Village of Weston Newsletter 2015-0708

THEWIRE

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3

Summer is here!

Enjoy a nice walk or bike ride on the Eau Claire River Trail here in Weston! 2

•

July / August 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

3 4

5

Administrator’s Update WestonDirect Aquatic Center Recognition Building Inspector’s Hours

Lawn Watering Brush / Grass Clippings

6

New Staff

7

Code Enforcement

8

Municipal Utilities News

10

Building Permits

Check out page 3 to see our NEW WestonDirect Advertising options!

THE WESTON WIRE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 • May / June 2015

Administrator’s Update By the time this publication has been mailed and delivered we will be officially in the summer season, and I, like many of you will be likely making plans with your families and friends for an Independence Day barbeque or vacation.

Summer is an amazing season in Wisconsin, and for me, those warm afternoons are incredibly restorative after long, cold winters. As much as I would like to be out and soaking up the sun, summer is a busy time in our offices and a busy time for the Village.

As I write this article, I am actually down in Madison. I regularly make trips down here to talk with our state legislators about issues affecting municipalities, such as Weston, and we have been very engaged with our local legislators, Assemblyman John Spiros and State Senator Jerry Petrowski, about the construction of our state’s next biennial budget. I do appreciate the time the both of these men provide to Weston and their openness to hear our concerns and attempts to address and solve problems on our behalf. Aside from discussing current events with our legislative leaders, I have been spending time down here talking with developer contacts and relationships I had during my previous job (near Madison), about what a wonderful community Weston is and that they should consider making their next business investment in our Village. These business prospects have been impressed with the data that I have shared with them from the Village’s recent retail recruitment study (which can be found on our website) and I am hopeful that we will be bringing some neat companies into the community in the near future. Stay tuned.

While our team is focused on bringing new companies into the community and building our tax base, it is good to take a moment and look back at some recent successes. We just completed our open book/board of review process for property assessments for this year, and I was thrilled to hear from our Assessor that the Village’s total assessed value went up by 23 million dollars last year! After the last several years during and immediately after the Great Recession, our growth numbers have not been great, which I am sure is not surprising to anyone. Seeing a number like this helps confirm for me our local economy here in the metro area is improving and hopefully those bad years are behind us.

This summer we will be busy finalizing our plans for the future of the Camp Phillips corridor, completing a master planning process for both Yellowbanks and Kellyland parks, redoing our capital projects and infrastructure replacement plan, breaking ground on a new canoe/kayak access on the Eau Claire River (thanks to some successful grant applications and some generous community partners), and construction has started on the NEW location of the Weston Farmer’s Market which will be located on the corner of Camp Phillips Rd and Schofield Avenue (on the eastside of Dunkin’ Donuts). The vendors have been temporarily setting up in the parking lot between Family Dollar and Dunkin’ Donuts while the future site is under construction. The design layout will be similar to the old location however vendors will not be driving their vehicles onto the market area. When final installation is complete, there will be a rain garden, patio area, and landscaped areas installed to create a park like setting.

As for the reason it is being moved to its new location; in 2013, the Plan Commission approved the Dunkin’ Donuts building and a future 4th building to be located in the southwest corner of the property as part of an overall amendment to the development plan. Due to green space requirements and tenant agreements with those in Building #1, Lokre Development had stated they were not going to ever construct a building in the southeast corner of the property and proposed creating a public space where the community could hold the farmer’s market, craft fairs and other community events. The vendors were consulted in the planned move and many agreed this location would be more visible and create more community awareness of the market. We expect construction to be complete and the market to open on the new site in early July, weather willing. Please bear with us during construction as the market will be held in the parking lot for the first few weeks until the site is fully ready to go and ready to handle foot traffic. We look forward to an exciting market season at this new location.

We sure like talking with residents and citizens about the things that we are all working on, under the leadership and guidance from the Board of Trustees, to make Weston a great place to call home. It is one of the reasons why we worked hard this year and improved our Weston Wire community newsletter. I sure do appreciate those local businesses that have decided to invest in their community and have chosen to advertise with us this issue. Please send us your feedback on this newsletter, or other things happening here in the Village. You all have so many way to connect with us. We are always accessible for meeting or by phone at the Municipal Center, Monday through Friday. We have a great website, a robust presence on social media, and a weekly electronic newsletter that gets mailed every Friday. Perhaps you are one of the nearly 500 families which have connected to the Village and your neighbors this year on our new social media platform, Nextdoor. I hope that you are connected to us and that you find these tools valuable.

Have a safe and productive summer and I look forward to seeing you around our Village.

Sincerely, Daniel Guild Weston Village Administrator

2

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

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The WestonDirect willwill be mailed out bi-monthly will hit The WestonDirect be mailed outandbi-monthover 7,000 households and businesses in the Village of Weston!

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NEW WESTONDIRECT ADVERTING ADVERTISING OPTIONS WESTONDIRECT OPTIONS Full Color Insert: $500 or $575 FullSided Color Insert: One Insert: $500

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Newsletter Advertisement Options left corner of the ad

Your color will A fullfull page ad onad page 3 be placed among other (subtract $205 if you will provide 7500 inserts*) ads on page 3 in the Weston Wire Newsletter.

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*inserts based on flat 5.5x11” flyers; provided inserts (subtract $280 if you will provide 7500 are subject to approval

by Village of Weston andinserts*) may be subject totoadditional postage charges are subject approval by Village of Weston and may be subject to additional postage charges

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Your and willpage be ofplaced on the 2 byblack 8 ad on thewhite bottomad front the Weston Wire back of Newsletter the WestonDirect envelope, where residents and businesses Weston,sponsor will see your ad before they This Month sof Newsletter is ABC placed on the top check out what’s inside!

Envelope Sponsor: $750

Ad sizes are approximate Your black and white ad will be placed on the back of the WestonDirect envelope, where residents and businesses of Weston will see your ad before they (h) x 7.8” (w) check ad out size: what’s9.0” inside.

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Your ad or insert will reach over 7,000 Village of Weston residents and businesses per issue. The WestonDirect Your ad or insert will reach over 7,000 Village of Weston households and businesses per is distributed the end of every-other month and includes the Village Newsletter. Inserts are printed full color issue. is distributed ofbeevery-other includes on 80# The GlossWestonDirect Text. Design is available by request,the andend would in addition to month the costsand noted above. the Village Newsletter.

Inserts printed color on fee 80# Gloss Design is available Providing your own insert is alsoare an option, thefull Weston Direct would still Text. apply and the insert would haveby to be approved to ensure meeting postal requirements. request, and would be in addition to the cost noted above. Providing your own insert is also

an option, the WestonDirect fee would still apply and the insert would have to be approved By placing an ad or insert in the WestonDirect you are helping cover the productions costs to make WestonDitorect ensure meeting postal requirements. packet successful!

By placing The anVillage ad or insert in the WestonDirect you are helping cover the production costs of Weston reserves the right to approve content for an appropriate and family friendly advertisement. to make WestonDirect packet successful!

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The Village of Weston reserves the right to approve content for an appropriate and family friendly advertisement.

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THE WESTON WIRE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 • May / June 2015

The

d r a o B n i t e l l u B

Teen Swim / Danc

e Nights

Building Inspector’s Hours The Building Inspector’s Office Hours: 8:00 a.m - 9:00 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Monday - Thursday OR by appointment Building Permits will ONLY be accepted between these times.

To schedule an appointment please call (715) 359-6114 or stop in at the Weston Municipal Center.

The Weston Aquatic Cen ter will be of Teen Swim an ferin d Dance Night s on June 26 th g August 7 th. Te and en nights will run from 7:00 10:00 p.m. All th p.m. to 7 through 12 th grade studen welcome to at ts are tend. Admissi on will be $2.0 person. Ther 0 per e will be mus ic , food specia prize giveaw ls and ays. Check ou t the Aquatic Facebook pa Center ge to keep up to date on ev taking place ents at the Aquatic Center this se ason.

Aquatic Center Recognition The Village of Weston recogniz ed Weston Aquatic Center staf f for their role in a lifesaving eve nt that took place in 2014. On August 10, 2014, there was a near drowning incident at the Weston Aquatic Center. A you ng patron ended up in 4 feet of water and could not swim. Tha nkfully, due to a lifeguard’s aler tness and training, the lifeguard was immediately able to recognize the situation and react accordingly .

The recognition took place at the Weston Aquatic Center on Saturday, June 6 th, at 10:0 0 a.m., before opening up the Center for the season to the public. Management felt it was important to recognize those indi viduals that were able to take a potentially tragic situation and turn it into nothing more than a lear ning experience. Several Trus other Village staff were on hand tees, Committee members and to show their support for the Aqu atic Center Staff. Weston Aquatic staff is continually training to mak Center e sure that everyone’s visit to the facility can be remembered as a experience! positive

Swimming Lessons lessons during The Weston Aquatic Center will be offering swim d during three offere be will s lesson Swim n. seaso swim the 2015 nal third week additio an sessions. Each session runs two weeks with a.m. to 10:00 from run will s Classe available for make-up classes. th 26th), June to 15 June 1: on (Sessi s follow as are ns 10:50 a.m. Sessio th 7th). t th Augus to th 27 (Session 2: July 6 to July 17 ) and (Session 3: July s are $15.00 for Level 1 through Level 5 is available. Cost for classe levels taught skill All s. sident non-re for $20.00 Weston residents and is required. ion gistrat Pre-re . ments require Cross Red to are equal r.

Please register at the Weston Aquatic Cente

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Skate Event Fellowship of Christian Athletes has partnered with Central Board Sho p to hold Weston X-Fest on Saturday, July 18th at Kennedy Park. Events include instruction from 10:00 a.m. - noon, demons tration at 12:30 p.m. and competition at 1:00 p.m. $10 registration fee. For more info rmation on per-registration, please call 715-897 -5394 or email jtarras@fca.org.

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

Lawn Watering With summer approaching many of us will be watering our lawns daily. Over watering and watering during the middle of the day are the two most common mistakes people make with their lawns. Once a lawn is established it should only be watered once or twice a week. The soil should be moistened to a depth of about 6”, which usually means using about an inch of water. The amount of water used on the lawn can be measured by placing a can under the sprinkler. More frequent shallow watering on an established lawn will cause shallow rooting, invite crabgrass invasion, and encourage disease. Early morning is the best time to water, as your lawn has a chance to dry out during the course of the day, also reducing the likelihood of disease and fungus. Watering during midday is a tremendous waste as up to 70% if the water can evaporate before it is able to soak into the ground.

We ask that all residents be more environmentally responsible and follow these few simple guidelines when watering their lawns this summer to conserve water. The Village also encourages residents to consider installing irrigation systems in the interest of more effective use of water during the irrigation season.

Vehicles for Sale on Business/Public Property Prohibited Staff has noticed a number of vehicles for sale being dropped off in business parking lots throughout the Village. This is against Village ordinances. The Village has an ordinance that prohibits the sale of motor vehicles on unowned property.

Sec. 82.111 (a) of the Code of Ordinances states that no person shall sell, advertise or display a motor vehicle for sale on any property unless the person owns the property on which the motor vehicle is sold, displayed or advertised. Automobile dealer’s licenses are required for businesses to sell vehicles. Please refrain from dropping off your vehicles for sale in business parking lots.

Village staff and Everest Metro Police Personnel will enforce this ordinance and failure to comply may result in the vehicle being towed away and citations issued.

ppings

Brush / Grass Cli

Park Reservations

The Village of Weston is currentl y accepting reservations for park shelters. Shelters are avai lable at Kennedy, Sandhill Meadows, Robinwood, Kellylan d, Machmueller and Yellowbanks Parks. Available at each park are restrooms, water, electricity, and facilities for play and sports. Reservations can be made at the Weston Municipa l Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Frid ay. The park reservation form and availability can be found at www.westonwi.gov/parks. For any questions, please contact the Weston Parks Department at (715) 359-9988.

Fall ring and a offers a Sp n ng ri to sp es e W h f o year. T The Village e pickup each th ls y ia b er d at te le M p was com Yard Waste d an d th ar 1 Y 1 l May e Fal pickup began he Village will begin th ts en d si re T If . end of May id-October. p around M illage has a V ku ic e p th , te ls as ia W er at h m te rd was Street (whic have any ya 8200 Ryan at ts d te en d ca si lo re at site Yard Waste n Avenue) th to contract uth of Westo is so n ile tio m p o ¼ er is th o n A e. yard waste any tim may use at r a 95 gallon fo l r sa o p is D d waste and/o with Advance If any yard e. ay w fe fly o tth h n g o ri cart for a m Village’s road er may be ced in the own ty er p ro brush is pla p e ose times th between th g. in p m u d al cited for illeg

5

THE WESTON WIRE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 • May / June 2015

Village News New Staff Sarah Flory Title: Part-Time Office Assistant Background: Started her career in the Banking field. Worked for Wisconsin Public Service for 5 years. More than 10 years experience in office setting and customer service.

When not working: Enjoys spending time in her garden, camping, cooking/baking, motorcycle riding with her husband and spending time with her 3 dogs.

Abby Krautkramer Title: Everest Metro Police Officer Background: Graduated from UW-River Falls with a Bachelor Degree in Sociology, and a minor in Criminal Justice. Worked the past 8 years with the St. Croix Sheriff’s Department.

When not working: Loves the outdoors and any kind of activity that embraces nature: hunting and fishing. Loves the Green Bay Packers.

Marty Christiansen Title: Fire Inspector for SAFER Background: Volunteer Fire Fighter EMT with Schofield Fire Department from 2000 - 2014. In 2006, started as a volunteer Fire Fighter EMT with Weston Fire Department and was hired full time in April as Fire Fighter EMT-1. Served on the SAFER department as a Captain.

When not working: Enjoys camping, skiing, boating and going to visit his son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter in North Carolina, where his son is stationed with the Marine Corps. Loves the Green Bay Packers.

Dawn Walstrom Title: Town of Weston Clerk Background: Received an Associates Degree in Accounting from North Central Technical and received Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Upper Iowa University. Has held various financial positions in retail, church and business environments and currently works for Unity Healthcare in Finance/Operation role.

When not working: Enjoys spending time up north, boating and snowmobiling. Loves to read and enjoys golfing and spending time with her family.

6

Village Using Technology to Manage Assets The Village of Weston and Weston Utilities recently invested in a software solution to help manage assets that belong to the municipality and public utility. Beehive, the software solution that will assist the Public Works Department in managing assets above and below the ground is currently being implemented.

Starting in early to mid-June you may see the vac truck out doing routine flushing and maintenance of sanitary sewer. With them, they will have a tablet that will help them record the event, as well as other applicable information. The software will give the operators access to important mapping information in the field, and in turn, give administration important field data. Recording asset and maintenance data will prove to be invaluable when assessing future needs. The public works department will use Beehive to capture data related to water, sewer, storm sewer, streets, signs, and their fleet of vehicles.

At this point, Beehive is in phase one of implementation, and Weston plans to implement phase two over the summer months. Phase two will incorporate the planning, zoning, and code compliance departments into the mix. These departments will take advantage of the simple mapping based functionality of Beehive to manage land based activities. Following the first two phases, Weston is excited to bring the mapping interface of Beehive to the citizens by employing a module called Homebase. In Homebase, users will be able to view parcel mapping, zoning, boundaries, voting districts, addresses, topology, aerial photos, and much more. We are looking forward to introducing this new communication tool, so keep looking for it at www.westonwi.gov.

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

Community News Code Enforcement The Planning & Development Department is charged with eliminating blight and building safety hazards and promotes building repair and renovation through education and enforcement to protect the public health, safety and quality of life.

Property Maintenance Code Enforcement We enforce the provisions of the Village of Weston Code of Ordinances, including but not limited to, Chapter 50- Nuisances. Complaints include blight on commercial and residential buildings and premises, tall grass and general property maintenance. Failure to mow your lawn will result in the Village having the lawn mowed at a rate of approximately $65/hour plus a $75 fine. Chapter 66 - Solid Waste, including the accumulation of garbage, dumping of garbage, recycling, and collection of garbage/recyclables. And Chapter 70 - Streets, Sidewalks, and Public Places. These would be complaints related to sidewalk clearing, snow removal, mailboxes, and removal of obstructions.

Zoning Code Enforcement We enforce the provisions of the Village of Weston Zoning Code - Chapter 94 of the Municipal Code). Zoning complaints relate to illegal land use issues, including (but not limited to) contractor’s yards in residential districts, illegal commercial uses in residential districts, parking on the grass, and multiple recreational vehicles. As a reminder, all motor vehicles that are parked outside need to be parked on an all-weather surface such as blacktop, concrete, paving blocks gravel surface if it was permitted before January 1, 2014. This would include vehicles that are for sale. Inoperable or unlicensed vehicles need to be parked in a garage. Campers, boats, and trailers, may be parked on the lawn next to your garage or driveway as long as the grass is maintained free of tall grass and weeds. Also, no more than TWO recreational vehicles (including trailers) are allowed to be parked on a property that is zoned residential.

Filing a Nuisance or Zoning Code Complaint When filing a complaint, please provide as much information as possible, including the address, suspected illegal use of the property and what you specifically are looking for us to address on the property. Please note that due to the number of complaints received per year, anonymous complaints are not investigated as priority items by enforcement staff. Complainant assistance may be necessary to gain additional information on the issue or if witnesses are needed for cases which are prosecuted in Municipal or Circuit Courts.

You can report complaints by using the Village’s online Service Request System westonwi.gov/requesttracker.aspx, sending a written letter, or sending an email to PlanDev@westonwi.gov. If you provide a written letter or email, we would appreciate you printing out and including the completed Complaint Form www.westonwi.gov/ViolationComplaint. It includes all the necessary information staff will need to process your complaint and resolve your issues.

2015 Street Maintenance Each year the Village applies various surface treatments to a percentage of the approximately 300 lane miles of road in the Village of Weston. In May, the Village opened bids for crack sealing, chip sealing and microsurfacing. Most surface maintenance treatments have the goal of blocking pathways for water to seep into cracks in pavement – much like the processes any owner of an asphalt driveway or parking lot would be familiar with.

The crack sealing bid was awarded to Fahrner Asphalt Sealers, and will include crack sealing on many of the Village’s main thoroughfares as well as residential streets. Crack sealing is perhaps the most important treatment for asphalt maintenance as the cracks in the road are filled and sealed before they are able to spread and speed up the deterioration process.

Chip sealing will be performed by Scott’s Construction on the following roads: Ross Ave (Birch St. to the Eau Claire River), Birch St. (Jelinek Ave to Ross Ave), Jelinek Ave (Birch St. to BUS 51), Alderson St. (Jelinek Ave. to Schofield Ave.), Weston Ave (Ryan St. to CTH J), and Heeren St. (Nick Ave. to Shorey Ave.). A chip seal is a surface maintenance treatment in which a thin coating of asphaltic oil is covered by fine crushed rock (chips) over the existing pavement.

The treatment helps to waterproof the pavement, provide a resistant surface and gives new life to weathered asphalt pavement.

Microsurfacing will be performed by Struck and Irwin Paving on Franciscan Way and Ministry Parkway around the St. Clare’s Hospital. This is a continuation of the maintenance that was done on Weston Ave., Stone Ridge Dr. and Cranberry Blvd. last year. Microsurfacing is a mix of small crushed aggregate, mineral filler and latex-modified emulsified asphalt.

This treatment is effective at sealing low-severity cracks, improving surface friction and filling minor irregularities and rutting in a street.

This is a treatment which is similar to, but a step or two above, the sealer that is typically applied on a residential driveway.

In addition to these treatments, the Village will be patching streets that experienced severe breakup after the spring thaw. Some of the stretches of roadway in particular include Shorey Ave. (east of Heeren St.) and Woodland Dr.

7

THE WESTON WIRE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 • May / June 2015

Municipal Utilities News Elimination of Sanitary Sewer Credit Earlier this year the Village of Weston adopted a rate increase for the sanitary sewer utility. Along with the changes to sanitary sewer rates the long-standing practice of capping summer sanitary sewer usage based on winter quarter usage was also discontinued. The summer sewer threshold for residential customers had at one time been 110% of winter quarter water volume. Most recently the threshold had been 125% of winter quarter water volume. This practice had been prevalent among municipal water and sewer utilities in Wisconsin in the past.

However, the preciousness and potential scarcity of water resources is becoming more understood and the summer season volume caps are being eliminated.

This full article can be viewed in the Consumer Confidence Report, which can be found on our website at www.westonwi.gov/CCR2014 or a hard copy can be picked up by request at the Weston Municipal Center during regular office hours.

Sustainable Weston: Utility Rates and Resource Stewardship Since 2008, there have been some recent changes in the area of utility rates and ordinances aimed at promoting stewardship of our water resources in an effort to create a more sustainable Weston. The elimination of the sanitary sewer credit is the most recent change.

The water utility implemented an inclining block rate schedule for residential customers in 2009. This rate structure may also be referred to as a conservation rate. The more water is used the rate charged for that water goes up (please view rate schedule in the Consumer Confidence Report). The rate structure still in place for non-residential customers, is the more traditional declining block rate – costs decrease as more water is consumed.

This full article, which was originally published in 2009, can be viewed in the Consumer Confidence Report, which can be found on our website at www.westonwi.gov/CCR2014 or a hard copy can be picked up by request at the Weston Municipal Center during regular office hours.

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Sanitary Sewer Cleaning Each year the Village of Weston Sanitary Sewer Utility cleans mains and manholes in its sewer collection system. All 103 miles of mainline sewers are cleaned at least once every three years. There are a few areas that are prone to recurring problems such as mains with very flat slope. In these cases the sewers are cleaned more frequently. There are also those infrequent, unpredictable, situations where a blockage occurs and an immediate response is necessary. This summer another 24 miles are scheduled for cleaning in the west and southwest parts of the Village and those areas served in the Village of Rothschild as outlined on the map, which can be found online at www.westonwi.gov/SanitarySewerCleaningMap. Sanitary sewer cleaning is accomplished with the sewer “jetter” truck, a.k.a. “vac” truck. The “jetter” moniker comes from the equipment’s capability to spray (jet) water through a pump and hose with special nozzles that propel the hose through the sewer main while cleaning any settled debris.

The “vac” term makes reference to the truck’s additional capability of vacuuming the water and debris from the manholes while the jetter hose works its way up the mains.

The jetting process creates a spray pattern that covers the entire inside surface of the sewer mains. As the jetter passes by sewer lateral connections some of this spray enters the sewer lateral. Anytime liquid enters a sewer lateral it pushes out the air in that lateral and vice versa. The purpose of the venting on a building’s wastewater disposal piping is to provide for this exchange of air and water. If the plumbing vent(s) is/are restricted or plugged while sewer jetting is taking place, the air that would normally exit the vent from the roof can compress inside the plumbing until the pressure is high enough to allow the air (and water) to vent from a plumbing fixture. The resulting spray of water and air in the wrong direction occurs in an unintended and undesirable location inside a building. This is more likely to occur in older construction, where more fixtures might share common vent pipes. Since plumbing codes changed over time, newer construction is less likely to experience this problem.

The sanitary sewer maintenance staff tries to use some finesse in the areas of the Village with older construction to minimize problems by jetting at lower pressures. However, this can add time to the process and reduce cleaning efficiency. Even by modifying the procedure, the Village cannot guarantee problems won’t occur and cannot be responsible for damage when these situations occur.

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

New Look - Everest Avenue Water Tower The Village of Weston’s water tower on East Everest Avenue has taken on a new look after being repainted this spring. The 2 tone look is a common theme used on tank exteriors in the modern era and the Village chose the combination of green on the lower portions and off-white for the reservoir.

Routine maintenance painting is necessary to protect the steel from corrosion. Modern coating systems for steel water towers, when properly maintained, can provide between 15 and 20 years of service life. The East Everest water tower was last repainted in 1993 – 22 years ago – so it was time to renew the coatings on the exterior and interior of the tank. The work involved a complete blasting and recoating of the “wet” interior (the part of the tank that stores the water). The exterior was spot prepped and completely re-coated as well. This water tower has a maximum capacity of 250,000 gallons and is the second largest storage tank in the Village’s water system. The tower was drained during the work which took place during the month of May, in advance of the summer irrigation season. The Village is extremely pleased with how smoothly and efficiently the project was completed. The painting contractor was L.C. United Painting Co. of Sterling Heights, Michigan. The Village was assisted by Dixon Engineering of Lake Odessa, Michigan and Hales Corners, Wisconsin, who prepared the specifications and provided oversight of the project.

Your Property Non-Complying Structures use for Storage Metal canopy, tarp sheds and other tent-like (fabric/vinyl) structures have been prohibited for permanent outside storage and/or garage use in residential zoned areas of the Village since March of 2004. The Village has been actively requesting the removal of these structures when we become aware of them being used in our neighborhoods for long term storage. In an effort to allow temporary use of these structures, in residential areas, for garage sales or weekend events like graduation parties or other gatherings, the Village Board has adopted provisions in the zoning ordinance to allow their use for a maximum of 5 consecutive days at a time within a 30 day period.

H O PR

D E T I B I

We are aware that there are businesses within Weston that sell these types of structures despite their prohibition. For this reason, we would like to reiterate that it is important to contact the Village Building Inspections office to determine if your proposed improvement meets our ordinances and/or a building permit is needed for your proposed project prior to making any major improvement to your property. If you have questions, please contact the Village Planning and Development Department Staff at 715-359-6114 or PlanDev@westonwi.gov.

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THE WESTON WIRE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 • May / June 2015

Your Property cont.

Private Wells There are currently about 385 permitted private wells on properties served by the Weston Municipal Utilities. This year 64 of those permitted private wells are due for permit renewal.

The Village of Weston is required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to be sure all private wells, on properties that are served by our public water supply, are in working condition and are bacteriologically safe. The Village of Weston does this by issuing 5-year private well permits. The standard procedure in obtaining a renewed permit has been by Village staff meeting with homeowners at their property to collect a water sample from the private well (to be tested to assure it is bacteriologically safe) and to perform a cross connection inspection (to assure the private well is not cross connected with the public water supply).

However, the DNR made some changes to the Wisconsin Administrative Code (NR 810) in 2011 affecting properties served by the public water supply which also have a permitted private well. The additional requirement added to NR 810.16 Local Well Regulation Program (2)(b) states: “…That the well and pump system be evaluated by a licensed well driller or pump installer and certified to comply with Ch. NR 812, subchapter. IV, prior to issuing the initial permit and no less than every 10 years afterwards...”

With this change, beginning in 2012, and each following year, as private well permits are subject to renewal, those wells must now be inspected by a licensed well driller/pump installer. This also involves completion of DNR form 3300-221 signed by the licensed well driller/pump installer who performed the inspection. Homeowners are responsible for hiring a licensed well driller/pump installer and paying their well inspection fees. A complete list of licensed well drillers/ pump installers throughout Wisconsin can be found on the DNR’s website: dnr.wi.gov, or by calling their office at 715-359-4522.

Once a completed copy of DNR form 3300-221 is obtained, homeowners can then apply through the Village of Weston for renewal of their 5-year private well permit. The Village permit fee of $115.00

covers the Village’s administrative fee, well cross connection inspection fee, and one water sample collected by our utility operator.

Any additional water samples needed are at a rate of $40.00 per water sample.

The DNR only requires private wells to be inspected by a licensed well driller/pump installer once every 10 years – every other time a Village well permit is due for renewal.

If your private well is no longer working and you are considering having your private well abandoned, please take note that only licensed well drillers/pump installers can abandon a private well (NR 812.26 and NR 141.25). Because well abandonments can get quite costly, there are programs available that can help ease the financial burden. The Village of Weston Private Well Abandonment Incentive/ Assistance Program allows you to borrow the money from the Village and repay in installments. The Wisconsin DNR is a possible source for grants that homeowners may also wish to investigate.

The Weston Municipal Utilities periodically receives calls from customers who are interested in installing driven point wells on their properties to be used for irrigation purposes. Please take note that prior to the construction of any well, including a driven point, you must obtain a DNR Notification Number.

Please contact Valerie Parker, Private Well Coordinator, at (715) 241-2607, or via e-mail at vparker@westonwi.gov, with any questions related to private wells including permits, new well construction, and well abandonment.

Building Permits Required Now that summer is here and your about to embark on your summer home improvement to-do lists, please take a minute to check to see if a building permit is required for your upcoming project. Building permits are required in the Village of Weston for a number of home improvement projects such as fences, yard sheds, swimming pools, in-ground irrigation systems, finishing basements and building additions.

If you are not sure if a building permit is needed for your home improvement project, please feel free to call the Village Municipal Center, at (715) 359-6114, and a Village staff member will assist you in determining if your home improvement project requires a building permit. Building permit applications can be easily accessed on the Village’s website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.westonwi.gov/ Applications-Permits. You may also stop in at the Municipal Center and meet with the Building Inspector or other Planning and Development Staff during their Building Permit Office hours of 8-9am and 3:30-4:30 pm, Monday through Thursday, or by appointment.

Once you have completed your applicable building permit application and have the building plans and other information required for the permit, please call the Village Municipal Center, at (715) 359-6114 to schedule an appointment with the Building Inspector, Scott Tatro, for submittal and discussion of your application and plans, and to obtain your permit. Please note that most building permits are valid for no more than two years so please plan your projects accordingly. Permit related questions can be directed to the Planning & Development Department via email at PlanDev@westonwi.gov or by calling (715) 359-6114.

10

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

Your Money 2014 Village Operating Budget Surplus of $224,083 comes in slightly higher than previous estimates When the Village of Weston 2014 financial audit report is released at the end of June 2015, the report will show a 2014 operating budget surplus in the Village’s General Fund of $224,083. This amount is slightly higher than the November 2014 budget estimate of $193,224 which was presented to the Village Board at the time that the 2015 operating budget was adopted.

Of the $224,083 final 2014 budget surplus, the Village Board had approved that an amount of $137,916 estimated budget surplus to be applied to funding the 2015 General Fund budget, in lieu of increasing the property tax levy or licenses and permits by an additional $137,916.

Now that the 2014 final budget surplus amount has been reviewed by the Village’s financial auditors, an additional $86,167 of budget surplus will be added to the Village’s General Fund-fund balance, and will be available for tax stabilization purposes by the Village Board, to reduce the tax levy funding source for the upcoming 2016 operating budget that will be considered by the Village Board for adoption in November 2015.

With the addition of $86,167 to the Village’s unassigned General Fund-fund balance (the Village’s rainy day fund) at 12/31/2014, this budget surplus addition will bring the Village’s rainy day fund to $2,386,103, which represents over 1/3 of a year of operating reserves (35.86%).

This healthy operating reserve allows the Village to maintain its very strong bond/credit rating of “Aa2” by Moody’s Investors Service (credit rating agency).

In comparison, the City of Wausau’s bond rating is also “Aa2”, even though Wausau is three times larger than the Village of Weston. Also, Marathon County, with its population of over 135,000 residents and property valuation of 12 times the Village of Weston, has a bond rating of “Aa1”.

Therefore, the Village of Weston has strategically positioned its healthy operating reserves to enhance its bond/credit rating among much larger municipal units of government. The stronger in which the bond rating is from Moody’s will allow the Village of Weston to reduce any future interest costs that it may acquire, in the event that the Village were to issue debt for capital improvement projects.

There were two primary reasons for the $224,083 budget status surplus for 2014. First, the license and permit revenue for 2014 was $453,765, which was $150,190 higher than the original budget level. Building permits for commercial properties were $165,101 On Tuesday, June 16th, the Village of Weston Board of Review (or $99,101 higher than the 2014 met to review the 2015 assessment valuation of the Village. budget). Also, building permits for residential properties were $37,606 Village Assessor Greg Schmidt reported that the locally assessed (or $21,606 higher than the 2014 valuation of the Village for 2015 would be $1,046,000,000. budget). Construction levels are showing a strong comeback after This amount excludes the manufacturing property which is the recent economic recession from six years ago, so as building assessed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and will be permits begin to rebound, so is the total property valuation of the added to the Village’s Assessor valuations by October 2015.

Village.

Schmidt reported that there was $23 million of new construc-

Weston Board of Review Certifies the 2015 Assessment Valuation

tion valuation in 2015. After the Wisconsin Department of Revenue completes its calculation of the manufacturing property in the Village by October (approximately $54 million), the Village’s 2015 total combined assessed valuation will exceed $1.1 billion for the very first time ever.

The 18 single family building permits issued in 2014, was the highest level since 2010. Also, the 88 total housing units issued for building permits in 2014, was also the highest level since 2010. Along with the 305 commercial building permits issued in 2014, there was a grand total of 669 building permits issued by the Village in 2014, for a grand total estimated valuation of $24.7 million after full construction has been completed. This level of building activity in 2014 has not been seen since the year of 2008, when $30.3 million of building permits were issued.

Second, the Village’s market valuation of its investment portfolio also rebounded in 2014, which reflected in a $102,933 budget surplus in investment income.

“With the $224,083 budget surplus from fiscal year 2014, this means that the Village is actually adding to its operating reserves and will not have to dip into its reserves for the 2015 budget. Plus, the remainder of the 2014 surplus will available in the Village’s toolbox for funding assistance of the 2016 budget”, said Finance Committee Chairman Scott Berger.

On June 24, 2015, the financial auditors of the Village (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) will present the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (“CAFR”) to the Finance Committee and Village Board for their approval. A copy of the 2004-2014 annual financial audit reports (CAFR) can be found on the Village’s website at www.westonwi.gov/ AnnualReportCAFR.

11

THE WESTON WIRE

5500 Schofield Avenue • P.O BOX 446 • Weston, WI 54476 • (715) 359-6114 • www.westonwi.gov

Village of Weston Municipal Center 5500 Schofield Avenue P.O. Box 446 Weston, WI 54476 Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Monday - Friday) General Information: (715) 359-6114 Website: www.westonwi.gov

Elected Officials Barbara Ermeling, President .................................... (715) 359-4365 bermeling@westonwi.gov Scott Berger, Trustee ................................................ (715) 573-5118 sberger@westonwi.gov Sharon Jaeger, Trustee ............................................. (715) 845-7408 sjaeger@westonwi.gov Kevin Ostrowski, Trustee ......................................... (715) 571-2676 kostrowski@westonwi.gov Fred Schuster, Trustee ............................................. (715) 359-7098 fschuster@westonwi.gov Loren White, Trustee ................................................ (715) 571-3904 lwhite@westonwi.gov Jon Ziegler, Trustee .................................................. (715) 241-9301 jziegler@westonwi.gov

Important Phone Numbers Administrator ............................................................ (715) 359-6114 Aquatic Center (seasonal) ........................................ (715) 241-7946 Assessor ................................................................... (877) 687-3445

Village of Weston Meeting Schedule Village Board of Trustees .................................................. 6:00 p.m.

1st and 3rd Monday of the month Community Development Authority ................................. 4:30 p.m.

2nd Monday of the month Community Life & Public Safety ....................................... 6:30 p.m.

4th Monday of the month Finance ............................................................................. 6:00 p.m.

4th Wednesday of the month Park & Recreation ............................................................. 5:15 p.m.

4th Monday of the month Personnel .......................................................................... 4:30 p.m.

3rd Monday of the month Plan Commission .............................................................. 6:00 p.m.

2nd Monday of the month Property & Infrastructure .................................................. 4:30 p.m.

1st Monday of the month S.A.F.E.R Board of Directors ............................................. 6:00 p.m.

2nd Tuesday of the month S.A.F.E.R Fire Commission ............................................... 7:00 p.m.

2nd Tuesday of the month All meetings, except S.A.F.E.R Board of Directors and S.A.F.E.R Fire Commission are held at the Weston Municipal Center. The S.A.F.E.R Board of Directors and S.A.F.E.R Fire Commission meetings are held at the Rib Mountain Municipal Center (3700 North Mountain Rd., Wausau). Meeting dates are subject to change; call the Village of Weston offices to confirm dates and times.

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Police (Non-emergency) ........................................... (715) 359-4202 Garbage & Recycling ............................................... (715) 359-6114

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