The Minocqua Town Board is considering a proposal to post new address signs at nearly every listed property in Minocqua Township, which should help first responders more easily find those needing emergency help. If final board approval is given, the town project could cost in the neighborhood of $150,000 based on a contractor’s estimate received last year.
The town board Monday directed Minocqua Director of Public Works Mark Pertile to get new bids for the project, which would put reflective address signs at about 6,000 property sites. The overall cost breaks down to about $25 per site, which the town would place as a one-time special charge on property tax bills. Pertile suggested having a contractor do the sign installation in one full swoop, rather than spread it across two or more years. Minocqua is about five times the size of an ordinary township. The town runs 18 miles from east to west, 12 miles from north to south and contains nearly 200 miles of town roads. The overall cost, however, caused supervisors some hesitation.
Supervisor Bill Stengl wondered if GPS technology in fire, police and ambulance vehicles couldn’t do the job of locating addresses. Police Chief David Jaeger said global positioning satellite technology isn’t accurate in all cases. Having readable addresses at the end of driveways would assist police offers responding to emergency calls, including domestic disturbances.
“It would eliminate the guessing game and create a faster response (time),” he said of the new numbering system. “The fire department has some clues – like big flames and smoke and stuff like that – but when we are going to a domestic, a lot of time it’s a guessing game. And we are ending up at the wrong houses, or we get close and we have to run across the field or wooded area to get to the domestic.”
The police chief won over Stengl, who later remarked: “It sounds like there’s not a better option as far as (GPS) technology goes. I think it’s a good idea to have this in place.”
Town Chairman Mark Hartzheim said he hadn’t favored the program in the past, but acknowledged, “This (signage) is the way communities are going.” The town has already budgeted funds for the program. The proposed signs are larger than what one usually sees as fire numbers in rural areas. Pertile displayed one style of the signs that measured 16x8 inches. Currently, the town’s fire number signs are only 2 inches high and are not reflective. The signs would be posted at driveway entrances for the most part. Some places such as those with multiple condominium units would have a “range of numbers” sign at the driveway entrance, as well as individual numbers on the units. From the audience, Phil Albert noted that on the private road that leads to his home, only three out of 12 properties have fire numbers. He said when a neighbor suffered a heart attack two years ago, “I had to stand on the end of the (road) and wave the first responders in and tell them it was the fourth driveway because there was no fire number.” Even then, the ambulance went by and had to come back and find the right driveway, he added. “From a protection and safety (standpoint), I don’t know why anybody would object to 25 bucks for a sign,” he said.
In other matters, voters will be asked at the April 20th annual meeting whether the town should revert back to electing town supervisors at large, versus the current practice of electing by numbered seats. The board wasn’t receptive to Hartzheim’s suggestion that the board move its meetings up by one hour. Supervisor John Thompson said he would find it difficult to make the meeting if it was at 5 p.m. as suggested. The board did not vote on the request. The board agreed to modify its slow-no wake sign ordinance to comply with the state Department of Natural Resources’ directive for such regulations on water bodies that fall in two or more townships. Prompting the issue was Shishebogama Lake Association’s desire to again place slow-no wake buoys on the lake. However, DNR wardens can’t enforce the regulation if neighboring township slow-no wake ordinances don’t match in language, as in this case with that of Lac du Flambeau’s. The matter will return to the board next month for the second and final reading before the ordinance becomes enforceable. The board will need to match its ordinance with other townships, including Woodruff and Lake Tomahawk in regard to the Minocqua Chain of Lakes. The board reauthorized summer ATV routes, located in the southwest section of the township.
