Staff fired, board member resigns in Kronenwetter investigation fallout

The investigation cleared the village administrator, but led to a firing, a resignation and new questions about how it was handled.

The Wausonian is still awaiting the full report from an investigation into a complaint against the Kronenwetter village administrator, which the village board cleared in late March.

But the fallout from the investigation extends beyond the administrator.

Following a closed session of the village board last week:

• Community Development Director Pete Wegner was fired

• Administration directed to take additional, unspecified personnel actions

• And village board member Sandi Sorensen resigned, alleging bullying, intimidation and improper handling of the investigation

The Wausonian obtained a copy of Sorensen’s resignation letter, which sharply criticizes village leadership and raises questions about how the investigation was conducted.

How we got here

The village of Kronenwetter in March hired law firm Von Briesen to investigate the conduct of its administrator.

The village in late March cleared Administrator James Davel of any workplace misconduct after reviewing the results of the investigation. The Wausonian requested a copy of the investigation and is awaiting a response.

The Wausonian did obtained the cost of the new investigation.

Von Briesen billed the village $5,600 for its work — including:

• $1,120 through February

• $4,480 through March

The village has not yet released the full report underlying those findings.

But there has already been fallout from the investigation.

Firing

Following a closed session Thursday, the Kronenwetter Village Board voted unanimously to fire Community Development Director Pete Wegner.

The village president, Dan Joling, directed Davel to handle other personnel issue in private. What those issues were, or who they were directed to, were not specified in the open session.

Also stemming from the meeting, village board member Sandi Sorensen resigned. The Wausonian obtained a copy of her resignation letter, which she filed Monday.

The Wausonian also obtained a response to the resignation letter’s content from Davel.

Sorensen resigns

The Wausonian is so far the only outlet to have obtained a copy of Sorensen’s resignation letter.

Sorensen’s resignation letter offers a much sharper account of what happened behind the scenes.