The Onalaska City Council discussed and considered action on a variance request from Eric Peterson during its Dec. 9 regular meeting.
Peterson was seeking to decrease the minimum 15-foot open space between exterior walls by 10 feet at 210 Pickens Rd. Although the variance was not approved, Council did amend the motion to allow Peterson to continue.
Ordinance No. 467 – amending Ordinance No. 449 regulating tow trucks – was discussed and approved.
During the monthly departmental reports, it was reported that the Onalaska Police Department conducted 342 building checks during the month of November, made 281 traffic stops in which warnings were issued and 157 traffic stops in which citations were issued, assisted with 39 calls for service, assisted other agencies 28 times, provided extra patrol 398 times, cleared 12 warrants, conducted 23 welfare checks and conducted warrant service 16 times.
November statistics for the Onalaska Volunteer Fire Department reflect the department responded to 26 calls in the city and 25 calls in the county, logging in a total of 266 man hours.
The Onalaska Fire Marshal’s Office conducted one fire inspection and four fire investigations during the month of November.
The fire marshal reviewed two site plans for fire department access, installed four smoke detectors in Ponderosa subdivision and provided a fire prevention program at Nanny’s Playhouse.
The city’s code enforcement office processed 26 permit applications during the month of November, issuing 15 permits, and 11 incomplete applications due to missing documentation. A total of 74 inspections were conducted, with 15 initially failing and requiring contractor corrections to achieve compliance and protect resident safety.
Code enforcement activity included 12 new cases, 47 individuals cited from current and prior month cases, 25 warnings issued, two stop work orders with violations of a stop work order, one arrest warrant issued and served and one arrest for failure to sign a citation.
The library reported 2,088 current patrons and a total of 9,065 total holdings, income of $202 for the month of November and 41.5 volunteer hours.
Other business included approval of the minutes, vouchers and financial reports.
Council will convene at noon on Tuesday in a special called meeting to consider action on the termination of Telecommunications Operator Paulette Lewis.
In related activity, Council will review and consider approval of Denise Ross as a fulltime telecommunications operator with the standard probationary period.
