The Owen Common Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday, March 11. Operator licenses were approved for Theresa Frankewicz, Louann Hanson, Tammy Fuentes, and Melissa Jorgensen. A picnic license was also approved for the Owen-Withee Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo.
An update was given on the issues with a nuisance property on 2nd Street. The property owner came in and had a discussion with Chief of Police Patrick Fehlman where he explained the ordinances and the issues with the property. He will contact her again in a couple of weeks to see if she has come up with a plan to clean up the property. He has written multiple citations. Alderperson Bob Wilczek asked if the citation fees could be assessed to the property taxes if they aren’t paid. He said the city doesn’t have the money to do an abatement, but he is tired of hearing complaints from the residents in his ward. He would like to be able to tell them that something is being done. Fehlman said he started a new process this year. Wilczek asked about a lien on the property for what is owed. Alderperson Pam Jaffke asked if any progress had been made on getting the property cleaned up to which Fehlman responded that it is getting worse. DPW Chad Smith had also sent a letter to the property owner and she wants to talk to him. It was decided that Fehlman and Smith would contact her together. Alderperson John Mauel stated his belief that this is going to be an ongoing problem.
Alderperson Ray Kilty, DPW Smith, and Mayor Scott Jalling met with a business interested in going into the Business Park. They have made an offer to purchase 15 acres but want to remain anonymous until the contract is signed. Smith said it is a warehouse that has been in business a long time. They would also have a storefront. They are looking to build a 40,000 square foot building. Kilty said there would still be two 10 acres lots left if this sale goes through. The interested company is offering $1,500 per acre. Smith said the company would like to get the dirt work done this year and build in the spring of 2026. They would plan to be operational by August 2026. Jalling said they also have future plans for expansion which would happen in two to three years after their initial building is complete, and a second expansion two to three years after that. Kilty said they would do an agreement similar to the one the city has with River Country. This would mean taxes would be paid on a 40,000 square foot building regardless of whether it was complete. Smith said they did a flow test for water and sprinklers and it was okay. The council approved having the city attorney draw up a contract for the sale. If the sale goes through, the city will have to have new certified survey maps done for the Business Park.
Owen’s Clean-up Day was discussed. Wilczek said that some citizens of Withee had asked him about participating. The question was on how to divide the expenses to allow Withee residents to participate. The date will be either April 5 or April 12, with the tentative date being April 12. Smith said he had to talk to his staff before setting the final date. Mauel felt that Withee should do their own for a year as Owen brought in a lot of stuff the first year. They could maybe talk about combining to do one clean-up for both communities after that.
DPW Chad Smith gave his report. For Water, he said that 28 of 40 residential cross connection inspections are done. They are also doing commercial cross connection inspections. He has sent his report to the DNR. He has also completed his Water Withdraw Report for the DNR. There was a water main break on Melbinger Street. They have had some issues with the SCADA at Well #13 and are troubleshooting that. They fixed a bent curb stop in Countryside Estates. They have also had to replace a few frozen meters. For Sewer, they had some communication issues with the Withee Lift Station. It was found to be an antenna issue and has been corrected. He purchased ferric in bulk. They had to come back to make the delivery as when they tried to fill the tank it was found to have a leak. The frame of the truck driven by Matt Bottlemy broke and they are trying to fix it. Smith has some money in the budget to replace the truck and is going to start looking. For Streets, Smith reported that the lighting project and automatic doors at the library were complete. They have started doing some tree trimming in the street right-of-way. They did some snow plowing. They also removed the old heater from the entrance at city hall as it didn’t work. Jalling asked about progress on the depot roof. Smith said that he just gotten two quotes for materials and they will start working on it soon. Alderperson Ken Martine asked who is responsible for the library roof as that also is in need of replacement. Jalling said that the library board was told that the city is responsible for the outside of the building and the library is responsible for the inside of the building.
Under the Mayor’s Report, Jalling congratulated the girls basketball team on making it to state and thanked the fire department for escorting them back into town after their sectional win. He reported that the Centennial Committee is working on their April events, including a Jail and Bail event on April 5. The Sheriff’s Department is sending at least four people to participate. On April 26, there will be a tree planting with a ribbon cutting and cake and ice cream. The time capsules packed in 2000 will be opened. Tim Gelhaus has written a song for the event and will be home to sing it with Phil Greschner. Then there will be an open mic/talent show. Jeff Petersen is planning on trying to do his Field of Dreams project in Crowley Park again this year.
Under Other Reports, Wilczek said that Rob Ruggles would like to donate some time helping at the Dog Park. It was suggested that he talk to DPW Smith about what he could do to help.