The "Nays" have it: the Results of the Public Safety Referendum

from Barron County's website

I'm sure by now you've heard the news. The question has been answered in a fairly resounding manner: yesterday (April 2) of the citizens who voted (457) almost 62% of us voted against the measure to allow the city council to exceed the levy limit by $350,000 annually in perpetuity in order to meet our public safety needs. Never mind that according to City Clerk Mark Eby that since there are 1,204 registered voters within the city limits only 37% of us showed up to cast our vote. For all I know that may be common for a spring election. It's a mute point. The outcome remains the same: the “nays” have it.

Maybe those who voted no did so because of their concerns about inflation and other real-and- present-danger economic matters. Maybe the timing is bad with the increase in our water and sewer rates on account of the new waste water treatment plant currently under construction and the new water tower soon to be constructed. Maybe they just don't want to pay more property taxes than they already do. Whatever their reasons clearly we (the council) did not make a convincing enough argument to persuade them otherwise. 

What does that mean in the short term?

Nothing. Our police will continue to patrol as they always have and Chetek Public Works will continue to wear the many hats they do in order to serve us all. While technically we are a “24/7” police department, the truth is we are out of service on a limited basis regularly on account of lack of staffing. It is what it is.

What does that mean longer term?

If Chetek PD wants to maintain our roster as it is now (5 full-time officers) we will need to look for other revenue streams such as the COPS grant (technically the COPS Hiring Program administered by the Department of Justice). Lucky for us our City Administrator Laura Stelzner has experience as a grant writer. That being said there are no guarantees that we will be approved for this program. 

This morning I had a conversation with Chief in his office. Obviously, like the rest of us who were favor of the question, he's disappointed that it didn't pass. Even so he wasn't hang dog about it. Rather, he displayed a “can-do” attitude and assured me that the department will carry on doing their best to keep our citizens safe. 

Dan Conway was a Hall of Fame Cross Country coach who is remembered fondly by those who either ran for him or served with him. In 1982 and 1983, Chetek ruled the entire state in what was then the Class C (now Division 3) High School Cross Country programs. He was, until his passing in 2018, a living legend. Before he died he

penned his memoirs titled Carry On Regardless. It's not only a good read but in my opinion a great way to approach life as well. Things happen, disappointments occur, plans don't work out. Even so, we must carry on regardless and finish whatever race we're running. Chief Ron Ambrozaitus and Public Works Director Dan Knapp have just this mindset with regards to the tasks set before them and for that I'm very grateful.

Even though I ran unopposed, I want to thank everyone for the vote of confidence you extended to me yesterday helping me to win another term as mayor (next week my fifth term will begin). I am very grateful for the ongoing support and attaboys I regularly receive as I seek to fulfill the office of mayor. My main goal has always been to do good work for the city that has been our home for over 32 years now. Truth be told, I love this town and I hope that during the next two years my actions as mayor will again prove that.

from Barron County's website

And the answer is...

 Next Tuesday, April 2, there's an election happening here in town.
Besides the Democratic and Republican primary candidates, there are four individuals running for three school board positions (Carrie Tracyzk, Cheryl Razim, Janene Haselhuhn and John Banks), and a few others running unopposed for different positions: Barron County Supervisor District 3 (John Banks), Ward 2 Alderman (Earl Grover), Ward 4 Alderman (Thea Hemple) and myself for mayor. There are three questions on the ballot as well, two of which pertain to the Wisconsin State constitution, and the other pertains to what the city council is requesting of its citizenry: to exceed the state levy by $350,000 annually for the purpose of hiring more police officers, public works staff and support staff.

Officially, it reads like this:

Vote for one

"Under State law, the increase in the levy of the City of Chetek for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2024, is limited to 2.135%, which results in a levy of $1,350,665. Shall the City of Chetek be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2024, for the purpose of enhancing Public Safety within the community through hiring and equipping more Police Officers, Public Works staff and support staff, by a total of 25.913%, which results in a levy of $1,700,665 and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $350,000 for each fiscal year going forward?"

Yes or No

(From MyVote Wisconsin)

If you choose to vote yes, it will allow the Chetek Police Department to continue to operate with five full-time officers AND hire an additional full-time officer. What's more it will allow Chetek Public Works Department to hire one additional staff member.

If you choose to vote no, in the short term it will mean that come fiscal year 2025 we will have to eliminate one full-time officer from our roster unless other solutions present themselves before then. It will also mean that Dan Knapp and crew will have to carry on as usual with the staff they currently have.

(Note: Chris Kroeze is not a member of 
the Chetek PD)

As a city our desire is to maintain a 24/7 police department. That
is, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at least one Chetek PD officer is active and on patrol within the city. It used to be that our roster could be filled out with a compliment of both full and part-time officers. Due to the change in the national culture, however, part-time police officers are rare and hard to come by. Not as many cadets are in the academy these days and many times by the time they get there they are already claimed by other departments. If this referendum fails it will mean that there will be times when Chetek PD will be out of service. Of course, we're grateful that during those times we can count on the County for coverage – but only in emergencies. As it has been explained to me by Sheriff Fitzgerald, in any given shift there are 5 deputies on duty throughout the county (providing no one is out ill or on vacation). While I'm not threatening “longer response times” I think it is fair to say a rejection of this question will mean diminished services.

The base of the new water tower
(courtesy of Mark Peterson)

Our city is currently going through some growth pains. We are past the half-way mark on the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) which is supposed to be complete and on-line by November of this year. What's more, any day now we can expect the crew that will be constructing our new water tower to return and finish the work they began last fall. They, too, promise to be done later this year. We have a signed agreement with SC Swiderski to develop the 39 acres on the west end of town upon completion of the water tower. Once its up and operational they promise to break ground. And according to our agreement, once they break ground they promise to complete the entire project (116 units of single family, twin homes and apartments) within two years! Potentially we could have as many as 500 people moving to town in the next couple of years. Even if Dan Knapp can't tell us yet if the new WWTP will require more man-hours than our current one requires to operate, more people will mean more garbage and demand for more services.

Again, if the question is rejected, Dan and his crew will continue to carry on the best they can but they're only human and can only be so many places at once. We may – and I stress “may” as I don't have access to a crystal ball even if I had the desire to use it – have to accept diminished services. Time will tell.

The flyer that was sent out to
Chetek citizens

Earlier this month the council sent out an informational flyer to all
city residents that either receive a water bill or garbage services. If you are a renter, you may not have received this as it went to your landlord. You may want to call him or her for a copy of that flyer or feel free to stop in at City Hall this week and pick one up for yourself. We have also hosted four listening sessions at The Center all of which have been very sparsely attended. Either that means the flyer explains the matter perfectly or people have already made up their mind one way or another how they're going to vote. We'll all know soon enough.

Asking for more money for taxes is never a popular campaign slogan. I know the members of the council well enough to know that if another way could have been found without having to go this route they would have found it. A few of them are retired and are not overly excited of opening up that envelope come December and finding a higher tax bill. But as we see it we feel its the best option presently available to us that will guarantee that the city continues to function in a safe, healthy and responsible way.

Thank you for your consideration in the matter. My wife and I have lived in Chetek for over 32 years and have always found this community generous at heart and thoughtful in its decision making processes. I trust you will do what you think best come April 2.

We're all ears: Hearing from you about the upcoming public safety referendum

 

If you are a resident of the city by now you should have received a letter in the mail spelling out the details of the upcoming referendum on April 2. On that day residents will be asked to weigh in at the ballot box their opinion of whether or not the city may exceed the revenue limit by $350,000 annually from here on forward. If the measure is successful it will mean continued funding for a current officer of the Chetek Police Department and the ability to hire an additional officer in order to be fully staffed. It will also mean we could add another full-time public works employee.

This is a miniaturized version of
what you should have received in the mail

City Clerk Mark Eby created the letter and in my opinion he breaks it down pretty simply into what a “yes” or a “no” vote means. Succinctly, a “yes” vote means that we can move ahead with our hiring goals (i.e., maintain one full-time officer, hire an additional full-time officer and hire a full-time public works employee). A “no” vote means that both the public safety and work expectations will remain the same but we will have insufficient staffing to fulfill those expectations.

Chetek is never without police coverage. But in the last year on account of the inability to secure part-time officers and individuals in the department either on medical leave or vacation, there have been “gaps” in local coverage. When that has happened, the County has covered us as that is what mutual aid is all about. As I understand it, on any given shift there are six deputies on patrol throughout the county. But if a few of those deputies are dealing with a matter in, say, Turtle Lake, and a 9-1-1 call comes in, as fast as they can leg it they will be on scene – provided what's going on in Turtle Lake doesn't demand their attention first. I'm oversimplifying it a bit, but I think you get the drift: you can't be everywhere at once and so as the letter states, a “no” vote means both diminished services and longer response times.

The same goes for our public works department. As you probably already are aware, our guys wear a lot of hats and there's just so much they can get done on a given day. And with the new housing development coming (i.e., the 39 acre property west of the high school that is slated for construction beginning in 2025), there's going to be a lot more people for them to serve.

Still, we are sympathetic with those who are already struggling with the current economic conditions and are leery to voting “yes” to any new taxes. Having said that, it is the council's role to bring the very best oversight to city business and it is our opinion that this option is a viable and “do-able” one.

We want to hear your questions and give you the opportunity to express your concerns about the referendum. To that end we are offering four listening sessions during the month of March. The first is this Friday, March 8 at The Center (711 First Street) during the soup and salad bar lunch from 11:30-12:30 pm. Chief Ambrozaitus, Dan Knapp, City Administrator Laura Stelzner, City Clerk Mark Eby and myself will be available to hear what you have to say. As detailed in the letter here are the other listening sessions, all of which will be held at The Center.

• Monday, March 11 at 6 pm

• Friday, March 22 at 11:30 am

• Tuesday, March 26 at 6 pm

It's happening: Referendum and the Spring 2024 election

 

When I ran for mayor
in 2016, the first 100
homes were given this flyer

When I ran for mayor the first time in 2016, I knocked on many doors asking for people's consideration as they voted in the upcoming election. More than a few remarked to me: “If I do vote for you, please don't raise my taxes!” At the time, I didn't have a clue how municipal government worked. Since then I've learned a thing or two but trying to sum it up in a few concise statements is challenging to say the least.

For example, a city council or village board can't just willy-nilly
“raise taxes” to satisfy their budget. Imagine if they could! Then every small town would have a municipal pool or whatever was the item residents or their elected leaders thought they needed for their community. On the contrary, the State of Wisconsin sets a levy limit for each community, based on a certain formula, that informs the council the maximum amount of levy they can collect on property taxes. If the financial obligations of the city exceed the revenues that are collected one of three things must happen: the city may borrow money (which creates other issues), the city may cut or diminish services it provides or ask the citizens for permission to exceed the levy limit that the State has set for us. Unlike the federal government which can (and does!) print money, every municipal government must live within its means, Chetek included.

We are at one of those moments. At January's common council meeting the council voted unanimously to go to referendum this April. We are asking the citizens of Chetek to exceed our levy limit by $350,000 annually in order to sustain the full-time police officer recently hired, add an additional full-time officer and add one additional public works employee. For how long will we need to exceed the levy? The legal term is “in perpetuity.” In other words, forever. If the referendum is successful it would cost approximately $180/year per $100K of property value, $120 of which would go to pay for the two police officers and $80 for public works.

Chief Ron (left) with new Chetek PO
Connor Haukom

Why do we feel we need to take this action at this time? Currently,
we want to remain a “24/7” community meaning that local police protection is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the past, our police department was made up of an assortment of full-time and part-time officers. Due to national trends in law enforcement it has become nigh unto impossible to find part-time police officers these days. There are just not as many recruits as there once were. And every part-timer naturally wants to secure full-time employment.

If you are one of the crew at Chetek Public Works you wear many hats. Picking up garbage, pushing snow, checking on lift stations, maintaining equipment, cleaning out sewers and the list goes on. What's more, the new waste water treatment plant that is presently under construction is a bit more complex operation than the one we presently have. If I understand what Public Works Director Dan Knapp is telling me, it's too soon to tell if we will need to allocate more man-power there but either way the need in his department is real.

In the weeks and months leading up to the vote on April 2 it is our plan to provide opportunities to educate the public on our present budgetary needs. This will involve information that will be released in the paper and on-line. What's more, we will be providing “listening sessions” with Chief of Police Ron Ambrozaitus, Public Works Director Dan Knapp and City Administrator Laura Stelzner in order to hear and receive questions about the needs of these departments as well as the particulars of the referendum.

At this stage, no question is dumb so feel free to ask away by emailing me at chetekmayor@cityofchetekwi.us or calling me at 715-925-6078. The council and I are cognizant that this is a weighty decision for our community to make and are sensitive to the financial realities involved.

Funny you should ask: How often should I shovel my walk?

 

This can be slippery stuff!

Sec. 90-403. - Responsibility of owner or occupant.

The owner or occupant of any lot or parcel shall remove or cause to be removed, within 24 hours of cessation of each continuous period of snowfall, all snow and ice which may have fallen or accumulated upon the sidewalk in front of such lot or parcel provided, when ice has so formed that it cannot be removed, the owner or occupant shall keep the same sprinkled with a material which will prevent the sidewalk from being dangerous to pedestrians. All snow and ice so removed shall be deposited on the property of such owner or occupant, or be hauled away by such owner or occupant, or their agent, and such removal shall at all times conform with the provisions of Section 90-405.

(Code 2005, § 6-2-7(a); Ord. No. 739A, § 1, 5-13-2014)

It seems like a dumb question, doesn't it? “As often as it needs it, right?” seems like the right answer. In reality it should be: “Within 24 hours of the last snow” as that is what our Code of Ordinances state.

This gets walked on every day

If you drive around town these days, however, it's clear that people have different opinions about the answer to this question. There are many stretches of sidewalk that are clean and clear allowing pedestrians to walk safely over them. At the same time there are equally as many that have been totally untouched since the last snowfall on New Year's Eve five days ago. “What's the big deal? I mean, it's not even an inch!”, you may think. But snow that gets walked on repeatedly while temperatures remain the way they have this week turns into ice. And ice is a public safety hazard.

I spoke with Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator Joe Atwood about this matter and he told me that generally speaking after a snowfall he gives people a couple of days to get 'er done. After that, however, they may be subject to a citation. Article X (“Snow and Ice Regulations”) clearly states that not only do all of us have to be on task to push the snow off our sidewalk within a 24-hour period (Sec 90-403 – see above) but failure to do so may result in the City doing it for us and sending us “a special tax” to accompany our tax statement (Sec 90-404). Furthermore, when we do push or move it we should think twice before we throw it in the street as that kinda of thing is definitely prohibited (Sec 90-405). (Note: Every snow season there are residents who push their snow with their ATV or snowblower into the thoroughfare thinking perhaps that one of the city plow guys will just sweep it up on their next pass. Most of the time our guys come through in the middle of the night and are long gone by the time we get around to moving our snow. Public Works Director Dan Knapp would simply say, “Don't be that guy.”)

Long before I was elected mayor, I have pushed snow as a side-gig and since October 31 I have had to do that for my customers (all of whom live within the city limits) five times. I used to have a customer who suggested to me that I could leave “small snowfalls” be and only shovel when we got “the big stuff”. We had to part ways on a matter of principle: the Code says we need to move snow every time it falls and accumulates, walked-on snow soon becomes ice and I'm the mayor. If the mayor doesn't move snow after each snowfall why should anyone else have to?

Now that's more like it

Did you hear that just the other day a customer slipped and fell in the parking area of a local business and broke their hip? I was told that unmoved snow that had become slippery was the culprit. The moral of this unfortunate tale to all of us is DON'T BE THAT GUY unnecessarily putting our neighbors and fellow townsfolk at risk. The heavier stuff is coming and will get here soon enough. Might as well put our back into it and get at it (if we haven't already done so).

Lots of irons in the fire or what's the latest on the city's business

 

If you have been paying attention you know that the City of Chetek
has a lot of irons in the fire lately. Of course, this past spring we broke ground on the new Waste Water Treatment Plant in the south industrial park. On account of shortage of pipe fittings and a few other matters, we were behind schedule. But due to the dry summer and the unusually warm fall we've had we are now all caught up and on pace to be on-line by November 2024, exactly when the DNR is expecting us to be there.

Photo courtesy of Mark Peterson
taken on October 24

What's more, Maguire, the firm we've contracted with to build our new water tower, was also able to pour the new footings of the tower this fall. These footings are covered up now and will cure over the winter months. This puts us ahead of schedule. All things being equal the tower could be complete – paint and all – by the fall of 2024! Which bodes well for the development of the 39 acres on Knapp Street.

Photo courtesy of Mark Peterson
Taken on November 29

Recall that part of our signed agreement with S.C. Swiderski was the commitment of the city to build a new water tower. According to that agreement Swiderski is committed to beginning the development as

Just over the horizon

soon as that project is completed. If we remain on schedule potentially they could be doing preliminary dirt work by NEXT summer. Once they break ground, sometime in 2025, they are committed to having all 116 units, consisting of single family homes, twin homes and apartments, completed within two years or by 2027. Taken together, it may not feel like it but we are moving at light speed for a change.

"Ahead, Warp Factor 4!"

Laura Stelzner,
Chetek's Administrator/Treasurer

In the midst of all these projects the City has been in search of a new Clerk-Treasurer given that Carmen Newman, who has served Chetek in that capacity for twenty years and in other capacities nine years before that, officially retires December 29. After two rounds of interviews during which we were unsuccessful in finding a new Clerk-Treasurer we decided to change it up, if you will. The council voted unanimously to promote Deputy Clerk/Water Utility Clerk Mark Eby to Clerk and posted on-line that we were looking for someone to fill the newly created Administrator/Treasurer's position. The third time proved the charm. Laura Stelzner was offered the position and officially began her training December 1. Laura comes to us from Bloomer, and prior to employment with the City was with Western Dairyland Economic Development Council.

Mark Eby,
Our new City Clerk

During the past few months while the personnel committee has been interviewing candidates for the new position at City Hall and the budget committee has been meeting to pound out the details of the 2024 budget, the parks committee has also been at work drafting a proposal to develop a sports complex for Gotham Park. Back in

Gotham Park remains undeveloped
(looking east toward City of Chetek Dog Park)

1993, Wally Gotham and his wife donated the land to the city for a future park. In the thirty years since that time it has been used now and again for tractor pulls during Liberty Fest but mostly as a parking lot for the annual running of the Fishy Four. Every once in a while some folks get motivated to get a development plan going only to see that momentum dissipate in the face of resistance that usually is generated by matters concerning the bottom line: where will the money come from to build the park?

It's happening again and this time the enthusiasm for development is coming from Chetek's Pickleball Club. During the last year the city paid Rettler Corporation out of Steven's Point to develop a site plan for an athletic complex that would include six pickleball courts, a tennis court and basketball court along with a parking lot. While the plan they presented was pretty impressive, it was also came with a heavy dose of sticker-shock as it would require over a million dollars to develop the site. That pretty much knocked the wind out of anyone who has a desire to see this become a reality.

Rice Lake's Pickleball courts

.

Originally, the club was fairly optimistic that the lion's share of the funds could be raised locally to develop the pickleball court phase of the project. But at that price tag the project was on the brink of being dead in the water. Since that time, however, a few members of the parks committee have rolled up their sleeves and got to it to see what can be done to keep forward progress moving. They will present their plan at December's council meeting.

If you watched last month's council meeting on-line on November 14 you may have noticed we had something of a dust-up among the council members over $75,000 that the budget committee had recommended being set-aside for the development of Gotham Park. A few of the council members were in favor of setting that money aside until it can be determined how much was exactly needed for the project. The other two, however, wanted to ear-mark that money for Gotham Park specifically. It probably is a matter of nuance and perspective but as the council was split evenly I used my mayoral prerogative to vote to secure that money for the future development of that park.

What will be presented at December's common council meeting

Once upon a time during a previous administration when the city sold the site of the former tennis courts so that Kwik Trip could relocate to where they are now there was a promise to develop a site elsewhere in the city with the money realized from that transaction. But then there was an unexpected hiccup in the Kwik Trip development and the $40K that had been realized by the sale of the tennis courts was used to fix this glitch. And while the money was spent on something the city benefited from, there was no longer any money for tennis courts in the coffers. My vote on November 14 was with the intent of keeping that money specifically earmarked for the development of Gotham Park.

Every city – be it a large municipality like Eau Claire or a small one like ours – has the ongoing challenge to be both fiscally responsible with the taxpayer's money and, at the same time, plan for the future. “Do nothing and hope for the best” is not a plan. For elected officials to have that mindset is nigh unto cowardly. Of course, you must listen to the electorate, hearing them out on their concerns. At the same time, you must vote your conscience, what you think is the best expenditure of the city's resources. It's more art than science and admittedly good people can see different solutions to the same problem.

Part of what the future Gotham Park may look like

Its my opinion that the city needs to develop Gotham Park sooner than later. It's been lying there for thirty years and I'm pretty sure the Gothams didn't gift our city with a piece of land just so that we can have a parking area for the Fishy Four. In the next three years, potentially up to 500 people may relocate to our city on account of the Knapp Street development. Amenities like parks draw younger couples and families to communities such as ours. Following that logic it makes sense to me to see our current expenditures for Gotham Park as an investment of the taxpayer's money that will pay off in good time.

Have you heard the news? The glacier is moving.

 

Chetek's Hydroflites always draws a crowd

Chetek is a town that comes alive between May and September. All
the summer residents come home, the tourists arrive and between Liberty Fest, Rib Fest, Watermania and the rest, our town gets hopping. But in addition to some of these events that most of us are aware of, did you know that...

The ceremonial first shovel-full

• ...the construction of the new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is well under way? Back in June we officially broke ground and since then it has been quite a bee-hive of activity out there. Lots of rebar going in and lots of cement being poured. As challenging as the dry and hot weather we've had this summer has been, it's actually helped the project as only one day thus far has been lost on account of rain. There have been some hold-ups – securing the right kind of piping, for example – but the new plant is steadily forming in the south industrial park across from Whiskey Way and Chetek Lanes on Highway SS.

We began with a $20 million dollar budget with half of that coming through a federal grant. During the design phase, however, inflation kicked in and by the time we got ready to break ground our budget had ballooned to something closer to $25 million. I'm told that is to be expected during a major municipal project. That being said we're hoping there are no more suprises as the plant takes shape.

Between Second and First Streets

• ...two more sections of sidewalks have been completed?

Since 2017, the city has been committed to replacing the sidewalks throughout the Central Business District (CBD). Prior to that time the agreement was that if a business wanted to replace the sidewalk in front of their establishment, the city and the business would go 50-50 on the cost. Beginning in 2017, however, given how poor of condition many sections of sidewalk in the CBD were, the council committed themselves to a long-term project of replacing all of the sidewalks at no expense to any of the businesses. The 2023 edition replaced the sidewalks on the north side Stout Street between Second and First Streets, as well as long stretch on the east side of First Street across from The Center to the beginning of Chetek Villas (the condos on First Street). According to City Inspector Joe Atwood in the last six years 32,000 sq feet of concrete has been laid down and $224,000 has been spent on new sidewalks.

Out with the old...

• ...we bought a new water tower (or signed an agreement to build it)?

Earlier this year the council unanimously decided to go forward on building a new water tower whether or not we sign an agreement with a developer to develop the 39 acres on the west side of town (a.k.a. “Area 51”). Technically we now have a “water stand” which is essentially a real tall municipal pool with no access of approximately 450,000 gallons. In order to prevent it from freezing up during the winter, hydrants need to be kept open during the cold months. What's more several businesses in the north industrial park lack sufficient water pressure so they have need to use additional pumps in order for their plants to function normally. The bid was awarded to Maguire Iron (https://maguirewater.com/) for $1,686,100.00. Given what we thought were our projected costs that is way under what we were expecting. The agreement we have with them is that it will be completed by June 30, 2025. We expect construction to begin soon. When Cameron replaced their water stand with a traditional pedestal water tower they were able to sell theirs. We hope to do the same.

The future of "Area 51"

•...we now have a signed agreement with S.C. Swiderski (SCS) to develop the 39 acress (a.k.a. “Area 51”)?

After years of going back and forth and due diligence on their part we now have a signed agreement with S.C. Swiderski (SCS). In fact, if you go to their web site (https://www.scswiderski.com/property-locations) and click on the big light brown box that says “Future Developments” it will take you to a page that includes, among other sites, a schematic of what the 39 acres will look like when fully developed. In fact, for an animated "fly through" of the project follow this link: The future of "Area 51". While no money has exchanged hands yet (we have an agreement to sell the land to them for $1) an agreement has been signed by both parties. According to that document, SCS agrees to begin construction no later than June 2025 and have all 116 units (apartments, twin homes and single family homes) complete by 2027. All things being equal, within four years a whole lot more housing will be available within the city limits.

•...we are now in search of a new city clerk as Carmen is retiring at the end of this year?

Yes, say it with me: “Say it ain't so!” but it is. The woman who seems to never age has decided to bring to an end her 29-year relationship as a municipal employee come December 31. All our tears withstanding, we are all very happy for her and her husband, Larry. She quietly made her announcement at the Common Council meeting on August 8. The position was posted just last week and will remain open until September 15. Clearly we cannot replace her but we are confident that a competent and capable individual will apply and ultimately be hired as the new city clerk of Chetek. Our hope is to have them at City Hall no later than early November so they can shadow Carmen during her last two months on the job.

She is one in a million

Small Towns Burn A Little Slower was the name of a former indie band out of the Twin Cities. In my mind, it's a perfect sobriquet for our little town. Things happen – and are happening – but never at light speed. But I'm happy to announce that the glacier is moving folks. Better get out your lawn chairs and watch it grind through before it stops again.