GRAFTON, Wis. — Grafton has a new village president and a newly appointed trustee, and the leadership transition is drawing attention from neighbors already watching closely as the village works to repair its broken Bridge Street Dam.
Former Village President Dan Delorit retired last month to spend more time with his family — not because of the dam — and was replaced by then-Trustee Dave Armstrong. According to Village Administrator Tim Wellnitz, Scott Rishel was subsequently appointed Tuesday night to the vacant trustee position.
The back-to-back changes come after a string of departures at Village Hall over the past year, including multiple public works directors and village administrators.
Grafton neighbor Deb Novakovic, who has lived in the village for seven years, said the timing has raised questions, even if he is personally remaining optimistic.
"Because of the timing, we're a little bit concerned that the issues with the river and the dam have caused some of this change in the government," Novakovic said. "It's good to have new blood. Sometimes that paves the way for some really exciting things to happen."
The Bridge Street dam has been a source of community concern for months. Since the dam broke in May, the Milwaukee River running through Grafton has visibly narrowed.
TMJ4 has been covering the debate for months, including a hours-long Village Board meeting where residents debated if the dam should be repaired or removed. Ultimately, the board green-lit a bidding process to repair the dam.
Armstrong acknowledged the turbulence but said incoming staff have stepped up.
"It was a little troubling, but we do have a plan to get the dam fixed, and it's been approved, and now we have to go through that process," Armstrong said. "Even though we're having this change in some pretty important positions, we've had the people who've come in here filling those spots, and doing a great job because they want to be in Grafton as well.
That bidding process is still expected to take months before work can begin.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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