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.

Our Family "Bible" Just Got Thicker (Updates to our Municipal Code)

 

Every municipality is governed by rules and maxims established by elected officials to maintain the public welfare and general concord between neighbors. Chetek is no different. Our Code of Ordinances is heftier than any family Bible I've ever seen and in the last six months it's gotten even thicker as the council has added a few more pages to it.

Ordinance No. 787A: Short-Term Home Rentals

If you have been paying attention, Americans way of “doing” vacation is changing. While some of us are still heading to the cabin or to our favorite resort for our get-aways, more and more of us are staying in an Airbnb/VRBO for our time away. We rent out someone's home and stay there for a weekend or a week enjoying all the amenities that they offer as well as all the privacy, too.

This past December, after several months of deliberation and public hearing, the City Council of Chetek adopted Ordinance 787A which sets the rules of operation of a home whose owner wants to rent out to guests on a short-term basis. Within the document are rules that govern things such as parking for their guests, the limit to how many overnight guests may be housed, the requirement of either the owner or their designated property manager to be within 30 minutes of the property while being rented out, plans to handle refuse, noise and other such matters.

Here's one within our city limits

Prior to the adoption of this ordinance, a homeowner would approach the Plan Commission (PC) to apply for a Conditional Use permit for the same such purposes. This involved a public hearing at which the applicant would appear before the PC and make their request. At the same time commissioners could hear concerns their neighbors may have about the permit being allowed. A year or so ago for a period of time the PC was handling a new request nearly monthly (there are presently 10 licensed properties within the city limits). Given the fact that the State of Wisconsin will not allow us to limit how many short-term rental licenses we may issue, the council felt it was to time to craft an ordinance that would govern their operation. The goal was somehow to achieve a balance between a resident's desire to make extra income while at the same time maintaining the integrity of a neighborhood. Admittedly, that's probably a matter of perspective how successful we have been in doing so.

Our ordinance was based on a similar statute adopted by the City of Hudson. Hats off to Deputy Clerk Mark Eby and Fourth Ward Alderman Thea Hemple who worked closely with Building/Zoning Administrator Joe Atwood to craft a document that was approved 3-1 at the December 13, 2022 meeting.

License applications may be picked up at City Hall and must be approved by Building/Zoning Administrator Joe Atwood. At the present time, the license fee is $500 and is good for a period of one year from the date the license is issued.

"Houston, we have a problem..."

Ordinance 788A: Detaching Territory from the City of Chetek

This past April a local couple and their attorney approached the Common Council asking to detach property that they own from the city limits and attach it to the Town of Prairie Lake. Their reasoning was simple: when Highway 53 went in at its current location back in 1973 it essentially “detached” them from Chetek already. Prior to council approval, our guys would make the 7-mile round-trip once a week to pick up their garbage and be responsible to plow one half of the road (7^th Ave) with the other half being the Town of Prairie Lake's responsibility. It makes fiscal sense on our part to approve detaching the property from the city and saves some wear and tear on our vehicles. What's more, it remains consistent with the decision we made a few years ago to detach an adjoining property that was also “cut off” by Highway 53. This ordinance was unanimously approved at the April 18, 2023 meeting.

It's a 7-mile round trip to get there
and back again

"With a cluck-cluck here and a
cluck-cluck there..."

Ordinance 789A: aka “the Chicken Ordinance” (Amending Chapter 18, Section 1).

Since elected mayor back in 2016, almost annually a resident of the city has come to a council meeting and requested us to reconsider our ban on having domestic chickens within the city limits to no affect. But when the cost of eggs spiked to $5/dozen earlier this year, the tipping point had been reached and with council approval Alderman Terry Hight began researching other municipalities who already have such an ordinance in place.

Among our neighbors who already allow chickens are Barron,

No means NO

Bloomer, Cumberland, Ladysmith, Rice Lake and Eau Claire. Our ordinance was modeled after theirs which include absolutely, positively NO ROOSTERS, nor other fowl such as ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants, quail, peacock or (and especially) guinea hens. In other words, this allows chickens and chickens only. In our case, a citizen may house up to six chickens at their residence provided their property is zoned R-1 (Single Family Residence) or A (Agricultural District) (sorry, it's a no-go if you live in an R-2 or higher property).

An annual permit is required to house chickens at a cost of $25/year and governs things like the coop, the run or pen and the removal of manure as well as the need for the resident to register with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Deputy Clerk Mark Eby issued his first chicken license just last week. But if you're afraid that our city will be suddenly overrun with poultry, have no fear. Eau Claire, a city of nearly 70,000 people, has allowed chickens within the city limits for some time now and this year have only issued 14 licenses. I think we'll be okay. As the Chetek Alert put it, the city “clucked it's way” unanimously adopting Ordinance 789A at the May 9 meeting.

By the way, this isn't “chapter and verse” of the ordinances recently passed. It is a summary for the sake of review. Our on-line version of the Municipal Code is updated quarterly. At the present time only Ordinance 787A may be found at the City of Chetek's website under “View What's Changed."

Click on the green box for the actual verbiage
of the Municipal Code

Funny you should ask: what qualifications do you need to be a municipal judge?

 

Judge Jack's last official day behind the bench

After 10 years of faithful service as Chetek's Municipal Judge, Jack Harrison has decided to step-down mid-term from his post. Since two years remain on his current term, I have appointed Paul Poppe as interim Municipal Judge effective June 1. In 2025, when Judge Harrison's term of office officially expires (four years is the municipal judge's term), Paul can decide if he wants to take out election papers for himself. Until then, he's our man behind the bench at municipal court.

Paul receiving the honorary gavel
from Judge Jack

Shortly after posting this news to the Mayor's Facebook page, I began to get inquiries about why I chose Paul and how I could do so given that he is not an attorney (since 2015 Paul has served Faith Baptist Church as pastor). So I thought I give a little civics lesson with this article as a way of answering those questions.

If you go to the City of Chetek's website and click on “Departments” followed by another click on “Municipal Court” you will find the following information:

The City of Chetek is served by a municipal court that adjudicates all municipal ordinance actions.  The actions taken are related to:

• Traffic Laws

• Building Codes

• Animal related violations

• Adopting State Statutes relating to behavior, alcohol and other aspects of the law.

So, if you are issued a citation for (as an example) speeding or (as another example) your dog barking incessantly and you wish to contest that charge, you call the Court Clerk (Ashlea Olson) and she will arrange your day in court. Court is usually held twice a month. While you are free to hire an attorney, I have it on good authority that most folks choose to represent themselves. The city attorney lobbies the city's case and the Municipal Judge then serves as judge and jury. And his rulings are final.

The number one requirement for serving as Municipal Judge is that you must be a city resident. That's it. You do not need to be an attorney (Judge Harrison is a retired teacher) or have a background in criminal law. Previous municipal judges have been business owners or, in one case, a deacon at their church.

According to State statute, “each new municipal judge is required to attend the municipal judge orientation institute held in May. Each sitting municipal judge must earn at least four credits of approved continuing education per calendar year” (Wisconsin Courts). Paul recently returned from his very first “Municipal Judge U”. While there he was “coached up” and was introduced to the network of municipal judges on this side of the State who connect with one another for the purposes of sharing judicial knowledge.

I have known Paul for over 30 years now. He is a husband, the father of nine wonderful kids, a pastor of one of our local fellowships, and someone I consider a friend. I have always found him to be a straight-shooter who possesses a great sense of justice. And he lives within the city limits. If those aren't qualifications enough, he's also been an umpire at local little league games adjudicating the high crimes and misdemeanors of the ball diamond. I'm certain he will serve our community well in the capacity of MJ.

One of the most dangerous jobs out there:
being a Little League ump

Welcome Officer Salzman

On the same day Paul was sworn in at City Hall as Municipal Judge,
Officer Ryan Salzman was also sworn in as the newest member of our police department. He immediately comes to us from the Cornell PD but has had stints serving at the Fort McCoy PD, Baldwin County (Alabama) Sheriff's Department and has worked in a law enforcement capacity with both the Army and the Air Force. While serving with Fort McCoy PD he received the Federal Commendation Medal for Operations Allies Welcome (the federal program designed to secure housing and employment for 70,000 Afghan refugees following our withdrawal from Afghanistan in the fall of 2021).

Ryan has his EMS licence with the Cornell Area Ambulance Service and his certification in Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Respond Training (or ALERRT), an active shooter response training program, and ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement) which prepares police officers to conduct various drug-impairment detection tests for use in drugged-driving investigations. So this isn't his first rodeo. While he can never replace Officer Emily Breidenbach, he is a welcome addition to our Chetek PD family. By all accounts he seems to be fitting right in.

In memory of Officer Emily A Breidenbach

Emily with Officer Grizz

 Over the last few days I've given a number of interviews for several news outlets all wanting to know who Officer Emily Breidenbach was and what her loss means to our community. Where do you start? How do you do justice to any individual who passes unexpectedly and, in her case, in the line of duty?

Trying to be concise for their purposes is difficult. We have lost a darn good officer who wore a badge, carried a gun and helped maintain the public's safety. But like all good officers she did so much more than enforce the law. She built bridges into our community with kids and adults alike. In our schools, on our streets, downtown and around.

I first met Emily when she was a young girl back in the 90s. Her dad was our Chief of Police then and she would spend time at The Garage, the youth center that used to operate where AutoZone now is. From time to time I'd give her a ride home after we closed up shop. Many years later while on a ride along with now Officer Breidenbach we shared a laugh as our roles were now reversed and she was giving me a ride (and fortunately - for me - not in the back seat!)

My favorite picture of Emily (right) with another
fine officer in Lt. Jessica Larson (left)

Our son, Charlie, is on the autism spectrum and loves to build Legos models. In 2021 he was working steadily on a 6000+ piece model of Hogwarts Castle (of Harry Potter fame). Every day I was posting his progress on Facebook so that his grandparents and our friends could enjoy the journey with us. One early evening there was a knock on our front door from Lt. Jessica Larson and Officer Emily. They were stopping by as they wanted to see Charlie's work up close. I can tell you, Charlie was a bit curious why anyone would be interested in his work but in what town do you have two officers make a house call just to ooh and aah over someone's labor of love? This, in a nutshell, is what kind of Officer Emily was.

Not only did I get an education
but she gave me a treat to go with it

On that ride along I did with her on that Friday evening in May, she
bought me a cone at DQ, she followed up on a tip of someone who was attempting to solicit illegal drugs, she did a welfare check on an elderly resident and pulled someone over for an OWI. All in a day's work (or, in that case, a night's work). Personable and caring but professional and competent when duty called. In the last year, she took point on Chetek PD acquiring a therapy dog and became Officer Grizz's handler, yet another bridge into people's lives.

Serving dogs at the National Night Out

We have all lost a wonderful member of our Chetek family. May God bless her family, both her parents and siblings as well as the greater fraternity of officers which she was a member of. It's dangerous world out there and we will always need people like her to suit up and go into harm's way on our behalf. Thank you Officer Emily for your service. May God bless and keep you always.

Reading to a classroom of kindergartners
on Dr. Seuss' birthday 

requiescat in pace

Hats off to Gail Frye

After 45 years of service to the City of Chetek, Gail Frye is calling it good and retiring for the second time. She doesn't want a party so I've decided to salute her with this letter to the editor that will appear in this week's Chetek Alert

Dear Editor:

Gail

Something a bit historic is happening this Friday: Library Aide Gail Frye is retiring for the second time from employment with the City of Chetek. Between 1975 and 2002 she was employed at City Hall in various capacities including Water Utility Clerk and Head Bookkeeper. After about a two year hiatus she was employed again in 2002 at the Calhoun Memorial Library where she has worked ever since. But come Friday she's checking out of the library and this time for good.

What do you remember about 1975? For those of us locally whose memories stretch back that far you may recall that a gallon of gas at Gulf Gas Station (now the home of Hope & Anchor and Whimsical Wares) ran you 53 cents and it cost you $2 to get into the Lake Theater (now home of Auto Zone) to be scared out of your swimsuit that summer watching Jaws. Clumsy Gerald Ford was President and Archie Bunker held court every Monday night in his iconic arm chair on channel 8. As Archie and Edith would croon, “...those were the days.”

Before it was a Gulf Station
it was Cities Service
(can you see the future Hope & Anchor?)

When the Chetek Youth Center Project (aka The Garage)
first took ownership of this building and began remodeling it
we found the old proscenium curtain of the Lake Theater 

The summer of 1975  you could hardly get me in the lake
let alone think about swimming in the ocean

Archie was the prognosticator of all things
politically incorrect

Chevy Chase had an ongoing bit on SNL
having fun at our 38th President's renowned clumsiness

Well, from the mid-70s to the turn of the millennium (and a few years beyond), Gail worked faithfully at City Hall at times hand-writing out residents' water bills. For the last 19 years more than likely she expedited your book selection at the library. All total that comes to about 45 years of faithful service to the residents of our community.

She refused a party. Apparently we threw one for her back in 2002 when she retired the first time and she feels one is enough. So if you'd like to stop by the library on Friday to wish her a “fair thee well” into her second retirement, I'm sure she would appreciate it. Thank you, Gail, for your many, many years of service to our city. We wish you the very best on your second retirement. But, of course, if you get bored, currently there are two openings at the library and I'm sure Emily would be happy to have a conversation with you!

Sincerely,

Jeff Martin, Mayor of Chetek

And the winner is...

They will be our general contractor
for the future WWTP

 As I'm sure you're aware, the City of Chetek is at the beginning of a
major municipal project. Our current waste water treatment plant (WWTP), though continuing to function with passing grades from the state, no longer can meet the new water quality standards set by the DNR. No upgrade to our current system will do. There is no software program that we can download (especially because the technology we're running on is from the 1980s). Nope. We got to start from scratch. And, of course, these things aren't cheap to design or build.

Last Tuesday night in council chambers the common council of the City of Chetek officially awarded the bid to Market & Johnson of Stillwater, Minnesota to be the general contractor for our new waste water treatment plant. Construction will begin as soon as the snow goes.

They did that

You may have heard of them as they were the prime movers behind the remodeling of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, the new transit facility and the Children's Museum, all of Eau Claire. On January 19, in what was described to us as a competitive bidding process, the envelopes were opened and of the four general contractors they had the low bid (and by USDA rules a municipality that receives USDA funding has to take the low bid).

Not a long commute for these guys

What's even more gratifying to learn is that many of the sub-
contractors, who will be doing the lion's share of the work, are local including Stout Construction (who will be handling all the earthwork), Huff Concrete of Chippewa Falls, B&B Electric of Eau Claire and J.F. Ahern of Menomonie. Not only is it great to employ local workers it also helps in the event of a hiccup in the project to not have to wait to hear from “headquarters” a state or two away.

The Roberts' plant was real
intriguing

We'll be using a system akin
to what Bloomer is using

This process towards a new WWTP actually began back a few years ago when the DNR informed us that essentially we were on the clock to construct a new plant. Over the last few years, the council has made a few field trips to neighboring communities to inspect their plants (specifically Roberts and Bloomer) before settling on a sequencing batch reactor model (combined with a reactive sand filter) much like our neighbors down the road from us in Bloomer use.

Tia was the 2022 American Council
of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
of Wisconsin
Young Professional of the Year recipient

That was 2021. It takes time to design and engineer these kinds of projects and now that we've reached this stage in the process a year and a half later our costs have gone up. At our meeting last week, Tia McCarthy of CBS₂ , the engineer overseeing the project, carefully walked us through from where we've been and brought us up to where we are now. In 2021, our estimated costs of design and construction was $20.6 million dollars (a little over half of which will be paid by the USDA). Today this same project will run just shy of $25 million or a difference of $4.2 million from the original estimate. What gives? Simple. Inflation and economic forces outside our control. Them's the breaks.

Here were the principal bidders

Here's the fine print

We've already begun the process of applying for additional grant and/or low interest loan money to cover the $4.2 million. As soon as the snow field in the south industrial park evaporates come March or April, expect to see the blue trucks of Stout Construction begin to shape and level and move earth making way for the plant that has to be operational come November 2024. Make sure to look either at the City of Chetek's or Jeff Martin, Mayor's FB pages for updates and pictures as we slow-walk through from first turned dirt to ceremonial “first flush” toward the end of next year.

Coming soon to an industrial park near you