Town of Pelican proceeds with estimate for Faust Lake Road intersection design, approves GoPro camera purchase

The town of Pelican met on Monday, Dec 15 for their regularly scheduled board meeting. One of the items on the agenda was in regards to safety at an intersection in the town at Faust Lake Road and Old Highway 8. Phil Kriesel of MSA Professional Services, Inc. appeared at the meeting with two different plans for the intersection, which is now in a triangular-shaped configuration. The current configuration of the intersection has caused some safety concerns with drivers using excessive speed and sight lines that are not sufficient.

Kriesel brought two different configurations for the intersection to the board. One was for a 90-degree corner and the other a 93-degree corner. The second option, he said, would mean the electrical pole there would not need to be moved as far, and was simply providing that as an option to the board. This option would shift the intersection to the left a bit.

Kriesel said he assumed Wisconsin Public Service would move the pole to the east. He said they may also need to set another pole, due to the angle shift that would be required. Scholtes said, once the plans were to 60% complete, those plans would be submitted to WPS and they would begin the process.

Board members agreed that the 90-degree option would be preferable. Board member Wally Dahlquist asked about the sight lines of the intersection with a 90-degree intersection. Kriesel said, while he did not have boots-on-the-ground exact knowledge, but from the ariel photo he provided, and the 45 mile per hour speed limit on Old 8, with drivers at a stop condition on Faust Lake Road, the sight line would be sufficient.

Camera purchase

The board also discussed the purchase of two GoPro Cameras, one for the road crew and one for the fire crew. These cameras would allow road crews, for instance, to record storm damage or a situation where a conditional permit was used based on damages to part of the road, as had happened in the past, and not have to use a personal cell phone to take photographs and record evidence. Town board chair Nick Scholtes said he felt such a camera could be useful for the fire department as well.

Board member Wally Dahlquist said, if something should need to go to court, the SD card from the camera could be held by the court, rather than having a personal cell phone taken away for an undetermined amount of time in such a case. He said he felt each department should have their own camera in their facility.

The board ultimately decided the town should purchase two GoPro cameras, not to exceed $800.

The next town of Pelican board meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].