Mazomanie to take over cemetery maintenance, adjusts pet licensing fees

The Village of Mazomanie handled business as usual in their December and January meetings, moving cemetery maintenance in-house, creating a joint police committee, and drawing lots for ballot order for the spring election.  At their December 10, 2024, the board elected to bring cemetery maintenance in-house, which Public Works Director Mark Geisler figured would yield savings for the village in the long run rather than paying a company to do it. Gisler walked the board through his proposal of bringing on a new young summer employee specifically to handle mowing and such at the cemetery. This employee could also float and handle various tasks the always busy public works department has ready to do. In addition, the village would purchase a mower and a few weedwhackers to maintain the property. When all was said and done the $16,000 in the budget had been allotted to expenses necessary to get the in-house maintenance started. Public works will also refurbish an existing structure on the property for storage. As for Ballfield #2 at Lions Park, Trustee Natalie Beil reported at the December 10th meeting that parks and recreation have begun outlining a job description for field preparation work, thinking they may move to a season worker—like the new cemetery worker—and possibly even share that worker. In a later agenda item Village President Gary Harrop reported that the youth baseball league is planning a fundraiser and exploring grant opportunities for the installation of lights at a cost of $60,000. Beil also informed the board that Wisconsin Heights School District is interested, as their high school field currently lacks lighting. The board approved a rate increase for the water and stormwater utilities. Clerk/Treasurer Angie Volkman informed the board about changes to Dane County’s licensing fees for pets. The current fee for a spayed or neutered animal is $20, with the County receiving $13.75, while the fee for an unspayed or unneutered animal is $25, with the County receiving $18.75. Following the approval of the County’s budget in November, the County plans to adjust rates, retaining $18.75 for spayed/neutered animals and $27.75 for unspayed/unneutered animals. As a result of this budget increase, the Village will need to raise its license fees, she explained. Volkman recommended increasing the fees to $25 for spayed/neutered animals and $35 for unspayed/unneutered animals.  At the January 14th meeting, Mazomanie Fire Chief Cam Parham gave the 2024 Annual Report, noting that 232 inspections were conducted last year. Training hours were down slightly but remained high due to the circumstances, he explained. Those circumstances included a smaller team and few new members requiring additional certifications. With TIF #4 paid in full by the end of 2025 the village will utilize State law to extend it for one more year and capture taxes that can be used for affordable housing. The $500,000 in taxes the village will recoup will be put towards primarily workforce and senior housing. Now that Mazomanie and Black Earth have a combined police department going forward, Harrop proposed a joint committee that would include members from both villages. He said an annual meeting would be best to review the contract as necessary. Harrop also suggested the Village Administrator be the point of contact with the Dane County Sherriff’s Department West Precinct Lieutenant. The board also drew names for the order on the ballot for the spring election, because both Village President and Trustee races are contested. Beil is running for Village President, along with Harrop; Beil will be listed first. As for trustee, the order will be Justin Martinez, Karen Peterson, and Dawn Forseth. Beil requested that the Wisconsin Heights upcoming career exploration day invitation be added to the agenda. Beil felt having a booth there would be beneficial to the village. Geisler spoke about having a stronger civil engineering focus at the event. He hopes to attend with the Village Engineer.