Wisconsin Rapids Current: Port Edwards post office closed, taxi service has new phone number

Like the current of the Wisconsin River flows through our communities and electric current from its world-renowned hydropower dams flows through our conduits, topics and processes flow through local governments with swiftness and regularity.

Wisconsin Rapids Current is a new regular column in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune by Service Journalism Reporter Erik Pfantz that will cover a range of topics in city and county governments and local school districts to highlight the many items that flow past our local decision-makers.

The Current will share information of varied topics just as a river may carry an oak leaf or a tree trunk with the same silent ease. If you have items you would like to see highlighted in this column, please reach out to Erik at epfantz@gannett.com.

Port Edwards post office 'temporarily closed,' according to USPS

The post office located at 160 Market Ave. in Port Edwards is “temporarily closed due to water damage,” according to a Jan. 9 press release from the U.S. Postal Service.

The village of Port Edwards stated in a post on its Facebook page Dec. 17 that the post office has closed as of Dec. 15. Village President Betsy Mancl told the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune the village had received 48 hours' notice before the closure.

The press release also noted that no mail was damaged and no timetable has been established for resuming retail services at that location. Customers using post office boxes can find a USPS Cluster Box Unit in a tunnel area next to the village municipal building, according to the Facebook post.

Shared-ride taxi provider Running Inc. has a new phone number

Running Inc., the city’s new shared-ride taxi service provider, has a new phone number. Riders should call 715-597-0200.

The city released a notice Jan. 8 that said the taxi service's prior number did not work with all cellphone carriers.

City moves to exempt ice cream trucks from food truck restrictions

The city’s Planning Commission forwarded a recommendation to change a zoning ordinance that would allow ice cream trucks to legally operate in residential areas during their Jan. 8 meeting.

The topic was brought to the commission by Kyle Kearns, the city’s community development director, who said the restriction was introduced when the city updated its ordinance for food trucks a few years ago. That change included a restriction from operating in residential areas, which had an unintended consequence of limiting traditional ice cream truck operations in neighborhoods.

The recommended change gives a specific exemption from location requirements for “Ice Cream Vending Vehicle[s]” in the mobile vendor permit process. An ice cream vending vehicle is further defined as a “motor vehicle from which ice cream, ice milk, frozen dairy products, ice flavored with syrup, or other confections are sold at retail, and that does not typically stop in a fixed location to wait for customers if customers are not present.”

The ordinance change will be up for final approval at the Common Council meeting Jan. 16.

Wisconsin Rapids moves forward on downtown planning update

The city’s Downtown Waterfront Plan, which was adopted in 2009, is in need of an update. A number of projects suggested in the previous plan have been completed, conditions and trends have changed, and priorities need to be updated, according to community development department staff.

The city’s community development office secured a $25,000 planning grant from the Wood County Economic Development Commission in November and had $50,000 from Tax Increment District 7 allocated by the Common Council in December for a Downtown Development Master Plan.

Kearns said his office intends to use the dollars for a “hybrid approach” in which both citizen engagement programs and a consultant will be utilized to create the plan.

On Jan. 2, the city’s Finance Committee forwarded a request from the community development department to release a request for proposals for consultants to help the city with the planning process. The Common Council still needs to approve the release and will likely see it at its Jan. 16 meeting.

More local news: Here's where you can recycle cardboard and other paper products in the Wisconsin Rapids area

Local election news: Here's who will appear on your spring ballot for Wisconsin Rapids mayor and other local seats

Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Wisconsin Rapids Current: Running Inc. phone number, Port Edwards post office