Wisconsin’s first certified forest-bathing trail was opened to the public during a dedication ceremony on Sunday, July 26. It overlaps a portion of the Three Eagle Trail in Tara Lila’s Section Nine Road Park, roughly four miles south of Eagle River in the town of Lincoln.
Residents of Eagle River — via petition — have demanded term-limits for the offices of mayor and city alderpersons. A draft ordinance to initiate the change in election policy was submitted to the city in early July. An attorney engaged by the city found the wording of the draft to be legally sufficient on July 22.
The common council of the city of Eagle River, during its meeting on Tuesday, July 14, denied a conditional use permit (CUP) application for a potential $5M dollar storage facility at 1100 North Railroad Street (which is also U.S. Highway 45 and Wisconsin State Highway 17). The denial followed months of public input and debate at city planning commission meetings.
Attorney Steve Garbowicz, who serves as legal counsel for most of the municipalities in Vilas County, will retire at the end of this year. The town of St. Germain and the city of Eagle River made public announcements to that effect during their meetings on Monday, July 13 and Tuesday, July 14, respectively.
The St. Germain town board during its July 13 meeting voted to cancel a contract for a multiple-use outdoor sports court after accepting what turned out to be an erroneous bid submitted by the contractor last month.
Remedial measures for failing infrastructure at two of St. Germain’s parks was discussed at length during the July 13 meeting of the town board. While previous boards had debated what to do about the pavilion at Vandervort Park and the structures at the skate park near the St. Germain community center, little or no action had been taken over the years to rectify either situation.
The St. Germain town board during a special meeting on June 18 voted to accept a bid and proceed with construction of a multi-use outdoor sports court. It wasn’t a unanimous vote as town supervisor Bob Olson described the move as “irresponsible.”
The St. Germain town board, during a special meeting on June 18, approved $285,695 for new equipment for the town’s department of public works (DPW). The majority of the money will be spent to replace the town’s current front-end loader, which is nearly 20 years old.
Eagle River chief of police Tyler Salvinski, during a meeting of the city’s common council on Tuesday, June 9, requested $371,210 to upgrade the technology utilized by his department. “I’m glad I was sitting down when I read this one,” mayor Deb Brown said at the outset of the discussion.
After a few weeks of developing a plan for the St. Germain yard-waste facility or “stump dump” the town board had voted to close during a meeting on May 11, the facility will re-open beginning this weekend, June 13 and 14.