Curtiss discusses future wastewater plans

The Curtiss Village Board tackled a number of issues facing the village’s wastewater treatment plant at it’s monthly meeting on June 21.

n The board approved an abbreviated wastewater treatment facility plan that is to be drawn up by CBS Squared which is intended to address phosphorus issues that have arisen since the DNR’s new limits on phosphorus were put in place.

The DNR’s limits on phosphorus are intended to keep algae and plant growth down in streams, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water so wildlife can thrive. The Curtiss wastewater plant has been running a pilot for four years and is expected to create a solution to the problem soon.

n The board approved the purchase of a cherry picker to go on the pontoon boat that was approved last month for the wastewater facility. The boat and cherry picker will be used to go on the wastewater lagoons and pull up aerators to perform maintenance on them. The cherry picker was approved up to $425.

n A new rock filter was approved after Swarr said he had to use a backup device for discharging wastewater. The new pump cost $7,690.

“This is about $2,500 more than we paid for the last one two years ago. I looked around and I could not find this particular pump any cheaper,” Swarr said.

Board president Betty Rettig said the village should take a look at the wastewater budget at the board’s next meeting.

Village trustee Jonathan Unruh asked Swarr if the village had backup pumps for all other vital pumps pertaining to water or wastewater. Swarr said there were only three pumps that were out in the wastewater plant and he had sufficient backups for them.

Other business

n The village interviewed and approved Curtiss resident Mark Kunze to become the village’s new trustee. The position was left open after Sheila Tomas resigned earlier this year. Kunze said he works in the Abbyland trucking division and has been with the company for over 20 years. He said he was more than willing to give the position a shot and recuse himself if a conflict of interest came up.

n The board continued its search for a lawyer that will work with them to draft an extraterritorial zoning ordinance. The village has reached out to at least two other lawyers but they could not help the village with its ordinance. Other municipalities have worked with legal experts and have passed a similar ordinance.

Swarr said he heard Dean Dietrich, a lawyer from Wausau, would be willing to help and said Dietrich has expressed that he likes the village’s position.

“What I need from you guys is a statement on whether you’d be willing to represent this,” Swarr said.

Unruh explained to Kunze that the village was looking to protect its citizens from the health concerns that wind turbines can bring. He said to do this, the village is looking into the extraterritorial zoning measure to expand the village limits to a mile and a half radius around the current limits.

“As a village, we’d have the authority, in cooperation with the towns around us, we can zone up to a mile and a half outside of our limits,” Unruh said. “So we could potentially zone to prohibit wind turbines or other dangerous things. You don’t want somebody having an explosive plant a half mile down the road.”

Unruh said not all lawyers see eye to eye on how the ordinance works and its effectiveness. He said they had previously worked with a different lawyer but she did not agree with the ordinance so now the village is looking to work with Dietrich.

Kunze was curious as he said he had heard the discussion about the turbines but wasn’t sure what the health concerns were. Swarr went into some of the issues, explaining infrasound and some other concerns to Kunze.

“It affects elderly people a lot and we have a lot of elderly people in Curtiss,” Rettig said.

The board was in agreement that the turbines were not something they wanted in or near the village and decided to go ahead with reaching out to Dietrich for help in drafting an ordinance.

Swarr said he expected to hear back from Dietrich in the near future.

n The board discussed its water capabilities and what the future of the village’s water system might hold. A recent study that was performed said the village would need more water by 2029 according to Unruh. He said the DNR would like to see action on the village’s water issue before it becomes a problem and said the DNR recommended the village have wells that totaled 340 gallons per minute in output for the current demand. Public Works Director Larry Swarr estimated that the village’s wells were currently running at around 320 gallons per minute.

Unruh provided some background to the situation saying that several years ago, the village was having major issues with water.

“The wells were running way too much,” Unruh said. “They were turning on on Monday and turning off on Saturday, running 24/6.”

Swarr clarified that the wells are not doing that now but the village could encounter a similar situation if the water shortage is not addressed.