January 3, 2008 town board agenda

The agenda for the January 3rd town board meeting is available for download. Please note the change in meeting day from Tuesday to Thursday due to New Year's Day falling on the first Tuesday of the month. The agendas for the Plan Commission and Sanitary Districts are also posted.

Grand Chute 2008 annual budget online

The Grand Chute 2008 budget is now posted on the town Web site and available for download. The budget has been split into sections for ease of use for those with dial up connections.

December 4th meeting minutes

Minutes for the December 4th town board meeting are available for viewing and download.

Highway budget rerouted

I'd like to thank everyone that attended last night's special town meeting called to re vote on the 2008 highway budget. The budget passed successfully with a 53-7 vote.

Represenative Roth to speak at tonight's meeting

State Representative Roger Roth will be giving a legislative update at tonight's town board meeting. The regular town board meeting will take place immediately after the special town board meeting to vote on highway funds budget approval. The amended agenda is available for review.

Highway funds detoured

Voters rejected allowing the Grand Chute town board to spend more than the $610,000 road funding amount allowed by state statutes without town elector approval. The vote was taken at a November 20th special town meeting. The meeting was attended by about two dozen residents, and is a meeting held every year to approve spending above the state capped limit allowed without town elector approval. Unfortunately, while this resolution has flown through vote in past years, electors attending this year's meeting voted against it. Another meeting has been scheduled for December 18th to revisit the issue. It is imperative that we get a yes vote from town electors so the town has funds to continue operating the public works department throughout the entire 2008 budget year, and make necessary road improvements.

As residents at the special meeting cited overall lack of understanding to what this resolution entails, I've created a Q&A format including some of the most frequently asked questions.

Why do Grand Chute residents have to approve highway expenditures each year?
The Grand Chute Public Works department operates at higher than the $610,000 amount allowed by the state of Wisconsin for town expenditures of this nature. According to state statutes, any town cannot spend more than the $610,000 without elector approval. This year's operating budget for public works department, highways and road related capital improvements is $3.4 million. Therefore, a vote needs to take place every year.

Will my taxes go up because we are spending over the $610,000 amount?
By voting yes, you will not be increasing your taxes over and above the tax levy already approved by the town of Grand Chute. These funds are already allocated in the 2008 town budget. Much of this money is reimbursed through special assessments.

Why is our operating budget so much higher?
Many of you know that Grand Chute is Wisconsin's largest town. With the town's population being over 20,000, some interesting facts come into play. Grand Chute has:
295 lane miles of road
124 miles of town road
8 full time staff
4 part time staff

What is this money used for?
These funds are used to maintain all roads in Grand Chute. Maintenance includes plowing, cutting grass and weeds, cleaning the cemetery, gutter care, maintaining roadways including repairs. Funds are also used to maintain water lines and pay for powering streetlights and purchase capital equipment. It doesn't take long to surpass the $610,000 figure. For example, powering street lights alone costs $246,900 each year.

The full breakdown is listed in the 2008 budget available for residents to review at the town hall. It is listed under the Public Works, Capital Improvement, and Highway sections.

Why did voters reject approval at the last meeting?
After talking with some of the meeting attendees, I believe several factors came into play:

1. The position of the vote.
This item was directly before the vote to place the referendum for firefighters on the April ballot. Some indicated they thought by voting yes, they would be approving an item to be put for referendum.

2. Lack of explanation by the board and administration of what this vote entailed. I've been told this resolution has been passed in previous years without discussion. This is a good lesson in never assume, and is a mistake I will not have happen again. Because the resolution was not clearly defined, some residents thought they were approving spending above the budgeted amount. Town Administrator Rohloff will be presenting a powerpoint presentation at the next meeting, clearly outlining where the funds are allocated in the 2008 budget.

3. Lack of attendees asking for clarification.
Some residents may not realize the public has the right to speak at special town meetings, and ask questions. However, it was a little disconcerting to see the most vocal detractors voting against the resolution are people running for town board positions this spring. These residents regularly attend and speak at meetings, so I was surprised they did not ask for point of order or explanation after citing lack of understanding.

Will I be able to ask questions at this meeting?
This is a special town meeting. Residents may speak and ask questions, as they are allowed to at all special town meetings.

How will the town overturn the previous no vote?
A new meeting is scheduled for December 18th at 7pm. First, attendees must agree to rescind the previous vote. As 12 people voted against the resolution last time, this will require more than 12 people to rescind. Attendance is critical. A new vote will be taken afterward.

What will happen if the resolution is rejected again?
Not passing the additional $2.8 million in road funds has the potential to have future road development come to a screeching halt. Chairman Marsden maintains failure to pass the budgeted amount will put Grand Chute public works out of business by March. These funds are crucial to the operation of our public works department and the maintenance of our town's infrastructure!

Why isn't the 2008 budget listed on the town's web site?
I have requested that the finalized budget be posted on the Grand Chute Web site. The town is in the process of figuring out the technicalities to make it happen. I am assisting as well.

How will you prevent this from happening next year?
I believe a presentation will be standard before next year's meeting. I am also going to propose that clarification cards be placed near the sign in sheet at all town meetings. If residents have a question concerning any agenda item and would like further explanation, they can fill out a card and turn into the town clerk before the meeting begins.

Overall, this has been a good learning experience for both board members and residents alike. Your support is needed at Tuesday's town special meeting. Please attend!

Caribou hunting recap

Notice the snow is a little deeper than it is around here.

The antlers may not be trophy-sized, but after driving 32 hours, it was good enough for me. The meat tastes the same anyway, right? Besides, I was informed before I left that mounted caribou heads do not go well with our home decor.

Caribou travel in heards, sometimes upwards of 5000. We were lucky enough to catch the tail end of one, right after we arrived. I heard there was a snowstorm coming in, so my cousin and I didn't want to stick around. We stayed overnight and drove back the next morning. Others in our party stayed and got some nice-sized antlers. They also got a 40 hour truck ride home. If you're ever in the mood to go on a caribou hunting trip, and don't mind spartan conditions (it is the arctic circle, after all) I highly recommend Donat Asselin Caribou Hunting Outfitters.

April Aire Task Force to form

Above is a copy of a communication that was sent out to community leaders from the town regarding forming a task force to tackle some of the issues facing April Aire mobile home park. I have been named the town representative contact to this task force.

While improvements have been made to the park since being placed into receivership, there is still a ways to go in order to ensure residents have affordable, yet safe housing.

Identified goals of the task force are:

1. Keep April Aire residents in their homes that are safe, sanitary and weather resistant.
2. Coordinate efforts of all government and non-profit agencies to ensure compliance with applicable housing regulations.
3. Create vehicle to direct possible donations.
4. Create a safe atmosphere for all April Aire residents.
5. Identify long term strategy to address future needs of April Aire Mobile Home Park.

Community groups/indivduals that have been asked to join this task force include:

Lutheran Social Service, Catholic Charities, Housing Partnership, Emergency Shelter Prospera Credit Union, Outagamie Housing Authority, Wisconsin Housing Alliance, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuid Together Fox Valley, Commmunity Foundation, Post-Crescent, Project Home Salvation Army, Rev. Will Bloedow, Denise Bruecker, Unitarian Universalist

I'm looking forward to working with other community leaders to achieve these goals for April Aire residents. Our first meeting is Friday, December 14th.

It's not a walkway, it's a trail

Here's an interesting bit of information that surprised me. I've fielded a couple of resident complaints regarding the lack of snow removal on the Hwy A overpass between Capital Drive and Grand Chute Boulevard. Many pedestrians use this walkway, and commented that the area was slippery and hard to walk through because of the snow. I asked Administrator Rohloff what the procedure was for snow removal, and what I could tell residents. Admin. Rohloff responded:

" ... this area is classified as a trail, not a sidewalk. Because trails are legally different from sidewalks, trails are not required to be plowed and offer the Town a recreational immunity if we leave the trail in its natural state for activities such as snow shoeing and cross country skiing. Outagamie County takes a similar stand with respect to its trails, such as the CE Trail from Appleton out to Kaukauna. According to the County, we potentially lose our recreational immunity once we begin to clear the trail. The reality is that the trail is almost used exclusively for foot traffic."

I looked at the Grand Chute Trails map, and sure enough, this section is classified as a trail, and hooks up with the Grand Chute Boulevard Trail. Admin. Rohloff indicated the Town Board could direct staff to remove snow from the trail, but has not in the past. If you would like to see snow cleared from this overpass, I recommend you contact Town Board members in order to show there is enough interest to change current snow removal practices.

On another note, I do have a backlog of blog postings ideas that I hope to tackle this week. Updates should be frequent the next few days.

November 20th meeting minutes

Minutes from the November 20th Town Board meeting are available for download.

December 4th meeting agenda

The December 4th Town Board meeting agenda is available for view and download.

November 6th meeting minutes available

Minutes from the November 6th Town Board meeting are available for viewing and download.

Checking in from Greater Sudbury, Canada

With traveling this far into Canada, I'm hoping to catch good views of the Northern Lights.

I'm enroute to Bay James Canada for a caribou hunt, and found a place with Internet access in Greater Sudbury, Canada, about halfway to our destination. I'm taking advantage of what from the map, appears to be one of the last cities of significant size. The city is surprisingly large, with a population over 150,000.

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to log on to the Post Crescent Web site this morning and read the article regarding pay increases to the Grand Chute administrative staff. I want to make a few comments.

The proposed pay increases in the 2008 budget actually called for all non-union employees to receive a cost of living increase of 3% and two step increases on the employee pay matrix, with each step being about 1.3%, for a total of 5.6%

The 4.3% increase figure used by the town is the average amount of increases this year. Raises go into effect on on each employee's anniversary date, causing the amount to be averaged down. Some employee increases were listed higher than the 4.3%, and some lower on the spreadsheet because of the date implemented, but all employees were scheduled to receive an across the board COLA and two step increase.

The 5.6% increase gave me concerns while budget sessions were ongoing because of state imposed tax levy limits that were projected. I had asked that all payroll line items in the budget be rescinded until a budget workshop could be held. Professor Stephen Hintz spoke to the board about his compensation study done in 2006. The study did find Grand Chute administrative employees salaries were below some other municipalities, but Prof. Hintz also indicated his job was to identify the salary discrepancies, and that it was the Town Board's decision on what to do with this information. Prof. Hintz also agreed that when pay increases start outweighing spending caps, the money has to come from somewhere, and ultimately takes away from capital improvements or services, such as hiring new police officers or firefighters.

The state imposed tax levy limit for this year's budget is 3.86%. Next year's limit is 2.0%

With these kind of levy limits, the town needs to look at reducing spending, and that starts with salaries, wages and benefits, which are a large part of the budget. We need to prove to Grand Chute residents that we are being fiscally responsible within our departments, before going to referendum to fill public safety positions. The budget will be finalized at the December 4th town board meeting.

For now, it's good bye from Canada, the hunting party is ready to head out and go further north.

Until next week. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Agenda 11/20 Town Board meeting

The agenda for the November 20th Town Board meeting is available for download and review. There will also be public hearings on the 2008 Proposed Budgets for the Sanitarty Districts and Grand Chute at 7pm. A special town meeting will follow immediately after the public hearings to approve the 2008 Highway expenditures in excess of $610,000 as required by Wisconsin state statutes, and an advisory vote on proposed property tax levy overrides. The regular Town Board meeting will follow.

Office hours cancelled Nov. 26th

Some of you may have noticed I've been sporting a beard these last couple weeks. It's the annual November fashion craze for many hunters in the Wisconsin, myself included. This year, I've been growing the beard in a little thicker, as my Thanksgiving hunting journey will take me up near the arctic circle in Canada. They tell me there's caribou to be found. Postings will be sparse the next couple weeks, and office hours are cancelled Nov. 26th while I'm in search of the big one.

Grand Chute not first with spending referendum

The following is an email Town Supervisors were forwarded from Weston Village Finance Director John Jacobs this morning in response to the Post-Crescent article "Grand Chute could be first in state to bust spending cap ". While the article does an excellent job outlining difficulties growing communities face with state imposed tax levy limits, it appears Grand Chute is not, in fact, the first Wisconsin community to bring spending limits to referendum.

I am just responding to this article because there have been some communities that have exercised using a referendum since the 2005 original spending cap limits were ordered by the State. The Town of Grand Chute is NOT the first community in the State of Wisconsin to exercise a referendum for exceeding the State spending limits.

The Village of Weston held a November 2006 referendum to add a 3rd EMS/Fire Crew to the Weston Fire Department in budget year 2007. The referendum was approved by the voters by a 55/45 vote. Therefore, we added $226,636 over the spending cap limit for budget year 2007, in order to add the additional service to our Budget. By adding the 3rd EMS/Fire Crew in 2007, we now have 24/7 coverage for full-time EMS/Fire service. Before the referendum, we had only 2 full-time shifts providing 80 hours/week full-time service and the remaining 88 hours were covered by paid-on-call employees. The reason for the passing of the referendum was to significantly improve response time to taxpayers/residents so that all parts of the Village of Weston were covered under a 6-minute response time, 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The addition of the 3rd EMS crew has proved successful to meet that improved response time goal (which had sometimes been over 12-minutes, with solely using paid-on-call members during those other 88 hours a week before the referendum).

I just thought that Ed Lowe's story should be clarified, in that he did not check with the Department of Revenue to see how many communities have used the "referendum" during 2006 or 2007 to exceed the spending limits under the original 2005 law. All 1,900+ communities in Wisconsin are required to fill-out a spending limit/exception form in December each year to indicate and substantiate the dollar amount of their tax levy, and if it exceeds the State's spending limit for that individual community. I know that the Village of Weston is NOT the only community in Wisconsin who has ALREADY exercised the referendum option. Therefore, the Town of Grand Chute (by Fox River Mall) is not the first community in the State to use a referendum. I thought somebody should know that Ed Lowe's story appears to be extremely misleading, and was NOT fully researched to get all of the facts correct.

John Jacobs

Village of Weston, WI (Marathon County)

Finance Director/Treasurer

Paid-on-call firefighter applications being accepted

Applications for persons interested in joining the Grand Chute paid-on-call firefighter personnel are being acccepted throughout November 26. The employment application is available for download.

Name change in the works

All Things Grand Chute, the title for my blog, is going through a name change. You'll notice the new title is Grand Chute Town Talk. The Web site URL is still the same, but the new name matches my Town Talk newsletter* that is sent out to residents on an event-based schedule.

*Note, the Town Talk newsletter is a communication that is paid for by Travis Thyssen. No town funds are used for production or delivery of the newsletter.

October 16th meeting minutes available

Minutes from the October 16, 2007 Town Board meeting are available for download.

News updates

The Supervisor Thyssen in the News section has been updated.

Is annexation of Plamann Park really needed?

There has been an article in the Post-Crescent these last couple weeks about Grand Chute town officials asking Outagamie County to look into annexing Plamann Park to Appleton. What needs to be clarified is that "town officials" means Chairman Marsden and Administrator Rohloff, and not the town board. The general public probably doesn't realize that this issue has never been brought to the town board for review, discussion or vote. In fact, until the article was printed in the Post-Crescent, the annexation of Plamann Park had not been brought to my attention in any form of communication.

As the Post-Crescent reads, "But Plamann Park, which Outagamie County owns, is in Grand Chute, so when one of the hundreds of children who play Pop Warner football there gets hurt, it’s Grand Chute’s responsibility to respond."

The main concern of Chariman Marsden and Mr. Rohloff is the ability (or lack of) Grand Chute emergency response teams to adequately serve children playing in the Pop Warner fall football leagues at Plamann Park, and respond as quickly as emergency services could being dispatched from Appleton.

That being said, the town's request for annexation seems extreme, considering the new fire station being constructed next to the town hall will place Plamann Park within an eight minute response time. The station is slated for completion before the fall of 2009.

Taking safety issues into context, the Pop Warner season runs eight Saturdays beginning September till the end of October each year. High schools have EMTs at every football game. Why couldn't Grand Chute have two paid-on-call EMTs situated in a satellite suburban truck at Plamann Park during the games. Approximate costs would be $250 each Saturday. Discussions with the Pop Warner Football league would determine who would be responsible for the addtional costs.

Another solution includes a mutual aid agreement with the city of Appleton.

These alternative suggestions could have been examined if the issue had been brought to the attention of the town board. I will be expressing my opinions regarding this matter to the County Board before it's November meeting.

Special budget workshop to be held

The Town Board will be holding a special budget workshop this Thursday, at 3pm, to discuss what will be included for a possible public safety officer referendum, and to speak with Professor Stephen Hintz about his 2006 employee compensation study.

I made a motion (passed 4-1) at our last budget work session to rescind all salary line item increases in this year's budget until a workshop could be held for supervisors to ask questions regarding the study. I felt this was especially important, because, as your newly elected supervisor, I was not informed or given a copy of the study until I inquired about employee salary increases.

More information will be posted after the workshop.

November 6 meeting agenda

The agenda for the November 6 Town Board meeting is available for download.

Paid-on-call Firefighter training session

The Grand Chute Fire Department is hosting an informational session for those interested in becoming a paid-on-call firefighter on November 6, at 7pm. This session will take place at Station #1 at 2920 W. Highview Drive. Those attending will learn more about the department, the hiring process, the training required and the expectations of a paid-on-call firefighter. If you have questions before the meeting, please call the Grand Chute Fire Department at (920) 832-6050.

Paid-On-Call requirements include:

• 18 years of age or older
• Valid Wisconsin Drivers License
• No convictions for criminal activity
• Resident of the Town of Grand Chute (or live within two mile radius of the fire station)
• Participate in bi-monthly training drills
• Respond to minimum percentage of assigned calls at all hours.

Training and equipment is provided.

Before we go to referendum ...

The following post is a copy of a communication that is being distributed to town board members, Chief Jim Lewis, and the Police and Fire Commission.

TO: Town Board of Supervisors, Chief Jim Lewis, Police & Fire Commission

FROM: Travis Thyssen, Town Supervisor

DATE: October 25, 2007

RE: Police Department Issues

The retirement of Chief Ed Kopp, and Interim Chief Jim Lewis’ comments in the Post-Crescent article have brought the Grand Chute police department to the news forefront.

The ultimate outcome may be a referendum for additional staffing, however, it is critical the town board and administration look at ways to remedy problems within the department before we rely largely on the largesse of Grand Chute taxpayers.

Following are issues I have identified and respectfully suggest discussing with the interim and future chiefs:

Bring staffing levels up to the maximum police force allowed.
The police department is losing officers to other departments and replacements are not being hired quickly enough. The department has yet to run at full strength and officers are being forced to work excessive overtime. The department can have a more proactive approach in the hiring process, keeping a current pool of applicants available in case of personnel departures and retirements. Filling open positions needs to be expedited and should be the department's number one priority.

Utilize the experience of interim police chief, Jim Lewis.
Chief Lewis experience as a chief to departments much bigger than Grand Chute is invaluable. His insight to growing pain issues can be instrumental in selecting a future chief whose goals and personality will fit in well with the Grand Chute Police Department.

Make smarter hiring decisions.
Two months ago, I spoke with Administrator Rohloff regarding the department union's concerns about a new hire. As a 14-year law enforcement veteran, I felt the union's concerns were valid issues but was told I was getting too close to the situation. That officer has since failed to pass the probationary period and no longer works for the department resulting in loss of money through training and leaves an open shift, adding to overtime costs. The town should be more receptive when the union raises legitimate concerns.

Hire part time officers who have an understanding they will be next in line when a full time position becomes available.
There is a need to prevent part-time officers from seeking full time employment at other departments while working for Grand Chute. This may begin with a cooperative effort between new management and officers to view part-time positions with a career approach in mind. The department may wish to examine hiring applicants that work full-time for other departments and are seeking minimal additional hours. Such officers could fill overtime/sick shifts without calling in full-time officers.

Consider new shift rotations of a four on/four off schedule with a twelve hour shift.
This rotation will allow six patrol officers per shift instead of the current two or three. The current rotation of six on three off, leaves coverage weak if an officer calls in sick, forcing another officer to cover the vacancy, and is not conducive to an officer's mental well-being with the current staffing issues. Other shift scenarios can be examined as well, but the overall goal is to allow officers more time away from work and utilize the existing department force in a more efficient way.

Do not approve the full time deputy clerk and building inspector positions in this year's budget proposal.
Utilize budgeted money for a police officer hire instead. The workload of town clerk can be alleviated during election periods by hiring seasonal help. The building inspector can be kept at current part-time status. We cannot rely on taxpayers to fund our emergency services personnel without prioritizing new hires and making every effort to fill these positions ourselves.

Develop long range plan to add officers into each year's budget.
The town should recognize the town’s overall growth projections and the needs of increased service areas and start allocating positions into future budgets.

I conclusion, I believe it is possible to achieve a balance that supports the men and women serving on the Grand Chute Police Department and is fiscally responsible to the taxpayers of Grand Chute. However, it will require commitment and team effort by the board, administration, and new chief. If we do not collectively make an effort to improve the current situation, we continue to fail the department and Grand Chute residents.

Communication Committee finalizes reommendations

This morning was the last meeting of the Grand Chute communication committee. The committee was formed after elections in order to examine how the town board could better interact with residents of our community. I was appointed a member of this committee by Chairman Marsden. The chair, Sup. Jeff Nooyan, will be reporting to the board the committee's findings. The board will decide which recommendations to follow.

Some recommendations are already being implemented. For instance, the town newsletter has been expanded, and the upcoming issue includes more indepth articles that explain how decisions are made that affect the entire town. It will include more photos, and feature articles.

The committee is also recommending minutes for meetings be posted soon after the meeting, with a disclaimer announcing they have not yet been approved. Currently, minutes are posted on the town's Web site after approval at the following meeting. This means sometimes minutes are not available on the Web site at least two, and sometimes three weeks after meetings take place.

Other suggestions are for board members to hold workshop strategy sessions to identify goals for the upcoming year, and for department heads to give more detailed reports at board meetings so people attending board meetings have some background information of what is being voted on.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for the committee was identifying ways that board meetings can be broadcast and made accessable to the public. This included analyzing webcasts, podcasts, televised multi-camera broadcasts. Each avenue was investigated for cost issues, and ease of use. These findings will be brought before the Town Board members for them to decide. The committee's goal in this instance was to gather information only. We feel it is up to the Town Board, not the committee, to determine how to spend taxpayers money. Costs range from $500-$30,000 depending on type of broadcast.

The finalized report will be presented to the Town Board at a November meeting. It will also be posted on this site.

Parks Day

Last Saturday was Grand Chute Parks Day. This event is held to raise funds for our parks systems. Highlights of the day are a large car show, and craft sale. And, as my sister Arielle said, "there were a heck of a lot of cars!" And you can tell you're getting old when you start recongizing cars you grew up with are now collectors.

The Grand Chute Citizenn's Police Academy, Grand Chute Kiwanis, Fire and Police Department and Shriners all pull together to put this day on for our community. This year's Parks Day was well attended, and there were 113 raffle prizes that were given away. Thank you to all the businesses who donated raffle prizes. Plans for next year are already in the works. The Grand Chute Kiwanis are going to be taking over the overall coordination of the event, and next years Parks Day will be September 13th.

Meeting minutes available

Minutes from the September 18th Town Board meeting and the October 2nd Town Board meeting are available for download. I will have an update on the solar/wind ordinance outcome from last night's meeting soon.

Grand Chute Parks Day

The Grand Chute Parks Day event is tomorrow all day at the Grand Chute Town Hall. This annuual event includes raffles, food, car show, craft fair and children's games. Funds raised are donated to the Grand Chute Parks system. The weather looks like it will hold out, so the turnout should be good for this event. Stop down and support our parks, while having fun for the entire family.

Babies-R-Us ribbon cutting

I attended the Grand Opening ceremonies for Babies-R-Us this morning. The store is connected to the Toys-R-Us near the Fox River Mall. Troy and Amy, from the store, had invited town leaders to the ribbon cutting ceremony. As a new supervisor, this was my first such event, and it was a lot of fun. I joined Chairman Marsen and Assistant Fire Chief Michael DeBruler at the dedication.

The Babies-R-Us location is the first of it's kind in the area. It's following a new trend by the parent company in connecting the two stores, instead of having them stand alone. Customers are able to shop unilateraly, between the stores. The Grand Chute store will be closely monitored. If the concept is successful, other stores in the area will follow this thumbprint.

Fire Station bids continue

I sat in on the opening of bids for the fire station station this afternoon. Today's bids were for the

1. All concrete foundations and interior concrete slab-on-grade
2. Pre-engineered metal building (structural steel, roof, fascia, soffit, etc.)
3. Site fencing

The bids came in very good, and we are on track to meeting the fire station budget. The next bids will be for the electrical, plumbing and HVAC. I will post when the bid packages are ready for pickup, along with detailed instructions on how to bid. Please encourage any subcontractors you know in these fields to submit bids.

Interim police chief selected

The Police and Fire commission are recommending the Town Board approve Jim Lewis as the interim police chief. Mr. Lewis recently acted as the interim chief for the Appleton Police Department. He was previously Green Bay's police chief for seven years. Mr. Lewis has a bachelor's degree in business administration, and a master's degree in public administration.

Administrator Rohloff is forwarding the recommedation to the Board for compensation package approval at the next Board meeting. The projected timetable for hiring a new chief is by the beginning of 2008.

Construction begins on new fire station

The rain held off for the Grand Chute Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony this past Tuesday. Instead of the usual construction hard hats, town officials were presented with firefighter helmuts. A nice touch! Posted are some photos from the groundbreak. The fire station is slated for completion in Fall of 2008.

Grand Chute police chief Ed Kopp retires

Police Chief Ed Kopp informed the Town Board Tuesday he is retiring. Chief Kopp's retirement date is effective November 16th. Chief Kopp has been with the Grand Chute police department since 1983 and was the second police chief when he took the position in 1998. Administrator Mark Rohloff will be recommending an interim chief until a replacement can be recruited and hired. Chief Kopp will assist in the transition.

Blood Mobile October 10th

The Blood Mobile will be at the Fire Station on Highview Drive on Wednesday, October 10th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.Contact Lisa Gabriel at 832-6050 for details and to sign up!

Fire Station ground breaking ceremony

The Town of Grand Chute is inviting all residents and businesses to the groundbreaking ceremony for it's new Administrative Fire Station on Tuesday, October 2, at 5pm. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the site of the new fire station, at the northeast corner of Grand Chute Boulevard and White Hawk Drive.

Fox Valley Gallery of Homes

Entries have been a little sparse lately. I'm on deadline and have been working till 2 am this past week. This is a segway into a shameless self promotion plug, I admit. This weekend and next week is the 2nd Annual Fox Valley Gallery of Homes. My company, Dream Builders and Developers, LLC, has an entry in the Gallery. (And it is located in Grand Chute!) My wife is the other half of Dream Builders and Developers. I build the homes, she picks out what goes inside. Our 1904 sq. ft. house has all the ammenities of homes three times it's size...Granite, Corian Tigerwood Hardwood floor, a walk-in shower with dual shower heads and a 50" plasma TV with theater sound system. This is the first time we've built this floor plan, it was designed specifically around the wooded lot with stream, and it turned out very nice.

This showcase is a little different than the Parade of Homes. Attendees get to vote for their favorites in multiple categories, and have a chance at winning a $500 gift certificate if they visit all the homes.



Hours for the Gallery of Homes are:

September 29th - 30th
Saturday & Sunday

October 5th - 7th
Friday, Saturday & Sunday

Saturday & Sunday: 11am - 5pm
Friday: 4 - 7pm

Tickets $5.00 at the Door and can be purchased at any of the gallery homes. Stop by our home and say you saw it on the blog. A portion of the ticket goes to Habitat for Humanity.

Camp Sandy Wheels

The Grand Chute Kiwanis recently visited Camp Sandy Wheels in Mt. Morris, Wis. Residential Camp Sandy Wheels was started in 1979 to provide outdoor recreational activities for individuals with cerebral palsy, physical disabilities, and developmental delays. The Kiwanis Group brought brought along their bikes equipted for persons with disabilities. For some campers, this was the first time they were able to ride a bicycle, and they loved it! In fact, Ron Toshner, president of the Grand Chute Kiwanis, said it was hard getting some campers off the bikes. The group is thinking of purchasing another bicycle, so next year, all campers will have an opportunity to ride.


The Grand Chute Kiwanis meets every Tuesday at noon, at the Golden Corral on Westhill Blvd.

September 4th meeting minutes

Minutes from the September 4th Town Board meeting are available for download.

Impact fee approved

The Town Board approved a fire station impact fee at the last meeting. The impact fee affects future homeowners who will pull permits to build in Grand Chute. Money from the impact fee will help fund the new $4.5 million fire station that will be built in front of the town hall off Grand Chute Blvd. and Lynndale Ave.

The fee is as follows: $246.60 per single-family home, $189 per multi-family living unit, and $1.21 per $1,000 of valuation of nonresidential development. The fee will be reviewed annually.

I have been meeting with the Valley Home Builder's Association the past month. There has been much discussion regarding the affect this impact fee will have on new development in Grand Chute, specifically, regarding affordable housing. An ammendment was made by Sup. Nooyan to exempt single family residences under 1500 sq. ft. from paying this fee.

Being a home builder, I am a member of the VHBA. I also build homes in Grand Chute, including one right now, and have just purchased a lot in the new Starview Heights addition. This impact fee is one that affects myself and many builders I know directly. So, why would I be in favor of voting for this impact fee? The answers are as follows:

• Grand Chute's building permits are still less expensive overall than other communities in the area. Building permits currently cost $1470 compared to over $3200 total permit fees in the town of Harrison, and $3900 in the town of Greenville, two of the fastest growing communities in the Fox Cities. In fact, permits for the home I am currently building in Slinger were $5800. Grand Chute is a very affordable town to start construction in.



• As a builder, when I choose a community to build spec homes in, I have to weigh where I think the home will sell quickly. 80 percent of new development in Grand Chute is north of Northland Avenue. This is the area that will directly benefit from the new fire station location. I now have a selling point to tell buyers interested in purchasing my home. It's a hard sell if people ask about emergency services and you have to tell them if their house starts on fire, it will probably burn down. The reality is, the response time from the current fire station location is not adequate enough to save homes in this area.



• Grand Chute also has the lowest taxes in the Fox Cities. Taxes are a determining factor in what community homebuyers settle. If you're building a $200,000 home in Grand Chute, you're going to pay more than $1,000 less per year in taxes than if you built it in Appleton. Paying a onetime fee of $246.60 is still a good value and helps keep overall taxes low.



• Finally, the new fire station location will benefit new development homeowners by the strong likelyhood of lower insurance premiums due to faster response time.

September 18 agenda

Residents are encouraged to attend the September 18th town board meeting at 7pm, town hall. The agenda can be downloaded for your review.

Call for bids

I've mentioned in previous posts that the Grand Chute Fire Station project is open to all companies for bidding. The town is now taking bids for the excavation portion of construction. Bids are to be submitted to the town hall no later than September 18th. If you know someone in the excavating business, have them call the town hall for a bidding package.

I have personally been calling excavating companies to inform them the bidding process is open. The perception I've encountered is that Boldt is the General Contractor for this project and selects subcontractors from their pool. This is not true. The town is the General Contractor, Boldt is the Construction Manager, making sure construction is done in a timely and quality manner. The town has the responsibility for awarding contracts to subcontractors. Many companies have been pleasantly surprised when I inform them of this, and have been eager to place bids. With the slowdown in building, these companies are going to bid at their most competitive rate. I'm working hard to ensure this happens. Later this week, I will be meeting with Christine Schwanke, executive vice president of Valley Home Builders Association. One of the topics I will be discussing is if VHBA can help get the word out to it's members that we are accepting bids for this project. In the meantime, I will continuing making phone calls.

My goal is to have the project come in as much as we can under the $4.496 million dollar cap. Just because the money is allocated, doesn't mean we have to spend it.

August 21 meeting minutes available

The minutes from the August 21 Town Board meeting have been approved and can be downloaded for viewing.

Lion King impact

This past May, I had a post regarding the economic impact the Lion King could bring to Grand Chute. Many theater-goers were from out of town, and stayed in Grand Chute hotels, and ate in our restaurants. Lynn Peters, Executive Director of the Fox Cities Conventioin and Visitor's Bereau, recently shared some statistcal facts regarding the Lion King run. According to Ms. Peters:

• Lion King was sold out.
• The show attracted 30,000 new visitors, who had never before purchased tickets at the Fox Cities PAC.
• Advertising of Lion King made 5,125,590 media impressions. In other words, Lion King ads were seen that many times. (This was a joint venture between the PAC and the CVB.)
• Our PR efforts (also joint) netted 45 television news stories, 4 radio interviews and 34 feature stories in magazines or newspapers across the state. Lion King truly put the Fox Cities in the public eye throughout Wisconsin.
• Hotel occupancy in May (when the majority of the shows were held) was higher than any of the last 6 years. In fact, it was up 10% over 2006.
• Room tax revenue for the second quarter (Apr-June) was up 7.15% over last year.

Fire Station impact fees

The Town Board has delayed voting on the fire station impact fees for one meeting. I sat down with Christine Schwanke, the executive vice-president of the Valley Home Builders Association, last week to answer questions about the proposed impact fees. It was a productive meeting for both parties. The VHBA had an election meeting last night, so their representatives could not attend the Board meeting. Knowing there are still some questions the VHBA would like answers to, I proposed to defer action on this agenda item.

Town Board meeting tonight

A reminder that tonight's Board meeting is at 7pm. This is tonight's agenda. Also, the Plan Commission meets at 6pm.

Campout Gala '07

The Girls Scouts of the Fox River Valley are holding their Campout Gala fundraiser at the Grand Chute Girl Scout Program Center Saturday, September 8. The event starts at 6pm and is $75 per person. According to their Web site, the event will include a "fun-filled evening of camp-themed activities, gourmet camp-inspired cuisine and s'mores with an elegant twist await. Pair your sequins with your khakis and your tux with your t-shirt for an event like no other. No tents, no latrines, no sleeping bags…just a few hours of fun to relive the best of your childhood camping experiences."

Organizers are still looking for volunteers. Opportunities include assisting with fun activities, supervising silent auction tables, and kitchen duty. An orientation will be held on Thur., Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.

The Girl Scouts of the Fox River Area, serves girls and adults in Outagamie, Winnebago, Waupaca, Shawano, Menominee and part of Calumet Counties. This is the biggest fundraiser of the year.

For tickets or to signg up as a volunteer, contact Kelly at 920-734-7079, ext. 27 or kmundell@gsfra.org

Solar/Wind power ordinance update

As you may know, the wind/solar power ordinance has been sent back for further investigation by the Plan Commission. The challenge surrounding this ordinance is the fact that a state statute supersedes any town ordinances. The following is a Wisconsin state statute that must be the basis for the town ordinance regarding alternative solar and wind energy:

66.0401 Regulation relating to solar and wind energy
systems. (1) AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT SYSTEMS LIMITED. No
county, city, town, or village may place any restriction, either
directly or in effect, on the installation or use of a solar energy system, as defined in s. 13.48 (2) (h) 1. g., or a wind energy system,
as defined in s. 66.0403 (1) (m), unless the restriction satisfies one of the following conditions:
(a) Serves to preserve or protect the public health or safety.
(b) Does not significantly increase the cost of the system or significantly decrease its efficiency.
(c) Allows for an alternative system of comparable cost and
efficiency.

In addition, new subdivisisons are not allowed to ban such alternative energy sources in their restrictive covenants.

So far, residents that choose to use these types of power sources must follow the regular setback lines (usually 6 feet) and height restrictions of approximately 2.5 stories.

The Plan Commission and Community Development are working to create an ordinance that complies with state laws, protects health and public safety of town residents while allowing residents the right to alternative power sources.

August 17 meeting minutes available

Minutes from the August 7th town board meeting have been approved and can be downloaded for viewing.

Fire station cost breakdown

I've had requests for a cost breakdown of the fire station. This is public information and available at the town hall. The project is capped at the $4.496 million amount. If you, or someone you know would like to bid on this project, contact the Town Hall for more information.

Formatting here does not allow for tables, so please excuse the alignment issues.

Estimates
Building Construction Costs
Excavation & Backfill $ 109,000.00
Temporary Fencing $ 12,000.00
Concrete $ 283,146.00
Rebar Material $ 35,000.00
Precast Concrete $ 16,100.00
Masonry $ 327,150.00
Miscellaneous Steel $ 82,001.00
Carpentry $ 111,722.00
Joint Sealing $ 25,000.00
HM Frames/Doors/Hdwe $ 72,868.00
Overhead & Coiling Doors $ 58,000.00
Aluminum Doors/Wdws/Glazing $ 46,250.00
Drywall/Studs/Building Insulation $ 156,100.00
Tile $ 19,800.00
Acoustical Ceilings $ 28,000.00
Carpet/Vinyl/Athletic Flooring $ 45,244.00
Painting $ 50,000.00
Specialties $ 37,934.00
Lockers $ 26,815.00
Operable Partition $ 19,440.00
Main Entry Canopy Allowance $ 55,000.00
Pre-Engineered Metal Building Frame $ 400,000.00
Plumbing $ 100,000.00
Fire Protection $ 37,500.00
HVAC $ 375,000.00
Electrical $ 300,000.00
General Conditions $ 348,530.00
CM Services $ 135,400.00
Subtotal $ 3,313,000.00
CM Fee $ 93,000.00
Building Construction Subtotal: $ 3,406,000.00

Other Project costs
Site Utilities $ 25,000.00
Asphalt Paving $ 80,000.00
Site Paving/Concrete $ 75,000.00
Landscaping $ 25,000.00
Plymovent Exhaust System $ 150,000.00
Furniture/Fixtures/Equipment $ 145,000.00
Electric Generator $ 70,000.00
Technology $ 120,000.00
Architectural and Engineering Fees $ 300,000.00
GCFS Owner Contingency $ 100,000.00
GCFS Subtotal: $ 1,090,000.00

Total Project Cost: $ 4,496,000.00

Grand Chute Kiwanis

Grand Chute Kiwanis recently held a brat fry to raise funds

The following post is a shameless promotion for an organization of which I am a member. It's the Grand Chute Kiwanis. The Kiwanis mission is to serve the children of the world. Locally, our chapter achieves this through organizing Parks Day, volunteering at events, and raising money to purchase equipment for charitable causes like Camp Sandy Wheels or donating to fundraisers like the Backpack for Kids campaign.

The Grand Chute Kiwanis meets every Tuesday at Noon at the Golden Corral on Westhill Blvd. Meetings include speakers discussing a wide variety of topics, and planning our next events. If you are interested in joining this organization, please contact Ron Toshner at toshner@fvtc.edu for more information.

Sorry the posts have been a little sporadic these last two weeks. I'm currently building a house in Slinger and have been away from a computer.

Free-standing Solar Collectors and Small Wind Energy Generators

The Planning Commission was to review Zoning text ammendment Z-06-07 relating to the Free-standing Solar Collectors and Small Wind Energy Generators at the July 17, 2007 meeting. The Planning Commission deferred giving a recommendation to the Town Board until more information could be gathered based upon residents' concerns. The draft was sent back to the staff for futher review.

The Town Administrator informed me today that Mick Sagrillo will be speaking to the Planning Commission at the August 21 meeting. Mr. Sagrillo is a founding member of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association and is considered a leading expert on wind technology. Mr. Sagrillo will be answering questions from the Commission and residents at the Planning Commission meeting at 6pm.

If you have a question for Mr. Sagrillo and are unable to attend the meeting, please email your concerns or post in the comment section. I will be happy to relay them to Mr. Sagrillo. The Planning Commission is scheduled to re-look at the ordinance at the September 4th meeting. Their recommendation will be forwarded to the Town Board for vote at the September 18th meeting.

July 17 meeting minutes available

Minutes from the July 17th town board meeting have been approved and can be downloaded for viewing.

National Night Out

Grand Chute is participating in National Night Out tomorrow evening. The event will be 7-9pm at Arrowhead Park. This year's theme is throwing a "going-away party for drugs and crime." The Grand Chute Police Department will be on hand along with McGruff the Crime Dog, Grand Chute Citizen's Police Academy and other local organizations. National Night Out events promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships in our fight for safer communities.

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

According to Matt Peskin, the executive director of the National Association of Town Watch, this year, 11,000 cities are participating in all 50 states, and an expected 35 million people will attend neighborhood events.

Hope to see you there!

Trails plan

A greenway trails system is also proposed. The plan is to link all parks and points of interest within the community. Approximately 16 miles of trails are proposed in the plan including the existing bike and pedestrian crossings of USH 41 near the Technical College and again at CTH A to Town Hall. Click the above map to zoom in on the trail map.

The overall scheme for trail locations is to incorporate the Town of Grand Chute trails with the Fox Valley trail system. The greatest opportunities for connections are from the Town of Menasha CTH CB Trail to Bubolz Nature Preserve and Bubolz Nature Preserve to the City of Appleton Apple Creek Trial, and Plamann Park. To achieve this goal, the trail designations in the Town are:

Backbone—High Priority Trails
Arrow Head Park to CTH CB Town of Menasha Trail
CTH A (Lynndale Drive) to Bubolz Nature Preserve via Warner Estates
CTH A to Apple Creek City of Appleton Trail via Elsner Road
Gillett Street to Plamann Park via Art Lecker Wilderness Park
Bubolz Nature Preserve west from the preserve to Town of Greenville via stream to the west.

Neighborhood Loop/Spur Trails
A number of neighborhood loops and spurs are planned to serve developed and developing neighborhoods. These loops or spurs would connect to the entire Fox Valley system. Some of the planned neighborhood loops and spurs are:

Capitol Drive Area
Gillett Street Wetlands
Cedar Crest Neighborhood
Michaels Drive Spur
CTH A extended south of Capitol Drive

Future parks in Grand Chute

According to the Parks Commission Plan, key sites should be preserved for future park purposes. New parks are proposed in several places. These include:

Northwest Neighborhood
McCarthy Rd. north of Capitol Drive. Developer easement has provided the start for this park location.

Town Hall Municipal Complex Neighborhood
The Town has ample land for providing a neighborhood park for the development around Town Hall.

Gillett Street Neighborhood
North of USH 41. Developement is progressing in the neighborhood and subdvisions on the east side of the stream should be required to dedicate parkland to serve the neighborhood.

Warner Creek Neighborhood—Appleton Alliance Church
The church will be constructing a neighborhood park with addtional sports fields by 2008. The town has authroity to install a parks shelter and restrooms on the site.

Brookview Park
Developer dedication has provided the start for this small neighborhood park.

Long-Term Future Community-Wide Parks
The town will continue to grow to the north of USH 41. In addition to the neighborhood parks needed to serve these new neighborhoods, community parks will also be required for larger-scale parks that will include multiple sports fields and other recreational priorities. the general location of these community-wide parks are:

Community park—CTH JJ between STH 47 and Gillett Street
This park could be used as a buffer area between the commercial and industrial along STH 47 and residential singl-family planned. there are mulitiple streams and wetlands that could be used to increase public open space in this area of town.

Community Park—N. McCarthy Road
This park could be used as a buffer from the single-family development planned for this area and Bubolz Nature Preserve. There are multiple location sthis park could be located along the west side of Bubolz.

Existing park improvements

The following are park improvements recommended by the Parks Commission to be completed by 2012.

Carter Woods park
Construct temporary restroom facilities/screening to serve the soccer field
Install additional landscaping
Install security lighting

Patriot Park
Parking lot addition
Replace plaground equipment

Grand Chte Lions Park
Install walkway security lighting
Install additional landscaping
Install an accessible playground

Arrowhead Park
Boardwalk benches
Install security lighting
Possible expansion to the west

Prairie Hill Park
Install security lighting
Install additional landscaping
Northside—Picnic Pavillion
Northside tennis court
Nortside road, parking utilities
Northside playground
Install Interpretive Signs around pond and open house

Art Lecker Wilderness Park
Develop trail connection through park from Plamann Park to Bubolz Nature Center. Prepare concept plan for the eventual development of this site. Develop per plan for possible archery range and/or dog park.

Exisiting and undeveloped park lands

Currently, there are 1,435 acres of public and private recreation or open space in the Town of Grand Chute. The Town owns 5 parks containing 105 acres of land. Outagamie Couonty owns Plamann Park, which contains 258 acres and is located in the northeast part of the Town. The County also operates a dog park of about 12 acres at the northeast corner of French Road and Northland Avenue. Grand Chute is also the home of Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve. This is a 775 acre independent, nonprofit wildlife preserve and environmental education facility. Click on the above map to zoom for park locations.

Town residents may be interested to know there are also four plats of land that are designated as undeveloped park lands. They are:

Art Lecker Park (number 11 on map)
the undeveloped 42.2 acre area, which occupies the town's former landfill site north of CTH JJ between CTH A and STH 47, provides an opportunity for expanded recreational lopprotunities in the town. the landfill operation was limited to well less than half the site; it is estimated that nearly three quarters of the tract remains in its wooded natural state. One potential use of the site may be as an archery range or a dog park.

Brookview Park (number 23 on map)
This undeveloped 2.6 acre peice was dedicated as part of a multi-family housing project.. The park could be expanded to about 5 acres with additional parkland dedication in a subsequent subdivision process. The parkland borders a stream on the south side and the park could serve as a neighborhood park.

Appleton Alliance Church-park easement (number 6 on map)
when Appleton Alliance Church proposed to construct their new facilities on the southwest corner of CTH A and Grand Chute Bld., the Town and church representatives worked to provide open space and a neighborhood park as part of the development. The church owns about 10 acres of land on the west side of their property. The church will be constructing 2 soccer fields, 2 ball fields and a playground by 2008. The facilities will be open to the public and serve as a neighborhood park.

Northwest Park-park easement, partial (not shown)
On the northwest side of the Town, near the corner of McCarthy Road and Cobble Creek Drive, the Town has accepted a park easement for part of a future park. The area is in the Outagamie County Airport Overlay Zone, and lot sizes are a minimum of 1-acre. The developer offered about 1-acre in the subdivision as a park easement. The plan would be to add additional acreage with a subsequent subdivision process.

Tomorrow's post will highlight the committee's recommendations for existing park improvements, along with future parks and long-term future community-wide parks.

Park postings on the way

The next series of postings I have wanted to do for a while now. They pertain to the Grand Chute Park, Trail, Open Space and Recreational Plan. The idea was inspired by comments from Popoki and appleton_lady over on the Post Crescent Community message board. Popoki was wondering about future trails, and apples pointed out it's important for Grand Chute to recongnize green space as a vital role in future development.

A comprehensive plan was compiled by the Parks Commission and approved by the Town Board in late May. It includes projects the park Commission would like to see the Town of Grand Chute undertake in the years 2006 to 2012. The six-year program emphasizes the acquisition of future neighborhood parks, development of existing parks, improvements to existing parks, and the additional trail development. I think residents will find this information interesting and useful. A copy of full 30 page report with maps is on file at the Town Hall.

Next week I will feature highlights from this report, along with the maps, so residents can easily view the plans in store these next few years. I will also be happy to answer any specific questions about our park development.

Fire Station bidding process

The Grand Chute fire station is open for bids. Some people's perception may be that since Boldt Construction is the construction manager, only their subcontractors may bid on the construction. This is not true. In fact, if your company would like to be part of the bidding process, please call the town hall for more information. (920) 832-1573.

June 19 meeting minutes available

Minutes from the June 19, 2007 Town Board meeting are available. There is a good explanation by Administrator Rohloff about using voter-approved funds for the fire station building. As you will see, the same method was used in the town hall construction.

Fire station budget passes

At tonight’s town board meeting I proposed a motion to go ahead with a $4.5 million dollar capped fire station budget. Many residents called and emailed demanding adequate fire protection services. I followed your direction. Supervisors Schowalter and Nooyen also voted in favor of this motion. What does this mean? Grand Chute’s proposed fire station budget is now passed. Grand Chute residents are going to get a fire station that will fulfill our town’s needs for years to come in the most fiscally responsible manner.

I also understand residents’ concerns that the fire station does not exceed the $4.5 million dollar budget. Therefore I made amendments to the motion. They are as follows:

1. All bids submitted to Boldt Construction must be submitted to the Supervisors and be accessible for town review.

2., When construction begins, a weekly project report must be submitted to Supervisors and also posted within the town.

We are now on our way to receiving the safety services our town deserves. Thank you for your support.

What is fiscal responsibility?

First, I would like to thank everyone that came to last night's town board information meeting. I feel it was important for everyone's voice to be heard. I think we all agree Grand Chute needs a fire station, and we need it now. It is no secret I am a supporter of the approved plan, even though it is $1 million over what Chairman Marsden and Administrator Rohloff led residents to believe they were voting for at the annual meeting. Residents, in general, are disappointed in the previous lack of fiscal responsibility. However, by insisting on the $3.5 million budget, Chairmen Marsden is, once again, not being fiscally responsible.

I have been a general contractor for 13 years. I have learned there comes a point in design where the price per square foot decreases as the building size increases. Right now the building price is $180/sq. ft. To reach Chairman Marsden’s self-appointed figures, the building size would decrease to 19,444 sq. ft. and that is at $180/sq. ft. I guarantee by cutting this space the overall sq. ft. price will increase, and probably reach over $200/sq. ft. This price now drops the station to 17,500 sq. ft. This is 7,500 sq. ft less than the approved plan.

Okay, the detractors say. We are saving money. We are getting fire protection. Some would say yes, but I say no. We are getting fire protection. For now. We are not saving money.

Grand Chute population growth is expected to increase 1/3 by the year 2030. That is an additional 6,000 residents in only 23 years. The original design is built to accommodate this growth.

The smaller fire station will be maxed out and an addition needed long before then. Within 10 years we will need to add that 7500 sq. ft. back into the fire station. Let’s be nice and give an overall cost increase of only 5% per year to the $200/sq. ft. price. (Last year alone steel prices increased 20% and copper increased 60%) In 10 years the 7500 sq. ft. addition will cost taxpayers at least $2.25 million. That is $1.25 million dollars more than the $4.5 million dollar budget I support.

That definately is not fiscal responsibility.

Each room is accounted for. Each room is needed. Each room will be used.

The voice of the people does matter. You still have the opportunity to express your opinion to the Town Board.

Fire Station meeting reminder

Just a reminder the special town board meeting to discuss the fire station cost increase is tonight at 7 pm.

Town Talk debuts

The first wave of Town Talk, a newsletter I created for Grand Chute residents, was mailed yesterday. Most of the information readers of the blog have already seen, but I felt there was still a need for a print version. Many residents do not have internet access, and this issue was also a way to raise awareness that my web site and office hours do exist. There is not a set printing schedule as of yet. The newsletter is going to be more of an issue-based publication. Let me know if there is an issue you would like to see addressed.

And, as noted, the newsletter is paid for by myself. No town or taxpayers funds are used for this publication or delivery.

How ISO ratings affect insurance premiums

Fire is the largest single cause of property loss in the United States. Virtually all U.S. insurers of homes and business property use ISO’s Public Protection Classification in calculating premiums. A number is assigned from 1 to 10. Class 10 indicates the area’s fire-suppression program does not meet ISOs minimum criteria. The rating depends on the communication, water supply, and the fire department, including equipment, staffing, training and geographic distribution of the fire stations.

Most locations in Grand Chute have a class 4 or higher rating. There are some areas on the eastern end with class 10 ratings.

To illustrate the how ratings affect premiums, a local insurance company was contacted and asked to quote a yearly insurance policy on a $160,000 house. Quotes are as follows:

Class 3 $668
Class 7 $733
Class 10 $1,229

It has been projected Grand Chute’s Public Protection Classification will go down with a new fire station and increased staffing. In addition, improved fire protection in our town attracts businesses and future development, boosting our economy.

COWs passing through in September

One part of a Supervisor's job is to approve special event permits. This past May, a request from a group came through that caught my eye. It was from Couples on Wheels, or COWs, a Wisconsin tandum bike club. They were holding a bike rally and part of the ride would run through Grand Chute. Intrigued, I did a little more research, and found out the group (and then some) will be back over Labor Day weekend for the Midwest Tandem Rally. Once again, the route will take them through Grand Chute. Mark Dobberstein, spokesperson for the group, was kind enough to answer some questions.

How long has your group been around?

My wife and I have been involved since the early 1990's. The COWS were already loosely organized years prior, in the 1980's.

Around how many COWS to you expect to attend the Midwest Rally Labor Day weekend?

MTR will be involve the COWS, PIGS, HOOTS, CATS, and many other such names, likely 400+ teams.

Will there be a specific bike route? Will this route pass through Grand Chute?

All riders start near the Paper Valley Hotel and bike routes will be followed. Riders travel through Grand Chute on Capitol Drive, Saturday, 9-1-07 around 9:15 AM

How many miles is an average bike ride?

Routes range from 30 miles up to almost 70 miles.

Do tandum bikers pride themselves as being a litte "different?" I would imagine a lot of people in your group have a good sense of humor.

I suppose some may see them as different, but we are all bike riders, who enjoy riding with our wife, husband, partner, significant other.

For some reason, not know to me, the various groups have taken on these special names. COWS - Couples on Wheels, PIGS - Paired Iowans Going Somewhere, CATS - Chicago Area Tandem Society, HOOTS - Hoosiers Out on Tandems, MUTS - Michigan United Tandem Society, and many others.

I would agree our gatherings are fun and a good time is had by all.

What kinds of people are in your group? Serious bikers, people wanting to have fun?

The riders are at all different levels, some extremely fast and others just out for a leisure ride. My wife and I are in our early 50's, and often feel young in comparison to many riders. We ride about 1000 miles per summer, which is nothing in comparison to many of the riders. A group of riders are taking the ferry from Michigan and riding to Appleton from Manitowoc.

Fire station price tag (repost)

I am moving the open fire station post up from last month as I see my website has been generating more hits due to today's article in the Post-Crescent. Be sure to also read the response to the editorial post from 6/25, to understand why there is the million dollar gap from what residents voted on at the annual meeting.

Taxpayers were recently informed the proposed fire station costs have been increased from $3.5 million to $4.5 million. A million dollars is a substantial amount of money, so taxpayers need to understand why there is a projected cost increase.The original idea was to build a fire station. Can a simple fire station be built for $3.5 million? The answer is yes. However the advisory panel began to see more than a “simple” fire station was needed, and the submitted plan reflects this.

The Federal government and Homeland Security, are pressing local municipalities to have a national incident management system in place. The federal government is telling local governments they need to handle their own emergency situations. The new station would double as our emergency center. This includes having a backup generator that will power the station in emergency situations.

In addition, the base of operations would be moved to the new station. This includes the command center, adminstation, training, and inspection. The decision was made to keep the 5.5 bays for future apparatus or future services. The training tower is being kept so firefighters do not have to travel out of town for this type of training.

The size and location of the proposed station reflects the continuing growing needs of our community. Do we build a simple fire station that would be obsolete in a few years, or does our town have the vision to build a facility that is more than just a fire station and will serve our community for 50 years? I am voting for the latter.

Do I want to spend this additional million dollars? No. But the reality is, substantial cuts have already been made to get it to the projected number. Any additional cuts would negate the integrity of the fire station, to the point where it would not serve the community’s needs.

The most significant point to come from last night's town board meeting was the board has approved the plan submitted to the fire station committee by Strand and Associates. Now the plan can go out for bids and an actual cost can be determined. Hopefully, the bids can close the gap between $3.5 and $4.5 million figure.

Keep this in mind: The additional million dollars presented at the June 19th meeting by Administrator Rohloff would increase taxes $5 per $200,000 home. Response times will be greatly improved and the average homeowner will save that on homeowner’s insurance rates alone, with lower ISO ratings.

Postponing action is only postponing the inevitable. This has already been going on for several years. Delaying this any further will only increase the cost to you, the taxpayer, and compromise our safety.