Chamber tells council mild winter weather is bad for area businesses
At the February 19, meeting of the Medford City Council, the Council heard a report from Chamber of Commerce representative Billie Hartwig regarding the 2023 hotel/motel tax commission grants given for local events.
Among these is the “Bring Back the Street Dance” event held in July of 2023, which will be happening again this summer. Another event of note that was mentioned was the “Heart of Wisconsin Cribbage Club” event. Those at the meeting mentioned that they did not know that people would come and watch others play cribbage until that event. Other things that were at least partially funded by the hotel/ motel tax commission were the Rainbow Gymnastics Rainbow Spectacular, the Taylor County Health and Safety Fair, Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest, and upcoming events, including the Music in the Park series held by Kiwanis, the Blues Brothers at the Centennial Community Center, and Women’s Weekend.
While discussing the hotel/motel taxes, Hartwig was asked about the economic impact of the lack of snow this winter and how it has affected local businesses, particularly the hotels and motels in the area. Hartwig responded that, having talked to local business owners, they are hurting from the lack of tourism to the area usually driven by the snow.
Council member Mike Bub quoted one of his hotel-owning friends “The only time the phone rings is to cancel.”
In other business, the Council:
Approved an update to the city’s election-day emergency response plan. According to city clerk Ashley Lemke, the changes reflect the addition of the new electronic voter book.
Approved raising the rates charged to outside municipalities and companies to use the city street sweeper and the jetter/vac truck by $40. The current rates are $197.65/hr for the sweeper and $225.30/hr for the jetter/vac truck. The last time the rates were changed was about ten years ago.
Approved purchasing a recirculating pump for water tower No. 1 located on Whelen Ave. Lane Tank Company of Menomonie will install a pump in the tower’s base and run a 2-inch pipe to the top of the tower to keep recirculating the water. This would be similar to what is already in place in the city’s other two water towers. The cost will be $16,500, with $15,000 to come from remaining city ARPA grant funds and $1,500 from a city maintenance account
Approved a change in agent for the liquor license for Krist Oil to Pamela Gebert. In other license action, committee members recommended granting a Class B combination license to Uncommon Ground.
Approved setting reserve accounts totaling $1,257,708.57. This is money the city has set aside for specific purposes such as park developments, capital construction, swimming pool upgrades, and public works equipment.
