Weyauwega Common Council approves schedule
By Angie Landsverk
Code violations on a property in the city of Weyauwega are being addressed.
When the Weyauwega Common Council met last month, it approved a schedule for the cleanup of the property at 319 N. Mill St.
Dustan Peterson attended the meeting and presented the timeline on behalf of his parents, Dennis and Kathy Peterson, who own the property.
“We’re willing to work with the city to get it cleaned up,” he told the council.
Peterson met with City Administrator Patrick Wetzel to develop a cleanup schedule.
“We aren’t ignoring the letter from the building inspector. Thirty days is not reasonable to get it all done,” Peterson said. “We have almost two acres of land. We have three buildings we want to take down. There is background noise that we’re not taking it down fast enough.”
The approved schedule calls for the cleanup of property to be completed by June 30, and Peterson hopes it is done before then.
It includes removing the remainder of the building closest to the house, as well as the smoke house and the building on the lakeshore.
The razing of the three buildings is to take place during March and April.
The building by the lakeshore is to be razed first, followed by the smoke house and then the building near the house.
The family hired a contractor to do the work, and Peterson told the council there will be action on the property prior to that.
That included the removal of tires, scrap, garbage and some trees.
A rental container was placed on the property to remove valuables from it.
“People have been stopping, thinking everything is being thrown away. That is slowing down progress with the contractor,” Peterson told the common council. “We can’t have people holding it up and the property unsecured.”
He offered to present an update to the council in the spring and also invited the two alderpersons who represent the ward to stop by and check on the progress.
Mayor Jack Spierings brought the issue of code violations in the city to the forefront during last August’s common council meeting.
He noted junk cars in yards and weeds needing to be trimmed.
The mayor said the city needed to send letters to those whose properties were in violation, and a sweep of the city took place.
“There’s been comments we’re picking on the Peterson family,” Spierings said last month. “We sent out in excess of 70 letters. Everyone got 30 days. I want to make it clear we are not picking on the Peterson family. None of us are. We need to get it cleaned up. We have a schedule.”
Peterson said his gave his whole life to the city as a business owner and former owner of the Gerold Opera House.
“I’m just asking with the medical condition he has and the weather, to take that into consideration. We’ll work with you and get it cleaned up,” he said.
Ald. Keith Najkowski described the cleanup schedule as feasible and acceptable, and Ald. Nick Gunderson thanked Peterson for attending the meeting.
Weyauwega’s city administrator said there has been a “lot of conversation in town about whether it’s being done fast enough and good enough.”
Wetzel said he was glad the schedule was received well by the common council.
The mayor said, “Dustan, we really appreciate you coming.”