The citizen petition to create an ordinance that would limit term lengths for members of the Eagle River City Council and mayor was denied during the Aug. 18 meeting so it can be added to the ballot in November.
The topic was not opened up to the public for discussion. Clerk Becky Bolte noted that the petition followed all the necessary rules to be considered,
Alderman Dan Dumas said the voters should decide.
“They (the petition organizers) did a lot of work here and I think we let this go to the ballot,” he said.
The council voted to deny it as opposed to taking no action in order to speed up the process and allow enough time for Bolte to get information to the county clerk’s office to have it placed on the November ballot.
After last month’s meeting where a motion to move forward on placing a dog park on the grounds by Gremban Park died for lack of a second, more locations were brought to the August meeting for consideration.
Denny Geiseman, president of the Veterans Resource Center (VRC) in Eagle River, was in attendance and brought up a very new idea that would involve purchasing the lot at 1100 N. Railroad St. (where the U-Haul storage facility was looking to be placed) and using the space for a veterans’ memorial site and also a dog park.
The soil quality and drainage issues were top among the reasons constructing a storage facility there was nixed by the council, but this plan would not affect how the property currently drains since the vast majority would remain grass-covered as it is now.
Geiseman indicated he thought it was important to have a more visible veterans memorial in town. There is currently one located in front of the courthouse, but he said he fields questions often from veterans visiting town about where the memorial is located.
“The thought process is that we don’t have to worry about drainage,” Geiseman said. “It’d be nice if we had a memorial coming into town.”
He called it the “perfect spot” for the VRC and the city to partner up. The property is 2.75 acres, which would allow approximately 2 acres for the dog park and the remaining used for the memorial.
Geiseman said he has a letter of intent drawn up for Aspirus, which currently owns the property, but wanted to see how the council felt about the plan before moving forward. The VRC would need time to get financing and do some fundraising to purchase the land.
City Administrator Robin Ginner also put together a list of seven possible properties that are city-owned and could be used for a dog park.
Referring to the list of properties, Alderman Vic Washelesky — who is in favor of placing the park at Gremban Park — visited each site and graded them on amenities that he found important to include such as being in a central location; having grass, some trees, and relatively level ground; potable water, restrooms and parking available; and the costs of grading and site preparation.
Riverside Park was one location that was favored by most of the council members, but the big hangup is that the park is county-owned and in flux about what will ultimately be done with the property. Washelesky indicated that the last he had heard, Vilas County board Chairman Jerry Burkett was still in favor of selling the park, making it a hard option to reliably move forward with. More information is being gathered from the Vilas County Fairgrounds and Riverside Park Complex committees.
After visiting each site Washelesky still favored Gremban Park, but the snow removal costs still remain. Public Works Foreman Brad Adamovich put together some numbers on how snow removal costs could increase sharply if they had to dump in a new location, estimating it could cost the taxpayers an additional $16,000-$22,000 per year.
“Not many households in the city can absorb that kind of an increase,” Ginner said.
Other properties located on Fern, Indiana and Minnesota streets were floated, but most had their own challenges. There was support for the veterans’ memorial and dog park plan, but that could take time to put together and there were concerns about taking the property off the city tax roll.
After more discussion, a frustrated Mayor Deb Brown said, “We’ve got eight options here and we can’t seem to come up with one that’s gonna work. We’ve been screwing around with this for five, six, seven years. It’s time we shit or get off the pot.”
The topic was postponed again so more information can be collected.
Mike Sanborn, director of Eagle River Light and Water utility, said that after the completion of a rate study, the Light and Water Commission has approved moving forward with submitting an electric rate increase to Public Service Commission (PSC). The last rate increase was three years ago.
“We’re looking at a 1.75% overall increase,” Sanborn said. “That equates to, for the average homeowner who uses 503 kilowatt hours, they’ll see about a 93 cent increase on their monthly bill. For the average commercial customer using 1,370 kilowatt hours, they’ll see about a $2.47 increase per month.”
Sanborn said PSC has to review it, and there will be a public hearing on it but they are looking at implementation after Jan. 1, 2027.
Sanborn had some good news to share, saying the DNR has approved a field to spread wastewater sludge on. He has an application for another adjoining field to be approved, and hopes to start spreading this fall.
“It’s a pretty good solution to a problem we were having,” Sanborn said.
The council also voted to approve a resolution to amend the long-term power supply contract with Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI).
The council approved a quote from IT Strategies for police department technology upgrade in the amount of $33,090 along with a rezoning and subsequent change to the city’s Comprehensive Plan for a property on Elm Drive from Parks/Recreation to Office/Residential.
Golf Pro Tony Sable indicated that the golf course has had a good season, but had to close for two days following the July 27 storm in order to clean up downed trees and debris. He also noted to the council that the parking lot is going to be in need of new parking lines painted and ultimately, a resurfacing in the coming years.
A permit also was issued for an upcoming free rabies clinic set for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at city hall. The service will be done in conjunction with Totally Pawsome, Northwoods Animal Hospital, and the newly formed Eagle River Professional Police Association.
In a separate special meeting on Aug. 19, the council accepted the resignation of Alderman Dan Dumas, who has moved into a new home that is located within a different district that is currently represented by Washelesky. His resignation was effective Aug. 22 for District 4, Ward 5.
Washelesky had previously indicated that he may not run for his seat on the city council when his term ends, which would allow Dumas to run again. The mayor has not chosen an appointment to fill the vacancy yet.
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