Winnebago County Board, in complete 180, approves funding to purchase police barricades for Neenah and Menasha

NEENAH ― Neenah and Menasha will be getting their police barriers after all.

Winnebago County Board of Supervisors did a complete 180 on two previously rejected resolutions, voting in favor of using American Rescue Plan Act funding to purchase barricades for the Neenah and Menasha police departments.

Having been brought back for reconsideration during Tuesday’s board meeting, the Neenah resolution was passed resoundingly by a voice vote after Menasha’s proposal just barely met the two-thirds majority requirement with 24 votes.

“We’re very happy the county board was able to change the minds of district supervisors and give us another layer of security to keep the citizens of Neenah safe,” Neenah Police Chief Aaron Olson told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

“I was starting to get concerned during the meeting when some supervisors were giving their point of view and also with our resolution coming right after the contentious item on the vending machines, but I was pleasantly pleased about the vote.

“We’ll order them today or tomorrow and depending on lead times we can hopefully have them in time for all of our summer events,” he added.

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The City of Neenah will be receiving $300,000 of 'matching funds' to purchase 63 police barricades.

The decision will now see the City of Neenah receiving $300,000 from the county’s Spirit Fund as “matching funds” for the acquisition of 63 barriers while Menasha gets $184,957.

It was just a mere three weeks ago that both resolutions were initially shot down during a contentious Feb. 28 Winnebago County Board meeting.

Those decisions led Olson, who was present for that meeting, to lobby Horan and Nate Gustafson, and then inform the entire board it was “misinformed” by district supervisors Brian Defferding and Steven Binder in a leaked email chain.

According to Olson’s email, Binder wrongfully claimed city vehicles can be used as barriers, as the insurance company would not cover the cost of damages to a vehicle “during a use it wasn’t meant for.”

Defferding immediately shot back, caustically “welcoming Chief Olson into the world of politics” by saying he believes Olson is the first Neenah police chief “to email an entire county board” about his disagreements “without the courtesy of a personal conversation or call first.”

But Binder openly supported the resolution this time around, going into full detail on the barriers’ ease of use when the resolution was discussed on the floor.

Despite seeing the need for the barricades, Defferding still didn’t support the proposal after saying the Spirit Fund is intended to finance COVID-related issues.

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Police barriers have become a focus following the deadly 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade.

Several law enforcement agencies have made police barricades a recent focus after Darrell Brooks Jr. killed six people and injured 60 others by driving an SUV through the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade.

The purchase of those barriers wasn’t the only resolution reconsidered though, as the county board also overturned a previous decision not to accept an $80,083 grant for the distribution of public health and hard reduction vending machines.

Provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the vending machines will give easy access to opioid antagonists like Narcan and fentanyl-testing materials to help in the fight against opioid overdose deaths.

Like the Menasha proposal, that resolution was just narrowly passed, having met the exact two-thirds majority vote needed following a lengthy back-and-forth debate on the floor.

“We definitely see a need for these vending machines in the community and I don’t see why we would refuse a grant,” Olson said.

“If they can save a life and get people on the road to recovery, then this is a success.”

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Winnebago County Board approves police barricades for Neenah, Menasha