STATE OF WISCONSIN
Town of Washburn
Town Meeting Minutes – May 12, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Scottie Sandstrom, Chair.

In Attendance: Board members – Scottie Sandstrom, Matt Tetzner, Vicki Thoen, Christina Eliason, Seth Vasser (online) Others: Mike Harvey (Road Superintendent), Kelly Traczyk (WEDC), Ryan VanLanduyt (Bayfield Co. Energy Specialist), Mike Vavrus, Lance Twombly, Tom Cogger, Connie Cogger, Kim Bro (Plan Commission), Scott Sturgeon (Scott Construction)
Online: Wendy Stein, Jim Park

Proper public notice was verified: Ashland Daily Press, Tetzner’s Dairy, Town Hall, website

Public Comment: None

A motion was made by Matt to accept the agenda. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Matt made a motion to approve the minutes from the Closed Session meeting on April 14, the Town Meeting on April 14, the Closed Session on 4/21 and the meeting with the City of Washburn on 4/30. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Kelly Traczyk from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, introduced herself and explained her role with the upcoming Town Solar Project. She is the Rural Sustainability Specialist. They are working on building a website and putting together a newsletter to keep board members informed about project.

Ryan VanLanduyt, Energy Specialist, Bayfield County Administrator’s Office stated that the project should start late June – early July. There will be an EV charger at the Town Hall as part of this project.

Reports:
Clerk: received Amendatory Ordinance No 2026-06 from the Bayfield County regarding changes to ATV designated routes. There will be a temporary amendment to the route on CTH C during the 2027 Hwy 13 road construction project from 8th Ave. to Big Rock Rd. The August town meeting is scheduled on 8/11 which is Primary Election Day. The board decided to change the meeting to August 8/18. Vicki has been working on updating the employee Handbook. The board agreed that we would prorate benefits for part-time employees based on the average hours worked. The Damage Assessment information from 4/17 storm was submitted to the County to receive emergency funding. The Town is responsible for removing debris from ditches and doesn’t have the equipment required. A quote was received from Tetzner’s Excavating and included in the information provided to the County. Matt made the motion to contract with Tetzner’s Excavating. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried. Mike will contact Joe Tetzner to schedule the work.

Treasurer: Our cash accounts are very healthy right now but there will be a spend down over the next few months. EMS/Fire contract payment of $73,997 hasn’t cleared the bank yet and the Truck loan payment of $30,514 is due in June. Snowplow invoices have been mailed out and 11 out of 16 invoices have been paid to date. Christina has check with other banks and found Northern State Bank will pay 3% on checking. Old National Bank doesn’t pay interest on our checking account. Scottie made the motion that we move the checking and savings accounts to Northern State Bank. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Road Crew: Mike reported that the new tractor is here and working well. Box Plate is on the tractor and doing exactly what Mike hoped. The Spreader for calcium chloride is here and the Share the Road and 15 MPH speed limit signs were delivered. He should be able to put up the signs in the next few days. The time clock no longer works. Vicki will research cost of new time clock. A culvert is needed on Dayton Road. Mike thinks 250 tons of gravel will cost around $6000. He reports that our new hire, Butch, is working out well and has been running grader.

Chair: Scottie reported that on 4/16 he attended the quarterly recycling meeting at Barksdale Town Hall. A new contract with Republic Services was signed. Waste Management was much higher. Dumpster Day is this Saturday, May 16. On 4/29 he attended a meeting with Kim Bro about some changes to zoning that the County is considering. On 4/30 there was a meeting about the Fire/EMS contract at the City Hall. The next meeting is June 4. The County asked that we change the name of the forest road known as Blueberry Rd to Forest Road 692 for clarity. The board didn’t object.

Approval of Reports: Matt made the motion to approve the reports. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Plan Commission-Kim Bro reported that the Plan Commission recommended that the board approve the driveway permit for Tracy DeFoe. Scottie made the motion that the permit be approved. Matt seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried. Kim attended the meeting with Bayfield County Zoning. The biggest change that is being proposed is regarding how land divisions are done. There is a massive change in the general zoning ordinance. Any comments from the town will need to be submitted to the county by July 26. Our town zoning is from 1970. Much of the area is zoned as agriculture but is wooded. We will need a process for updating the zoning map. He mentioned that he would like to move forward with the brochure for the Town of Washburn and have it posted on Website so it’s printable. Matt made the motion that we post it on the website. Seth seconded. All ayes. Motion carried.

Open Bids for Engoe Road Double Chip Sealing Project – We received two bids. Scott Construction – $39,185 includes patching the edges of the road with cold mix, double chip and seal. Fahrner – double chip and seal, bar seal broken edges, $74,144.
Matt made the motion that we move forward with Scott Construction. Seth seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Discuss and Decide on Roads to Bid for Crack Sealing this year – roads to consider for bids: (format for bid: ‘bid on normal crack filling and dip leveling’). The roads agreed on to be bid are: Church Corner Rd from Paulson Road to Wannebo (1 mile), Wannebo Road from Church Corner Road to Ondossagon Road (1 mile), Big Rock Road (1 Mile), W Maple Hill (1 mile), South Maple Hill from Church Corner Road to the top of the first hill (.3 mile), Scholl Road (.44 mile), for a total 4.74 miles. Scottie will get the request for bids posted in the Ashland Daily Press for 5/21 & 5/28.

Schedule Annual Road Inspection Tour – The road inspection will be Friday June 12 at 8:30 am.

Items to be placed on future agendas:
Open bids for crack sealing
Resolution to change Blueberry Rd to FR692

Authorize the payment of bills: after review of the bills, Seth made the motion to authorize payment of the bills. Matt seconded the motion. All Ayes. Motion carried.

Adjournment: Scottie made the motion for adjournment at 8:58 pm. Matt seconded the motion. All ayes. Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,
Vicki Thoen, Town Clerk