Moving in and beginning my education: my first two weeks in office

“What do we call you now?”

Ever since the results of the election were made known on the evening of April 5, that has been the question I’ve been asked the most. “Is it Mayor-Pastor? Or Pastor-Mayor? Or what?” (for those of you who may not know for the past twenty-five years my “day” job has been – and continues to be - serving The Refuge, a local Christian fellowship, as its pastor). Several have suggested MPJ (i.e., Mayor-Pastor Jeff) or PMJ (Pastor-Mayor Jeff). Just the other day a kid from church offered “M – Astor” (you know, Mayor and Pastor) but I'm pretty sure Linda will never call me that. A children’s pastor serving with a congregation in Eau Claire who hails from Chetek suggested GAPO. When I asked for clarification, she quipped: “Great-And-Powerful-Oz”. It’s all in fun and I actually enjoy the fact that people are having fun with it. After all, when’s the last time a local municipality elected one of its ministers to the mayoralty? It’s not as rare as the Virgin Birth, I’ll grant you, but it’s something akin to aged Elizabeth finding out that unbelievably she was in the family way (see Luke 1). I’m sure that news got around in her town too and made a lot of people snicker. It’s that kind of thing. But the truth is I answer to any and all and most people will continue to call me Jeff which is fine by me.

Cards like these I will treasure

Connections

As many of you are aware, I have been a volunteer at Roselawn since our oldest (now 28) was a first grader “back-in-the-day”. In the weeks leading up to the election as much as the rest of us were paying attention to the presidential race the only contest that seemed to matter there was the mayoral one. In fact, since April 5 most of the huzzahs I have received have come from these kids. I sub from time to time there as well and just the other day I overheard one of the kids tell a friend in another class, “Our sub is the mayor.” I don’t know if that makes me a big deal but what I do think is great is that now several hundred kids in this town feel they have access with the “guy in charge.”

The morning after the election I got a Facebook message from one of the kids at the high school that went something like this: “I voted for the first time yesterday and I voted for you.” He then proceeded to share with me a real concern he had that he would hope our town would address sometime soon. Another student from the Conservation Club at the high school messaged me expressing a desire to plant a few trees in honor of Arbor Day. Just the other day I had a sit-down with Dan Knapp, Director of Public Works, and we did a little research which consisted of jumping in Dan's truck and driving out to the vicinity of Chetek's future Dog Park. He recommended a general area where trees would work and just like that we “got 'er done.” All this to say that my connection with students at all three schools hopefully creates a sense that they have a voice too in how our city runs.

“So, how's that Mayor-thing working out so far?”

She won't steer me wrong

This the second question I've been asked since taking office and the implication is, I think, is that folks want to know if now that I'm in office do I have any regrets that I am. My immediate response to that is, “Heck no!” The ladies at City Hall – City Clerk Carmen Newman, Deputy City Clerk Cassandra Larson and Administrative Assistant Karen Zimmerman – run that place like a well-oiled machine and have been so very accommodating and helpful to me as I have settled in. Besides, in my estimation, mayors come and go but these women and the guys at the City Shop are what really keep our town on track.

So what have I been doing since being sworn in on April 13? Among other things, cleaning out old files from the mayor's office (I have found documents reaching back to the Irv Beuthling administration! I figure if it's in a drawer in the mayor's filing cabinet it's probably not important and can be tossed and I have without any guilt whatsoever) Carmen and I have met regularly as she patiently helps me get up to speed. I've presided at a couple of meetings conducting city business and spoke briefly at the final Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Knapp Haven (now officially known as Atrium Post-Acute Care of Chetek.) And I have been sitting down with lots of people from the police department, the city shop, the Community Center, members of the City Council, the school district (including the Superintendent of Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Area Schools) and private citizens as well asking for their perspective and opinions on how the city is running and how together we can make it better. Taken collectively, I'll state the obvious: there are a lot of good folks who make Chetek the community that it is and they are all doing their part to serve the people who call this place home.

Turning the page and beginning a new chapter

To most of us in town it will always be Knapp Haven

In one of those many conversations I had recently, one person put it aptly: “You're coming into office at a sweet time. The two big ticket items of the past year are over – Knapp Haven and the Community Center.” For sure, by our town's standards, 2015 will be remembered vividly for the controversy over these two issues. The Knapp Haven sale was concluded literally the day before I was officially “seated” and the lawsuit settlement was already well in the works. It has been a tumultuous year of meetings and hearings that have resulted in some bad blood being spilt and some hard feelings being felt. For every employee or former employee at Knapp Haven and for the dear people who live there who were unhappy with the city's decision to sell the facility, I am so very sorry that you felt unheard during the process that led to the sale. Change is difficult and not easy to maneuver through even for the best of people regardless of what side of the issue they may have been on. Personally, I feel reassured that while many caregivers have chosen to move on, many others who have served for years at Knapp will continue to provide excellent service to those who live there.

Donna is up to good at the CCC

When I was appointed to the Community Center board in 2015 the most significant revelation that occurred to me was the fact that the official name of the place is the Chetek Community Center. While the group Chetek Senior Citizens, Inc. are the primary users of the place it was not, contrary to common parlance, the Senior Center. It's a place where all folks from our city are welcome. Donna Bachowski, our new and energetic director there, is taking great strides to change how most of us continue to perceive that place. It's not just an “old folks' hang-out”. It's the Community Center. That being said, now that the lawsuit has been resolved, I sincerely hope we will all be able to turn the page and work together to create an atmosphere where people do feel they can come and congregate.

May's City Council Meeting is NEXT Tuesday

Our next City Council meeting will be this Tuesday, May 10, in the Council Chambers at City Hall beginning at 7 p.m. As I scan the tentative agenda, it's not what you call a “grabber.” There will be a couple of appointees to be presented, a new hanger lease at the airport to approve and a liquor license to be granted plus some other odds and ends. In my mind, it's not what you'd call “must-see TV” but if you choose to come, the coffee will be on and some goodies out as well from one of our local businesses. 

What makes our city run well? Of course, all of us. We all must play our part, we all must think in terms of “us” as opposed to “us” and “them”. That's what a vibrant community tries to do: make government work for us so that home feels like a healthy home should feel. It's never a perfect science and it will always be a work in progress but the goal of “enjoying a peaceful, safe community in which to work, play, raise and educate a family”, to quote our website, is worth all the hard work and effort we can muster.