Last Updated: September 28, 2011
| Why consider merging? |
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LOOMING MADISON ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES SEEING ONE COTTAGE GROVE |
The time is not yet determined but will likely be 6:30 p.m., which is inline with normal meeting start times at the Village Hall.
Town residents David Morrow, owner of Gaston School Gallery and Misty River Woodworks, and Badger Farms, LLC Owner Dave Muehl will join Town Board Chairman Kris Hampton and Town Board Supervisor Mike DuPlayee. Village representatives will include Village President Mike Mikalsen, Trustee Micah Zielke and Village residents Don Brinkmeier and Mark Hepfinger, who is also a municipal court judge.
Muehl was chosen in part to represent the Town’s farming population. Some Board members expressed concerns that Muehl is more of a hobby farmer and wasn’t representative of the Town’s commercial farmers. DuPlayee said it was tough to find a farmer with time to devote to the committee work since most farmers already have little free time.
Town Supervisor Steve Anders supported the choice of Muehl: “He’s got a good head on his shoulders. And he’s got the time to commit.” Hampton, who backed the choice of Muehl from early on in the selection process said that his CPA credentials would be an asset to the committee and his living proximity to the Town’s outer boundaries allowed him to speak for those homeowners farther from the Village.
Marrow’s selection was accepted with little discussion, but the Board’s appointment of DuPlayee did come with some resistance. Just before a motion was passed to appoint DuPlayee, Muehl and Morrow, the Board rejected a similar motion with Town Supervisor Mike Kindschi in DuPlayee’s place. Kindschi had expressed interest in being on the committee and challenged Hampton’s notion that since Kindschi had been involved 25 years ago in a research group looking at merger feasibility of the two municipalities that he might bring prejudice to the process. Kindschi emphasized that that particular work was a long time ago and his experience from that involvement would actually serve as an asset to the team.
The committee has a February 7 deadline to have all members appointed, and the Village and Town have set a January 2012 goal for the committee to report its findings to the boards. The group will likely meet once a month with the second and forth Mondays of each month tentatively chosen as meeting dates.
Getting Up To Speed
The committee’s first order of business will be getting all the members educated on the two municipality’s governing structures, Mikalsen says. “There might be some people not familiar with the Village and Town budget processes specifics so they might need some information on that. There might be some background information on how many employees the two have. There might need to be some explanation between the two communities about our joint fire department, our joint police department and shared ambulance service. It will be the history and current relationship the Town and Village have.”
Village footing first $5,000
Both sides have agreed to make available its staff, planners and legal counsel. The village has agreed to pay for any additional costs, up to $5,000. This would likely come from a need to hire counsel or advisors independent from either municipality. An example of this type of incurred extra cost, Mikalsen says, might be the committee deciding to hire an independent source to confirm information coming from both sides. After the $5,000 threshold, Mikalsen says that any additional expenses would need to go to the boards for approval.
A Transparent Process
However it works out, Mikalsen says it will be a transparent process where Town and Village boards are not seen as controlling the agenda of the merger committee or presetting criteria of things they needed to do. “We wanted the committee to really work through that so everybody is comfortable and everybody is moving at a pace that allows merger study committee members to get the information they need.”
Another part of that transparency is ensuring that the community is aware of the committee’s work. DuPlayee said that this is too important an issue to meet behind closed doors and that the public is encouraged to attend the open meetings.
But even while Duplayee and Mikalsen stressed the openness of the process, they also said closed sessions could be necessary to discuss personnel issues.
Getting the word out
Local news publications like the Monona-Grove Herald Independent newspaper and Grove Notes are tools they hope to use to keep people informed, says Mikalsen, adding that they will also get the word out through various newsletters, e-mail lists and airing of committee meetings on local cable television channel 98.
Residents are encouraged to attend the meetings and take part in the discussion, says Mikalsen, adding that he and Hampton operate with an open approach. “I’ve felt, and I think Kris (Hampton) feels the same way, that if people want to say something and want to participate we’re going to have that very open door policy. It will be kind of a free flowing process. I think as long as things are done and in a respectful manner and don’t get out of control, we will have a very open process. I think if people want to send questions in or want to have comments entered into the record, we will continue to share that with the committee and put that into the record.”
Voters Would Decide
Mikalsen says he thinks it is going to be a very exciting process and he certainly hopes people will participate, but beyond all the discussion and meetings; before a merger would actually come to fruition, he says it would need to go to a vote of the people of both Cottage Groves.
“I think both boards have stated and I think is important in reporting that nothing will happen in regards to a merger that the people themselves won’t decide. A merger into one community would go to referendum and both communities would have to approve it at the ballot box.”