Town of Bayview Regular Board Meeting

September 8, 2026

Meeting was called to order at 6:06 p.m. by Chair Don Jenicek.

Roll Call:  Chair Don Jenicek, present; Supervisor Mike Garnich, present; Supervisor Bill Bodin, present; Clerk Kim Suske, present; Treasurer Kelly Warren, present.

Others in attendance:  Mike Yonan, Cary Bouchard, Paul Johnson.

Approval of Town Board Meeting Minutes from August 12, 2026:  Motion made by Bill Bodin to approve as submitted; seconded by Mike Garnich.  All in favor, motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report by Kelly Warren:  Checking $52,407.73; Equipment $8,794.32; Room Tax $18,264.11; Contingency Fund $ 34,733.02; and Tax Levy Savings $75,511.61.

Citizen’s Concerns and Comments:   Paul Johnson showed a mockup of what will be a 4 x 8-foot wall display which will be mounted on the east wall of the Town Hall.  He provided copies of the Bayview History Bulletin.  He said that the depot hosted about 200 visitors over the summer, and they took in $400 in donations over the summer.

Request from non-profit organization Paddle it Forward to use Bayview Park for 3 or 4 free community events in 2027 on paddle board instruction for the cost of renting the pavilion—Discussion and possible action:  Clerk shared information from Heather at Paddle it Forward.  They want to use the Bayview Beach 3-4 times next summer.  Free paddleboard instruction will be available to anyone, but they specifically reach out to the local schools to encourage kids to come to the lessons.  They have insurance, each instructor has their own certifications for instructing, and the group as a whole is American Canoe Association certified and Association of World Paddle Association certified.  All staff have all American Red Cross certifications—CPR, lifeguarding, rescue, etc.  Motion made by Bill Bodin to approve the use of Bayview Park Pavilion and Beach for Paddle it Forward in 2027 for the pavilion rental fee; seconded by Don Jenicek.  All in favor, motion carried.  Clerk will get copy of their insurance and work with them to set up dates.

Fire and ambulance contract negotiations with City of Washburn—Discussion and possible action:  City of Washburn basically said that they would send us a new fire contract and extend current EMS contract for one year.  But they are not responding to nearly 25% of ambulance calls—SOMEONE is taking the call, sometimes City of Washburn, sometimes it is only first responder and not ambulance.  We as a Town are legally required to provide fire and EMS services.  If Barksdale goes to City of Ashland, financially this will be a problem for our Town.  We could go to City of Bayfield, but they have Town of Bayfield before Town of Bayview.  We are going to have to go along with the extended EMS contract for next year, but we don’t have the fire contract yet.  We got a letter from City of Washburn and is shows the cost to our Town for the new firetruck has increased yet we were told it would not increase.  We have questions as to why the City is not including their PILT money in calculations and how the fire dues that we pass along from the State of WI are being used by the City.  We want transparency.  Board wants to meet with the City administrator again regarding the fire contract.  Motion made by Mike Garnich to approve the new EMS contract as it is a continuation of the old one; seconded by Don Jenicek.  All in favor, motion carried.

Houghton Falls Nature Preserve (HFNP) trail changes and signage—Discussion and possible action:  Don Jenicek has been working with Erika Lang from Landmark Conservancy on signage.  We will be putting up 18” x 12” signs at the north railroad grade, south railroad grade, and 40’ easement.  Three signs total bolted to 4’ x 4’ posts.  They will read:  No entrance/Houghton Falls Nature Preserve/Use the parking lot entrance of Houghton Falls Road/No bicycles allowed.  The other side will read:  No Trespassing/Private Property Beyond this Point.  Town will pay for signs out of Room Tax account.

Don talked with Erika about removing stairs and closing the point and prohibiting diving and jumping off of rocks and instead putting in stairs to the cove.  Existing stairs may be able to be reused as portion of cove stairs.  Goal is to maintain the “safety and preservation” of the point.  Don has a meeting scheduled with Don Benson from Bayfield Area Trails Group regarding new trail/stairs work help.  Mike Garnich wants to work on the new trail now while we wait on removing existing stairs.  Mike also made the suggestion of making an entrance from the south side for pedestrians and bikes.  Wall’s driveway is also the Town’s easement.  We could put bike racks there.

Big Rock Road crack sealing agreement—Discussion and possible action:  Motion made by Mike Garnich to approve the Big Rock Road crack sealing agreement with the Town of Washburn; seconded by Bill Bodin.  All in favor, motion carried.  Agreement was signed by the three Board supervisors; Clerk will send signed contract to Town of Washburn and request that after they sign it they send us a copy.

Review Ordinance 13-02 Revised 06/10/2013 Notice of Records Access—Discussion and possible action:  John Carlson not here and has not responded to Clerk’s emails.  Tabled.

Continue discussion regarding creating a Records Retention policy:  Clerk is having a hard time finding time to work on this and now there is an election for her to handle.  Tabled.

Town Hall painting—Discussion and possible action:  Osher might paint–$2000 – $3000 for labor including block plus the cost of paint.  Mike Garnich pointed out that the back steps need to be rebuilt.

Update on new water filtration system for Town Hall:  This is installed and good to go.  We can DRINK the water—woohoo!  There is a new (small—5-6 gallon) hot water heater.  Propane line to garage was hit by backhoe—Midland put in a new line.

Begin 2027 budget discussion:  Clerk does not have very many $ figures yet as they are not available.  Bayfield County is experiencing a shortfall and money from timber cutting will be about half of recent years.

Roads report:  Our salt-sand storage is always out of compliance.  We need to submit monthly reports—have 20 days to respond.  Mike Yonan will take care of this and start keeping a monthly log going forward.  We buy 250 yards every October.  State checks to make sure it’s covered and state checks salt content—we never pass.

Jamie has been cutting grass and dragging roads.  Blew a tire on the drag.  Mike Garnich would like the grass around the Town Hall mowed before meetings and elections.  Patches will be done on Maki Road in October.  Motion made by Don Jenicek to pay the cost difference for the Duradisc mower out of the equipment fund; seconded by Bill Bodin.  All in favor; motion carried.  Clerk will transfer $3600 from equipment fund to checking account.

Board comments:  John Carlson is doing the loan documents.  Money from loan will go directly to Ashland Ford ($50,000) and the remainder will be paid out of checking account.  Will use equipment fund money to pay for outfitting—boxes on back and parts needed to attach plow.

Correspondence: 

Bayfield County issued a permit to Robert and Joey Gibb for an addition to existing structure Tax ID 6846.  Also permit to John Sopiwnik for shed roof off garage Tax ID 36521.  Clerk shared correspondence between McKenzie Slack of the DNR and Neil Schultz re notice of non-compliance on property located in the Town of Bayview.

Payment of Bills:  Motion made by Bill Bodin to approve payment of Town bills from August 13, 2026, to September 8, 2026, in the amount of $85,531.16; seconded by Don Jenicek.  All in favor; motion carried. 

Next Town of Bayview Regular Board meeting is set for Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 6 p.m.

Moton to adjourn was made by Mike Garnich and seconded by Don Jenicek.  Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

Submitted by                                                                                                     Approved 10/13/2026

Kim Suske, Clerk

Vol. 17 page 31