Musky Court residents continue fight over sidewalks
Musky Court residents continued to voice their disapproval at the Committee of the Whole meeting of the Medford City Council on Monday night.
“I am very disappointed at this whole council at the disrespect… I’m ashamed of the city of Medford, if I was younger I'd move,” said resident John Lemke.
“I think that's really ridiculous, there's no traffic, and if Mayor Wellner doesn’t like it, I'll pay to have a sidewalk put in in front of his house so he can shovel,” said resident Mark Jensen.
Residents also questioned the semantics of the ordinance wording, stating that the ordinance only references streets and not cul-de-sacs. Others stated that they felt it was unfair to relay any costs to those living on the street, especially since they were opposed to the sidewalk.
“That to me is unfair,” said Mark Albers. Albers and Lemke have both been outspoken regarding the ordinance with Lemke stating that other streets that have seen repairs have not had a sidewalk installed, such as Pep’s Drive. One local questioned why there was not a sidewalk outside City Hall on South Second Street with Lemke citing discrimination as the cause.
Steve Budzkinski, another Musky Court occupant, stated that installing a sidewalk for safety purposes is unnecessary.
“I don't think we have one vehicle a day down there,” Budzinski stated. “If you're talking about safety you can just disregard that, that is a false statement.”
While the council encouraged public comment and listened to residents, they were unable to comment on the sidewalk ordinance as it was not on the meeting agenda.
In other business, committee members:
• The committee heard that two building permits were issued in the month of February with a value totaling $160,000.
• Heard that there were three bids sent for the wastewater treatment plant headworks upgrade project. The committee voted to send to council the lowest bid which came from C D Smith Construction, Inc based out of Fond du Lac. Their lump sum bid was $7,856,526. The wastewater treatment plant will receive DNR funding for this project as well as 45% principal forgiveness and 33% market rate with anything related to hauled waste at 0%. The plant will see an interest rate of less than 1% for the life of the loan. After conclusion of this topic, the committee adjourned to the council portion of the meeting.
• Approved a developer’s agreement with Joe Strama to develop three homes on Joann’s Circle with the city providing the lot and driveway approach and sale of the homes not to exceed $270,000. Alderperson Randy Haynes was opposed.
Council members discussed the approval of reimbursement of the cost of lots located in the Simek subdivision with the stipulation that one residential home may have up to two lots, construction must begin within 24 months of purchase, final inspection is to be completed within three years for lot reimbursement, and that the purchase cost of one lot minus closing costs will be reimbursed upon an approved inspection.
'I think it should just be 18 months,' said Randy Haynes. 'If you're giving them that lot to build on, they've got to build on it.'
Ultimately, the council voted to amend the resolution to state that construction must take place within 18 months of purchase for those who purchase lots as of Tuesday, March 25.
• Accepted bids for materials and equipment which were recommended and detailed by the committee of the whole on March 10.
• Accepted the bid from Jensen Chip & Seal Coating in the amount of $13,090 for street striping.
• Heard from a resident of Perkins Street that the street is a “speedway.” City coordinator Joe Harris reported that bigger signs could be a possibility.
'Your concerns are our concerns,' said alderperson Ken Coyer, who also stated that he has discussed this same concern with the city police.
