Marquette County board approves agenda and minutes; hears reports on EMS grants, treatment court and warming centers

The Marquette County Board of Supervisors approved the meeting agenda and the minutes from Dec. 2, 2025, and spent most of the session on department reports and program updates, including emergency medical services funding, the county's treatment court program and emergency-warming resources.

A motion to approve the agenda was made and seconded and carried by voice vote. The board later voted to approve the Dec. 2 minutes, again carrying the motion by voice vote.

Rob, who presented the EMS report, said the county received a $56,552 state funding assistance grant and noted the funds remain unspent. "We do have to report every year what we did with the money," he said, adding concern that failure to spend or identify allowable capital uses could jeopardize future grants. Rob reported the department handled 1,924 calls in 2025 (a 7% increase from 2024), sold an old ambulance for $7,075, and recently hired one EMT and one paramedic who started immediately.

Board members debated whether to use the grant to purchase and outfit a new Med 1 ambulance or to keep a fleet-replacement rollover account intact. A supervisor said EM is currently budgeted at 50% and asked whether the truck bedliner charge should be split; another raised long-term levy implications if grant-funded vehicles require replacement from county taxes in later years.

Judge Hendy and treatment-court coordinator Alice Schlady briefed the board on the county's hybrid treatment court, describing an 18-to-24-month, five-phase program that pairs participants with a probation agent, requires frequent testing and assigns a deputy to check in with each participant. The judge said the program's in-house treatment provider, Jane Aligny, and a newly hired peer-support specialist help sustain participant progress; a graduation is planned for mid-May. "It's easily the most rewarding thing that I've done in my career," the judge said.

The medical examiner, Amanda, reported rising caseloads: 11 total deaths in December 2025 (10 natural, 1 suicide) and 18 deaths in January, with 16 deemed medical-examiner cases. She explained that state jurisdiction rules (transcript reference: "9 79, Wisconsin State 9 79") mean the office does not take every death reported in the county.

On warming centers, county staff said the health department maintains a distributed list of civic and nonprofit locations (libraries, town halls and similar venues) to use during extreme cold, and that dispatch carries the list for referrals. Board members requested clearer public messaging and a single online listing so residents know where to seek assistance.

Finally, the board discussed administrative handling of records and evidence for the City of Montello after the city reduced its police administrative capacity. Sheriff's staff said they already received Montello evidence and are handling it, but county administrators said the contract's 5% administration fee did not explicitly define which parking or administrative duties would be covered and recommended tracking workload and costs as the transition continues.

The board adjourned with no additional formal actions reported.