Rib Lake board clears way for daycare center to come to village
The village of Rib Lake will soon be getting a licensed child care center.
At the March 12 Rib Lake Village Board meeting, board members voted unanimously to change the zoning on the former Lakewood Credit Union building at 1003 Railroad St. from highway commercial to general commercial use, clearing an obstacle for the opening of Grandma’s Care LLC.
Grandma’s Care is owned and operated by Megan Nolan and is in the process of becoming Rib Lake’s only licensed group childcare.
In a letter to the village board, Nolan explained that she lives within the boundaries of the Medford School District and that while it would have allowed a simpler home/work life balance to send her children to Medford, she chose instead to open-enroll her students to Rib Lake Schools to “Continue our family legacy of attending its school district.” She noted the national recognition Rib Lake Schools has received for its high educational standards.
She said they saw an opportunity for community growth through bringing local childcare options to the Rib Lake community. “The community will profit by having more workers available for growing local businesses,” she stated.
Carpeting
The Rib Lake Village Hall will be getting a makeover in the coming weeks as board members approved spending $6,578 for Wholesale Carpets and Tile of Tomahawk to install carpeting over the existing tile floor. This is the same company that recently re-carpeted the hallways of the village hall, senior center and library.
The current board room floor surface predates the village taking over the building 25 years ago and is the former tiled multipurpose room floor when the building was the former Clearview School.
The carpeting will match that of the hallway and is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.
“The current floor is looking rough,” said board member Cliff Mann. It was noted the carpeting should be easier to take care of. Money for the project will come from the general building maintenance account.
In other business, board members: Renewed the contingency fund CD for 3.94% for 9 months. This is funds the village keeps on hand for emergencies. Village president Bill Schreiner noted that it was a large amount, noting it could maybe be enough to purchase a pickup truck.
Set the bulk waste drop off hours for the village residents for May 20-21 from noon to 5 p.m. at the village water plant.
Approved another portion of an ongoing upgrade to the village’s 75-year old code book. Schreiner explained they are going through each paragraph and making adjustments and corrections to bring them up to date. Other than updating language, there are few significant changes.
Approved allowing the Rib Lake library to use its remaining accessibility grant funds to install new handles on the handicapped accessible stalls in the bathrooms at the municipal building. The current handles were described as being tiny and difficult for people with hand issues to operate. The new lever-style handles will be easier to operate. They will be purchased by the library and installed by the village crew.
Approved going on record in support of continued authorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. This programs helps with the purchase of land to protect wildlife habitat and for recreational land. The Ice Age Trail Alliance asked for the village’s support in continuing the program at the state level, noting the village has benefitted from 10 projects in the area with an investment of $555,227 and 560 acres protected. Schreiner noted the village has seen really good results for tourism from the village being an Ice Age Trail Community. Board member George Tesch agreed. “That has brought a lot of people to the community,” he said. It was noted that 2024 was a record year for usage in the village park due in large part to people using the Ice Age Trail segments nearby and that they hope that number will grow in the future.
Received an update on the utilities with ice blockages cleared from storm sewer mains to improve drainage. There was also an update on the sewer plant, with it noted it is operating smoothly, but that for the next permit coming in a few years the village will beed to be looking at implementing UV disinfection to reduce chemical use.
Approved having the village crew install an outdoor faucet by the village shop downtown to provide water for those using the downtown pavilion for community events. In the past the shop was kept open to allow access, but there was damage done to the building and the desk of one of the employees so it has been kept closed. The faucet will be turned on and off seasonally.
