Marathon City trustees decide to leave culvert alone

By Kevin O’Brien

A collapsed culvert near the intersection of Fourth Street and CTH NN in Marathon City generated some discussion at last week’s village board meeting, but trustees decided there are more important things for the village to spend its money on at this point.

Village administrator Steve Cherek told the board about a proposal from engineers at Vierbicher Associates to dig out the old railroad bed where the culvert is located and install a retention pond with controlled releases of water. Stormwater continually backs up into the Marathon Elementary property across the street, so Cherek was thinking the school district may be willing to help address the problem.

Cherek said the Fourth Street sidewalk and pedestrian trail project is coming in under budget, but he would rather spend any leftover money for lighting at the new ballpark facility. Before moving ahead with a retention pond, he said the village would need to obtain easements from St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, St. Anthony’s Spirituality Center and a private landowner.

Board members were reluctant to go digging around in that area when the true cost of fixing the problem is unknown at this point. Trustee Mark Ahrens said a new retention would “be nice to have,” but he questioned whether it was the village’s responsibility.

“I don’t know why that’s on us,” he said. “We’re not rolling in cash.”

Trustee Keith Paul expressed concerns about creating stormwater problems for adjacent property owners if the village redirected the flow of water in the area.

Village president Kurt Handrick echoed Paul’s concerns, and said the village was better off not proceeding with a project at this point.

“Let’s just leave that can of worms sit for awhile,” he said. “We don’t got to go fishing right now.”

Later in the meeting, trustee Connie Ruplinger raised concerns about two existing retention ponds in that same area, including one on the St. Matthew’s property and another behind the village’s new ballfields.

Ruplinger said the retention pond on the church’s property seems too shallow to her, and she wondered what will happen once the church is constructed, creating more runoff.

“It’s full now and they don’t even have a roof on anything,” she said.

Cherek said that retention pond is designed to redirect water into nearby wetlands and should be adequate to handle the water coming off the church’s impervious surfaces.

Ruplinger was also worried about kids getting into either the church’s retention pond or the one installed by the village at its ballpark.

“When you have young kids, they’re drawn to water,” she said.

Cherek said the village’s engineers have not said anything about putting a fence up around the retention pond, which is designed to draw down every 48 hours, but he acknowledged that it could still be a safety hazard.

“I could see putting in a small fence,” he said.

Other business

■ The board approved a $61,700 contract with Vierbicher Associates to oversee the construction of the sidewalk on Fourth Street, a walking trail on CTH NN and a pedestrian underpass.

■ The board approved wages and salaries for 2025, including $86,000 for Cherek, $74,984 for police chief Tyler Geske and $2,500 for village president Kurt Handrick. Trustees will continue to be paid $50 per meeting.

■ The board approved a certified survey map as part of a five-acre land swap between St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, which owns land along CTH NN.