This monthly meeting had a guest speaker. The Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District Jeff Wright. He spoke about the Sauk Prairie Early Learning Center that is being built. It is what I would consider an innovative idea to address childcare needs. The center is being built with private funds in a public park, owned by the Village of Prairie Du Sac, and operated by the Sauk Prairie School District. When full, the center will serve 168 children from birth through 4k eligibility. Well done, Jeff.

The board passed a resolution to petition for federal and/or state aid for a development project for the Tri – County Regional Airport.

The board passed two resolutions which authorize the administrator to issue an endorsement letter in support of Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD) grant funding. One is for LaValle Telephone Cooperative INC., and the other is for Brightspeed. A survey of broadband needs identified 963 unserved and underserved households and businesses in Sauk County. These two will serve 855 of those locations. That is a huge improvement.

The board voted 29-0 to approve an updated memorandum of understanding and lease agreement between UW Platteville, the City of Baraboo, and Sauk County. This is to update how the campus will be used due to the reduction of buildings used by the University. UW Platteville will now only use the Thomas C. Pleger Science Building and the Aural M Umhoefer Building. The dorm will still be in use, but is not owned by UW Platteville, the City of Baraboo, or Sauk County. This memorandum of understanding will allow the City of Baraboo and Sauk County to use the other spaces for other endeavors. Stay tuned.

The board changed the Health Resources Committee to the Health and Human Services Committee.

The board voted 27-2 to approve an ordinance amendment of lands in the town of Sumpter from an agricultural to a recreational/commercial zoning district. The owner wishes to redevelop the former monastery to operate a hotel/motel, indoor/outdoor recreational facility, and eating establishment with alcohol. This property is also surrounded by a six-unit lot development that is being planned. There was some concern in the committee that developing homes around a facility that acts as a hotel and recreational facility that serves alcohol was a problem. I find these two developments together as problematic.

The board went into closed session to discuss the lawsuit by the Sauk County Citizens for Senior Care. We came away with nothing to say. And that was that. I will tell you more about it in my upcoming memoir of a low-level politician’s life. Or maybe not.

As always, any opinions expressed here are my opinions and do not represent the Sauk County Board. This is not an official blog of Sauk County. The dog has caught the car.