Village of Colfax seeking new attorney
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Village of Colfax is officially looking for a new attorney.
The Colfax Village Board approved sending out requests for proposals for attorney services at the May 8 meeting.
For many years, the law offices of Schofield & Higley out of Menomonie represented Colfax, noted Gary Stene, village president.
The law firm is now known as Schofield, Parent, Mayer and Huff S.C.
Ken Schofield is retired, and John Higley died in 2015.
Christina Mayer has been filling in as a municipal attorney for Colfax.
“She is a good attorney but she is not municipal,” Stene said.
In fact, Mayer’s areas of expertise are family law, estate planning, guardianship and juvenile law.
“We need a municipal attorney,” said Lynn Niggemann, village administrator-clerk-treasurer.
Niggemann said she had spoken to many representatives of municipalities at a conference last fall who had also used Schofield & Higley and that those municipalities also are looking for attorneys.
Mark Halpin, village trustee, wondered if Niggemann planned to advertise for an attorney in the Wisconsin League of Municipalities’ magazine.
The League has a list of municipal attorneys but most of them are located in the Brookfield, Madison and Milwaukee area, although some are located in Eau Claire and Hudson, Niggemann said, adding that she would send the RFPs to those attorneys located in Eau Claire and Hudson.
Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and Hudson are within an hour’s drive of Colfax, which is an important consideration for hiring a municipal attorney since the village would be paying mileage for an attorney to come to Colfax when necessary, Stene said.
Stene asked Niggemann to send a letter to Schofield, Parent, Mayer and Huff indicating that the village is “not unhappy with their services” but really needs someone who is proficient in municipal law.
An attorney who practices municipal law can often answer questions fairly quickly without having to spend a great deal of time researching, he said.
Colfax uses the law offices of Weld, Riley, Prenn and Ricci for personnel issues because that is their area of expertise, and Niggemann recommended keeping Weld-Riley for any personnel issues.
Keith Burcham, village trustee, asked if attorney services was a line item in the 2017 budget.
Attorney services is a line item in the budget, Niggemann said.
The deadline for submitting RFPs for attorney services for Colfax is tentatively set for May 31, although Niggemann said the deadline could be extended to allow law offices more time to respond.
After the RFPs have been received, the next step will be for the village board to interview the attorneys and for the village board to appoint an attorney to represent Colfax.
If all goes according to plan, the term of appointment would begin July 1.
On a roll-call vote, the Colfax Village Board unanimously approved a motion to seek attorney services.
Village Trustee Carey Davis was absent from the meeting.
The Colfax Village Board meets next on May 22.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Approved a training request for Tim Rundle, department of public works, to attend new employee safety training on bloodborne pathogens, hazard communication and hazardous training May 10 at the Boyceville Community Center.
• Approved a training request for Megan Schleusner for the EMT basic training class June 12 to July 13. The cost of the training is approximately $730. Schleusner has signed an agreement with the village that by accepting employment with Colfax Rescue as a paid on-call volunteer EMT, she agrees to reimburse the village for the full cost of the training if she leaves employment within 24 months of her date of hire. The state of Wisconsin reimburses a portion of the training cost, Niggemann said.
• Approved a bartender operator’s license for Bryce Kragness from May 8, 2017, to June 30, 2017 (Cedar Country Cooperative).
• Scheduled the “open book” date for May 23.
• Scheduled the “board of review” date for May 30.
• Tabled action on the 1903 block from the salt-sand shed on Evergreen Street that was recently demolished until the Colfax Municipal Building Restoration Group has had time to determine what their plans are for the block. The chunk of sandstone weighs about a hundred pounds and is currently being stored at the Department of Public Works building, said Rand Bates, director of public works.