Land Resources and Extension Committee

  • Printer-friendly version
Calendar Date:
Tuesday, July 28, 2026 - 9:00am

Add to your calendar:  

Back to calendar

Meeting Information

  • Agenda
  • Minutes
PDF icon LAND RESOURCES AND EXTENSION COMMITTEE AGENDA 07.28.2026 (253 KB)

SAUK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

MEETING NOTICE/AGENDA

                                                                               

COMMITTEE:            Land Resources and Extension Committee
DATE:                         Tuesday, July 28, 2026             TIME:  9:00 a.m.
PLACE:                       County Board Room
                                   505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI

A quorum may be present consisting of members of the Aging & Disability Resource Center Committee; Economic Development Committee;  Finance, Personnel & Insurance Committee; Health and Human Services Committee; Land Resources & Extension Committee; Law Enforcement & Judiciary Committee; Public Works and Infrastructure Committee; and Executive & Legislative Committee.  No governing body will exercise any responsibilities, authority, or duties except for the Land Resources and Extension Committee. It is possible that a quorum of county board members will be at this meeting to gather information about a subject over which they have decision-making responsibility. This constitutes a meeting of the County Board pursuant to State ex rel Badke v. Greendale Village Board, Wis 2d 553, 494 n.w.2d 408 (1993), and must be noticed as such, although the County Board will not take any formal actions at this meeting. It is also possible that there may be quorums of other County Board Committees present, although those committees will not take any formal action at this meeting.


REASON FOR MEETING:  REGULAR

 

SUBJECTS FOR DISCUSSION:

  1. Call to order and certify compliance with open meetings law.
  2. Adopt agenda.
  3. Adopt minutes of previous meeting – July 9, 2026
  4. Public comment * 3-minute time limit *
  5. Communications
    1. Land and Water Conservation Board Member Nomination.
  6.   Land Resources and Environment
    1. Review and approval of vouchers.
    2. Resolution to Accept a Generous Donation for Hemlock County Park.
    3. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Cost Share Transfer Agreement between Eau Claire County and Sauk County.
    4. Discussion and possible action on scheduling tours for Parks & Recreation and Planning & Zoning
    5. Data center moratorium discussion and updates.
  7. Next meeting dates: Thursday, August 13, 2026, and Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 9:00 am
  8. Adjournment:

 

COPIES TO:

Peter Kinsman                          LRE Committee                                      Lisa Wilson – Admin             
Becky Evert - County Clerk      Land Records                                        Reg. of Deeds                        
Extension Education                LRE Staff                                                 Jon Field – NRCS                  
Janice Kelley – NRCS                MIS                                                          Katy Smith – DATCP              
Tabitha Starjnski – WS            Nancy Frost -WDNR WM                     Town Chair / Clerk                
Sauk Co Webpage                   Paul Wolter- Historical Soc.                 Foresters-Kloppenburg/Morehouse
Sauk Co-Corp Counsel        

 

DATE NOTICE MAILED: Thursday July 23, 2026   PREPARED BY:  Land Resources and Environment Department

NOTE:  Any person who has a qualifying disability that requires the meeting or materials at the meeting to be in an accessible location or format should contact Sauk County (608-355-3269 or TTY 608-355-3490) between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday, exclusive of legal holidays, and at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting so that reasonable arrangements can be made to accommodate each request.

PDF icon LAND RESOURCES AND EXTENSION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 07.28.2026 (145 KB)

SAUK COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Land Resources and Extension Committee
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
County Board Room
Sauk County West Square Building


Land Resources and Extension (LRE) Committee members present: P. Kinsman, B. Peper, B. Lohr, B. Pelton, B. Greenwood, S. Alexander, J. Sederstrom, R. Puttkamer.

Committee members absent: R. Prosser (excused).

Sauk County staff present: T. Kabat, C. Fowler, B. Meyer.

Others present from public: Mary Werger, Joan Wheeler, David Smith, Kris Brewer, Randy Leiser, Frances Auld, Judy Brey, Pam Condon, Karla Carpenter, Nancy Nygard, Scott Lange, Nancy Peidelstein, Pat Taylor, Gretchen Roltoen, Bob Prottgen, Carl Ramsey, Jodie Ramsey, Dave Metcalf, Diane Metzke, Barbarba Norcross, Danielle Vaillancourt.
 

At 9:00 a.m. Chair Kinsman called the Land Resources and Extension Committee meeting to order. LRE staff certified the meeting to be compliant with Open Meetings Law.

Adopt agenda: Motion by Puttkamer / Lohr to adopt the July 28, 2026, agenda. Motion carried unanimously.

Adopt minutes of previous meeting – July 9, 2026: Motion by Puttkamer / Pelton to adopt the July 9, 2026, LRE Committee meeting minutes. Motion carried unanimously.

Public comment: Members of public spoke in favor of a data center moratorium in Sauk County. Francis Auld, Judy Brey, Randy Leiser, Ed Taylor, Joan Wheeler, Pam Condon, Rachel Nygard, and David Smith.  Other members of the public registered in favor of a data center moratorium.

Communications:

  1. Land and Water Conservation Board Member nomination. T. Kabat provided information for committee members interested in being nominated for the Land and Water Conservation Board.
  2. T. Kabat shared a public notice from the Town of Delton regarding vacation of certain parts of the Ishnala Road right-of-way. He noted the travel lanes would not be impacted.
  3. T. Kabat noted the next Sauk County Pasture Walk is scheduled for August 5th from 6 to 8 pm at the Trower Farm in the Town of Baraboo.
  4. T. Kabat noted the annual Clean Sweep event is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th. He asked for volunteers from the committee.
  5. T. Kabat noted there will be an open house for the Great Sauk State Trail on Wednesday, September 23rd at the Carnegie Schadde Memorial Public Library in Baraboo.
  6. T. Kabat shared a notice was received from Mid Continent company about the BECI (Bell Center–Columbia–Sugar Creek–IL/WI State Line) 765kV transmission line project. The line will eventually connect from Indiana to South Dakota including portions of Sauk County. Notices will be mailed to county residents, and an open house will be scheduled for some time in August.

Land Resources and Environment

  1. Review and approval of vouchers: T. Kabat presented Land Conservation, Planning and Zoning vouchers in the amount of $52,180.62.  Motion by Lohr / Greenwood to pay the vouchers for the LRE Department in the amount of $52,180.62. Motion carried unanimously.
  2. Resolution to Accept a Generous Donation for Hemlock County Park: T. Kabat presented a Resolution for a generous donation for Hemlock County Park in the amount of $19,830.61. Motion by Lohr / Pelton to approve a resolution to accept a generous donation for Hemlock County Park from John Paul Mueller in the amount of $19,830.61. Motion carried unanimously.
  3. Discussion and Possible Approval of a Cost Share Transfer Agreement between Eau Claire County and Sauk County: T. Kabat requested approval of a cost share transfer agreement between Eau Claire County and Sauk county in the amount of $25,000. Motion by Alexander / Puttkamer to approve a cost share transfer agreement between Eau Claire County and Sauk County in the amount of $25,000.  Motion carried unanimously.
  4. Discussion and possible action on scheduling tours for Parks & Recreation and Planning & Zoning: T. Kabat presented possible dates to schedule tours for Parks and Recreation and Planning & Zoning. Parks tour is set for October 7th from 9 am to 12 noon. Planning & Zoning tour set for November 4th from 9 am to 12 noon.
  5. Data center moratorium discussion and updates: T. Kabat provided a summary of information gathered by staff regarding a possible data center moratorium. J. Sederstrom spoke in favor of an 18-month moratorium on data centers in Sauk County. B. Peper noted the need for a closed loop system to recycle the water for any data centers. B. Greenwood spoke in favor of a data center moratorium. R. Puttkamer noted he supports the moratorium to maintain the agriculture settings within the towns. B. Lohr asked how the possible moratorium would affect the adoption of Chapter 7. T. Kabat explained the timeline and process for both the moratorium and Chapter 7 zoning ordinance. After discussion, the committee directed staff to draft an 18-month moratorium on receiving applications for data centers in Sauk County and to present the ordinance for committee review and action as soon as possible.

Next meeting dates: Thursday, August 13th, 2026, and Tuesday, August 25th, 2026, at 9:00 am.

Adjournment: Motion to adjourn by Pelton / Sederstrom at 10:13 a.m. Motion carried, unanimously.       

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Brandon Lohr, Secretary

Supporting Documents

PDF icon LETTER OF RECORD FROM REBECCA POWELL (111 KB)