Village of Jackson updates by John Walther

Police Department
It was much busier this week compared to the past several weeks. There was an OWI arrest by Officer Brinks at 2:30 a.m. last Saturday, and there were several vehicle accidents.
Officer Krueger conducted firearms training this week.
The department’s on-line auction (#16273-31) of abandoned, seized, and surplus property is going well. The auction ends May 2. Check out www.wisconsinsurplus.com if you are interested in anything.
Fire Department
Monday night at fire training, we conducted a live grass fire burn in the Town of Jackson to practice wildland firefighting. Dry conditions permitted about six acres to be burned in less than two hours.
Also on Monday night, we welcomed new recruits Jacob Miller and Andrew Tinlin to the fire department. We look forward to getting them up to speed in the next few months in preparation for school beginning in September.
About a dozen cub scouts and parents toured our station and were given a fire prevention talk on Tuesday evening.
Thursday afternoon, Kewaskum Fire Department requested a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) from Jackson for a house fire in the far northern section of their area.
A huge thank you to Dave from the DPW for doing an awesome job waxing all the floors at the station. We believe it’s been about fifteen years since the floors have received a coat of wax.
Joint Parks and Recreation
The Guide is being proofed this week prior to being sent to the printer on Monday. They should be in the mail in about a week. Get ready for summer and sign up for some fun classes!
The 14th Annual Scotty Schoen Fishing Derby is scheduled for Saturday May 7 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. We’re looking for volunteers to come and measure fish. Please contact Kelly or Renee if you can help (262-677-9665.) Thank you.
This week we hosted meetings for the Greater Jackson Business Alliance meeting, Action in Jackson, Friend’s Group, and Joint Parks & Rec Committee. Huge thanks to John Binsfeld for his years of service and continued support of the Park & Rec!
Monday at 8:00 a.m., for Community Service Day, we have a service group coming from Living Word.
Friday is the Arbor Day celebration and big Spruce it Up Day. We could still use eight adult volunteers from 8:30 a.m. until Noon. If you can help, please contact Kelly at 262-677-9665 x103.
Wednesday night softball is scheduled to begin May 11. Thursday night softball is scheduled to begin May 19. Outdoor Volleyball Leagues will begin June 2.
We are hosting a Community Blood Drive on Monday April 25 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. for the Dove Family, a local Jackson family. You can read the details: https://www.facebook.com/TeamLandB/
Finally, a recent participant in the Senior Meals Program at the Community Center donated bags of books to our Adult Community Lending Library about the Gold Rush and ghost towns of the west. Come and explore how he lived in California and mined gold for a living. It is fun to hear the interesting stories from residents of Jackson!
Building Inspection
Rough inspections continue at the twelve family apartment buildings in Premier Cranberry Creek Estates.
Jim is attending the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Building Inspectors Institute in Delavan for code
refresher training.
Public Works
The Jackson Water Utility has completed the spring flushing of the entire water system. Three rusty water
complaints are being investigated. Six consumers have expressed concerns with regard to their high water
bills. After investigation, the higher usage was created by excessive water softener regeneration, toilets
continually filling, and someone with a water garden. The Washington County Fair Park has requested
meter reinstallations and the water to be turned on to the entire grounds. The crew also repaired curb stops
and performed Digger’s Hotline locates. The Jackson Water Utility hosted a Wisconsin Rural Water
Association seminar on Tuesday, April 19 at the Village Hall. The topics covered included Cross
Connections and Distribution System
The Street & Parks Department conducted general and vehicle maintenance, replaced broken trash
containers, and mowed areas of the Village. The baseball diamonds are being readied for the upcoming
season. The wings are off the five-yard patrol trucks. The 2003 patrol truck is being serviced by
International Truck for various items. Carl started mowing for the year and only needed to be pulled out
of the ditch once. The play area mulch is being delivered in each park for the April 29 park
beautification event with Jackson Elementary. The Street Department yard is being readied for the Spring
Cleanup Day to be held Saturday, April 30.
At the WWTP, general maintenance along with televising of sanitary laterals continues. Pieper Electric
has now completed the rewiring of the west Schreiber tank. The equipment for chlorinating the discharge
of the plant is being set up for the May 1 start date. The technician from Varec Biogas was here this
week to help the staff with installation and maintenance of the gas burning equipment. Sabel Mechanical
is assisting staff in removing the drive chain from the Aqua Guard bar screen in preparation for the
installation of the new chain. Sludge from the blue tank is being sampled and then decanted for field
application. The sanitary lateral for the Jackson Park concession building has been cleaned. Grease and
unnecessary bends in the lateral caused a blockage. The lateral is over 100 ft in length with no cleanouts.
A cleanout will be installed so televising of the entire lateral can be completed.
We-Energies Gas and Electric have started begun improvements on Wilshire Drive. The proposed
schedule has We Energies work being completed before Buetyn-Peterson begins the project on May 9.
Clerk/Treasurer
Entry work continues from the April 5, 2016, Presidential Preference Primary Election. Paula has tackled
this entry project on the new Wisconsin Voter System.
The Village Board held their Organizational Meeting on Tuesday evening. Newly elected Trustee Debbie
Kurtz was sworn in as were incumbents Mike Kufahl and John Kruepke. Committee appointments have
been updated on the Village website.
Utility payments continue to stream in. They are due by May 5. The Village accepts credit cards.
The Department of Revenue Tax Increment Certification and Tax Exempt Property reports were filed and
the Department of Natural Resources recycle grant is in process.
Deanna attended the Municipal Treasurer’s Conference this week.
The transition from BMO Harris Bank to Westbury Bank for the Village banking has gone smoothly.
Administrator
The Village formally notified the WPPA that its grievance regarding “standby pay” was denied through
the third step in the process. It’s now up to the WPPA to decide if it wishes to file for outside arbitration.