The St. Germain Town Board had a hefty agenda for its Oct. 13 meeting. One of the bigger discussions revolved around safety concerns that were brought up after recent trail work by the Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club left branches and other woody debris on town-owned walking and bike trails.
Town Chairman John Vojta raised the question whether a policy for tree trimming and cutting on town property and trails should be enacted, citing his concerns that somebody using the trails could trip or wipe out and hold the town responsible.
“We cannot leave branches laying on the golf course and bike trails,” Vojta said. “We have to maintain trails.”
Bob Ausloos, president of the Bo-Boen club, said that brush had been left behind with the intention of someone coming back through to clean it up.
When debating what entity should be responsible for cleaning up debris left on trails from other maintenance, Supervisor Patrick Niggemeier answered he thought the people doing the cutting should be responsible for cleaning it up, not the town’s department of public works as had been suggested. Supervisor Peggy Nimz and Vojta agreed.
No action was taken, but the topic will be added to the next agenda for the board to create a plan to have in place.
Fire Chief Tim Gebhardt reported the fire department has had a busy few months both in town occurrences as well as requested mutual aid calls, mentioning the Waldmann Construction fire as well as calls from Arbor Vitae and Minocqua.
“Ambulance calls seem to come in streaks,” he noted, with some days being very busy with calls and others staying quiet.
The department has brought in new EMTs, but Gebhardt said that it’s an “ongoing battle” as they bring on new members but lose existing ones.
He’s planning to sell the ladder truck, but he has held off because of the old age of the department’s existing tender truck which they are looking to replace. Gebhardt explained that Fire Engine 2 can perform as a tender truck when needed, which has been beneficial to certain calls.
Looking at the cost of new tender trucks, Gebhardt said he experienced some “sticker shock” on how much prices have risen in recent years. Tenders are now going for $450,000-$500,000, which is almost double what they were a matter of years ago. “That (price) would have been crazy four or five years ago,” he said. “It’s just nuts.”
He plans to go out for bids in about six months, as the turnaround time to receive it is about 18 months out.
According to the chief, the department’s new ladder truck is expected to be paid off in about a year and a half, which should segue nicely with the tender delivery timeline. “By the time we get the tender, we should be out from under that (payment),” he said.
The St. Germain Golf Course was up more than $39,000 in terms of gross revenue for the 2025 season, including an increase of $7,687 in October alone. Supervisor Patrick Niggemeier said the expenses stayed the same from previous years.
The course closed Oct. 19, and Niggemeier said the greens are “looking fantastic.” He noted that the irrigation project is going as expected and should be completed in a little less than one month.
He praised the new staff at the course, and added that Mulligan’s was kept open until the end of the season, where it had previously closed before the course shut down. “We’re finishing strong with a solid season,” he said.
A public hearing was set to take comments on the potential addition of no-wake buoys being added to the west part of South Bay on Little Saint Germain Lake. The purpose would be to protect loons that nest in that area. So far, four homeowners in front of the proposed buoy locations have signed letters of support.
The hearing will be held Monday, Nov. 10, at 5:30 p.m.
The board voted to move the town’s public notice board from Camp’s to the St. Germain Chamber building’s west wall. Recent changes to Camp’s building when Forward Bank came in has made the board nearly impossible to get to as it is now buried behind an air conditioning unit and propane tanks.
Board members approved bids for road work on three town roads. Bids from Pitlik & Wick were accepted on Pedycort and Tobin-Lange roads, at a cost of $66,945 and $87,227, respectively. Northeast Asphalt won the Christmas Tree Lane project at a cost of $74,550.
Public works crews are planning to grind yard waste in a couple of weeks. This winter, staff will look at ways to limit commercial contractors who dump large amounts of materials at the site.
Town roads were approved for snowmobile trails or routes, as was the purchase of light strings and bulbs for the town Christmas celebration and fire department from the Community Development Fund at a cost of $2,153.
Discussion was had about the planting of a tree in front of the chamber office.
The previous tree was removed last spring but no plans were in place to replace it. Chamber Executive Director Azael Meza said there was already power near the site of the old tree for Christmas lighting purposes, and he would like to see something there to follow tradition.
The board raised concerns about the tree being in a Department of Transportation right-of-way, as well as whether or not the Save the Chief Committee already had landscaping plans in place.
The topic was tabled for the time being since no tree planting would take place until spring.
As the Oct. 23 meeting has been cancelled, the town board’s next meeting will take place on Monday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 following the buoy public hearing.
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