I know people were looking for a new post on the elections but I thought I would wait until April Fool's Day to start a new post. I think seven days is plenty of time for people to have a "discussion" regarding the election issues. First off is the city elections. We have the following people running:
1. Rowley vs. Meagher
2. Mirr-Frank vs. Jones
3. Parise vs. Wagner
In full disclosure Joe Parise came and talked to me recently. We have had a few issues with things in the past(this blog for one). And he kindly told me how he didn't really like me. (Another person to add to the list) But I appreciated the fact that he did come and talk to me and I agree with some of you out there who think he has a confrontational style. He can be a bull in a china shop. I think as Mayor it might have been a little much for people but I think being on the council might be good for the community. He DOES bring up questions no one else will ask; DOES keep in contact with our state Representatives; DOES wonder if anyone is going after any stimulus money for local projects. I wonder if anyone else is actively doing these things for the town? I don't think so, but Donna Moore, I know you check in with this blog. Is there anyone doing this? Because these things do need to be done and I think in Parise's defense he goes after this stuff that local government needs. You can't just elect citizens and sit back expect things to happen. It just doesn't work. For government to work it needs people like Parise to hound others. As a mayor I am not sure that style was the best for the town. As a council person it could have a whole other effect for the city. He might keep the council on its toes and he can vote on the issues. He does care about the city.
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3 months ago
7 comments:
Hi Chief,
Yes, I do check the blog occasionally. It is a one way to check on our citizens' feelings about issues and what is bothering them. Citizens do not always contact their alderpersons and ask questions or share their feelings. I also like to respond to some bloggers if I feel it is necessary. I am not knowledgeable about school affairs so I do not get involved in those conversations. I agree with you about Joe's ability to ask questions and make things happen. I do know that he was the person responsible for heading up the construction of the new Wastewater Treatment Plant when he was Mayor , along with Glen McCarty, our Public Works Director. If that plant and new lift stations had not been in place during the 2008 flooding, many of us would have had flooded basements and even worse, sewage. He never got the recognition he deserved for that effort. Sure he can be grumpy at times, but I admire his desire to fight for what he believes is good for Green Lake, not for himself. He started working on a local mayors group that met for bigger community issues and shared work efforts equipment needs. I know Ripon, Berlin and other mayors did attend those meetings. However, that has fallen to the wayside after he lost the election. He also had plans to create a bus route for seniors but that has also been dropped with the new administration. A lot of good projects were going on at council meetings during Joe's time as Mayor. I would welcome Joe to the council. He does have forward thinking ideas at times.
There are many items the city council is working on that never gets reported in the papers. Items like the flood repair work with FEMA money, requesting stimulas money for infrastructure (we will know in May if we receive any), an attempt to purchase land close to the wastewater treatment plant for the city compost site and increasing the parking area for the Canal Street Landing. The Condon Lot lease will give space for boat trailer & vehicle parking near Deacon Mill Park. This summer we will work on redoing the area where the old Public Works building was on Lake Street. This area will have a "park like feel" being next to the river and the athletic field. I wish the paper gave out more information on all items that occur at our meetings. I personally have worked on our reassessment process in 2008, the 2009 budget and was the FEMA contact for the City along with Glen. People do not realize the personal time put in by some council members who have the City's interest and needs at heart, given the facts at hand. We earn about $100 a month for attending two meetings. We are not paid for any other hours spent on City issues. None of us are serving for the money!
My future goal is to try to get the council to include money in our 2010 budget for incentives to bring new businesses to Green Lake. The state cap really holds back our ability to rise tax revenues for efforts we may want to promote for the good of the City. We have held tax rates in check for many years but our infastructure needs are growing. I long for the time we can put some fair amount of money in the budget to replace old water & sewer pipes and redo our streets.
Council members are trying our best to use the revenue we have in the most effective way.
Great blogs from both the Chief and Donna Moore. I am casting my vote for Joe Parise. He is the only intelligent choice in this case, and I am confident that he will do good things for Green Lake on the city council.
As long as we are talking about city infrastructure and improvements, I'd like to put in my nickel's worth.
The renewal of the park where the old public works building was is going to be the first big step in boosting downtown Green Lake. I can't tell you how excited I am that this eyesore is finally being transformed into a real park. Do not underestimate the value that this will add to our community. I don't know who is heading this project and hope that whoever it is has a creative vision for the new park. Since the tennis courts are in a sad state of disrepair, I think it would be appropriate to remove them completely and not bother with the expense of trying to remediate them to an acceptable state. There are very few people who use these courts, tennis went out in the 70's (that was 30+ years ago). I can literally count on one hand the people who use these courts and don't think it is worth our tax dollars to try to keep. This land along the river could be one of the prettiest, most charming spots in any little city in Wisconsin. I hope that the folks in city government will carry out the vision for this park, and not let it fall short of what it should be.
Getting rid of those tennis courts is a fantastic idea. It most likely would cost more to repair the courts than to remove them. If Green Lake is going to invest in a nice park (with FEMA money), then do it right! This would also mean a lot more room to expand the festivals, such as the art fair.
There is another thing people don't give Joe credit for he used that in your face grumpy attitude to get the Dam downtown fixed when no one wanted to get it done in a hurry. That project was done in the nick of time. The next spring we had the flooding. Without that dam being fixed there would have been a lot more flooding and a lot more damage to our community. Joe always had the commuity's intrests in mind when he made decisions. And he was there everyday not just at meeting.
I don't know about getting rid of the Tennis courts. They don't take many hours of maintenance a year and there are regulars who use them almost every day.
Put your vote where your mouth is. VOTE Tues. April 7th.
Dear Chief,Donna and everyone else who thinks Joe Parise is so great. He already was an alderman on the council when Balen was our mayor. Maybe none of you ever went to a meeting then. He was argumentative and a nuisance and rude. It was terrible! It was the start of all the fighting, which will now continue. The dam was scheduled to be fixed anyway. Read the old transcripts of meetings. He started all the fights with Brooklyn and wanted the annexation to the ABA, hired attorney Gempler which cost this city a fortune at $350 dollars an hour...and for what? For an unethical company, Lindenwood who he backed?
Where was everybody today, Mon. April 13 when Joan Ballwig was at the library discussing the stimulus money? This was not Joe's idea! Our city is broke and dead since Joe was in office!
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