Recreation Programs in Milton

While the City of Milton does not have a formal recreation department, there are a variety of recreation programs offered throughout the year. Below are a few links for information about these programs. If anyone is aware of a program that is not listed here, please let me know and I'll add it to the list.

• The YMCA of Northern Rock County coordinates the City/School District sponsored youth baseball and softball. More information on the '09 program is available by clicking here. The Y promotes all of their programming on their website at www.ymcajanesville.org. They are available by phone at (608)756-6654.
• The Milton Youth Baseball Association also offers some programming. This is a new association, just getting off the ground in 2009. Click here for their Milton Baseball Skill Clinics that this association is sponsoring.
• The Milton Youth Football Association runs the football leagues. Click here for the Milton Youth Football Registration information. The league's website is
  www.eteamz.com/miltonyouthfootball. They may be contacted by e-mail at
  miltonyouthfootball@charter.net.
• The Milton Area School District operates a swimming program year-round, which includes classes and a swim club. Click here for registration information. More details are available by contacting Pool Manager Kristin Lehman at (608)868-9565.
• The Milton Youth Soccer Association coordinates the soccer clubs. For more information contact Sue Conaway at (608) 563-2264, e-mail miltonsoccerclub@gmail.com, or visit their website by clicking here.
• Wrestling programs are offered through the Milton Monsters youth wrestling club. More information is on their website at www.miltonmonsters.com.
• The Milton Aces Volleyball Club runs various volleyball training programs and leagues. For more information, visit their website at www.miltonaces.com, e-mail Mike Peterson, or call 608-868-7230.
• The Milton Youth Basketball club administers basketball programs. Their website is www.miltonyouthbasketball.com. They can be contacted by e-mail at admin@miltonyouthbasketball.com.
• An adult softball league is run by Derek Davis. He may be contacted at (608)290-7186 or by e-mail at ddavis5@charter.net.
  

City Council Accepting Applications for Vacant Alderperson Position

The City of Milton is accepting applications to fill a one-year term as a City Alderperson on the Common Council. Former Alderperson Tom Chesmore won the Spring Election to become the City’s Mayor. This created the Alderperson vacancy. This term is one year to complete the two-year term previously held by Mayor Chesmore. This term will expire in April of 2010. Annual salary for Alderperson is $1,200.

Interested parties should complete a Committee Interest Questionnaire and submit it to Milton City Hall no later than Friday, May 8th, 2009. The questionnaire is available at City Hall or on-line at www.ci.milton.wi.us/files/committee-interest-form.pdf. The Council will review applicants and select some or all for interviews.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and reside in the City limits. Please contact City Hall with further questions at (608) 868-6900 ext. 5.

Swine Flu Information

I suspect that most of you have now heard something about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and other areas of the United States. The purpose of this post is to provide you with sources for relevant and accurate information, both local and federal.

The School District of Milton has provided information regarding the Swine Flu to district families. The documents they have prepared are listed below:

• Letter from School District to District families
• General Flu Planning Checklist

In addition, the most credible federal source for information is the Center For Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/swineflu/.

The State of Wisconsin has information posted at http://www.pandemic.wi.gov/. This page includes daily status reports.

Another local source for information would be the Rock County Health Department: http://www.co.rock.wi.us/Dept/Health/Health.htm. Their site also includes general information about pandemic flu outbreaks and pandemic readiness.

Highway 59 Construction Begins Next Week

I and other City staff just returned from the pre-construction meeting for the STH 59 realignment project. While it seems like we've been talking about this forever (actually it's been planned for about five years now), the construction project will kick off next week. You can already see the staged construction trailer on the west side of STH 26.

For the most part, this project will have minimal impact on traffic patterns through the City during the construction process. However, there will be times when traffic will be impacted. We will use the blog and the City website to provide information on those traffic issues, so stay tuned.

For more general information on the STH 59 project, visit the DOT website at this link: www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/wis26corridor/exp-segment2.htm.

WSOR Tree Trimming Update

City Public Works Director Howard Robinson was informed by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad that the cut brush and tree limbs along the railroad right of way in the City will be cleared by railroad crews later this spring or summer. WSOR has a clean-up grinder that runs along the tracks and grubs and clears the debris.

This is a follow-up to the earlier post regarding tree trimming throughout the City.

City Hall on Stilts

I recently returned from a spring break family vacation at Dauphin Island, Alabama. We had a great trip, played in the ocean, and soaked up the warm weather. However, one thing that drew my attention while on the island was the construction of the town hall. While it's hard to tell in the photo above, the town hall is up on stilts (as are many other buildings on the island due to the hurricane potential).

Much like a builder observes other's construction sites and a doctor pays close attention to hospitals, I tend to always notice local government buildings in other communities. It's nice that we don't have to worry about stilting our City Hall here in Milton. Then again, I didn't see any snow-plows zipping around the island. I guess we must take the good with the bad.

I hope everyone else in Milton enjoyed spring break!

Meet City Hall Intern Jeff Endres

Over the past few years the City of Milton has benefited from the work performed by student interns form area universities. In "Milton Matters" I plan to profile them from time to time.

This post will profile Jeff Endres. Jeff is studying Human Resource Management at UW-Whitewater and anticipates graduation this May. Jeff went to Middleton High School, and has been serving an internship with the City since June of 2008. Below, in his own words, is a description of Jeff's internship experience:

"Working with the City of Milton has opened my eyes to everything that goes into making a Municipality function. One thing in particular that I enjoy about my job is that on any given day, I can (and often do) learn something new. As an Administrative Assistant Intern, I help City Hall Staff by answering and directing phone calls, processing water payments, assisting with park rentals, issuing dog/cat licenses, and helping to prepare election material amongst other things. In addition, I also conduct research and work on various projects assigned to me by the City Administrator and/or City Clerk. I would consider these projects to be the most rewarding component of my job because I can often see my research evolve into future City Policies or Procedures. I feel fortunate to have an opportunity to learn about Municipal operations in a City as close knit and community orientated as Milton."

Thanks Jeff! We've also been fortunate to have you as a part of our team. (PS - Hey Jeff, nice tie...)

What's up with all the tree trimming?

Early this year Alliant Energy has been performing lots of tree trimming around power lines in Milton. While some may have concerns about the "deforestation" of our beautiful City, Alliant Energy does have important reasons for removing limbs and, in some cases, whole trees around power lines. Below is text from a recent Alliant Energy newsletter with more information on their policy...

"Trees and power lines aren't a good combination - especially when weather brings lightning, ice or high winds. To help minimize weather-related outages along transmission and distribution lines, Alliant Energy trims tress on a regular basis.

We [Alliant Energy] are granted permission to trim trees under franchise and easement agreements with the communities we serve. Our crews, which include both Alliant Energy and contract workers, follow standards approved by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The amount of trimming that is done depends on the species of tree, how close it is to the power lines, and how fast the tree grows.

Typically, our crews use "directional pruning" methods that train the tree to grow away from the line, minimizing the need for and severity of future trimming. We strive to protect the health of the tree while still providing the established minimum safety clearance."

In addition to Alliant Energy trimming, we have also seen recent trimming by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) along the rail corridors. You can see this clearly west of the RR crossing on John Paul Rd. by Dollar General. City staff is following-up with WSOR because it appears that they have simply left the trimmed branches and limbs along the side of the tracks. I assume they plan to clean up this debris, but we don't know when. I'll post more information when we hear back from WSOR.

Thanks for your understanding with all of these trimming projects.

Milton Connection to New State Law

Last week Milton PD Lieutenant John Conger attended an event where Governor Doyle signed a new bill that puts greater regulation on traveling sales crews. For those who do not know, John was the first responding officer to a tragic crash just outside of Milton several years ago that claimed the lives of 7 people in a traveling sales crew that was switching driver’s while driving at the time of the crash. John has worked with the victim’s families to help get this legislation passed. This type of effort demonstrates a commitment to problem solving not only through the enforcement of the law, but in working with other branches of government to help create laws that are designed to keep people safe. Please congratulate John on the success of this cooperative effort when you see him. Included here is a picture of Lt. Conger (white shirt/badge) and the Governor at the signing.

Important Announcement from the Milton Police Department

The Milton Police Department is asking for the community’s support in attempting to locate possible Child Enticement suspects. The two suspects have been reported in the Fort Atkinson area attempting to entice children into their vehicles. Due to the geographical location of Milton to Fort Atkinson we are asking for the community’s assistance in being on the look out for these two vehicles/persons. The two suspects and vehicles are described as follows:

1. Male white 40-50 years old with shoulder length brown hair and a goatee. Driving a Van described as a full size Conversion type van with gray and blue stripes on the side. Suspect attempted to get kids into the van by offering kids candy.
2. Suspect 2 is described as a white male in his 30’s 5’9” to 6’0” tall. Suspect was wearing a black leather coat with white fur around the hood. Suspect had a crew cut style haircut with dark brown hair and a goatee. Vehicle is described as a dark Red or Maroon Chevy Astro type with blue, black, and white stripes below the door moldings.

Any person who believes they see either one of these vehicles near school property or parks is encouraged to call 911 immediately. Callers can remain anonymous. Any questions regarding this information contact Officer Schumacher at the Milton Police Department at 868-6910 (ext 22).

Emergency Siren Test Today at 12:05 PM

Testing of the outdoor tornado sirens will resume with a test at 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1st with a steady tone of 2 minutes.

A steady tone of 3-5 minutes will be the take cover signal that a tornado warning has been issued for Rock County and citizens should immediately take shelter and tune to your local broadcasting stations or weather radio for information.

If residents find the siren located in their area is not working, they should call 758-8440. Remember, if there is inclement weather within the county; siren testing will not be conducted.

Milton Post Office Changes on Hold

Today Milton City Clerk/Treasurer Nancy Zastrow received the following e-mail from a representative at the US Postal Service regarding the potential changes to the Milton Post Office:

"The relocation of carriers at the Milton Post Office to the Janesville Post Office has been temporarily placed on hold. The relocation will be readdressed at a later date this year when the Postal Service will reassess the data and logistics."

As we learn more at City Hall we'll let you know...