Spencer board approves wastewater rates effective date, construction pay requests
By Valorie Brecht Some of the bills are starting to come due for all the construction projects the Village of Spencer has had underway this summer. The village board approved these and more at its last meeting on Aug. 12.
The village board approved the new wastewater rates going into effect Nov. 1. The board already approved the rates last month, but didn’t set the effective date until Jan. 1.
“DoA (the Department of Administration), which is working with DNR (Department of Natural Resources), which holds our Clean Water Fund Loan for the wastewater plant, won’t close that loan until the rates are changed. They need the rates to be active before they allow us to close the loan. We also have to give our haulers 60 days’ notice,” explained village clerk-treasurer/administrator Chris Helgestad.
He said otherwise the village wouldn’t be able to close the loan until January. The board voted unanimously to have the rates take effect Nov. 1. New rates will be: residential OM& R rate of $11.79 per 1,000 gallons, up from $11.09; Land O’Lakes OM& R rate of $5.85 per 1,000 gallons, no change; and holding tank rate of $17.81 per 1,000 gallons, up from $16.02. The surcharge rates will be: TSS $0.26 per pound, no change; BOD $0.44 per pound, up from $0.43; TP $9.54 per pound, up from $7.37; NH3 $0.44 per pound, down from $0.45.
The board approved Al Jicinsky joining the Joint Review Board which oversees the village’s TIDs (tax increment districts).
The board also approved pay requests for the following amounts: $30,600 to SD Ellenbecker for the band shelter project; $10,065.25 to Tri-City for the Pine Street and Hemlock Street lift station project; and $482,373.50 to Switlick & Sons for the Park Street project.
Max Tibbett, project engineer with Town and Country Engineers, provided an update on the Park Street project. The almost $500,000 pay request includes pipe work in the first phase, including all the treated water main from Willow Street to the loading docks at Land O’Lakes, as well as the sanitary sewer from Kobs Street to the edge of the Land O’Lakes docks, and the raw water main from Well 1 to the treatment plant.
The next phase of the project will include storm sewer; breaker, fabric and gravel to fill the road on the south section; and some additional water main and sanitary sewer.
Village board member Bill Hoes asked if the engineers were planning on widening the intersection of Willow Drive and Park Street by the fire station to make more room for trucks.
“Chris (Helgestad) and I actually talked about this at the last meeting. That fire station corner, we don’t have a whole lot of room to play with. So that site is going back pretty much how it was just because of how tight that right-of-way is,” said Tibbett.
He said there was currently a 40-foot radius. The recommended radius for a car is 25 feet and for a semi truck is 40 to 50 feet, so they are within the range, if on the low end.
“When we had talked about it before, we didn’t want to have to acquire land from the fire department,” said Helgestad.
Village board member Pat Krause is on the fire department and said it would be helpful to have more room there so trucks were not running over the curb, which he had already seen.
“I’m with Bill (Hoes); give us more room,” he said.
Board member Al Jicinsky recommended putting the item on the agenda for the fire board meeting on Sept. 5.
“Let’s put it on the agenda and anticipate moving it. Let’s get it right,” he said. “If the sign becomes an issue, we’ll take care of it.”
With that caveat, the board voted to approve the pay request.
Reports Also at the meeting, public works employee Pat Mateer gave a report on the public works department’s activity since the last meeting. The wastewater plant treated 10.7 million gallons in that time and the lift stations were inspected. There were two pump failures at the Hemlock lift station. The ditch was mowed by the wastewater plant.
The water department treated 3.1 million gallons of water. Employees changed 13 water meters. They also completed 24 lead and copper inspections.
The public works department received asphalt from American Asphalt and patched the blacktop on the corner of Main and Julia streets. The catch basin on the Nutz Deep corner was replaced, and they poured new curb and sidewalk. They also poured a bunker in the shop yard.
RootX was applied on the alley by the former Gross Motors lot. The ARC Park siren is back up and running.
Chief Shawn Bauer gave the police report. July 30 and 31, all officers attended “Less than Lethal” training at the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department.
“Each squad is now equipped with a less lethal shotgun. So basically, what that is is, with our shotguns we’ve painted them orange to identify them as less lethal. And if we have a type of incident with, let’s say somebody’s holding a knife and we can use a beanbag round to defuse the situation, we’re going to take that with us. So that’s in each squad car now,” said Bauer.
During July, officers responded to 140 calls for service. They issued three citations and one traffic warning.
Bauer noted that the property owner at 506 N. LaSalle St. was in violation of the village nuisance ordinance. The police department has issued this property a “few citations,” but not received any response from the owner. Bauer said he planned to consult with the village attorney to determine how to proceed.
The 2017 Ford F-150 was out of service for a few days. The cooling fan and radiator were replaced. Now it is back in service, but Bauer said he is hoping to purchase a new police vehicle next year, as the F-150 is approaching 130,000 miles.
In his report, Helgestad said there had been five building permits issued in the last month, bringing the total to 44 this year. There were two new homes built. The village has issued permits for 11 new trailers, with four new already there. He said he anticipated the stage being completed by the end of October. He had no new information on the gun range grant, as he was still waiting to hear back.
The village planned to order about 15 trees and planned to cut down at least one, by the ARC Park shelter. The selection of trees had to be approved by the DNR. Helgestad said he would like at least one of the trees to go by the Habitat for Humanity build on North LaSalle.
Helgestad also mentioned that a local business had agreed to donate 100 cubic yards of wood chips if the village was interested in using it as a play surface at its playgrounds. The board agreed to try it at the village’s two smaller parks and see how it worked.
Rozar receives Outstanding Legislator Award State Rep. Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield) was recently honored by the Wisconsin Counties Association with a WCA Outstanding Legislator Award for her work on behalf of county government during the 2023-2024 Legislative Session. She is shown above receiving the award from WCA Government Affairs Associate Chelsea Shanks at a Wood County Board meeting. “Rep. Rozar has been a strong partner to counties, not just in the 69th Assembly District, but for all of Wisconsin,” said WCA President & CEO Mark D. O’Connell. “Her leadership and ability to work with our team on responsible public policy initiatives that positively impact our state has been tremendous, while always keeping the taxpayers of our state in mind.” The WCA Outstanding Legislator Award is handed out biennially to a select group of legislators who have represented county interests in both the legislature and in their districts. These legislators have demonstrated leadership for counties on key issues, legislation and the state budget. “As a Wood County Supervisor, Rep. Rozar also has a deep understanding of the importance of county issues and their impact on Wisconsin,” said O’Connell. “We are grateful for her ongoing efforts and are proud to present her with this award.” WCA represents the interests of county government on the state and federal levels and is in Madison. For more information, visit www.wicounties.org.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
