A changing of the guard in town

The gavel was passed in the Town of Saukville on Tuesday as Don Hamm retired from his longtime position as board president, marking a new era of leadership as Kevin Kimmes took office following the April 6 spring general election.

With deep six-generation roots in the Town of Saukville dating back to the homesteading of Sandy Loam Farm in 1852, Hamm has served as town chairman since June 2014.

He chose not to seek re-election this year  due to the increasing time demands of his job.

“I’m retiring, for now, and Kevin is going to be taking over,” Hamm said. “I will miss the people I work with quite a bit. I’m not going anywhere.

“My job’s just taking me away a lot more than I have in the past, and I needed to focus on that right now. And the town’s definitely in good hands. So Kevin, step right on up.”

Kimmes swore the oath of office and officially replaced Hamm as Saukville town chairman.

“The seat’s still warm, Don,” Kimmes quipped as he took occupancy of the chairman’s seat vacated just moments earlier by Hamm. 

“I’m honored to be here,” Kimmes said. “Don, thank you for your leadership and your help in the transition. (Town Board supervisors) Mike (Denzien) and Curt (Rutkowski) have both been welcoming of me to take this role. I appreciate that … I hope to do a good job.

“I’m gonna try to do the best that I can. I don’t have any agenda, or something that I’m trying to fix. I’m just civic-minded and I want to do the best that I can for the Town of Saukville. I’m happy to be here.”

The Town Board approved a “Resolution of Appreciation” honoring Hamm for his “great dedication and support of the Town of Saukville through his time, dedication and hard work,” extending their “utmost gratitude” for his work “in support of the Town of Saukville and its residents.”

To a round of appreciative applause from town residents in attendance, Kimmes, Denzien and Town Clerk Raquel Engelke presented Hamm with a framed signed copy of the resolution and a commemorative engraved plaque.

The board subsequently approved Hamm’s appointment to the Saukville Plan Commission. Hamm was sworn in to his new role with the village.

Denzien was sworn in to a new term on the town board. 

Rutkowski, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s board meeting due to illness, will be sworn in at the May Town Board meeting,  according to Engelke.

With the town’s switch from an elected treasurer to an appointed treasurer, the board approved the appointment of treasurer Gloria Arredondo to continue in her longtime role. She was subsequently sworn in to a three-year term.

Town voters decided on Nov. 3, 2020, to transition the elected treasurer position to an appointed position. On July 21, 2020, the board approved an ordinance making the position appointed, but the decision required the approval of voters before it became effective.

Under the ordinance, the treasurer will be appointed by a majority of the three-member board to a three-year term and may be reappointed for additional terms.

Queried by Kimmes and Denzien, Arredondo said she had not received any increase in wage during her 11-year tenure as village treasurer. 

“That’s something we need to look to address as a board,” Kimmes said.

Acting on the recommendation of the Plan Commission, the board approved a land division sought by Jackson resident Dan Moffett for his 52.29-acre land parcel on Hillcrest Road, just east of Highway I. The land is slated for subdivision into three lots of 17.47, 17.34 and 17.48 acres, all of which will be served by a shared 80-foot-wide ingress/egress driveway easement. Deed restrictions for the three parcels require that land owners of the parcels must repair the drain tile system back to functioning condition, and that any wells that are drilled on the properties must be drilled down to the silurian dolomite aquifer.

“We had a pretty spirited discussion about this,” Denzein said of the land subdivision request. “Initially, there was a lot of opposition that identified a whole bunch of issues. In my view, the Plan Commission went through all those pretty thoroughly. Mr. Moffett has done a good job of meeting our requirements, hence the recommendation from the Plan Commission to approve this division.”

Added Timmes, “I think it’s been thoroughly vetted through months of long conversations.”