The lack of sufficient light at the Lublin Baseball Field is a cause for concern for the potential softball tournament at Lublin Days. Without …

Village President Randy Madlon explains the Local Road Improvement Project bid process to board members at the May 13 meeting at the Lublin Town …

The Lublin Village Board held its monthly meeting on Monday, May 13. Sewer Operator manager Steve Apfelbeck gave his report and mentioned that there was an equipment failure where one of the floats down in the wet well “went to hell.” He said, “They are expected to go to hell once in a while because that is the reason why when they installed the system, they gave me a spare. They said, ‘Hang on to that, you’re going to need it.’ Like anything else it doesn’t last forever.” He offered to give the “boring details” at a later date to anyone who wanted them. Apfelbeck said a new one or two will be ordered because “it will happen again.”

The village board rejected the 2023 Local Road Improvement Project (LRIP) bids because the project was not completed. “This year the price of asphalt has actually come down a little bit,” Madlon stated. He said that since American Asphalt didn’t complete the project last year, they “kind of broke” the contract so to move forward, he was advised by the highway commissioner to have the board reject the 2023 LRIP bids. The village board unanimously rejected the 2023 LRIP bid. Madlon shared that he received two  2024 LRIP bids with one from American Asphalt and one from Jensen & Son Asphalt in Medford. Madlon said he bid the project for 2-inch thickness instead of 2 ½ or 3-inch that is recommended so the project prices will be higher.  American Asphalt bid $47,872.20 for 2-inch thickness of asphalt for both projects and Jensen & Son bid $36,346.00 for 2-inch and $43,239.00 for 2 ½ inch thickness of asphalt for the projects. Madlon mentioned that Jensen & Son will give a discount to residents who also want asphalt for their driveways.

“I would like to go for three inches if we can afford it,” said Madlon. With a motion by Trustee Fr. Hermann Klarr, the Board voted to accept the bid from Jensen & Son but change the project to 3-inch thickness of asphalt to finish by the 2024 season.

The meeting moved on to the discussion of the culvert replacement on Church and North Street. “We’re going to have to replace it,” Madlon said. Madlon admitted that he didn’t receive any bids at the time of the meeting. “I just want to approve it and have the authority to take it from there to get it replaced,” he told them. He added that it would probably cost approximately $500 or $600. “As far as maintenance wise, we got to take care of the culvert.” As the board discussed what price limit to state for the motion, Klarr said, “I just make a motion to get it done,” and the board approved the culvert replacement with no price limit set.

Madlon shared that the Thorp Fire Department recently hired a full-time fire chief which could result in increased fire dues for the Village of Lublin. He said that in the future, it may need to be discussed to start charging residents a set price for fire protection to recoup the increase in costs. “It’s not happening today, it’s not happening tomorrow but food for thought,” Madlon mentioned.

The board voted to sell the small storage shed on the west side of the pavilion at the park by receiving bids for the sale. Madlon said that the items in the shed aren’t used, and the shed isn’t needed but could use some maintenance. “Instead of sticking money into fixing it, I would like to just move it on. We really don’t use it,” he told the meeting attendees and added he would like to make the park more user friendly there and use the space for something else. “From a maintenance standpoint I think we should just move on from that shed and get rid of it. If I felt the village needed it, I would sink some money into it. I just don’t see the need for us to keep that.”

The board discussed concerns from the Village Clerk regarding continuous harassment regarding a sewer bill case involving the board and a village resident.

The upcoming 2024 Lublin Days were the talk of the Parks Committee meeting immediately following the monthly board meeting as preparations were begun for the upcoming Lublin Days to be held in July. The lack of sufficient light at the Lublin baseball field is a cause of concern for the potential Lublin Days softball tournament organized by brothers, Donnie and Marty Kroeplin. Without sufficient lighting, softball games must be held earlier in the morning and finished earlier at night, thus impacting the tournament schedule. A Parks Committee meeting is scheduled for June 1 at 9 a.m. to discuss the upcoming 2024 Lublin Days. Madlon announced that a new chairman would need to be put on the agenda for next month to be chosen as he didn’t wish to be chairman this year. The next regular monthly board meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m. at the Lublin Town Hall on Railroad Street.