Jackson County Forestry & Parks Department March Meeting Recap

The regular monthly meeting for the Jackson County Forestry & Parks Department was held at 8:30am on Tuesday,
March 11, 2025, at the Jackson County Courthouse. Those in attendance were Ed Chamberlain, Dale Hoff, John
Higgins, Garth Rolbiecki, Jerry Schmidt, Dave Spaude, Jeremy Breheim, Ashley Stetzer and Chris Repking.
The regular meeting was called to order at 8:30am by Ed Chamberlain
A motion was made by John Higgins to approve the minutes from the February meeting, the motion was seconded by
Dale Hoff, all members voted in favor.
A motion to approve the bills for payment, except for the bill from Tractor Central, until Jim can discuss the warranty
with them, was made by John Higgins, seconded by Garth Rolbiecki, all members voted in favor.
Zach Clausing was present from the WI-DNR and gave an update.
Dave Spaude informed the Committee that roads bands have been put in place so harvesting has slowed down.
Foresters are wrapping up the spring timber sale bid packet. The small claims case has been settled with a monthly
payment arrangement of $1,000 due on the 15th of every month. Finally, Lambert Forest Products bought a lump sum
sale of $500 for the solar lease project.
Jeremy Breheim noted that Parks are beginning clean up projects. A 4H group will be coming to Wazee Lake in
April to do beach cleanup. Staff will begin the process of hiring seasonal parks workers.
Due to lack of snow for the snowmobile season the decision was made to open trail up to UTVs. The feedback was
positive. Trails are being mowed and prepped for the summer season. The motorcycle club will be at Crawford Hills
next weekend to work on clean up efforts.
Jeremy Breheim discussed with the committee the Kayak Kiosk. Owner, Gabe Flood, was present and requested
permission to install another kiosk at East Arbutus along with the existing kiosk at Wazee lake. A motion to approve
was made by Garth Rolbiecki, seconded by John Higgins. All members voted in favor.
The Forestry department has budgeted to purchase a new truck. After review a motion was made by Dale Hoff to sell
the 2020 Dodge truck currently owned by the department on Wisconsin Surplus for a minimum of $13,500. The
motion also included continuing to look for a truck, if one is found on the lot staff can contact Ed Chamberlain for
approval to purchase. The motion was seconded by Jerry Schmidt, all members voted in favor.
A follow up motion was made by Garth Rolbiecki to not accept any of the submitted truck bids, the motion was
seconded by John Higgins, all members voted in favor.
Jeremy Breheim presented the quotes for the new shed at East Arbutus Park. After discussion a motion was made by
Garth Rolbiecki to go with Nordstrom Construction for $71,619.36. The motion was seconded by Jerry Schmidt, all
members voted in favor.
The parks department would like to extend the reservation period from April 15-November 31. Currently
reservations are only taken from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The request also included making all sites at Wazee
lake reservable. A motion was made by Dale Hoff to approved extending the reservation period as well as making all
sites reservable at Wazee. The motion was seconded by John Higgins, all members voted in favor.
Currently credit card processing fees cost approximately $15,000 for the Parks department. A discussion took place
on whether a fee should be placed on the consumer. The parks do charge a $10 reservation fee to help offset these
costs. A motion was made by Jerry Schmidt to add a transaction fee to all credit cards, the motion was seconded by
Dale Hoff, all members voted in favor.
A motion to adjourn at 9:50am was made by Garth Rolbiecki, seconded by John Higgins, all members voted in favor.