By Rich Palzewic
Staff Writer
DE PERE – De Pere Health Department director Deb Armbruster gave the common council a COVID-19 update at its Nov. 4 meeting.
Armbruster said Prevea has opened its winter testing site.
“The site is at the Brown County Fairgrounds,” she said. “Since they’ve been open during the past week, they’ve had more testing being done. There was a slowdown for a bit, but now they’re up to about 90-percent capacity.”
Armbruster said because Prevea receives its tests through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, anyone can get tested.
“It’s not just for people who have symptoms or were close contacts to a positive COVID-19 case,” she said. “I think that’s good news for lots of people.”
Armbruster said she’s also been in contact with officials at St. Norbert College.
“After Thanksgiving break, St. Norbert won’t come back in session until early February,” she said. “We’ve been talking about how things will look when the spring semester begins. There might be some testing when the students first return.”
Armbruster also reported a recent COVID-19 related death in the city, a 39-year-old female.
In other action, the board unanimously approved several other items.
A precise implementation plan (PIP) for a new restroom/shower facility and new RV (recreational vehicle) dump station at the Brown County Fairgrounds was approved.
The old restroom/shower facility will be removed and replaced with a new, larger facility in the same area to accommodate the fairgrounds and campsites on the property.
The current dump station, which is located near the restroom, will also be removed, and a new, three-lane station will be constructed on the north end of the property.
The dump station will not be a regional facility.
The tentative completion date of the projects is May 2021.
Also, an ordinance establishing salaries for elected officials in the city was approved.
Effective May 1, 2022, the mayoral salary will be $26,126 and increase 2 percent the following year.
Mayor James Boyd currently makes $25,112, and that will increase to $25,614 next year.
Alderpersons, who currently make about $7,200 per year, will also see their salaries increase 2 percent each year through 2023.
Also, effective Monday, Nov. 16, the city will again be enforcing its municipal code prohibiting overnight parking on city streets.
This recommendation is based on requests from the department of public works to reduce the negative impacts on snow plowing efficiency by eliminating the need to plow around cars parked on the streets.
The request also comes from the police department to mitigate citizen concerns about vehicles parked on streets overnight and the various criminal activities that go along with overnight parking.