Bayfield County Board of Adjustment moves into closed session under state statute

Chair Christina Eliason called the Bayfield County Board of Adjustment to order at 9:04 a.m. on Feb. 26, 2026, and the board moved into a closed session after a motion from Vice Chair Shari Eggleson. "to amend original motion and include purpose of moving into to closed session is pursuant to Wisc. Stats. 19.85(1)(g) to confer with legal counsel and Board of Adjustment members and alternate, Counsel for the Board, Corporation Counsel, and the Planning & Zoning Department Director are requested to be present," the motion as recorded states. The amended motion carried 5 yes, 0 no.

The record shows the board sought legal consultation under Wisconsin Statute 19.85(1)(g); the minutes list Counsel for the Board (Stephen Olson), Corporation Counsel Linda Coleman, and Planning & Zoning Director Ruth Hulstrom as requested to be present during the closed session. After the closed-session discussion, Clyde Clauson moved and Adrian Wydeven seconded a motion to move out of closed session and reconvene the public meeting; that motion also carried 5 yes, 0 no.

The board's action was procedural and limited to consulting legal counsel as cited in the motion. No substantive policy decisions or votes on land-use matters are recorded in the minutes for this meeting; the board later requested that future agendas explicitly include authority to move into closed session under the same statute. The meeting adjourned at 9:49 a.m.