Marshfield Common Council Hears Arbor Day Proclamation, Approves Police Station Feasibility Study, and More

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

The Marshfield Common Council heard a proclamation regarding Arbor Day for the City.

Hear Marshfield Mayor Lois TeStrake's Arbor Day Proclamation!

The Council also approved several items from the Marshfield Utilities Commission including replacing the insulator stacks and interrupter bottles on the 799 circuit switcher for $71.77; the M-1 Cold Air Buffer VFD upgrade and the replacement of obsolete drives for $41,018; and the Hinman Ave Overhead Rebuild by opening the 3-wire secondary to triplex from Depot to existing steel pole between Cleveland and Doege for $32,541.

The Board also approved a resolution from the Board of Public Works regarding special assessments for sanitary sewer projects. The Council also approved a conditional use permit that would see Brad Larson (Nikolai Construction), representing Marshfield Fairgrounds Park, for the construction of a covered cow wash bay on the west side of the existing cow barn for the property located at 502 East 17th Street, zoned Campus Development.

The Council also approved the concessions for Vandehey Waters. They had decided to go out for bids with a third party contractor. Unfortunately, they didn’t receive any, so they’re looking for money in the budget to cover concessions when the pool opens. The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Committee approved a cost recovery of 106% or a profit of $4,233.

The Council approved the request, so the 2023 adopted budget for the General Fund parks and recreation aquatics temporary employee straight time account is increased $22,000; and the General Fund parks and recreation aquatics social security account is increased $1,685.

The General Fund parks and recreation aquatics workers’ compensation account is increased $880; the General Fund parks and recreation aquatics operating supplies account is increased $46,000; the General Fund reserved for contingency account is decreased $70,565; and the General Fund parks and recreation aquatics revenue budget increased $74,798.

The Council also approved the Compensation Market Update. This will look at updating the City’s compensation for their employees. The resolution will see the General Fund professional services account is increased by $26,380 and the General Fund contingency account is decreased by $26,380 for the purpose of a compensation market update base package and optional project enhancement.

The Council also approved the Police Station Feasibility Study with ADCI. In December of 2022, the owner of Wildwood Plaza approached the City of Marshfield about a potential donation of the building located at 2504 S. Central Avenue, which is commonly known as the ‘Buffalo Building.’

In February, the Common Council approved the solicitation of proposals for firms to provide a site and building assessment for the possible relocation of the Police Station to the Wildwood Plaza Building.

The scope of the project is to verify space requirements identified in the 2017 PD study; evaluate the building at 2504 S. Central Ave. to see if Police Department space needs can be met at this site; provide cost estimates for remodeling and construction of a garage space; and analyze the buildings’ life expectancy and estimate future maintenance costs.

The City sent the RFP to several firms. They received three proposals in return: ADCI bid $39,800, Cedar Corp bid $44,215, and Zimmerman bid $77,370. All of the firms who submitted a proposal are qualified to perform the work.

The City has worked with Cedar Corp and Zimmerman on recent projects. Zimmerman and ADCI have the most experience with police station projects. Zimmerman has the highest cost. ADCI has the lowest cost.

Based on ADCI’s experience with Police Stations, and their lack of knowledge of their work, and having the lowest cost, city staff visited three recent police station projects in which they were involved.

All three municipalities gave positive references and were pleased with ADCI professionalism, workmanship and responsiveness. The approved budget resolution will be required to reallocate monies from the 2023 police station roof project to this police station feasibility study. Said budget resolution will come before the Police and Fire Commission, Finance, Budget and Personnel Committee and Common Council in May.

The Council also approved special Council meetings to review the proposed 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Program. The Council also approved the Mayor’s appointments to various committees.

However, thePolice and Fire Commission appointment failed with tied yes/no votes. The Mayor has the power to break the tie, but she abstained feeling the decision should be left to the Council. Since the Mayor didn’t break the tie, the appointment failed.

The Council also approved the Mayor’s appointment for the Chairperson for the Zoning Board. Finally, the Board heard from three candidates for the Ethics Board: Daniel Banser, Michael Brennan, and Victoria Burt. In the end, the Council voted Michael Brennan to the Board.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.