Waukesha Board of Public Works Meeting Summary - October 22, 2026

The City of Waukesha Board of Public Works met on October 22, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The board approved the previous meeting's minutes and payments, accepted a single bid for the City Hall monument sign rehabilitation, approved an amendment to the municipal sewer credit ordinance, and received a departmental report on seasonal operations such as leaf pickup and snow plowing.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the October 8, 2026 meeting.
• Payments: Three payments were approved unanimously. Staff confirmed that no final payments were included in the batch.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public were present to provide comment.

Discussion Items

City Hall Monument Sign Rehabilitation (ID#26-04485) Staff presented a single bid received for the monument sign rehabilitation project from Bergland Construction Company. Staff noted the bid was significantly lower than previous estimates obtained prior to the formal bidding process. The bid includes a base item and a mandatory alternate for potential foundation replacement. Board member Kevin Riley asked if barriers had been considered to prevent future damage. Staff responded that the damage was caused by reckless driving, not road conditions, and the monument serves as a protective barrier for the parking lot. The bid was accepted via a motion by a board member, seconded by another, and passed unanimously (O'Donnell, Riley, Micklitz ayes).

Amendment to Municipal Code Chapter 29 – Sewer Use Credit (ID#26-04503) Staff presented an ordinance amendment to refine the one-time unmetered sewer credit rules. Key provisions included:

• Better defining eligibility for the credit.
• Requiring a standard application form.
• Limiting claims to three billing cycles.
• Allowing staff to administratively approve simple requests (e.g., pool filling, new lawns over 3,000 square feet).
• Requiring claims to be filed within six months of the last billing period (Chris noted his handout had a typo stating three months, but confirmed the ordinance text says six).
• Clarifying the credit is a one-time benefit per address.

Debate on Application Fee: A significant portion of the discussion focused on the proposed $25 application processing fee.

• Board member O'Donnell suggested the fee should be deducted from the eventual credit, or waived if the fee exceeds the credit, citing a past instance where a credit was only $2.63.
• Board member Kevin Riley expressed support for an upfront nominal fee to deter frivolous applications and offset staff time. He noted that the applicant who leaves their hose running for months should bear some cost.
• Staff explained that simple requests take roughly 10 to 15 minutes to process internally, but the workload increases when an item requires board review and attorney involvement.
• O'Donnell made a motion to approve the ordinance as drafted (which implies retaining the upfront fee). The motion was seconded by Riley and passed unanimously.

Department Report

• Staff reported on a snow plowing coordination kickoff with Park, Recreation & Forestry (PRF) and City Garage crews to align on operations and communication protocols.
• Leaf pickup training was conducted on streets south of Sunset Drive, giving staff hands-on practice with the new blowers and other equipment (skid steer, loader).
• Staffing shortages across the city require cross-departmental collaboration for leaf collection and snow plowing. Any city employee with a CDL is assigned to plow routes. In the previous winter, City Garage crews assisted PRF in eliminating a backlog of stump grinding.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes (Oct 8) – Approved unanimously.
• Payments – Approved unanimously.
• Monument Sign Rehabilitation – Bid awarded to Bergland Construction Company (unanimous vote).
• Sewer Credit Ordinance – Chapter 29 amendment approved as presented, retaining the $25 upfront application fee (unanimous vote).