TOWN OF BLAINE
TOWN BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, May 13th, 2026
Blaine Town Hall/Northland Community Center
I. OPENING
PRESENT: Chairman Mike Metcalf, Supervisor Josh Fornengo, Supervisor Bryan Holter, Clerk Ryan Brennan, Treasurer Mona Velebir, Dan & Nicole Sear, Ron Gallagher, Billy Fish, Matt Holter & Mikaela Hughes
CALL TO ORDER: Mike Metcalf called the May 13th, 2026 town board meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the April 15th, 2026 town board meeting minutes as submitted. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
II. STANDING REPORTS
CLERK’S REPORT: Ryan Brennan recently issued several building information & occupancy permits, provided liquor & operator license renewal materials to the owners of McGraw Lake Tavern & Hillside Inn, contacted Raska Sewer Services to clean the portable privies at the Big McGraw Lake landing, contacted Curtis Septic to proceed with their bi-annual septic tank pumping for the NCC, completed the tax-exempt property report, updated the town’s 2025 financial statement, and secured insurance coverage for the town’s new pickup truck. He also attended a useful webinar in late April on how to properly fill out the municipal financial report (Form CT) and eventually completed its initial submission.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Mona Velebir reported on bank balances for Community Bank of Siren. Our net balances are currently $8,056.11 for our checking account and $203,260.23 for our money-market savings account. She will be transferring $20,000 from the savings account into the checking account to secure its balance until further funding is directly deposited from the state this summer. Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the treasurer’s report as submitted. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
APPROVAL TO PAY EXPENDITURES: Ryan Brennan reviewed the expenditure & payroll summary of the prior month. He also added a YTD expenses running total to the report which combines the YTD totals of both our general & roads expenses. Annual software subscriptions & licenses for QuickBooks Online & Microsoft Office were recently renewed. Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the expenditure & payroll summary as submitted. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
SUPERVISORS’ REPORT: Josh Fornengo reported that Monroe Equipment picked up the new plow truck for repairs. Bryan Holter & Matt Holter have been paying attention to any beaver activity. Josh Fornengo also volunteered to help the resident at the old Methodist Church property by removing the excess boat & tires illegally dropped off by an unknown party.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Mike Metcalf discussed several topics and reviewed handouts with attendees, including a public hearing that took place with the county regarding zoning for a property owned by Colin Hooker, advertising requirements for TRI grant bids, an updated 2026 road plan, estimates for a new town garage, progress on joint discussions for a proposed fire association, and more. A discussion took place regarding past gravel crushing bids and purchase history from Rydberg & Sons. Matt Holter will coordinate with Ron Gallagher & Dan Sear on what amounts of gravel could potentially be traded between Blaine & Dairyland and when it can be done. The Town of Dairyland has agreed to pay $2.80/cubic yard of gravel purchased. Mike Metcalf will send a copy of the past receipts to Ryan Brennan to file.
ROAD CONDITION REPORT: Dan Sear has been patching multiple roads, including Big McGraw Rd. & Markville Rd. He recently attended a road supervisor workshop in Wisconsin Dells and gathered plenty of useful information from it for use on our town roads. A discussion took place regarding addressing areas of sinking road by the St. Croix Bridge and on Big McGraw Rd.
ROAD EQUIPMENT REPORT: A new pickup truck was recently purchased for the town for $29,334.50. Dan Sear & Ron Gallagher then picked up the vehicle from PK Auto in Marshfield, WI for immediate use. Mona Velebir arranged to have new town decals placed on the pickup truck.
DAIRYLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Billy Fish requested that residents refrain from burning as the risk of fire danger is currently quite high and burning permits have been getting revoked as a result.
TRANSFER STATION REPORT: Ryan Brennan recently met with Lori Hancock of Waste Management to deliver copies of the new gate & recycling bin padlock keys for their staff. Two of the recycling bins will be swapped out for more secure versions in the near future. Guest permits are also being regularly checked as the busy summer season approaches.
III. TOWN BUSINESS
1) Dan & Nicole Sear created a new rough draft of the town’s snow removal procedures back in April. Ryan Brennan then updated the document and created a final draft ready for posting on the town website. Only a couple small edits were requested, and they will be made before posting. Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the final draft with the requested corrections. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
2) A resolution supporting transportation funding solutions (#TR2026-01) was recently drafted by the supervisory board members and edited by Ryan Brennan for mailing to Wisconsin state government officials. Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the resolution as submitted. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
3) An ordinance appointing the town clerk as a voting member of the Board of Review (#TO2026-01) was recently drafted by Ryan Brennan. He also reviewed the roles of elected clerks in contrast to appointed clerks for the Board of Review with attendees. Josh Fornengo motioned to approve the ordinance as submitted. Bryan Holter seconded. Motion approved.
4) Mike Metcalf reviewed details of his new rough draft of the town’s ATV/UTV route ordinance with attendees, including required postings, the timing of road closures, enforcement, and more. He will continue to update his draft for further discussion and eventually schedule a public hearing for it.
5) A closed executive session took place near the end of the meeting.
IV. CLOSING
REVIEW OF PROJECTS: Town board members reviewed current projects, assignments and follow-ups to town business items.
ITEMS FOR NEXT MONTH’S AGENDA:
1) Approval of liquor license renewal applications for McGraw Lake Tavern & Hillside Inn.
2) Discussion of final draft of ATV/UTV route ordinance.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1) The next joint town board meeting to further discuss the formation of a fire association will take place on Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT: Mike Metcalf motioned to adjourn at 9:57 p.m. Josh Fornengo seconded. Motion approved. Meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Ryan W. Brennan, Town Clerk: __________________________________________
Submitted this 13th day of May, 2026
Subsequently approved,
Michael C. Metcalf, Town Chairman: __________________________________________
Approved this 10th day of June, 2026