Village Board

Village of Withee Phone: 715-229-4319 Fax: 715-229-4451 511 Division * P.O. Box A * Withee, Wisconsin 54498 The Village of Withee Board met on October 9, 2023, in the Municipal Building Conference Room at 6:30 pm for the regular board meeting. ROLL CALL President Lindgren called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by Trustees Lindgren, Shelton, Gehrke, Frankewicz, and Kalepp. Clerk Niemi recorded the minutes. Also present were DPW Derek Schad and Cindy Cardinal. MINUTES A Gehrke/Kalepp motion to approve the minutes of the September 11, 2023, regular meeting carried with all ayes. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A Frankewicz/Shelton motion to approve the monthly financial statements for the General, Water, and Sewer Accounts carried with all ayes. PAYMENT OF BILLS A Shelton/Frankewicz motion to approve paying the General Account checks 36393 thru 36438, Water Account checks 7288 thru 7297, and Sewer Account checks 2563 thru 2564 carried with all ayes. PAYROLL REPORT The board reviewed the employee time cards and payroll report. COMMUNITY INPUT There was no community input. COMMITTEE REPORT Trustee Kalepp reported that the library board started working on the budget and updating policies. POLICE REPORT The board reviewed the year-to-date incidents and traffic reports. Trustee Frankewicz would like traffic incidents in Withee to be labeled Withee, not Owen. The police committee met October 3rd and discussed the budget and the garage. Trustee Gehrke said the garage needs many repairs and the committee felt it was going to be handled like the office building with paying rent to the City of Owen. A Shelton/Frankewicz motion to approve the accounts payable paid 9/01/2023 carried with all ayes. The board had questions on the figures provided in the budget report. The committee is meeting November 6th at 6 pm to finalize. A Gehrke/Kalepp motion to postpone approval on the police budget until next meeting carried with all ayes. SALE OF PARCEL 191.0171.000 The Village owns parcel 191.0171.000, located between Midway Bar and O-W Pharmacy, which has been used as a parking lot, and the board doesn’t want to maintain. Clerk Niemi talked to Dawn Burkhardt, owner of Midway Bar, and Josh Prohaska, owner of O-W Pharmacy, and only Prohaska was interested in purchasing. The Planning Commission met on October 4, 2023, and recommended the Village sell the parcel for the price of the attorney fees for the quit claim deed. A Gehrke/Shelton motion to approve the sale of parcel 191.0171.000 to Prohaska Bros, LLC for the cost of the Village attorney fees for the quit claim deed carried with all ayes. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DPW Schad and board members discussed the quotes for a John Deere or Cat endloader. The board wants Schad to drive both machines. A Gehrke/Frankewicz motion to postpone the endloader purchase until more information is gathered carried with all ayes. Schad discussed upgrading the SCADA, so he can run everything for the water plant from his phone. A Frankewicz/Shelton motion to purchase the SCADA upgrade from B&M Technical Service for $15,000 carried with all ayes. Brian Pietz from the DNR noted that since the water doesn’t get tested daily and the well readings print out, it isn’t necessary for Schad to come in on the weekends. Schad said he would come in and not charge for a two-hour call-in if adjustment was needed. A Shelton/Kalepp motion to discontinue requiring DPW Schad to come in on weekends for well readings, as he will monitor from his phone carried with all ayes. A Frankewicz/Gehrke motion to designate DPW Derek Schad as the representative for Village of Withee on the County Municipal Street Improvement Committee for the Local Road Improvement Plan pilot program carried with all ayes. GENERAL DEPARTMENT A Frankewicz/Kalepp motion to approve the 2024 Statement of Work agreement for CLA not to exceed $18,900 for the financial audit carried with all ayes. The Industrial Park loan either can be paid off before the 12/01/2023 maturity date or renewed for another three years at 5.92%. It was budgeted to pay off in 2023 and would save about $3,500 in interest. A Gehrke/Shelton motion to pay off the Industrial Park loan carried with all ayes. Waste Management increased the garbage and recycling rate by three percent for 2024 which is an increase of $4.23 per year per residence. A Shelton/Gehrke motion to increase the garbage and recycling fee to $12.33 per month per residence effective January 1, 2024, carried with all ayes. A Kalepp/Frankewicz motion to set the first budget meeting for October 30, 2023, at 6 pm carried with all ayes. Due to moving to Owen, Trustee Gehrke handed in his resignation which will be formally approved at the next meeting. A Kalepp/Shelton motion to adjourn at 7:11 pm carried with all ayes. Ellen Niemi, Village Clerk *** These minutes are unofficial and will be formally approved at the next regular board meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, November 13, 2023, at 6:30 pm ***