With council approval, emergency vehicle pre-emption devices would be included in new lights at Interstate 43 and Highway 67
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The City of Elkhorn Municipal Services and Utilities Committee voted in favor of including emergency vehicle pre-emption devices in traffic lights the Wisconsin DOT is installing at the Highway 67 and Interstate 43 interchange in the upcoming months.
The cost to include the devices is estimated at $7,000, though that cost does not include the transmitters, which will need to be installed in emergency vehicles in the City of Elkhorn.
City Engineer Paul Vanhenkelum had suggested at the committee’s prior meeting on Jan. 26 it might be worth contacting local state representatives and asking them to write a letter to the DOT to request funds to cover the cost as Elkhorn emergency services are not the only emergency services using the route to access both Aurora Lakeland Medical Center and Mercy Walworth. Vanhenkelum said Monday night that Representative Stephen Nass’s office was going to make some phone calls to see what they could do.
City Administrator Sam Tapson said Monday the last time he had spoken with Vanhenkelum, the DOT might not charge the city for the costs to install the devices and the city will not be responsible for maintenance of the lights.
Alderman Gary Payson, Sr., said he thinks that at the end of the day, whether the city or the state pays for it, it’s an important enhancement to have out at the interchange for fire and rescue services.
“At any given time during the day, if you’re trying to get across there, you’re not going to do it,” he said. “For a rescue squad or even a police car that are trying to get from point A to point B, $7,000 is pretty cheap insurance.”
Additionally, Payson said he’d rather see it done now, than have to go back and retrofit the lights later, which Vanhenkelum said would be a lot more expensive.
Alderman Hoss Rehberg made the motion to send a recommendation to approve the project to the full council.
“If we get state money to help with the $7,000, great, if not, I think it is a good, pro-active approach from the city’s standpoint,” he said.
The motion passed unanimously.
Following the passing of the motion, Tapson said the drop-dead date to inform the DOT of the decision is next Monday, Feb. 16, before the end of the business day, which falls just before the City of Elkhorn Common Council’s next meeting, typically held at 5:30 p.m.
Alderman Jim D’Alessandro said with five councilmen at the committee meeting, all of whom were in agreeance it needs to be done, he felt it was pretty safe to notify the DOT.
Tapson said he would contact the DOT to see if first thing Tuesday morning would be okay, allowing the Council to make an official decision on the topic, and if not, they could always schedule the Council meeting for earlier Monday to get the decision in on time.
Equipping vehicles
In addition to equipping the traffic lights with the devices, the committee began discussion on equipping the city’s 21 emergency vehicles with the corresponding transmitters, a roughly $17,000 cost, or about $800 apiece, according to an estimate from City of Elkhorn Police Chief Joel Christensen. In the memo from Christensen, it was also noted that not all vehicles would need to be done on an immediate basis.
Fire Chief Rod Smith said Monday night that the fire department has 15 vehicles, but would like only need to equip the eight lead vehicles for the time being if the city didn’t want to equip all vehicles at once.
With the lights expected to be completed around July 31, Payson said the committee has time to look into not only equipping vehicles, but additionally the possibility and cost of retro-fitting the other five traffic lights in Elkhorn with the pre-emption devices.
D’Alessandro suggested a possible step-plan, equipping needed vehicles and traffic lights based on priority over the upcoming years.
