Government

As the Dane-Iowa Wastewater Plant reaches its 25th year, the Village of Arena, like Mazomanie, Black Earth, and Wisconsin Heights, will have to grapple with financing upgrades. At their monthly meeting in July the Arena trustees heard what’s coming up for the plant.

“Nonprofits, I just like to say, are the heart and soul of our community,” said Erica Kali Handel, a member of the local Chamber board, at the comparatively well-attended August 13^th Mazomanie Village Board meeting, in reference to the possibility of waiving user fees for local non-profit community events.

Despite Arena Village Trustees Becca Raven Uminowicz’s pleas for more information and Matthew Schroeder’s sobering restatement of the facts, the rest of the board hit the accelerator in its race against the clock with the Township over a Fire and EMS agreement.

At their July 10 meeting, the Black Earth Village Board all but completed allocating the nearly $1.2 million dollars in GO Note spending they had been discussing for the better part of the year. The Village took on the burden of the Electric Utility’s borrowing last year and the board has meticulously discussed how to best spend the funds.

“It’s a big day for Sauk County,” said Brian Simmert, Planning and Zoning Manager for Sauk County Land Resources and Environment, as he and Project Manager Jody Rader presented to the County Board of Supervisors the finished plan master plan for the Great Sauk State Trail at their July 16 meeting.

The Village of Mazomanie set its sights on a housing study, also approving an Ehlers review of their water and electric utilities and heard a heartfelt goodbye from Deputy—now Sargent—Alex Gonzalez at their July meetings. 

In a split 5-2 vote the Arena Village Board voted to extend their police agreement with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department through 2025 at their July 2^nd meeting. Trustees Becca-Raven Uminowicz and Matthew Schroeder opposed.

At their July 9^th meeting, the Sauk City board heard from a resident who noted apparent speeders on the newly paved south Water Street. He said the pavement was “smooth as glass” and proposed the use of a speed board.

June 25^th was a busy night for the village of Sauk City.

The past month or two has been an eventful one for the village of Black Earth.