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Waldo board narrows advisory referendum wording after public comment on millpond
Summary
At a July 31 special meeting, the Village of Waldo Board of Trustees removed a dollar estimate from an advisory referendum about the Waldo Millpond and instructed the clerk to send the revised wording to the village attorney; no formal referendum vote was taken and the board will consider the resolution on Aug. 12.
President Dekker called the Village of Waldo special Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. on July 31, 2024, where trustees and residents focused on the proposed advisory referendum concerning the Waldo Millpond.
The board heard public comment from Joe Schaffer of the Milwaukee River Keepers, who commended trustees for soliciting public input on the millpond; from nearby resident Brian Wimmler, who said he and others would be most affected by any decision; and from Pete DeGroff, owner of JD Trucking, who recalled childhood use of the millpond and suggested potential mitigation measures including phased work, planting buffer grasses, narrowing parts of the pond and exploring hydroelectric options. The minutes record that each speaker was given a three-minute limit and that the board did not take action during public comment.
Trustees then discussed the language of an advisory referendum the board is considering for the Nov. 5, 2024 election. According to the minutes, Trustee Dennis Reinemann said he did not agree with the dollar amount presented by Ayre’s engineering firm, and Trustee Michael Hintz said he did not agree there is an issue with the dam. The minutes also attribute a statement urging attention to DNR requirements and resident input to Trustee Steve Bunnow; the attendance list in the same minutes records Bunnow as absent, a discrepancy the minutes themselves do not reconcile.
The board agreed to remove the specific dollar estimate from the referendum wording. Clerk/Treasurer Lisa Gillette was instructed to prepare the revised advisory referendum text and submit it to the Village Attorney for review; the board expects to take formal action to approve the resolution at its Aug. 12 meeting. An agenda item listed as "Discuss/approve Waldo Millpond Advisory Referendum for November 5, 2024" was called but no vote or formal action on the referendum was recorded at the July 31 meeting.
Trustee Dennis Reinemann moved to adjourn; Trustee Michael Hintz seconded and the motion carried. The meeting ended at 7:30 p.m.
The next procedural step recorded in the minutes is the board’s planned consideration of the referendum resolution at the Aug. 12 Village Board meeting.
