Elk Mound resident sues village board
ELK MOUND — Elk Mound resident John Fellenz, who resigned as a volunteer on the Elk Mound Police Department last month, has now filed a lawsuit against the Village Board. The lawsuit was filed in Dunn County Court on Nov. 6. The defendants are the Village Board members, including Village President Tim Benjamin. The case has not yet been assigned to a judge, and no court dates have been set. On Oct. 6, the board voted 6-1 to disband the police department, and instead enter into an agreement with Dunn County to provide law enforcement services, with aid from a four-year grant. Dozens of village residents attended that meeting and objected to the plan. Fellenz contends the board was not following protocol on open meetings leading to that vote. It is unclear when the village began discussing with Dunn County about contracting for law enforcement services. Fellenz claims that through an open records request, he obtained 79 emails from Dunn County that were exchanged with Elk Mound officials that he hadn’t previously seen. He said it showed the discussion began in May. “It is very clear they weren’t evaluating options; the decision was made,” Fellenz said. “The story put out
