Trustees Schleif, Vollbrecht to retire from board

By Scott Bellile

Hortonville voters will see competition in the village president race this spring.

In recent days, residents in the village of Hortonville declared their intentions to run for elected office or turned in non-candidacy papers.

The spring municipal elections will take place April 2.

Incumbent Village President Al Habeck will face Trustee Jeanne Bellile for his seat.

Three residents are looking to fill three open village trustee seats: incumbent Peter Olk, Daniel Nejedlo and James Moeller.

Trustee Kelly Schleif filed for non-candidacy.

Trustee Dawn Vollbrecht did not file candidacy or non-candidacy papers before the deadlines, but she is also retiring with Schleif in April.

Incumbent Municipal Judge Norbert Dallman will run unopposed for his position.

All trustees represent the entire village rather than districts within, so all residents can vote for up to three trustees and one village president.

The Press Star contacted Hortonville’s new candidates for elected positions as well as incumbents who are resigning to learn their reasons for running or not running.

Village president

Bellile, a village trustee for three years and a former 17-year Village Hall employee, said she is running for village president because representing Hortonville is important to her.

“I have lived here most of my life and love this community and the people in it,” Bellile said. “I enjoy it when residents come to me with their thoughts, concerns and ideas and they in turn know that I will follow through for them.”

She said her collective 20 years of experience serving Hortonville have provided her knowledge of the village’s inner workings.

As village president, she said she would work closely with department heads and employees to move the village forward, work to continue growth and development within the business and residential sectors, and strengthen working relationships with surrounding communities.

If Bellile is elected president, the village board will appoint someone to fill the remainder of her trustee term.

The Press Star will invite Habeck and Bellile to participate in a candidate questionnaire prior to the spring election.

Trustee

Moeller said he decided to run for a village board trustee seat after he was placed on a committee to resolve an issue between his neighborhood and the village.

“I found the experience interesting and discovered that I could leverage my life experiences to help resolve issues for myself and others,” Moeller said.

A Hortonville native and business owner, Moeller said his business experience paired with his problem-solving skills make him qualified to address the issues the village faces.

“I want to add my voice to those with a forward looking perspective in both the things that we can and the things we cannot or should not do as a village,” Moeller said in an email. “The budget is a large concern for any community and Hortonville has some of the highest taxes in the area already. I hope to help in finding some solutions to both those primary issues.”

Nejedlo, who served on the village board during the early 1990s when development of the industrial park began, said he is running again because Hortonville has been a great community for his family.

“I would enjoy working with board members to address the needs of residents and promote our village,” he said.

Nejedlo said he has experience developing budgets and capital improvement programs.

“By working with the village’s Strategic Plan and committees I would like to continue to enhance a positive business climate and attract residential growth,” Nejedlo said in an email.

Retirements

Schleif

Schleif will step down after eight years on the village board, an experience he said he “thoroughly enjoyed.”

“My current work schedule is making it difficult for me to attend every meeting, so in fairness to the village and the other board members I felt it would be in everyone’s best interest if it took a break,” Schleif said. “When I know that I can dedicate the time necessary, I may run again.”

Schleif said it was initially challenging to step into the public sector without experience, but he hopes his service has been of benefit to the village.

Accomplishments during his tenure, he said, included the passage of the referendum for the new municipal services center, improvements to the opera house, development in the industrial park, lowering of permitting fees to construct new housing and the creation of tax incremental districts.

“Hortonville is a wonderful place to raise a family and I hope that our next board continues with village improvements, growth and new development,” Schleif said.

Vollbrecht

Vollbrecht said she is resigning as a trustee because she has held the office for 10 years, which is “a long time.”

“It has had its ups and downs,” Vollbrecht said. “I found it to be exciting, enlightening, interesting, frustrating and pleasing. It is something I am glad I did. Something I will never forget and something I think anyone should do if they can. I was liked and disliked for decisions I made, but I feel I made the best decisions I could.”

Vollbrecht said she was proud of numerous achievements that occurred during her tenure. She was happy to see the construction of the new Hortonville-Hortonia Fire District station, the municipal services building and its “wonderful” library; updates to the wastewater treatment plant and the opera house; formation of the Hortonville Veterans Memorial; expansions in the industrial park; the installation of a fishing pier; and construction of Gilbert’s Sentry Foods and the upcoming retail center.