Council: Grant funds to purchase portable radios; parks and rec celebrated; Lutzke retires

By Ryan Whisner 

The Fort Atkinson Police Department is utilizing state grant funds to purchase 16 portable radios that comply with the upgraded communication platform used by Jefferson County.

The portable radios are the last part of Fort Atkinson Police Department’s communications platform not aligned with the county-wide communication upgrades.

The purchase will put portable radios in the hands of all the patrol officers and the patrol supervisors. Remaining radios will likely be acquired in 2023 through the city’s Capital Improvement Plan.  

Under the Tribal and Local Law Enforcement Agency Initiative Program, the department was awarded $33,866.92 It was a non-competitive grant, meaning that there were limitations in how the funds could be utilized. Recently, the state announced that portable radios are a qualifying item to be purchased with the grant funds. 

On Tuesday, the Fort Atkinson City Council authorized the purchase of the 16 portable radios from General Communications for a total of $29,658. 

Police Chief Adrian Bump said one of the things that has been worrying him over the past year and half is the transition to the new county-wide communication system which all law enforcement agencies will connect to. 

“With that upcoming transition we bought all new mobile radios for our squad cars last year, and we also upgraded our dispatch center so we would stay compliant,” Bump said. 

However, the portable radios on the patrol officers’ belts had not yet been upgraded. The chief explained that this meant that while Fort Atkinson dispatchers and officers in their squad cars could communication with the Jefferson County Communications Center or other agencies upgraded to that platform, officers on foot would be in what he called a “communications island.”

“They would only be able to talk to our dispatch center and our officers,” Bump said. “In a community like ours and a county like this we rely on everybody through mutual aid. We all work together at times during emergencies or large-scale events.”

He pointed out that communication is a key contributor to safety and successful task completion in those scenarios.

As approved, the 16 portable radios will be fully funded through the grant funds. Once the purchase is complete, a submission for reimbursement will be made which will occur prior to the end of the 2022 fiscal year.

Bump said the city has another year to determine the best use for the remaining funds.

Parks and recreation department celebrated 

Also Tuesday, the city council recognized its Parks and Recreation Department by celebrating July as Parks and Recreation Month in Fort Atkinson with a proclamation.

Since 1985, people in the United States have celebrated Park and Recreation Month to promote building strong, vibrant, and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation and to recognize the more than 160,000 full-time park and recreation professionals — along with hundreds of thousands of part-time and seasonal workers and volunteers — that maintain our the local, state and community parks.

Through efforts by National Recreation and Park Association, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an official resolution for Park and Recreation Month in 2009 and introduced the resolution in 2017 and 2018. 

Park and recreation agencies across the country recognize the month with summer programs, events, contests, commemorations, and celebrations. The intent of the recognition is to encourages everyone to reflect on the exponential value park and recreation professionals bring to communities.

In Fort Atkinson, the proclamation encourages residents to enjoy the city’s parks, aquatic center, and recreational programming in July and throughout the year.

Fort Atkinson Parks and Recreation Director Brooke Franseen was present at the meeting to accept the proclamation.

In addition to Franseen, the staff in the department includes Recreation Supervisor Brett Ketterman, Senior Center Director Chris Nye, Program Coordinator Brad Friese, and staff members J.J. Yanke, Robbie Allard, Josh Crandall, David Radloff, and Rob Stine.

Lutzke retires 

The council also recognized the retirement of Amy Lutzke after 24 years of service to the Dwight Foster Public Library. 

City Manager Rebecca Lemire said Lutzke served as adult services librarian as well as assistant director.

“She was the point person for hiring and training the part-time staff over many years, some of which have since gone on to be professional librarians themselves,” the city manager said, adding that Lutzke was pivotal as the library transitioned over the years dealing with changes in technology, building projects and new service development.

“Without her efforts the library would not be the loved part of the community that it is today,” Lemire noted. 

She said Lutzke’s work in the community extended beyond the library walls, as she assisted groups and organizations such as the Fort Atkinson Science Fair, genealogy, the U.S. Veterans Project Library, and friends’ organizations. 

“Her thumb print is on the community as you see Lorine Niedecker’s poetry on the walls downtown and in the hallways of the schools,” Lemire said, noting that Lutzke was a critical piece of the formation of the Friends of Lorine Niedecker. 

“Amy has left a high bar of professionalism and integrity and focus on serving others for the rest of the staff at the library to preserve for many years to come,” the city manager said. “Thank you for your servicing and the enjoy retirement.”

Council member Megan Hartwick noted that Lutzke is clearly already missed by staff at the library.

“Thank you for everything you did. You helped make it a really great place for people to be,” Hartwick said.

Lutzke was moved by the recognition.

“It was a fabulous job and fantastic place to work, and I can’t believe I’m retired,” she quipped.

The city manager noted that there are volunteer positions available within the city.

“I’ve got a couple of those in the works,” Lutzke said, noting that given that it’s Parks and Recreation month pickleball is on her agenda.

In other business Tuesday the council:

• Approved an $11,650 contract with Water Well Solutions to repair water pump 301 at the Main Station Reservoir across from the Fort Atkinson Municipal Building. Fort Atkinson City Engineer Andy Selle said the reservoir includes four boost bumps, each of which are 50 years old and well beyond their useful life. The 2021 Water System Master Plan presented to council last August recommended replacement of all four pumps with only three new ones and associated electrical upgrades at a total cost of $300,000. He said only two of the pumps are regularly used (301 and 302), as the force of the remaining two pumps (303 and 304) has potential to cause main breaks within the downtown area. Pump 302 went down earlier this year and requires a new motor, an unnecessary cost given its age. Last week 301 had an impeller failure rendering it non- operational. Selle requested the funds to fix pump 301 in hopes of advancing the overall upgrade in the future.
• Approved purchase of a 2023 Ford Transit T250 cargo van from Griffin Ford for $51,628 for the Fort Atkinson Water Utility.  Selle said the 2022 Capital Improvements budget included $45,000 for a new truck to be paid for with water utility funds.  However, staff determined the city would be better served by a transit van rather than a traditional truck.  “This van actually is a little bit of a new thing for his water utility,” Selle said. “We’re gonna give it a try.” Unlike current F250 or F350 trucks, he said the transit is covered and provides better gas mileage. Also, the city engineer said consideration was given to having a more controlled space to work in during inclement weather or specifically winter. Also, the transits are cheaper than the trucks purchased in the past. “If this works out for us, we’re going to what would be a more efficient vehicles for us,” Selle said. “There are a number of things sort of lining up that suggests maybe we should really try these and see how they function.” Due to supply chain shortages in the vehicle industry, pricing increased beyond the estimates in the CIP budget.