BOSCOBEL - Boscobel is safe from toxic train derailments. This according to City Administrator Patricia Smith, who reported that she’s been communicating with personnel at WATCO, the company that runs the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR), which runs through Boscobel.

“I spoke to a Derek Anderson, who represents our area. He said that no hazardous materials go through our city at all. We’re not on one of the rails that handle that,” she said. Most of the freight consists of lumber, pulp paper, fertilizer, and grain, Smith reported.

The inquiry came from Boscobel Common Council President Brian Kendall, who’d requested the information a few months ago after several high-profile train derailments. He raised the issue again at the June 5 council meeting.

“Things happen, and you just wonder if we could be one of those destinations,” he said. “If something happens, we have to prepare the fire departments and the emergency staff.”

Fire Chief Hershel Marks said in an interview that some of the volunteer force has been through hazmat training—but a derailment is always a highly volatile situation regardless of the type of freight.

“It’s a step-by-step process, and we’ll bring in the resources as we need them,” he said. That would include the Grant County Emergency Management team, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, in addition to area supporting fire and EMS teams.

“I don’t want to tell you that everything is going to go smoothly—there are so many variables that play into the plan and how to proceed,” he said. “If a train derailed downtown here, we’d be asking. ‘What did it hit?’ We’re basically going to have a lot of firemen running around making a lot of assessments.”

The WSOR runs from Prairie du Chein across the state to Milwaukee, with a network of interconnected north-south spurs.

Between 2013 and 2022, there were 11 derailments on the line, according to data compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration, including one in 2016 near Wauzeka. The total damage from all 11 is estimated at about $1.3 million. None resulted in death, injury, or release of hazardous materials.

Pine Shores update

The council learned that progress is being made on development of lots purchased by the city last year in the Pine Shores subdivision, north of the Antique Club.

The purchase upset residents who worried that a change in zoning might result in multi-unit apartments going up in a neighborhood now reserved for single family housing. The council voted to maintain the zoning and hopes to use the lots to ease the housing shortage in Boscobel.

In May 2022, the council voted to approve the purchase of 10 lots and to transfer the property to the Boscobel Housing Authority to manage the development. An advisory committee, including representatives from the neighborhood, will guide the process.

A year later, City Administrator Smith reports that a developer who lives in the neighborhood has expressed interest in building on some of the lots.

Meet Jessie Esser

The June 5 meeting was the second for Boscobel’s newest Alder-person, Jessie Esser. Mayor Brenda Kalish appointed Esser to fill the vacancy in the Third Ward left by Krissy Schneider, who resigned from the council to take the position of Deputy Clerk / Deputy Treasurer.

In an interview with the Dial, Esser said that she’s always loved to follow politics, so she didn’t think twice when Kalish asked her to serve.

A lifelong resident of Boscobel, she works as the social services director at Boscobel Care and Rehab. She has two children, a 26-year-old daughter, and a 16-year-old son.

Tourism and the economy are her main priorities. “These things have always been a concern,” she said. “Everyone wants more tourists here and more businesses here. I think we just keep working on things like the boat landing and updating Wisconsin Avenue. If we make it more appealing, more people will come,” she said.

Other business

Other council matters included:

• A public hearing on the proposed street work on Airport and Chestnut roads. The proposal includes a special assessment to cover half the cost of curb and gutter development. Donna Bay, who owns property along the assessment, had questions about the timing and manner of payment.

• Notice that the city would celebrate long-time city employee Vicky Grimesey’s last day on June 15, with donuts and coffee in the morning.

• Approval of advertising bids for the 2023 street projects.

• Approved several street closings for the Sesquicentennial Celebration, and several temporary licenses for summer events in the city.

• Approved a payment to G-Pro Excavating of $199,718.50 for work on the boat landing project.

• Approved the mayor’s appointment of Misty Molzof to the Housing Authority, with a single dissenting vote from Milt Cashman in the Third Ward. @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:NewYork; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-alt:"Times New Roman"; mso-font-charset:77; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}p.Times10, li.Times10, div.Times10 {mso-style-name:"Times 10\,t10"; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-unhide:no; margin-top:0in; margin-right:16.0pt; margin-bottom:2.0pt; margin-left:0in; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:9.0pt; line-height:10.0pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-hyphenate:none; tab-stops:center 59.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:NewYork; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-bidi-font-family:NewYork; color:black;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}