STATE OF WISCONSIN
Town of Washburn
Bayfield County

The Town Board of the Town of Washburn, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, hereby provides its written notice and an agenda of the special public budget preparation meeting of the Town Board for Wednesday October 22 at 9:15 AM at the Washburn Town Hall. The meeting may be attended in person.  Virtual access will not be available for this meeting.

Agenda

1. Call to order and roll call
2. Verification of proper public notice
3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Public Comment

Consider for approval or other action

1. Prepare 2026 Budget for potential review and action at the monthly meeting of November 11.
2. Adjournment

Meeting notice posted this 16^th day of October, 2025 on the Town’s website at https://townofwashburn.wi.gov

and at:  Washburn Town Hall and Tetzner’s Dairy

Scottie Sandstrom, Chair

Town of Washburn
Closed Session Board Meeting
October 22, 2025

Meeting was called to order at 8:00 AM by Supervisor, Vasser

It was verified that the agenda was provided to the Ashland Daily Press, posted on the Town Website, and physically posted at Tetzner’s Dairy and at the Town Hall.

Supervisor Vasser made a motion to go into closed session, Supervisor Tetzner seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Tetzner made a motion to come out of closed session, Vasser seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Vasser made a motion to adjourn, Tetzner seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 AM.

Respectfully submitted,

Seth Vasser, Supervisor Two

Town of Washburn
Town Board Meeting Notes
October 14, 2025

Meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m.

Those present were: Scottie Sandstrom, Cyndee Marx, Christina Eliason, Seth Vasser, Mike Harvey, Matt Tetzner, John Carlson, Tim Schwenzfeier, Trevor and Nori Schwenzfeier, Bob Anderson, Dale Rechcygl, Sarah Tetzner.

Those attending remotely were Jim Park.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Scottie noted the passing of Town Clerk, Fran Rechcygl, and she was recognized with appreciation for her service to the Town of Washburn during this current term.

A motion was made by Seth to accept the agenda.  Matt seconded, all yea.  Motion passed.

Seth motioned and Matt seconded to approve the minutes from the Sept. 9, 16, and 30^th meetings.  All ayes, motion approved.

Cyndee Marx was introduced as a new appointment for the Town Clerk position.  A motion by Scottie was made to appoint Cyndee as the new Town Clerk.  Matt seconded to approve.  All ayes. Motion passed.  There was discussion about the need to give Cyndee the Oath of Office.  Cyndee will talk to Lynn Divine (County Clerk) on necessary form to use and sign.

Plan Commission Report:

A driveway permit was recommended by the commission for Norman and Susan Cessna on McKinley Road.  A motion was made by Scottie and seconded by Matt to approve this permit.  All ayes.  Approved.

There was discussion on signage to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists and where to put them.  A review of annual meeting minutes was suggested to see how many signs are needed.  Mike Harvey will check.

There was discussion on the county zoning re-write.  It was suggested that Kim Bro respond to a survey on the Board’s behalf by October 31.

There was discussion on a Dust Ordinance and application of calcium chloride to the roads and how to monitor it.  John Carlson talked about enforcement and there was discussion on ways that could be done, how the dust would be measured, what’s an acceptable level and who would be the enforcer.  It should be spelled out in a citation ordinance.  A motion was made by Matt to pass the Dust Ordinance reviewed by Mr. Carlson, and was seconded by Seth.  All ayes.  Motion approved.  John Carlson will check and see if bonding could be a possible option, as well.

The public notice of the ordinance will be completed by Kim Bro; the Town will then post the notice and Ordinance on the Town Website.

Reports

Clerk: Town Treasurer is currently handling the clerk’s duties

Treasurer:

• Plow letters have been sent out.
• Bank will transfer from Bremer to Old National
• Treasurer will do payroll until the first one in November.
• Payroll issue with Matt is resolved.
• Bills were given to board to review and sign.
• Essentia Health will no longer be doing DOT drug tests. Need to find a new location.  Can North Lakes do it?
• Pay adjustment will be given to Treasurer for added Clerk duties prorated from Sept. 9 – Oct. 14 plus a fixed amount of $300 for additional support. Cyndee will be paid from Oct. 15 – Dec. 9.

Road Crew:

A motion was made by Scottie to have Bob Anderson assist with maintenance.  It was seconded by Seth.  All Ayes.  Motion passed.

Mike said the mower tractor lost its brakes.  It will be between $5,500 and $6,500 to fix this winter.  Sipsas Excavating will be providing the best tonnage for the $9,000 Rock product secured via contract with the Forest Service in a previous board meeting.  The grader broke down and was fixed.  Mike talked about a water spreader – he will follow up next month.  Scottie, Bob Anderson (who was previously approved by the board as our Town Maintenance/Road advisor, and Mike met to work on budgeting and maintenance equipment.  Bob and Mike will get budget numbers and work on a maintenance schedule.

Chair

Scottie noted appreciation that Cyndee Marx was willing to be appointed as Town Clerk for the remainder of the term.

Scottie noted what we need to budget for the Solar Grant next year, in the amount of $25,556.05.  Was contacted by the County on this, and plans for construction on this will begin in the spring, potentially to be completed by late June, so we can put in reimbursement of total amount from Federal Government per the contract.

Scottie initiated discussion on providing a cell phone to the Town Clerk, which will be passed on to future clerks.  The discussion moved to a motion by Seth for the Town Clerk to get a cell phone.  It was seconded by Matt.  All ayes.  Motion approved.  Cyndee will check into it.

There are some Town building permits still in transition since the Board approved to have the County handle the building permit process about 2 years ago, cancelling us using the firm, Alden Engineering.  The Town will be responsible for payment of the final portion of those building permit fees, and suggestion is we explore whether the Town has any recourse on getting funds from Alden, though this may be too legally time intensive & expensive.  Jim Park (remotely) previous Town Supervisor, provided some insight on this during the discussion.  We’ll get some insight from Bayfield County on this matter.  Seth offered to look into this.

Matt motioned to approve all reports.  Seth seconded.  All ayes.  Motion approved.

Budgeting session – set for Wed., Oct 22^nd at 9 am.  Scottie will make sure we know the 2026 levy before budgeting.

Fire Contract Review – The Sept. 30 Contract meeting was not productive overall, as the City of Washburn did not have updated numbers for 2026 as expected.  Scottie pressed the city to have our Fire and EMS fees and yearly fire truck payment by Oct. 21, just prior to our budgeting, and he will follow up on this.  Randy Friday, the City of Washburn Administrator just recently resigned.

Tri-Road Funding Result – On October 9, Scottie met with the county road funding committee (CTRIC) along with several other town chairs within the county.  He was able to secure $35,000 in State Road Grant Funding for the Engoe Road (intersection of Viater Road, west to Brevak Road) double chip-seal overlay, which ties to the Town Board’s first priority in the 2025-2030 Road Plan, previously agreed upon.  Sandstrom suggests that we do this project next year (2026), as the total per the estimate now is $70,000.  Once the project is complete, the Town will request receiving the $35,000 grant money to offset the cost to the Town at 50%.  Matt made a motion and Seth seconded to proceed with the project next year.  All ayes, motion carried.

Potential LRIP Application w/amendment to 2025-2030 5-year road plan.  Discussion centered around that Bob Anderson will be willing to prepare the LRIP Application for 2 miles of Wannebo Road (Church Corner/Wannebo intersection west to Pajala Road).  This road is second in priority on the Town Road Plan to amend for 2025-2030.   Seth moved and Matt seconded moving ahead with this.  All ayes.  Motion carried.

Items to be placed on November agenda –

• Building permit discussion
• Receipt of and approval of Dust Ordinance Citation
• Approve Poll Workers
• Approve 2026 Budget

The bills were reviewed and a motion was made by Seth to authorize and sign them.  Matt seconded the motion.  All ayes.  Motion approved.

Matt motioned to adjourn the meeting.  Seth seconded the motion.  All ayes.  Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Cyndee Marx, Clerk

Town of Washburn
Closed Session Board Meeting.
October 14, 2025

Meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Chair, Sandstrom

It was verified that the agenda was provided to the Ashland Daily Press, posted on the Town Website, and physically posted at Tetzner’s Dairy and at the Town Hall.

Supervisor Vasser made a motion to go into closed session, Supervisor Tetzner seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Tetzner made a motion to come out of closed session, Vasser seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Sandstrom made a motion to adjourn, Tetzner seconded.  All ayes, motion carried.

Meeting was adjourned at 6:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Scottie Sandstrom, Chair

Plan Commission Minutes
Town of Washburn
Town Hall
Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Commission members present: Kim Bro (chair), Caroline Twombly, Seth Vasser (town board
representative).

Commission members absent: Cyndi Belanger (secretary) out of town, Tim Schwenzfeier (vice chair)
meeting conflict.

Others present (at site visit): Mike Harvey (town road superintendent).

1. Chairman Bro called the meeting of the Commission to order at 7:15 P.M. and verified its legal
notification (posted at Town Hall and Tetzner Dairy) on July 31, 2025 and on Town website on
August 3, 2025).

2. The minutes of the April 7, 2025 meeting were approved (Caroline moves, Seth seconds).

3. Prior to the meeting at 6:00 P.M., the commission conducted a site visit at James and Kari Carlson’s
property (30605 Wannebo Rd). Sand fill had been extended beyond the former glacial beach edge to
provide a granular base for a proposed shop building, the corners of which were marked with flags. A
71-foot turnaround tee was marked with flagging, but with no fill, north of the proposed building. The
proposed main driveway extends south 225 feet south from Wannebo Road. There is a 24-inch, 24-foot
long metal culvert in the Wannebo Road ditch A seep area (now dry) was visible downhill (east) of the
added fill for the proposed shop. The proposed shop is on a slope of a former glacial beach over a silty
clay confining layer (a steep transitional soil area).

4. Prior to the meeting at 6:30 P.M., the commission conducted a site visit at Seth and Angie Vasser’s
property (~200 feet west of 76175 Paulson Rd). They propose constructing a driveway 48 feet south of an
existing shared, private driveway where they propose adding a second residence. The existing sand soil
provides an adequate base that with a six-inch gravel topping will provide adequate load bearing
capacity. The proposed driveway, in conjunction with the existing private driveway, would provide an
adequate turnaround tee. Drainage on this wooded, level site is good. The issue with this driveway is the
steep, sharp turn in transitional soils where the existing driveway turns to the west. The driveway leading
north to this turn is approximately a 16% grade, exceeding the 10% maximum grade required by the
Town Driveway Ordinance. Winter access of emergency vehicles to the Vasser’s proposed long-term
rental is likely to be problematic unless the curve is widened and the turn is excavated to a more gradual
slope.

5. The commission reviewed the driveway permit application and preliminary development plan for Seth
and Angie Vasser to construct a driveway and a second residence on their 34-acre parcel in a Forestry-1
zoning district (part of SW¼SE¼ Section 32 T.49N R.5W; Tax ID #31134). The marked layout of the
driveway provides an adequate tee-turnaround for emergency vehicles but the steep sharp turn in the
existing, shared driveway could be an impediment to emergency vehicle access to the site. The
commission recommends (Caroline moves, Kim seconds, Seth abstains) that the town board approve the
driveway permit. The setback of the entire site retains the forested character of the area (Objective 8.3).
The commission recommends that the Town Board, as part of its recommendation for a County Class A
Special Use Permit for constructing a second residence, recommend providing a wider turn with a more
gradual slope in the existing, shared driveway so that buildings on the hill at the top of the driveway can
be reached by emergency vehicles in winter.

6. The commission reviewed the driveway permit application and preliminary development plan for James
and Kari Carlson to construct a driveway and a shop on their 5-acre parcel in an Agriculture-1 zoning
district (Lot 6 of Block 1, Textor’s Addition in W½ NE¼ NW¼NE¼ Section 12 T.48N R.5W;
Tax ID #31280). The Commission recommends (Caroline moves, Seth seconds) that the Town Board
approve a driveway permit with the following conditions:

● The proposed turnaround tee adjacent to a proposed shop building needs to be raised to a more level
grade.
● The fill areas extending east beyond the edge of a former glacial beach need to have either heavy soil
or geotextile and heavy rock placed to prevent slumping of the fill from spring seeps in the steep
transitional soils (Objective 8.3). ).
● The existing road ditch culvert should be replaced with a 40-foot x 24-inch diameter culvert. Because
Wannebo Road is steep where the driveway enters, a longer culvert is needed to accommodate turning
vehicles without posing a hazard to road traffic.
The marked layout of the driveway provides an adequate tee-turnaround for emergency vehicles, and the
proposed addition gravel will accommodate the roadbed requirements of the Town Driveway Ordinance.

7. Kim explained the site visit report he wrote regarding the additional maintenance required for the closed
Section 29 landfill. The three municipalities responsible for maintaining the landfill are hoping that the
East Bayfield Street road construction project in the City of Washburn will provide in 2027 clay of
sufficient quality to fill areas if subsidence and sanding water on the clay cap. The fill brought in from
the West Bayfield Street road construction filled only part of one swale on the east side to the clay cap.
Most of the fill was placed in a low area on the east side of the landfill.

8. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 7 PM with site visits beforehand.

9. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M. (Caroline moves, Seth seconds).

Draft submitted by: Kenneth Bro, Chair, Town of Washburn Plan Commission (August 12, 2025).

Plan Commission Report
The commission recommends that the Town Board approve the driveway permit for a second residence for
Seth and Angie Vasser. The Commission recommends that the Town Board recommend creating a wider and
more gradually sloped turn in the existing, shared driveway as part of its review of a County Class A Special
Use Permit for constructing a second residence so that emergency vehicles can readily access residences at
the far end of the .

The commission recommends that the Town Board approve the driveway permit for James and Kari Carlson
with the conditions that 1) the turnaround tee be brought to a more level slope and have reinforcement at the
base of the fill, and 2) a 24-inch by 40-foot culvert be placed in the Wannebo Road ditch.

TOWN OF WASHBURN
BOARD RETREAT – July 16, 2025

Attendees: Scottie Sandstrom, Fran Rechcygl, Christina Eliason, Seth Vasser, Matt Tetzner, Dale Houdek (WTA)

Call to order 9:04AM

This is considered a public meeting. As such, Scottie verified that the meeting notice was duly posted for public review.

Pledge of Allegiance

Motion was made to accept agenda by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.
Topics of discussion will be:

• Board Roles w/division of responsibilities, plus legal requirements for boards.
• Road Maintenance
• Timeline of meeting sequence and content necessary to properly prepare and properly notice when executing the fall budgeting process.
• Thoughts on updating the Town website and who will be tasked for this (could perhaps mean a few residents from our Town).

This meeting is for discussion of the above agenda items and for sharing of thoughts only. No decisions will be made at this meeting.

No virtual connection was provided for this meeting.

Motion was made to adjourn the meeting as 12:15PM by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Respectfully submitted by
Fran Rechcygl, Clerk

TOWN OF WASHBURN
MEETING NOTES – July 8, 2025

Attendees: Scottie Sandstrom, Fran Rechcygl, Christina Eliason, Seth Vasser, Matt Tetzner, Jim Park (Remote), Trevor Schwenzfeier, Bill Bailey, Ryan VanLanduyt, Darren Nyrose (Remote), Wendy Stein (Remote), Joe Groshek, Sandy Sky, Kim Bro.

Call to order 7:00PM

Pledge of Allegiance

Public Comment Period:

• Trevor Schwenzfeier said spraying helps but that it’s starting to burn off and needs redoing again.

Motion made to accept the agenda with the following amendments:
• Discuss Forest Service contract.
• Potential additional striping costs
• Move tandem truck repair issue up to Road Crew Report
Motion to accept agenda with amendments made by Seth, Matt 2nd, all aye.

Motion to accept June 10th 2025 minutes made by Matt, 2nd by Seth, all aye.

Motion made to open public input to dust mitigation made by Scottie, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

• Ordinance sent to WTA for review. They don’t do Ordinance review. Suggested it be turned over to attorney.
• Matt mentioned that this would probably cost more than fixing the problem. He suggested sitting down with Bob re his trucks and let him know what is/will be done. Inform him of costs as they can run from $500 – $5,000. Mike will figure out cost (to incl salt, spreader, man hours, etc.) and get back to us at August meeting. Get Bob involved in price sharing twice a year.

Motion to exit public input made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Clerk Report: Bills paid and up to date. Voting equipment maintenance during early August. Mike and Matt to get them over there. Tried balancing the checkbook and got close. SAM reporting finally resolved. MOE submitted. WTA is working to get this unnecessary reporting removed.

Treasurer Report: Received shared tax revenue of $6K from the state. Bremer Bank CD to renew 7/9/2025. What do we want to do with it. Worked on cleaning up QB. Keep treasurer report format along with the Budget. Discontinue sending a P&L / Balance Sheet. 2nd half of tax payments should be received end of July to early August.

Road Crew Report: Cold mix repairs ongoing. Each load costs around $1,000. Tandem truck has broken down and will cost around $3,500 to fix per Zifco Auto. Road crew was asked to make sure that when the budgeting process comes around, we need to try and make sure we anticipate possible repairs/improvements to avoid future overages.

Motion to repair tandem truck made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Work to begin on the big culvert. All homes involved have received notification of work to begin. They will need additional gravel for shouldering. Crooked Lake Dr – $21/ton for shouldering – need 252 ton @ $5,292; $22/ton Crossroad Brevak @ $21,010; Maple Hill N – 238/ton – $5,236 AND 2” minus $23/ton – $5,520.

Motion to approve $15,000 of gravel and 2” rock but retain the ability to discern when purchased based on budget made by Matt, 2nd by Seth, all aye.

They will be purchasing one (1) filter at a time.

Chair Report: Forest Service sent an agreement for forest rock for their use. We will order the rock and they will reimburse us.

Motion to order forest rock made by Matt, 2nd by Seth, all aye.

We were informed by Washburn County that we must mark the center line of the roads. If we don’t do it, they will, at an additional cost of $2,250, over and above the $15k+ for striping.

Motion to spend up to $2,250 to mark roads if Mike can’t do it made by Matt, 2nd by Seth, all aye.

Recognize the 4 previous board members with $35 gift certificates paid for by town.  WISLR & PASER training is to happen next week. We are eligible for a free series because of SNAFU with CD. Mike feels that Matt Lippo should take the class. This will allow him to fulfill WISLER/PASER reporting online. Clerk will need to set up a training session for Matt L.

Motion to accept reports made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Bill Bailey & Ryan VanLanduyt indicated that the solar system is scheduled to install next summer. If construction begins before July, we will get a tax credit of $26,000. Money must be paid upfront.

Planning Commission Report: Landfill clay added last fall is to be re-graded by the City of Washburn to utilize current clay for more effective coverage, and the Public Works director is to come up with a plan going forward, including using more fill which would be available with the 2nd phase of the City of Washburn paving project in 2027. Important to prevent spreading of invasive weeds. Suggested that the Town board confirm there is an emergency address system in place. The gravel portion of Sky Rd has been noted as being a private driveway, so Resolution 2025-1 was crafted, read, and signed, which confirms that status of that portion of the road, and will be sent to WisDOT, for removal from the Gas Tax Role of the Town roads.

Motion made to move ahead with the Resolution was made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all ayes. Motion carried.

Darren Nyrose with Delmore Consulting gave a presentation on how his firm could provide the PASER road rating service for all blacktop roads in the Town, and placing them on the state WISLR system for $2500. This reporting is due to the state this year, and will get our ratings back on track. They will also add all of the gravel road ratings into WISLR at the same time, but those will be rated by Mike and Matt and provided to Delmore to add at the same time as the blacktop roads at no additional charge. Delmore will drive every road in the township and assign each section a PASER rating based on surface condition. This will then allow them to submit the data into WISLR and to update PASER ratings.

Motion made by Matt and seconded by Seth to contract with Delmore Consulting on this service for $2500. All ayes. Motion carried.

5 Year Road Plan – road repair priority to be discussed at August meeting. Mike to review priorities and have report for 8/12/2025 meeting.

Motion to authorize bills made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Motion to adjourn at 9:33PM made by Seth, 2nd by Matt, all aye.

Respectfully submitted by
Fran Rechcygl, Clerk