Lake Holcombe Town Board; Sewer line project comes in lower than expected

By Ginna Young

The project to “ditch out” the wet area and work on the storm sewer by the Lake Holcombe Lions Club park (Staudacher Field), was completed by Chippewa County before the winter weather hit. The Lake Holcombe Sanitary District was supposed to be on the hook for the cost of the sewer project and at a Lake Holcombe Town Board meeting Dec. 9, the cost was revealed.

Originally, the district was given a figure of $13,000$19,000, but the county found enough slack in the line that they didn’t have to cut the line and rebuild the sewer system. So, sanitary board president Buck Steele asked the person in charge of the project what the district’s damage would be.

“He said, it’ll be less than $1,000,” said Steele. Steele went on to say that the county top seeded the dug out area with winter wheat and will sow top seed in the spring, along with fixing any problem areas in the patched roads.

Brian Guthman, town board chairman, said he was amazed to learn that the county budgeted $150,000 for the entire project and is relieved that Lake Holcombe’s cost was much lower than previously thought.

Guthman also said the ditch area looks good and is eager to see what the finished project will look like.

“It’s going to be nice,” he said. While they were on the subject of the sanitary district, the board reluctantly admitted that one day, employee Duane Schultz will retire. Guthman said when that day comes, it will be a huge loss, as Schultz does a lot of proactive maintenance for the district.

“He’s an unbelievably good employee,” agreed Steele. Steele said, in giving the matter much thought, that he feels the district should reach out to nearby municipalities to work something out for the inevitable time when Schultz steps down from his position. The town board said that would be something worth looking into, as the position could be very hard to fill.

Something that’s been on the back burner for some time, are the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Until recently, there was almost no guidance on what municipalities could use the money for.

With a new guidance released, town clerk Tracey Larson determined that $92,619.76 of projected revenue would be lost over the next couple years, because of the impact of COVID-19. That portion of the $112,000 the town will receive, can supposedly be spent on anything they choose.

“That’s a good thing, because we have a lot of road work to do in the next couple years,” said Guthman.

The hall’s furnaces and air conditioning were among the projects that the ARPA funds were to be spent on, but Guthman said they might as well wait until spring to do the replacements, and hope for the same price that the town was quoted.

“Are we better off paying for the materials now, so they don’t go up in the spring?” asked town supervisor Doug Olson.

Guthman said he will look into it and said it’s still not clear what the remainder of the funds can be spent on. Olson mentioned that’s why the board has been very cautious before they spent any of the money, so the town doesn’t have to pay it back.

“It’s kind of a work in progress,” said Guthman. Members did pass a resolution for changing the town election officials to three and to allow Larson to add election officials as needed. While the town must have three officials at all times, Larson may need to add a couple more to make the shifts more spread out during a larger election, such as the presidential race or school referendum.

The board also agreed to switch up the recycle roundup events, as Birch Creek is not interested in a joint effort. Members agreed to have a recycle event annually in the fall, instead of twice a year, as the last few times, the town has taken a “bath” on the event.

Ben Jordan, town roadman, said there is not enough time in the spring for the summer people to open their cabins and go through what they want to dispose of, so members set the event for the fall. They agreed that the town can try it and see if it works well, or if the board needs to have it semiannually again. Guthman also said he’s received many calls requesting fire permits, but said residents need to visit the DNR website at any time for the permits. With snow cover, Guthman said the town residents probably don’t need to worry as much, unless they’re burning huge brush piles.