To mitigate the spread of Covid-19, the Wilton Community Center and the village campground and bathhouse will remain closed at least until May 18, the village board decided at its meeting Monday.
Moreover, the village will delay getting the swimming pool ready for the season; it’s a process that would usually begin at about this time of year.
The board will revisit the closures at its Monday, May 11, board meeting.
Prior to the motion, board member Tom Brieske suggested getting the pool ready and opening the bathhouse, but board president Tim Welch said he didn’t want to spend money on items such as chemicals if the pool was going to remain closed.
He added that he hoped to deter tourists from coming to the village during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Employee Phyllis Brandau suggested that the bathhouse also remain closed, saying that if it were open it would become “Grand Central Station.”
Agreeing with the sentiment to keep the bathhouse closed, board member Eli Yoder noted that the structure would have to be thoroughly sanitized on a regular basis as well as cleaned.
“Public health should be our main concern,” Yoder said.
Wilton Ambulance Service
Amid difficulties created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wilton Ambulance Service employees have talked about the possibility of getting a raise, director Jeremy Likely said, adding that they weren’t “complaining per se.”
At present, drivers receive $20 per call; first responders, $25 per call; and EMTs, $30 per call. Also, regardless of status, an employee receives an extra $10 for transfers to La Crosse, Mauston or Viroqua.
The board agreed to talk about the matter later this year, with the intention of notifying the ambulance service’s participating municipalities of a price increase in July.
On a related note, Likely said the service was “sitting pretty good” in regard to supplies. Wilton had received gloves, surgical masks, and hoods from the strategic national stockpile, though it had not gotten N95 masks.
Responding to Yoder’s question on the matter, Likely said the service was reusing masks.
So far, the service has had only one call for which personal protective equipment was recommended.
Other business
• After a closed session, the board accepted the resignation of clerk/treasurer Samantha Lehman effective April 13. Lehman began employment with the village in February.
• The board approved an $18,927.60 contract with Kendall Trucking & Excavating for Packard Street water improvements.
• The village will waive late charges and temporarily suspend disconnections for water and sewer services.
• The board approved well head easement agreements with Darrell Parker, Shane Michel, Donald and Patricia Pierce and Laylan Property Management. Those property owners will be on well-based water service separate from the rest of the village, as a Highway 71 main that had been exposed during the August 2018 flood could not be repaired.
• Welch thanked the employees for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic and the election.
• The new village drop box will be installed into the library storage space rather than the community center hallway.
• The village will seek proposals to repair 15 manholes.
• The board hired James Dettinger for a seasonal lawn-mowing position at $9 per hour for 20 hours per week.