Votes at a glance: Sawyer County Board actions on rezones, appointments, radios, bridge and ordinances — Feb. 20, 2025

The Sawyer County Board of Supervisors took a series of formal actions during its Feb. 20 meeting. Below is a summary of motions, movers/seconds when recorded and outcomes as stated on the meeting floor.

Votes at a glance

1) Appointment: Dale Magnuson — county board supervisor, District 15 Motion: Approve Dale Magnuson as county board supervisor for District 15 (oath administered on floor). Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Buckle; second by Ms. Hessel. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye” on the floor). Note: oath of office administered before the vote.

2) Appointments: Jim Evans — Public Safety Committee and LCO library board replacements Motion: Approve Jim Evans for public safety and LCO library board. Mover/Second: Motion by Ms. Hessel; second by Mr. Rickenheimer. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

3) Approve minutes of Jan. 16 meeting Motion: Approve minutes as presented. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Savinsky; second by Mr. Buckles. Outcome: Motion carried.

4) Strategic planning process — authorization to proceed Motion: Move forward with strategic planning process led by UW Extension. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Rickenheimer; second by Mr. Evans. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

5) Rezone 25-001 (land swap for Anderson Enterprises) — approve Motion: Approve rezone 25-001 as recommended by staff and town of Hayward. Mover/Second: Motion by Ms. Hessel; second by Mr. Savinski. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

6) Rezone 25-003 (William and Ashley Straybill) — deny Motion: Deny the rezone consistent with the Town of Hayward resolution of disapproval under Wis. Stat. §59.69(5)(e)(3). Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Woffles; second by Mr. Buckle. Outcome: Motion carried.

7) Highway commissioner appointment and ordinance establishing appointment process and indefinite term Motion: Reappoint Mr. Pinto as county highway commissioner (retroactive to 01/01/2025) and adopt ordinance establishing appointment process and indefinite term for future commissioners. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Van Ness; second by Mr. New (as recorded). Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

8) Public safety radio system improvements — proceed with GenComm contract and project development Motion: Approve moving forward with the public safety radio system improvements and contract work with GenComm to develop final budget/design. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Buckles; second by Mr. Evans. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”). Staff stated estimated cost of initial design at $2,825,000 (project still requires final budget and tower/lease decisions).

9) Animal control ordinance amendment (cats) — approve Motion: Adopt draft ordinance removing domestic cats from the county animal control ordinance definitions/enforcement as discussed in committee. Mover/Second: Motion by Ms. Sessel; second by Mr. Haney. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye” with one recorded “Nay” by a board member on the floor).

10) Temporary bridge purchase and funding allocation (Town of Winter) Motion: Allocate $85,000 from county forest surplus stumpage revenue to purchase a used temporary bridge structure to be owned by the county and installed in the Town of Winter; town would pay transport/installation costs. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Buckle; second by Mr. Haney. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”). Details: bridge purchase price $85,000; total project estimate $140,000; bridge specifications 14 ft by 60 ft, H-93 loading and one-lane timber deck to be inspected per WisDOT standards.

11) Library planning committee resolution and appointments Motion: Approve resolution establishing Sawyer County Library Planning Committee and appoint county representatives to the committee. Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Evans; second by Mr. Newman. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”).

12) BEAD endorsement: Bertram Communications Motion: Approve county-level BEAD endorsement for Bertram Communications for specific towns not previously endorsed by other providers (Cootare, Edgewater, Draper, Meteor, Ojibwe, Winter as described by staff). Mover/Second: Motion by Mr. Buckles; second by Mr. Rickenheimer. Outcome: Motion carried (voice vote recorded as “Aye”). Staff noted endorsements are time-sensitive and that LOIs were required by the state for BEAD applications.

13) Other routine approvals The board approved committee reports, finance committee recommendations (including CIP and ambulance billing information), and various committee appointments; motions included approval of minutes and committee reports and were carried by voice vote.

Notes on votes and tallies: Most actions on the floor were decided by voice vote and recorded as “Aye” with motions carried; the audio transcript records motion/second and chair call for the vote in most instances but does not contain a full roll-call count for each action. Where a board member explicitly stated “nay” or where a specific committee vote was recorded in staff reports, those counts are noted in the body above.