Elk Mound adopts ordinance on failure to comply with emergency orders
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Village Board has adopted an ordinance pertaining to a failure to comply with emergency orders.
The title of the ordinance adopted at the September 21 meeting originally referenced “violations of law relating to health (COVID-19).”
Village board members agreed that COVID-19 should be removed from the title of the ordinance.
The title is informational and not part of the ordinance, so COVID-19 can be removed from the title without changing the ordinance, said Pat Hahn, village clerk-treasurer.
Changing the title to a violation of emergency orders and rules would not limit the ordinance to COVID-19 since the village board and the police department are concerned with the health, safety and welfare of village residents in general, said Chad Weinberger, Elk Mound police chief.
If a shop owner has put up a sign that masks are required because of COVID-19, but there is someone who comes into the business who refuses to wear a mask and refuses to leave, then it becomes an incident of disorderly conduct, he said.
What if there were two people with extreme COVID symptoms running around town, spitting on others, not wearing masks and refusing to be self-quarantined at home? asked Mark Levra, director of public works.
In a situation like that, the Dunn County public health department would obtain a court order for quarantine, Police Chief Weinberger said.
Wisconsin statute grants the authority to local governments to declare an emergency in a disaster and changing the ordinance title to reference a failure to comply with emergency orders would be in the spirit of the law and not focusing on COVID-19, he said.
The Elk Mound Village Board unanimously approved a motion to adopt the ordinance about failure to comply with emergency orders.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Village Board:
• Agreed to suggest that village residents should restrict trick-or-treating activities.
• Approved changing the November board meeting from November 2 to November 5 at 6 p.m.
• Approved continuing with the COVID-19 action plan.
• Appointed Village Trustee Terry Stamm as the Elk Mound representative on the Colfax Solid Waste and Recycling Committee and Village Trustee Greg Kipp as the alternate.
• Approved bartender operator’s licenses for Catrina Mohr and Amber Gilbertson for the Elk Mound Travel Stop.
