Watertown City Council approved a bundle of ordinances, resolutions, licenses and appointments at its April meeting and recessed into a closed session under Wisconsin statute to consult with legal counsel over an ongoing claim.

On procedural matters, councilors elected Fred Smith as council president by unanimous ballot among those voting; the roll call showed one abstention. The council approved committee and commission appointments, including the appointment of Alderman Blankie to the Planning Commission and Linden QC to the Town Square Programming Commission.

Licenses and permits: councilors approved a class B malt liquor license for Golden Spoon with noted conditions and gave conditional approval for CRD, STP and G, LLC (d/b/a Third Street Pub) pending passing city inspections. The council approved temporary class B licenses for the Whiskey and Wine Walk (Watertown Chamber of Commerce, 04/26/2025) and for two Town Square Summer Concert Series dates sponsored by the Watertown Rotary Club. The council voted on an application for an operator’s license from Jessica Reyes; Alderman Fred Smith moved to deny the application “specifically because of falsification on the application.” The transcript records the motion and second; the council then conducted a roll call on the motion.

Ordinances and resolutions: the council passed Ordinance 25-06 amending chapter 560 (vehicles and traffic) on second reading, and Ordinance 25-07 amending the comprehensive plan land-use designation for 1220 Wilbur Street and 1220 West Main Street from institutional to two-family residential (citing Wis. Stat. 66.1001 in the ordinance text). Both ordinances passed on recorded roll calls. The council adopted Resolution 9735 approving a vending contract with Lake Country Vending, Resolution 9736 to update handbook language about the city’s group health insurance (administrative change reflecting a move to a Dean Health plan effective Jan. 1), and Resolution 9737 approving a wildlife management agreement; each passed on roll call.

Budget and finance: Alderman Berg highlighted that the recently closed TID 4 produced about $2,000,000 in increment; about $840,000 is earmarked for Rock River Ridge infrastructure, leaving roughly $900,000 for other priorities. Finance staff said a budget modification would be drafted to reflect earlier finance-committee recommendations and return to the council for formal amendment.

Closed session and litigation: the council voted to convene a closed session under Wis. Stat. 19.85 to "confer with legal counsel…regarding oral or written advice concerning strategy with respect to litigation" and cited a claim by Christopher O'Brien. After returning to open session the council recorded action on the O'Brien claim; the motion and votes on that matter were made by the council in open session after the closed-session discussion.

Why it matters: the council's votes affect downtown licensing and events, traffic regulations, the comprehensive plan and the allocation of TID funds that will fund infrastructure projects; the closed-session litigation matter is a legal step documented under state law.

What’s next: several items will require follow-up reporting or ordinance language and a budget amendment to formalize allocations from TID 4 increment.