Milaca City Council Briefs: June 21 Meeting | Free

The Milaca City Council conducted the following business at its June 21 meeting. Written by Chloe Smith.

Damage to rented portable toilets on city property

During the open forum, the owner of some of the portable toilets rented by the city presented the council with evidence of damage and vandalism to their toilets. The portable toilets in question were located specifically at the parks and at the head of the trail system in Forest Hill Cemetery. The damage includes one handicap accessible toilet covered in graffiti which likely cannot be removed, the toilet near the well house at Rec Park had the seat removed and the hand sanitizer station was removed from the wall. The owner of the toilets also stated that in March of 2021, another one of their handicap accessible portable toilets was set on fire at Rec Park. This damage created a loss of two handicap accessible portable toilets for the owner.

The damage took place within the last two weeks, outside of the 2021 damage, and the cost to replace and/or repair those damages for the three toilets would cost around $4,000. According to the owner of the rented portable toilets, it is the renters responsibility to pay for those damages. The city council plans to look and see if their insurance would cover the costs in the situation and they plan to get back to the owner at a later date.

Presentation of 2021 audited financial statements

City council members were presented with the city’s 2021 audited financial statements. According to the auditor, the city is sitting in a healthy place based on its statements for a city of Milaca’s size.

Petition to have chicken and honey bees in city limits

Dan Hollenkamp returned to the city council to continue moving forward with the petition to permit chickens and honey bees within city limits. The formal petition was presented to the council with over 100 signatures. The ordinance would allow city residents to own up to four chickens, no roosters, and one colony of honey bees on their property.

The city informed Hollenkamp of the next steps in the process for review of the ordinance which would start with the application for review. The application fee is $200, and pending the receival of the application, the petition would move to the planning and zoning committee. The fee covers the costs of notifying city residents, the costs of processing and changes that may occur. If the petition continues to move forward, the city will hold an open forum to discuss the ordinance. City council members mentioned they felt the petition was worth it for Hollenkamp to continue to pursue.

Accepting donation to the city

The city council voted and accepted the donation from Milaca Building Center to go towards the building of a historical log sled/shelter at the museum to commemorate the city’s 125th anniversary. The donation amounted to $1,590.

Appointing election judges, designated polling hours, and polling location

The council approved the following polling location, hours, and judges for the upcoming Primary and general election on Aug. 9, 2022 and Nov. 8, 2022. The election will be held at Milaca City Hall, 255 First St. E. from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days. The election judges will be Ardy Becklin, Arla Johnson, Ginger Martin, Karen, Schlenker, Deloris Katke, Pam Novak, Mary Mickelson, Jessica Humphreys, Becky Porter, Tammy Pfaff, and Dan Hollenkamp if he is not on the ballot. Mary Mickelson and Tammy Pfaff were appointed as head election judges.

Voting on new city council member

City council members held a vote to fill the council vacancy left behind from Cory Pedersen’s resignation. The council member voted into the seat will hold the position through the remainder of the term which ends on December 31, 2022 and the city elected council member begins their term in January of 2023.

The three applicants for the position on the council were Marshall Lind, Dan Hollenkamp, and Kenneth Muller.

The council voted with three out of four votes going to Kenneth Muller and one vote towards Dan Hollenkamp. Muller will be sworn in and begin his service at the next council meeting in July.

The council approved the special event application for Movies in the Park on July 21 and Aug. 4.

The council approved the special event application for the Fall Fundraising Picnic on Sept. 27.

The council approved the special event application for the First National Bank Community Pork Chop Dinner on Aug. 4.

The council approved the transient merchant application for Steven Ehlen and Lily’s Wings LLC.

The council approved the transient merchant application for Roger Wold and the Flaming Bowl LLC.

The council approved a service agreement with Linda Hunter-DBA’s Gingerbread Shows Craft Fair on Aug. 26 and 27.

The council approved the East Central Regional Library Agreement.

Chloe is an editor for the Union-Times in Princeton and Milaca. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with a degree in English.

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