House a gathering site for pests, burned in March 2022

Franklin Street residents can soon breathe a sigh of relief, if reports of pending demolition are in fact born out.

Writing the council in his bi-monthly report Feb. 20, Stanley police chief Lance Weiland said that he had been notified the owner of a property that burned at 624 North Franklin in March of last year, intended to tear the property down. Left to stand, the house had attracted pests, an issue the city dealt with over the summer while waiting on the property owner. While the ongoing pest issue had been addressed, the house has nonetheless been an eyesore for much of the past year. While the Council had discussed a raze order as recently as December, the question of taxpayer funds going towards demolition had made it cautious to issue a final order.

Now with reports of pending demolition, that won’t be necessary—nor will a raze order, otherwise possible with property revaluations to be completed this spring.

Also in the police report for Feb. 20, Chief Weiland notified the Council that the Boyd Village Board would be voting on extending the law enforcement contracted services agreement at its March 13 meeting. Weiland said he was informed the village desire was to update the contract language and move forward with an agreement to cover May 1 – December 31, 2023. Following this, Weiland said it was the village’s desire to move forward with one-year deals, something he said would make it easier for the village to have a definite known cost in relation to labor contracts “being what they are.” The agreement has allowed for the creation of a full-time position split between both communities and addressing the staffing needs of each, ending the revolving door of part-time officers going elsewhere.

Returning to Stanley, Weiland informed the Council that he had begun to cite two individuals who had recently moved to the Pine Court trailer Park and were using their property as a used car dealership, “for lack of a better term.” The unnamed individuals are reportedly purchasing vehicles and then selling these online, but without proper licensing to do so, being involved in such activities in previous communities they have lived in, per the chief’s report. Chief Weiland said he has been in contact with the state dealer agent that covers Chippewa County in hopes to address the matter, which will be monitored and addressed as needed.

Closing out the chief’s update, Weiland shared his thoughts on a pending council item from an individual seeking a lift on a previous ban from Chapman Park Campground for unsocial behavior. The chief reminded the council of previous complaints regarding foul language and loud music, as well as reports of his male children in the women’s shower and restroom area when other girls/women were present. Gray water being directed to a volleyball sized hole from a camper was also deemed a concern. Closing out the Chief’s update, Weiland reiterated that there will be a “Take A Stand Against Meth” town hall meeting at Stanley-Boyd High School on March 15, and that the free event open to the community would focus on education as related to drugs in the area. All are welcome at the March 15 event at the school.