Elk Mound Village Board again declines to act on Settlers Ridge development
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By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND – On January 18, the Elk Mound Board of Trustees agreed to table discussion and possible action regarding the negotiation of a term sheet for a proposed development on Settlers Ridge. After the Board approved tabling the action for a future meeting, it moved on to other agenda items. There was no one present for a public appearance, and no citizens registered for citizens’ forum. Next on the agenda was discussion and approval of the water and sewer utility vouchers, these received unanimous approval.
The next item up was approval of Tax Increment District (TID) vouchers; Village Clerk Patricia Hahn disclosed there were no TID vouchers, and further indicated there were no water or sewer applications for service or permits, which allowed the Board to move on to the reports by officials.
Public Works Director, Mark Levra informed the Board there was nothing unusual to report in public works. He indicated wastewater treatment, and water usage levels showed nothing out of the ordinary for the village. He also explained his department has been assisting with the transfer of the Elk Mound waste collection site to local control. He said he and his crew have been, “working out kinks on the solid waste site.” Levra did not elaborate on what kinks existed.
Police Chief Chad Weinberger was the next village official to speak. His report indicated that the number of drug investigations handled by the department had risen in 2020. He specified the Elk Mound Police Department received 46 calls from dispatch about drugs.
Weinberger shared one of his most unusual drug calls. Someone boiled 1 pound of marijuana in water and then drank it like tea. He said it was the first marijuana overdose he has seen in 20 some years working in law enforcement.
The police Chief said Holly Avenue and Menomonie Street continue to be the busiest areas of the village for the department, but said otherwise calls are spread out geographically all over the village. He further indicated the police department is starting to focus more on village ordinances regarding snow removal; he and his officers continue to work on other ordinance violations, such as a home which Weinberger describes as habitually in violation of the junk vehicle ordinance.
He also explained, he is working with the village attorney Jason Brasch to determine the best course of action for dealing with a home in the village where there are three large pigs in the back yard.
Weinberger’s report informed the Board the police department
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received 988 calls that originated through Dunn County dispatch, he elaborated on this information saying the calls showed a trend toward traffic incidents. He clarified, “that was probably the biggest focus of this year.” He also said he and officers Hollister and DeVries did a lot of work in public relations, ordinance enforcement, and assisting other agencies.
Weinberger admitted during his report that he would like to ask for at least one more full-time officer for patrol work. He specified this was because, “sometimes I’m not even done clearing my first call and I’m being called for a second.”
He cited the disorganized state of the police department when he took over as chief as part of his desire to have another full-time officer on staff. Weinberger explained that when he started his tenure as police chief, officers were still handwriting citations. He has updated the department’s policies and practices to better align with the technologies available.
He said if something were to happen to him where he was not able to continue his duties as police chief, “I would not want for someone else to have to rebuild this department from the ground up.”
He also informed the Board with the proposed Settlers Ridge development potentially doubling the population of the village, it would make it harder for the police department to keep up with everything happening.
After Weinberger’s report was finished, the Board moved on to committee reports. None of the committees have met since the last meeting.
Greg Kipp, the village Board representative to the Fire Board, reported Fire Chief Lester Shafer has received a vaccine for Covid-19. He also said Shafer has almost completed the paperwork for state grants to help the fire department obtain some new equipment.
Terry Stamm, reported those overseeing the waste collection site are working to keep everything within their budget; Stamm said the feedback he has received indicates everyone seems very happy with the single stream recycling.
Next on the agenda was communications and miscellaneous business as permitted by law.
There was no old business to address, and there were no new business items to be addressed.
The next Village Board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on February 1.
