Black Earth grapples with board member and clerk resignations

The past month or two has been an eventful one for the village of Black Earth. Their clerk, Dani Fields, resigned effective June 1st, and as with any departure of a central figure in a municipality’s organization, they’ve been making do with other employees stepping up, Village President Terry Moyer putting in some work at the village office, and good old fashioned in-person meetings. Beth Marty, Black Earth’s Deputy Clerk/Treasurer, stepped up and handled the day-to-day minutiae while Administrative Assistant Dani Eastman is on maternity leave. Then-board member Sarah Morrow stepped down, as she no longer lived in the village, and at the June meeting Moyer named Tom Marks as her replacement. Marks finished 4th in the most recent election for the village board, with 13 percent of the vote, behind winners Mitch Hodson, Pam Louis-Reindl, and Dylan Helmestine.  The May meeting saw discussion of the building at 1311 Madison Street, and the raze order given by Building Inspector Tracy Johnson. There was initial confusion among board members concerning whether it was within Johnson’s power to submit a raze order without board approval. At least one board member said seeing the agenda yesterday was the first time they head heard of the issue. Fields, still clerk at that meeting, said she put the item on the agenda. There didn’t seem to be many questions about the appropriateness of the raze order. “Is it structurally sound,” asked Louis-Reindl. “Don’t know for sure,” replied Troy Esser, who was there representing his family which owned the property. Esser was a longtime board member and briefly served as Village President in the past. “I mean, it’s not gonna fall over.” Board Member Scott Patchin wasn’t satisfied with the process of the raze order. “This doesn’t make any sense to me. This is just wham bam,” he said. “I agree,” said Louis-Rendl In the end the board gave the Essers 30 days to get the building inspected and come up with a plan. 30 days later—at the June meeting—the agenda item was tabled. Esser couldn’t make the meeting in person and there was no Zoom option due to Field’s departure. At the June meeting, during public comment, recently-former board member James Coyle claimed the village had sent out four letters total, similar to the one received by Esser about the razing. Coyle further claimed the village has agreement with two of those properties. No one at the meeting could recall the information, although Coyle had served longer than any current board members. Veirbicher will be sending out a hosing survey soon, with the intend of delivering a complete housing survey for the board in November. Also in comprehensive plan news, the Black Earth Economic Development Committee met in May with a representative from the Groundswell Conservancy. The organization aims to see the creation of black Earth Creek trail stretching from Mazomanie to Black Earth and further east. There are various DNR and Groundswell properties that show potential to link up for a trail, but right now things are pure speculation. The representative from Groundswell did suggest that municipality’s put in their comprehensive plans for the trail.