The Withee Village Board held their regular monthly meeting on Monday, January 12. Trustee Nancy Amacher stated that DPW Derek Schad had done a good job cleaning the streets of snow.

Under Committee Reports, Trustee Bill Kroeplin reported that the Library Board would be meeting the following night. Amacher gave the board copies of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation’s 2026 Newsletter. Kroeplin said that the Clark County Sheriff’s Department is joining in on applying for a grant for a new Fire Station. It would provide them with a secondary dispatch. The Fire District has a lease on the Curtiss Station through 2028.

The board moved on to the Police Report. Chief of Police Patrick Fehlman handed out the December police report. He said they are working on a new program that will not only create reports but provide annual numbers by type of incident. Officer Scheffler assisted with a pursuit in the county that involved deploying spike strips to stop the vehicle. They have added new categories to their reports, including parking tickets and extra patrols at the school. Village President Larry Klabon asked about 911 Disconnects. Fehlman said there are more when people are more active. Klabon also asked about the parking citations. Fehlman said the initial fee is $20. If not paid in 14 days, the fee doubles. After 28 days if the ticket is not paid, it is reported to the DOT, which suspends the persons registration. So far this winter, all but one ticket has been paid. The money for the parking tickets goes to the municipality in which the ticket was written, either Owen or Withee. One of the police squad cars had some warranty work done.

For Public Works, Klabon asked who was responsible for filling in the pothole at the 4-way stop. Schad said the county had fixed it. He said he has been doing a lot of plowing. The recirculating motor at the water tower is broken. N.L. Stock is looking for a new motor/pump. It has to be stainless steel food grade. Clerk Ellen Niemi asked if one could be borrowed from Rural Water. Schad was going to ask as they are coming to town. He said the Christmas lights are down and he is planning to wait to get new lights until later in the year.

In regard to the Ball Park Lease, it was last completed in 2020. This time all that was changed were the dates and the names of the people involved. Clerk Niemi had spoken to Ben Esker, who told her that the softball group was not sure what they were going to do and that they might disband. Schad said that if the group is disbanded, it will fall back on the village to maintain the ballfield and concession stand. Niemi pointed out that the village doesn’t own the equipment in the concession stand. The board approved the lease as presented and will await a response from the Withee Community Softball League.

New phone and/or internet service for the clerk’s office was discussed. Clerk Niemi said that often the internet doesn’t work. The question was if they no longer go with Country Wireless, who provided free service for having their equipment on the water tower, what would happen with that equipment. Would the village start charging them a rental fee for it to remain there? The board voted to change to Spectrum internet through Yellowstone Computing at a cost of $80 per month for five years. The phone would be an additional $25 per month.