City council reviews approvals for payment of street projects, purchase of vehicles

The Rhinelander city council met Oct. 15 to take up the matter of several resolutions, which included payment for several street projects, the city’s official traffic map and control devices as well as a health insurance benefits package for city employees for 2026.

The first matter in front of the council was that of the traffic control map. According to city administrator Patrick Reagan, the matter had come before the council previously, and once the map was completed, it would also include not only stop signs and yield signs, but also speed limits and no parking areas. In looking at the previous ordinance, which was a seven-page document, some of the signs had not been codified and others were still listed that were no longer in place. The new ordinance cleans up the issue and creates a map showing where all of these things are in the city. This ordinance passed unanimously. Reagan later reviewed the traffic map. He said he would be working with Town & Country Engineering, Inc. to create the GIS map, which also passed unanimously.

Room tax levy

The next issue was regarding room tax. It was proposed to levy 7% rather than the current 5.5% rate. The ordinance would become effective Jan. 1, 2026. Mayor Kris Hanus said this date would fall in line with the first quarter of the year and also give those involved time to adjust their quarterly payment programs. The first reading of the ordinance was approved.

Fee waiver

The council also took up the matter of a fee waiver from the Rhinelander Area Community Band. The band asked, in a letter to the council, to have the fee waiver for use of the Hodag Park amphitheater. Although there had been some discussion about not waiving fees in the future, a decision to waive these fees could override that. Alderman Luke Kramer said, if approved, this would be the third largest fee waiver the city had undertaken. Both the Lights of the Northwoods and the Oneida County Fair already had their fees waived. He said he did not see it was feasible to be cutting income to departments. 

“This is one of those ones that doesn’t feel good,” said alderman Steven Jopek. “But if that’s the direction the council wants to go moving forward, until we create some other system for covering these expenses, I think, if this is for the next budget, it would set a pretty weird precedent to approve this and then turn around and say we’re not going to approve things.” 

He said he hated doing something seemingly against community events, but he did not like the precedent it set. 

Mayor Hanus said the matter could be tabled, if the council decided to. He said there were also funding mechanisms, such as room tax through the chamber, that the band could apply for to cover those costs. 

Alderman Gerald Anderson said he felt the council did owe the community band an answer, however, so they could plan ahead for 2026 and get their concerts scheduled. Anderson had spoken out against waiving fees many times in the past.

Alderman Thomas Barnett said he had been a proponent of ensuring not-for-profits could hold their events. Although he said he understood the city’s need for funds as well, he wanted to have that discussion when it was time to pass the budget, rather than to make the decision now. The matter was tabled until such time as the council took up the budget discussion for 2026.

Street projects

Under new business there were several change orders and approvals of pay applications for street projects that would be wrapping up in the coming weeks. One of those change orders was for the Messer Street Project. This change order, for $292,865.58 was for the addition of the block of Thayer Street where sidewalk was also to be added. Mark Barden of Town and Country Engineering, LLC said approximately $50,000 of that amount would not be covered by grants. However, he had been unable to contact USDA to confirm the exact amount due to the federal government shut down.

A pay request for the Messer Street Area Infrastructure and Street Improvements in the amount of $902,211.39 also came before the council. Both of these matters were approved.

The Oneida Avenue Utility and Street Improvement change order for $419,896.22 also came in front of the council for approval. Barden said he understood it was a confusing change order, but if the project was funded in part by the  Safe Drinking Water Clean Water Fund, the “balance to finish” line had to be zero. The meat of the amount in question, he said, was largely unused allowance items as well as supplemental items, or items that were not anticipated to come up, but that may come up. 

“It’s just taking those big items, making an adjustment on that quantity and that price for what was adjusted to zero,” he said. “That’s what you’re seeing here. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. That’s always what’s required from funding agencies.”

A pay application from Musson Brothers, Inc. for this project also came before the council. Barden said the only item on this pay invoice was the outstanding amount for traffic control signals, with the remainder being retainage that was held until the contractor finished the punch list items. The pay application was in the amount of $238,976.43. Both the pay application and change order were approved. 

The Menominee Drive Project was also agendized with both a change order and pay application. The change order, in the amount of $166,798.62. Barden said the city was awarded LRIP funding for this project in the amount of $570,000, which included construction and engineering. Because the bid came in low, the DOT was petitioned to also add Apache Lane to the project in order to maximize the funding, which they agreed to. The amount in question was the bid to pulverize and repave Apache.

The pay request from Musson Brothers, Inc. for $183,123.87 for this project also came in front of the council. This work, Barden said, was for work on this project through Sept 26. Both matters were approved. 

PFAS treatment

PFAS treatment for wells Nos. 7 and 8 was also approved for an amount not to exceed $460,000. Reagan said he spoke with Barden, who gave him a proposal for the work. Barden said this would include design and would take care of everything up through the bidding process as well as a backup generator at well No. 5. It did not, he said, include construction administration. Construction would be in 2027, with pilot testing starting this year and going into 2026. Once that testing was done, an application would be submitted to the Safe Drinking Water Fund in June to be eligible for funding in 2026.

Employee health benefits

The council also took up the matter of approving the health, HRA, dental vision and ID/Legal Shield coverage plans for city employees for 2026. Reagan said the plan design had not changed from previous years. However, the costs did increase by 16.5 percent. He said he expected it to go up again next year at a high rate. There would be no changes for employees or others on the plan unless the employee was to choose the broad network, said city finance director Wendy Bixby. That election would mean the employee would also see that percent increase on their portion of the plan, which is the same as it has been. This plan was approved.

Vehicles

There were two proposals for trucks before the council as well. The first was a proposal from badger Chevrolet for a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD crew cab for the water department. The proposal was in the amount of $42,394.50.

The second vehicle proposal was for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This proposal, also from Badger Chevrolet, was in the amount of $60,660.50. This would provide a 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 4WD double-can work truck with a plow. Both of these proposals were approved.

Trick or treat

The council also took up the matter of City of Rhinelander trick or treating date and hours. Those were set to be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct 31. Reagan reminded people to drive carefully at that time and be watchful for more kids on the streets than normal.

Pump

A pump for the Iverson Street lift station was also on the agenda. The purchase of the pump was approved for a cost of $7,104.65.

Downtown Works Revolving Loan Fund

This fund, Reagan said, has funds available, but no loans had been made from the fund in recent years. He said he was not sure why that was stopped, but it had not been used since he took his position. The bylaws needed some updating and tightening up as far as what is expected of both the applicant and the city, which was done. He said he would look to see $40,000 in loans to downtown businesses in 2026. Bixby said there was approximately $200,000 in the fund.

Junk motor vehicle ordinance

The city ordinance covering abandoned, junked or dismantled motor vehicles was brought up in the normal cycle of ordinance reviews to see if the council felt any changes needed to be made. The council was happy with how the ordinance was written.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].