City receives 2024 audit, approves design project

By Steve Van Kooten

The Prairie du Chien Common Council received some good news during their Aug. 5 meeting, including an update on the long-gestating public safety building and the results of the 2024 audit.

For the audit, Krisztina Dommer, a certified public accountant with Lauterbach & Amen, spoke to the council, delivering an unmodified (or clean) opinion for the city.

“The city, for as long as we can remember, has had an unmodified opinion — that is a clean audit opinion, which is what you want to have,” she said.

An unmodified opinion generally means the financial statements and documentation submitted to the auditor are free of mistakes and considered reliable and accurate.

“As an overall summary for where you ended up for the year-end, your overall net position and fund balances did decrease slightly. That is mainly due to capital and affordable housing projects that were created during the year,” said Dommer.

She added that the city’s finances did not show “too much fluctuation” year over year, and the results were in line with what the city expected.

The council unanimously approved the audit as presented.

Lauterbach & Amen is an accounting firm based in Illinois that provides accounting, financial and tax services in the public and private sectors.

CSD project

City Planner Nate Gilberts sent a memo to the council, which detailed possible options for community-sensitive design elements involved with the two roundabouts that will be installed on U.S. Highway 18 next year.

The options included black light poles ($54,700), painting wood signposts black ($4,860) and painting the overhead sign ($1,000). Gilberts’ memo says that the city has worked in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on the optional design elements.

Many of the elements are designed to match other parts of the city, which use some of the same aesthetics.

“Right now, there are black light poles down there,” said Gilberts. “We want to tie into the downtown and bypass.”

The project is eligible for up to $40,000 in CSD funding, with 80 percent of the cost falling under federal funding with a 20 percent match from the municipality. Any cost over $40,000 would be the city’s responsibility, according to Gilberts.

With all three options, the cost would be $60,560. The city would be responsible for $28,560 if they elected to take all of the options. The city plans to use funds from capital borrowing “surplus” for the cost.

Gilberts said that he had communicated with WisDOT, and the project cost can be cut by $11,000 because the city does not need each light pole to have an outlet.

He also did not recommend painting the wood signs black because it adds cost if the signs are damaged and need to be replaced and does not match the signage present at the roundabouts on Marquette Road. That eliminates $4,860 from the cost.

The wooden posts will be part of the roundabout installation; however, the painting would have been part of the CSD project had the council approved the expense.

Gilberts also clarified that the roundabouts will be smaller than the ones on Marquette, so there will not be any landscaping elements in the center of them.

The council unanimously approved the CSD plan put forth by Gilberts.

PSB update

City Administrator Chad Abram said the city has received updated plans for the public safety building from their design firm, Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH).

“Those plans have been submitted to the USDA for review,” he said. “The next step is that they go for their approval, and then we start the bid process for the buildings.”

Abram said the building will have six connected bays and some other “interior changes.” The changes were made as a money-saving measure.

“Overall, we’re at that point that we hope Finance will approve the borrowing.”

Alderpersons Andy Ringgold, Kayla Ingham, Mark Bowar, Bob Granzow, Jaaren Riebe, Nate Bremmer, Vicki Waller and Nick Crary were present during the meeting. Mayor Dave Hemmer, Gilberts, Fuller, Abram and Police Chief Kyle Teynor were also in attendance.

The next council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19.

Other business

• The council approved a street closure on the 100 block of Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 1 p.m. to midnight for a music concert. Steve Jones, representing The Blackhawk, filed the special event application with the city on July 30, which projects an attendance between 300 and 400 people.

• The council approved Logan Coulter’s mayoral appointment to the city’s Board of Review at the meeting.

• The council approved the first Backyard Ultra Run at the LaRiviere Farm Park on Aug. 16.