County

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Common Council adopted and amended ordinances regulating street parking citywide and the use of electric scooters and bicycles in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy. The council also approved the 2021 budget public hearing notice.

The public hearing for the city budget is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. and will be held virtually over Zoom or by phone. The 2021 proposed budget increases the tax levy 2.03 percent largely making up for lost revenues in city services.

The council adopted an ordinance relating to another ordinance approved in September which restricts vehicles from parking in front of a mailbox during mail delivery hours. The amendment sets the fine for the offense at $30 and increases that to $40 after five days. 

MIDDLETON– The Middleton Economic Relief Loan (MERL) program, offered to businesses within the Middleton city limits, passed its final hurdle on Thursday when the application became available at the Middleton Area Development Corporation’s (MADC) website. MADC and the city teamed up to offer low interest loans after surveys indicated need and the program made its way through the Middleton Common Council. 

The one-page application is pretty straightforward and at a press conference in front of City Hall last week, Kevin Mahaney, MADC President, said applicants will need to provide the following:

Two years tax returns

Current interim financial statement for 2020

The business owner’s guarantee of repayment.

“Business owners do not find that to be burdensome,” Mahaney said. He added that we now have a better perspective of the impact of COVID-19 and feels the loans are “important to businesses and the local community.”

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council reviewed the results of a survey conducted by the Commission on Youth to assess the needs of youth and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commission on Youth member Jeff Rogers presented the survey findings and committee recommendations to the council. The survey received 108 responses total, four of which were from students.

Rogers said the survey indicates that youth are struggling as well as their parents. Children are yearning for in-person socializing while parents cite a lack of affordable childcare options.

“Our community is struggling, they are having a very difficult time and it is not just the children, it’s the parents,” Rogers said. “We have to think about this as a family.”

The three greatest areas of concern from respondents are education, health and socialization. Rogers said families would like more opportunities for in-person socializing but are concerned about safety.

CROSS PLAINS–There will be no money in next year’s Village of Cross Plains budget for police body cameras.

The body camera question came up unexpectedly Monday as the village board neared completing work on the 2021 budget. 

Police Chief Tony Ruesga said more study is needed before any funds should be allocated.

“I know the body camera issue has come to the forefront and is highly talked about in today’s world and I’m interested in working on it,” he told the board.

A system compatible with the police department’s other communication equipment is currently being updated by the manufacturer and will need a few months to “get the bugs out,” Ruesga said.

“It will come with a price and (take) some time, and we’ll need to have training on it and the proper policies in place, which includes Open Records (requests),” he said.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–The landowner seeking to have a cross-country skiing training facility built on his property asked the Town Board Monday not to be dragged into its boundary negotiations with the City of Middleton.

Since 2017, Dan Erdman of Erdman Enterprises, has planned to donate eight acres he owns just north of Pleasant View Golf Course on which Yuri Gusev, director of the Central Cross Country Skiing Association, will build a multi-million dollar training facility for Olympic skiers. 

Erdman would grant a recreational easement to the city across the remainder of the 160 acres he owns to be used for ski and non-motorized trails.

Erdman’s land is in the Town of Middleton but he wants the eight acres to be annexed into the City of Middleton and the rest to remain in the town.

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Common Council approved two measures aimed to assist local businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. An amendment to the TIF district #3 project plan and a hike in building permits fees were also approved by the council at its Sept. 15 meeting. 

To assist local businesses the council conceptually approved a loan program titled Middleton Economic Relief Loan or MERL in collaboration with Middleton Area Development Corporation (MADC). The city’s portion of the loan fund would come from a State Trust Fund Loan program. City finance staff said other funds could be used while the city waits for the state funds.

The conceptual proposal calls for a collaborative low-interest loan program with favorable payback terms. MADC would match the city’s $100,000, for a total of $200,000, and administer the loan program.

City administrator Mike Davis said memorandum of agreement with MADC will be prepared for the next council meeting. 

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–Greg DiMiceli sought reinstatement last Friday as Town of Middleton Administrator but asked just a few hours too late.

DiMiceli surprised many when he tendered his resignation on Aug. 12, but asked to be kept on until August 28, which the town board readily accepted. DiMiceli evidently changed his mind and asked to have his resignation rescinded and be allowed to serve as administrator until Dec. 31.

Unfortunately, DiMiceli emailed his request at 2:01 p,m. on August 28, past the close of business on that day, which being a Friday, was noon, said Town Chair Cynthia Richson.

DiMiceli was hired as town administrator/treasurer in Jan. 2019.

Richson explained that the town treasurer is a statuary position and Town Attorney Eileen Brownlee advised that DiMiceli’s change of heart came too late.

On Monday, board members considered rehiring DiMiceli as administrator and appoint Deputy Treasurer Meaghan Hughes as town treasurer.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council approved a TIF agreement with developer Impact Seven to assist with extraordinary construction costs and subsidizing workforce housing units in a four story apartment building at 3001 Parmenter St. titled Trotta.

The Trotta building will include 124 one, two and three-bedroom units, 163 parking stalls with 98 of those underground. The finished project is anticipated to generate $15,604,400 in property value.

The $3,236,922 developer-financed TIF agreement covers $429,800 in extraordinary costs for demolition, soil stabilization and infrastructure, $318,922 in interest costs and $2,488,200 for rental opportunity cost measured as the capitalized value of the difference between workforce housing rents to be charged and market rents.

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Plan Commission reviewed the latest revisions to the city’s comprehensive plan which is expected to be adopted by the Common Council by the end of the year.

Director of Planning and Community Development Abby Attoun told the commission the final document is mostly fleshed out and staff are now focused on design, layout and visuals. She said staff has had more time than usual to work on the plan in recent months. 

To recapitulate, Attoun explained that the plan is meant to serve as a community guide to physical, social and economic development. She noted the plan is not intended to be land use regulations but rather provide rational basis for local land use decisions with a 20 year vision.

Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning law requires that a comprehensive plan adopted by a government body, involve public input and be consistent with local ordinances.

MADISON–The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) approved spending $7.2 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, including a $4.1 million block grant program to help local election officials and voters prepare for fall, 2020, elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

WEC will send an informational mailing to approximately 2.7 million registered voters later this summer about voting options for November, including an absentee ballot request form and a return envelope. The voter mailing is designed to inform voters who have not already requested an absentee ballot for November about their three voting options, including absentee voting by mail or in-person at the clerk’s office and voting at the polls on Election Day.