The New Richmond City Council held its monthly session on October 11th.
Council members agreed to an offer from Flow-Rite for $ 31,557 to perform a video inspection of 42,445 meters of sewer and 203 manholes.
Council members approved the purchase of a 2020 Jeep Cherokee from Bernard for a total of $ 20,875 to replace one of the Police Department’s unmarked detective squads. Funds were transferred to various from the 2021 Capital Improvement Plan and insurance funds from previous hail damage Department Vehicles.
After a closed session at the October 11th New Richmond City Council meeting, Councilor Noah Wiedenfeld announced that the city has signed a development agreement with Gerrard Corporation to resume development on the Beebe Building at 307 S. Knowles Ave.
“Gerrard Corporation is tentatively considering coming to the planning committee in December or January with plans for the building,” said Wiedenfeld. “You still have to go through the standard approval process for the building. You had a surveyor on site several times this summer and early autumn. We assume that the financing should be completed in the next few weeks. ”
Funding for the project would include the creation of a new stand-alone Tax Increment District (TID) dedicated to the Beebe Building project.
After the city completed the environmental impact and hazard assessments earlier this year, the city is expected to seek offers to demolish the building this fall, with the demolition scheduled for the winter.
The city expects to start construction of a four-story apartment building with 50 units for 55 years and older with underground parking in the spring of 2022.
Council members approved Resolution # 102102, which tentatively adopts a new map of parish boundaries as required by the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors.
Local governments must redefine parish boundaries and political responsibilities every 10 years to accommodate changing population and demographic trends as identified by the census. The board of directors has the task of monitoring changes to the maps for the city and district administration.
The state lawmakers are responsible for redrawing the district boundaries for the state’s Senate, Assembly, and Congressional districts.
The city of New Richmond exceeded 10,000 in the 2020 US census with an official population of 10,075.
At the county level, population changes typically affect the boundaries of counties, aldermen counties, and county supervisory counties.
The county sent the city its map with the changes in the county supervisory districts in early October. The proposed map creates a new regulatory district in New Richmond.
City clerk Michelle Scanlan and GIS analyst Kyle Wells reviewed the district map and developed three new options for the district maps for community review. They followed six guidelines from the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau.
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Compactness: Minimize the distance between all parts of a district.
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Neighborhood: All areas within a district should be physically adjacent.
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Preserve political subdivisions: District supervisory districts must generally consist of entire districts or municipalities, city councils must consist of entire districts and districts may not cross municipality or district boundaries.
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Complete Census Blocks: Counties are created by aggregating whole census blocks so that the county’s population falls within the legal range (600-2100), with the Aldermanic Districts having essentially the same population.
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Changes in parish boundaries reflect: adaptation to annexations and growth. Make a good faith effort to keep the districts equal.
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Consistency: Make changes to accommodate changes in populations and math needs.
The council chose Plan 6, which addresses population balance and the boundaries of the community well, but is less successful with neighborhood and compactness.
With Plan 6, 34% of the population (3425 residents with approx. 2398 voting age) will be assigned to a new constituency. More than 34% will experience a parish change, but no Aldermanic district change.
The council has until October 14th to provide the district with its proposed map of the municipal boundaries.
On November 2nd, the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing and then adopt a final supervisory district plan.
Residents can expect a rigorous information campaign, similar to the reassessment and early election campaigns by the bureau’s office, to educate residents about the change.
Council members agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Focus on Energy to participate in its Save to Give Challenge. Focus on Energy is a not-for-profit initiative overseen by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. It aims to facilitate behavioral changes when households, businesses and nonprofits invest in energy efficiency measures in order to provide themselves with cleaner energy.
New Richmond is one of two parishes selected to take part in the challenge. By taking simple steps to reduce energy consumption, residents can raise funds to support local nonprofits.
The City of New Richmond will partner with New Richmond Utilities and Focus on Energy to plan, prepare, and promote a community-wide energy saving challenge, educate and motivate residents to conserve energy, and fund a local nonprofit .
The challenge is set to begin in 2022. Individual households voluntarily take part in two eight-week energy-saving campaigns over a period of 12 months.
The program uses the MyMeter engagement software and mobile application to introduce, track and report energy-saving behaviors. By keeping a record of their energy saving efforts online, homeowners have the opportunity to support three of their favorite local charities. The more residents participate, the more money can be collected and donated. Eligible nonprofits can earn up to $ 25,000.
Nonprofits must apply and must “be a resident or work in the New Richmond community, be a 501 (c) 3 entity, use funds donated from the Save to Give Challenge for the benefit of the community, and be willing to actively recruit participants for the program. ”
Three local nonprofits are selected by a group of community members and stakeholders to take part in the Save to Give Challenge.
Non-profit organizations can apply by visiting focusonenergy.com/savetogive or contacting Brady Steigauf at brady.steigauf@focusonenergy.com. You can also call 608-284-1756.