Middle Inlet Board Addresses Road Work, Town Hall Needs

At its meeting on Thursday, Sept. 9, Middle Inlet Town Board approved a project suggested by Town Chair Richard Wade to re-do a portion of Wayside Road this year, and then leave it unpaved to settle so old stumps and logs under the existing road can work their way to the top and be removed before paving is done next spring. Wade said this would be the third and final segment of Wayside Road.

He had a proposal from Richlen Excavating to do excavating and other work on a 3,750-foot section of the road furnish materials, and then do hauling, leveling & compacting for $24,894. The job is expected to involve 1,300 tons of ¾” limestone, and the road will be made 22 feet wide and three inches thick. The suggestion was approved by Supervisors Chuck Stanek and Don Van. Wade said when that section is done it will be done all the way from Hwy. 141 to Maple Beach Road.

In his monthly road report, Wade said work on the long-awaited Camp 5 Road culvert replacement project was scheduled to start the week of Sept. 20. Asphalting of Ledvina and Wayside Roads was to be done on the week of Sept. 13, and he expected mowing and patching of town roads to be completed by end of week.

Wade said when this year’s projects are completed, the town will have reconstructed and asphalted 3.2 miles of town roads this year, in addition to the Camp 5 culvert replacement project. As other road projects wind down for the year, culvert replacement projects on various other town roads will be scheduled as the budget allows.

Old and outdated signage on Lake Mary Road will be replaced with new ones, and tree removal  is scheduled on Wayside Road, to make snow removal easier next winter.

Wade planned to participate in a Local Road Improvement Project (LRIP) on-line seminar on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

During discussion at the 6 p.m. bill paying board session that preceded the 6:30 p.m. regular meeting, the board tentatively approved payment of a total of $48,050.57 in bills, which included payment of $9,270 to Lake Noquebay Rehabilitation as part of the August tax settlement. Other large payments were $10,254 to the Horton Group for insurance coverage and $12,730 to Custom Cutting for road patching and ditch cutting.

Board members briefly discussed an offer from All Things Broken for disposal of recyclable items, among them TVs and computer monitors. Charge would be $30 each for screens under 30 inches and $60 each for larger screen TVs and monitors, which the board felt was more than people would be willing to pay and predicted at that price they will end up  in ditches. Proposed price for appliances containing freon was $10 each. Further research will be done.

Financial report showed a total of $512,279.67 in checking and savings accounts, and $67,000 in certificates of deposit, for total assets of $579,279.67. Liabilities totaled the accounts as $48,050.57 plus an additional payroll amount of $4,185.98, for a total of $52,236.55.

When the bills were approved for payment at the regular portion of the meeting Supervisor Chuck Stanek complimented Clerk/Treasurer Patricia Schutte on the detailed report for expenditures, and asked for a similar report each month on receipts. Schutte asked if he  meant deposit reports, and Stanek said no, he wanted all money coming in identified as to who paid it and why, and then where  it was deposited. Schutte  then said she understood what he wanted and would prepare the reports he requested. Then she said it could take a few pages for each account, but Stanek, who had been clerk/treasurer prior to being elected to the board, disagreed. Schutte said he should stop in and explain what he wanted, but then added, “I think I know what report you want, but I think you’re calling it something different.”

At the start of the general meeting, Schutte reported the municipal clerk’s conference she had recently attended was really good, and very educational. There are some pending changes in election rules, and municipalities will need to have a “.gov” domain for their official Internet site by the end of 2021, and will need to run it through the state, for security, and so people know they are on an official government site. Currently the Middle Inlet website has a “.org” Web address.

Wade read the list of Election Inspector appointments, which included  Naomi Blum, Barbara Larson-Herber, Theresa DeGroff, Thomas Schmidt, Deb Schmidt, Laurie Oestreich, Jeff Oestreich, Marion Wenzel, Linda Dodd, David Turkiewicz, Oma Cook and Jennifer Sellen. The appointments were approved without dissent.

Fire Chief Jon Kleuskens reported the department had assisted the Town of Lake Fire Department earlier that day, and a week or two earlier had helped extinguish a fire in a wheat field near Crivitz that had been started by a combine. They also had responded to vehicle accidents, and held a training session with the Crivitz Fire Department.

Wade asked how the inspections are going, and Kleuskens said, they were good, “all but one,” and added, “It’s a work in progress and we’ll find out in two weeks.”

Schutte, who doubles as Town Hall caretaker,  presented the board with a list of things at the hall “that need some tender, loving care.” The list included repair of an upper kitchen cabinet from leak, fix doorway stripping, replace light bulbs, replace screens and blinds, paint the hall and make the clerk’s office entrance handicap accessible. The entrance had caused problems for people who tried to enter for early voting at the last election.

Schutte said the restroom toilets keep running after being flushed if the user doesn’t lift the handle up. Stanek said he had called Sessler Plumbing but they hadn’t come yet. 

She said stated Dama Plumbing was contacted at the beginning of summer to install the new boiler for the town hall, but that hasn’t been done yet. Stanek will contact Dama Plumbing to see when this work will get done.

Also, Schutte said people had been calling with questions about garbage and recycling pickup, and some are not sure which town they live in, or what time they should have garbage out. People will need to know their parcel number and/or street address when they call, she said.Van said the trash is supposed to be out by 6 a.m. but the hauler  has been out collecting earlier than that in some parts of the town.

Recycling attendant Gary Kuchta stated he believes that the problem with garbage being dropped off at the recycle center has been resolved. He talked with the person responsible told them they could not drop off garbage at the center.

Wade said in any case, they have a camera system up and running now,, so if there is garbage there  in future, they will know who put it there.

Wade stated the Gribben property must be in compliance with ordinance by Sept. 18,  which is the 30-day limit set on advice of the town attorney. If there is not compliance by then, the town will get a court order, Wade said.

During time for public comment there was discussion about some ATV/UTV problems at the end of West Raven Road, and need for more fill in a ditch on Pines Road where a  telephone pole is exposed and needs dirt to keep it from tipping  over.