April 2020
Spring Election is on Tuesday, April 7
The polls for the Village of Wind Point will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Prairie School, Johnson Athletic Center (JAC). To view a sample ballot for the April 7 Election  please click here.

Our election workers will assist you along with doing the best they can to keep the election facility as clean and safe as possible. In consultation with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has provided the Village with guidance on how to handle voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Village will be implementing the following guidelines at the polls to help ensure your safety during this time.

  • Signage will be placed outside the building stating that anyone who has symptoms, including shortness of breath, sore throat, achiness, fever (100.4F) nasal congestion or cough should not enter. Voters who are unable to enter the building will be allowed the option of curb-side voting.

  • Tape will be placed on the floor 6 feet apart to show voters where they should stand to maintain proper social distancing. The number of people may be limited inside the building to allow for proper social distancing.

  • Voters will be provided a sanitized pen when entering the polls.

  • When a voter approaches the voting table they will place their Photo ID on the square on the table and step back behind the line on the ground. The poll workers will examine the ID and find the voter's record.

  • The poll worker will push the voting book to the edge of the table. The voter will step up and sign the poll book and voter can take their ID.

  • The voter will step to the next table and pick up their ballot.

  • When the voter is done marking the ballot, they will place the ballot into the tabulator and provide the pen to the poll worker to be sanitized.

In addition to the guidelines above please consider the following when coming to the polls.
  • Consider coming to the polls during off peak times to avoid standing in line. Peak times tend to be when the polls open in the morning between 7:00 am and 9:00 am and in the evening between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

  • Please consider an alternative to bringing your children to the polls.

  • Please consider coming to the polls alone in order to limit the number of people in line at a given time.

These new procedures will help to protect voters and polls workers. Our poll workers will work as fast as they as they can, but please allow for extra time when you are coming to vote and be patient.
Given the current situation with COVID-19, we strongly encourage you to vote absentee ballot via mail. Voting absentee by mail is especially important for the elderly, those who have traveled recently and those who have a suppressed immune system. There are two ways to vote absentee.

Mailed Absentee Ballot
You may request an absentee ballot online at  My Vote Wisconsin  before 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 2 , and a ballot will be mailed to you. It is easy to do this with a smart phone. Have your ID ready to photograph at the prompt. If you are not able to access the My Vote website, you may request an absentee ballot by writing to the Village Clerk, 215 E. Four Mile Road, Racine, WI 53402, or via email at  [email protected]. Y ou can find a copy of the Application for Absentee Ballot on the Village Website .

When you request your absentee ballot through MyVote, email or mail, you must include a copy of your photo ID, address, date of birth, phone number and election date or we will not be able to process your request. Please be sure to allow enough mailing time as we must receive your ballot before 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
In-Person Absentee Voting
Voters are able to vote “In-Person Absentee” at the Village Administrative Office, 215 E. Four Mile Road, weekdays from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.  We are trying to limit exposure to the virus, therefore, we have “drive through curbside voting” available. 

We are asking that individuals pull their cars up to the area for voting (directly outside the rear door to the Village Office) by the blue tent. Once at a tent, a member of our staff will bring out an application form and ballot. You will be able to vote your ballot in the car. Once done voting the ballot, it will be placed in a secure envelope and Village staff will keep it secure until the Election.  In-person voting ends on Friday, April 3rd at 5:00 pm, so please plan ahead.
Follow the arrows and pull into the circle drive. You will see the blue tent, as shown in the picture to the right.
Pull your car up to the blue tent, as shown in the picture above. A staff member will come out to assist you with voting.
Registering to Vote
The deadline to register to vote online was Monday, March 30. From March 31, until April 3, if you need to register to vote, you will have to come to the Village Office to register. You can use our drive through service, as shown above. When you drive in, please pull up to the blue tent and a staff member will come out to assist you with registering to vote. 

Please try to complete your voter registration application prior to coming to the office. You can find a copy on the Village’s website by  clicking here.  You can also contact our office and we can send you a copy of the registration form. When registering to vote, please remember to bring a copy of an appropriate document so that Village staff can verify your Wind Point address.   Please click here  for a list of acceptable proof of residency documents.
 
If you have questions or need assistance with any of your voting options, or have questions about voting, please contact Casey Griffiths, Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer at 262-639-3524 or [email protected].
Village Office Services During COVID-19
For the safety and well-being of our residents and staff the Village Office will be closed until further notice.

The office will continue to operate during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. -5:00 p.m. You can reach staff via phone at 262-639-3524 or email at  [email protected]  during office hours.
We are asking that residents who wish to conduct business in person utilize the following options. This includes paying for yard waste stickers, water bill payments, dog licenses, and building permits.

Secure Drop Box (as seen above): Located on the circle drive outside the Village Office. Payments can be placed in the drop box. When you drop off your items please make sure to include your address so that we can send any items that you have requested back via mail.

Mail:  Payments can be made by mail to the Village of Wind Point, 215 E. Four Mile Rd., Racine, WI 53402.

Online:  Payments for water bills can be made online by clicking here.

Village Public Works staff is still available to respond to emergencies such as downed trees or water main breaks. The Wind Point Police Department, the Caledonia Fire & EMS Department and John's Disposal are operating as normal.
Safer at Home Executive Order

On Tuesday, March 24, 2020 Governor Tony Evers directed the Department of Health Services to issue a Safer at Home order. The Governor’s executive order includes the entire state and is mandatory. Please, in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and protect your families, friends and neighbors – stay home. The order is in effect at 8:00 am Wednesday, March 25, 2020 and will remain in effect until 8:00 am Friday, April 24, 2020 or until a super ceding order is issued.

The Governor’s order means that you must stay at home, leaving only for essential reasons such as to get groceries or medicine, to get medical care, to get exercise, to take care of others, and for certain types of work. You should significantly restrict your outside movement to only essential outings in order to help stop the spread of the virus.

Village Green Playground, Tennis and Pickleball Courts

Due to the order, the Village Green playground, tennis and pickleball courts will be closed until April 24. The Governor's order specifically closes playgrounds and also prohibits gatherings of any number of people who are not part of a single household or living unit. These two areas have the high potential to attract groups of people. 

The Village Green park & path and the Lighthouse Grounds may still be used for walking and other exercise, if proper social distancing requirements are followed, which include:
The Wind Point Police Department will not be randomly stopping individuals to ask where they are going. People gathering in groups may be asked why they are gathering, to practice better social distancing, or to go home. You should abstain from all nonessential activities.

Adhering to the order will save lives and it is the responsibility of everyone to do their part. Please continue to practice social distancing, frequent hand-washing, avoid touching your face and continue to disinfect frequently touched surfaces. 

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has published a new fact sheet on the Safer at Home Order which can be found here.
Yard Waste and Branch Collections
Yard Waste Collection
The first yard waste collection day of the season is Monday, April 6 and collections will continue weekly through November 30. Yard waste is considered as leaves, grass clippings, yard and garden debris and brush including clean woody vegetative material no greater than 4 inches in diameter; it does not include branches, stumps, roots or shrubs with intact root balls. Set yard waste out by the edge of the road in brown paper yard waste bags with a green yard waste sticker placed on each bag. The yard waste bags may be purchased at a local hardware or department store. Stickers can be purchased for $1.00 each from the Village Office. During the Village Office closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, please use the methods described above to purchase your yard waste stickers. Please do not set yard waste bags or branch collection out sooner than 72 hours before collection day.

Branch Collection
The first branch collection date is Tuesday, April 10. Collections continue on the second Tuesday of each month through November. Please note that the May 12 branch pick up will be pushed back one week and will begin on May 18.

There is no fee for branch collection and stickers are not needed for collection. It may take up to three days for your branches to be collected. Please note the following branch collection procedures are in place to help keep this service as cost-effective as possible:

  • Branches should be placed by the road in small, reasonably uniform piles with the cut end toward the road, all in the same direction. 
  • Piles should not exceed 4 feet in height and 4 feet in width.
  • Branches that exceed 8 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter will not be collected.
  • Residents are asked to keep branches at their original length and not cut into smaller pieces (unless over 8 feet in length).
  • Up to 15 minutes can be spent per property on collecting and chipping; if it takes longer than 15 minutes, a tag will be left on the remaining piles and the owner will have the option to remove the piles or have them collected for a fee.
  • Branch collection is for tree maintenance, not tree removal. If you hire someone to remove trees on your property, please do not use the Village branch collection service for removing the debris from your property.

If you have any questions please contact the Village Office at 262-639-3524.
Development & Property Taxes
In recent weeks there have been various discussions regarding property taxes as they relate to the proposed development at the Deepwood Drive property. There has been some misinformation that has been posted that new development will cause an increase in property taxes. This however is not the case. T here are three things to consider with regards to property taxes and development. These things are:
 
  1. Total assessed value of the Village. This is the entire value of all properties in the Village, as determined by the Village Assessor. It is used as a way to determine what the property tax rate will be.
  2. Property tax levy. This is the entire amount of property tax dollars that the Village collects in any given year. State law has restricted the Village's ability to raise the levy to meet budgetary needs. The Village can only raise the levy to the value of new construction.
  3. Property tax rate. This is the rate that is used to calculate the property taxes on individual properties in the Village. There will be little or no change to the Village property tax rate due to development. This is how the property tax rate is calculated: Property Tax Rate = Property Tax Levy/(Total Assessed Value/1000).

Development, in and of itself, would not raise individual property taxes for residents of the Village. There will be little change to the Village property tax rate due to development, even with a property tax levy increase. This is because new development will increase the Village’s total assessed value along with increasing the levy, the two will offset each other. Below is a chart that illustrates this point.
So why does this matter. To put it simply this is the primary means to which the Village can raise revenue which can help pay for necessary services and keep our community a desirable place to live. Costs for services do not usually get cheaper from year to year. However, there is the expectation that the Village provides quality and efficient services such as garbage pick up, emergency services including police, fire and EMS, snow plowing, well kept parks, and road maintenance. Increasing costs year over year without a way to pay for them will result in the budget cuts at some point.

For answers to questions about the Deepwood Drive project take a look at the Village's project page located here.
Village Board Updates
The Village Board of Trustees met for a regular meeting on March 12, 2020 The following actions took place at the meeting:

  • Received a petition from the Deepwood Preservation Committee regarding possible development at 4403 Main Street, and referred the matter to the Village Attorney and staff.
  • Rejected a bid from Payne and Dolan for the Lighthouse Grounds path project.
  • Approved the purchase of super sack sandbags and the rental of a boom lift to temporarily address lakeshore erosion at the Lighthouse Grounds
  • Received a report on the Lighthouse Tower painting warranty discussion.
  • Approved a proclamation for Trustee Karen Van Lone.

Due to the COVID-19 Outbreak the Village Board's next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 12 at 5:30 p.m. will be cancelled.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be on Thursday, May at 5:30 p.m. at Village Hall (Lighthouse).
Village of Wind Point, Wisconsin
215 E. Four Mile Rd.
Racine, WI 53402
262.639.3524