Administrator's News

Another month has come to an end, and it is hard to believe that summer is here. In the month of May, the county passed a resolution that authorized the creation of a countywide emergency medical system and levy outside of the levy limit for the provision of those services. There are three main ways this can be done.

1. Consolidation approach – If we adopt this, one entity would be responsible for providing EMS services across the entire county. The other agencies could still be in existence, but the chosen service would be the one expected to respond to all calls. The county would then use the funds received through levying outside of the levy limit to fund this service.
2. Supplemental approach – One service would cover most of the county but would provide support to the other agencies. The support could be through organizing training, mutual aid agreements, or by having a higher level of care available (Paramedic verses EMT). In this approach, the primary service would be the only one to receive funds generated outside of the levy limit.
3. Distributed approach – Multiple agencies are providing the service across the county and the county would distribute the funds to each of them.

Thus far, discussions at the county level have supported a distributed approach. There have not been discussions about having one service cover more area than what they are currently providing services to.

By doing this, each property taxpayer will have an additional amount added to their property taxes to fund emergency medical services throughout the county. Our next step will be to meet with all municipalities and start the discussion about how to create a fair and equitable distribution of the funds.

The county board appointed Jeffrey Harrison as the new County Clerk at the May 19th meeting. He will be sworn into office on June 5. He will be replacing Derek Kalish whose last day was on May 1. We look forward to working with Jeffrey.

The board approved a staff reorganization for Symons Recreation Complex. Instead of having a Director and an Assistant Director, they will now have a Director of Operations and a Director of Development. The Director of Operations will supervise and direct the operations and staff of Symons Recreation Complex for Richland County and the City of Richland Center ensuring safety and compliance with State codes and County policies related to the facility and programs. The Director of Development will develop and coordinate an aggressive campaign to solicit external funds and support for the operations of the Symons Recreation Complex for Richland County and the City of Richland Center with the goal of reducing reliance on public tax support by developing new partnerships and attracting donors while building an endowment fund to sustain future operations and capital improvements working towards a more self-sufficient structure. Mike Hardy and Kyle Ewing are both continuing at Symons and are looking forward to their new roles. The previous structure had been in place since 1987.

The rummage sale for the campus will be on June 6 from 8 – noon. This will be a cash and carry sale.

Sorry for the delay in getting April‘s Administrators Update to you. May came upon us a lot faster than I was expecting.

April was a very busy month for the county starting with the seating of the Richland County Board for the 2026 – 2028 session. We have four new members and two open seats. Districts 19 and 20 represent Buena Vista Township. If you are interested in being a supervisor on the Richland County Board, and live in one of these districts, please submit a letter of interest to the County Administrator’s office. Letters of interest are due by 8 am on June 15. For more information on this please go to the News and Announcements section of the Richland County website.

We had a procedural error with the election of the County Board Chair and Vice Chair at the Organizational Meeting. Our Rules of the Board state, “A majority of votes of the Board Members present shall be necessary to elect the Board Chair and Board Vice Chair.” The first election votes for the Chair were split 8 – 7 – 3 for the three candidates. At the end of that vote, there should have been another round of voting until one member received a majority. The Vice Chair election results were distributed 8 – 4 – 4 – 2 among the four. When it was brought to the county‘s attention, immediate action was taken to remedy the situation, and a new election was held days later. This election did not change the results. The Board Chair for the 2026-2028 session is Kerry Severson, and the Vice Chair is Larry Engel. I look forward to working with them and all the members of the Board.

In the month of April, the county passed a Tobacco Free Parks ordinance. This is something that Partners for Prevention and Youth for Change have been working on for a very long time. The city passed their ordinance a little over a year ago and when brought to the County Board in April, they unanimously approved the ordinance. Youth for Change is an amazing group of young individuals who look to better our community. We appreciate all that they have done in this endeavor.

The full county board held a special board meeting on May 5. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of Emergency Medical Services in Richland County. There are two main decisions for the Board to make. The first is should the county create a Countywide Emergency Medical service, which would allow the county to levy outside of the levy limit to fund EMS across the entire county. The second question is should the Richland County Ambulance Service continue to be in existence or should we look for a third-party provider. Both questions are very difficult questions and there is not an easy answer. The recording of this meeting can be found on the Richland County website. Please feel free to go and watch the video and if you have thoughts on either of these two items, please be reaching out to the Supervisors of the Richland County Board. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to board members or me. The board intends to vote on both items on May 19.

The primary reason to create a Countywide Emergency Medical Service would be to allow the county to levy outside of the levy limit and tax all property taxpayers to fund Emergency Medical Services across the county. The county would then distribute the funds to the services that provide Emergency Medical Services across the county. These funds must be used for emergency medical responses only.

The county can also levy outside of the levy limit some expenses related to the Richland County Dispatch Center as part of a Countywide Emergency Medical Service. Calls to dispatch are often in three categories; police fire and ambulance. The county could levy outside of the limit a third of these costs. This option was briefly discussed but was not built into any of the formulas presented at the May 5 meeting. If the county decides to levy outside the levy limit, there is a chance that these costs will also be added. If the county decides to go down this path, the final proposal will be shared with DOR to ensure compliance.

One additional step the county took regarding the Ambulance Service was to put out a Request for Proposal (RFP). This will give the county the opportunity to see which other entities could provide the service in our community and at what cost. The purpose of doing this is to see if there is a more cost-effective way that we can provide the service to the community. All EMS services have the same requirements that they are required to fulfill.

The RFP‘s will be reviewed at the May 12 Executive and Finance Committee meeting. Please note this does not mean that the county has already decided to go with a thirdparty provider. This just provides the county board all information that is needed to make a decision. If the decision is made to go with a third-party provider, the entities who submitted bids will be presenting their proposal at the May 26 Executive and Finance committee meeting.

The Ad Hoc County Facilities Planning Committee met for the last time in April. The purpose of the committee was to take the opportunity to review all county facilities and start to prepare a master list of tasks that need to be completed. The county has deferred maintenance on many of its buildings over the years. It is now time that we make a plan to take care of our buildings and maintain them as they should be in the hope that in the future, we don’t have to worry about the deferred maintenance. This will also prevent the county from having to make emergency fixes to our buildings because we have waited too long to make the corrections. The next step will be to create a plan that includes estimates with a renovation schedule. It will go to Executive and Finance Committee and then to the full county board for its final approval. The goal is to have this plan completed by the end of July.

In early May the county received the final agreement for the $2 million grant for the campus property. As you may recall, when the campus shut down the State Legislature stepped up and advocated for the counties who were losing this resource. The $2 million will provide a start to rebuild the loss to the community. The county has focused these funds on making improvements to Symons and making the campus property amenable to future development. This will include the demolition of the Science, Library, and Classroom Buildings. At this point in time a decision has not been made on the Wallace Student Center/Coppertop Theatre. There has been interest in revitalizing the building but until we know more the buildings’ future is unknown.

The county will be hosting a rummage sale at the campus property on June 6. It will be a cash and carry sale. The hours of the rummage sale will be from eight to noon.

The Campus Redevelopment Project Open House was on Thursday, March 12. It was well attended and ideas were shared with Short Elliott and Hendrickson (SEH) about the future of the campus. SEH has distributed a Request for Interest (RFI) to gauge interest from parties on what they see could be developed on the property.

The study on the future of the Ambulance Service for the community has been completed. There were four recommendations provided. Two are about the creation of a district and two are about countywide service.

If a district were created, the 12 participating municipalities would work together and jointly oversee the service. They could do this in one of two ways. The first would be to take on the responsibility of the county and oversee the day-to-day operations of the existing service. All operational and capital expenses would be responsibility of the district. The second option would be for the district to contract a third-party provider to provide the service to the community. The district would be responsible for paying the provider and engaging in contract negotiations with them. If a district was created, there would not be any county involvement in the provision of ambulance service moving forward.

The other two options are based on the creation of a countywide ambulance service. This does not equal one service for the entire county. The county would be responsible for providing direct operations of all governmental emergency medical responses in the county, providing supplemental services, or only providing administrative and financial services. One advantage of a countywide service is that it allows the county to levy outside of the levy limit to fund all emergency medical response throughout the county. This is something that is done in 14 other counties across the state.

If a countywide service is created, the county has two options. The first is to continue to provide the service of the Richland Ambulance Service to the 12 participating municipalities and then provide a stipend to the other services in the county. The second option is the county would contract with a third-party provider to provide services to the area Richland County Ambulance Service currently serves and then have contracts with the other providers in the county.

The county board has two major decisions to make regarding the ambulance service soon. The first is if the county will continue the service and the second is if the county should levy outside the levy limit to fund a countywide emergency medical system. The Executive and Finance Committee has been discussing one or both these topics since October and the Board has been informed that something needs to be different in the future as what we are doing now is not working. Costs continue to rise, equity in the service continues to decline and parties are at a point where they no longer have the ability to increase the amount they contribute. Over the past three years (2023, 2024, and 2025) we show an average deficit of $114,000. This is not sustainable.

The County Facilities Ad Hoc Committee is nearing the end. Thus far, the committee has heard from all Departments throughout the county their concerns surrounding their current space and future space, structural and safety needs. There are two meetings left with the goal of putting the final plan together. It has been found there are over 75 items to be reviewed and prioritized.

Our UW Extension staff moved in March from Melvill Hall to the Community Services Building. This move was needed as the school district is buying Melvill Hall. Stop over and visit them in their new space.

At the March full county board meeting there was a resolution passed requesting information regarding the potential 765 KV transmission line development by Transource LLC. This resolution is the county board asking for more information about the line that may be going through Richland County. This is a topic that will continue to be discussed at future meetings and as more information is gathered.

The March meeting also passed a resolution proclaiming April 2026 as Missing Person Awareness Month. Currently there are 224 missing people and 62 unidentified people associated with Wisconsin.

On April 1, the county took conditional acceptance of the Tower System. This is a project that the county has been working on for the past 4 years. This project has included radio and tower upgrades, improvements and equipment acquisition. In the end, we have a system that our law enforcement uses to communicate most effectively across the county. The final acceptance will occur in August, when testing will occur when the foliage is at its peak.

The public survey for the Campus Redevelopment Project has been completed. Results are tabulated and will be shared at the Campus Reconfiguration Meeting on March 5. They will then be a part of the packet for future viewing.

There will be an Open House for the project on March 12 from 4:30 – 6:30. The Open House will be at Melvill Hall on the former campus property. Everyone is encouraged to attend to learn about the site and to be able to provide ideas about redeveloping the former campus property.

Through the Redevelopment Project, it was determined that certain campus buildings are in a state where it will cost more to repair than to tear down and build to fit the future need. The County has started the process to demolish some of the buildings at the campus property. The plan is to demolish the Classroom, Library and Science buildings. We are currently uncertain about the Wallace Student Center. The original plan was to see if there would be interest in repurposing the building but during the cold snap we had last month, there were significant issues with water pipes bursting and water damage occurring.

The county continues to work with the school district to finalize the sale of Melvill and the gymnasium. This process takes time as we need to separate the utilities from the other buildings and complete the surveying. We continue to work together for the shared use of the gymnasium.

The study has begun on the future of the ambulance service. Both group and individual meetings are being held. The plan is to have the study completed by the end of March 2026. It is the hope that by the end of April 2026, the county determines their role in the operation of ambulance services in 2027.

In addition to the study, the county continues to have discussions with the municipalities on the future of the ambulance service. There are three main options being pursued: continuing with status quo and the service being a county department, contracting with a third-party provider or the creation of a district with the district contracting with a third party or them taking over the operations of the service. The December meeting focused on what a District would look like. The meeting in January had a third-party provider give an overview of their service and shared what it would look like if they were here. The February meeting was to focus on what a county run service would look like beyond 2027. The discussion about a county run service quickly shifted to a discussion on the desire of the municipalities served by the Richland Ambulance Service to have the county create a countywide service to fund the Richland Ambulance Service outside of the levy limit. Per the request of most of the municipalities in attendance, this will be discussed at the March 10, 2026, Executive and Finance Committee meeting.

Creating a countywide ambulance service is not a decision the county will take lightly as it will impact all county property owners. The March 10th meeting will be the first time this is being discussed at the board level. The county had anticipated that these discussions would first focus on how the service would be run once the study was completed and then focus on the funding of it. Due to the municipalities choosing not to engage in discussions on how the service should be provided, the county now must change their focus to keep the process moving.

At the February full County Board meeting, there was a Transportation Resolution passed. This resolution urged the Governor and the State Legislature to enact a comprehensive, sustainable transportation funding solution.

It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of January.  Time continues to go by so fast.

One goal set for 2026 is to publish a monthly newsletter summarizing county activities for the month. At the end of each month, the newsletter will be posted on the county website. To locate reports in the future, navigate to the Administrator’s page and they will be found under Administrator’s News. 

The county continues to focus on the campus property.  In July of 2025, we engaged Short Elliott and Hendrickson (SEH) to take the lead on the Campus Redevelopment Project.  This was anticipated to be at least a nine-month process.  Their first step was to complete a Market Analysis.   This has been completed and the final copy has been shared in the Campus Reconfiguration Committee meeting packet for February 4, 2026.  This report guides future discussions about how to best utilize the campus property.

The next step is to gather community input.   A survey will be shared with the community in early February, and a community listening session will occur in early March.  Once these two components are completed, SEH will create and share Requests for Quotes or Requests for Proposals with the community and potential developers. 

While there have been concerns about the length of time this process is taking, the County believes it is important to proceed thoughtfully and thoroughly to ensure the strongest possible outcome and long-term success.

In 2025, the city obtained a grant from the State to assess the current structure of The Symons Center.  Innovative Public Advisors were chosen to complete the study.  Work that has been done for the study includes an analysis of existing conditions, stakeholder meetings, and touring comparable facilities. A community survey has been shared, and responses were received through January 30^th, and a public input session was held. The final report will be presented at the City Council meeting on March 3. 

In 2025, there was extensive discussion regarding the provision of ambulance services for the community.  In the end, 12 municipalities signed agreements for Richland County Ambulance Service to meet the needs of their communities. 

Because of all the questions and concerns related to the oversight of the service and how best to fund the service, the county engaged with Strategic Management & Consulting to complete a study.  The purpose of the study is to explore options for oversight of the service and then provide a framework on how to get there. 

In addition to the study, the county has been hosting meetings with the municipalities that currently receive the service to talk about the future of the service.  The first meeting that was held focused on the creation of a district.  The second one highlighted what it would look like if we engaged with a third-party provider.  Our meeting next month will talk about how the service would look if the county continued to provide the service.  These are also the three options the study will explore. 

Our multi-year radio tower project is nearing completion.  The project will transition our emergency services providers from analog to digital.  In February, we will start to use the new system.  Community partners will start the transition in March.  This has been a long process, but we are excited to have the new system in place which will provide better coverage across the county.  With our topography, clear communication on an analog system provided some challenges. 

In December, the county board approved the creation of an ad hoc committee with the goal of creating a 20-year plan for our facilities.  The County Facilities Planning Committee started meeting in January.    They will look into future remodeling and/or building needs with the goal of having the long-range plan in place by the end of April.

The full county board met on January 20, 2026.  For complete details of the meeting, please review the packet and/or video shared on the website.

A highlight of the January full county board meeting was a presentation by Craig Woodhouse from Neighborhood Housing Services of Southwest Wisconsin.  An overview was provided of their 2025 accomplishments.  In addition, information was provided on the definitions of home ownership, discussing low-income housing, affordable housing and workforce housing.  It is important to understand that many of the homes in this county are workforce housing.  Workforce housing refers to affordable, quality housing for moderate-income workers.  These are the homes that essential workers live in. 

Until next month,

Trish