City Hall  
City of La Crosse, Wisconsin  
400 La Crosse Street  
La Crosse, WI 54601  
Meeting Minutes  
Human Rights Commission  
Wednesday, December 10, 2025  
5:15 PM  
Zoom Virtual Meeting Room  
Rescheduled  
This meeting will also be conducted through video conferencing.  
Join Zoom Meeting:  
https://cityoflacrosse-org.zoom.us/j/82011961171?pwd=QDLnaJmMpwhO1JkQI8qqqKY6vR3ucu.1  
Meeting ID: 820 1196 1171 Passcode: 873475  
Join by Phone: +1 646 931 3860  
Call to Order  
Bakalars called the meeting to order at 5:18 PM.  
Roll Call  
6 -  
Present:  
A Xiong, Kimberly Cable, Gretchen Guinn Paquette, Claire Bakalars,  
Rosanne Northwood,Marissa Sutherland  
1 - Kerrigan Trautsch  
Excused:  
Approval of Minutes  
A motion was made by Paquette, seconded by Cable, that the Minutes be  
APPROVED. The motion carried by voice vote.  
Agenda Items:  
Discrimination Complaint - David Young v. La Crosse Salvation Army re: Sack  
Lunches  
25-1395  
1
2
Neither complainant nor respondent were present at the meeting. While there is not a  
formal policy in these instances, it would be up to the Commission on how to proceed.  
A motion was made by Northwood, seconded by Cable, that this General Item  
be REFERRED for 30 days. The motion carried by voice vote.  
Discrimination Complaint - David Young v. La Crosse Salvation Army re: Milk  
25-1396  
Neither complainant nor respondent were present at the meeting. While there is not a  
formal policy in these instances, it would be up to the Commission on how to proceed.  
A motion was made by Northwood, seconded by Cable, that this General Item  
be REFERRED for 30 days. The motion carried by voice vote.  
Discussion on the creation of rules for staff review of submitted complaints  
25-1341  
3
Wertheimer provided an overview. Clerk reviews for complaints against City and  
forwards them to State or Federal Departments. Clerk will ask for Attorney's  
assistance on questionable complaints. For example, some lack specificity in who the  
complaint is against. Many complaints don't have dates on them. There is not an  
appointed staff person to help people fill out the form, but staff does give guidance on  
how to prepare for the meeting. Staff can't give legal advice. Cable said agencies like  
Salvation Army have internal grievance procedures and complaints could go to them.  
If information is missing in the form, staff can request missing information, or reject  
the form with the reason, and they can resubmit. Northwood supports having separate  
meetings with just complainant and just respondent. Paquette suggested that the date  
could be a separate required field. Bakalars suggested providing contact information  
of someone who can help with filling out the form; the form should also be translated --  
generally, the forms could be the 3 top languages spoken in our area, outside of  
English. Northwood suggested revising descriptions so it's not assumed that HRC just  
does housing complaints, and to make directions more user-friendly. For complainants  
needing help filling out the form, Legal Aid could be a resource, or local bar  
association, which sometimes offers aid. The Commission and could work with other  
organizations to develop and promote educational materials on discrimination. A  
suggested putting more information, such as a checklist, about what complainant  
needs in their narrative to show there was discrimination; multiple questions with  
separate field could help to guide them. A also wanted to staff to consider doing  
intake interviews. Northwood shared that Madison and Milwaukee have good examples  
of discrimination complaint forms.  
Adjournment  
Bakalars adjourned the meeting at 6:16 PM.  
Notice is further given that members of other governmental bodies may be present at the  
above scheduled meeting to gather information about a subject over which they have  
decision-making responsibility.  
NOTICE TO PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY  
Requests from persons with a disability who need assistance to participate in this meeting  
should call the City Clerk's office at (608) 789-7510 or send an email to  
ADAcityclerk@cityoflacrosse.org, with as much advance notice as possible.