Village of Kekoskee Board Discusses Data Center Moretoreum and Discuss Contract with Dodge County Humane Society

The Village of Kekoskee met for their monthly board meeting on Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m.

After approving the agenda as presented and the minutes from the previous month’s meeting, the board then went on to discuss joining the Marsh Area Chamber of Commerce. Tom Stumpner with the Chamber was present to discuss how they are working on getting more municipalities in the Marsh to join the Chamber of Commerce. They currently have Mayville and Horicon as members, and they are currently working on getting Kekoskee, Theresa and Iron Ridge to join as well. This is a membership that the board pays a yearly fee of $75 and then is available for the Kekoskee community. The board agreed to have the Village of Kekoskee join the Marsh Area Chamber of Commerce as the Chamber had been helping the village advertise events previously.

A community audience member asked if the Chamber was going to get all the towns and villages in the marsh area, to which Stumpner responded that they are hoping to get more areas but it is a process and they are taking baby steps.

The village board then went on to discuss the 2027 Stray Animal Contract given by Dodge County Humane society. This counteract is handed out yearly to every municipality in Dodge County. The contract this year states that the village would pay a $2,000 fee to allow up to a total of five stray animals to be brought to the Humane Society in Juneau, and any additional animal would be an extra fee of $450 per animal brought to them.

The Village of Kekoskee had not accepted the contract in the past as they have stated they usually only bring in one or two stray animals a year. Because of this, the board decided to not sign the contract, feeling like they would not be getting their money’s worth. They did mention how the village has been getting more calls lately about stray cats in the village, but they still feel like as of now paying the fee is not necessary as they rarely bring in animals. They said that if they start to bring in more animals than the five stray animals, then they will look into signing the contract in future years. They are also going to look at other locations, like Green Lake Area Animal Shelter, to see if there are more affordable options.

At the meeting, the board also discussed holding a public forum on whether or not the village should have an ordinance for a moratorium on A.I data centers. Although Dodge County currently has a moratorium on data centers, certain areas like the Village of Kekoskee have their own zoning and need to decide on their own if they want a moratorium. They can also decide how long they want the moratorium for and do not necessarily need to follow the same rules the county does. The village decided that they will be holding a public hearing on Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. before their regular meeting at 5:30 p.m.