“I wish I were taller.”
from the
Seinfeld episode “The Cartoon”
Whine. We all do it
at one time or another. We whine about the weather. We whine about
traffic. In this town, we whine specifically about the traffic on the
main drag during the summertime because we can't turn left onto
Second Street because of all the tourists in town. We whine...well,
you get it. Who hasn't heard this retort after we've gone on our
little rant about whatever it is we're upset about, “Would you like
a little cheese with that whine?” Yes, it is a time-honored
tradition around here and my guess everywhere.
From time to time
people ask me, “How's the mayor-ing job going? Are you tired of all
the complaints?” to wit I'm happy to respond that by and large over
the last three years I've really received more “attaboys” than
any thorough tongue-lashings. Oh, sure from time to time I do get an
ear-ful but with few exceptions they are expressed with no personal
vendetta behind it (or at least, that which I perceive as personal).
But still, there
are people that seem to me to be just contrary. You know the type:
they are quick to point out what's wrong with an issue but never have
any helpful suggestions as to how they think it should be fixed. And
even if a matter that they're upset about gets addressed its not
fixed the way they think it should have been if they were the ones
calling the shots. Every town has got people like that.
The other day I
asked the girls at City Hall what were common complaints they
received and in no order in particular they rattled off five
recurring issues:
Taxes are
too high.
Okay, who hasn't
griped about taxes? But too high compared to what? New York?
Minneapolis? New Auburn? If you're going to live in a municipality
and expect 24/7 police protection, garbage, sewer and water
services, fire and ambulance coverage I guess we have to be prepared
to pay for it. By the way, a little fun fact here: your 2019 city
taxes went up just a skosh. If you're looking for a culprit as to
why your taxes went up look again at your school and county taxes.
We have no control over either one.
Recycling
bins are always fill.
They
are! They really are.
In fact, if you don't get to the recycling bin at the dam early in
the week during the summertime you are setting yourself up for
frustration. We would argue that
at
least one of the reasons that they are is that the Town
of Chetek, unlike the Town of Prairie Lake, has no recycling site
whatsoever. Therefore,
Town of Chetek folk drop off their recycling at our locations which
are designed for City residents. Just saying. This past
winter Atrium informed the City that they wanted the recycling bin
on their property moved. The plan is to relocate it behind City
Hall. Expect that to happen soon.
Why isn't
the brush site open longer?
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Be nice to Jack. He only
enforces the rules on the books |
The
brush site will be opening again soon and once again Jack will resume
his post at the entrance. For the last couple of seasons the brush
site has been open on
Wednesday and Saturday afternoons from 3-6 p.m.
Inevitably, some folks are upset about that and wish it could be
open longer and more frequently. Or how 'bout we go back to the day
when it was just open all the time? Well, here's the thing with
that: on May 1, 2013 the heavens opened up and dumped over a foot of
snow over the area. Soon our brush site became Ground Zero for every
clean-up crew in this part of the county. We had so much brush back
there that ultimately we had, at city expense, to hire a grinder to
come in to mulch it all up. The pile was just way to big to burn per
DNR regulations. If you recall, in response to that in 2014 there was
no municipal brush site. I believe in 2015 it was reopened but this
time with someone on the city's payroll to monitor brush that was
brought in (again, Town of Prairie Lake has a brush site while Town
of Chetek does not). Jack's been our guy the last two seasons and
it's his job to check everyone who brings brush and yard waste there
to ensure they are city residents only.
We only pay him minimum wage and we're happy to have such a
competent and polite monitor. All this to say is that put it on your
calendar to serve as a reminder that it is only
open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 3-6 pm and never when it's
raining.
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| They don't seem to get it |
Goose poop
at the beach.
This is a common complaint in the summer time. Dan has tried all
kinds of tricks to keep the geese out but they still do their
business where our kids and us would like to go barefoot. Per Carmen
the only real way to fix this problem is to invent a goose
pooper-scooper and then hire someone to go down there – what,
twice a week? - to scoop it up. I suppose we could find the money to
pay that person but who wants that job? (Please do not suggest one of
the guys at Public Works get delegated that task. I'm telling you
now that's what they call a 'non-starter').
-
City
dock/Hydroflites
While not a fisherman myself I have it on good authority that the
city dock can get quite busy in the summertime. Between fishing
boats and the flotilla that makes up the Hydroflite fleet it can
feel as crowded as Times Square at times (that is a definite
exaggeration but you get what I'm saying). The Hydroflites are a
long-lasting tradition in our community and we're grateful that
they're here. At the same time, we want people to have access to the
lake to fish. There will be some significant improvements coming to
the city dock this summer which probably won't fix the traffic issue
but it certainly will increase accessibility to the Chain especially
for handicapped residents. At peak times (right before show time,
for example) a little patience and a little grace are required by
all parties involved.
I reached out to Public Works Director Dan Knapp and City Inspector
Joe Atwood via email regarding the complaints they get and only Joe
responded with a one-sentence email: “Property appearance and junk
vehicles.” I do get it that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What appears as 'junk' to one home-owner is a little diamond in the
ruff that needs just a little TLC by another. We have no ordinance
against how many vehicles you can store on your property. Last year I
suggested we might consider such a regulation and immediately there
was a general hue and cry about “government overstep”. We do have
a requirement that every one of our vehicles has to have their
registration up to date AND has to move on its own accord. Chief and
his crew are generally pretty good about sending out a gentle
reminder about this right about this time or risk citation.
I didn't get anything from Dan but I don't think it's rocket science
to suggest that one of the frequent complaints he does get is about
snow removal. Last Thursday's snow storm is a perfect case in point.
The county was out in force but our guys were sight unseen. And then
about mid-morning on Friday, Dan unleashed the hounds and the guys
got to it. Snow removal in the late spring is one of those “Damned
if you do”/ “Damned if you don't” kinda things. If you don't
people complain – like this complaint that was lodged at our City
of Chetek Facebook page.
If you do then the complaints start coming
in about how the city just filled in everyone's driveway. What's a
Public Works Director to do? I don't tell Dan how to run his
department. I don't know what formula he uses to determine when to
send the plows out and when to keep them home. Personally, I think
our guys do a darn good job and we should be thankful how helpful
they frequently are.
For me, the few complaints I have received have to do with (no
surprise to anyone who is paying attention to municipal activity in
the last few years):
The Mill
You have a venue on the edge of a neighborhood full of little kids
which is busiest on Friday and Saturday nights. What's more, 'quiet
hours' begin at 10 pm (even for The Mill). Add in alcohol that is
served at weddings and other celebrations and that spells loud and
(sometimes) obnoxious behavior by a few of The Mill's patrons. It's
my understanding that years ago there were many of the same issues
with Red's as this is a tavern-restaurant right in the middle of a
neighborhood as well. But the current owners of Red's police their
patrons, erected privacy fences and as far as I know do a good job
of being good neighbors. My hope remains that the Helms, the owners
of The Mill, will work as hard as those guys who own Reds, to do the
very same with their neighbors.
Purchasing
the old Chetek Cafe
Since the building has come down I don't hear this as much but it's
out there all the same. $175K seems like a lot of money for an empty
lot that we'll never sell for the same price. If you're looking for a dollar-for-dollar return on your money I guess
that's a fair criticism butI look at it as 'seed money'. We helped a business owner (the Wojkes
of Chetek Cafe) expand and we gained acquisition of a prime piece of real estate in
the heart of the business district. The old cafe was on its last leg and had we not spent the
$50K to tear it down it would still be standing slowly falling apart. 'Sure we'll gladly sell you
this old building but you'll not only have to buy the property but you'll also have to spend the
money to tear it down'. Yeah, not a great marketing plan. So the city did the heavy-lifting,
invested a little seed money and if in time a new business arises at that locale it will be a
property back on the tax-rolls. Personally,
I think it's gonna work out in time. But sure as shooting, if we did
nothing whatsoever,
there would be complaints about that to.
There's
a lot going on in town right now. We just had soil samples taken out
at the 40-acre addition at the end of Knapp Street. As soon as we get
the results back we'll begin Phase 1 of the new development out
there. Significant improvements to Main Street Park are in earnest.
New roofs have already gone up on all the other park pavilions.
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| Airport Park pavilion has a new roof |
The
newly re-formed Property Committee has toured all the city-owned
facilities and will soon be producing some recommendations for the
council to consider. Conversations have been taking place with a few
other groups in town that could
result in other significant changes to certain properties. But like
so many things in municipal goings-on there are a lot of moving parts
and nothing happens quickly. Which is a good thing in the overall
scheme of things. 'Slow and steady wins the race,' right?
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolan is all about a man named Harvey Potter who, unlike his neighbors who grow corn, okra and tomatoes, grows balloons. One of his more contrary neighbors, a certain Wheezle Mayfield, was so upset about his peculiar farming practices that he called the government on Harvey and soon a group of government scientists in white coats and gloves descended on his farm to investigate. As the little girl who is the narrator tells us “They pulled and they pried and finally they pricked one of those plants with a pin. And what was supposed to
happen did – the balloon popped. Even they couldn't argue with that. So they gave Harvey Potter the right to grow balloons. He never asked them for it, mind
you. But he took it anyway, just to be polite. Let me tell you, it
made everybody happy. Well, almost everybody. Wheezle was sore.”
Every town has a got a Wheezle Mayfield or two who are only happy
when they're grousing or complaining about something. Which is too
bad but some folks have trained themselves to be that way and nothing
but the grace of God can help there.
There are constructive ways to work toward solutions about certain
things. For starters, settle down before you pick up the phone to
rant to someone at Public Works or City Hall. They're people, too,
busy with their work and haven't been sitting idly by waiting for you
to blast them with your Jeremiad. Ask questions. Show up at city
council meetings and get educated. Call your alderperson or the mayor
(or both) and ask for a sit-down to discuss the issues that concern
you. Dialogue is always more helpful that lobbing vocal grenades at
whomever you believe may be 'the enemy'.
Its warming up out there. The sun's out (okay, not today). Let's hope
we're done with the snow. And hey, just remind yourself, it's gonna
be a great day!
And what about the new addition part? Well, at the very least we plan
to erect electrical boxes on either side of the property so that
during Harvest Fest or other community events vendors could have
access to electricity. We're still kicking around the general plan
but personally my hope is that whatever we finally do agree upon it
will include some green space as well as some shade trees so that
some of those “shady spots” that “Doc” Sletten originally
imagined for Main Street Park will be realized. One of our “dream
goals” is public restroom facilities to be located on the property
as well. Last summer, 2nd Ward Alderperson Denise Moran
and I did a walking tour of the downtown business district and in
every case all but one of our business owners thought it would be
wonderful if the city were to provide such facilities.
