Stevens appointed to Village Board at Boyceville

BOYCEVILLE — Brad Stevens was appointed to the village board at their regular meeting Monday evening, December 12th.  Village President Gib Krueger made the appointment, which was confirmed by the other members of the board. Stevens will fill the seat left open by the resignation of Ted Erickson.

Erickson resigned a couple of months ago, as he spends the winter months in the warmer south and indicated that he would not seek another term in next April’s election.

Board Hears Requests From Local Business

The Village board heard requests from two different people about starting a new business and expanding a current business.

Patti Stevens presented the board with a new business idea that she would like to open in the Village. Stevens said that she is certified as a dog trainer and is interested in locating in a vacant building on Main Street between Water and East Street. Along with her husband Bob, she explained to the board about the proposed dog training center and how it would operate.

She told the board that no dogs would be boarded overnight during the training and she would need to do some improvements to the building, including a fenced-in area at the rear to allow the dogs to spend some time in a play area. She also said that she would have a small list of dog items for sale.

She asked what type of financing is available through the village. Patrick Beilfuss of Cedar Corporation presented the board with a list of items regarding “Downtown Improvements Funding.” Those include funds from the TID district, Regional Business Funds, or the Downtown Façade Loan Program.

After some discussion with the board and a couple of questions, President Krueger indicated that the Stevens and Beilfuss should work together to get a plan in order so that the board could take a look at the project. Board member Mary Lagerstrom commented that, “If this works out, we will have one more building fixed up in our community.”

Pallet Factory

Rob Rieckenberg addressed the board about his Specially Pallet business on East Street and requested a Building Permit to allow them to use a semi trailer for their new “Heating Treating System.”

Rieckenberg apologized to the board about not getting a permit before they started the project. He noted that what was involved was removing the wheels from a semi trailer and placing it next to the building with a gas heater to treat the pallets.

He noted that in order to ship pallets overseas they needed to heat the pallets to 130 degrees for a half hour to kill any bugs or insects in the wood. After explaining what he was doing, President Krueger asked Village Maintenance Don Rose if he had any concerns. Rose noted several concerns including that the two-inch gas line is not secured properly, that the heater and fans are not secure and that the trailer is in the flood plain and needs to be tied down.

During the discussion about allowing a building permit Rieckenberg was asked how many employees the firm has and he indicated 36 to 42 employees. The board moved to approve the building permit as long as all the concerns are met.

New Police Officers

During his report to the Village Board, Police Chief Greg Lamkin introduced two new police officers that will be employed by the Village. They are Chad Mousel and Pete Rud. He swore in both men as officers.

Lamkin also noted to the board that the department handled 64 calls last month including a juvenile from the high school that was transported to a juvenile center. He also noted that they issued 10 ordinance violations, mostly for snow removal. Lamkin addressed the budget surplus that the department has and indicated that it can be carried forward into next year and be used to finance a new squad.

In other action the board approved an operator’s license to Nicole Poach and approved a commercial building permit to Rick Bloomfield for a new entrance.