VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
November 2nd, 2026
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, November 2nd, 2026.
Village President Shane Trott presided and called to order the meeting at the Village Hall facility at 5:30 p.m., 100 W. River Avenue. Board members present were Galen Brainerd, Jim Johnson, Mark Zimmer, Jim Moore and Darlene Wundrow. Clerk/Treasurer Jessica Hayes attended also. Trustee John Hoiby and Deputy Nicole Frisinger were absent.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Johnson to approve the October 5th, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting Minutes, carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis attended the meeting to report to the Board that the park and cemetery are closed for the season and hydrants are being pumped down in preparation for winter.
The garbage building insulation is complete, he is awaiting electrical installation bids and the heater will be installed in the coming week.
The new side by side has been delivered.
Heater Installation Approval in Garbage Building: Gudis reported that Dave’s Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC will be installing the heater at the building. One 250,000 BTU gas fired unit will be installed.
Employee Retirement: Gudis discussed with the Board the retirement of Kurt Will planned for June, 2027. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to schedule a committee meeting with Will to discuss further, carried.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Trevor Richards – Library Report: Richards attended the meeting to discuss recent and upcoming library activities.
The Friends of the Library are having a bake sale November 7th at the American Legion Hall with a book sale located at the library that day as well.
Five book talk events are held a month.
A full list of events and holiday hours will be posted on the library’s website as well as Facebook.
APPLICATIONS:
Building Permit:
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to approve a building permit to Robert Lorkowski, Gateway Inn & Suites, to do exterior remodeling on his building located at 621 N. Main Street, carried.
Operator’s License:
Motion by Johnson, seconded by Brainerd to approve an operator’s license to Cindi Jo Dawson, carried.
Bow Hunting Permits:
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to approve bow hunting permits for Daniel Stanisch and Daniel Carrillo, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety:
Village Hall Water Damage:
Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Village Hall Water Damage’ item until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Meeting, carried.
Coolsys HVAC Bid Approval: A bid was submitted from Coolsys for the replacement of one of the four furnace units as well as one of the four AC units at the Village Hall facility, with removal and disposal of the existing units at $7,994.00. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to approve the quote from Coolsys in the amount of $7,994.00, carried.
Alleyway Tree Removal Approval: A deceased tree located in the alleyway between N. 2nd Street and N. 3rd Street needs to be removed. Two quotes were obtained, one from All Affordable Tree Service for $2,954.00 and one from Keystone Tree Services for $2,400.00. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to approve the bid from Keystone Tree Services for $2,400.00 to have the tree removed, carried.
Village Hall Use: Discussion was had on the use of the Village Hall facilities to private parties and organizations. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to send the item to committee to discuss further, carried.
Utility:
Simplified Water Rate Increase Application Approval: The Village’s application for a 3% increase on rates to go in to effect January 1st, 2027 was approved by the Public Service Commission. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to remove the item from the agenda, carried.
Sewer Rate Increase: Sewer rates were on a schedule to be increased annually at 1%. After discussion with the auditor during the USDA audit, there was a loss in the utility in 2025. The Board had voted at the October, 2026 meeting to increase rates by 3% but to discuss with the auditor at the budget workshop if 3% would be sufficient to cover the deficit, and upon guidance from the auditor, would be brought back to the Board for further discussion.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Moore to increase the sewer rates by 6%, effective January 1st, 2027, carried.
Public Works:
Main Street Repairs: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Main Street Repairs’ item until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting 10/19/26 Report: A committee meeting was held on October 19th, 2026. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The committee met with engineer Larry Gotham of Morgan & Parmley to discuss the round lake property line issues with the adjacent property owner.
The committee recommends trading footage to correct the property lines. If approval from the Board to proceed with the recommendations, an additional meeting will be scheduled to draft the proposed changes.
Round Lake Land Issue: A surveyed map of the property was provided to the Board for review. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Johnson to schedule a committee meeting with Larry Gotham and the property owners to discuss the issue and proposal/s further, carried.
Offer to Purchase Village Owner Property: An offer to purchase Village owned property in the Town of Atlanta was received from the adjoining property owners, Thomas & Jerilyn Michaud, for the purchase price of $6,000.00 with an earnest payment of $1,000 down. The property is approximately six acres and is a land locked parcel. The Board tabled the proposal at last month’s meeting until legal opinion could be obtained. Legal opinion was obtained. Discrepancies with the acreage posted online were discussed. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Moore to obtain more information regarding acreage, look in to the deed to the parcel for clarification and a possible survey completion, carried. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Offer to Purchase Village Owned Property’ issue until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Board meeting, carried.
735 W. Railroad Avenue Property Survey/Sale: Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Johnson, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘735 W. Railroad Avenue Property Survey/Sale’ item until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
‘Welcome to Bruce’ Signage: Nothing new to report this month.Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to table the ‘Welcome to Bruce’ Signage item until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Welfare:
Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion:
Nothing new to report this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion’ item until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Park Splash Pad Project: Gudis is in communication with Gerber Leisure Products to try and get the costs down for the quote. Discussion was had on different options of lowering the scale of the project.
Nothing further to discuss this month. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Park Splash Pad Project’ issue until the December, 2026 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Administration:
Loan #8940 Increase – Payment Due Adjustment Approval: Motion by Johnson, seconded by Zimmer to approve increasing loan #8940 with Chippewa Valley Bank by $50,000.00 and to move the first payment due date from 2028 to 2027, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Wundrow to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $65,911.03, carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Johnson to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 6:41 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer