ELLSWORTH — Multiple East End business owners spoke at the Nov. 2 meeting of the Ellsworth Village Board, voicing concerns and disagreements they have had with how the East End Reconstruction Project has been handled.

Jason Marks, the owner of Broz Bar in East End, said he has asked to be on the agenda at the Street and Sidewalk Committee to discuss concerns of his and other property owners in the reconstruction area. He said a meeting would be preferred to an informal conversation because what is said becomes on the record.

Marks said a transformer was placed on his property and a driveway apron was removed for a full curb without him knowing. He also mentioned trees and a small power tower were planned to be put on his property and parking signs that were installed in his back lot before being removed per his request.

“These are just things that happened, came across, that I had to deal with. I feel like when the plan was brought to us, it’s stuff that I shouldn’t have to deal with at all,” Marks said. “I felt like after 22 years in business and being a part of the community, here’s tens of thousands of dollars in donations if you guys want to look at them over the past couple of years, I think I probably have the right to have a meeting. I even stated that I would go ahead and pay for a meeting, that wasn’t a problem.”

He mentioned Cedar Corporation told him his business does not have a survey map, which he claimed was sitting on the bar during the entirety of the project.

“Is there enough there that you feel maybe we should have a committee meeting to go over this stuff? What happened and why it happened,” Marks said. “The project’s not 100% over, and there’s gonna be more things coming up that we want to do in addition to the project to make things better in East End. Those are the types of things that we need to bring up at committee.”

Marks was informed that the decision on whether or not the item could be on the Street and Sidewalk Committee agenda would be up to Committee Chair Lance Austin, who was absent from the meeting.

Chris Whelan of YB Urban?, a Broadway Street business, said while their business is also interested in the coming conversations about parking and construction, the YB Urban? team is also thankful for the work the village has done to improve the area.

“I thank you for everything you all have done for East End. I don’t think you get enough recognition,” Whelan said. “From tearing down of a building to reconstruction to sidewalks to pavement to everything else. I know you guys have gotten a lot of crap over the past few months, but I do appreciate all of you.”

BobbiJo Olson of BW’s Tavern in East End said part of the bar’s foundation was ripped out during construction and replaced with a slab of wood.
“If damage got done to my building during the construction, then I’m responsible even though damage got done to other buildings when some buildings got demolished and that’s getting covered,” Olson said.

Some board members were unaware of that issue, asking staff to connect with Olson moving forward. Olson also mentioned stakes being put in their property for a light pole that the village did not ask for permission to place. Although the business owners would have approved of the light pole’s placement, they felt disrespected that they were not asked.
Another concern is tenants taking up the closest parking spaces in the lots, as some of the senior clientele of the businesses have to walk further than they would have.

The board approved three handicap parking spaces near East End businesses as well as the improvement of the handicap access to East End Park.

Marks criticized Cedar Corporation because the approved reconstruction plan did not show handicap parking.

“We inadvertently missed that as part of the plan, but as construction progressed, that’s when we brought it up,” Cedar Corporation’s Russ Kiviniemi said.

Marks said Kiviniemi, who has been a part of Cedar Corporation for 27 years, should be including things like that as second nature.

“After 27 years you just happened to forget that you need handicap parking on a new project? I don’t know if I can buy that,” Marks said. “That’s like parking 101.”

The board also approved a payment for the project of $856,678.49. Kiviniemi updated the board that they are applying pressure on the manufacturers of the light poles to get them to East End, and expect them to be ready to go up at some point in November

Public comment

Resident Serina Hendrickson spoke during public comment claiming that multiple members of the board use intimidation tactics, and asked Trustee Tony Hines to resign for alleged statements during the February board meeting. Hendrickson was not able to play the referenced audio because of the bounds of public comment rules.

“I’m here today to ask Tony Hines to resign from the Village Board. I don’t believe you can represent our community professionally without being a liability to our village, investors or constituents,” Hendrickson said. “You cussed out our president, and she asked you twice to stop. You also said that you didn’t understand that you were using cuss words, that the s-word was not a cuss word. You work with a school district. If any one of those school kids said that word, they would be reprimanded.”

Hendrickson also mentioned multiple board members allegedly making inappropriate comments about the public outside of the meeting room. Because Hendrickson’s statements were made during public comment, members of the board could not respond.

Other business

• The board entered closed session to discuss litigation for the Grant/Piety project and negotiations with the police union, but no action was taken upon reconvening.
• Approved the filling of vacancies on the Board of Appeals, CDA and Plan Commission.
• Approved the wastehauler contract with Tennis Sanitation. The company was recently approved to take over the service in 2027.
• Accepted a $60,000 grant for the acquisition of seven acres to expand Summit Park. The grant covers half the cost of the acquisition.
• In two separate motions, the board approved 2027 village staff benefits unanimously, and non-represented employee wage changes with no votes from Trustees Tony and Dick Hines. Health insurance will increase by 18.7%, dental by 9% and long-term disability by 5% from the 2026 rates. As for the wages, the village will undergo a two-year process of increases to get staff wages to the average of its peers. To do so, the following wage increases will be made in 2027:
  • Police Administrative Assistant, 4%
  • Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer, 11.1%
  • Deputy Clerk, 10%
  • Deputy Treasurer, 7.3%
  • Police Chief, 9.9%
  • Public Works Buildings and Grounds, 4%
  • Public Works Director, 8%
  • Public Works Streets/Wastewater/Water, 4%
  • Part-time/Seasonal Employees, 4%
  • Election Workers, no change