Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
5750 Old Town Hall Road Eau Claire WI 54701
(715)834-3257 Fax (715)834-3325 www.townofwashington.org
Town of Washington Newsletter
Vol. 38 No. 1 ~ March 2016
2016 Elections
Spring Election - April 5
• Presidential Preference, WI Supreme Court, WI Court of Appeals Judge, Circuit Court Judge, Eau Claire County
Supervisor, Town Supervisor, Altoona, Eau Claire, and Fall Creek School Boards
Partisan Primary - August 9
• In a partisan primary, the elector may vote on the ballot of only one political party. Most states have a closed partisan
primary system that requires voters to publicly declare their party affiliation before they can receive the primary
ballot of that party. Wisconsin's "open primary" process, which was adopted in 1904, does not require voters to
make a public declaration of their party preference. Instead, the voter is given the primary ballots of all parties
but, once inside the voting booth, may select candidates on only one party's ballot. If you vote for a candidate in
more than one party, your ballot will be rejected by the voting machine.
General Election - November 8
• President, U.S. Senator, Rep. in Congress, State Senator, Rep. to the Assembly,
District Attorney
PHOTO ID IS REQUIRED AT ALL ELECTIONS
Wisconsin voters will need to show an acceptable photo ID to vote. It’s the law.
There is no special “Voter ID” card. There are many forms of Photo ID that can be
used to vote. The most common IDs that are acceptable are:
⇒
⇒
⇒
⇒
A Wisconsin DOT issued driver license
A Wisconsin DOT issued identification card
Military ID card issued by the U.S. Uniformed Services
A U.S. passport book or card
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Inside this issue:
Elections
2
Transportation Funding
2
Acceptable photo ID for voting does not have to include a current address.
Reminders
2
If you are eligible to vote but do not have a WI driver license or ID card, you may
obtain a free ID for purpose of voting from the DMV. Apply early. You do not receive
the ID immediately; it will be sent to you in the mail. Contact the DMV for more
information at 608.264.7447 or http://wisconsindot.gov
Brush Site
3
For additional acceptable photo IDs, exceptions to the rule, etc. go to
BringIt.Wisconsin.gov or call our office.
VOTER PUBLIC ACCESS
You can access your voting history, see a sample ballot of the upcoming election
(within 2-3 weeks of an election), register to vote, view contact information for your
elected representatives at the federal, state, and local level, and verify where you
vote. Go to myvote.wi.gov
Open Book & Board of Review 3
2016 Road Projects
3
Rest Haven Cemetery
4
Storm Water Education
4
Township Fire Department
5
Testing for Radon
5
2016 Election
There are two Town Board Supervisor positions up for election on April 5, 2016. The term of office is two
years. A statement from each candidate is listed below.
DONALD PERRY – It has been my privilege to serve on the Town of Washington Board for the past 16 years. During that
time my focus has been to work with Town staff and the Town Board to deliver excellent service while at the same time
managing the overall costs passed on to you the taxpayer.
I have represented the Town on the County Comprehensive Zoning Plan. This plan is critical to ensure consistent growth
within the Town and to allow residents to have input as to what type of growth and development takes place in their area.
I have also represented the Town on the L.E. Phillips Library Board, County Park and Forestry Committee, County Steering
Committee for Zoning and Planning as well as several ad hoc committees. This participation has given me a great understanding of how to better serve the residents and plan for the future. It is my intention to continue to represent the town
and its residents in the best way possible, to keep taxes low and to see that the excellent service that our residents
expect, will continue.
I would like to continue as your Town Supervisor and ask for your continued support in the upcoming election.
KAREN TOMESH – I am serving my 5th term as a Supervisor on the Town Board. I have resided in the Town for the past
16 years. I am employed as an Asset Manager at Commonweal Development Corp, and this position has provided me
with opportunity to learn about property and land use issues. This professional experience has been invaluable in my
role as a Town of Washington Supervisor. In addition I serve on the Town of Washington Plan Commission and the
Eau Claire County Board of Land Use Appeals. I would appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve the residents of
the Town of Washington, and your continued support.
Transportation Funding
Like other states, Wisconsin has been grappling for more than a decade with transportation
revenue insufficient to meet state and local needs. The issue has been studied. Reports have
been issued, and recommendations have been put forth. However, no progress has been
made toward a long-term funding solution, while Wisconsin falls further behind.
Some problems are truly perplexing to solve – like eradicating poverty or reigning in the cost of
health care. Fixing our state and local roads and bus systems is not one of those.
We know what needs to be done. JUST FIX IT.
The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance in its 2015 benchmark report gave Wisconsin's highways a
D grade. Without increased resources, the percentage of state trunk highways in poor condition is projected to
double by 2023. This trend of deteriorating road conditions is seen at every level: county, city, town, and state.
Go to www.tdawisconsin.org to find out what you can do.
Taxes - 2nd installment payments of property taxes are due by July 31, to the Eau
Claire County Treasurer’s Office. The Town of Washington does not collect the
second installment.
Dog Licenses - If you have a dog and have not yet licensed them, payment needs
to be made to the Town of Washington before April 1 or late fees will be applied.
Animal Ordinances - Who do I call for complaints of animals running at large,
biting, uncontrolled noise, vicious, or being treated inhumanely? Contact the Eau
Claire Communication Center at 715-839-4972.
Brush Sites
Open Book & Board of Review
The City of Eau Claire has contracted with Boxx
Sanitation to operate the Jeffers Road Brush Site in
2016 and beyond. The site will be open April 1 November 15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday
from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Call Boxx at 715-514-2995 for
costs, guidelines, and materials accepted. Wood
chips/mulch and compost can be purchased when
available.
Directions: From the intersection of the North Crossing/State Road 312, go north on Jeffers Road about
3/4 mile. The facility is on the west side of Jeffers
Road
The assessment of your property is determined
by the Assessor as of January 1 each year.
Under Wisconsin State Statutes, the Assessor’s
values are assumed to be correct until proven
otherwise, which places the burden of proof on
the taxpayer. If you are not satisfied with the
assessment of your property, the time for you to
do something about it is during Open Book.
You do not need an appointment. You just
come during the hours it is held to speak with
the Assessor. Open Book will be held on
Thursday, May 19, from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the
Town Hall, 5750 Old Town Hall Road, Eau
Claire.
The Seymour Brush Site is closed.
Annual Town Meeting
Thursday, April 21 at 5:30 PM
Town of Washington
Municipal Building
5750 Old Town Hall Road
If after reviewing your information at Open
Book, you believe your property is not assessed
fairly in relation to other Town of Washington
properties, you must file a written objection form
to be heard by the formal Board of Review.
Factual evidence must be presented at the
hearing. The Board of Review is scheduled on
Tuesday, June 7 from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
2016 Road Projects
Roads to be Paved:
London Road (City project from E. Hamilton to Skeels)
Hillview Road (Walnut to Hickory)
Buena Vista (Hillside Park to CTH I)
Various Contracted Maintenance Projects:
Crackfill: Schumacher, Markgraff, Prill, Walnut, North, Voetmann, Wenzel, Howard,
Beulah, Valley View
Crackfill, Patch & Chip Seal: David, Park Creek Ct, E & W Park Creek, Red Pine,
Briarcliff, Oakcrest, Halsey, Patton, Nimitz, Mitchell
All projects are subject to bids and approval by the Town Board
County Projects within the Town:
Reconstruct CTH AA (House Rd east/north to US Hwy 12)
Bridge Replacement CTH AA - Otter Creek bridge
Rest Haven Cemetery
Rest Haven Cemetery is owned and operated by the Town of Washington. For
information regarding flowers, wreaths, stone sizes, purchasing spaces, transferring
spaces, or scheduling a burial, call Jackie at 715-834-3257. Spaces are currently sold
for $650.00.
A reminder for lot owners: Spring flowers (real or artificial) can be placed in a plant
stand beginning May 1 and must be removed no later than October 15 each year.
Items placed in/on the ground or on a shepherd’s hook are not allowed.
2015 Storm Water Education and Outreach
Storm water education and outreach was provided to western Wisconsin through the Rain to Rivers of Western
Wisconsin, formerly called the Chippewa Valley Storm Water Forum. Rain to Rivers of Western Wisconsin (R2R) is an
agreement between 14 municipalities with support from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and
University of Wisconsin - Extension. The group met monthly in 2015 to collaborate on a shared vision to perform storm
water education and outreach in a cost-effective and united manner. The group worked to implement its Information
and Education Plan in accordance with DNR grant requirements. Residents of western Wisconsin are the primary
target audience.
Rain to Rivers utilized a DNR Urban Nonpoint Source and Storm Water Program Grant in 2015 to further its outreach
efforts. Activities performed under this permit included attendance, presentations, and booths at 25 local events,
ramping up R2R’s social media presence, continuing brand development with booth materials including a pop-up tent
and table cover, and large-scale print marketing at a local mall. Press releases were distributed seasonally to various
media sources throughout the member region and included newspapers and social media. The group’s movie theater
ads continued to run as well.
The Rains to Rivers website, www.raintorivers.org, continues to serve as an educational tool that provides citizens
access to a wide variety of information about the importance of controlling erosion and storm water runoff and what
they can do to protect water resources. The group will continue its work in 2016 with the help of a contractor to
implement identified goals.
MEMBERS
Eau Claire County | City of Chippewa Falls | Chippewa County | City of Altoona | City of Eau Claire
City of Menomonie | City of Rice Lake | City of River Falls | Village of Lake Hallie | Town of Eagle Point
Town of Lafayette | Town of Seymour | Town of Union | Town of Washington
PARTNERS
Township Fire Department
Last year was a record setting year for the Fire Department with 393 calls. This number is a total from all Township Fire
Departments, which include the towns of Seymour, Washington, Union, Pleasant Valley, and Brunswick. We also had
numerous mutual aid calls with the cities of Eau Claire and Altoona, and the Village of Fall Creek. Additionally, there
were 861 medical emergency calls. The Town of Washington had more than half of the total 393 calls, which made
our Fire Station a busy place for 2015. In 2016, our yearly goals include: recruiting new firefighters, ordering a new fire
truck, hosting our annual charcoal chicken feed, and completing equipment updates and trainings.
If you or someone you know lives in the Town or nearby and would like to receive more information on how to volunteer
for the Fire Department, information will be on display and a representative available to answer questions at our annual
chicken feed in May. Information is also available on our website www.townshipfire.org.
Township Fire Department (TFD) is made up of 5 towns, each having a fire station. The Town of Washington Fire Station
is TFD Station 2. We are an all volunteer department and trained as full-time career firefighters which enables us to
assist neighboring cities and counties. The training is provided by TFD at no cost to the individual with successful
course completion. Most training is done at the local technical college and can be a few week long daytime classes or
two evenings a week for a few months. Classes include live fire training, vehicle extrication, driving and pumping with
fire trucks, swift and cold water rescue, confined space rescue, and several leadership courses for upcoming fire officers.
The initial year on the Fire Department can be time consuming, but you can go as fast or as slow as your schedule
allows. Please stop by our Fire Station between 7 and 9 p.m. the 1st or 2nd Monday of the month for more information.
Knock on our main entrance door labeled Fire Department at the back of the building.
New for 2016 is the replacement of our 1993 Ford fire truck known as a tender. Typically, tenders haul around 2200
gallons of water and we have six of these trucks department wide. The Washington station normally operates with two
tenders. These trucks have a small on board pump, which can be used with hose lines or to fill brush trucks or our fire
engine. For larger fires, we can unfold a portable 2000 gallon tank which looks like a pool, and our tender will directly
dump into that pool. It takes less than a few minutes to unload 2200 gallons into the tank. Our fire engine can pump
water directly from this pool at an alarming 1500 gallons a minute at full throttle! We are excited to welcome a new
tender truck to our station this year to allow our department to adequately fulfill operations.
Sunday, May 22, we will host our annual charcoal chicken feed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Prices are $9 for the all you
can eat chicken dinner and $5 for a hot dog meal. We have plenty of space to dine in or offer to go orders. A Fire Officer
is available to show equipment and trucks to those interested. This is our main fundraiser to replace or add additional
equipment to our station. Your support is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you all at our event!
Testing for Radon
Each year, radon kills more people than home fires, drowning, falls or drunk driving. Eau Claire County has a high rate
of homes with high levels of radon. Yet many community members know very little about radon. Over 35% of tested
homes in the county exceed the level of radon that is considered safe to have around your home.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the soil beneath and around some of our homes. In
some homes here in Eau Claire it accumulates to levels that create a risk to the residents.
Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers! You can’t smell or taste it but it
puts your family at risk!
Test your home for radon by purchasing a short-term test kit at the Health Department for just
$10! To print a $2 off coupon for our radon kit go to the link below:
http://www.ci.eau-claire.wi.us/departments/health-department/environmental-health/housing/radon
For more information on radon or the test kits please call 715-839-4718.
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Eau Claire, WI
Permit 203
5750 Old Town Hall Road
Eau Claire WI 54701
www.townofwashington.org
TOWN OFFICIALS
Administrator/
Clerk/Treasurer:
Janelle L. Henning
715-834-3257
Town Board Meetings
3rd Thursday each month at 5:30 PM
Deputy Clerk:
Jackie Vold
715-834-3257
Hours of Operation
Deputy Treasurer:
Kathy Kishaba
715-834-3257
Chairman:
Micheal Peterson
715-497-6333
Supervisors:
Jane Mueller
Donald Perry
Michael Stacy
Karen Tomesh
715-878-4058
715-831-9584
715-834-5665
715-835-4742
Monday - Friday
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Office Closed
Monday, May 30, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
The Town of Washington website includes: notices, cemetery information, Town road map, directory for Town
Board and staff, calendar of events, agendas and minutes, voting information, forms and permits, Municipal Codes,
budget information and more. www.townofwashington.org