By CHRIS GOUGH | For the County Line
At Tuesday’s Norwalk Village Board meeting, board member Madonna Johnson suggested that fellow board member Nidia Alcantar shouldn’t vote on matters that involved law enforcement or the courts, as she is paid by the Norwalk Municipal Court as a translator.
Johnson questioned whether Alcantar should have voted last month’s meeting for a new patrol car. Other board members would have abstained themselves for votes that might have a conflict of interest, she pointed out.
After much thought and consideration, the board agreed it was an honest mistake, that perhaps Alcantar didn’t in fact know about this. (She was not at the meeting.)
“Going forward, I can make sure I let her know anything dealing with the law enforcement, she can’t vote,” said village clerk Kerry Vian.
Board member Chad Marti noted that it was a good question for the village attorney to verify if indeed she can’t vote on matters involving law enforcement.
Other business
• Also, during public comments, board member Madonna Johnson thanked Henry Vian for a job well done on snow removal at the Norwalk Public Library.
• There was discussion regarding parking by the sewer plant. The original ordinance allows parking for trucks 30 feet or longer; however, parking of smaller trailers and other equipment has created some issues, as semi-trucks at times don’t enough space to back in and make their turn out of the parking area. Also, non-residents have been using the parking lot. Board president Levi Helgren was not ready to make a quick decision until the board had more time to discuss options and possible improvements.
• Officer David Jones noted that his new squad car is scheduled to have its equipment installed soon, pointing out that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Sparta and Tomah police departments had donated more than $2,000 worth of equipment for the new car.
Furthermore, he was able to get a light bar from Monroe County for his squad car, and in doing so, saved the village an additional $1,200.
• Helgren noted that the village is auctioning off a few items on Wisconsin Surplus Online Auction. All funds go back into the village, and the auction will run through Wednesday, Feb. 19.
• The village board was able to come up with a compromise with a local resident over vehicles parked in his yard. Together with Jones, the board approved an exemption to be revisited in one year for his unregistered recreational vehicles.
• In an update on Norcrest Apartments, Joyce Schreier of the Norcrest Board mentioned to village board members that the creation of a new Norcrest Board is underway. The current Norcrest Board members are looking to fill the last remaining position. Their meetings will be the first Tuesday on every month starting at 7 p.m. in the Norcrest community room.