ELLSWORTH – Madelin Cody, who was hired full-time by the Ellsworth Police Department in October, saved a resident’s life at 4 a.m. after he went into cardiac arrest just before the end of Cody’s shift. Cody was recognized at the Aug. 3 Ellsworth Village Board meeting.

“She was at the residence within two minutes, and within that two minutes of driving through the scene and getting there, she ended up starting CPR within the first minute that she had gotten there… which continued for 14 minutes,” Police Chief Eric Ladwig said. “He took four shots from the defibrillator, and that’s the most I’ve ever seen.”

Village President Becky Beissel prepared a statement to go with a letter of recognition for Cody.

“When dispatched to the scene of an unresponsive individual, you arrived within minutes and immediately assessed the situation, began CPR, and took decisive action. Working alongside the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and Ellsworth Area Ambulance Service, you remained calm under extraordinary pressure while providing lifesaving care until a pulse was restored,” Beissel stated. “While successful outcomes in emergencies are always the result of teamwork, your immediate response and willingness to act without hesitation played a critical role during those first moments when every second mattered. Your professionalism, sound judgment, and dedication to serving others reflect the very best of the Ellsworth Police Department and the Village of Ellsworth.”

The victim’s family was in attendance and emotionally thanked Cody and the department. They were told by doctors that a heart attack like the one he had only had a 6% chance of survival.

Data Center Ordinance

The board swiftly approved a temporary prohibition on the establishment of data centers in the village. The item was forwarded by the Plan Commission last month and would go into place while the village updates wording in its previous ordinance.

“The village's current zoning ordinance does not identify data centers as a permitted use, conditional use or accessory use in any zoning district. Accordingly, it is the village’s interpretation that data centers are not currently permitted under the existing ordinance,” Village Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy said. “Because the ordinance was adopted so long ago, data centers were never considered when drafting it. This interim zoning ordinance basically says, ‘Give us a couple years to review our ordinance and make any changes we feel are necessary for data centers in the future.’”

Audit

The village went over its 2025 audit results, with the village auditor providing feedback at the conclusion of the process.

Significant public works projects including the East End and Piety area projects made the year a high one in terms of expenses, as the two accounted for $2.4 million in expenditures. The unassigned fund balance was 21%, which is not in compliance with the 25% policy, but the auditor said they are on a positive trajectory and there is “light at the end of the tunnel.”

“These numbers, in my opinion, are conservative. The 21% is a conservative number,” Roy said.

Jonathan Sherwood of the auditor Clifton Allen Larson said TID 7 has historically underperformed, with the deficit growing from $1 million to $1.1 million that was cash flowed by the General Fund.

“Turn the page to 2025, TID 7 can now start generating a positive TID increment, being the taxes that it was generating were then exceeding the amount to pay a principal and interest payments for a general obligation debt that’s outstanding,” Sherwood said. “Long-term, it will make the financial picture of the General Fund much more positive.”

TID 10 is projected to turn positive in the future as well, Sherwood said.

Street and Building Approvals

The village approved $12,500 in façade approvement grants to businesses in the downtown, uptown and East End areas. The village budgeted $10,000 for the grants in 2026, and the Chamber of Commerce provided an additional $2,500.

An ordinance was adopted to require permits for installation and replacement of siding on commercial buildings.

A low spot was discovered in the Panther Drive wastewater pipeline, which brought up a proposal and approval of $24,000 to make the fix and avoid future issues.

Contaminated soils near Railroad Avenue caused an original plan for removal of asphalt to be replaced by landscaping. The DNR said that soil has to remain capped by asphalt, so stormwater cannot get into contaminated soils. The board was left with a choice to leave current asphalt or replace it while the rest of the nearby asphalt is being constructed. The board opted to replace the asphalt while construction is already going on.

Payments for the Piety and East End projects were approved, but the village discussed holding out on paying their retainage on the Piety Street project until the issues they have with the consistency of the road are fixed.

The board approved $160,422 in village funding for the WIS 65 resurfacing project in 2031.

Closed Session

The board made the following series of approvals after a lengthy closed session period:

• Make hires for the Public Works maintenance and wastewater lead positions
• An easement in Crossing Meadows Outlot 2 for Mahn Funeral Home
• Disallowed a claim by Kevin Black