April 30, 2008

The $800,000 myth

Chairman Marsden once again is using the media to demagogue Grand Chute residents into believing merging police departments is the only way to prevent a tax hike. On the WHBY 4/29/08 evening newscast Chairman Marsden states "The police chief made it very clear that to create a force, to provide, what they think we should have, it will require another $800,000 a year."

It amazes me this figure is repeatedly touted to the community as fact and the Holy Grail of why Grand Chute needs to merge. I say this because I called Chairman Marsden out earlier this month for misrepresenation to the Post-Crescent. He admitted that figure was over exaggerated.

"You're looking closer to $500,000" as a more realistic cost for new staffing, Marsden said.

The staff expansion also would reduce the department's overtime costs, budgeted at $161,900 this year, Marsden said.

Combined, that's almost $500,000 less than what Chairman Marsden and Interim Chief Jim Lewis continually misrepresent to the public.

There is also ongoing reference to a police study conducted by the consulting firm PPA. The report is "best practices review" of departmental conditions and operations. While the report does touch on the need for more officers, it does not give specific facts or numbers. It focuses more on staffing and management practices that were a concern to officers.

So where is this inflated figure coming from?

Grand Chute residents should know that each town department was asked to submit a wish list for consideration to the town board for the upcoming budget back in 2007. The "force that the police chief thinks we should have" is actually a wish list compiled by Retiring Chief Ed Kopp to create a utopian police department. A list, some say, that was a result of a outgoing chief frustrated with the lack of support from previous Town Boards.

So, while there will be a continued need to hire more officers as the town grows, it is not as dire of situation that some would have residents believe. Hiring a good manager/chief would also go a long ways in using existing resources more efficiently.

The Town Board has approved one additional full time officer position, along with two-part time positions in the 2008 budget. I advocated for these positions at the expense of other staffing requests.

It is my understanding the positions have yet to be filled.

April 29, 2008

Couples on Wheels receives award


Remember those fun tandem bike riders that rolled through Grand Chute last fall? Well, Couples on Wheels organization was awarded a Sports Award from the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau for hosting the Midwest Tandem Rally here in the Fox Valley. According to the Bureau, "The MTR brought an estimated 1000 visitors to the Fox Cities and generated an economic impact of $258,500."

Congratulations COWs. We hope you pass through our area again, soon.

April 24, 2008

Quote of the day...month....year

(James) Vergin said Appleton's proposed 18-month "test drive" merger with Grand Chute, with the town paying for a deputy chief to evaluate merger issues before final decision is made, is not a good idea.

"You either do it or you don't, but always take the time needed to study it. Put the plan together before you propose it," Vergin said.

--from Wausau area police merger cost effective, April 6, 2008 Post Crescent

April 23, 2008

Final report online

I see the communication committee final report is now online at the town's web site. It is in the latest town updates section, located on the home page.

April 21, 2008

Holy Georgie Moly!

"Holy Georgie Moly!"

These were the words that popped out of little Savannah's mouth as her unwrapped Christmas gift revealed a remote controlled truck, and is a phrase I carried with me this past holiday season. Her gift was received at a Christmas party sponsored by local organizations for children of April Aire mobile home park. The wide eyes of other children tearing open presents matched Savannah's words of exclamation as well, and caused more than one adult to become misty-eyed.

The party, complete with Santa, pizza and games at Badger Sports Complex, was a bright spot in what had been a dismal year for residents in the trailer park community. The owner, Richard Hassel, was charged with having a contaminated well and septic system. He was fined by the DNR after a resident complained of unsafe levels of lead in the water. Other problems were brought to light including substandard living conditions, ordinance violations with dog breeding, and high levels of police calls to the park. Eventually the park went into foreclosure and was placed into receivership with Prospera Credit Union.

Unfortunately, the story for April Aire residents is coming to an close. No one bid the $300,000 needed to take the park out of foreclosure. Most trailers are very old, and many have been condemned. Many renters have been evicted this past year, and only eight occupied rental units remain. The rest are owner-occupied. Costs to run city sewer and water out to the park would run about $500,000, making it an unattractive investment for prospective bidders to keep open as trailer park. Residents of the park have until June 30 to vacate the premises. What remains difficult for the owner-occupied units is that while their homes are kept up, many mobile home parks will not allow older trailers. Some trailers will not withstand relocation. Imagine paying the mortgage on your home and essentially having to abandon it.

Making the story more depressing, is that the same residents who tried to make their community a safer place to live are the ones facing eviction. The situation brings to light and underscores a deeper problem evolving in the our community. That is, finding and sustaining affordable housing in populated towns and cities.

So what happens to the park now? The following is pure speculation, but Prospera Credit Union will most likely clear the land of trailers and put the property up for sale. Because the land is in a prime location, near the interstate, it shouldn't be hard to sell. The buyer could pay costs associated to run sewer and water lines out to the parcel, or strike up a deal with Appleton. The city could annex the property from Grand Chute under previous border agreements. That it was once April Aire Mobile Home Park, most likely will become a distant memory.

A sad ending for April Aire Mobile Home Park. Not the one I had hoped for little Savannah.

April 3rd meeting minutes available

Minutes from the April 3rd Town Board meeting are available for download.

April 18, 2008

A present for Popoki

As promised to blog commenter Popoki last week, I have figured out how to get the Communication Committee Report online. Yes, I agree the report should be on the Grand Chute web site, but hopefully, this will suffice for now. The recommendations are to be discussed at a strategic planning workshop. I am requesting this to be put as a supervisory report, as a workshop has yet to be scheduled by the Chairman.

April 15, 2008

Response to the motion to negotiate with Appleton Police Department Merger

Other departments that have successfully merged followed specific criteria and a thought out detailed merger path. For example, they:

  • Started out with a private feasibility study.
  • Had a joint advisory board (including town officials, police staff, and citizens) to review service options
  • Had a clear vision and firm objectives in mind before the proposal went public.
  • Had much public participation including forums before adopting the merger.
  • Had clear and equitable funding formulas covering members obligations

The Appleton/Grand Chute merger path so far has covered none of these criteria. In fact, Grand Chute is laying excellent groundwork for future studies on "how not to conduct a police merger".

How can we board members, as stewards of our citizens' tax money, agree to further negotiations with a department that has not provided a budget, does not give a five year strategic plan, can't even guarantee that the departments can successfully merge, does not keep Grand Chute's identity, and has not addressed any of the issues brought up in a detailed analysis of their proposal. No company would act so fiscally irresponsibly in acquiring or merging with another company. The town should be no different with a multi-million dollar police department.


The Appleton proposal fails to prove to our community they can provide better services than Grand Chute. Chief Walsh tells the media that Grand Chute will add three more officers, but in reality, the proposal takes away all Staff Sgt. management positions from Grand Chute. These officers already serve in a patrol duty capacity. Furthermore, the proposal eliminates our part time officers and staff. In reality, there is no way a department can take over another, with their same budget, without eliminating positions when increasing an entire department's salary by almost 9 percent.


In addition, without both communities having equal interest and input into a strategic plan leads me to believe we are heading down the same slippery slope as our agreement with Appleton regarding the water plant.

How can we, as board members, in effect, hand a blank check over to the City of Appleton? It is not that I am against departmental mergers. Rather, I am against any merger that is handled so poorly, rushed to be enacted, and has utter disregard to the clear voice of Grand Chute residents.

April 14, 2008

Office hours revised

Starting this week, my town office hours will now be Mondays at the town hall 8-9:30, the week of each town board meeting only. This is an adjustment to the lack of visitors during off board meeting weeks. I am committed to being accessible to my constituents. As always, I am available for personal appointments or can be reached via email and phone.

Police merger to be voted on at tomorrow's meeting

Tomorrow evening's Town Board meeting will certainly be an important one for Grand Chute residents to attend. The fate of the police department will be decided. I suggest calling or emailing all your supervisors and tell them your thoughts on the merger if you are unable to attend.

Jim Pluess
Jeff Nooyen
Dave Schowalter
Travis Thyssen

April 9, 2008

Town citizens speak out about police merger

The main topic of discussion in the open forum section of last night's annual meeting was the potential merger of the Grand Chute police department.

Resident Jim Duncan called for a motion for the board to put a three-tiered question to referendum. The questions would be, should the police department stay the same, should it merge with Appleton, or should it merge with Outagamie County Sheriff's Department. The motion was seconded and passed. There was no mention of when this referendum would take place in the motion. I say this, because the Post-Crescent this morning incorrectly reported that a referendum would take place this fall.

Another point to clarify is that this is a citizen advisory vote for the Town Board. Only Town Board members have the ability to place a referendum on a ballot. Last evening's meeting was a meeting of electors, not the Town Board, so no official Town Board action was taken.

After the advisory vote, and comments from residents, there was a call for a showing of hands on who was in favor of each proposal. I was able to observe from my spot in front, facing the crowd. The following are estimates from my personal observation, as no official count was taken. Out of approximately 125 people attending:

In favor of Appleton 6
In favor of staying Grand Chute 75
In favor of Outagamie County 45

April 8, 2008

Annual Meeting tonight

This evening marks Grand Chute's annual meeting of electors. Towns have a unique form of government, whereby electors of a town have the power to exercise power directly. Villages, cities, counties and state government act solely through elected representatives. Tonight's meeting is a meeting of electors, not of the Town Board. Town Board members will be present, but will be acting in the capacity of citizens.

The meeting will include the Chairman's report to the community, and a financial update will be given to town residents, along with any other issues the Chairman wishes to address. The order of business is stated by the chairperson, although items may be added by those attending. Attendees have the opportunity to voice their opinions.

I hope Grand Chute residents will attend this special form of town government.

April 7, 2008

SAFER grant awarded to Fire Department

It was announced last week that the Grand Chute fire department was awarded a $632,550 SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant through FEMA. Residents have many questions regarding how this affects the firefighter referendum that allows hiring of six firefighters and additional paid on call staff.

Background of the SAFER Grant
According to FEMAs web site, "the Grant was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations in order to help them increase the number of trained, "front-line" firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by NFPA and OSHA."

SAFER grants are based on vanishing funding over a five year period. There are certain restrictions that come with the grant award. The most significant being that it must be applied to hiring firefighters. Communities awarded the grant must commit to a five-year period of performance in hiring fire fighters, and federal funds diminish over the five years with the town fully funding the firefighter hires by year five.

The federal share per firefighter position is as follows:

Year One ... 90 percent of costs
Year Two ... 80 percent of costs
Year Three ... 50 percent of costs
Year Four ... 30 percent of costs
Year Five ... 0 percent of costs

How does the town pay for remaining percentage of costs for hiring additional firefighters?
The hiring would be funded out of the town's budget. This would be difficult, or next to impossible by year two, with current imposed state levy limits.

Does the grant award affect the firefighter referendum?
The award of the SAFER grant should be viewed as an enhancement to our fire department referendum, not as a replacement. The town would be in serious financial trouble if the referendum had not passed, as it would still be committed to providing yearly increased staffing costs per grant requirements. Funding would have to be taken from other parts of the budget, drastically decreasing other services to town residents.

Why was there a referendum on the ballot, if Grand Chute fire department applied for this award?
Grand Chute fire department has applied for this grant in the past, and once again submitted an a grant application over a year ago. The department did not have any indication they would receive this grant before the award announcement. Not accepting the award would be a detrement for both the town and fire departments throughout the state of Wisconsin in the future. The Grand Chute Fire Department is only one of three departments in the state that was awarded a 2007 SAFER Grant. It is a huge honor for Grand Chute and it's fire department to be awarded this Grant.

Will the town hire additional firefighters above and beyond those planned in the referendum?
As far as I am aware, the town cannot sustain additional firefighters because of the vanishing grant system.

What will happen with any additional funds collected from the referendum and grant being awarded at the same time?
The town administrator and the fire department chief are working on different scenarios to present to the town board. I do not know what these scenarios are at this point, but will keep the public up to date here. It is important for the town to use this grant award money wisely, in accordance with any grant stipulations.

April 2, 2008

Annual Meeting next Tuesday

Grand Chute's annual town meeting is next Tuesday, April 8th at 7pm. This meeting is a great forum for residents to learn about upcoming town issues. There is a public input forum so residents can speak, and light refreshments and appetizers are served after. I encourage all Grand Chute residents to attend.

April 3rd, Board meeting agenda

The agenda for Thursday, April 3rd Board Meeting is available for download.

Town board remains the same

Congratulations to Sups. Dave Schowalter and Jim Pluess on their victories in last night's election. I look forward to continuing serving on the board with these to gentleman. Jim Duncan and Ron Tank are regular meeting attendees and I hope their input on town issues continues. I commend their election efforts.

Town firefighter referendum passes

Thank you town residents who voted to pass the firefighter referendum. Grand Chute will now be able to add enough full and part times staff to meet NFPA standards for response times within five minutes north of Northland Ave, and have enough immediate staff on engines to enter structures without waiting for paid on call staff to arrive. Support of this referendum directly affects resident's safety.

April 1, 2008

Reminder to vote today

Polls are open in Grand Chute until 8pm. today. Please take the opportunity to vote. Refer to the Voter Public Access Web site to find your location to vote.