I went to the band concert on Wednesday night. It was excellent. As I was sitting on the lawn I was watching several people try to negotiate the uphill slope. some of them were older or had health problems, not to mention the humidity. They had a very difficult time trying to get up the side of the hill. Many of them were carrying folding chairs and it was tough for them to get up there. Shouldn't it be a fairly easy fix to put in some sort of stair case for them to get up there? North of the bathroom would seem to be the best spot.
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Couldn't they just walk up the boat ramp road, which is right next to the park, like I do? "We" (the town/government) don't have to fix everything each time someone is inconvenienced. I am sure there would be an outcry over the look of the stairs, where they are located, how obtrusive they are, how they would wreck the natural look of the park (I agree). Just walk from flat ground, up the boat ramp paved road, to your car. It works for me!
I am happy for your good health. It isn't a bad idea to put in some sort of ramp or stairs.
Sorry,,, I agree with first comment. Just walk up the boat ramp road, like everyone has done for many, many years, of all ages, just fine thank you.
I wrote #1 and am 80 years old. Survived two wars, others can darn well survive the climb. Thanks for your good wishes.
I agree with the old guy. It would cost the taxpayers thousands to put in stairs, and people can still fall on stairs. If you enter the park by the liquor store, there is no slope.
If you enter the park by the liquor store, you can always stop in, have a beer or two, and you'll never even notice the hill by the time you come out.
This is an excellent observation. Perhaps the liquor store is the answer to all of downtown's problems...
Stairs at that point are unneeded. Entering at the corner by the bait shop or walking up the boat ramp server as well or better than stairs in the middle of the hill. Its not like there is a big traffic generator there in the middle anyways.
Stairs at that point are unneeded. Entering at the corner by the bait shop or walking up the boat ramp server as well or better than stairs in the middle of the hill. Its not like there is a big traffic generator there in the middle anyways.
The article in the Ripon newspaper about the empty courthouse pretty much made the clear point: nothing will ever come of it. Why? Because (according to Dan Priske), it costs $250,000 - $300,000 PER YEAR JUST TO MAINTAIN THE BUILDING. That is over $20,000 per month. The taxpayers sure aren't going to pay that kind of money! NO WAY. We don't need shops, condos, apartments, offices or museums. We don't need an environmental learning academy. Who is going to pay the $20,000+ per month?
The only viable solution is to tear down the ENTIRE courthouse and safety building. Let's have a town square that the entire community can use and enjoy. It is the only solution that makes sense. Green Lake's festivals bring in big money for our local businesses, so let's maximize the festival space and do this right. Town square + pavilion + fountain + gardens + benches= BEAUTIFUL!
I agree! The fact that the courthouse is on the historic registry does not protect it from demolition. Once a building becomes a financial burden to the taxpayers, it can (and should) be torn down. How long must we put off the inevitable?
A town square is an excellent idea. An open/air pavilion could double as the location for the farmer's market, and be rented out for special events. Our festivals and fairs could maximize their potential with increased public green space. It's a win-win proposition.
Yep... picture the art fair, 4th of July, Golden Harvest Days, all spilling onto the beautiful pavilion, picnic area, overlooking the water and dam. Umbrella tables, benches, trees, room for lawn games, more tents and activities for families to enjoy. All good.... low maintenance, something very attractive for the town and very affordable. Wonder what the heat bill would be? Oh yeah...nothing. Wonder what the light bill would be? Certainly way cheaper to pay outdoor lighting than the current monthly bill. Let's do this, GL County.
The Town Square is the smartest and most COMMON SENSE solution - and obviously the one most wanted by the citizens of Green Lake.
Easiest solution that could stop all these groups of wasting their time and energy, let us citizens of Green Lake say what WE want for a change - VOTE!!! Add it to the September ballot.
Of all of these ideas out there that have come forward so far in keeping the court house, they all have one thing in common. They want taxpayers to pay for it. Whether it is for renovation, or big tax breaks, or just giving the building to the developer, or putting in programs that taxpayers would have to support, I have yet to hear one idea where private money will pay for purchase, renovation and maintenance. When I hear that idea, and those things are truly covered, I'll be interested in considering it. Until then, turning it into a town square sounds like the right way to go.
How would anyone know that it is for sale? I don't see any FOR SALE SIGNS on the buildings. What a bunch of dumb asses those county people are. Advertise it to all those folks down south who actually paid and will continue to pay for the new court house. Since the county people think that the population of Green Lake Co. are all jailbirds that is why they got the tourists to build us a new jail.It is looking like a nice place to stay. Meals and lodging, and fun jobs for the prisoners. All you knuckleheads out there, you don't realize that your taxes didn't do JACK SQUAT to build that facility and also operate the old facility. It's all the outside money from tourists sales tax. We are losing more money everyday. Downtown is dead because it has no business. We need more retail locations. Everyone that visits here shops elsewhere. You cannot survive on those goofy ass festivals downtown. The Chamber is sick of running them. That's why that location needs to be developed into businesses. Put the word out.
Ah, Eugene, you are not making any sense. For one thing, not all sales tax in the county is from tourists. However, we are not even talking about who/what paid for which building project. We are talking about what to do with an old, empty, decrepit courthouse that needs $$$ millions in repairs. DOWNTOWN DOES NOT NEED MORE RETAIL LOCATIONS!!! We have plenty of those already.
So in a perfect world, you would have some wealthy individual or corporation purchase the courthouse, repair it, renovate it and supply new retail locations that would then sit empty like the retail locations that already exist downtown. The wealthy investor would hope to earn back the money they invested HOW? It is not realistic. It is not going to happen. How is any retail store or business office going to pay the heating costs and other overhead expenses? Get real. And if Obama and his cohorts in crime pass Cap and Trade, we are all screwed with hugely increased energy costs. From Obama's own mouth: "energy rates would necessarily skyrocket."
The festivals are not "goofy ass". The festivals are the only profitable thing this city has going it, and if the chamber is sick of running the festivals, (which I don't believe is true), then they are out of a job. Running festivals is why our chamber exists.
I support the demolition of the courthouse and a beautiful new town square!
For those of you who don't read the Ripon news, it seems that a big corporation named Boca Grande has bought most of downtown Ripon, plus much of the apartment/housing in the city. Now Boca Grande is raising the rents significantly and driving the businesses out. For instance, I heard that they doubled the rent of the Sub shop, and now the Sub shop has to move out. Other Ripon businesses are facing extinction due to this corporate involvement. Apparently, Boca Grande suffers from delusions of grandeur, thinking that Ripon will become some upscale destination. Not only that, look at the financial problems the ABA is having with the schlepp developer they made a stupid deal with.
The last thing that Green Lake needs is some big-shot developer buying our buildings, including the courthouse. Keep corporate greed out of Green Lake! Of course, the downtown stores here sit empty with low rent (comparatively) so nobody in their right mind would raise the rent on an empty building. My point is, we don't need big developers. We need to tear down the courthouse and move forward.
Why not tear down the buildings and in the green space you can put another disc golf course? It wiuld be a better place for the handicap assessable playground. The only time I will contribute to Zobel Park is when they put in a dog park. The disc golf course has been tearing apart the woods, and no one seems to care.
Gloria, a city block sized area would not be big enough for a disc golf course. Besides, flying discs could go astray and hit parked cars, pedestrians, etc.
I have not been to Zobel Park since the destruction (oops, I mean construction). I hope the damage isn't as bad as I have heard. Many folks have told me that the woods have really been hacked badly. This is unfortunate, as there was plenty of grassy area to build the disc golf course on. Why were the woods even touched? I am glad we have a disc golf course in the area, but don't feel that a single tree should have been cut down to accommodate it. What were they thinking???
I don't feel that Green Lake needs another playground. The ones we have now are seldom used. Playground Park is very accessible for the handicapped. How many handicapped people try to go to a playground, anyway?
The court house is owned by the county and it is their problem. We in the city have to monitor what they do with it.
It is the county's building, but it's also our problem, since it's in our city. Tear it down! End of problem!
It’s another Green Lake circus. City leaders need to stop sticking their nose in the county’s business. The courthouse does not belong to the city, period. Why do you think the city doesn’t want to take over ownership of the building? Because that way, the city can sit back and criticize without actually having to be accountable for the courthouse redevelopment. Seems to me the city wants all the control but none of the responsibility. City of Green Lake, butt out and do something about your pathetic downtown already.
That's what I've been wondering all along. Has the County asked the City to find a purpose for the courthouse? Has the downtown renewal project been asked to participate in the process? I would like to know the sequence of events.
If the downtown renewal project had a lick of sense, they would advocate for tearing down the courthouse and using the revitalized green space for all the citizens of the community. Why not go with a real renewal and over-hall of Green Lake's lackluster downtown! Imagine the possibilities! A gorgeous town square that is multi-functional, low cost to maintain, and it could even bring money into the city via pavilion rentals, kiosk rentals, extra festival space, etc. Green Lake could be current, modern and trendy! Isn't that what we want?
I think the city is hoping the old courthouse could become taxable property. To me, that sounds that they are putting government before the people.
If the county gives the property to the city, I feel that it should remain as public space and not be used for private enterprises. It is public space now, and should remain so. It would be sad to lose this valuable land to private ownership. I also would like to see the courthouse demolished and a public area created for everyone to enjoy. I think this is the only fair way to go, and it makes the most sense financially.
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