Village Board

PROCEEDINGS OF THE OXFORD VILLAGE BOARD The Village Board of the Village of Oxford, Marquette County, Wisconsin met in regular session at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in the Council Room of the Oxford Village Hall. The meeting was called to order by President Drinkwater at 6:30 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. The following Board Members were present: President Drinkwater; Trustees: L. Drinkwater, Holtz, Sorensen, and Zacharias. Wastart arrived at 6:34 PM. Also in attendance were Police Chief Kowalski, Clerk-Treasurer Maier and Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Kongslie, Terry Berndt, Kathy Terwelp, and Andrew Henschel. Motion made by L. Drinkwater/Holtz to approve the agenda as printed. Motion made by Sorensen/Zacharias to accept the minutes of April 9, 2025, regular board meeting; motion by L. Drinkwater/Sorensen to approve the minutes of the April 22, 2025, Finance Committee meeting. Motion made by Wastart/Zacharias to approve the Treasurer’s Reports for April 30, 2025. All above motions carried. Citizen Inquiries: None New Business: Board Trustee Vacancy: Three letters of interest were sent to the Clerk’s office. President Drinkwater nominated all of them to the vacant Trustee position: Andrew Henschel, Ruth Holden, and William Martin. Andrew Henschel addressed the board and answered questions from them. President Drinkwater appointed Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Kongslie to be the Ballot Clerk. Board members initialed and voted on paper ballots. William Martin was elected to the position of Trustee to complete the current term which was vacated when President Drinkwater was elected in the April 2025 election, and will be open for the Spring Election 2026. Planning and Zoning Commission: Trustee Sorensen resigned from this position and Trustee Wastart has accepted President Drinkwater’s proposal to fill the position as the 2nd Trustee on the commission. Library Board Appointees: President Drinkwater nominated Loretta Drinkwater, Rita Goodhue, Katie Mayes, and Jamie Zacharias to be reappointed as Library Board Members for the three-year term 2025-2028. Motion by Sorensen/Holtz to approve the nominations by President Drinkwater. Motion carried. Committee Appointments 2025-2027: President Drinkwater appointed the following committee assignments: Finance & Business Affairs: Chairman: Jim Drinkwater; Trustees Drinkwater, Sorensen, Zacharias. Public Safety, Ordinance & License: Chairman: Gary Sorensen; Trustees Wastart, Holtz. Public Works & Property: Chairman: Dennis Zacharias; Trustees Martin, Wastart Parks & Recreation: Chairperson: Loretta Drinkwater; Trustees Holtz, Martin Fire District: Jim Drinkwater, Gary Sorensen Library Board President: Loretta Drinkwater Municipal Court Committee: Gary Sorensen; Alternate: Loretta Drinkwater Planning & Zoning Commission: Jim Drinkwater, Loretta Drinkwater, Tom Wastart Motion by Sorensen/Holtz to approve the nominations for Committee assignments. Motion carried. Computer & Printer Clerk’s Office Proposal: The computer and printer in the Clerk’s office are 7 years old. Windows 10 will not be supported beginning in October 2025. The computer has been glitching and causing delays in work productivity. Brief discussion on the recommendation to the board from the Finance Committee’s April 22, 2025, meeting, and the proposal from Daniel Buchholz, head of I.T. Dept. at Marquette County, for a new computer and printer. Motion by Wastart/Holtz authorize the Clerk to replace the computer and printer as proposed by Mr. Buchholz not to exceed $1,300.00. Motion carried. Workhorse Municipal Accounting Software Proposal: The Finance Committee has also recommended to the board for approval a new accounting and payroll program. QuickBooks, which is what the Village uses now, is not going to support the desktop version within the next year or so, only the online version. Brief discussion with a motion by Drinkwater/Wastart to approve the purchase of the Workhorse Accounting and Payroll software, not to exceed $14,000.00, and to be paid out of the General Fund Surplus as it is not in the 2025 Budget. Motion carried unanimously. May 14, 2025 Cont’d Website Issues: Brief discussion on the website and clerk’s ability to post Notices along with other items. Trustee Sorensen and Clerk Maier will look at other options, check on the contract date with Town Web, and inquire with other municipalities as to their experiences and report to the Board in June. Tax Deed Property Notice: No discussion – information only. Discussion on Dilapidated Properties: Three properties have been referred to the board by resident complaints: 209 S. Oxford Street, 130 E. Wood Street, and the Stockyards barn and pens on E. Hillyer Street. Motion by Drinkwater/Holtz for the Clerk to send letters to address Board concerns and invite owner/s to the June board meeting, provided there is an ordinance violation on the property and to attach said ordinance to the letters. Motion carried unanimously. LGIP Designation to Wire Funds: Brief discussion with a motion by Wastart/Sorensen to approve the Clerk-Treasurer Maier to sign the wire document designation form and to request funds when approved by the board to do so. Motion carried. Road Evaluation: Quotes and Recommendations: The board discussed the recommendations from Public Works Director Mullens. A motion by Wastart/Zacharias to accept and approve the Scott Construction quote for $22,296.36, for street maintenance work for 2025. Motion carried unanimously. Red Bridge Quote: Discussion regarding the State of Wisconsin DOT inspection, requirements for repairs, and the Marquette County Highway Department quote on Red Bridge. Motion by Drinkwater/Zacharias to approve the quote of $5,500.00, and for Clerk-Treasurer Maier to transfer funds out of General Fund Surplus to pay for it, as this was not in the 2025 Budget. Motion carried with a roll call vote and all voting “Aye”. Wisconsin Elections Commission Conference: Discussion regarding with a motion by Drinkwater/Holtz to approve Clerk-Treasurer to attend the conference on September 30th and October 1st, 2025. Motion carried. Retirement Party Donations and Expenses: Discussion regarding the balance of the donations made by board members to the Butch Meyer retirement party. The balance remaining is $86.44. Motion by Drinkwater/Holtz to create a “Sunshine Fund” with this balance for such circumstances that may arise, ie: funerals, birthdays, etc. Motion carried unanimously. Building Permits: None for April 2025 Operator’s License: None for May 2025 Committee Reports: Public Safety – Chairman Sorensen stated that the Committee will be starting to work on ordinances over the summer. Burning permits, alleyways-right of way, and some easing of ordinances may be in order, as other municipalities are easing some of theirs. Chief Kowalski mentioned a nuisance ordinance he would like to be added to the agenda for these meetings. A Public Safety Committee meeting is set for Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM in the Council Room at the Village Hall. Municipal Court – Chairman Sorensen stated that a meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 6:30 PM, at the Village of Westfield Fire Department Meeting Room. A quorum of the Village Board and/or a Committee of the Village Board may be present. Police Report – Chief Kowalski’s April 2025 Police report was distributed to the board. He stated the new ballistic vests have been ordered for Officers Spanske and Morgan. The Safety Grant of $600.00 from the League of Municipalities will be applied to the vests. The Village of Westfield has paid for Officer Mayer’s vest. Parks and Recreation – Chairman Drinkwater reports that the batting cage, tennis court and volleyball nets have been installed. The water is turned on, but the drinking fountain is shut off until the water sample results are analyzed. The new piece of the playground equipment has bee repaired. The metal stud pulled out on one of the ropes. The infield of the ball diamond will be resurfaced the week of May 19th on Monday or Tuesday. Steve has received four different sign options for the renaming of the field to Meyer Field for the Lions Club. A decision from the board will be approved at the next meeting. Library Report – Chairman Drinkwater reported that 5 new library cards were issued again this month. There were 578 member checkouts. Tech help is increasing. The 2025 Appropriation Funds from Marquette County have been received. Page 2 of 3 May 14, 2025 Cont’d The last visit for Head Start was in May and the Summer Reading Program will launch next month with a brat/hot dog fundraiser. Don’t forget the Girl Scout Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser this Sunday, May 18, 2025, at the Cove in Briggsville. Director Kongslie was invited to the Strategic Planning Meeting in Ripon on April 29th, which was a privilege for her. DPI will be offering a policy review starting soon which will help us to update our policies as well. Public Works Report – The tree on the corner of Miller and Ormsby has been removed. The gutters on Ormsby Street have all been cleaned. Director Mullens would like the board’s approval to sell the street sweeper through the Wisconsin Surplus, which we have utilized in the past with Chief Kowalski. Two more hydraulic lines have broken on the sweeper. He also would like to replace this with a broom for the tractor to sweep the streets. All of the vehicles have been switched over to summer mode. All of the flags have been replaced. One pedestrian sign on Ormsby Street has been installed, the other one was taken out last fall by an oversized load. The approximate cost of another one is $500.00. All of the flower pots have been set out, and Marsha Kellesvig will be prepping them. All of the items concerning the railroad crossings have been addressed, corrected and photographed, and have been sent back to the commissioner. An update will be provided when he replies. The speed sign on Ormsby is now working properly with no issues. Several rotten sign posts have been replaced. The sidewalk has been replaced on Franklin Avenue in front of the bank. The cold mix for repairing potholes was ordered and potholes filled. The sludge bugs have been applied to the primary ponds at the Waste Water Treatment Plant and all weeds have been sprayed. Director Mullens is currently working on the compliance issues at the Hydro plant. The mowing has been done, the brushing completed and photos have been taken. The concrete scaling will be worked on yet this month. The turbine inspection will be done in June or July. The washouts have been filled by Red Bridge. Motion by Drinkwater/Holtz to pay the bills. Motion carried. Motion to Adjourn at 8:35 PM by Holtz/Drinkwater. Motion carried. ____________________________________ Amy J. Maier, Clerk-Treasurer Village of Oxford Marquette County, Wisconsin Page 3 of 3