On Jan. 8, the first Prescott City Council meeting of 2024 consisted of old news and plans for the future as the council listened to 2023 updates and new business ventures.

Scott Freier, Chief Operating Officer for Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services in Ellsworth, approached the council to explain the company’s broadband subsidiary called Swift Current Connect. Swift Current Connect provides reliable, high-speed fiber internet service for residential homes and businesses. Freier stated that they are trying to get the cell towers hooked up on their system so there is better coverage on the bridge from Wisconsin.

“We wanted to tip our toes in the water a little bit to see if Prescott had any appetite for going to high-speed fiber internet,” Freier said.

He said that right now Prescott has a copper-based plant in the ground from Century Link and Comcast but Swift Current Connect can offer more.

“Our main goal when this started was to get our rural members in high-speed internet for everybody that lives in the country that these big companies want to forget about because it’s too many miles to put in to hook up,” he stated.

Freier explained the types of services they provide to residential homes and to businesses.

“Our full service is pretty much unrestricted. We can handle whatever we can take in,” he said. “We can put 10 gigs to any location whether it be to a house, business or anything.”

He added that in the last two and a half years, they have built 800 miles of fiber. He stated the advantages of choosing fiber internet: it’s fast and residents aren’t stuck with just any video or tv streaming service; they can choose whatever they want.

Referring to grid connectivity and economic growth, Freier said, “We know from experience that people don’t want to come to your area unless they got good internet. Some of these new businesses now won’t come unless they have internet, and they don’t have good internet and fast internet.”

He said fiber internet has brought a lot of businesses into areas that want to grow, build, and reach their customers through reliable internet.

“In 2025 if we end up doing the jobs that are on our slate, our co-op will double in the electricity sales in one year from 12 megabytes to 20 some megabytes,” he said.

Swift Current Connect is looking to build strong client relationships.

“We are local so if we’re doing a project and there’s an issue, we’re right here. We’re not in India, we’re not in some other country where you get a call, we’re right here in Ellsworth so we can react to any issues right away.” He added, “Being local, it means something to be proud of your business.”

 Freier said the company hopes to have the council’s blessing to work in the City of Prescott.

Alderperson John Peterson asked, “Are you currently within city limits with the fiber already?”

“A little,” Freier replied, explaining that they decided to install the fiber through the middle of town so they can branch out from there and take on more customers.

Mentioning the challenges that City Hall faces because they don’t have symmetrical upload and download speeds, City Administrator Matt Wolf commented on Swift Current Connect.

“It’s another service that gives more options to residents as they come in but also for businesses, even like our own city operations,” he said.

Alderperson Dar Hintz said, “I just appreciate your communication and providing this information. I think it’s a positive thing and you are a local company and it’s great to see you all take this on and be successful with it and get a lot of grant money in the process and offer something that might not have been offered.”

Liquor license

Hintz asked the council to discuss the liquor license for the old Steamboat Inn property. Developments have been proposed there since the restaurant was demolished, but nothing has come to fruition.

“I think we should revisit that again. I’m starting to feel as time progresses again, that we should look at that license and maybe make it available to existing bars within the city,” she said.

“I think we’ve been sitting on that license for a good number of years,” Alderperson Maureen Otwell added.  

Hintz reiterated that she previously wanted to keep the license with the property but since it’s been three years, she felt that it needed to be discussed again.

Mayor Robert Daugherty said since the city only has one of those types of liquor licenses, they had hoped to keep it for a business that would fill that property. The city would need 500 more residents before it would have another license available, since the number of licenses allotted to a municipality are based on population.

Hintz agreed, “I just think that it’s been about three years. I think we deserve to have the discussion again.”

Prescott Area Historical Society

On behalf of the 75-year-old Prescott Area Historical Society, Dallas Eggers presented the Council with a 2023 progress update. He said the Prescott Welcome and Heritage group ended after realizing both groups had the same members and were duplicating services.

He explained the PAHS has worked hard to upgrade its current building, which includes adding a new 30-year roof in 2020, upgrading or replacing the heating and cooling systems in 2022, and remodeling the interior ceilings and walls in most of the building in 2023. The improvements have totaled more than $40,000.

“We’ve revamped, improved and better organized our entire collection,” Eggers said. “We have more photos, artifacts and other items coming in nearly weekly.”

To keep up with technology they began using presentation screens and have made a bigger presence online utilizing social media. In 2023, they had over 2,500 individuals visit, and they have over 20 business members in the community that participate in the group as well. The annual business dues of $50 per business have added $1,000 to the budget.

“That is really helping,” Eggers commented. “The Pierce County Board has recognized what our countywide efforts were doing, and they increased their funding of the historical initiatives in the county by about $3,000. That $3,000 was designated to come to Prescott to make up for the hole in losing the Chamber of Commerce, so sometimes from bad things come good things.”

He told the council that the Historical Society also researched people’s families, sponsored a history walk, and taught online classes with the University of Minnesota. Eggers said students from those classes have visited Prescott.

“It’s our job to advertise ourselves,” he said. “We can’t expect them to search us out.”

In closing, Eggers asked, “The only thing I’d like to ask the city, join us as a business member for $50. If you think you can do us some other favors, please try to.” He added, “If you haven’t been in, find some time and wander down.”

The Prescott Area Historical Society is located at 235 Broad St. and is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Magee Park Flood Study and Train Rail Survey

Wolf said Coulee River Trails has been working on improvements at Magee Park and has approved a concept plan. They are waiting on final approval from the DNR for a grant of $280,000.

“One of the things that we have found out is that Wisconsin DNR is requiring is that a flood study be done since it’s in a zone a flood plain designation. This is areas with the designation that have 1% or less annual flood probability and are typically not studied resulting in the absence of base flood elevation,” Wolf said.

Greg Adams, project engineer from Cedar Corporation, repeated that a study is required to be done to show what the 100-year flood is in that waterway and to have the bridges sized accordingly so there isn’t a backwater effect created by some of the project.

“We thought that now would be the time to do that so it could correspond hopefully with the advent of the Magee Park grant,” Adams said.

He added that after talking with Wolf and City Planner Carter Hayes, they also chose to survey the entire trail route at a total of $18,700. The council approved the Magee Park Flood Study and Trail Survey between Cedar Corporation and the City of Prescott for $18,700.

Election inspectors

The council appointed the following election inspectors with no partisan affiliation for the term beginning Jan. 1, 2024, and ending Dec. 31, 2025: Elizabeth Lansing, Kate Killian, Dawn Harris, Shelley Glasspoole, Cindy Huppert, Nancy Seifert, Bob Baker, LuAnn Sabelko, Cindy Sabelko, Tracy Jennings, Andrea Arneston, Destiny Hallan, and Jennifer Neumann.

Public Works

The council approved the purchase of a 2018 TYMCO 500X Street Sweeper at a cost of $139,450 to replace the current aging model as part of its 2024 budget and 2023-2030 Capital Improvement Plan. As these trucks are used little in comparison to other vehicles in the community, the city has previously purchased used sweepers to save funds.

While the 2018 Street Sweeper is $14,450 over budget, after discussion with the Public Works Department, it is believed that the age of this model will provide for a longer use and the vehicle will also have greater efficiency “due to improved mechanics of the truck.” The additional funds for purchase will come from the Capital Fund.

Upcoming meetings

The City of Prescott is holding a Riverfront Phase 2 Public Informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at Prescott City Hall.

The Planning Commission meeting has been changed to Monday, Feb. 5.