Elk Mound offers refunds or reschedule for June village park rentals
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elk Mound Village Board has approved offering refunds or the opportunity to reschedule events at the village park for early June.
Although the village board’s next meeting was June 1, the park was rented for June 5 and June 6 for two different events, and waiting until June 1 to make a decision about whether to allow people to congregate in the park would not give the people who have rented the park much of an opportunity to change their plans, said Mark Levra, director of public works, at the Elk Mound Village Board’s May 18 meeting.
Levra said he had contacted the City of Menomonie and had learned that restrooms have been opened in Wakanda Park and in Wilson Park for the farmers’ market, but that the city was not going to open more restrooms because they are required to be sanitized six times per day.
If the Elk Mound park is rented and the restrooms are open, someone would have to monitor the restrooms all day, said Deborah Creaser-Kipp, village trustee.
Terry Stamm, village trustee, said he has received calls about Mound Hill Park as well asking when it will be open.
The sanitation of flat surfaces is one thing for Mound Hill Park, but if the park is open to vehicular traffic, no one can see how many people are congregating up there, Levra said.
The “out of sight, out of mind” aspect of Mound Hill Park is worse than the village park, he said.
Stamm noted that some people are walking up the hill to Mound Hill Park but that he has not seen “herds” of people walking up there.
Technically, none of Elk Mound’s parks are closed, but the signs say to use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19, Levra said.
The issue for the village board is whether to approve using the restrooms and the kitchen at the Lions Club Park, he said.
Other events that had been scheduled for June 13, 14 and 17 have either been cancelled or rescheduled to a later date, Levra said.
Cynthia Abraham, village trustee, said she would not want to be in the position of having rented the park for June 5 or June 6 only to find out on June 1 that the event could not be held.
Gregg Kipp, village trustee, said he would be in favor of giving people the option of receiving a refund or rescheduling to a latter date.
The Elk Mound Village Board unanimously approved a motion directing the village clerk to contact the people who have rented the park for June 5 and June 6 to give them an option of a refund on the park rental or to reschedule to a later date and to review the policy about park rentals at the June 1 meeting.
Earlier in the May 18 meeting, the village board had approved a motion to continue with the COVID-19 response plan until the June 1 meeting and to re-evaluate the policy June 1.
