Electric City to hold meeting at fire hall

Electric City will hold a town hall meeting at the fire hall on Thursday, April 13, at 6 p.m., giving citizen a chance to hear and talk about several aspects of ongoing city business, including meeting the new police chief.

“There’s quite a bit on the agenda,” Mayor Diane Kohout told the city council Tuesday night.

Police Chief Paul Bowden’s Coulee Dam department gained the city’s contract in January for providing the service to Electric City. Bowden will attend the meeting and talk with citizens, as will Fire Chief Mark Payne.

Kohout said she hopes it’s well attended. “I’d like the people to know what we’re doing.”

Councilmember Cate Slater will be there and update people on the newly formed park committee.

Kohout said also on the agenda will be information about a sewer main line relining project. The city engineer will talk about the waterfront trail project. New city public works director Travis Irwin will talk about upcoming street projects. Kohout will talk about the coming spring cleanup and a grant for a new woodchipper. She expects it to last about two hours.

In other business, the council also accepted the resignation of Councilmember Bob Rupe and agreed to advertise to seek citizens interested in serving on the council. The council will choose a new person to fill the seat vacated by Rupe through the end of his current term at the end of 2025. The city has 60 days to fill the position, Kohout said.

Council also voted to amend the budget to allow Irwin to buy a new truck and snowplow for up to $80,000, giving him the authority to find the vehicle and make the purchase.

Irwin said he’s been driving his own truck to do the job as there are more employees needing to use trucks than the city has. He’s been trying to find one, then bring a proposal to the council, but any he finds are gone within days; the council meets once a month.

The city has been trying to find a grant to cover such a cost for months with no luck. The council’s vote will allow City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal to move funds between accounts to make the purchase possible.