Montreal appoints Traczyk mayor

By ZACHARY MARANO

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MONTREAL, Wis. — The Montreal Common Council appointed council member Kelly Traczyk as the city’s first female mayor at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday. Traczyk’s appointment will be effective Oct. 1.

“I’m very excited. I was elected (as council member) in April and I’ve been working for the city ever since. I think we made a lot of progress since then and I think I will do a lot for the greater good,” Tracyzk said.

Tracyzk will step into a position as Mayor Erik Guenard had submitted his letter of resignation to the city clerk and will exit the position on Sept. 30.

“I did get a job offer from University of Wisconsin. So, I will be moving out of Montreal and that kind of takes me out of mix for being mayor because I won’t be in the city any longer,” Guenard said.

Guenard said that the common council president, Bill Thomas, would immediately become the acting mayor on Sept. 30, but the council could appoint someone else. Because Guenard’s resignation happened after June, they could not have a public election.

Council member Maleah Cummings made the motion for Traczyk to be appointed replacement mayor. Her recommendation was based on Tracyzk’s work in managing the city’s finances.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I’ve really, truly been impressed by a lot of the work that Kelly’s been doing. And as I understand it, we really are struggling to getting things going in our financial world. I’m going to recommend that Kelly be appointed to that position,” Cummings said.

Tracyzk said that she has worked as a bookkeeper for 13 years at her father’s tax preparation service, David Tracyzk CPA. Kelly said she wants to use the knowledge from her profession to help the city secure additional funding sources for infrastructure planning.

The council 3-1 approved the appointment of Tracyzk as mayor. Traczyk, Cummings and council member Ken Saari voted yes, and Thomas voted no.

Guenard is vice president of business services at Gogebic Community College, according to the online staff directory. Neither Guenard or college president George McNulty could be reached for comment Wednesday.

The board also approved a motion to donate $50 to the Northern Iron County Engaged Resident’s third annual Spook Trail Walk on Oct. 23. Saari abstained from the vote. Saari and two other common council members are on the board of directors for NICER.

“I know it’s only $50, but could it be construed as a potential conflict of interest if we say yes, the city council approves this? Because my only hesitation – I don’t think NICER would do it, I’m confident we wouldn’t do it – is what if somebody says, ‘Hey, what if NICER comes up and asks for $10,000? Is the city council going to say yes?’” Saari said.

“I think our answer to all of that always is being really consistent and transparent,” Cummings said. “We’re part of a small community and there’s only so many of us. So, I think as we long as we stay really transparent and answer questions, $50 is $50.”

The common council said they would include a reminder note for citizens in their water bills to complete their Community Development Block Grant surveys.

Public Works Department Foreman Mark Haegar reported to the council that their water tank and hydrants are due for their five-year inspection and they must be serviced by a Wisconsin DNR-certified maintenance company before winter. The council will also seek more bids for the proposed transport utility fee system.

The common council agreed to hold another meeting today to discuss a proposal from Angelo Luppino Inc. to patch the roads in Gile and Montreal. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.