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Coon Valley resident Sonja Pederson blasted the Coon Valley Board, during public discussion of the village board’s June monthly meeting, for publicly reading resident Jean Sims letter, in what she believed was a poor display of public leadership and an outright act to ridicule a community resident. Pederson asked the board why they felt the need to publicly read the letter, instead of contacting Sims directly and discussing her immediate village board concerns.

“The letter was addressed to Monte and the board, not the public. Residents are entitled to their opinions. Why didn’t you just put it in the circular file and contact her directly. I’m disappointed with the adult leaders of this village for ridiculing her that way,” Pederson said.

Sims, who was defeated in the April election, informed the board that although she was not elected to office, she was keeping an eye on community business. In her letter she slammed the board for not paying attention to the real issues and concerns of the community. She asked the board to back off negative dealings with the local police department and allow them to continue to work to improve public safety. Sims was extremely blunt in her comments to the board and sparked a negative reaction from some board members after the letter was publicly read in May.

Board member Mike Raasch agreed with Pederson and told the board that the information in the letter should have stayed with them and not have been publicly read.

“It’s my personal opinion we should have let it lie,” Raasch, who was elected to office in April, said.

Trustee Robert Kerska, told Pederson, that the letter was publicly read due to inaccurate statements and unfair comments made in it about board activity.

After the initial reading of Sim’s letter in May, President Monte Nelson stated his belief that Sims was misinformed about the board’s community service progress and suggested that Sims should personally attend the monthly board meetings to become better informed about village business. Nelson cut Pederson’s discussion short so the board could move on with other business.

The board was forced to cut planned street sealing projects in half, due to flood damage costs and budget constraints. The street committee will spend $11,000 repairing streets, versus the $22,000 they planned on spending.

The board also agreed to hire attorney’s Jenkins and Stittleburg to handle monthly police traffic citations. The village had earlier agreed to contract with Connelly Law Office in Westby, but misunderstood the terms of the agreement with attorney Kevin Connelly, who charged an hourly rate, versus Jenkins and Stittleburg, who charge a set monthly caseload and trial rate. The board felt the costs were too high at an hourly charge and opted to reverse their initial agreement with Connelly Law.

Discussion on flood damage at the park and throughout the community, although substantial, was far less than last fall and the board as a whole felt fortunate compared to other areas of the county and state which suffered millions of dollars in damage.

“We’re very fortunate compared to other places,” Nelson said.

In other action the board tabled the resignation of Deputy Clerk/Treasurer Amy Dumale until they received an actual letter of resignation in hopes they could work out an agreement with Dumale, an employee Trustee Melanie Role said was a valuable asset to the village office.

The board also acknowledged the “Friends of Chaseburg” civic organization for its continued support of area youth projects, which not only involves supporting Chaseburg residents, but outlying areas including Coon Valley. According to Trustee Mary Schmidt the group is strong supporters of the Coon Valley Area Youth Association.

The Coon Valley Village Board will meet on Tuesday, July 8 at 7 p.m. in the village hall meeting room.