Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Transmission Notice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident voices concern at Menomonee Falls meeting over proposed 100-foot transmission pole near Silver Spring Road
Summary
At the April 7 Menomonee Falls Village Board meeting, resident Sandra Seymour asked the board for information and help after learning that the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and American Transmission Company have proposed transmission upgrades she says could place a 100-foot steel pole near her kitchen.
Sandra Seymour, a Menomonee Falls resident, told the Village Board on April 7 that she is alarmed by plans she says were shown on an American Transmission Company map and notified by a December 19 letter from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
“I've found out recently that the Public Service Commission is considering putting a 100 foot tall steel pole on an 8 by 12 foot concrete platform that will occupy my kitchen,” Seymour said during the public-comment period. She said she received a single letter dated Dec. 19 and later located a map online showing a broad corridor where towers and lines may be sited.
Seymour said she called village offices for information and was transferred among departments without getting answers. She asked whether other residents had been notified and whether the village could help her understand or challenge the proposal.
On the map Seymour cited, she said a wide blue corridor appeared to run through the area near Old Silver Spring Road. She reported that another nearby property owner told her the proposed lines would run along railroad tracks, but the ATC map she found did not show that routing.
Seymour described her property as an older riverfront home and said the prospect of the transmission work felt like a threat to the house she intended to leave to her son.
The board received Seymour's comments during public comment and did not make a decision or take formal action during the meeting. Village officials advised her to submit the public comment form and said the village attorney would receive it.
Why it matters: The Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) and American Transmission Company (ATC) oversee transmission projects that can require property access, easements or, in some cases, condemnation. Neighbors typically depend on public notices and meetings to learn about routing, siting and timing; residents who receive only limited written notice may seek additional information from the PSC, ATC or their municipal officials.
What the transcript shows: Seymour cited the Dec. 19 letter and a publicly available ATC map showing a corridor; she said she did not find clear local notification and that village staff did not have immediate answers when she called. The board did not discuss the project on the record beyond receiving her public comment.
Next steps noted at the meeting: Trustees directed Seymour to submit a comment form and to route her materials to the village attorney; no board directive to staff or formal referral to another body was recorded.
