Elk Mound village board approves Tietz as interim police chief
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound village board approved hiring a former Dunn County Deputy who previously served as assistant police chief as interim police chief while board members decides the future of the village’s police department.
Mike Tietz retired several years ago from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office after 20-plus years of service, but was approved as Elk Mound’s interim police chief at the June 7 regular village board meeting. The move came after the resignation of former part-time chief, Travis Hakes, in April. Tietz served as assistant police chief for a short time after Hakes was hired.
The board unanimously approved Tietz taking over temporarily while the president and trustees work on what will happen next with the department.
“I know part of the discussion was whether or not going forward if we wanted to have a full-time position, go back to part-time, or if we wanted one at all,” village president Steve Abraham said. “Those are the options that come back up as we move along. Right now, we have a lot of business to handle.”
The statement was made despite a unanimous vote during a December 2016 regular board meeting to create a full-time police chief position, and a late 2016 decision to raise the village tax levy to allow for adequate funds for a full-time position.
Abraham noted there is a great deal of administrative catch-up work to be done, which he hopes Tietz will be able to get under control; there was no discussion on who will provide patrol coverage or respond to emergencies inside the village.
He also stated there are some further cost considerations to be explored regarding salaries, benefits, and hours.
“We’d like to move forward with a complete understanding with where we’re going to go and what it’s going to cost,” Abraham said.
The village president also said he is hoping Tietz can reestablish a working relationship with the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office.
Another trustee, Tony Schrantz, asked for clarification, since at previous meetings, Tietz had indicated only a willingness to assist with hiring a new police chief. He was informed by several board members Tietz agreed to help with the administrative duties, but would not be doing patrol work at this time.
The board learned Tietz will start working in the department June 12, and his hours during the week will be flexible, based on the work load. There was no indication during the meeting of how long the former Dunn County officer will occupy his position.
Abraham also asked the board to tighten up the transactions and record keeping requirements for the police department to ensure all equipment, evidence, and department property is accounted for at all times.
“I’m not so much looking for a motion on this, at least not at this time, we have to let Mike on board and spend some time looking things over,” Abraham stated. “I’ve already sent him a form that shows a direction to go that basically says ‘hey, I want to know what we spent on this and where we got it from,’ so I might be able to get that information.”
Stamm agreed with Abraham’s idea, saying a tracking system could be beneficial in determining what items are in good working order, or what needs to be replaced or recertified (i.e. radar guns).
The village president and trustees also discussed development of the building formerly housing the Marshfield Clinic Elk Mound Center on Independence Drive. There was talk of purchasing the building for village use.
Several trustees indicated the last they had heard, the building was worth approximately $1 million. Abraham noted he would like the board to do further research regarding the building and potential development.
It should be noted, the village board rejected a proposed housing development on the east end of University Street in 2016 due a cost of approximately $400,000 to extend water and sewer service to the location.
In other business, the board:
• Approved obtaining quotes for board member business cards.
• Discussed providing all board members with “ElkMound.org” email addresses.
• Approved getting Dunn County Crime Stoppers posters and window clings to distribute to local business, churches, and schools.
• Discussed potentially resurfacing Elk Mound Drive at a cost of approximately $55,000.
• Approved a cigarette license application and class A retailer’s beer and liquor cider only application for consumption off premise for Cenergy, LLC doing business as Moundsview Store.
• Approved a class B retailer’s beer license and a reserve class B liquor license for Milovino Enterprises, LLC doing business as The Pourhouse.
• Approved operator licenses for Cheryl Davis, Sara Meyer, Elizabeth Swan, Roxanne Gibis, Heather Rundle and Patrick Lowe at Moundsview Store, and Jessica Glawe, Timothy Heit, Michelle Kurtzhals, Nicholas Heit, Kelsey Wolf, Jamie Purdeu, Steven Wozniak, Erin Whyte and Amanda Williams at The Pourhouse.
• Approved flushing the water system with caustic soda to alleviate the amount of copper in the village water supply. Public works director Mark Levra explained the substance will form a barrier of sorts on the inside of pipes to keep the copper levels in the water at allowable levels.
