Name: Alder receives harassing packages amid Monroe-area fire department dispute
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Alder receives harassing packages amid Monroe-area fire department dispute

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You have permission to edit this article.Monroe Rural Fire District's controversial building, located at 840 W. 8th Street in Monroe.MONROE (WKOW) -- Some Green County communities have been embroiled in , and that debate has now escalated to the point that police are involved.The City of Monroe Fire Department had been providing service to the towns of Monroe and Clarno, but the contract was up at the end of 2020. They couldn't reach an agreement on a new one, so the towns formed a new department: the Monroe Rural Fire District.MRFD's station is located in a converted building in the City of Monroe, but in an area zoned for commercial space -- not fire departments. The new department has been working with the city to get it rezoned, but the city has pushed back.One alder, who is against rezoning, now says he's getting harassing packages in the mail."The first message came after a council meeting," said Alder Michael Boyce. "With the note and the other contents."Boyce says he received a package containing cow manure on February 6, with a note: "Michael Boyce, Here's some smelling (sic) cow (expletive) for a smelly piece of (expletive) that you are." That was five days after a common council meeting on February 1.Boyce says a few weeks later, he received a second package -- this one containing glitter, and a new note: “Are you going to cry to MPD this time too you little (expletive)?&nbsp; Oh and your (sic) a big giant (expletive).” Boyce says he received that package on March 17 -- two days after a March 15 common council meeting.Boyce had contacted police."Under state law, when there's a pattern of intimidation or threats, then a crime has been committed," he said.Monroe Police confirmed to 27 News that is correct, and said they have an active investigation into the packages.Both were sent anonymously through "shipyourenemiesglitter.com," a website that has that says, "Our products are intended as a fun gag gift between friends and not an object to deliver hate."Neither of the packages Boyce received made any reference to the fire department dispute.But Boyce says they both came after meetings where he was outspoken against rezoning the MRFD building."I was active in proposing the funding mechanism change that led them to seek to form their own department," Boyce said.According to Boyce, when the city was reviewing the contracts, they noticed that people living in the towns of Monroe and Clarno were not paying the same amount on their property taxes as people living in the City of Monroe were for the fire service. During negotiations for a new contract, Boyce says he wanted to raise the amount those people paid, which he believes is why they formed their own fire department.Boyce also says he thinks he knows who sent him the harassing packages."I wouldn't want to throw someone's name out there," he said. "But someone connected to the leadership of the Rural Fire District."Rural Fire District President Tracy Signer says he didn't know about the packages until we asked him. He condemned the packages, and said he wished Boyce would have told him about his suspicions."I mean, if he thinks it's somebody (in the Rural Fire District), I'd like to nip it in the bud," Signer said. "That's for sure. I mean, there's no reason for that. We're all adults here."Signer says the townships wanted more of a voice in how things were run at the fire department, which is why they decided to split. He said they were under the impression it wouldn't be too hard to change the zoning of the building they purchased for their station."We couldn't have picked a better building that what came up for sale, because it sits right in the middle of our two townships," Signer said. "Both north and south and east and west. And we surround the City of Monroe, so we really don't have a choice by having our center in the city limits."Boyce says the issue he has with rezoning the building is that it's not "in harmony with the city's comprehensive plan." He says voters approved that plan in 2015, and it dictates that the area where the MRFD has its station is for commercial use -- not a residential area, where fire departments usually go."It'd be like Madison saying to Fitchburg, 'Hey, we're gonna buy this piece of property in an area that's not zoned for fire departments. And we're gonna build a fire department there to serve the City of Madison residents," Boyce said.The city placed a 90-day grace period, starting January 1st, on the MRFD station. After that, it will start fining MRFD $1,000 for each call they respond to from that location -- unless the building is able to be rezoned.That's scheduled to come up at the next common council meeting April 5.Signer says they're working on other plans if the push to rezone the building ultimately falls through. He remains committed to the idea that there is some sort of compromise that can be reached."We'd end up moving the trucks and just using that building for storage is all it would amount to probably," he said. "Until we get something fixed with our zoning ordinance."Both sides say, in the meantime, they want the harassment to stop.© Copyright 2022 , 5727 Tokay Boulevard, Madison, WI&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .

You have permission to edit this article.Monroe Rural Fire District's controversial building, located at 840 W. 8th Street in Monroe.MONROE (WKOW) -- Some Green County communities have been embroiled in , and that debate has now escalated to the point that police are involved.The City of Monroe Fire Department had been providing service to the towns of Monroe and Clarno, but the contract was up at the end of 2020. They couldn't reach an agreement on a new one, so the towns formed a new department: the Monroe Rural Fire District.MRFD's station is located in a converted building in the City...

Alder receives harassing packages amid Monroe-area fire department dispute

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