EM to start interviewing applicants for police chief in November
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound village board is closing in on a selection of a new police chief.
Interim police chief Mike Tietz informed the board during the October 25 regular meeting that the public safety committee met earlier in the week to select seven applicants to interview for the position.
Tietz indicated the board would discuss the interview panel’s makeup during the November 1 regular board meeting, and applicants would be interviewed the evenings of November 6 and 7. He also informed the board one applicant had withdrawn from consideration earlier in the day, leaving the village with three people to interview each night.
Right now, Dunn County Chief Deputy Marshall Multhauf and Colfax Police Chief Bill Anderson have committed to participating in the panel. Tietz suggested the rest of the panel would likely be comprised of village clerk Patricia Hahn, former police chief and long-time village resident Terry Stamm, current village board president Steven Abraham, and public safety committee chairwoman Deb Creaser-Kipp.
Prior to notifying the board of the upcoming interviews, Tietz said he would be out and about the night of Halloween to meet people and keep an eye on things in the community.
He also presented a report indicating the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office responded to between 25 and 30 calls in Elk Mound between October 1 and October 25. Many of the calls appeared to be for traffic violations, public relations visits to school district facilities, or EMS calls.
Tietz also reported on 12 calls to the Elk Mound Police Department between September 21 and October 18. Most of the calls were for background checks, and traffic complaints, but there was one call for a suspicious person, one for criminal damage to property, one for trespassing, one for an animal at large, and a call to assist another jurisdiction.
The board also heard updates from the plan commission, fire board, Dunn County Solid Waste and Recycling Board, Colfax Rescue Squad, and Community Center/Library.
Trustee Terry Stamm indicated Karate American’s request for a sign will be discussed at a future planning commission meeting after it came up as part of the meet for the Community Center/Library.
Public works director Mark Levra presented a “wish list” and timeline for improvement for parks and recreation in the village as part of the Dunn County Recreation Plan. Among the items listed were a new shelter at the Village Park, updates to the kitchen area in the main shelter, and a trail between parks projected to be addressed in 2023.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a class B beer license and class C wine license for Elk Mound Junction, LLC.
• Approved the 2017-2018 Dunn County Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Collection Agreement.
• Approved the purchase of a new LASER printer for the public works building.
• Approved building permits for Christine and Cheryl Beilke at 211 South Holly Avenue (remodel), Scott and Joy Harmer at 306 North Holly Avenue (reroof), Terry Stamm at 505 North Holly Avenue (reroof garage), Shannon Adams of 108 West Menomonie Street (siding, windows and roof), John Behler of 108 Princeton Drive (deck), Carol Peterson at 305 West Menomonie Street (siding, roof and furnace), and Lezlie and Alan Longanecker of 103 Kings Court (siding and windows).