A “financial transaction” was made between the City of Fennimore and the Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum at last Monday’s city council meeting.

Christy Cooley of the Friends of the Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum stated that the collections at the museum are owned by the museum, on loan, or a portion is owned by the city and the city and the organization always had a usage agreement to display the collection.

Cooley informed the council that while doing paperwork it was discovered that the agreement had actually expired in 2017, and to simplify everything, she and the other members of the Friends of the Museum present at Monday’s meeting asked the council to transfer ownership of the collection to the museum.

With minimal discussion, it was a quick unanimous agreement to sell the collection to the museum for a whopping $1.00, which was promptly paid. City of Fennimore Clerk Ashley Edge informed the Friends that she would “be sure to get them a receipt.”

The city also approved “looking into” acquiring a digital speed sign for the north side of town, coming in from Boscobel, as traffic coming that way appears to enter town above the 25 mph speed limit.

In her report, Edge reported that Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Ashley Mumm has updated the yearly information the city sends out with property taxes and has “started the tedious process of folding those inserts.”

Several meetings were attended including the Fennimore Area EMS meeting and the Chamber of Commerce meetings to discuss next steps for each organization.

Edge also stated in her report that the city has already mailed 110 absentee ballots for the November election, and have had 13 returned so far. Election Day is Nov. 3, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Director of Public Works Anthony Downing in his report to the council stated that the streets department performed sidewalk repairs throughout town, while the water/wastewater department closed down the pool for the year.

The electric department responded to a power outage a few weeks back that took out power at the southwest corner of town, and replaced the blown fuse.

Downing also informed the council of the road work the county performed on 4th Street on the west side of town on Tuesday.

Fennimore Police Chief Walt Dresen reported the department has put the new squad car into service. The previous 2019 Ford Explorer, which was intended to be sold, suffered a transmission failure and would need a replacement. Due to the cost of replacement exceeding the value of the squad and already high mileage (150,000) the department intends to list it for sale on the Wisconsin Surplus site and sell as is.

Dresen went on to state in his report that city police officers completed their annual firearms qualification training, and one officer attended basic SWAT training.

Additionally, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and the Fennimore Community School District have started classes for the new school year, and the department has resumed liaison duties at both.

Lastly, Dresen reported that Timberwolf Farms, through their Pipestone Cares program, generously donated $1,000 to the Fennimore Police Department again this year.

In the past, these donations have been used to replace ageing or outdated equipment, and the department intends to do the same with this donation. Kwik Trip also donated $200 to help with the CounterAct program which is taught to fifth grade students yearly. CounterAct is an interactive, prevention curriculum taught by local police officers and school staff designed to teach children how to resist peer pressure, avoid violence, and say no to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Lastly the council went into closed session to discuss possible EMS funding and the current open City of Fennimore Community Development Manager position. No action was taken on those items during the closed session.

The next meeting of Fennimore City Council is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19, at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers of the Memorial Building.