Water Main Breaks Break Lomira DPW Budget

Questions about water main-related expenses arose during the Lomira Village Board meeting on Wednesday, March 12.
When the board discussed paying the bills, Trustee Gary More inquired about a $2,915.10 charge from the Dodge County Highway Department for a water main break.
“So, we had that water main break that was right in the intersection...by the diner,” said Director of Public Works Nick Roskopf. “It was during the week. It would have been difficult for any of us (Public Works Department employees) to shut down [the street] and put up a detour.”
The state also required the break to be patched with asphalt, incurring an additional cost.
Trustee More also asked Roskopf about a $11,135.07 bill for another water main break on Church Street.

“We had a company come in and bring in slurry... It’s kind of like concrete. It turned out to be more like wet gravel, but each load of that was fairly significant. I was hoping that was going to keep us from actually having to patch the road. They do that quite a bit in Brownsville,” explained Roskopf. “Unfortunately, it didn’t help for a while, but that was really expensive. So, the village will not be slurrying anything anymore.”
“The actual break was about $3,500. The rest of it was slurry,” added Administrator-Clerk-Treasurer Jenna Rhein.
These breaks on Church Street were not the only water main breaks in the village this year.
“We’ve had six breaks in the season. Five this year. Five of those six were in either South Avenue or Highway 67,” stated Roskopf. “The other break that wasn’t on those two [roads]...was the least expensive break; however, there are...at least ten breaks in that line now, I think, or up to.”
“What does that do to your budget?” asked Trustee More. “That was almost $19,000.”
“It’s going to be more than what I’ve budgeted for. I think I averaged probably $6,000...for water main breaks. I’ve been budgeting for three, which is what we have been doing the last few years, but this colder winter has not been kind to us.”
The motion to pay the bills was made by Trustee More and passed unanimously.
Board Matters:
• The board discussed amending Ordinance #370, ATV and UTV regulations. The amendment would not change any of the regulations, only the wording of the ordinance. When the state completed an audit of the village’s ATV signage, it discovered inaccurate verbiage stating that the village had jurisdiction over state highways within the village. A motion to amend Ordinance #370, ATV and UTV regulations, was made by Trustee More and passed unanimously.
• The board also considered granting an operator liquor license to Malenka Bintzler. Trustee Jennifer Priesgen made the motion to grant the license, which passed unanimously.