Badda boom, badda bing (or the long and short of it)

 It's done!

I'm sure by now you've heard the news: the Sports Complex at Gotham Pioneer Park is done! On Sunday, September 14, with over a hundred folks or more on hand, we had our ribbon cutting ceremony. Immediately afterwards, beautiful day that it was, all the pickleball courts quickly filled up and the plink-plunk of six whiffle balls on six different courts being hit back and forth could be heard. Meanwhile, various kids streamed onto the basketball courts and were shooting hoops there. The tennis court, of course, couldn't be used at the moment but quieter times during the weeks ahead await.

Even if you don't play any of these sports it does your heart good to know that those who do now have access to a place to engage in some of their avocations. The fact that they do credit goes to the perseverance and generosity of the members of the Chetek Pickleball Club, Sterling Bank, Nathaniel Hardin, Stacy Marik and so many others that helped bring an idea to life. This Sports Complex is a wonderful addition to the City of Chetek's park system and I anticipate will remain so for years to come.

Admittedly, this view looks way differently
than it did a few weeks ago

It's happening!

Three weeks ago we had the ground-breaking out at the 38-acres at the corner of Knapp and 15^th Street. Since 2017 the City has pursued developing the property that had been formerly owned by the Turkey Store. Over the past eight years we've had lots of meetings and spent lots of time honing and shaping what exactly we hope to see happen there. At long last the project has officially begun.

Already I've received a few complaints about all the trees going away. That's understandable given the fact that the property has essentially been an unofficial municipal forest for decades. But given the prospect of building living space for what could be five hundred new citizens in our community, and the tax dollars they will generate, in the long run it'll be a good thing. No municipality the size of Chetek can afford to not develop vacant land within its boundaries. Keep in mind, all communities, regardless of their size, are competing for people. If they can't find a place to move to here they will move elsewhere. That means the onus is on us to give them great reasons to make the City of Lakes their new hometown.

In last week's Chetek Alert a reader expressed concern about the environmental impact on the local wildlife these new “fancy-schmancy” homes that will be built during the next two years.

My first response actually is to say 'thank you.' Referring to them as “fancy-schmancy” as opposed to government housing for immigrants means that we must be doing better at explaining just what kind of development will be going up back there. This will not be subsidized housing. There's a place for that but not at the corner of 15^th and Knapp. These will be 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments most of which will be on a single-level with the exception of one building that will be two floors. To get a better picture of what it will look like visit SC Swiderski Chetek at the following link. SCS Chetek development

Preview of coming attractions

It's for real

All department heads hired by the city do so under a one-year probationary period. During that year, if it becomes apparent that the “shoe doesn't fit”, the City can lawfully terminate that individual's employment. Ten days ago the City chose to terminate the employment of new Public Works Director Drew Smith. I cannot speak to the specifics of the matter but after four months of service it became clear to us that a change had to be made. It just wasn't working out. I wish Drew the very best in his future endeavors.

Justin Hutzler

Last week the council had an emergency meeting and at the end of it Foreman Justin Hutzler was made Interim Public Works Director. During the various discussions in Personnel meetings that led up to our decision to switch horses, it became clear to me that there's a whole lot more involved in the DPW position than I previously understood. Therefore, in order to give Justin every possible chance to be successful in his new position, the City accepted previous Public Works Director Dan Knapp's offer to return to “active duty” and serve as Justin's assistant (to use Dan's words, “Justin's flunkie”). During the next three months he will be working with Justin helping him to learn the ropes as well as serve as an extra hand if called upon. So if you happen to see Dan drive by in one of our city trucks, you're not seeing things. He's back for the time being or at least until Justin finds his sea legs.

All about the dust being kicked up all over town (updates on many of our municipal projects)

 

Big enough to get our Vac-Truck inside it

My guess is you already know this but there's a lot going on in town right now and so I thought I'd give you a few updates on some of them:

The Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), current and new

Construction continues at the new site in the south industrial park across from Chetek Lanes. Originally we were slated to be operational by August but delays on account of the supply chain has pushed that out to October. It's not ideal but there is nothing we can do about it. As they say, “it is what it is.”

This is the inside look of the first picture

It's all part of the big plan

Meanwhile if you've tried to make it to the county recycling boxes via First Street you know that currently Water Street by the present WWTP is closed. What's all the to-do there about? The plan calls for our current WWTP to become a lift station and so that's what they're busy with right now. (In the meantime we can still access the recycling site via Lakeview Drive.)

Chetek Municipal-Southworth Airport

The airport was closed on Monday as the first phase of the crack-seal project began. Much like a county road crew will crack-seal a highway we are having something similarly done on the runway at the airport. When complete we're told that it will buy us ten years of longevity. That gives us a little more time to come up with the best solution to replace the runway sometime in the mid 2030s.

The new Water Tower

According to the master plan any day now the crew from Maguire should be returning to begin building our new water tower in earnest. It won't get painted until 2025 but our main goal is to get this thing built and operational so that S.C. Swiderski, the contractor the city has retained for the housing development on Knapp Street, can start moving dirt.

The 39-acres/ “Area 51”

Representatives from Swiderski met with the members of the Chetek Economic Development Committee just last week and brought those members up to the speed on the project. While I was unable to attend, according to the minutes here were a few of their talking points:

● The new cost of the development is $20 million.

● This represents a considerable increase in tax base. Swiderski will pay all necessary taxes

after the TID agreement has been met and whether or not they are at full rental capacity.

● This is a managed property with vetted renters, strict rules and onsite staff (during Business Hours).

● There will be no low-rental housing and Swiderski will help with the marketing of the development.

● Rent projections at this point are between $1100 - $1875.

● No Air BnB nor VRBOs will be allowed.

The current site plan is not set in stone quite yet but it's fair to say the concrete is firming up.

As it looks today(Knapp Street is on top)

City Boat Landing/(Hydroflites)

Last November

Recall that last year a new approach was put in at the City Boat Landing and I have it on good authority that the parking area will be repaved soon.

City Field (a.k.a. Denny Overby Field)

Oh, and one more thing: there seems to be a rumor swirling around town that the city is selling Denny Overby Field. Twice in the last few weeks I've been stopped with the “I heard the city sold the ball field,” comment.

Let's be clear: for the most part everything in our small town is for sale at the right price. But there are no agreements with anyone at this time let alone proposals.So if you hear otherwise consider it not “the bare-facts but the bar-facts.”

For our small town that's a lot of commotion just as our summer residents are returning for the season. But it should excite us too as all things being equal - and if interest rates cooperate - we are positioning ourselves for real growth.

Finally

May is significant for the number of professional recognitions that occur during the month. Teacher Appreciation Week and Nurses Appreciation Week share the same week (which was last week). But last week it was also National Municipal Clerks Week and Public Service Recognition Week. Last December our city went through a significant change when Carmen Newman, our beloved City Clerk for nearly two and a half decades, retired. The council decided to change the internal structure of City Hall and hired Laura Stelzner as our first ever City Administrator and promoted Water Utility Clerk and Deputy Clerk Mark Eby to City Clerk. For the most part the transition has been seamless. Mark continues to grow in his new position and Laura, while new to public service, has handled her new responsibilities with great aplomb. We are fortunate to have them both. What's more Deputy Treasurer Brandy Johnson continues to capably keep our books in order with quiet alacrity.

(l to r): Mark Eby, Laura Stelzner and Brandy Johnson

This week is National Police Week, a week established by President Kennedy back in 1962 to honor those in law enforcement who have died in the line of duty. Both Cameron's and our departments were in Madison on Friday to witness the unveiling of the four new names on the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial including Cameron Officer Hunter Scheel and our own Emily Breidenbach. Through the generous donations of many individuals this week both departments, their families and both Hunter's and Emily's families are in Washington, DC to participate in the ceremonies that will take place there. This includes the unveiling of the names of the newly fallen on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Wall just a few blocks from the National Mall. It is a solemn time for all the people involved and I ask that you keep them in prayer as they attend these gatherings.

From the Wisconsin State Patrol FB page

Incidentally, not everyone made the trip. Chetek Police Department is still open for business and some of our guys remain on patrol. We are grateful as well to Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald and the help the county is giving us so that many of our officers can be in DC at this time.

Last but not least next week is National Public Works Week. I don't know how it is in other communities but in Chetek the City has a Facebook page as does the PD. But Public Works? Nope. What's more they are some of the most camera-shy guys to be found. They're not looking for any special attention. They just want to “get 'er done” when it comes to pushing snow, picking up garbage, cleaning out sewers, cutting grass, making sure our waste water keeps flowing where it needs to go and so forth. The funny thing is no one thinks about the Waste Water Treatment Plant and how it functions until the water in our toilet doesn't go down but comes up. Then there's heck to pay, right? Thank God there are guys who know what to do when that or a hundred other things go sideways – and that they work for us! So thank you Public Works Director Dan Knapp, Justin Hutzler, Rod Rhodes, Aaron Roberts, Brandon Davis, Dusty Davis, Matt Hutzler, Joe Atwood, and summer help Josh Eby and Jack Vork. I know you all prefer a low profile but we appreciate all that you do to keep Chetek a great place to live and work.

Note: this was taken in 2016
and a few of those pictured are now retired

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.