Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, April 6, 2023 | Vol. 4, No. 6 FREE, Single-Copy
Inside this edition
Arena clerk audited in Monticello
Sunshine Week Round-up: Grades are in for local govs
VS honored with Best in Division at newspaper awards
Pages 1, 14, 15
Pages 2, 3, 5
Page 4
Arena board hears tenure of current Arena clerk audited in Monticello, discrepancies found in water bills
Audit reached no conclusions, but shows potentially large errors in water bills Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief
During public comment at last month’s regular meeting of the Village of Arena Board of Trustees on March 7, board members were handed papers by former Village President Paul Pustina. Those papers contained an “Independent Accountant’s Report” covering current Arena Village Clerk/ Treasurer DeNean Naeger’s tenure in Monticello. The report represents the findings of what Monticello Village Board minutes refer to as a forensic audit. Arena officials have stayed quiet since the meeting, but the current Monticello village president insists he saw no evidence of wrongdoing.
Naeger was clerk/treasurer for the Village of Monticello, in Green county, from November 4, 2013 to May 1, 2019, when the village board there voted to “separate employment” with Naeger. Two days later the Monticello board voted to conduct a forensic audit. During a meeting the next month, on June 19, the board formalized that decision by directing their village attorney, William Morgan, to contract with certified public accounting firm Johnson Block. Later that year Arena hired Naeger as their village clerk/ treasurer. Former Monticello Village President Leaora Miller, under whose tenure the audit was started, did not respond to questions for this story. However, public records provided to Valley
Sentinel show that the Monticello Village Board had concerns including, but not limited to: financial controls, password security, failure to back up official emails to and from the clerk as done for those of all other village officers, a village certificate of deposit with Naeger as the only authorized official, village budget and tax payment discrepancies as well as water bill discrepancies. Valley Sentinel has not yet received any records or responses that definitively indicate whether the village officials’ concerns at the time were substantiated. The report also notes that the procedures used were those agreed to by the Village’s legal counsel and are the responsibility of the Village. The
accounting firm stated that it would not stand by those procedures as having been adequate “for the purpose for which the report has been requested or for any other purpose.” Despite this disclaimer, the publicly ordered and funded report provides unique insight into the financial dealings of the Village while Naeger was clerk. The report lists a release date of January 9, 2020, nearly seven months after Johnson Block was directed to conduct the audit. It’s not clear when or if the full village board in Monticello was presented the audit, with public records indicating a village trustee and a community member both asking if the audit was complete at a November 16,
continued on page 14
Riverway board learns of road closure and navigational changes associated with Lone Rock bridge project Mark Cupp, LWSRB Executive Director The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board (LWSRB) met in Muscoda on March 9 to conduct a regular monthly business meeting. Jake Gregerson of Kraemer North America and Barry Larson of HNTB Corporation provided new information on the Lone Rock bridge replacement project that included significant changes for both roadway and river users. Gregerson said STH 133 west of the current bridge will be closed for the summer months. For river users, the south channel will be closed for most of the summer use season with river traffic diverted to the channel on the north side of Long Island. A portage for paddlers will be available downstream of the bridge on Long Island in the south channel. The Otter Creek landing will remain open for boaters and as a destination for paddlers but is not recommended as a launch site for canoes and kayaks. Signage will be placed at
area boat landings alerting river users to the changes and south channel closure. Mark Cupp, LWSRB Executive Director, noted the road closure and channel closure for the duration of the summer represent significant changes from the earlier plans that were presented to the board and public. However, the changes are within the design/build contract for the project and are necessary due to the unique challenges presented by location. Cupp said, “The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR), as well as the contractor, have committed to educating river users to changes in navigation near the bridge construction zone through signage, regular updates via e-mail and other methods of outreach to the public. Safety for river users is paramount and I am recommending that people simply avoid the area of the Lone Rock bridge if at all possible and, especially when paddling, be prepared
to take the north channel at the head of Long Island instead of the traditional route toward the Otter Creek landing and south channel if continuing downstream toward Gotham.” The board also heard from Nate Fayram, DNR Ecologist, who provided information on activities related to the numerous State Natural Areas in the Riverway. Fayram described efforts to combat invasive species throughout the Riverway and highlighted work done by volunteers at sites such as the Blue River Sand Barrens and Mazomanie Oak Barrens. He said fire is an important tool in battling invasive species as well as restoring and maintaining native plant communities. Prescribed burns will occur if weather conditions are favorable. The board then approved extensions to several permits for management activities on state natural areas in the Riverway. Cupp reported he had issued
extensions to The Nature Conservancy for management activities at The Spring Green Preserve and to Mike Finlay on behalf of the DNR for ongoing activities at the Mazomanie Unit. He also issued a timber harvest permit to Walter Koehnlein for a parcel in the Town of Orion, Richland County. The harvest area is not visible from the river during leaf-on conditions and will be conducted pursuant to a Managed Forest Law (MFL) plan.
FIELD TRIP ON APRIL 13
The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board will host a field trip at sites in Crawford and Richland counties on Thursday, April 13, beginning at 1:00 p.m. The field trip is the second in a series under the new 2023 schedule of business meetings and educational opportunities adopted by the board at their January meeting. The field trip
continued on page 17