ons at a total cost of $269

ons at a total cost of $269,834. Darrell Thompson was the only opposing vote.

Campus Woods A timber sale will be coming to the Campus Woods next winter to address salvage of ash trees infested with emerald ash borer as well as removal of overmature selected hardwood trees and the coppice cut of a nine acre aspen stand on the south side of the woods with the goal of also addressing buckthorn concerns in the area.

The recommendation for the timber sale came through both the buildings and grounds and the forestry committees. The only change made at the board level to the recommendation was to designate any funds received for the harvest timber to go to a special fund that would be used for trail maintenance and development.

Board member Tim Hansen noted that if the funds were simply put into the general fund they would end up being used for another purpose. Svejda noted that trails in the Campus Woods are in need of improvement and the funds would be well used there.

Board member Rollie Thums said that initially the area will look rough, but that over time he thinks doing the timber harvest will result in a big improvement in the area. Board members approved the timber sale with the change to designate the revenue from the sale to trail and park improvements.

Opioid settlement funds County board members approved a series of resolutions spending some of the county’s $220,500 opioid settlement funds.

The funds were from a class action lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over the prescription of opioids which contributed to their abuse. A county committee reviews requests for funding from the fund and passes those requests onto the county board for final approval. There are tight limits to what the settlement funds can be used for, with the focus on prevention and treatment of drug abuse.

The first request was to pay for the first year and the renewal for the second year for the Man Therapy program. While the county has had the program in place since November, due to an oversight, it was only coming to the board now for formal approval. The cost is $20,000 for the two years.

The board approved $16,000 in funding to continue to assist with housing and household support, transportation and peer recovery and family support for the Taylor County Recovery Court. These funds will be used to assist in family support programs while individuals are going through treatment programs.

Board members approved $10,000 for the purchase of a medication and sharps drop box that will be located at the Taylor County Courthouse and be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The only currently active drop box for surplus medication is at Aspirus Medford Hospital and is only available during work hours. The goal is to make it easier to properly dispose of medications to prevent them from being stolen or abused.

Board members approved spending $5,000 from the settlement funds to purchase of small medication pouches for the proper disposal of opioid medications.

Board members also approved spending $6,500 to become part of a tri-county affiliate of the Natonal Association of Mental Illness (NAMI). The funds will be used for awareness building materials.

Thums cautioned that the money in the opioid settlement account will eventually run out and warned against implementing programs that could end up costing the county in the future. Board member Chuck Zenner noted that it will be up to whoever is sitting on the board at the time to decide if the programs are worthwhile to support.

In other business board members:

• Approved changes to ordinances regarding the duties of the clerk’s office and the county’s finance department. The changes are related to moving the payroll services for the county into the finance department.

• Approved a new job description and wage rating for the county coordinator/human resources director position currently held by Nicole Hager. The new job description spells out the duties and responsibilities of the position expanding its formal authority to handle the day-today administrative oversight of the county. Passage of the job description is the culmination of many months of work and works to address a long-term identified need in the county’s strategic plan for a more formalized management structure.

• Approved having the county be part of the renewable energy siting and engagement for tomorrow (RESET) program. The program is through the UW-Extension and is at no cost to the county. Southern Taylor County is in prime area for large solar array projects with its flat landscape and access to transmission lines. The intent of the RESET program would be to educate property owners and communities about what issues and concerns need to be addressed as large scale solar project developers approach individuals, as they have done elsewhere in the state. “We can’t do after the fact legislation, we need to come up with a plan,” said board member Lorie Floyd.

• Approved a pair of resolutions related to emergency management programs. The first was proclaiming August as emergency appreciation month as a way to highlight the work done by emergency managers to prepare for disasters. The second was a resolution calling for support of local and state emergency management programs. The resolution is being brought to counties across the state in light of proposals to cut Federal Emergency Management Agency resources. According to county emergency management director Dan Gellert, this would make it harder for local and county governments to get disaster assistance. Bub noted the resolution is based on what people think might be in the federal budget and cuts that might be coming, he suggested waiting to see what the budget actually is and if there are any cuts. He said the resolution is calling on the state to increase taxes to pay for emergency management. Mildbrand disagreed and said the resolution is no different than any that is sent to Madison and which will likely end up in a trashcan.

• Approved authorizing the county to seek state ATV funds for development of a new ATV/UTV trail from Wilderness Road to North Loop Road. The work to develop the trail would be dependent on the county getting the grant funds. The cost of ongoing trail maintenance would come from an increase in annual ATV trail funds which are based on miles of trail in the county.

• Approved a resolution expressing appreciation to Donald Koerner for his 23 years as a highway patrolman with the Taylor County Highway Department. Koerner started January 21, 2002 and retired on June 2. Over the years he was involved in resurfacing almost 290 miles and reconstructing almost 180 miles of county roads.

• Approved proclaiming June 2025 as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Suicide is a leading cause of death among men, especially younger and middle aged men with causes linked to untreated mental health issues.

• Approved switching the county’s housing grants from the Taylor County Housing Authority to Northwest Regional Planning Commission. “It is something we probably should have done years ago,” said county board chairman Jim Metz.

• Listened to a delegation of village of Lublin residents ask the county for direction in dealing with health and safety concerns with the villages’ wastewater treatment pond and with what they say is disrepair of the village hall. They specifically cited that with a tree removal project done three years ago around the treatment plan pond, the fence was removed and was never reinstalled.