staff showed pictures and videos of the new Operations Center, including exterior brickwork, geothermal drilling, garage doors, and interior offices with polished concrete floors. A tour was offered before the next commission meeting.
- Utility Performance Report:
- Operations: Replaced one hydrant and two valves; completed water main projects on Prospect/Bidwell and Willow Park (emergency relay); engineering intern started from Carroll University; water main installation ongoing on Hillside/Harris and Prairie; working with Historical Society on New Hall building; Cumberland Hein Glen area: water mains in backyards affecting 7 homes – city attorney advised to make customers whole, project to start in 2027-2028 with design budget this year; tower inspections (full drain) nearly complete; DNR well samples and abandonments underway; PSC annual report and CCR report prepared; filed official letter requesting pause on water rate increase until Milwaukee rates are known; youth education began; working on chloride compliance with letters to customers; wrote off old customer credits but still available upon request.
- Financial Report (April 2026): Revenue 2.4% over budget, consumption 3% over budget due to two extra billing days and higher consumption. Expenses: Source department $21,000 over budget due to higher Milwaukee Waterworks invoice and tower draining; administrative $16,500 under budget due to vacancies. Cash balance started at $54.4 million and ended at $54.5 million after debt service payments and reimbursement from Wi-Fi for operations center.
Key Outcomes
- Approve Payments from General Fund and Improvement Fund: Approved unanimously. Noted a payment of $774,049 as part of tax equivalent payments, totaling approximately $2.25 million annually.
- Approve Purchase of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for New Operations Center: Approved $38,649.75 to Communications, Cabling, & Networking (CC&N) for a UPS unit, installation, and warranty. Staff clarified the UPS is a battery backup to bridge power between outage and generator startup, and that it was not budgeted but contingency funds are available. Questions about battery life and duration were raised and will be followed up.
- Approve Updated PTO Policy 202.3 and Holiday Policy 202.5: Approved effective May 24, 2026. Changes include adding Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day as holidays, and revising PTO accrual schedule to incentivize longevity (with clear weekly increments). Also, PTO will not be paid out upon termination for misconduct. Staff noted the policy had not been reviewed in 10 years.
- Approve Updated Retiree Insurance Benefit Policy 202.2: Approved effective June 1, 2026. Allows single coverage option for employees aged 60-65 (previously only family coverage from 62-65). This primarily affects one current employee, providing a cost-saving option and potential for department restructuring upon retirement.
The meeting adjourned at 7:28 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. So let's like call this meeting to order. This is a regularly scheduled Washhaw Water Utility Commission for the City of Waukeshaw. It's Thursday, May 21st. It is 6.04 p.m. Uh roll call, please. Commissioner Francour? Here. Commissioner Fowl? Here. Commissioner Curry. Here. Commissioner Pyatt. Here. Commissioner Matthews. Absent. Commissioner Bartels. Absent. And Commissioner Hell Hulvin Slabin. Here. You got it. Excellent. Very good. All right, excellent. So we do have a quorum to proceed. We do have a couple of uh announcements for uh closed sessions. Um so we're gonna announcement of closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 19.85 sub one sub G. A motion will be made to convene a closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 19.85 sub one sub G to confer with legal counsel regarding status and strategy with respect to continuing lawsuit, SJ Lewis construction re city of Waukeshaw. I'd also like to announce uh a closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 19.85 sub one sub C. A motion will be made to convene a closed session pursuant to Wisconsin statute 1928 sub one sub C to consider employment promotion compensation or performance evaluation of the general manager position over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility announcement thank you. I I thank you for helping me make those announcements no those are just the announcements. We have to announce them first. Um public comments. Um there's no public comment today, so there's nobody here. So anything about you know I do I do not have anything additional. All right, so we're gonna proceed then into the uh announcing the first of the two closed sessions. We'll make motions for both of the closed sessions since we'll do them back to back. Okay, sounds good. That's your motion. No, I can't make a motion. That's why I'm asking what's going on there. So then I will read. Do we need to vote on them separately or can I read them both and then we'll vote on them separately? Okay. All right, but you want me to read them both off first. We'll do the motion the first motion, we'll vote on it. The second motion we'll vote on it, and then we'll session. And we have to go to roll call. Yes, yep. Okay, excellent.
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