Bellevue village board receives public works update

By Rich Palzewic

Staff Writer

BELLEVUE – The Bellevue village board received an update from Andy Rowell, director of public works, at its June 24 meeting.

Rowell said the public works department was able to sell four vehicles from its fleet.

“We got good prices and were able to sell some of our vehicles and a few other small things,” he said. “We sold a van, a 1-ton truck, a truck from 1999 and an old chipper. Combined, we got more than $22,000. It might not sound like a lot, but for the age – all are more than 15 years old – I was satisfied with the sales. We exceeded our expectations for what we thought we’d get by about 50 percent.”

Rowell also said the village’s engineering technician, Adam Baeten, will be leaving.

“Adam has only been here for about eight or nine months,” he said. “That’s our third vacancy in the position in the last few years. I want to review why we are having such a big turnover in that position. We need someone in that role, so we are going to take a look at the job description as well and see if it needs to be changed.”

Rowell also said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the yard waste site has been busier than normal.

“More people must be doing yard work and landscaping projects,” he said. “It’s good for the homeowners, because they can clean up their yards, but we’ll also have more expenses this year because of it. Last year, we had a $60,000 loss in operating that site. We are trying to offset some of that cost with contractor fees, but that doesn’t bring in much.”

In his opinion, Rowell said the village is also seeing misuse at the site.

“We are trying to monitor that,” he said. “When I see vehicles coming and leaving from the east of that site, they’re probably not residents. We’ve had some of our staff there to help, but I’d like to discuss how we can get more control over the site and possibly increase our revenue.”

COVID-19 exposure

David Litton, interim fire chief, said a fire department employee was exposed to COVID-19 June 17.

“It didn’t happen while he was working, but when he was out fishing with a friend in a boat off-duty,” Litton said. “The friend tested positive, and our employee then attended a training event with other employees. He also went on a call in a fire engine with other individuals, so others were potentially exposed. In all cases, they all tested negative. Our employee, who was exposed in the boat, had to self-quarantine for 14 days regardless of a negative test.”

Litton also said staff has been working hard to get caught up on inspections.

“Because of COVID the last three months, we’ve gotten behind with our inspections in the community,” he said. “We are on schedule to be caught up by mid-July. That will generate revenue for the department.”