“Elmwood
Welcomes New Officer at UFO DAYS”
Submitted by Rick A. Talford
Citizen
Citizen Journalist
ELMWOOD, WI – The Elmwood village board meeting was
held July 8 at the village hall this month. The main subject as usual in July
was the upcoming UFO Days. Trustee Brian Buck was not in attendance for this
meeting. After approving the June 10 minutes, the board advanced to public
input. There was not any provided at this month’s meeting.
The sewer plant project was then discussed as Tim
Stockman, from Foth Engineering spoke to the board. He brought a contract to
the meeting, to be signed for the design phase to begin. The Board stated the
need for time to have the Village Attorney and the USDA-RD look over the
agreement, and the DNR to give approval of the plan. Trustee Mike Sand made a
motion to sign the agreement on the contingency of the approval by all
involved. This signing was then approved.
The Committees needed to be reset since the
resignation of Trustee Trisha Knops, and the appointment of former Trustee Neil
Boltic. The Chairperson for each committee is as follows: Licensing: Delorse
Radtke, Parks and Buildings: Susan Dzubay, Personnel and Finance: Brian Buck,
Police: Delorse Radtke, Public Works: Mike Sand, Nursing Home: Neil Boltic,
Library: Delorse Radtke, Plan Commission: Susan Dzubay and President Pro Tem:
Brian Buck.
Getting everything set up for the UFO Days
celebration was then covered, with lifting the open container law for
Friday-Sunday within the village limits. The hours the law will be lifted:
Friday, July 26 from 6PM to 2AM, Saturday, from 12PM (noon) to 2AM and Sunday
from 12PM (noon) to 10PM. There were a number of Beer Picnic Licenses for the
Community Club, as well as a list of Operator’s Licenses for the Community Club
that received approval. There will be a beer tent in Butternut Park Friday
through Sunday and a Car Show on Saturday. The closure of Hwy 72 from Main St.
to Groot Ave. was then approved. This will run all traffic past downtown, as is
done every year for the celebration. A Beer Garden Permit was approved for
Tiffany’s Bar and Grill (Big Dick’s) for the weekend.
Next on the Agenda was the hiring of a new police
officer for the Village. Samuel A. Petrasko from Shawano has been hired to take
the position. Petrasko attended the UW Whitewater College from 2005-09. He
completed an internship with the Fond du Lac Police Dept. in 2008, and began
his Law Enforcement Training at the Fox Valley Technical College in 2009. Right
after graduating, he began working for the Menomonee Indian Tribe Reservation
as a tribal officer. He told me “There is plenty of violent crime in the poor
area on the reservation. The levels are higher than those of Milwaukee.” He has
been a police officer for the past year, at the Menominee County Sheriff Dept.
in Keshena, WI. Petrasko also stated, “I am excited to get started at a new
job, meeting all new people. This is a new chapter in my life, and I believe it
is the right move for me at this point.” There may have been some confusion
that the village was hiring a new officer as the Chief, but that is not the
case. The Village advertised for an officer and interviewed all the applicants
on that basis. I have been told that the “Chief” status is only a title, so
they hired a replacement as an Elmwood Police Officer.
NOTE: I was looking to get some background
information on the new officer, and was directed by the Village Clerk to speak
with the head of the Police Committee for that information. I made numerous
attempts, even leaving a voice message for the chairperson to contact me for
this information, nearly a week later and she never made that contact with me.
(Not very respectful)
The new Village Website will be soon created through
24-7 Telecom services. The old website has been closed for some time now, and
the Village has approved getting a new site created and running soon.
In Committee and Board Reports: Trustee Delorse
Radtke reported for the Library Committee. The Library will be having a book
sale during the UFO Days; it will start on Wed. and run into the weekend.
Circulation was up to 1717, and there are new programs in the works, was
reported. On Friday 26, they will have a movie. The movie will be “Aliens in
the Attack”. There will also be a “Snake” show starting at 5 pm, for all ages
to attend. The Library would also like to have an art show, if anyone is
interested in bring their artwork in for display. Trustee Susan Dzubay reported
on the Personnel and Finance Committee, stating “The finances for 2014 were
discussed and things look good.” Trustee Mike Sand spoke on behalf of the Public
Works Committee, explaining they have been looking at project with the
sidewalks, street cracks and troublesome trees in the community. Trustee Radtke
then reported on the Police Committee, reporting the hiring of a new officer,
and some issues with the company that is supposed to be getting the new truck
preparations done. The company Sounds & Visions, LLC was to complete the
transferring of equipment from the old squad to the new truck. They were paid
for work that was not completed, and now fail to answer continued calls to the
business and cell phone that was provided to the village. A contract was signed
and a payment was made to the company, and none of the work was been fulfilled.
The company has until July 17 to respond, or the village will take legal
actions as needed.
The Board approved the payment of bills and
adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Additional note: The contract between the Village of
Elmwood and Sounds & Visions, LLC was forwarded to me to look at what was
to be done by the company in regards to the Village Squad Car and Truck. All
the equipment in the Crown Vic was to be pulled. The emergency lights,
hardware, electronics were to all be removed so the car would be returned to
original condition for resale. There was then to be plenty of work to be done
to the truck, that did not include using any of this equipment. Everything for
the truck is brand new. (4) New LED grill lights with custom made brackets
(300), (2) New fog LED lights (280), New headlight flasher (60), (2) New side
mirror LED flashers (280), New interior officer map light (50), New roof
mounted light bar (1590), New prisoner light behind partition (15), New tail
light/backup flashers, (2) New LED license plate lights (150), New center
console (290), New printer mount/arm rest (260), New partition cage (850), New
dual gun lock to house shotgun and AR-15 to partition (190), New siren speaker
(180), New light control box (280), New battery timer (90), New ignition over
ride system (140), (3) roof mounted antennas (?) The company was to keep the
Motorola radio and siren system, Computer system, the used flashlight with
charger and the radar unit with rear antenna. There would be a shop charge for
supplies of $195, Travel Fuel cost of $62 and labor fees in the amount of
$1,430. The Village was required to make a down payment of $5,005.00 and a
second and final payment within 30 days of the work being completed as well as
the officer being trained on the use of all equipment. The final payment would
be $1,607. The fact that the company did not do any of the work listed in this,
is the reason for the village taking legal action for non-full-completion of
the contract.
As of the posting date of this article, I have never been responded to by the head of the police committee.
