By Gail Peckler-Dziki, Correspondent
Circle Saturday, May 19 on your calendar. That’s the third annual Green Expo, to be held at the Paddock Lake Village Hall, 6969 236th Avenue. Area venders that offer green and all natural products will have tables with merchandise and service options out for all to see. The event will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Event organizer and Paddock Lake Trustee Barb Brenner said tickets for hourly raffles will be free. She expects raffle items, all donated by vendors, will run the gamut from products to services, just like they did last year.
This free event is open to all and will offer free acid recycling for western Kenosha County residents. All electronic equipment, including computers and phones, will be accepted, free of charge.
Village residents who conduct spring-cleaning before the event can take items they wish to dispose to the sewer treatment plant. Two dumpsters will be ready for disposable items.
Brenner said that 19 vendors, repeats form last year, have already signed up. There are more spaces available. Call Brenner at (262) 843-2713 for more information or to reserve space.
“Our vendors are very busy and we appreciate them and the items they donate for raffle, so we provide a light continental breakfast and a sandwich lunch,” she said.
Brenner has notified all western Kenosha County municipalities and expects a large public turnout.
Sewer plant upgrade moves forward
The Paddock Lake Village Board approved the fourth payout on the upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant. According to village administrator Tim Popanda, work is about 25 percent complete.
“We had a mild winter, so some of the underground infrastructure was put in,” he explained. “Construction of the building stopped after the foundation was poured, but the building construction should soon be in full swing with the beginning of spring.”
The DNR and the state of Wisconsin expect water treatment plants to be rebuilt every 25 years. Treatment plants wear out and technology advances. And the DNR becomes more restrictive on the water that is discharged from the plant, so municipalities take advantage of technology improvements to meet the DNR demands.
The current capacity for the water treatment plant is 500,000 a day. On a normal day, the plant operates at one-third to half capacity. During a severe weather event, that can spike up to 1.5 million gallons a day. When the rebuild is done, capacity will be increased to 850,000 gallons a day, in addition to meeting new DNR requirements.
According to Silver Lake trustee Soti Wilbur, exploring a consolidation is just one of a number of efforts by the current village board to get spending under control.
“We have developed a purchasing policy so that the village is in compliance with state bidding and notification processes. And when we bid out jobs, we can get the best price for the village and give all local businesses the opportunity to work. It makes good economic sense for the entire community.”
Other cost saving measures have been bidding out all village insurance and taking advantage of ACT 10, which allows local governments to have employees help pay for premiums. Employees pay the cost of dental and vision insurance, and the village has put that out to bid in order to get the best price for employees who use that insurance.
The village recently procured new cell phones that have flat rate costs and no fees, saving $150 a month. The board also negotiated with the part-time building inspector and lowered that cost.