RIVER FALLS — The River Falls City Council heard public comment May 28 from Mike Noreen, who was a major topic of discussion during the public comment portion of the May 14 meeting. Noreen was the sustainability coordinator and forester for the City of River Falls for 14 years, and recently resigned from the position.

Noreen spoke on the city’s need for a Climate Action Plan during the May 28 meeting. According to Noreen, a Climate Action Plan is a plan that sets a target amount of greenhouse gas reduction and lays out strategies and plans to reach the target. Noreen’s seven steps to putting a plan together were having leadership-backed commitment, creating a planning team with members from a variety of backgrounds, understanding where the city is and where it is headed, creating goals and targets, determining steps to reach the goals and targets, implementing the plan and transparency throughout the process.

Noreen said many cities in the area have adopted Climate Action Plans, and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is in that process.

“The city has been a regional leader in the field of sustainability, but a lot has changed recently, and you cannot rest on your laurels,” Noreen said.

Multiple other city residents emphasized the importance of keeping a focus on sustainability. Resident Krista Spieler asked for transparency from the city on questions including whether something was done to prevent Noreen’s resignation and about the future of the sustainability coordinator position including a timeline and whether the position would be reallocated to current city staff.

At the May 14 meeting, City Administrator Scot Simpson said the city is looking to fill the sustainability coordinator position, but there may be some waiting for the process to be complete. Simpson said city staff and the city council see the value of the position, and they are not aiming to remove it to save money.

Clifton township resident Dana Linscott spoke on a $500,000 grant that was a focus of the May 14 public comment period. On May 14, Simpson said the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy was not awarded to the city yet, and no deadlines to accept were ignored as had been mentioned by community members.

Linscott claimed that Simpson’s statements were misleading, saying the decision to award the grant to River Falls has been made, but city staff need to “engage in commitment discussions” to receive the grant funding. Linscott said this is to avoid funding going to uses that were not intended when the grant was awarded.

“Since River Falls was one of the municipalities which diverted ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) funding, this may result in not receiving the full half-million dollar grant, or possibly nothing at all,” Linscott said. “Being completely transparent may not be in the administrator’s best interest.”

River Falls resident Tonya Schmitt discussed the potential for energy assistance programs run by the city being given to the state. Schmitt said this would result in a loss of work in the city, less money for the recipients and a “loss of hometown care.”

Other business

• Heard the first reading of the rezoning of Mann Valley Corporate Park. If approved, the two zones in the corporate park would be corporate park zoning district and conservancy district.
• The council approved 26 liquor, beer and cider licenses between classes A, B and C. Some businesses and organizations did not have an agent in attendance, and their licenses will be up for approval again at a future meeting.
• Mayor Dan Toland proclaimed June as Pride Month in River Falls and authorized the Pride flag to be flown at City Hall during the month.
• Heard a presentation from St. Croix and Pierce County Veteran Services Organization on the variety of support the organization can provide veterans in the area.
• Merchant McIntyre presented grants and awards the city received through the organization.