Brian Roebke photo
Noah Manser was sworn in as a part-time police officer for the Village of Wrightstown Police Department last week by Clerk/Treasurer Sheila Bowers.
By Brian Roebke
Editor
Village resident Kathryn Lich reported a group is being formed to be supportive of the police department at last week’s Wrightstown Village Board meeting.
“Today three of us met and we also pulled the chief into the conversation and discussed what we could call this group that would to build more support for our local safety,” she said.
The group’s tentative name is the Wrightstown Citizen Safety Committee.
Lich said this is meant to be a very positive group yet not a quasi-government organization.
“It’s simply people in the community that are concerned about our safety, about being supplemental with resources such as fundraising,” she said.
The group aims not to replace items in the village budget, but extra things that help keep the community safe. An annual event is one of the group’s goals.
The group will be discussed following the next Coffee with a Cop, held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2, at The River Coffee & Cream. They welcome anyone in the community to become part of the group, even if they just want to listen.
“I was surprised about that phone call today,” Police Chief Greg Deike said. “Any support we can get, we obviously will take, but this kind of caught me off guard.”
Deike said Wrightstown is a great community and the police department has built a lot of trust and he appreciate the community sees the hard work that goes into what they do.
“This is on their own,” he emphasized.
“I have no say in what they do but I do appreciate that and I thank you for that,” he said to Lich.
Village Administrator Travis Coenen thanked Lich for looking out for the public safety and said he will help in any way he can.
The village received correspondence from Lisa A. Stern, Chief of Railroads & Harbors from the State of Wisconsin. She notified the village of its award of a $2,433,883 loan through the State’s Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improve-ment Program.The FRIIP loan is being awarded for the purpose of constructing 4,172 feet of industry trackage, including a new road crossing, in Wrightstown.
Construction of the track will extend an existing village-owned industry lead to Drexel Building Supply and enable Drexel to shift shipping of lumber to the facility from truck to rail, leading to annual transportation cost saving exceeding $800,000 per year after five years.
This project will also result in improvements to Wisconsin’s multi-modal transportation network and help reduce the burden on the highway and local road system.
“It is our understanding that the village will need to petition the Office of Commissioner of Railroads to establish the crossing of Broadway Street,” she added. “We look forward to working with you execute a FRIIP loan agreement for this project once this is complete and all required information provided to the department. The Governor’s plan for freight railroads calls for strategic investments like this that encourage economic growth. I applaud your investment in Wisconsin and look forward to the completion of this project.”
Jason Gerend spoke in the public appearances portion of the meeting, asking about the closing TIF No. 3 early. Coenen said it’s scheduled to close three years early, and Gerend said the residential TIF districts will cost the taxpayers in the village and school district almost $11 million.
“You guys can think those residential TIFs are good, they’re not,” he said. “Everyone has to pay.”
He thought the school district was saving money and the village was costing money.
Board member Sue Byers said the residential development would not have happened without a TIF district.
• In the committee of the whole meeting, board members discussed three possible options for the 2024 budget. Discussion will continue at the next meeting when all variables are known.
• Coenen said Matriarch, LLC and Wrightstown Golf Course, LLC have come to a compromise bringing the developers authority back into RSP’s HOA. He believes the agreement will come to the village board at their next meeting.
• The Wrightstown Police Department won a “Tactical Two Drawer Cop Box” worth $1,892.07 from CTech Manufacturing at the August Wisconsin Police Leadership Conference. This is nice trunk organizer for the new Dodge Durango when it arrives next year.
• Brent Bouchonville received a nomination for Lake Michigan District Wastewater Operator of the Year through WWOA. He will attend the WWOA Annual Conference in Wisconsin Dells Oct. 24 with Andy Vickman.
• Vickman is trying to get repairs made to the railroad crossing on Broadway Street.
• The board accepted the resignation of Joel Bush from the Fire Department.