Tension remain high between city council and Musky Court residents

At Monday, April 14, 2025’s meeting of the city of Medford’s Common Council, Mayor Michael Wellner recognized Autism Acceptance Month with a proclamation and a plaque presented to the Taylor County Autism Support Group. The group is holding their annual Annual Autism Acceptance Walk at the Medford Public Library-Frances L. Simek Memorial Library on the evening of Monday, April 21.

Afterward, the city opened a public hearing regarding the upcoming improvements to Musky Court. Several Musky Court residents attended to listen and ask questions about cost, driveway size, and sidewalks. City Coordinator Joe Harris announced “a special meeting just for sidewalks in the whole city.” This meeting will be on May 5, and discussing sidewalks throughout the city will be the only thing on the agenda. Citizens are invited to come to the meeting with questions and concerns. Following the May 5 meeting, any changes proposed and discussed will be approved on May 12 during the regular city council meeting.

Questions posed at the Monday meeting included how the cost was calculated for each property. Concerns were raised about the cost of the project seeming unfair or engineering costs not being split between residents in a manner consistent with the road frontage. Other questions included temporary water supply, where parking would be, and temporary mailboxes.

The finalized bills for this project will go out to Musky Court residents in the spring of 2026, with no interest until the end of October 2026. Residents will be able to add the bill to their taxes as a special assessment.

In other business:

• The Council approved a fireworks display for the class of 2025 on May 23, 2025 at approximately 8:30 p.m. following the graduation ceremony.

• The Council approved the low bid from CD Smith Construction Inc. to complete the Wastewater Treatment Plant Headworks Upgrade project. This will cost the city approximately $7.8 million.

The Common Council meeting was adjourned, and the Committee of the Whole meeting was begun.

During the Committee of the Whole meeting, they sent to the Council for approval:

• Making the two accounts for the City Police’s K-9 units into non-lapsing accounts. This ensures that the money donated is only used for the K-9 and equipment for the dog and that the accounts remain open after initial expenses to allow for future fundraising for another dog.

• The City award the base bid to Huotari Construction as the lowest bidder for the well house construction for Well no.14 for $1.1 million.

• During the City Coordinator Report, Harris announced that the railroad would redo the crossing on 64 again because “something didn’t hold up over the winter.”

• City Clerk Ashley Lemke reported on voter turnout for the April 1 election. She also recommended that they never do an election on April Fools Day again. The city saw 1,368 voters, a 669 person increase from the spring 2024 election. This was 39% of eligible voters in the city and 55% of actual registered voters in the city.