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The Waushara County Board passed a resolution on July 18 at their regular meeting presented by Clara Voightlander, director of Human services recognizing Shelley Reetz for her 44 years as an employee. The resolution stated that Reetz has been a dedicated employee treating both colleagues and consumers with compassion. Her devotion is greatly appreciated by her department and the Waushara County Board of Supervisors.
Bug Tussel’s Sam Schoenike, Marketing Design, said that great things are coming to Waushara County and the project is on schedule. Phase 1 Route Design and permitting is fully complete and construction is underway. KES Excavating Services and hired contractors will be doing the work. In the Southwest corner, there is live fiber in the Plainfield area and in other areas they are making connections. In the Wautoma areas fiber is in the ground, coming into the county buildings. The East side of the county is permitted and designed. The tower project includes 21 live towers with more on the way.
Schoenike also wanted to clarify some misinformation and rumors about Bug Tussel. Bug Tussel has over $100 million in assets and finances. He said we are growing and in the last year and a half they went from 75 employees to over 200. Where work is being done in areas of the county, other companies are doing fiber and cable. “If there are any issues we want to resolve them so call Bug Tussel if it is our project and we will address them,” Schoenike said.
Melissa Pingel, Waushara County Administrator, reported on the financials and said a big batch of past due notices from February and March were a little late due to some issues with the Tyler system. Sarah Luchini has been busy with the audit and reported the county is in a better place than last year. Pingel said they are looking at next years budget and waiting for insurance numbers to come in and perhaps the county will look at bundling. EMS and Police Union negotiations are underway.
Pingel said the county needs to look at 5-6 years out and prioritizing. She said in the tax foreclosure process they had 200 and are down to 98. Everything is on schedule for the current facilities under construction.
Pingel said that the fire that occurred in Coloma recently shows how this community just shines. She was impressed by all, from the fire departments, Allen Luchini, Emergency Management Director, and all of the county departments that responded. “When something happens, it shows that all of these people care and it is great to see what kind of organizations we have here and every department played an important part,” Pingel said.
Chairperson John Jarvis asked about how the new budget will impact us with shared revenue and grants and how that will positively affect us. Pingel said last year departments cut $5 million from the budget. She added we have a couple of costs and will share in the future how the county will receive more money. She said meetings with Marquette and Green Lake were underway with guidance on grants and combining services. Waushara County is a model county she added.
Megan Kapp, Waushara County Clerk, gave her annual report to the board of supervisors. She said her position is an elected position for a 4-year term that runs through January 2025 and coincides with the Presidential election. She is the duty clerk to the County Board, Elections Administration, Marriage Licenses, Passports, Voter Registrations Office Supply Purchasing, Notary and more.
Kapp said that in 2022 they were all new voting machines issued and she held the Elections Official Training in March of 2022. There are public tests held before each election, audits conducted after each election and told explained that the voting machines are not connected to the internet and physical security measures are in place.
Ballots are stored for 22 months after an election. She said the new Government Center will have a secured election room.
She said her office sees a downward trend for dog licenses and said that all dogs in the state are required to have a license. She said her office has seen an increase in passports applications and renewals.
Administrator Pingel presented the board with an Enterprise Fleet Management Proposal for 2024 for discussion. She said some would be cost effective, but for the Department of Aging it would not. For the Medical Examiner, parks, and building and grounds, the proposal is for those vehicles. She suggested starting small to see if it would work in the budget, as it is a purchase like a mortgage, with financing though Enterprise. The vehicles would be titled to the county, it would be a car loan, not a lease. Supervisors Jesse Urban asked if there was any way to find out much extra this would cost the county. Presently the county does all their own maintenance. This was just an option for the board to consider.
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