Wednesday, February 28, 2018

2018 Public Works Improvement Projects

Village staff recently held an informational open house for residents regarding the 2018 Public Works Improvement projects and the extension of Cross Street to Madison Street. Below are the links to materials presented at the meeting. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jim Madden, Construction Manager at 608-849-6469.

Please click the links below for more details:

2018 Construction Projects

2018 Cross Street Presentation

2018 Public Works Projects Presentation

Waunakee Police Department March Newsletter

To view the current Waunakee Police Department newsletter, please click on the link below:

March Newsletter

Friday, February 23, 2018

Seasonal Maintenance Worker Position

The Village of Waunakee is seeking Seasonal Maintenance Worker candidates for seasonal employment (30-40 hours per week, $11.00 per hour; May 1 - October 31) in the Parks and Recreation and Street Maintenance Divisions. Candidates will perform manual labor maintaining grounds and park equipment, and repairing Village streets.

A complete job description and application are available at the Village Hall, 500 W. Main Street or on the Village of Waunakee website. Candidates must be capable of performing strenuous physical work and possess a valid Wisconsin driver’s license. Minimum qualifications required include a High School Diploma or GED, and 18 years of age or older at date of appointment. Candidates will be subject to a pre-employment drug screen. Applications will be accepted until positions are filled.

The Village is an equal opportunity employer.

For questions or more information, please contact Adam Bentley, Assistant Village Administrator/HR Manager at 608-850-2182 or abentley@waunakee.com


Click the link below for more details:

February 20, 2018 Election Results

Please click the link below for the results of the February 20, 2018 Spring Primary Election:

Spring Primary Results

Village of Waunakee Agenda - Week of February 25, 2018

The following official Village meetings will take place this coming week:

Utilities Commission
February 26, 2018 - 5:30 PM
Waunakee Utilities - 322 Moravian Valley Road 

Public Works Committee
February 27, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

Check out the prior post on this topic:
http://waunablog.blogspot.com/2018/02/village-of-waunakee-agenda-week-of_16.html

Agendas may change prior to the commencement of the meeting. Agendas for these meetings will be posted at a minimum of three of the following official posting places:
Waunakee Village Hall (500 West Main Street)Waunakee Senior Center (333 South Madison Street)Waunakee Police Station (205 North Klein Drive)Waunakee Utilities (322 Moravian Valley Road)Waunakee Public Library (710 South Street)Waunakee Public Works (504 Moravian Valley Road)
Access Meeting Materials Online: Agendas and most meeting packets (which include related memos and other supporting materials) will be posted on the Village of Waunakee website utilizing the following link: https://onbase.waunakee.com/onbaseagendaonline


You are welcome to contact Village Hall with any questions about these meetings at (608) 850-8500 or email us at frontdesk@waunakee.com

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Community Conversation to Explore Waunakee's Creativity

Waunakee Village Center
333 S.  Madison Street
Monday, February 26, 2018
6:30 PM-8:30 PM

Thank you to everyone who joined us this past Sunday to talk about Waunakee’s Creative Economy Initiative. If you couldn’t make it, we have another opportunity for you to provide input about ways to coordinate and strengthen Waunakee’s creative efforts. Join us on Monday, February 26, at 6:30 PM at the Village Center. Community members of all ages are invited, so spread the word with your family, friends, neighbors, students, and colleagues! Let us know you’re coming with an RSVP at the link below. 




Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Waunakee Ranked Among Safest Communities


Waunakee was recently named the second Safest City in Wisconsin for 2018 by the National Council for Home Safety and Security. For the full article and more information on the study, click the link below.

Safest Cities

2018 Dane Arts Poster


The Dane Arts 2018 poster is now available at the Village Hall, located at 500 West Main Street. This year's poster is titled "Sunflower on Ely Place" by artist Reed Jones. Your donation is warmly welcome and greatly appreciated. For information on the artist, and the story behind the poster, click the link below for more details.

Dane Arts

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Kidcare Attendant/Program Leader Position Opening at the Village Center


The Village of Waunakee is seeking candidates for part-time employment as a Kidcare Attendant/Program Leader in the Village Center. The successful candidate will supervise drop-in childcare on weekday mornings and Friday morning Indoor Playground.  Assist as needed with youth birthday parties and enrichment programs.  Experience working with children required. 

The position will remain open until filled.  Application materials are available on the Village’s website at www.waunakee.com/jobs or at the Village Center Welcome Desk.  For more information contact Program Supervisor, Connie Gavinski at 850-5992.  

Interested candidates should submit an application online or in person to Human Resources, 500 W. Main Street, Waunakee, WI. 

Click the link below for more details


Friday, February 16, 2018

Village of Waunakee Agenda - Week of February 18, 2018

The following official Village meetings will take place this coming week:

Village Hall Open House
February 19, 2018 - 5:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

February 19, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

Joint Review Board
February 21, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

Check out the prior post on this topic:
Village of Waunakee Agenda - Week of February 11, 2018

Agendas may change prior to the commencement of the meeting. Agendas for these meetings will be posted at a minimum of three of the following official posting places:
Waunakee Village Hall (500 West Main Street)
Waunakee Senior Center (333 South Madison Street)
Waunakee Police Station (205 North Klein Drive)
Waunakee Utilities (322 Moravian Valley Road)
Waunakee Public Library (710 South Street)
Waunakee Public Works (504 Moravian Valley Road)

Access Meeting Materials Online: Agendas and most meeting packets (which include related memos and other supporting materials) will be posted on the Village of Waunakee website utilizing the following link: 
https://onbase.waunakee.com/onbaseagendaonline

You are welcome to contact Village Hall with any questions about these meetings at (608) 850-8500 or email us at frontdesk@waunakee.com

Get Out and Vote!

Spring Primary Election
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Waunakee Village Center
333 S. Madison Street
7:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Public Open House Regarding Building Height Zoning Change

Village Hall
500 West Main Street
Monday, February 19, 2018
5:00 PM-6:00 PM

The public is invited to an open house meeting with Village staff regarding the proposed zoning change to allow for structures above 45 feet in height in the commercial district. Anyone interested may drop in between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM on Monday, February 19, 2018 at the Village Hall.


As currently recommended by the Plan Commission, any structures above 45 feet in height would require a Conditional Use Permit and would need to meet certain standards. The proposed standards are:
  1. The height of the building shall not exceed 55 feet.
  2. All part(s) of the building that are above 45 feet in height shall be setback a minimum of 30 feet from any road Right-of-way.
  3. The total surface square footage of the part(s) of the building above 45 feet cannot exceed 25% of the total square footage of the first floor of the building.
Please click the link below to view the draft ordinance:

Draft Ordinance

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Library Project Update

Village officials and staff have enjoyed the recent opportunities to interact with citizens who have inquired directly for factual information on various Village issues and project. Those who have sought facts before forming their opinions have demonstrated truly responsible citizenship. 
 
In particular, the new Public Library project has received a lot of attention, especially now that the 15+ year process is coming to its ultimate climax with the potential awarding of a construction contract (to be considered in March). Hundreds and hundreds of hours engaging the community in this process has allowed for public input, constructive feedback, and plan tweaking. The way in which the public has been reached with this process is reflected in the successful public fund raising that has occurred to date. Thanks to over 340 donors, the capital campaign has exceeded its initial goal and stands at $1.517 million in committed private donations. Hats off to the Campaign Committee members, who have now established a new “reach” goal beyond the initial $1.5M.
 
For those who perhaps are still uncertain about some of the project details, below are answers to a few of the recent questions that we have been hearing:

Q: What is the project cost and how much is the Village’s public investment?
A: The estimated construction contract for a new library based on current plans is approximately $10M. When including all site and environmental clean-up the total cost is approximately $15M, which includes Village acquisition of the former Alloy site, building demolition, and contamination remediation. The Village Board has for several years established a threshold limit of $12M in Village public funding for the overall project, with the remaining funds to come from private fundraising, grants, and sale proceeds from the current library building.

Q: Is the final decision made on proceeding with the project?
A: Many decisions have been made regarding the project, based particularly on how complex the overall project has been. The cleanup of the blighted Alloy property has been a priority for the Village, but also an aspect of the project that has created many challenges. The Village was successful in obtaining a $500,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to assist with the clean-up, which was awarded in anticipation that the Library project would occur on the improved site. BUT, a defining decision-making moment will be when the Village receives the construction bids. The bids will be made available to interested contractors on February 15th, and are due back to the Village on March 8th. The Village Board would then be expected to consider awarding the contract in March or April (depending on the amount of time needed to thoroughly review the bids received and contractor qualifications). If no qualified bid is within range of the estimated cost ($10M), it is expected that the project scope would be revisited in order stay within the funding limitations (remember the $12M public funding limit).

Q: Will this project cause the Village to exceed its borrowing limits?
A: First off, borrowing limits for municipalities in Wisconsin are set by the State, which says that a community cannot have outstanding debt in excess of 5% of total property value. In 2017 that limit for the Village is $85,866,755. In Waunakee’s case, the Village Board goes a step further to limit our debt. The Board has established a policy that the Village will hold its outstanding debt at HALF of the State limit ($42,933,375 in 2017). Based on current estimates and property value growth projections, we do NOT expect that the Village’s debt will exceed its own policy in future years as a result of borrowing for the library project.

You can find more information about the Library project online at
http://www.waunakeepubliclibrary.org/new-library-building-update. Village officials and staff remain eager to answer other questions from the public. Here’s how you can get hold of us:

Erick Plumb, Library Director – 849-4217 / eplumb@waupl.org
Todd Schmidt, Village Administrator- 850-5227 / tschmidt@waunakee.com
Chris Zellner, Village President – 849-4515 / czellner@waunakee.com

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Hope Over Addiction Town Hall Meeting

Waunakee High School Performing Arts Center
301 Community Drive
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
6:00 PM

Waunakee Community Cares Coalition is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting. The evening will start at 6:00 PM with booths providing informational materials and our panel of FIVE presenters will start at 6:30 PM. Their focus will be on prevention, risk factors, stigma, statistics/trends in Waunakee, recovery, treatment, law enforcement trends in Waunakee and HOPE! There will also be a questions/answer session to follow the presentations with questions submitted by those present. All are welcome for a night that we hope those in attendance will leave with a better understanding about prevention, the risk factors, breaking the stigma about addiction and hopefully giving us all HOPE that we can see an end to this epidemic.

Town Hall Meeting


Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Community-Wide Conversation


Waunakee Village Center
333 South Madison Street
Sunday, February 18, 2018
5:00-7:00 PM

What should the next BIG IDEA be for Waunakee’s Creative Economy Initiative? Join us for a Community-Wide Conversation. Connect with your neighbors and help us think about what’s next for Waunakee’s creative side. All community members are welcome to attend, and refreshments will be provided. Questions? Contact Sarah Bluvas, Creative Intern, at
creative@waunakee.com.

2018 Schumacher Farm Park Summer Positions

Summer Camp Educator
Schumacher Farm Park is seeking an educator or naturalist with experience in elementary education to assist with summer camp facilitation and teaching activities during the 2018 summer camp session. Camp schedule is June 25 - 29, from 9 am - 3 pm, along with additional prep and planning time.


Part-time Garden/Horticulture Intern
The Friends are looking for a part-time, seasonal gardener to support staff and volunteers in maintaining the heirloom garden and smaller beds around the farmhouse. Flexible schedule. Opportunity to learn about historical gardens and organic practices. Expected hours are 8 hrs/week for 16 weeks, beginning mid-May.

For detailed position descriptions and the application process please click the link below:

Schumacher Farm Positions

Friday, February 9, 2018

Village of Waunakee Agenda - Week of February 11, 2018

The following official Village meetings will take place this coming week:

February 12, 2018 - 9:00 AM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

February 12, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

Joint Plan Commission
February 13, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Westport Town Hall - 5387 Mary Lake Road


WaunaBoom Committee
February 15, 2018 - 6:30 PM
Village Center - 333 South Madison Street

Library Board
February 16, 2018 - 7:45 AM
Public Library - 710 South Street

Check out the prior post on this topic:
http://waunablog.blogspot.com/2018/02/village-of-waunakee-agenda-week-of.html

Agendas may change prior to the commencement of the meeting. Agendas for these meetings will be posted at a minimum of three of the following official posting places:
Waunakee Village Hall (500 West Main Street)
Waunakee Senior Center (333 South Madison Street)
Waunakee Police Station (205 North Klein Drive)
Waunakee Utilities (322 Moravian Valley Road)
Waunakee Public Library (710 South Street)
Waunakee Public Works (504 Moravian Valley Road)

Access Meeting Materials Online: Agendas and most meeting packets (which include related memos and other supporting materials) will be posted on the Village of Waunakee website utilizing the following link:
https://onbase.waunakee.com/onbaseagendaonline

You are welcome to contact Village Hall with any questions about these meetings at (608) 850-8500 or email us at frontdesk@waunakee.com

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Workshop on Wellness - Super Power Your Immune System & Natural Home Remedies

Waunakee Village Center
333 S Madison Street
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
7:00-8:00 PM

The Waunakee Village Center and the Waunakee Lions Club are pleased to offer a Workshop on Wellness at the Village Center. Dr. Whitney Cronin, doctor of naturopathic medicine, health and wellness expert, owner of Holistic Home Health and Wellness in Waunakee will speak on how to "Super Power Your Immune System & Natural Home Health Remedies."  WOW programs are free and offered the second Wednesday of every month.

Click the link below for more details:

February WOW

Monday, February 5, 2018

Waunakee Police Department February Newsletter

To view the current Waunakee Police Department newsletter, please click the link below:

February Newsletter

Saturday, February 3, 2018

TID8 and T. Wall Enterprises

The Village is aware of misinformation circulating in the community regarding the proposed downtown TID8 and T. Wall’s conceptual development. This is unfortunate, so hopefully this post helps provide clarification.

First, the Village has learned that T. Wall Enterprises is hosting a meeting on Wednesday, February 7 to discuss development potential with neighbors. This is NOT a Village meeting, it was NOT scheduled by the Village, and Village decisions CAN NOT be made in any way. Further, Village officials nor staff have been invited to attend.

Second, the Village Board is NOT taking specific action on the T. Wall Enterprises conceptual project at their regular Village Board meeting at 6:00 PM on Monday, February 5. The Board IS considering action at that meeting regarding creation of TID8. If approved by the Board, TID8 approval WILL NOT grant approval of any project, rezoning, development or incentives for T. Wall Enterprises nor any other development in the proposed district.

The Village urges anyone seeking clarification on this matter to contact Village Administrator Todd Schmidt at tschmidt@waunakee.com or 608-850-5227.

Please click the link below for details regarding the upcoming Village Board meeting on February 5.

Village Board Meeting


Candlelight Hike

Castle Creek Conservancy
900 South Division Street
Saturday, February 10, 2018
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

This free event sponsored by Michael F. Simon Builders is sure to be fun for the whole family. Hike or snowshoe* the paths of the conservancy, guided by candle light.  After you loop through the prairie or follow the creekside trail you will be able to rest and warm up next to a bonfire, roast marshmallows and drink hot cocoa.  Restrooms and a warming area will be available at Michael F. Simon’s office building located at 817 S. Division Street.

*A limited number of snowshoes will be available for use, depending on snow accumulation

Click the link below for more details:

Candlelight Hike

Friday, February 2, 2018

Waunakee Public Library Assistant II

The Village of Waunakee, Wisconsin (pop. 13,535) Public Library is accepting applications for a 20-hour per week, Library Assistant II. Join a dynamic team of dedicated individuals providing exceptional library services to a growing community. This critical position works directly with library customers, assisting them at the help desks, with locating materials, checking out, and with use of library technology. Library or related experience is desired but not required; a working knowledge of computers is essential. This position requires regular evening and weekend hours.

Starting hourly wage is $14.49-$15.52 per hour DOQ. Click here for a complete job description. Interested candidates must complete the on-line application form. Using the on-line system, candidates must also submit as PDFs a resume, cover-letter and three references. Applicant review begins on Monday, February 19.

For additional information please contact Adam Bentley, Assistant Village Administrator/HR Manager at abentley@waunakee.com or 608-850-2182.


Village of Waunakee Agenda - Week of February 4, 2018

The following official Village meetings will take place this coming week:

Finance Committee
February 5, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street

Village Board
February 5, 2018 - 6:00 PM
Village Hall - 500 West Main Street


Parks and Recreation Committee
February 7, 2018 - 5:30 PM
Village Center - 333 South Madison Street

Check out the prior post on this topic:
http://waunablog.blogspot.com/2018/01/village-of-waunakee-agenda-week-of_26.html

Agendas may change prior to the commencement of the meeting. Agendas for these meetings will be posted at a minimum of three of the following official posting places:
Waunakee Village Hall (500 West Main Street)
Waunakee Senior Center (333 South Madison Street)
Waunakee Police Station (205 North Klein Drive)
Waunakee Utilities (322 Moravian Valley Road)
Waunakee Public Library (710 South Street)
Waunakee Public Works (504 Moravian Valley Road)

Access Meeting Materials Online: Agendas and most meeting packets (which include related memos and other supporting materials) will be posted on the Village of Waunakee website utilizing the following link:
https://onbase.waunakee.com/onbaseagendaonline
You are welcome to contact Village Hall with any questions about these meetings at (608) 850-8500 or email us at frontdesk@waunakee.com