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Town of Orion

Mail: PO Box 506, Muscoda, WI 53573

Address: 22304 Thiede Road, Muscoda, WI 53573

Office Hours: Tues 10:00am – 3:00pm, or by Appointment

Office Phone: (608) 739-0515

Town of Orion

Wisconsin

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June 24, 2026, Regular Board Meeting Minutes

Chairperson Marc Couey called the monthly meeting to order.

Roll Call – Chairperson Marc Couey, Supervisor Don Stanke, Supervisor Joe Halverson, Treasurer Denise Ewing, Clerk Abigail Ewing. Electors present included Janet Brown, Kim Seifert and James Goodwiler.

Agenda Properly Noticed – Clerk Abigail Ewing reported that the meeting was properly noticed.

Approve the Agenda – Chairperson Marc Couey read the agenda as printed and asked if there were any changes. Motion to approve the agenda was made by Supervisor Don Stanke, seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried.

Approval of May Meeting Minutes – Chairperson Marc Couey asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes for the May 2026 regular meeting. Chairman Marc Couey moved to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson.

Treasurers Report – Treasurer, Denise D. Ewing, reports that on May 31, 2026, the balance in the checking account was $236,539.60 per the People’s Community Bank statement. We have five outstanding checks totaling $9,764.26, making the actual balance in the Town of Orion checking account $216,775.34. The Certificate of Deposit with WCCU had a balance ending of $48,602.02. Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report, seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried. Treasurer Denise Ewing reported that she entered expenses and revenues from 2025 and current year 2026 into QuickBooks and explained that moving forward she can provide a Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. Treasurer Denise Ewing noted that bill payment checks were printed from QuickBooks for the first time and will be done so moving forward.

Clerks Report – Clerk Abigail Ewing reported that there was a new County Clerk, Jeffrey Harrison. Clerk Abigail Ewing completed all required Clerk Training and gained access to WisVote. The August 11th Primary Partisan Election preparation is currently underway, and Absentee Ballots were picked up from the County Clerk on Monday June 22nd. All current absentee ballot requests were mailed out on June 22nd, prior to the deadline of June 25th, and were recorded in WisVote. Clerk Abigail Ewing purchased a laptop for the new position of Election Clerk. With the help of Computer Doctors, she set up her email account and obtained a Microsoft 365 account for her to begin helping with Election data entry, she also submitted the necessary paperwork for Janet Brown to access required Clerk training to access WisVote. The Election Clerk, Janet Brown has completed her Clerk training and will now also have WisVote access once her Fido key is delivered.

Approve Bills – Chairperson Marc Couey read the May bills presented for approval totaling $17,723.94. Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to approve the payment of the bills totaling $33,861.53, using checks #5000-5021 and one ACH debit, seconded by Chairman Marc Couey. Motion carried.

Roads Report – Randy Olson was not in attendance. Chairman Marc Couey relayed that Seal Coaters would be coming either today or tomorrow, depending on the weather.

Fire Districts –

  • Muscoda – Chairperson Marc Couey reported there was not a meeting in June.
  • Richland Rural – Supervisor Joe Halverson reported that he attended the fire meeting in June.  He shared the monthly report.
  • Richland Ambulance – Supervisor Don Stanke reported there was not a meeting in June.

OTHER BUSINESS:

  1. Heath & Jacqueline Budden – Property Rezone – 28302 State Hwy 80 are seeking approval from the Town of Orion Board to rezone their property. 4.15 acres containing the house to be sold and the remaining acreage to be sectioned off. Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to approve the rezoning of the property, seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried.
  • James Goodwiler (Agenda misprinted with Gutweiler) – James Goodwiler is requesting a property rezone for parcel #020-4212-4000 and a variance contingent upon the purchase of the property of 22521 Thiede Road. Chairman Marc Couey made a motion to approve the property rezone as presented, and to approve the variance once the property was sold to James Goodwiler, a second made by Supervisor Don Stanke. Motion carried.
  • Janet Brown – Clerk of Elections – Election Clerk, Janet Brown was sworn in by Clerk Abigail Ewing and was officially sworn in as Election Deputy Clerk
  • Clerk Compensation Policy – Board members held a special closed session meeting to discuss the compensation policy.Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to approve the prepared Compensation policy as presented in the meeting, seconded by Supervisor Don Stanke. Motion carried. Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to elect Chairman Marc Couey to approve Clerk’s additional hours worked beyond the salaried 40 hours monthly on behalf of the Board. Seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried.
  • Treasurer New Pay Rate – Chairman Marc Couey shared the approval from the special meeting to increase the Treasurer wages to $550 per month.
  • Election Security Sub Grant – Clerk Abigail Ewing brought the 2026 Election Security Subgrant Program for Municipalities to the attention of the Board and asked if the Board wanted her to pursue for Town of Orion. Board approved finding out what applying would require and reporting back.
  • Computer Doctors Email/Laptop – Previous Clerk Diane Parduhn was working with Computer Doctors to streamline Town of Orion emails and when Clerk Abigail Ewing prepared for them to make adjustments, it was discovered that in order to make changes, they needed to move the Board member emails to a Microsoft 365 license resulting in an additional annual fee per license of $144.00. Chairman Marc Couey made a motion to approve the additional Microsoft 365 Licenses for the three Board members to ensure email communication was being properly received. Seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried.
  • Operator Licenses Ordinance – Clerk Abigail Ewing presented a proposed ordinance delegating authority to the Town Clerk to issue Operator’s Licenses and Provisional Licenses pursuant to Wis. Stat. 125.17. The Clerk explained the purpose of the ordinance and the need to establish a written procedure for issuing operator license and Provisional Licenses. Chairman Marc Couey moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2026-01, An Ordinance Designating the Town Clerk as the Municipal Official Authorized to Issue Operator’s Licenses and Provisional Operator’s Licenses. Supervisor Joe Halverson seconded the motion. Motion Carried. The Chair declared the motion adopted. The Ordinance will be posted in accordance with Wisconsin law and retain an Affidavit of Posting with the Town’s official records.
  • Farmland Preservation – Every 10 years Richland County reviews Farmland Preservation changes and requests that Municipalities review those changes for accuracy. After review of the updated maps, Chairman Marc Couey, Supervisor Don Stanke and Supervisor Joe Halverson all agreed that the maps did not require any additional edits or changes and were accurate as shown to the best of their knowledge.
  1. Ordinances – Members of the Board reviewed the existing Ordinances.

NEXT REGULAR MEETING: July 15, 2026, at 5:00pm

AGENDA ITEMS/PUBLIC INPUT – Election Sub Grant

ADJOURN – Supervisor Don Stanke made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Supervisor Joe Halverson. Motion carried at 6:09pm.