Marine Receives Grant for Police Equipment
by Stephanie Malench
MARINE — The Marine Village Board had a short meeting on October 2, with over half of it addressing public comments.
John Molitor attended to get the latest information on payments for the sewer reclining project so that he and the rest of the water protection district board could proceed with the upgrades to the lift stations. This led to a lengthy discussion on the old pumps being returned completely disassembled. Village board member and water and sewer chair Darren Apken and Mayor Kelly Tracy are unhappy with the company that was contracted to make the repairs for not putting the pumps back together after taking them apart and not putting them back together when returning them and will be contacting the company with hopes of having them put the units back together to use as backup in an emergency.
The other length discussion from public comment was Tracy’s public dressing-down of parks volunteer Lynn Scherer’s pattern of misrepresenting himself as a village trustee with various governmental agencies that the village has working relationships with, most recently Madison County Transit. Tracy claimed that managing director S.J. Morrison called her stating Scherer demanded access to drive up and down the parts of the trail that cut through Lake Park now that the Village annexed the wooded area on the other side of the trail and that if he did not get it he would show up at the next MCT Board meeting. Tracy said this is the third time an office has called stating Scherer has misrepresented himself as an elected official and if it happens again the village will be pursuing legal action.
Scherer said he always introduces himself as a “volunteer member of the village of Marine” and that the situation with MCT is under control because they will start mowing along the trail.
During committee reports, Mark Voigt, chair of health and police announced that the village received the grant to purchase four new tasers and five new bullet proof vests.
The new sign at the edge of town for the Catholic and UCC churches is through the design phase and will be four feet by six feet.
The Marine Historical Society is looking for volunteers to help park cars at the 100th Anniversary Hard Road Car Cruise on October 12.
The next board meeting will be October 16 at Village Hall at 7 pm.
