Cadott Village Board; Wave of the future coming to Cadott

By Ginna Young

It’s still a ways out, but at the Cadott Village Board meeting June 7, members discussed installing an electric vehicle (EV) charging station. Right now, funding is available through Dairyland Power to bring a station to the village.

The EV station would likely be at River Country Plaza, with two major highways running alongside that location.

“I figure it makes a lot more sense to have it where there’s more traffic,” said board trustee and Chippewa Valley Electric Cooperative (CVEC) employee Russ Falkenberg.

CVEC can install the station, if the village donates the space and provides the transformer to hook into. In return, the village will receive revenue from the service, which is collected by credit card when someone plugs in their car.

The nearest EV station is in Eau Claire or near Owen. Falkenberg says with more and more people going to EV, he thought it would be a good thing for the village, but says it could take a little time to get the project completed.

“It’s a good place to start,” said village president Anson Albarado.

Members also decided it was a good idea to work on vacating a few alleys and roads in the village.

“After that tornado went through (in 2020), we realized there are some places that it (roads) leads to no place,” said Albarado.

Through state statute, the board will submit their plans to their attorney’s office, who will then create legal documents, giving the property to adjoining landowners, in which the road or alley is evenly divided, in terms of footage.

“When you vacate an alley, you divide it up,” said clerk Sandy Buetow.

The board also acted on a zone change request from Liz Peters, for an empty lot on North Main Street, changing it from a B-1 Business to R-2 Single Family Residential. The Development Committee previously had reviewed the application, which was submitted by a potential buyer of the property, who wants to install a modular home on the lot.

“A person would like to build that single family home on it,” said Buetow.

With no one expressing concerns over the matter, the zone change was granted, as was Ordinance 2021-1, amending the zoning ordinance in the village. Members also gave their blessing for placement of a bench in the park in memory of Cammi and Isaiah Kelch. The memorial bench would be constructed of a metal type design out of a company in Stanley, similar to one already in the park.

“I have already raised enough to put it there, as long as you guys approve,” said resident September Salzgeber.

Salzgeber was given the go ahead and will coordinate with public works to place the bench in an advantageous spot.

Approaching the board for a matter he feels needs addressing, resident Ken Kaeppler, who lives on Ginty Street, asked for input and assistance for property on Maple Street that adjoins his Ginty Street parcel.

“Now, it doesn’t give me any pleasure to comment on another man’s property,” said Kaeppler. “But, at some point and time, I guess it’s got to be talked about.”

Kaeppler says the property in question is in incredible disrepair, and requested that the board look at the property and see if any village ordinances have been violated.

John Rykhus, the owner of the Maple Street property, responded, saying he might not be the greatest landscaper, but since his home was hit by a tornado last year, he has had friends over to help him get the property in order.

“Progress is being made,” said Rykhus.