Council adds appointee

Upon the recommendation of Mayor Randy Meyer, the Sheboygan Falls Common Council approved the appointment of Anne Krauter to fill the vacant 1st District aldermanic seat Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the City Hall Municipal Building.

Meyer selected Krauter from a group of four candidates to fill the open seat formerly occupied by Brian Passehl, who stepped down June 16.

“I would like to thank each of the four candidates that applied for the position,” Meyer said. “It is nice to have that kind of interest and participation from several residents of the 1st district.

“It was a very tough decision that required a lot of thought,” he said. “I went with Anne because I liked her attitude and her enthusiasm for the position and her interest in the future direction of the city.”

Krauter, who is a native of Sheboygan Falls and a 1998 graduate of Sheboygan Falls High School, introduced herself and fielded questions from members of the council, during a Committee of the Whole meeting, held prior to the regular council meeting.

“I pursued this opportunity to join the council in part because I feel the younger generation needs to get more involved in the direction and the decision making in their local communities,” Krauter said. “From growing up here, I have great memories of Sheboygan Falls.

“I like that it is a small community where people are generally friendly and take time to get to know their neighbors,” she said. “I feel it is also a very safe community, and I believe it is important to do our best to keep it that way.”

Krauter will be formerly sworn in to the position at the next Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 6:30 p.m.

In other business, Meyer announced the city will conduct a public hearing for its Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan at the Aug. 18 meeting.

He also discussed the upcoming Sheboygan Falls Jaycees Falls Fest, which take place at River Park Saturday, Aug. 22, with the annual Falls Fest parade kicking off the day’s festivities at 11 a.m.

In city services business, the council approved the purchase of an overhead door for the Department of Public Works facility from Overhead Door Co. of Central Lakeshore at a price of $1,960.

The council also backed Resolution No. 7 2009-10 authorizing First Business Bank Northeast of Oshkosh as a public depository, as well as Ordinance No. 4 2009-10 covering the collection of electric, water and sewer-service charges.

In public safety business, the council approved the purchase of two Motorola radios and 10 pagers for the Sheboygan Falls Police Department.

The radios and pagers were purchased from Frank’s Radio Service Inc., at a total price of $7,711.20.

“These were items that needed to be updated and replaced to keep up with standard regulations,” Alderman Duane Glancey said. “The money for the purchase of the items comes from the capitalimprovement fund. I would like to note the total cost came in under budget.”

The council also approved operation-license applications for Stacy L. Mertzig, Benjamin L. Cleveland, Karita Larsen, Stacy L. Messer, Joseph W. Rigsby and Benjamin J. Kerpe.

Prior to the council meeting, the Public Safety Committee met in closed session to discuss crime-fighting strategies.

The Committee of the Whole also reviewed a local 1749-B AFSMCE, AFL-CIO step 2 grievance in closed session.

The next Sheboygan Falls Common Council meeting will be held Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the City Hall Municipal Building.