At the October 7th City Council meeting, Menomonie Parks and Recreation Director Mitch Stai presented the 2024 Wakanda Park Report. Attendance was down a little compared to 2023. There were several closures in June due to the weather, although most of those closures were not full days. Total revenues were $129,800.49 and total expenses were $138,122.06. Stai indicated that the pool never had to close due to staffing shortages or fecal incidents.
In other business:
The Council approved the labor agreement between the City of Menomonie and the IAFF Local 1697 Firefighters for January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026. This agreement provides a 3% cost of living adjustment for both 2025 and 2026.
Melissa Kneeland, Executive Director of the Dunn County Historical Society, spoke about the Moon Tree that was planted last spring at the Rassbach Museum. This tree came from a seedling that traveled around the moon on NASA’s Artimis One.
The Council approved the Mayoral appointments of Dr. Richard Nagler to the Menomonie Public Library board and Tammy Simon to the Recreational Advisory Board.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS
September 16th
The Council awarded the contract for test wells for Menomonie's new water well (Well #9) to CTW Corporation. Locations that will be tested are Wakanda Park (southwest of diamond 7) and Phelan Park (southeast of the Community Garden). The contractor will drill six-inch diameter test wells at both locations, then test pump both to determine water quality and water capacity.
The Council approved an agreement with West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to update of Menomonie Sewer Service Area Plan. This plan has not been updated since 1995. The City submitted a joint application with the City of Hudson for a Wisconsin DNR grant which has been selected for funding. The total cost of this project is $60,000, most of which was covered by the grant. The cost for the City of Menomonie is $9,000.
The Council approved a resolution authorizing city staff to submit the 2025 DNR Urban Forestry Grant application. This grant reimburses up to 50% of project costs up to a maximum of $50,000. Included in the proposed project is the planting of 60 2–3-inch caliper trees to replace tree canopy lost due to the Emeral Ash Borer infestation. Last winter the city cut 400 diseased trees. To prevent similar devastation by future infestations, the city will be planting a wider diversity of trees.
After introducing and waiving the 1st and 2nd readings, the Council adopted ordinance 2024-14 amending the title of section 5-2-4 and amending section 5-2-4-C to include prohibition of students possessing vaping devices on school grounds and at school events. The ordinance had been written prohibiting a person under 18 years of age from possessing vaping devices. The City of Menomonie Police Department requested the amendment as there are a number of 18-year-old students and a few 19-year-old students at the school. Commander King spoke before the Council and stated that the Menomonie High School has significant issues with vaping.
September 3rd
Two ordinances were in need of updating with the recently approved changes to the ATV/UTV ordinance. Section 1-4-6-A was updated to set a deposit amount for citations to ATV and UTV drivers. Section 6-3-2-A was updated to allow the Menomonie Police Department to cite ATV and UTV drivers for exhibition driving. The Council adopted both ordinance amendments after introduction and waiving of the 1st and 2nd readings.
