Mequon Weekly Bulletin - August 27, 2021

U P C O M I N G  M E E T I N G S
Festivals Committee: September 2 – 6:30 P.M. (Agenda)
Board of Police & Fire Commissioners: September 7 – 8:00 A.M.
Joint M-T Bike and Pedestrian Way Commission: September 9 – 9:00 A.M.
Committee of the Whole – Special Meeting: September 9 – 7:00 P.M.
Board of Review: September 10 – 8:00 A.M.

Ozaukee County Resumes Free COVID-19 Testing Sites
Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases attributable to the Delta variant, the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department (WOPHD) has resumed its testing partnership with Curative.  Curative testing will be offered at Ozaukee County Fairgrounds and Washington County Fair Park on Mondays from 8:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. and Wednesdays from 12:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.  Register at www.curative.com or call 1-888-702-9042.  Duration for testing is open-ended and will depend on demand.  If you have further questions, please call (262) 284-8170 or email info@washozwi.gov.

2021 Net New Construction Numbers Received
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) recently released its 2021 Net New Construction numbers for all cities, towns, villages, and counties. Net New Construction is defined as the amount of new construction minus any demolition or destruction of buildings. The percentage is used in calculating the City’s levy limit. Mequon has a 2021 Net New Construction number of 83,368,900 with a 2020 equalized value of $5,232,431,000. The percentage increase equals 1.59%. Mequon has the fourth largest increase in the county behind the City of Port Washington, the City of Cedarburg, and the Village of Grafton, respectively. Ozaukee County, as a whole, has a 2021 Net New Construction number of $228,624,300 for an increase of 1.68%.  All county numbers are attached.

Sewer Lateral Work Public Information Meetings Recap
Public Information Meetings on the City’s Program to Reduce Infiltration and Inflow from Private Property Sources (PPII), commonly referred to as Sewer Lateral Work, were held at City Hall on August 17 and at Rotary Park on August 24.  Eighteen people attended these open house style meetings, where eight additional volunteers signed up to authorize work on private property.  The predominant work includes cleaning roots and grouting leaky joints to stop infiltration from entering building sewer laterals.  The contract for the sewer lateral work is anticipated to be advertised and awarded this Fall.  In addition to the sewer lateral work, the contract also includes mainline sewer and manhole work, which is anticipated to begin in Spring 2022.  All contractors, subcontractors and products require pre-approval by the MMSD to be eligible for funding reimbursement.  A number of specialty contractors for this type of work already submitted pre-approval applications and were approved by the PPII sub-committee of MMSD for this work.

In the Riverland Drive Lift Station “H” area, the participation rate is 81%, where 11 of 59 eligible did not volunteer.  No sump pump or down spout corrections were identified as part of the 32 completed Clear Water Compliance inspections.  13 require work in the ROW only, 20 do not require further action, and 21 signed authorization letters for work on private property.

In the Riverdale Park Lift Station “F” area, the participation rate is 80%, where 49 of 251 eligible did not volunteer.  No sump pump or down spout corrections were identified as part of the 134 completed Clear Water Compliance inspections.  75 require work in the ROW only, 74 do not require further action, and 61 signed authorization letters for work on private property.

Additional public information meetings are anticipated this fall and winter for an additional 500 parcels located in the vicinity of the Ranch Road Lift Station “E” area.  This program, in addition to lift station replacement and improvements, are ongoing efforts by the Sewer Utility to maintain a reliable system and reduce sanitary sewer overflows.

New Fire Department Battalion Chiefs Sworn in on August 23
The Mequon Fire Department held a swearing in ceremony this past Monday, August 23 and Christopher Ackley, Brandon Boettcher, and Matthew Schneider were sworn in as the first full-time Battalion Chiefs (BC) of the Department. Each BC will oversee a specific Bureau within the organization and serve as a resource to the dedicated men and women who volunteer their availability to serve the community as EMT’s, Paramedics and Firefighters. The BCs are each assigned a 48 hour on- duty cycle and handle both administrative and response functions for the Department.  BC Schneider will oversee the Bureau of EMS, BC Ackley will oversee the Bureau of Training and Recruitment, and BC Boettcher will be overseeing the Bureau of Community Risk Reduction.

Taste of Mequon to Hold 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony
The eighth annual Taste of Mequon will be held on Saturday, September 11 which marks the 20^th anniversary of 9-11.  To honor first responders and those that died on that tragic day, there will be a ceremony at 5:30 P.M. at the main stage featuring the American Legion Color Guard, Mequon Police Department, Mequon Fire Department and Homestead High School Band.  In the art area, children will be making red, white and blue crafts and American flag stickers will be passed out as attendees enter the festival grounds.  Be sure to stop by the flag memorial that will be in front of the Library.