By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Village Board discussed the possibility of having holiday decorations on the village square and down Highway ES toward the intersection of highways ES and 20 at the Dec. 7 meeting.
Trustee Linda Kaplan brought the issue before the board saying many of the surrounding communities, some of them smaller than East Troy, put up decorations throughout the year from flags on the patriotic holidays to lighting up the downtown areas during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Kaplan said she was looking for feedback from the board on whether it would support possible installation and maintenance of the decorations if they were purchased for the village through community fundraising efforts.
The board members discussed the possibility with the members generally in support of the idea, but without real numbers as to the cost, it was decided Kaplan should move forward with some research as to how much money it would entail for the village and then bring it back to the board so it could make an informed decision.
Opening the bathrooms on the square
The board approved having the bathrooms on the village square open during the days for spring, summer and fall next year.
The board decided to leave the exact dates to open the bathrooms in spring and close in fall to Department of Public Works Director Mike Miller, who will determine when those dates are by the weather and the risk of freezing pipes.
The board spent time discussing who would check on and clean the bathrooms daily.
Village Board President Randy Timms suggested getting a quote from the cleaning service that cleans Village Hall three days a week and that the DPW could cover the rest of the days.
Trustee Ann Zess said she was in favor of using DPW staff, especially since the board recently approved a full-time hire for the department.
“We should use the resources we have instead of hiring cleaners,” Zess said.
The board also discussed the possibility of having camera’s installed outside of the restrooms to help monitor them and maybe having electronic locks installed so they could be locked and unlocked remotely, but the board decided to hold off on those options until or if the need arose.
Police Chief Alan Boyes said his department would keep an eye on things and lock up the bathrooms at night. It was decided that the bathrooms would be open from about 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week during the warmer months.
