MINOCQUA – For the past several years the Minocqua Police Department and the Lakeland Union High School have shared a police officer. But a possible school closure due to COVID-19 has raised budget concerns with town officials.
Under their arrangement, the school district pays for the officer’s salary and benefits package while he or she is assigned full time as the school resource officer (SRO). The town picks up the remaining cost while serving as a patrol officer. If an extended school closure would occur, who then pays for that officer wondered supervisors at last night’s town board meeting.
The board tabled signing the SRO contract until it gets clarification from the school administration.Town chairman Mark Hartzheim said the town currently budgets $72,000 in annual wage and benefits package for that officer. The police chief is assigning a new SRO this school year, so the cost will be a bit lower.
In addition, the department is shy one officer position, so if the school did close, the SRO could be slotted to fill that open position in some way. “We don’t want to be over budgeted, over staffed,” Hartzheim cautioned. In the meantime, Hartzheim says the SRO will be attending next week’s orientation at the school.
Hartzheim will meet with the school administrator to clarify the issue. The matter then returns to the board Sept. 1 for a final decision on the contract
Garage sale pending
In an unrelated matter, the board accepted the $102 bid for a garage that’s on a downtown lot the town purchased last year. The bid by Paul Gillette of Presque Isle was the only bid received. There were no bids for the one-story house that is also on that lot. The town chairman said he talked with Gillette today (Wednesday), noting that Gillette is unsure if he can have the structure moved by the Oct. 1 deadline. “We are in a little bit of limbo,” said Hartzheim, who added that another party might be interested in the garage if Gillette passes on it.
The Minocqua Volunteer Fire Department wants to do a practice burn on the house. That practice burn matter will be on the Sept. 1 board meeting also. Neighbors may have concerns about the heavy smoke once the house begins to burn. The house is adjacent to the police department, as well as across the street from a church and other houses and a block east from Main Street.
Snowmobile route change
The board also gave Cross Country Cruisers (CCC) snowmobile club permission to use Plaza Drive and Richardson Plat Road for a route realignment because they are losing access to property now owned by Tractor Supply Company, which is completing its new store on that lot. Hartzheim said they are still attempting to reach an agreement with the retail store to continue running the CCC route across that property. There are challenges to continuing that route, including a parking lot, fencing and outdoor displays, Hartzheim said.
Finally, Hartzheim announced he has appointed Mary Taylor, the former library director, to the plan commission to replace Brian Fricke. An issue of a town board quorum arose when Fricke was elected to the town board. Hartzheim and supervisor Bill Stengl are also on the plan commission, so either Fricke or Stengl had to give up their plan commission seat. As both men wanted to stay on the commission, the town clerk drew Stengl’s name from a hat. Taylor’s term ends April 1, 2021.
