OCONTO FALLS – The City of Oconto Falls City Council met on Oct. 14 and discussed rescinding an annexation with the Town of Stiles and recognized exiting City Council District 3 Ward 5 Alder Mathew McDermid for his 16 years of service. The alders voted in Catherine Strom to assume the remainder of McDermid’s term, which expires in 2027.
Stacey Friedman and Ronald J. Ripley II also sought the open alder seat, but Strom received four “yes” votes out of five cast, while the others each received two “yes” votes.
“I am committed to being a responsive and accessible representative for Ward 5 who listens to the concerns of constituents, supports equitable development and advocates for responsible policies that benefit all members of our community,” Strom said in her letter of intent.
Alders Jeff McDonald, Tim Holman, Ashley Bahrke (council president), Marty Coopman and Devin Wirtz participated in the candidate review and voting, with Holman, Coopman, Bahrke and McDonald voting “yes” for Strom, and Wirtz voting against her candidacy.
Mayor Clint Braun, City Administrator Peter Wills, Police Chief Brad Olsen and Deputy Clerk Jenny Friedman also attended the meeting.
Strom agreed to assume McDermid’s committee appointments, including serving on the finance, ordinance, parks and recreation, personnel, personnel manual and union negotiating committees.
Coopman asked about the speed limit in front of the school when children are present.
A speed study of County I near Oconto Falls Public Schools indicated lowering the speed limit to 35 MPH from 45 MPH south of Columbia Street is warranted. The county board will need to approve the change, Wills said. The change will allow for a 25 MPH speed limit in front of the school, as Wisconsin Department of Transportation regulations provide for a 10 MPH speed limit reduction in school zones.
Oconto County Highway Commissioner Brandon Hytinen presented speed study results on Oct. 9 at a highway safety committee. Hytinen recommended changing the speed to 35 from 45 on County I from city limits at South Main north to Columbia Street and implementing a school zone speed limit of 25 MPH. The recommendation goes to the full Oconto County Board on Oct. 30.
The Oconto County Sheriff’s Office is considering moving a second speed display board to the school zone to alert northbound vehicles about the speed limit, Wills said.
The speed study found a difference of 8 MPH between the speed of vehicles approaching the school from the north versus those traveling from the south.
After the speed limit change is approved, Wills said the next step is to begin the process of rescinding an annexation ordinance related to County I. The city had proceeded with annexing a portion of County I from the Town of Stiles to the City of Oconto Falls after its efforts to persuade the County Highway Commission to act on its requests for school zone signage got nowhere.
Oconto Falls Police Chief Brad Olsen said at the Sept. 9 city council meeting he tried for 10 years to get the speed limit reduced near Oconto Falls Public Schools on County I.
Wills said the annexation, which aimed to give the city more control over County I in front of the school, was the only feasible way to reduce the speed limit in the absence of cooperation from the county highway commission.
“Annexation has gone through (the Wisconsin) Department of Administration approval, but not DOT,” Wills said. “DOT said you have until the end of December; just hold on for now.”
Reversing the annexation with the Town of Stiles will require a detachment agreement for each municipality and a public hearing, Wills said.
Wills added that he has been in contact with the Town of Stiles attorney to discuss the reversal.
The City of Oconto Falls has disconnected water, sewer and electric service from the old Oconto Falls Middle School to prepare for the building’s demolition, which had been scheduled to start Oct. 15, Wills said. It was postponed to allow time for Wisconsin Public Service to disconnect the gas, he said.
In his administrator’s report, Wills said several developers have expressed interest in developing single-family homes, condominiums and duplexes at the site of the former Oconto Falls Middle School.
In his September monthly report, Olsen said the police handled 438 calls for service and made five adult arrests, one juvenile arrest and issued 34 citations. Police officers participated in joint training with officers from Lena, Gillet, Suring and Oconto County on legal updates, standardized field sobriety and state-required pursuit training.
Fire Chief Tim Magnin said the department acted on 21 incident calls, including 13 in the city, four in the Town of Stiles, two in the Town of Oconto Falls, one in the Town of Spruce and one out-of-service call.
Magnin said the fire department has a Class 3 rating and he would like to move it up through more training and acquiring a replacement fire truck, which would provide the department with “points” that count toward the department’s class rating.
Magnin discussed two quotes he received for refurbishing used fire trucks, which reflect the extent of the work involved in bringing older equipment up to standards. Red Power Diesel Service in Fremont provided an estimate totaling about $362,000 to refurbish a 1995 E1312 fire truck compared with an estimate totaling about $162,000 to refurbish a 2005 F1311 truck.
“The ’95 is going to need to have some work done. It has some pumping issues. It’s not a good pumping truck right now,” he said.
Magnin said purchasing a new truck isn’t feasible as they cost $1.2 million when he sought pricing several years ago.
Magnin asked the city council to allow Wills and himself to bid to purchase a replacement truck if they find one that’s acceptable for about $50,000 that could be refurbished. “We don’t want to wait for the council meeting. These things go in days,” he said.
The alders declined to act on this suggestion, and instead agreed to put off the purchase.
The city has scheduled a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 11 to provide an update on the Columbia Street utility, street and lift station improvements, which have received Community Development Block Grant funds. The city also will review housing needs at the hearing, where the public is invited to comment.
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