Alan Bauer replaces Shannon Dane as trustee

The Village of Iola Board met for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 12, in the Iola Village Hall.

In a special public hearing, a motion was made by Rick Meyers to open the public hearing to consider the application for a combination Class “B” Beer and Class “B” Liquor License to sell from the date of March 13, 2024, until June 30, 2024, intoxicating liquor as defined by sub-section 176.01 of the Wisconsin Statutes, at retail, subject to the limitations imposed by chapter 176 of the Wisconsin Statutes and all acts amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto at the described premises in the Village of Iola has been made by the following: Rustic Golf Properties Inc., Agent: Elver Grimm III, “Rustic Grill at Glacier Wood”, 604 Water Street, Village of Iola, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Motion seconded by P. Parks.  Motion passed.

In the regular open meeting, a motion was made by Jim Rasmussen to grant a “Class B”/Class “B” Alcohol Beverage License for “Rustic Golf Properties Inc. d.b.a Rustic Grill at Glacier Wood agent Elver G. Grimm III”.  Motion seconded by Pamela Parks and was carried.

Motion made by Meyers to grant an Operator’s license to Evan James Wilson and Jessica Jillian Dietel passed.

Shannon Dane’s letter of resignation as a village trustee was read. With regret Dave Harper approved the resignation of Dane from the Iola Village Board of Trustees. Motion passed. The appointment of Alan Bauer was presented by President J. Schustek. Motion made by Harper to confirm the appointment of Alan Bauer to fill the unexpired term of Dane and assume all her committee positions. The motion passed.

Superintendent Chris Nelson of the Iola-Scandinavia School District addressed the board and members of the audience regarding the upcoming referendum for the school district.

At the Personnel Committee meeting, a motion was accepted to bring before the board to hire Melissa Fenn as full-time Deputy Clerk with the current wage rate as her salary and benefits.  Motion made by Rassmussen to approve the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to hire Fenn as full-time Deputy Clerk with current wage rate as her salary and benefits. Motion passed.

Iola Village Library

For the Iola Village Library, Circulation reports for February 2024 were shared with the village board: CIRCULATION: Circulation 1623, Renewals 429, Total Circulation 2,052; INTERLIBRARY LOAN: Total Loaned 1,045, Total Borrowed 916, Net 129; WISCAT ILL – Requested 23, Sent 18; OVERDRIVE: E-Book 87, Audio Books 113, Magazines 170, Hoopla 124; MY PC: Total Minutes 8,676, Total Sessions 125, Wireless Unique Devices 233, Avg Devices Connected Per Day 28; Items Checked in: 3,461; Monthly Patron Count: 1,149; PROGRAMMING: Total Programs 15 with a total attendance of 172, 1 Adult Program with Attendance of 9, 6 Children’s Programs Story Hour with Attendance of 134, 4 Family Programs/STEAM with Attendance of 14; 4 Passive/Drop In with attendance of 15; Make & Take Bags 73; Curbside/Living Oaks/Cap Services 2; New Patrons 8.

Rasmussen noted that the loan for the library expansion was paid off.  D. Harper noted that no tax payer dollars were used to pay for the addition, it was all donations.

Iola Police report

Motion made by P. Parks, seconded by D. Harper to accept the February 2024 Iola Police Department call for service summary submitted by Chief Zierler. There were 114 Total calls handled by the department: 6-911 Misdials; 4-Animal Problem; 1-Alarm, 8Assist other Agency (6 EMS); 8-Building Checks; 5-Citizens/Motorist Assist; 1-Death Investigation; 38-Designated Patrol; 2-Disorderly Conduct; 2-Domestic Disturbances; 1-Juvenile Problem; 2-Mental Health; 1-Missing Person; 2-Motor Vehicle Crashes; 1-noise Complaint; 1-OWI; 1-Parking Complaint; 1-Property Damage; 1-Sex Offense; 1-Suspicious Circumstances; 2-Theft; 5-Traffic Complaints; 19-Traffic Enforcement; 1-Traffic Control; 1-Welfare Check. Motion carried.

Iola Riverwalk status

Tracy Ambacher Jr. asked if there were any plans to fix the River Walk. A CDA meeting has been scheduled to talk about the repairs. Tracy also said there are a lot of buckthorn around the River Walk. He noted that John Bertelson should be contacted because he has contact with the DNR invasive species person.