Spring Green, Wisconsin
Thursday, June 26, 2025 | Vol. 6, No. 10 FREE, Single-Copy
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2025 Best of the River Valley Reader Poll
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Arena Village Board brings food pantry (back) to village hall, votes to contest unemployment insurance appeal Luukas Palm-Leis, Reporter At its June regular board meeting, the Village of Arena Board of Trustees voted to move the food pantry into the Village Hall, heard updates on public works, ongoing audits and clerk trainings and voted to contest a former village employee’s unemployment insurance claim. Village transitional updates The village office was closed June 9, 11 and 12 for the two interim village clerks to attend training sessions on payroll and finance systems. Due to the village’s former clerk resigning in April, the new clerks needed to learn the payroll and finance system from scratch, leading to delays in the use of the payment system. Village employees have been paid via check advance in the interim period. The board discussed the need to appoint a president pro-tempore. Following the resignation of one-time Village President Kathy Stoltz on her first day in office, trustee Steve Wilkinson had served as president pro-tempore and interim president, until the May 6 meeting when current village president Paul Pustina was elected. Trustee Matthew Schroeder and Wilkinson were nominated for the role, but Wilkinson declined nomination. The board voted to appoint Schroeder to the position of president pro tempore with all in favor except for Schroeder, who abstained. An update and recommendation of the village’s active financial audits was provided by Wilkinson regarding a specific audit on the village’s utility bills. Martin Wirtz, a representative from Digital Forensics ad-
vised the board not to look into the water and sewer billing system, and rather to investigate bank records as a whole. “If it were me or my investigation, I would recommend that we would look into your bank accounts and see if anybody is taking money out of the bank accounts, somebody with the title of treasurer or clerk,” Wirtz said. The board voted to change the focus of the audit investigation to bank accounts and records and to focus as far back in time as the contracts affords, with all in favor except Schroeder who voted against. Employee unemployment insurance claim The Village Personnel Committee had several updates and recommendations to the board regarding an unemployment insurance claim filed to the village from a former employee, who voluntarily quit. At the May 30 Personnel Committee Meeting, the committee discussed contesting the unemployment insurance claim, which Pustina had taken action on, without board approval, to preserve the Village’s ability to have a hearing and contest the claim. “We have to do this… Paul [Pustina] took emergency action to guarantee that we will be able to make a decision as a board,” Trustee Becca Raven Uminowicz said. “We do need to recommend whether to contest and appeal. We need to get it to the board, because the board didn’t decide on it” At recommendation from the committee, the board voted to have the Personnel Committee implement a policy in the employee handbook that the Village may con-
test voluntary-quit unemployment insurance claims on a case by case basis, with all members in favor. The committee also recommended the board contest and appeal the claim from the former employee who voluntarily quit from the Village. “A previous employee filed for unemployment insurance and is being paid out on that claim that the employee rightfully deserves the insurance. What the personnel committee is asking the board to do, we’re recommending the board to do, is to appeal the claim as it was a voluntary quit,” Uminowicz said. The board voted unanimously to contest the unemployment insurance claim. They also voted to appoint Pustina as the Village representative and Bill Cole, the village’s attorney, or a designee, as legal counsel for any hearings or deadlines regarding the case. Food Pantry Uminowicz updated the board regarding the Arena Food Pantry. As the owners of the ACES Apartments — the former Arena Elementary — have decided to no longer host the food pantry, the organizers, Ray and Kristy Porter requested to use space at the Arena Village Hall to store refrigerators and equipment required to run the food pantry until new organizers could be found. Uminowicz announced to the board that she and her sister, Jeanne Crowe, are going to take over food pantry operations and were asking if the village board would be willing to provide space, at no cost, for
Valley Sentinel's 2025 Best of the River Valley reader poll enclosed inside
Valley Sentinel's 5th Annual Best of the River Valley reader poll for the Spring Green area is here! The poll focuses on June 2024 to May 2025, limited roughly to 15 miles around the Spring Green area — Arena, Lone Rock,
Plain and Spring Green — unless stated as regional and celebrates the very best the area has to offer, while offering a thought-provoking look at where we're going. Despite a delay (our fault), the poll again reached a record number of residents.
food pantry operations. Wilkinson noted that some of the rooms in the building may be unsuitable for use by the food pantry as the electrical systems may not be able to support the refrigerators, as well as the size of some of the rooms may be insufficient for all the equipment. Schroeder also expressed concerns regarding not disrupting the public works department office. The pantry was previously located in the village hall, but the space is now occupied by public works offices. The board voted in favor of moving food bank operations to the village hall, at no cost, contingent on space and logistics, with all in favor except Uminowicz who abstained. Public works updates Bill Gauger and Ken Amble from the Arena Cemetery Committee spoke to the board about placing a village sign and marquee on cemetery property. Gauger had noted that the Cemetery Committee had no opposition to returning a sign to the property, though the village would be responsible for mowing. The board unanimously voted to refer the proposition to the public works committee. Tracy Johnson, the village’s building inspector, introduced himself to the board and discussed a recommendation for the village to hire a village planner to help with land divisions, rezones and future village developments. The board sent the recommendation to research having a village planner to the public works committee for review with all members in favor.