At the Waushara County Board of Supervisors, the board voted to approve the amended ordinance that will allow ATV’s on all county roads, unless posted otherwise, once the ATV signage is complete. Two of the board members, Mike Kapp and Everett Eckstein, voted against the approval. The meeting on Sept. 20th at the Waushara County Courthouse had public comments in favor of passing the ordinance.
Tom Marini, Poy Sippi, said he had been riding ATV’s on town and county roads in Juneau County for the past 15 years and he saw little or no issues. He also added that Wisconsin Dells is open for ATV’s and UTV’s and it is one of the biggest tourist areas around.
Gary Rodencal said the ATV ordinance passed in the Town of Leon last Wednesday and it has passed in the Town of Poy Sippi, Bloomfield, Berlin, and Saxeville. “If county roads open up you could ride from county to county, and presently you can ride from Winneconne to the UP,” he said. He also added he hoped it would bring additional revenue into the county.
John Nixon, Chairman of the Waushara County ATV Association, said that the clubs have sufficient funds to pay for signage and labor and the approval would not cost the county taxpayers any additional funds. He added he had checked with Brian Freimark, Waushara County Highway Commissioner, on the proper signage.
A resident addressed the board for the second time concerning his land being flooded once again. He said the water from the river is backing up into his property. “Water is coming from the river and no one cares,” he said. He said the corps of engineers and the zoning came out and said the problem was ground water. He asked the county for assistance with the problem.
Melissa Pingel, Waushara County Administrator, reported the county is working on some budget cuts and are working on health insurance proposals. She said Deb Denker was hired as HR Manager/Risk Manager and they are presently interviewing and hiring correction officers and a deputy sheriff. She also added that BUG Tussel would be contacting the towns about the progress with the project and if there are any concerns please contact her or Barry West.
The building project is moving ahead and the ground breaking for the highway shop will be held at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18th prior to the regular meeting of the board of supervisors. At next months meeting she will present a modified AARPA Plan at the October meeting for approval.
The Emergency Medical Services Annual Report was given by EMS Chief Keith Melvin. Melvin said he joined the department in June of this year and was not with EMS in 2021 but has observed and made steps to improve the department. He said when he took over there were eight open positions and those have been filled, so to date they are fully staffed. Chief Melvin outlined the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities as incoming Chief. The strengths included quality medical care delivered to the public, and support of the administration and board, as well as a sustainable budget. Weaknesses included no continuing education plan retention or skills enhancement, outdated or lack of policies, procedures, and guidelines.
The future includes continuing education and weekly contacts with the company that does the billing for the EMS.
Clara Voightlander, Human Services Director, gave the 2021 Annual Report to the board of supervisors indicating that COVID had an impact on services and she working diligently adequately staff the department which has 63 employees. She said over 400 clients were served in the mental health clinic. Satellite clinics in every school district in the county have been approved.
Voightlander said that 8 hours of services are devoted to the Waushara County Jail inmates weekly. The AODA clinic served 258 clients and 15 were referred for residential treatment care and of those 67% were for opioid use. She added 124 clients received an OWI assessment. Presently there are 8 program participants in the Treatment Court and they have had two graduations.
Child Protective Services had 413 reports of child abuse and neglect. There are 15 licensed foster homes with 75% capacity, and 17 children were removed from their homes.
She said her area of focus is staff retention and finances. Presently there are three openings for psychotherapists. Voightlander said it is important to have a full management team to adequately support and supervise the staff. She will also work on updating or developing necessary polices and standard operating procedures.
A ground breaking ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18 for the new Highway Shop at the site prior to the regular board of supervisors meeting at 6 p.m. at the Waushara County Courthouse, Wautoma.
