Town Hall Meetings

[Tim O'Neill]

May 28, 2009

Compiled by HGAA;s Matt Harms.
28 residents in attendance

Board members present were Jim Scheiber, Dale Wuestenhagen, Dan Binversie, Jeff Plass and Mike Stoeckigt. Other village representation included the village clerk, Mary Zore and the village engineer, Scott Schramm.

The meeting did start promptly at 6:30 with an introduction of the village board trustees which included a brief history of each trustee. The village president, Jim Schieber, wanted to stress that the purpose of these Town Hall meetings are to get the information out to the residents and to allow the village residents to voice their concerns and questions directly to the board. The ground rules were then laid out by Dave Kisiolek, the meeting moderator, which consisted of residents having to write down a question on a note card and submit that note card to the moderator. Each question was then asked directly to the village board president by the moderator, who in turn either addressed the question or allowed one of his trustees to answer or comment on that question. Each topic was given 10 minutes for discussion. Here is a brief summary of a few questions that were asked:

[Tim O'Neill]

-What are the financial liabilities of the village and how are they to be satisfied?
Summary of response and comment: The main liability for the village is the mortgage outstanding on the village hall. The amount outstanding is $550,000 which is currently at 2% interest, but that rate will be renegotiated later this year to a new rate. The comment by the village clerk is that there are about 10 years remaining on that obligation at the current rate of repayment. There is also another obligation to the village regarding the sewage treatment plant. That obligation is paid directly from the village residents’ quarterly sewer bills.

[Tim O'Neill]

-What is on the horizon for public water?
Summary of response and comment: The village has been looking into if and when public water will be necessary. The village board wants to put together some 5, 10, 15 and 20 year projections and estimates to see where the biggest need will be for the village. If light industrial/commercial parks are formed, there is a strong likelihood that there will have to be a high capacity well put in place to service those businesses. The concern is if a high capacity well is put in place, it does not disrupt the current residents and/or aquifers in the village. There is no definite timeline there will be public water, but the board is aware and researching possible avenues for the future.

[Tim O'Neill]

-What is the status of the park that was to be constructed on the north east side of the village?
Summary of response and comment: As of the current time, the park has been put on hold. There had been in-depth discussions over the last two years that have involved the Howards Grove Advancement Association, the Howards Grove Athletic Club, the Millersville Recreation Association, the Howards Grove Boosters and the Howards Grove Soccer Club. After many meetings and a needs analysis, it was decided that there was just not enough funds available to begin that project at this point. One comment was mentioned that Howards Grove has three times as much park space as Cedar Grove and two times as much park space as Oostburg; do we really need a park? The village board responded that the Howards Grove Soccer Club has expressed interest in having soccer facilities for years, and the Howards Grove Athletic Club also has been in need of more ball diamonds especially for the smaller children. Over the last several years, each organization has discussed a need, but the funds are just not available at the current time. Another comment was made to the fact that Howards Grove does have a lot of park area; however, most of the land is swamp land or flood plain and could never be built on anyways. Being along a river, there will naturally be more green space and swamp areas. Many mentioned that they enjoyed the green space of the village and was one of their reasons for wanting to live here. The board mentioned that the park is a long range plan to hopefully be completed in 40-50 years. A portion of the park may be developed at some point sooner, but the board assured that proper funding would be in place prior to making any improvements to the site which was purchased solely for the use of park and recreation.