 I'd like to call the 7th regular meeting of the 2021 Common Council to order. Would the clerk please read the quote for the day. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Leadership is not a position or a title, it is an action and example. Thank you very much. Would the clerk please call the roll? Alderperson Bourne? Here. Alderperson Donahue? Here. Alderperson Felde? Here. Alderperson Ackley? Here. Alderperson Phillips? Here. Alderperson Decker? Here. Alderperson Sorenson? Here. Alderperson Silaglio? Here. Alderperson Mitchell? Here. There are nine present. Thank you very much. Next I'd like to ask you to all stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes from our third special council meeting held on June 29th. Alderperson Sorenson? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I move for approval of the minutes from our June 29th meeting. Second. I move to the motion in support. Is there any discussion on the minutes? Seeing none, all those in favor of the minutes please signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Next item is the election of a second district alderperson to fill a vacancy. At this time I'd entertain a motion to open up nominations from the floor. Alderperson Sorenson? Thank you, Mayor. I move that nominations be received from the floor voting to be done by open ballot. And if two or more candidates are nominated that the candidate with the lowest number of votes be dropped from the list. And ballot and continue until one candidate receives the majority. Second. Thank you for their motion and support. Nominations are now open. Alderperson Donahue? Thank you, Mayor. I nominate Roberta Feliki Pineski. Does the candidate accept? Is there a second? Very good. We have our first candidate. Are there any other nominations? I believe we have a second candidate in the room. Alderperson, please go ahead. I nominate Travis Gross. Second. Thank you for that nomination and second. Travis, do you accept? Thank you very much. Are there any other nominations? Are there any other nominations? Are there any other nominations? Entertain a motion to close nominations. Alderperson Sorenson? Mayor, I move to close nominations. Second. Thank you. All those in favor of closing nominations, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Okay. In the hall here we'll be passing out ballots. For the people that are attending remotely you have instructions to email your votes into the clerk. For right now we're going to be starting out with some presentations. I'd like to ask our first candidate, Roberta Pineski, if she'd like to say a few words, to the group we're looking for about a five-minute presentation. Roberta, the microphone is yours. Just so you could see who was talking to you. Your honor, members of the Common Council. You know how it goes. The first constituent call of the evening that gets you up from your dinner table. There are so many potholes. Why don't you fix the streets? Followed immediately by call number two, which is, why are there so many detours in the city? Every road I try to travel down is closed. The skill and the art of governance is not simple. It requires decisions that are sometimes bold and contentious, sometimes small, and sometimes incremental, yet impactful. Often we don't know which decisions are which until later, sometimes much later. But I believe that decisions are best if we can listen, pick our way through multiple options with skill and discernment, and live in the present moment, which means making the best decisions possible at the time with the information of hand. All of that requires practical ability, patience, fortitude, and a sense of humor. As a financial advisor with Robert W. Baird for 20 years, I made multiple investment decisions through the good times and the bad times, day in and day out, while taking, talking with hard-working people who are growing their retirements. I had to, as the song says, no when to hold them, no when to fold them, and no when to walk away. Each decision was small and individual, a choice. And yet, for my clients over the years, those choices added up to a comprehensive pattern that affected their livelihood and their lives. Through all of those client conversations, coffee cups, as well as congratulations and thank you cards, were as important to me as were my calculator and analyst reports. Because while financial capital was at the bottom line, it was my investment in human capital that paid dividends, listening and knowing the options available and making the best decision at the time. I am involved in two groups in the city, the RDA and the Joint Review Board for TIF Financing, and I'm a decision maker on both of those boards. Currently, I chair the city's redevelopment authority. I have been appointed by five mayors, spanning three decades and have spent more than half of those years as the RDA chair. Through its approximate $4 million Revolving Loan Fund, we are able to jumpstart the city's capital expansion and job growth. There have been good times. The empty Dean Foods building on Erie Avenue is now Old World Creamery Dairy. The RDA assisted with $300,000 loan that created 19 jobs. The owners were encouraged to return for a second loan that created a new butter line and an additional 29 jobs were created. The loans are being paid off with interest and they are paying taxes to the city. In recent years, approximately 1,000 new living units have been added to the community of the eight different tax-paying developments, RDA projects are three of them. There also have been hard times. South Pier, which is RDA land, needed life breathed into it during the recession of 2009-10. RDA diligently worked with multiple developers to bring in shannies in the poor escape apartments and the empty Boston store on A Street was turned into encore apartments in the city green. Hard times, good times and uncertain times like those of today. But the work of development always moves forward. In June, the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation, along with the RDA applied for a $5 million grant under the CARES Act for Emergency Aid during the pandemic. If it is received, it will jumpstart building the Innovation District on Indiana Avenue adjacent to the Tannery factory which is being refurbished into affordable housing. The Joint Review Board helped to create the city's South Point Enterprise Campus, now ready for occupancy. And the TIF financing is supporting the development of a 200-unit family apartment complex on the former Vandevard property at 14th and Broadway. Today, we are at best in uncertain times. It is incredibly important to continue to move forward, to attract people and to attract investments. That is, it's important to attract both human capital and financial capital to our city. I believe that I have the knowledge, the skills and the willingness to support that effort. I ask you for your vote this evening. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next, I'd like to call up our second candidate, Travis Gross, for again, a five-minute presentation. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and council members. I appreciate this opportunity to present for actually a second time before this aldermanic seat. If you're not aware, I did run for the seat back in April against now city administrator Wolf. I only wish we had a little more opportunity to go against each other in that campaign. Unfortunately, COVID occurred. So just to start a little bit about myself. Born and raised here in Sheboygan. My family has been here since the 1870s. We have been primarily the manufacturers and the blue collar workers of this community. So the lineage of Sheboygan and the blood of Sheboygan runs deep in my veins. Not only that, I was smart enough and wise enough to marry a Sheboygan native woman and made her my wife. So we left for about 10 years and came back to Sheboygan because the city means that much to us. We left, we always wanted to come back, living on the lake shore and being a part of what's going on in this community has always been deep in both of us and our families. That's a big reason on why I ran for office back in April. I want to be able to use my knowledge and my experiences in helping Sheboygan progress into the future. And I think after hearing that, you'll get an understanding of what I can bring to the council. My background is in history with an emphasis in environmental science. And I also do have a secondary ed certification. So dealing with people is pretty simple for me. Working with children is a tall task. So if you can work with children, I think you can work with anybody. And the emphasis in history allowed me to look at things from multiple perspectives from a broad field of vision. It's not just cut and dry in one direction. You have to listen. You have to understand where multiple perspectives are coming from, listen to them. And when you do, then you can sit down and hopefully discuss and then come to a final solution that is best for the community in this situation. So when I first moved back to Sheboygan in 1998, the first thing I set to was purchasing a building on the corner of 8th and Pennsylvania Avenue, and I spent about eight months renovating and restoring that building. It is now legendaries on the corner of 8th and Penn. So I spent eight months renovating that building and I opened up my own pub and grill there for a few years. If any of you have run your own business, you know the pitfalls and the budgetary scares and staffing issues and everything else that you face on a daily basis when it's your business. So after I did that, I moved into management positions within the restaurant and hospitality industry and I spent about 15 years doing that. So in those areas, you learn how to work with people, customers, you learn how to manage staff and you learn how to keep your costs down while trying to maximize your profits. The same as what I do today as the director of the Shibuyin County Historical Society. And if there's ever a test on budgetary knowledge and budgetary experience, it's running a nonprofit during a pandemic. We have been able to hold our ground pretty well and that's going for different grants, finding different funding that's available, whether it's through a PPP program or it's through a National Endowment of the Humanities grant. We're finding the funds to keep the doors open and do the important work that we do at the Historical Society. Both of those positions really gave me that experience to be fiscally responsible, more so in a nonprofit. When you run your own business, you kind of just are your own boss. When you run a nonprofit, you have to answer to a board and I understand the dynamics with working with a board and committees because of that. With the renovation of the building, I became quite familiar with a lot of the licensing and ordinances involved in building and building management and property management and things like that. Beyond that experience, I am currently a member of the Board of Curators at the State Historical Society. So that gives me this experience of not just a regional or a local. I have experience working with state boards, state committees and occasionally with the state government as well. Within the State Historical Society, I'm also the president of the Wisconsin Council for Local History and that role is a leadership role that directs 27 different districts in the state and we work at building and strengthening up local historical organizations within the state and building a relationship with the State Historical Society as well. Again, both of those positions have given me that experience to work in a committee, work on a board level, listen to the people, hear the perspectives and sit and discuss and come to a solution that is best for the situation at hand. On the local level, I spent some time on the Parks and Forestry Committee and I am the chair of the Historic Preservation Commission and I also work as a board member with Sheboygan Neighborhood Pride which works directly with the Sheboygan Police Department in organizing neighborhood associations and strengthening the neighborhoods in our community. My personal view is if we can build strong neighborhoods within the community, we will overall build a strong community. It starts at home. Local is what I believe and when you get into local government, you can even go smaller into neighborhood associations and you build up from there. You build small and you let it build with that. So if you're not familiar with my platform running in April, I ran primarily on the realization that government needs to be efficient. We need to work on and repair some of the issues that we have here in our local government right now. I feel that experience working on state levels and working with a diverse group of people will allow me some positive results in doing that. I also believe that with the changing demographics of Sheboygan, that we have to focus on the diversity issues that we have here in Sheboygan. And I believe, again, working on a higher level and working with communities and people from around the state. It allows me that aspect to listen, to understand where other viewpoints are coming from in this. I also, with the rising lakeshore and my environmental background, am interested in working with the erosion issues that we have along the shoreline in our city and the potential issues that that can generate with my experience and with my knowledge of that, I believe I can be a benefit in finding a good solution to at least holding off mother nature as best we can. And with the restoration and renovation of a historic building in town, I believe in development, I believe in sustainable development. We can develop and we can grow this city in a sustainable way. And with that, we have to make sure that at the final outcome of the decisions we make when it comes to development, it has to be what's best for this community. We have to always make sure that we're doing what's right for the city. We represent the city, we represent the citizens of this community and that's the first and foremost who we should support. So again, thank you for this opportunity. Sheboygan has a fantastic, wonderful history and I hope to be able to work with all of you in building off of that rich history and helping Sheboygan progress into the future. Thank you. Thank you very much for that presentation, Mr. Gross. Next, we'll pass out the ballots. Now they've been passed out, so please fill your ballots out and either email them or pass them down to the city clerk. I'd like to thank both of our candidates for first of all being interested in this position and making such nice presentations to the council. Yes, sir. When we emailed Meredith, is it gonna put our emails in the 15 minute sandbox still? No, we disabled that for all your accounts so that we wouldn't have that problem. You want me to read off the votes? I'd like to congratulate Roberta Felicky-Panevsky as our new alder person. Congratulations, Roberta. Roberta, at this time, I'd invite you to step back up to the podium so that the clerk can swear you in. I, Roberta Felicky-Panevsky, swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin and will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office of alder person to the best of my ability. So help me God. Thank you. Congratulations, Roberta. Now, Roberta, you may wanna step over to the side and pick up an agenda and we'd like to invite you to sit up at the alder's desk up here and you'll be able to vote in all the actions that we take place tonight. The next item on the agenda is public forum. There's no one this evening. Thank you. With that, we'll go on to mayor's announcements. Last Thursday, we were all shocked to hear that there was a 911 call and a disturbance that resulted in a taser and a gun being deployed and the death of an individual that was involved. While we wait to hear the results of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice to learn more on what led up to this incident, this event has spurned additional protest marches over the weekend. And I wanna thank the Sheboygan Police Department, Chief Domogolski and the Capons and Lieutenants for working to direct traffic to accommodate these marches. We as a city must continue to eliminate racial disparities and support efforts to increase diversity and promote racial equality in Sheboygan. Administrator Huffland had worked with department heads to create an inclusion and respect statement and an equity statement for the city of Sheboygan. I would like to read these statements. The inclusion and respect statement. The city of Sheboygan strives to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all. We are committed to promoting respectful conduct, equitable service and diversity in our community. We condemn discrimination by or against members of our community. And in all that we do as a city government, we strive to treat everyone fairly, respectfully and without bias regardless of their race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender identity, marital or family status, immigration status, sexual orientation, their age, economic status, disability and other individual identities. The equity statement. The city of Sheboygan is committed to equity. Equity is ensuring fair outcomes by focusing on those who have been historically marginalized and excluded. We acknowledge that equity, particularly racial equity is essential to providing exceptional public services and to create an inclusive and safe work environment for everyone. The city recognizes that people of color and other communities continue to be marginalized and excluded intentionally and unintentionally from the government process that we depend on to protect our health, safety and wellbeing. We further acknowledge that systematic barriers impact access to and representation in city government. The city of Sheboygan has an important role in creating a sense of belonging for all people. We must be inclusive in developing and implementing policies that are responsive to race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender identity, marital or family status, immigration status, sexual orientation, age, economic status, disability and other individual identities. We acknowledge that these identities often overlap resulting in multiple forms of discrimination. We acknowledge that without intentional focus on equity we will continue to perpetuate and deepen inequality. To realize our mission and core values the city of Sheboygan commits to the continued and improved integration of equity into the fabric of our organization and the delivery of public services in pursuit of equal, fair and just outcomes for all. These statements will guide our internal operations for the city of Sheboygan. There are community groups that are discussing ways that the Sheboygan community can improve. And I look forward to these statements as a beginning point that will grow and mature after these discussions with other community groups are finalized and we have the opportunity to integrate these into our city statements. Over the weekend I received news that Valentin, Val Schultz Sr. had passed away on July 1st at the age of 81. Val served on this council as an alderman from 1990 to 2003 in a county board supervisor from 2006 to 2012 rather. A funeral for Val was held earlier today and because of the timing of this meeting the resolution honoring his 19 years of service will be submitted to the city council for passage rather at their next common council meeting. I would like you to please join me in standing for a moment of silence with the service of Val Schultz Sr. Thank you. Tomorrow is the first day for our new city administrator Todd Wolfe. Todd brings a master's degree in technology, lean Sigma Six black belt business experience as a plant manager and executive sales person to the position of Sheboygan administrator along with his years of service as an alder person and council president. Todd is with us tonight and I'd like you to give administrator Wolfe a warm welcome. Todd, would you like to make any remarks? Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council. I just wanted to let you know that I'm excited about tomorrow. It's gonna be the first step to helping the city to improve. Not just externally in the many things that we need to work on as a community. Obviously becoming more diverse and helping to bring our constituents closer to the city but also to grow the city internally and address the many opportunities that we have within the city and helping it to be a great place to work. Not just in the city, but also outside in our community to work, live and play. So thank you again for assisting me in becoming your city administrator and having the faith that I'll be able to take you guys to the next level, so thank you. I'd like to take a step back on the election. Our city attorney has contacted the city clerk and said that the vote for the alder person for district two should be read aloud because of the fact that we're having a remote meeting. So I'll turn it over to the clerk to take care of that. Okay, we had for Roberta, we had Ackley-Born, Donahue, Feldy, Mitchell, Phillips, Savaglio, and Sorenson, and for Travis Gross, we had Dean Deckert. Thank you very much. Next, we'll move on to the consent agenda. That'll include items 2.2 through 2.12, Alderperson Sorenson. Thank you, mayor. I move to receive and file all ROs, receive all RCs, and adopt all the resolutions and ordinances. Second. Thank you for that motion and support. Does anyone have any discussion on any of those items in the consent agenda? Seeing none, and this one will have the clerk call the roll. Everyone's yes. Roberta, we'll get you set up next time. Okay, we have 10 ayes with Roberta. Motion passes. Under reports of officers, items 3.1 through 3.3 will be referred to various committees under resolutions. Item 4.1 is resolution number 41 of 2021 by Alderperson Donahue, Boren, Deckert, Phillips, Mitchell, Ackley, Feldy, Sorenson, Savaglio, commemorating the distinguished service of Dennis Bauman to the city of Sheboygan. Alderperson Sorenson, I need a motion to suspend. Thanks, mayor. I move to suspend. Second. Is there any objection to suspension? Seeing none. I move to adopt the resolution. Thank you for that motion and support. Would the clerk please call the roll for passage? There are 10 ayes. Motion passes unanimously. Item 4.2 is resolution number 42 of 2021 by Alderperson Sorenson and Donahue, authorizing the acceptance of 1402 Union Avenue from Wisconsin Bank and Trust for the purpose of reselling the property. Alderperson Sorenson, this also needs suspension. Thank you for that motion to suspend. Is there any objection to suspension? Seeing none, please proceed. I move to adopt the resolution. Thank you for that motion and support. Is there any discussion on that motion? Alderperson Donahue, did you have anything? Okay. Alder, let's see you go on to the Planning and Development Department, Chad. Thank you, mayor. I just wanted to give a little background on this property. If you've driven down Union Avenue, you've seen this property. It's losing its bricks on the east elevation. A lot of the bricks are sitting in the street in the sidewalk. And we've worked on this property. It's got a number of building code violations and citations against it. And then it went into foreclosure with Wisconsin Bank and Trust. They tried to sell this property and found out that the repairs are more than the property. So the intent of the city taking this is, this is one of those concerning properties where we could tear it down and have a vacant lot on a corner, a prime intersection, and hope for some redevelopment or take the property and try to facilitate a redevelopment. So we've got a couple of interested parties in it that have done good work in the community that will be coming forth. They have a discussion with the architectural review board as to what can be done with that east elevation on a more cost effective basis. And then hopefully move forward and keep this property on the tax rolls and get a first floor commercial tenant. Thank you for that information, Chad. Seeing no other discussion, will the clerk please call the roll for passage? 10 ayes. Motion passes. Item 4.3 is resolution number 43 of 2021 by Alderpersons Donahue and boron authorizing application for the Wisconsin elections commissions, coronavirus aid relief and economic security CARES sub grant program. Alderpersons Donahue. Thank you. As an initial matter, I move to suspend the rules. Is there any objection to suspension? Seeing none, please proceed. I move that the resolution be adopted. Is there a second? Thank you. Motion is on the floor. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll? 10 ayes. Motion passes. Items 4.4 through 4.13 will be referred to various committees. Under reports of committees, item 5.1 is RC number 54, or rather 64 of 2021 by the committee of the whole to whom was referred resolution number 34 of 2021 by Alderpersons Sorenson and Wolf adopting the addition of 2021 action plan items and critical measurements to the city of Sheboygan's 2017 through 2021 strategic plan recommends adopting the resolution. Alderpersons Sorenson. Move to adopt. I move to receive the RC and adopt the resolution. Second. Thank you for that motion and support. Second. Is there any discussion on the motion? Mayor Alderman Boron. Please go ahead. Thank you. This is some housekeeping from the committee of the whole meeting regarding an item that I wanted to get into the action plan for 2021. And after conferring with the city attorney today and the city clerk, I moved to amend the resolution to read as follows. Now, therefore it be resolved the common council hereby instructs the city administrator to one, add a 2021 action item as a new item in the governing and fiscal management section on page five of the attached 2021 action items and critical measurements, which shall read as follows. Execute a succession plan for the fire department. Number two, renumber all subsequent action items and critical measurements and three, file a copy of the updated 2021 strategic plan with the council. Be it further resolved that subject to said instructions, the common council hereby approves the attached 2021 action items and critical measurements as an update to the 2017-2021 strategic plan. Thank you for that amendment. Is there a second? Thank you. The item is on the floor for further discussion. Mayor, I just wanted to mention that I believe it was number 85 on the list was to execute a succession plan for the police department as a new item. And I discussed this with the fire chief before the committee of a whole meeting. And I believe he and the human resources director are already working on this, but I wanted to put this formally on the action plan as another new item to be worked on as time goes along. Thank you for those comments. Is there any other discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor of the amendment, please signify by seeing aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion, amendment passes. Now need a motion to approve as amended. So moved. Alderman Born. Thank you for that motion and second to approve as amended. Once again, any discussion? Seeing none. With a clerk, please call the roll for passage. 10 ayes. Motion passes. Item 5.2 is RC number 65 of 2021 by the Public Works Committee to almost refer general ordinance number five of 2021. The Alderperson's Wolf and Sorenson repealing and recreating section 26-907 in article eight, division four of chapter 26 in the municipal code entitled sewer and water services and recommends amending the ordinance as to remove the words whose determinant is final from section 26-1006 sub K and the word priority from section 26-1006 sub N of both which changes are to section six of the ordinance. Alderperson Sorenson. To receive the report of the committee and adopt the substitute ordinance. Second. Thank you for that motion and support. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none. With a clerk, please call the roll. 10 ayes. Motion passes. Under general ordinances, item 6.1 is general ordinance number seven of 2021 by Alderperson Sorenson and Donahue amending section 110-202 by the municipal code as to authorize the chief of police or his or is her designee to make decisions regarding the appropriate location of a street festival when proposed to be on a through street. Alderperson Sorenson, I need a suspension on this. Thank you, Mayor. I move to suspend the rules. Is there any objection to suspension? Seeing none, please proceed. Thanks, Mayor. I move to adopt and approve the ordinance. Thank you for that motion and support. That item is before us for discussion. Alderperson Donahue. This has come to the council in fairly short order for the reason that time is short and the city is trying to respond in a really positive way to local businesses that are reopening and facing various challenges. Aldersorenson and I have been meeting with members from the business improvement district and the Chamber of Commerce to talk about ways that we can streamline our permitting process. As you know, we've already temporarily suspended liquor license fees. We have amended our sidewalk cafe street permit process, all of which is very good. There's some energy in the community to have street festivals. It's quite a... I looked at the ordinance and it is quite a process and requires a fair amount of time. But what this particular amendment to the Code of Ordinances does is allow the police chief to designate a street or to determine that a street is eligible for closure for the purpose of a street festival. Currently, 8th Street is a through street. That may surprise you. And so this would give in the event that business owners somewhere along 8th Street would like to excite customers and bring people in downtown. The chief would be able to make a decision that given the circumstances and the criteria that the department would use, that this could be designated a through street for a brief period of time. Thank you for those comments. So you know other discussion? Will the clerk please call the roll? 10 ayes. Motion passes. Item 6.3 through 6.6 will be referred to various committees. Next is Other Matters Authorized by Law. I'll call on city attorney Charles Adams. 7.1 is an RO by the city clerk submitting various license applications for the period ending December 31, 2020, April 14, 2021, June 30, 2022. Thank you. That'll be referred to the Licensing, Hearings and Public Safety Committee. Alderperson Sarnson. Thanks, Mayor. I move to adjourn. Thank you for that motion and support. All those in favor of adjournment, please signify by saying aye. Aye. We stand adjourned. Thank you for your time tonight.