PHILLIPS — The city of Phillips has taken the final steps in approving the sale of former shoreline well property to a nonprofit developer with goals of housing and tourism.
The city of Phillips Committee of the Whole Meeting approved a resolution for the sale of real estate to The Meadows of the North LLC at the March 5 meeting. The property is the former city wells No. 4 and No. 4 property on Duroy Lake at 680 and 690 County Road H. The Phillips Common Council had already approved the $30,000 bid from Meadows of the North at the Nov. 14, 2023 meeting.
Meadows of the North President Lynda Ludwig stated in November that the organization proposes the development of four residential units, a community boating and water recreation center and plans for nonprofit programming in partnership with schools, businesses and community. The council accepted the bid with the stipulation that the property must be developed in three years, resulting in a minimum assessed value of $100,000, and a contingency that if the property were to become tax exempt that payment in lieu of taxes would be due to the city.
The committee approved a recommendation to the full council to accept a bid for the Phillips Fire Department station overhead door renovation project. The recommended $40,960 bid from Huotari Construction Inc., of Medford, was the lowest responsible bid of three that were opened on Feb. 21. The remaining bids were $75,395 from J.H. Findorff & Sons Inc., of Madison, and $91,900 from Ross & Associates Ltd., of River Falls.
Ayres Associates, the city’s contracted engineering firm, also recommended Huotari based on past work on other projects including the city of Phillips. The subcontractors identified include Overhead Door Company of Wausau as the door provider.
In the public safety report, Phillips Police Chief Michael Hauschild said there were 130 calls for service in February, which compares to 125 in February 2023. The year-to-date calls for service was 208 at the end of February as compared to 191 this time last year.
The committee recommended approval of the police department’s new squad vehicle. The vehicle itself is $48,688 with transportation, with additional costs including a police radio system for $6,662, vehicle equipment including lights, sirens and cage for $50,962, and vehicle graphics for $750, bringing the total to $72,062.
The vehicle is an SUV as opposed to a pickup for improved turning radius and all wheel drive efficiency, he said. The vehicle will be black with orange trim and the estimated delivery is in June.
Hauschild presented the annual report of the police department at the meeting and will also be available online. Hauschild noted a slight decrease in the amount of drugs discovered with multiple drug search warrants, adding that it is still a big flow but the department continues to work at slowing the drug traffic in the area.
In his report, Public Works Director Jim Heizler said the warmer weather has allowed spring work to start early parks projects. A city sweeper is currently out of commission as it is serviced for warranty items. The department is applying for a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry grant to assist in replacing trees that will be lost with the coming Fifield and Ash Street reconstruction project due to start in April, and other work around town that will require tree removal.
The city received a report on the independent audit from Eagle Audit & Accounting, LLC of Park Falls. In the audit statement, the firm noted that, “In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the city of Phillips, as of Dec. 31, 2023, and the respective changes in financial position, and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles…”
The audit noted there were no material weaknesses identified and there were no noncompliant situations. The deficiencies that were noted were not material weaknesses.
In other business, the committee approved the three-year agreement renewal with the Northwest Regional Planning Commission regarding the Community Development Block Grant program. Through the agreement the commission provides technical assistance with administering the city’s housing rehabilitation revolving loan fund, federal processes and regulations.
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