Don Schesel began his last meeting as Chairman at the Town of Edson annual meeting on April 18^th at 8pm. With no agenda for the meeting, any one was able to bring up an issue for discussion.  After the reading and approval of last year’s meeting minutes, Fire and Ambulance Chairman Ron Patten read the 2022 annual financial reports for the Boyd Fire Department and Boyd- Edson-Delmar Ambulance. “People are pretty generous,” Patten commented on the generosity of community members as the donations for the fire department were just over $19,000.00 and about $13,000 for the B-E-D Ambulance. Talk turned to the new ambulance and new fire gear which, according to Patten, was expensive but necessary. The price on the new ambulance has risen exponentially since the last one was purchased and is projected to be about $300,000. “Most expensive one we ever bought so far,” Patten remarked.

The department call logs showed 55 fire calls and about 632 ambulance calls. “Calls keep going up and up and up. Everybody is struggling to have ambulance people around and available. It’s a huge problem,” Patten spoke on the need for volunteers. Don Schesel commented that anyone who wants to join the B-E-D Ambulance is welcome as they are struggling for volunteers and only one new recruit recently passed the EMT test. “Now they (volunteers) are working further away and it’s hard for them to leave on an ambulance call,” Schesel informed. Having to recently cover for Cornell, area departments are starting to see the need to help each other more. “If anyone knows of any people interested, I’m sure it would be helpful,” Schesel remarked. When an attendee questioned about the merger between Boyd, Stanley and Thorp fire and ambulance services, Patten replied, “We had one meeting over there and after that nothing has been done.” Patten commented that Cadott is interested in being included in the merger, but complications have arisen on consolidating with Thorp since Thorp’s calls take longer to route through Clark County which could slow the emergency process by three or four minutes. “It would be difficult for that all to be combined because the calls going to Thorp go to Neillsville,” Patten explained. Board members want to discuss the merger further to explore how this would be brought together.

Discussions then turned to the new pumper that the Boyd Fire Department is beginning to look for, but attendees were warned that new pumper prices are in excess of $700,000 with prices on the rise.

Solar units are beginning to be popular, but it is important to get a building permit before you install a solar unit as a 50-foot setback is needed. Residents were told to check with your electric supplier before they sign contracts with individuals who will install your solar unit for a down payment because scams are on the rise.

Talks shifted to granite bids with Westaby Trucking bidding red granite at $20.00 a yard. Haas was the only bid for blue granite and gravel. “He more or less bought out most of the pits around here, so I think that’s why no one else bid,” Schesel commented. The cost is $10.75 a yard for gravel and blue granite is $14.25 a yard. For a dollar a yard more, residents can also get gravel hauled to their residence if the Town of Edson chooses to purchase from Haas. Residents are encouraged to call new chairman Dan Pilgrim or one of the board members to get their name, phone number and address on the list.

Schuebel Lawn Services was awarded lawn service for the town of Edson. “It didn’t take them long to do the job,” Schesel commented. The Board was satisfied with their timeliness, their quality of work, and that they have their own insurance.

John Zmuda explained that he and Marilyn Zmuda have built a little outdoor library named the Edson Little Library that will be installed at the end of their street. They plan to build two more to install in the town.  “You don’t have to return those books to the library. You can pass them on to somebody else,” Marilyn Zmuda explained at the meeting as attendees were excited to see the new project.

The bridge on 370^th Street has been lowered to a 15-ton limit. Bridge repairs are set to begin soon for the bridge on 370^th Street and the bridge on 20^th Avenue at a minimal cost to the town and are projected to be completed by 2024 or 2025. With recent vandalism and fresh graffiti on the bridge on 20^th Avenue, Schesel asked that anyone who knows of mischief going on down there to please report it to them. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt. We’re on the board for the health and safety of the people. We’re here to serve you,” Schesel said. 

A town resident requested that the board revisit building permit setbacks since he had a shed that he wanted to build closer to his property line.

New members Dan Pilgrim and Jim Junker were introduced and April 16^th 2024 was chosen as the date for the annual meeting next year. At the end of the meeting, Schesel was presented with a plaque signifying his 50 years of service to the Town of Edson, along with a beautifully decorated cake while the meeting attendees expressed their thankfulness for his many years of service.