Crivitz Village Board approves 3% sewer rate increase

CRIVITZ – The Crivitz Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 3% sewer rate increase at its regular October meeting.

The village’s auditors recommended a rate increase, according to information presented at an earlier committee meeting.

The board approved a 2026 Crivitz Rescue Squad contract not to exceed $58,000. Board President Ginger Deschane said the contract included a 25% increase. During the discussion about the 2026 contract, Deschane said she met with nursing home staff and discussed teaching the assisted-living staff the difference between an emergency and nonemergency.

“We’re hoping we can cut those calls in half,” she said.

At an Oct. 8 operations committee meeting, Deschane explained Medicare rules stipulate a difference between emergency and nonemergency use of rescues.

“Using the rescue squad as a taxi service is not going to be an option,” she said, noting about 30% of the calls in the village were related to assisted living and the rescue squad. The 2025 rescue squad contract was for about $45,000, and it had been $42,500 in 2023 and $28,857 in 2022, according to information presented at the committee meeting.

Without discussion at the Oct. 22 regular board meeting, the trustees approved spending of up to $1,800 to purchase a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) laser for speed detection.

At a committee meeting, Police Chief Shawn Veriha said the new radar gun was necessary because the existing radar gun takes about four hours to charge for 15 minutes of use. During his monthly report, Veriha said police received 157 calls in September, including 101 traffic stops involving 29 citations. The K9 unit was deployed on 14 occasions.

Fire Chief Jeff Bonikowske said six calls were received in September, for a year-to-date total of 68 calls.

Two trustees – George Gocht and Cory Siebert – abstained from a vote on a certified survey map that passed 4-0-2.

The board approved putting the village ordinance book online.

Gocht said construction was scheduled to start on the next 12-unit multifamily apartment building in November. Deschane said construction work on U.S. 141 was largely completed. Traffic lights are expected to be installed by late November with left-turn signals, she said.

Trustee Jeff Baumann was absent from the Oct. 22 meeting. An effort to reach Baumann for comment by deadline was unsuccessful.

All other trustees attended the meeting, including Melissa Kamps, Evan Kueber, Michael Strandt, Deschane, Gocht and Siebert.

In response to a reporter’s question about how the village board had addressed the accusations that Baumann allegedly was driving Oct. 2 with a prohibited alcohol concentration in Wisconsin Dells, Deschane said in an emailed response, “There is nothing to address unless he is convicted.”

In previous updates, at the Sept. 24 Crivitz Village Board meeting, the village trustees approved switching the police chief to an hourly wage of $31.25 on a six-month trial basis from the current salary, effective Sept. 29.

The trustees approved Zoning Board of Appeals appointments for terms ending April 30, 2028, including Chair Damon Roman, Charlie DeSmidt, Lewis Strupp, Greg Weber, First Alternate John Deschane and Second Alternate Herald Porfilio.

Trustee Baumann was absent and excused from the Sept. 24 meeting, as was Kamps. Trustees attending the meeting included Deschane, Gocht, Kueber, Siebert and Strandt.

A group of middle-school students also attended part of the meeting to receive class credit.

The board approved spending up to $24,999 to repave the village hall parking area. It agreed to spend up to $10,000 for new street signs. It approved spending of up to $12,000 for three overhead garage doors installed at the public works shop. It approved spending no more than $5,000 for the fire department parking lots crack filling and sealcoat.

At its regular August meeting, the trustees approved the following spending items: no more than $3,000 to install cameras at the compost site, no more than $1,200 to trim and remove trees at Village Hall and no more than $15,000 to repair the culvert by Gateway as the county had pushed the costs to the village, trustees said.

The trustees also agreed to spend no more than $700 for police for handgun instruction. The board approved an increase in cemetery plot fees to $350 for residents and $450 for nonresidents. It agreed to reimburse the Crivitz Fire Department $11,000 for a squad truck purchase.