Post Messenger Recorder -

On July 21, 2015, the New Glarus Village Board met for their regular meeting. At that meeting, Village President Roger Truttmann announced that he was appointing Laci Bainbridge back to the board to fill the Trustee position that had been vacant since she resigned the position in June. The board approved the appointment.

The board approved the Special Events permit for the New Glarus Fire Department for FireFest on August 1, 2015. It was noted that New Glarus Police Chief Burt Boldebuck had requested extra police coverage between 7:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., at a cost of $40 per hour. That cost will be covered by the New Glarus Fire Department.

The board also approved the Special Events permit for the Wilhelm Tell Festival, including an expansion of the area, adding Railroad Street to Sugar River Pizza in addition to 2nd Street from Ott Haus to 5th Avenue, 5th Avenue to 1st Street, 1st Street to 6th Avenue and 6th Avenue to Railroad Street. The permit also includes Open Intoxicants in the Village Park for Sunday, September 6, during Art in Park. The board discussed the need for additional “Porta Potties.” The approval was contingent upon receipt of Certificate of Insurance and “Porta Potties” as recommended in FEMA guidelines.

The board also discussed the condition report on the Chalet of the Golden Fleece. Trustee Greg Thoemke reported that, according to the condition report, the roof of the building should not be undertaken until other repairs are made, including the repair of the chimney. Because of this, the board was looking at rescinding the acceptance of the offfer on the Chalet Roof.

Truttmann pointed out that the contractor had resubmitted a bid that included the logs, and he said the bid was then $3,000 higher. He added that he believed that was another reason to look at the epair issues again.

Trustee Barb Anderson pointed out that “house museums” across the state are having issues with financing repairs and upkeep.

“I’d hate to see the Chalet not here anymore but it’s a lot of money,” she said.

This year the Village levied $5,475 according to Village Clerk/Treasurer Lynne Erb. The most recent accounting of revenue for the Chalet, which did not include funds brought to the Village Clerk’s office that morning, was $321 in revenue. Erb added for the last several years the Chalet had averaged around $1,500 per year in revenue.

Trustee Peg Kruse asked, “What’s more valuable to the Village, the collection or the building?”

Clerk Erb noted that, according to the legal opinions she had read, the village had fulfilled their obligations and owned the building. As far as the collection, there was a question of whether the terms of the will dictated that the collection go to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

There was then a discussion of the collection. Kruse asked whether more people would see the collection if it went to the State Historical Society. It was noted that the collection may not be kept together, but may be warehoused or sold by the State Historical Society. Trustee Petra Streiff noted that it was a collection of “things from around the world.”

Truttmann said that “We’re going to be levying for an eternity to support this thing.” He asked about fundraising by the Friends of the Chalet.

Thoemke pointed out that the group has only been around a few years. He said they were given a goal of $2,000 last year and they achieved that through admissions and donations. He added that he was emphasizing that there needs to be fundraising, and wondered if there was sentiment within the community to support the Chalet.

“It’s not huge sums of money that we’re talking about here. If they could get $5,000-$6,000 per year in fundraising along with admissions, that would go a long way in stopping the bleeding.” He said he would go to the Friends and stress the importance of fundraising.

There was also a discussion of the condition report, and that there were items that needed to be fixed immediately and other items that did not be repaired as quickly.

The board approved a motion to Rescind the Acceptance of Offer on Chalet Roof bid. The board then sent the entire matter back to the Parks and Recreation Committee. The board will hear an update at the August 18th Village Board meeting.

Although the village is not currently recording Village Board meetings, this meeting can be viewed on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/sSnAYULXhIQ