Cadott Village Board - What are we going to do about those dam fish?

Eric Weiland, Cadott Village Board trustee, spoke Oct. 16, about a fish passage on the Cadott dam over the Yellow River. If the project is to continue, it will have to be fully funded through grants or donations. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

A 40-mile stretch of the Yellow River is affected by the lack of a fish bridge at Cadott’s dam, which is why the village and DNR are working together, to see if passage can be obtained for the marine life. Eric Weiland, Cadott Village Board trustee, reported Oct. 16, at recent meetings between the two interests.

Since the village was not entirely happy with the options the DNR originally presented, the plans went back to the drawing board. The project is something that was looked at as far back as the 1930s, but it didn’t work out.

Now, it appears as though the obsolete powerhouse may have to come down to make way for the passage, but even if there is a way around that, the powerhouse is going to need improvements at some point. If the cost is more than the village can see their way to pay, it would make sense now to have the powerhouse taken out at no cost to Cadott, even though many would be sad to see the structure go.

“It’s just a historical part of the dam,” said trustee Bart Chapek.

There are grants the DNR can assist Cadott with, so nothing comes out of village coffers and it doesn’t affect any other grants Cadott is trying to get.

“There are a lot of people out there that want to give money to this, so they (DNR) don’t think it’s going to be a problem,” said Weiland, adding it is still a $3 million project, so if it’s not fully funded through non-village money, it will not happen.

Land owner approval will be needed before anything can move forward, as well as a public hearing about what direction the community wants to go.

“There are things we need to think about,” said Chapek. The board also discussed proposals from Tim Miller, with Waste Management, about a one-year extension that included the drive-by fees, as well as a five-year contract, where the drive-by fees would fall on residents.

“We need to keep the recycling charges billed to the village,” said village clerk April Bruhn.

Miller agreed to put together a new five-year agreement, where trash will be the responsibility of residents, but the village pays for the recycling. There is typically a fuel table they have to take into account, so Miller needs time to rework the numbers.

It was also talked about the fee the village charges for refuse haulers to come on village streets, which is $25 a year.

“That hasn’t been changed in a lot of years,” said village president Randy Kuehni. “That’s probably going to have to go up.”

Members also tossed around thoughts about the village office, as the clerks don’t want to separate from the public works department.

“Because, they work too close together,” said Kuehni. The village looked at the old Cadott Medical Clinic, but it is too big for just the police department and the electrical would need to be replaced, not counting the remodeling of the interior to make it functional for what the village needs, with a price tag of $475,000. A private citizen was willing to purchase the building and donate it, if the village guaranteed it would house the police department.

“It just seems like a heck of an offer,” said Chapek. “We can’t spend that kind of money.”

Admittedly, the current village office is not user friendly, so to make meetings more accommodating and waiting on the public easier, the board accepted a bid from Boos Construction, to reconfigure the front office space. The cabinets will be repurposed and construction will take place over a weekend, so business hours can operate as normal.

Members also agreed on trading in the current lawn mower for the public works department, to a newer model. It’s the same style, they can change it out with no delay, for only $1,750 difference to make up from the trade-in value.

“It’s a great machine,” said Jeremy Kenealy, director of public works.

The board also approved a certified survey map for Kwik Trip.

There has been vandalism in the park bathrooms, but thanks to the cameras installed at the park, an investigation is in progress. And because the season is winding down, the bathrooms will be closed in the next week or so until spring.

While not an agenda item, it was reported that a conflict that’s taken over a year of time, about too much fill in a resident’s back yard, in violation of ordinance, has been resolved. Even though the resident was out of compliance with village ordinance, the board still worked with him and his neighbor to reach an understanding.

However, Weiland does not agree the solution will last, but doesn’t see another option. To avoid the hassle and lengthy efforts undertaken to resolve the issue, as well as the threat of litigation, Weiland reminded the public to take the right approach before any projects begin.

“There are steps with land owners that need to get approved…so this doesn’t happen again,” he said.