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Town reviews road maintenance requests, approves clerk phone per diem and reviews state law changes
Summary
Public Works raised maintenance needs including a missing sign on Ghost Hill Road and equipment reimbursements; the board approved a $40 phone per diem for the clerk, reviewed 2025 Acts 71 and 68, and noted the IRS mileage rate increased to $0.725 per mile for 2026.
Public Works Howard Vredeveld briefed the Town of Lowell Board on recent maintenance activities, including plowing, weekly road checks, replacing a starter on the town's white truck, and repairing road signs on Maiden Lane. Vredeveld told the board a sign is missing on Ghost Hill Road and said the county will only fabricate a replacement if the county installs it; he recommended contacting Lange Enterprises or Deker Signs. The board agreed to order tires for the town's JD mower tractor.
Vredeveld requested reimbursement for welder gas and wire. The board agreed to reimburse $40 for welder gas and $40 for welder wire; Clerk Kim Mann will process that reimbursement at the Feb. 10, 2026 board meeting.
Clerk Kim Mann presented materials on recent state and federal administrative changes. She summarized 2025 Act 71 (effective Dec. 9, 2025), which allows towns to appoint a clerk or treasurer midterm, combine the clerk/treasurer role, and permit deputy clerks and deputy treasurers who need not be town residents. Mann also presented Municipal Law materials describing 2025 Act 68 changes to Chapter 236 concerning platting and subdivision procedures.
Clerk Mann reviewed Internal Revenue Service guidance showing the 2026 standard mileage rate rose from $0.70 per mile to $0.725 per mile. The board approved a $40 per diem for the town clerk to cover increased personal phone usage tied to elections and after-hours calls, with the clerk determining when to take the per diem effective Jan. 13, 2026.
Clerk Mann also notified the board that the town's BP fuel card will convert to a WEX card, and she reminded members about upcoming meetings including a Dodge County public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan 2045.
