Elk Mound village board appoints trustee after clarification of statute
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound village board reversed its position on appointing a new trustee before the April election during its second January meeting.
The board decided during its January 4 meeting that a new appointment could not be made as the seat had opened after December 1. Village clerk Pat Hahn consulted the village’s municipal attorney, Alan Harvey, who clarified a special election would not be strictly necessary according to village ordinance.
The attorney informed Hahn and the board that the statutory date of December 1 has nothing to do with filling a vacancy by appointment. Rather, the date is only critical when a special election is held to fill a vacancy by special election instead of by appointment.
In essence, an appointment was still able to occur, despite the vacancy occurring after the beginning of December because no special election has been deemed necessary. With that in mind, current board president Tom Gilbert appointed Steve Abraham, who spoke to the board in late December when the board made its first attempt at filling the seat emptied by Gilbert when he took over the president’s chair.
After settling the matter of the vacancy, the board heard a request for a new plow for village truck number one. Public Works director Mark Levra presented a bid submitted by Northwest Enterprises of Eau Claire for a new plow and harness after informing the board the current plow was taking excess time to move up and down and had been hardwired directly to the truck.
The board approved spending $6,500 for the new plow. Trustee Brenda Carpenter asked if a warranty would also need to be purchased, and Levra informed her warrantees are usually included in the quoted price. The amount quoted includes the equipment and installation of the plow.
In other business, the village board:
• Heard the water and sewer systems are running as expected and director Mark Levra has no concerns
• Approved a building permit for Joel Meyer for construction of a new single-family home at 401 Division Street.
• Learned tap permits had been approved for the duplexes being constructed at 111/113 and 115/117 Independence Drive.
• Approved the general fund and water/sewer utility vouchers for December 2016.
