The Village of Withee held their regular board meeting on Monday, December 8.
Under Committee Reports, Trustee Bill Kroeplin reported that the library board is reviewing the trustee policy book. They have made changes to the smoking policy by adding that vaping is also not allowed. Trustee Nancy Amacher brought handouts on small business assistance, encouraging those involved in small business to ask for help. She also asked a dairy trivia question. There are approximately 65,000 dairy cows in Clark County, twice the number of people. Amacher asked how many dairy cows there are statewide. The answer was 2.8 million.
Under the Police Report, Chief Patrick Fehlman went over some of the items in the incident summary for the year. He said they are going to start entering everything that comes through the police department. He had spoken to a couple of other area chiefs and they are on par for incident volume. Amacher asked about EMS assists. Fehlman said they can help with prep before EMS gets to the scene. They can also provide more information to the EMTs before they arrive. He gave a number of examples. Kroeplin said he liked the K9 information on the report. He also talked about the importance of police aid during EMS calls. The board approved investing police savings (equipment fund) in the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP). Chief Fehlman said that going forward any unspent police budget money will roll over into this account. The treasurer’s report was also approved. It was noted that there will be discussion at the next police committee meeting about moving the K9 savings account to the LGIP.
For Public Works, DPW Schad said the meters were read and he has been doing some snow plowing. There was a Local Roads Improvement Program meeting that he attended. Withee will get $16,708.07 to put toward North Street from Pine Street to Division Street. Owen and Neillsville will also be getting funds. There will be rules to follow to get the funding, which is available every other year. He has also been looking into the cost of new Christmas lights. They run anywhere from $329-$550 each and the village would need 18-20. He is looking at getting a few each year. The O-W Lions might help with the cost. He shut the bike trail lights off now that the new Xcel poles are in.
The new water rates go into effect on December 5, but residents won’t see the first bill reflecting the new amounts until February. Clerk Ellen Niemi put notices on the new rates in the water bills and the property tax bills. Information can also be found on the village’s website.
DPW Schad said that the meters at the metering station were not reading correctly. They are old and parts are not available. He needs to update three meters. The cost will be $17,380. Schad was given approval to order the new meters. They will be installed in 2026.
In the General Department, election inspectors were approved for 2026-2027. Employee Christmas gifts in the amount of $50 for full-time employees and $25 for part-time employees were approved. The 2026 wage and benefit schedule was approved. Amacher suggested they look at vacation time in the future. She felt that going with no increase in vacation between two years and five years of service was too long.