Town of Brothertown

Plan Commission Meeting Minutes

September 19, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Chairman John Hau. Whitmore confirmed that the meeting notice had been properly posted. All members werepresent:Delmar Buechel, Jon Cousins,Jerry Criter, John Hau, DuWayne Klessig,Brian Schmitz and Becky Whitmore.Hau read the agenda for the meeting. Klessig corrected the minutes of the Eden Stone CUP hearing to include the addition of “drainage around the berm on the east side of the property”. The minutes had been mailed to Commission members before the meeting. Criter made a motion, seconded by Klessig, to accept the agenda as read, and the corrected minutes. Motion carried.

First agenda item: A presentation by Brothertown Indian representative Darren Kroenke.

  • Mr. Kroenke talked about tribal interest in the three cemeteries in the Town that have many Brothertown Indians interred.
  1. UnionCemetery, owned by Town of Brothertown since early in the century, the tribe would like to take more of role in cemetery care and maintenance
  2. DickCemetery – near Heritage orchard
  3. ElyardCemetery – also known as QuinneyCemetery
  • Kroenke also presented a concept for a tribal cultural center, the structure perhaps based on an ME church formerly located at 151 & H in Brothertown. It could include a museum, meeting room, maybe a church, maybe include Indian and non Indian local history, and might have archives of genealogy data. An endowment would likely be set up to support the center.
  • He answered questions about the tribal request for official status, granted through the OFA (Office of Federal Acknowledgement).
  1. A determination was originally scheduled for September, 2006, but has been postponed for 6 to 12 months.
  2. There are about 2500 enrolled members presently, about 1/3 in the Fond du Lac area, 1/3 in the Appleton and Gresham areas, and others near Todd County, MN.
  3. The only land in Brothertown the tribe owns now is ¾ acre on Winnebago Point Road.
  • The tribe would like to collaborate with the Town in planning, and could perhaps contribute to the Planning document.

Second agenda item: Land use map discussion and revision, led by Julie Heuvelman, CountyPlanner. After extensive discussion, two changes were made in the map.

  1. Criter made a motion, seconded by Hau, and approved by the group on a voice vote: “Change the land within 1000 feet of the lake shore to “Rural Character” classification.
  2. Change the scope and classification of the land formerly listed as an Escarpment Overlay. Whitmore made a motion, seconded by Klessig, and approved by the group on a voice vote. “Designate as Conservancy the area within 500 feet of the escarpment face from the north Town line to south of the Milan Gasch property”.

Motion by Buechel, seconded by Whitmore, and approved by the group on a voice vote to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.

Becky Whitmore

Plan Commission Secretary