The Owen Common Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 27. A resident talked during Public Comment about their concerns with the home Ray Kilty is planning to build at 309 East 3rd Street. They had concerns about whether there would be room for a driveway and that the alley behind the lot wouldn’t be blocked. Mayor Scott Jalling said it shouldn’t be a problem as the city ordinances address those things. Alderperson Bob Wilczek said he would like the city assessor to attend a meeting and talk about how homes in Owen were assessed. Many residents have talked to him as their taxes doubled. Jalling said that Brian Reilly from Ehlers and the auditors also need to come talk to the Council so everyone is on the same page.
The court hearing on the nuisance property on 2nd Street has been postponed. The new hearing date will probably happen in March.
The Teamsters Contract was approved with 2026 wages being the only change.
Alderperson Pam Jaffke had asked that Reevaluate Bank Accounts be put on the agenda. She would like to see some of the money in savings accounts moved to the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) to earn more interest. It was decided to move funds from the Water Utility Reserve Account, Sewer Replacement Fund, Sewer Reserve Account, and Sewer Depreciation Account to LGIP, leaving $5,000 in each account at the local bank. In addition, the Sewer Special Redemption Account will be rolled into the Sewer Reserve Account. Rather than close the Sewer Reserve Account, it will be renamed Playground Equipment Fund. The money in the accounts being moved is there primarily for upgrades and repairs to the utilities.
Temporary Class B Licenses were approved for the O-W Lions Ice Fishing Contest and for the Owen-Withee Area Chamber of Commerce for the Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and the Business Expo.
There is a potential donor toward the purchase of new playground equipment for the Mill Pond Park. If they donate, they would like their name put on the project. It was agreed that a 4’x8’ donor board could be put on the Mill Pond Pavilion. Any other large donors could also be represented on the board. Prevail Bank is holding a Shred Day this spring and those funds will go toward the playground equipment.
Improvements will be made to the Owen Senior Center/Community Center. The Owen Senior Citizens group will donate $3,000 toward the project. Windows and doors will be replaced. Public works has already done some work in the bathrooms. If the windows and doors cost more than $3,000, the city will make up the difference from the Senior Center Account.
Public Works Director Chad Smith gave his report. For water, he talked about warnings they have gotten about Chinese cyber-attacks on water systems. A lot of what Owen does is done manually and not connected to the internet, so there is not a lot that can be affected by a cyber-attack. The exception is the SCADA system, which has to have internet access. Things went well with the ground reservoir inspection. They do need to replace the top hatches and that will be done by public works employees. They had a water main break and a business fire suppression system froze. They have also had to replace some frozen meters and have been doing Business Cross Connection Inspections. For sewer, they have started to rebuild the inside of the Vac-Truck, and submitted the annual Phosphorus and Sludge reports. For Streets, the trailers and chipper were sold and a new trailer purchased with those funds. Materials have been purchased for the work to rebuild the city hall garage. They will still need to purchase the doors. They are going to put on all new tin and will keep the old tin for other uses. They also have the wood to build a storage loft for city records. Smith talked about the order in which they plow streets. They start at 4 a.m. because that is when the county starts plowing. They opened storm drains. The Mill Pond Dam has been inspected. Smith is waiting on the report, but doesn’t think any major work will be required. He participated in a tabletop exercise that involved a post-flood event around the 4th of July. Alderperson Jason Thornton brought up Everbridge, which people can sign up for to get notifications, not just about weather, but park issues, beach closings, etc. For Parks, Smith said they have started the aerators on the Mill Pond. He also noted a few highlights of 2025.