Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern
The Arena Village Board of Trustees held a special meeting March 27 “to confer with [Arena police officers] Chief [Nick] Stroik and Sgt. [Wyatt] Miller concerning future compensation and work performance duties.” This is the second so far in a string of special meetings where the Board has discussed the Village’s police force, after its officers resigned from full time positions last fall, citing low morale, inadequate benefits and disrespect from Board members as reasons for changing their status.
Stroik requested the meeting’s closed session be an open session at the beginning of the meeting. Municipal Attorney Paul Johnson said it was Stroik’s right and he didn’t have a problem with the open session. There was still no public comment, despite the Board’s motion last meeting which said the Board would hold another session with the same format.
In addition to Stroik and Miller, officer Stephanie Benisch was also in attendance.
After hearing from the public on this issue at a meeting two weeks ago, the Board at this meeting decided to create a survey, which would include a cost-analysis of different options, to find out what Arena residents want from their police department. The meeting took place amid ongoing debate about the Arena Police Department’s budget and services.
Since November 2023, when Stroik announced he and Miller would be going from full-time to part-time, it had not been public knowledge how many hours there is an on-duty police officer in Arena — however Tami Erspamer, a village trustee, revealed at the meeting the exact number of hours each officer has been working for Arena each two-week pay period in 2024.
From Jan. 14 to March 23, Miller averaged 23.25 hours worked in Arena per week, Stroik less than three hours, and Benisch less than one hour.
The Board asked Stroik for a specific schedule of the days and times the police would be on duty. Stroik said it would be unwise to reveal exact days and times, because potential criminals could use the information to commit crime when no officer is on duty.
When pressed by the Board, Stroik confirmed the officers have evening and weekend shifts in Arena, which are typically six to 12 hours long. He also said the officers plan to increase their daytime on-duty hours. However, Stroik did not specify exact days and times, and did not guarantee the hours would be consistent, because he, Miller and Benisch have full-time jobs with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department.
The Board questioned Stroik on the number of hours he and other officers spent doing administrative work for the village. The Board questioned if so much administrative work was necessary, when the officers’ time might be better spent patrolling the village.
Stroik said the administrative hours he and other officers work are important and necessary, and include such tasks as fulfilling public records requests, signing criminal complaints at the District Attorney’s office, processing and transferring evidence to the Madison crime lab, writing grants, returning resident phone calls and emails and attending village board meetings when asked.
The Board suggested the officers might burn out from working full-time for Iowa County and part-time for Arena.
In response, Miller said he chooses and wants to work full-time and part-time, and that he is capable of doing so.
“I’m working seven days a week. I handle investigations here and on my job with the sheriff’s office. Every day that I’m not working in the sheriff’s office, I’m putting in a minimum of eight hours here. So how much I work here is because I’m choosing to work here because I like to work here. I want to continue to work here,” said Miller. “I have a K9 with me. He’s a vital part of my job. He’s a vital part of this community. He’s a vital part of the county. There are nights when the county has absolutely no K9 working and I’m the only one.”
“So I will continue to put forward hours on my days off. And, again, respectfully: I’m not going to work myself to the point where I’m getting burnt out. I know when I would get to the point where I’m getting burnt out. And I would let you know, and I’m sure a discussion would be had at that point,” said Miller.
Benisch reacted strongly to the Board’s suggestion officers might get burnt out.
“You all said the same thing to me when I was working as an EMT and as a police officer for this village. We are a different caliber of person. We’re doing just fine. We know when to back off,” said Benisch. “So respectfully, it’s not a matter of can’t, because we absolutely can work full-time plus. And it will go on for a long duration as long as that’s what’s continuing to work for everybody collectively.”
At a resident-held meeting of the Arena Community Team (ACT) March 26, residents disagreed whether all police services were necessary, whether police services were wisely budgeted for and what the entirety of the department’s services even entailed.
Bill Prochaska (no immediate relation to the author), an Arena resident, questioned whether Arena should own and pay for a K9 when, according to the research his wife Stacie Prochaska had done, there were zero Wisconsin villages the size of Arena with a K9.
Another resident at the ACT meeting responded to Bill Prochaska and claimed Arena’s K9 makes the village money, because Arena is paid when it lends the dog’s services to other municipalities.
Bill Prochaska also questioned the necessity of the Arena Police Department’s drone. Resident Paul Pustina said the drone has helped rescue people on the river.
“Was it our responsibility to?” said Bill Prochaska, referring to the use of Arena’s drone in river rescues. “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t use it if we have it, but how did we ever budget money for this? When somebody like Spring Green—it’s a heck of a lot closer to the river in some places—they don’t have one.”
Kristin Shea, a Village Board trustee, claimed Arena’s drone is the second that has been purchased.
“What happened was Nick [Stroik] had crashed the first drone that we had and bought the second drone without telling us and then asked us to foot the bill for part of it,” said Shea.
Valley Sentinel reached out to Stroik with questions about the police schedule, the services they provide and the village’s K9 and drone. Stroik has not answered at the time of print.
Another concern raised at the ACT meeting was drug activity in Arena and beyond.
“Drugs are an issue in Arena,” said Pustina. “There was a drug bust two weeks ago in Arena.”
“He had meth,” said Pustina. “He was wanted for bail jumping. He had meth and other stuff. And he was headed to a village residence. The drugs are here. I mean, drugs: they’re everywhere. And they are in Arena.”
While some residents were skeptical of the Arena Police Department’s services and budget, other residents were outspoken in their support.
“I feel pretty damn good about our police officers. When they go by the house, I appreciate that. And living on the corner, on the weekend—you see these out-of-towners come through. Blowing that stop sign on Village Edge [Road]. I see it all the time. We need our police. I don’t care if y’all disagree with me. We need those officers to patrol this town, keep us safe. I feel safe with them here. I think they’re great officers. I’ve had no problem with any of them. I can’t speak enough for them,” said Don Helt, a resident of Arena.
Following the April 2 spring elections, unofficial results show that trustee Melissa Bandell will be retaining her position, joined by residents BeccaRaven Uminowicz and Matthew Schroeder. Shea and Erspamer elected not to run for re-election.
The next ACT meeting is on Tuesday, April 30 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Arena VFW (514 Willow St, Arena).
The next Arena Village Board meeting is on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in the Arena Village Hall (345 West St, Arena).
