Will, Grenlie step down
By Robert Cloud
Farmington now has a new town chair, new clerk/treasurer and new supervisor.
Kevin Will announced his resignation as town chairman at the Farmington Town Board meeting Monday, Dec. 19.
He said he was resigning because his wife, Mary Robbins Will, will retire at the end of this year from her position as Waupaca County Clerk. She did not seek re-election to the office she has held since
“We’re planning on doing a lot of traveling,” Will said. “I don’t think it’s fair if I’m gone. I think the town deserves somebody who’s here.”
Will was appointed to be Farmington’s chairman in October 2014, replacing Dale Trinrud who resigned after 25 years on the town board. He was elected to the position in 2015.
A former mental health specialist for Waupaca County and AFSCME union local president, Will worked at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King for six years before retiring in February 2013.
The town board then appointed Supervisor Caroline Murphy to replace Will as chairman.
Murphy has served on the Farmington Town Board for eight years.
She is a retired kindergarten teacher who worked 35 years with the Port Washington Saukville-School District before retiring to the Chain O’ Lakes area.
Murphy has also served as a volunteer at the Waupaca County Courthouse, where she has worked on projects for UW Extension, Health and Human Services and the clerk of courts office.
Sandy Grenlie, the town clerk/treasurer, has also retired.
Grenlie took over responsibilities for the combined positions of town clerk and treasurer in December 2002. Town residents voted to make the clerk-treasurer an appointed rather than an elected position at a special meeting of electors in November 2006.
Will said Grenlie had served the town of Farmington residents for 27 years prior to retiring.
The board voted to appoint Julie Leaf as the new clerk/treasurer for a term of one year.
Leaf has lived in Farmington for 10 years. She has four children and has been a work-at-home mom prior to her becoming the clerk/treasurer.
She majored in computer science and earned a bachelor’s degree from Carroll University in Waukesha. After college, she worked in the IT department of an insurance agency.
Phillip E. Durrant will take over Murphy’s position as a town supervisor.
Durrant has lived in Farmington since 1973. He is a retired state employee who worked nearly 28 years as a purchasing assistant at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King.
A Vietnam-era veteran, Durrant was stationed in South Korea for 13 months.
The three current town board members – Murphy, Durrant and Supervisor Craig Nelson – will be up for election in 2017.
Town residents will nominate candidates for the town board during a caucus slated for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.
The spring election is scheduled for April 4, 2017.