Solution will cost more, eliminate one of the previously used crosswalks
By Jason Arndt
Editor
Burlington ChocolateFest organizers have turned to local police for support after an aggressive search for a new contractor for crossing guard and pedestrian services turned up empty.
The support, however, comes with some officer overtime and loss of one of three monitored crosswalks after organizers reportedly exhausted their available resources.
Festival Chairman Bil Scherrer said the organization, which relies heavily on volunteers, started searching for a contractor as soon as they discovered their former service provider shut down in March.
Wisconsin Personal Protection Services, otherwise known as WPPS, closed after it failed to pay unemployment taxes.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported in March the company closure left a half-dozen Milwaukee metro school districts scrambling to find crossing guards because they were not given adequate notice.
Scherrer, meanwhile, initially believed his organization could find a replacement for WPPS, but the leads eventually turned up cold.
“At first, it was not (a major concern), we just thought we could find another group,” he said prior to a Tuesday Committee of the Whole meeting, where the Common Council discussed the matter.
Despite initial interest from some providers, none were able to offer enough coverage.
The Crossing Guard Company, according to Scherrer, told ChocolateFest organizers on May 10 that it could not provide services this year.
“We tried to find other crossing guard companies, then we went to volunteer groups, checked with explorer posts associated with the sheriff, the national guard,” Scherrer said.
“We usually thought we had people interested, but then they come back a week later and say they couldn’t get the bodies.”
Officer overtime
City of Burlington Police Chief Mark Anderson told the Common Council at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting members of his department will need to work overtime to handle the added duties.
In 2018, ChocolateFest paid $5,100 for 270 hours of traffic control and crossing guard services from Friday through Monday.
While ChocolateFest earmarked $4,000 for this year’s event, the rest will come at city’s expense, according to Anderson.
In addition to the $4,000, Anderson said preliminary estimates indicate overtime could range from $7,600 to $9,548.
Anderson, however, told the Common Council the cost could have been higher, if his department decided to cover all 270 hours.
“If the Burlington Police Department were to take over the 270 hours, it would be approximately $18,000,” Anderson said.
Instead of covering 270 hours, Anderson decided to eliminate one of three pedestrian crossings, Milwaukee Avenue and Maryland Avenue. The remaining monitored crossings are at Milwaukee Avenue and Grove Street, and Milwaukee Avenue and Congress Street.
To read the entire story see the May 23 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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