Boat Landing Permits

The new rule this summer is to charge for using the boat landings in the city of Green Lake. I am not sure what the correct charge is going to be but I think it is 20/month? or season for Green Lake City residents and 30/month or season for Town of Brooklyn residents. It sounds a little complicated to patrol but I am sure Chief Huber will follow through somehow. Nothing like paying a tax to use the city services you already pay taxes for.

Rita's Restaurant of Ripon

I hear rumors John Castino's new restaurant is Ripon is going to have a full liquor license soon. Stay tuned.

Spring Grove Gun Incident

I've been watching the incident on Spring Grove Road with a mild fascination. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it involves the 79 year old woman who held a gun on the policeman trying to check on her in her home after health and human services called them to see how she was. At its most elemental level, isn't the point of owning a weapon self protection in your own home? No wonder she pulled a gun on the cop. She is 79, its late at night and someone is trying to break in as far as she knows. Now she is being charged with a class H felony. And the odd part of this is I am generally for some sort of gun control but this is when I would want a gun.

Global Warming Getting Hotter

Beside the Wal-Mart isssue in Berlin and the Courthouse issue in Green Lake there seem to be a new issue in the Sound Off column in the paper. Two weeks ago there was a letter in the Sound Off column regarding the showing of the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" in schools. There are some calls to show the other side of this argument. Last week Heidi wrote in to ask what the other side of global warming was? This week Vicki Schwark wrote in with some people to reference to support the "other side" of the global warming issue. So I took Vicki at her word and google some of the references. Here is what I found.

Rich S. Lindzen has no hits what so ever on google so I don't know who she is referring to.

Patrick Michael real name Partick Michaels is professor at UVA. He does in fact concede the earth is warming but is not as alarmist as some of the other spokes people in the global warming camp. He also concedes much of his funding comes from fossil fuel companies who are trying to create a lack of concensus on global warming because it is obviously in their financial interest. He has received over $100,000 from the Rocky Mountain Rural Electric Co. for example.

The Heartland Institute maintains it is a nonprofit organization devoted to discovering and promoting free-market solutions to social and economic problems. OK. And since this is their mission statement guess where their funding comes from. Big Tobaacco(who sit on the board of directors), Big Autos(who sit on their board of directors) and Exxon(who sit on the board of directors). This is certainly an unbiased group of people who have no commercial interest in the global warming debate.

Max Mayfield- I am not really sure why Mayfield is sited. He was the head of the National Hurricane Center and was "person of the week" for correctly predicting the size and devastion of Hurrican Katrina. I don't find any references by him to global warming directly.

Here is what I have really discovered. There is a RANGE of views. Not one scientist for or against. I'm not a scientist. The Global Warming propents may be alarmist but most of the scientists referred to agree the earth is warming. What they don't agree on is the possible results.

25% of the Republican party believes global warming is an issue. 75% of the Democratic party believes global warming is an issue.

Hole in One

Congratulations to Steve Yeomans for getting a hole in one on opening day at Lawsonia.

Could Someone Please Act Inappropriately Out There?

I apologize for the lack of current news or events on here right now. Nobody is fighting on the courthouse, we have to wait for any new development meetings, no one is tearing down houses of historical interest. There just isn't a heck of a lot going on. Could please act out so we can have something to read? Sorry, I'm bored.

The Post Office

Has anyone else but me noticed we have new beaucracy in town? It started small. The occasional returned piece of mail. You could have lived in town for the last 102 years and everybody including the post man knew where you lived. You could just address a piece of mail "Chief Highknocker, Dartford Cemetary Tree" and you got your mail. Now they demand a number or it is returned even if I haven't gone anywhere. If you close your box at the post office and get it on a route, they return it. They know where you are but rules are rules! Now all mail gets returned if it doesn't say EXACTLY what it is supposed to. Now the waste basket is gone. Another small town civility ruined by someone who is "just following the rules". Absolutely ridiculous.

New Cop Car

Has anyone noticed Chief Huber (there is another chief in town) driving his new police car? You can thank Mike Havey for that when you are buying a drink at Norton's. Ask him about the fire truck when you are there spending your money.

Start Planting

I feel much better now that we have a city flower, the "Happy Returns" day lilly. I guess the Chamber does get things done.

Just Get a Liquor License Already!

Joint Development Meeting


There was a much larger turnout for last nights planning meeting than the last zoning meeting. Quite a few people got up to speak both for and against the development. Ken Giacoletto got up to speak and he was much more agreeable at this meeting than the last.

There was one very odd moment near the end of the meeting when one of the developers started waving his hand to be recognized. When Mike Wuest called on him he asked to speak to the board in private in the hallway. The room just stared at him. This was a public meeting so it was illegal to go into a closed session not to mention there was a motion on the table waiting to be seconded. Mike Wuest just stared at him for a moment. I don’t think he could actually believe the guy had just asked for that. Mike just said “NO”.

I really wonder about the experience these guys have with developments. I think they are going to be the biggest problem the Conference Center is going to have with this development. They clearly have very little experience in building this type of development.

The developers don’t seem to have a clue how the process of public hearing works. I really think they thought they would just come in have a couple of meetings where all the locals would slap them on the back, say welcome to town, start building.

It ultimately came down to about 4 points.

1. Lot Size - According to Town of Green Lake Comprehensive Land Use Plan the town would like to see lot sizes of over ½ acre but not larger than 5 acres. All the lots are in the development are under ½ acre. One woman got up in support of the development to say she didn’t think the Comprehensive Plan really meant to include the Green Lake Conference Center and it should be OK for them to build smaller lots. WHY? I think much of this issue is about he density and the Conference Center is not exempt from the plan.

2. Cul-de-sacs - There are several cul-de-sacs in the development and they need to conform to certain standards. The cul-de-sacs have turns that are too sharp for vehicles. I think the developments have plans to change this at the moment.

3. Public Access - There is a state law requiring 60 feet of public access for every ½ mile of lake frontage.

4. Public or Private Roads - It is here I think the Board fell down on the job a bit. The board generally agreed that they didn’t really have a problem with private roads. Part of the reason for this is because a public road would require a 66-foot wide passage. This would require the removal of the stone walls and cutting down trees. The road has to be 22 feet wide for emergency vehicles and would need 22-foot wide sides making it 66 feet. At least. Probably a bit more on either side making the passage over 66 feet. I don’t think the Board wants to see the removal of the stone walls, which are over 100 years old or cutting down all those trees. Personally, I think the Board should have given the developers the option A or B. They should have to come back to the board with development plans showing both options on the plan. The use of public or private roads effects other aspects of the development like public access for the lake.


I really don’t understand why the development would have to cut off road access to the rest of the ABA. If the ABA doesn’t want those people to have easy access to the ABA they should just sell off the land to someone else and let them develop it. There is no logical reason for making the people in the development drive out to 23, turn left and then turn left again into the main gates to get access to the ABA. I think they are afraid of the heathen who might be buying the undersized lots and don’t want to give them easy access to all the good works they will be doing.

Ken Giacoletto said the Conference Center made a mistake when they expanded the Golf Course. He says the golf business is one of the worst businesses to be in and more courses have closed than opened in recent years. This may be true but it also depends on the specific golf course. Lawsonia is one of the premier golf courses in the Midwest if not the country. I have heard the course makes money but the Conference Center just takes the profit and puts it back into to the general fund so Lawsonia is unable to make improvements not to mention maintenance. Personally, I think Mr. Giacoletto would like to see the whole course just go under so they would not have to deal with even more heathens on the grounds. Why don’t they deal with the whole conference center like a real business and get a liquor license? Heathens everywhere.

I really don’t understand the reason the conference Center wants to cut the development out of the majority of the ABA by blocking the roads. What is the point of that except to cause congestion on 23? Absolutely ridiculous plan. Cut the development to 50 lots and let the current roads stand and the development would have a lot less problems. It will take 15 years for the development to sell off. This seems to be a better business practice for the ABA also. They can see what happens with the development and if they would even want to continue on. Green Lake real estate inventory is currently at the highest ever. There are several large developers who currently own homes on the lake. They look at this development in amazement and wonder because they would never attempt this development at this time. The market is down. Check out Realtor.com.

And then we come to the issue of the Sanitary District. Only 2/3 of the development fall under the current Sanitary District. The developers will have to petition the Sanitary District for inclusion into the Green Lake Sanitary district. Then it becomes a matter of money from where? Do we, as taxpayers need to pay for them to hook up to the sanitary district? What about building the water to mains to hook up. Where would they be built? And the new holding tank the district is going to have to build? And what about the fact that you hit water about 10 feet down in some of the development sections? These developers have a long way to go to provide the answers and I’m not sure the Green Lake Conference Center has picked the right ones.

I believe the next meeting this will be discussed is the County Board Meeting on June 6.

Happy Friday the 13th.

Commentary on News Feed

I don't know how many of you out there actually pay attention to the news feed I added but today there is a very good editoral comment written by J. Kallas from Princeton regarding the building of a new courthouse. Read it. Smart guy and I agree with him. This courthouse thing has gone on long enough.

Where is the Sanitary District in this Development?

What about the sewer system for this development? Has anything come before the sanitary district yet? I don't think that area percs for a conventional development, does it? I know the ABA has its own sewer plant that is very old and couldn't possibly handle a development of this size. What is the answer to this?

April 12 Joint Planning Mtg. Notice

TOWN OF BROOKLYN PUBLIC HEARING & NOTICE OF JOINT PLAN COMMISSION & TOWN BOARD MEETIN

April 12, 2007 7:00 PM

Location of Meeting: County Board Room at Green Lake County Courthouse

e-mail: broklyn@dotnet.com Web: www.tn.brooklyn.wf.gov

NOTICE OF TOWN BOARD MEETING Members of the Town of Brooklyn Board will attend the Town of Brooklyn Joint Plan Commission and Town Board meeting at the above-specified time and place. The Plan Commission and the Town Board will take action taken on following item:

AGENDA Call joint meeting to order.

Pledge of Allegiance

Certification of Open Meeting Law's

Public Hearing notice and agenda Roll call of both Town Board and Plan Commission members lawsonia fnc and American Baptist Assembly Rezoning
Owner: Lawsonia, Inc. and American Baptist Assembly clo Ken Giacoletto Agent: Davel Engineering, Inc. Tax Parcel #and Description: Parcel; numbers 004-1776-0000, 004-1777-0000, 004-0731-0000, and 0040732-0000, Located in Section 25, T16N R12E, and Section 30, T16N R13E. All parcels located in the Town of Brooklyn Location of Premises Affected: Generally located south of State Road 23, site known as Green Lake Conference Center Explanation: Owner/applicant is requesting multiple zoning changes on the site in question -

1 being a change from R-1 Single-Family residence District to C-2 Extensive Commercial District and changes from RC Recreational District to R-1 Single-Family Residence District. a. Public hearing b. Review from Strand Engineering c. Committee discussion and deliberation d. Committee decision e. Execute determination 6. Lawsonia Inc and American Baptist Assembly Preliminary Plat O T16N R12E, and Section 30, T16N R13E. Town of Brooklyn Location of Premises Affected: Generally located south of State Road 23, site known as Green Lake Conference Center Explanation:
Preliminary plat for Estates of Lawsonia.

a. Public hearing

b. Review from Strand Engineering

c. Committee discussion and deliberation

d. Committee decision

e. Execute determination

7. Adjourn Requests from persons with disabilities that need assistance to participate in this meeting or hearing made to the town office at 294-6600 with as much advance notice as possible. 1. 2 3 4. 5


Respeclfully submitted,

Marian Mildebrandt, Clerk

Conference Center Development Documents

I have started a separate blog site to start listing documents relevant to the Green Lake Conference Center Development Plans. These are documents that are part of the public record so far.

Please be aware that in transferring these documents a computer sometimes likes to make changes by itself. I try to re-edit these where I can but my eyes and proof-reading skills are not what they should be so please don't be too critical. It would be great if you see glaring and obvious mistakes to feel free to correct them. I have included two letters from the Maartens family and the Bishop family written to the planning board. Both of these men are experts in their respective fields. Mr. Maartens is a municipal Lawyer and Mr. Bishop is 32 year member of the faculity of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both of their letters are detailed, relevant and interesting.

I will keep adding more documents as I can.

REMINDER: Jt. Planning Commission Mtg. 4-12-07

The joint meeting of the planning commission is April 12 at 7:00 in the County Board Room of the County Courthouse. Don't use the front door, use the side near the police station.

Chamber Needs Volunteers

This is a press release from the Green Lake Chamber of Commerce. For them to function they need bodies not just money. So here it is.

The Summer Solstice Committee met last night with only Marion Mildebrandt
attending. This event is scheduled for Saturday, June 16th. This will be
the 10th year but if we can't get any volunteers to help with this event we
will have to cancel it. Our marketing firm, TMG wants to promote this
unique event in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas and are very excited about
it. Please consider volunteering a little of your time.
Thanks,
Dusty Walker

Spring Elections 2007 Results

Election Results for Town of Brooklyn
There are 1096 registered voters in T of B. 596 voted. A %50 turn out is not too bad for an off year election.

Green Lake School Board
Deppiscne 241
Farrell 301
Zeratsky 242
Write-in 80

Town Chairman
Weust 321
Ladwig 267

Board Members
McConnell 337
Rouse 250
Benson 242
Krause 186

These are election results for the City of Green Lake. These do not include the Town of Brooklyn.

Green Lake City Council
Michelle Polzer re-elected
Larry McIntyre re-elected
LuAnn Mirr re-elected

School Board
Deppiscne 125 votes
Farrell 158 votes
Zeratsky 95 votes

Annette Zeigler won for the Supreme Court in Green Lake County. Out of 633 votes cast in the county she won 498. More to come...

VOTE TODAY

Stupid Human Tricks

For you service people who need an answer to the endless question of "What's New?" I am providing an answer this week. Tom Hrubek, waiter at Adam's Rib has a talent he is proud of and someone kindly emailed these pictures to me. Tom's unique talent is stopping a moving fan with his tongue and here it is. Hey Tom, Take it on the Road!

Using the Blog

Ladies and Gentleman-

I am glad to see people posting here. It is great to have an outlet. It might make it easier for you when you post to use a name. When you get so many "anonymous" postings it is not always so easy to see who people are responding to. By choosing a name for yourself it may clear up a few conversations and responses and make it easier for everyone to follow. But I'm happpy with anonymous also...as long as there is place to vent.

VOTE TUEDSAY!!!

There are elections Tuesday, April 3. These could influence the development at the ABA and the direction of the charter school proposal. There are several state judge elections including the state supreme court. Richard Wright of Marquette County is running un-opposed. Wuest & Ladwig are both running for chair of the Town of Brooklyn and there could be some interesting developments for the School Board election. For what it is worth Bur Zeratsky never returned his questionaire for the newspaper.

Tuscumbia on Market

I hear Tuscumbia went on the market for $7 million over the weekend.