June 1 Town Board Agendas

The agendas for tomorrow nights Town Board meeting can be viewed. There will be a fire station tour available to town residents before the Board meeting at 6:15.

Interim Town Administrator named

The Grand Chute Town Board met in closed session yesterday and agreed to negotiate a contract with Stephen Nenonen, who will serve as interim Town Administrator upon the departure of Mark Rohloff. The town will begin a formal search for a permanent replacement.

Mr. Nenonen brings administrative experience to the table, having served as served as a chief executive in Ripon, Two Rivers, Fond du Lac and Racine. He was previously the village administrator of Mount Zion, Ill.

Mr. Nenonen is scheduled to begin July 14. Mr. Rohloff's last day is July 18.

June 3rd Town Board minutes

Minutes from the June 3rd Town board meeting are available for download.

Free Exotic Car Show this Saturday

This event just came across my email this morning

BERGSTROM on Victory Lane Exotic Car Show

Benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation

Bring your family and friends to see vintage Porsches, Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes and many more rare vehicles.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

10:00 am - 4:00 pm (Free Admission)

Food and Refreshments available.

All proceeds go to The Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Vehicles will be displayed along Victory Lane.

Boutique items will be available to purchase.

Learning how sustainability could benefit Grand Chute

Today I'm at the FOTH conference for sustainability at the Paper Valley Hotel. The conference is tailored toward local and regional units of government. We're learning how to incorporate sustainability practices into our communities. The ultimate goal for elected officials would be for their town or city to become an eco-municipality.

I'm finding the conference very interesting. I have some acreage north of Grand Chute with a goal in mind to build one of the first zero energy houses in the state. I've been working with a Colorado Architect who has experience in this field. That goal is sidetracked a little...supervisors must live in Grand Chute, but technology advancement in the sustainable building industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Waiting may be a good thing, as there are many exciting advances coming within the next few years.

On a side note, Wisconsin is also home to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair this weekend. Every year the Fair is held in Custer, WI (near Stevens Point). The Fair's goal is to teach energy education to a growing segment of the population interested in this movement.

What happens when citizens in their community fight back

Folks on the Michigan Street Bridge listening to
Steel Bridge Songfest performances, Sturgeon Bay

This past weekend I traveled to Sturgeon Bay for Steel Bridge Songfest '08.

Ten years ago, Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials had slated the iconic Michigan Street Bridge for teardown. Some local politicians were in favor of dismantling the bridge as well. Sturgeon Bay resident Christie Weber then formed Citizens for our Bridge, a nonprofit campaign whose mission was to save the steel bridge. Weber's group appealed to DOT officials to apply for federal funding and preserve the steel bridge. Instead of building one new four-lane bridge, the group convinced the DOT to build a two-lane bridge and keep the two-lane Michigan Street Bridge as well. The Citizens Action group would raise money that would help preserve the bridge.

The new two-lane bridge scheduled for completion later this year.
The Michigan Street Bridge will then be closed down for repairs.

Weber came up with an idea of a music festival to jump start fundraising and appealed to her singer/songwriter brother Pat mAcdonald. mAcdonald convinced his friend Jackson Browne to perform free at the fledgling festival. Other music friends soon followed, and Steel Bridge Songfest was born.

In it's fourth year, Steel Bridge Songfest has grown into a three day festival where over 150 musicians donate their time and perform at local venues throughout Sturgeon Bay. In addition, visiting musicians collaborate with songwriters and pen new music using the iconic bridge as a metaphor. The Song Fest cumulates with an all day music fest at the Great Lakes Yacht Boatyard with the Michigan Street Bridge as a backdrop.

Appleton's Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons performing at Steel Bridge Songfest '08

Wisconsin DOT officials were presented with plaques at this year's song fest. They will be affixed to each end of the bridge. The Michigan Street Bridge was included in the National Register of Historical Places this past January.

This year's goal is to raise $300,000 towards collecting a $3 million endowment fund. These funds will be used for maintenance not covered by the State and will insure future generations can enjoy the majestic bridge.

Crappy photo, but Jackson Browne on right. The short guy on the end left is 8-year old electric guitar phenom Tallan "T-Man" Latz.... yes, eight years old! Can you imagine jamming out with music legends that young? He's performing with Les Paul later this month.

Deputy Chief proposed contract rises for Grand Chute taxpayers

The Grand Chute town board voted earlier this year (3-2) to continue negotiations with the City of Appleton Police Departement regarding a possible merger with the town of Grand Chute Police Department based upon acceptance of Appleton's RFP (Request for Proposal).

Part of Appleton's request for proposal was to provide an Interim Deputy Chief for an 18-month period for approximately $116,320. (see above graphic for breakdown)

At tonight's town board meeting, Supervisors will be asked to vote on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), that is, the final contract with the City of Appleton for a Deputy Chief.

The copy of the MOU I received Friday for review costs Grand Chute taxpayers a lot more than $116,320.

Grand Chute is asked to pay the Appleton Deputy Chief $69,402.73 for the remainder of 2008. Third quarter payment to City of Appleton is $34,117.53, translated into $136,470.12 per year.

If passed as is, Grand Chute taxpayers will be paying the City of Appleton $139,512.38 for use of the Deputy Chief in 2009.

That's a whopping $23,000 more than estimated costs in Appleton's RFP.

In a memo to Town Board members, Chief Walsh explains the officer recommended for the Deputy Chief position is higher on the payscale than he originally planned, and increases in cost of living and health care were not figured in.

Not a good start in establishing credibility for final figures from this "due diligence" phase.

Interim Chief Lewis tenure wrapping up at Grand Chute

Interim police chief Jim Lewis is finsihing up his duties this next week when Deputy Chief Peterson is installed as the following interim chief while Grand Chute and Appleton look at police merger possibilities.

I had high expectations when Chief Lewis became interim chief, but have overall been disappointed with his tenure at Grand Chute.

My hopes that Interim Chief Lewis would unify the Grand Chute police department never came to fruition. Unfortunately, the department is divded more than ever, with emails from officers indicating morale is at extremely low levels.

Hopefully, Deputy Chief Peterson will be able to restore department morale.

New playground equipment coming to Lions Park

New playground equipment will be installed at Grand Chute Lions park this summer. Install prep is scheduled to begin the last week in June with equipment to be in place by the middle of July. Especially exciting is the new playground will be accessible to persons with disabilities. Currently, Appleton's Memorial Park is the only playground that meets ADA specifications.

The new playground features will include:

• Ramps to accomodate wheelchairs
• A Transfer system that help people access the play equipment without the use of a wheelchair or mobility device.
• A rubberized, pour in place surface that will enable wheelchairs or mobility devices access to the equipment.

Cost of the playground is $70,000 and is funded by a combination of donations by the Parks Committee and Town Funds.

Administrator Roholff named Oshkosh City Manager

Grand Chute Administrator Rohloff has been selected to be the Oshkosh City Manager.

Town Hall to have summer hours

For the first time, Grand Chute Town Hall will hold summer office hours. New office hours will be 7am-4pm Monday through Friday. Town Supervisors voted 2-1 (Nooyen, Schowalter for, Thyssen against) to change Town Hall hours.

I'm not opposed to the concept of summer hours, however, I opposed the motion because it was presented without public notification. Town government has been criticized in the past for lack of communication. I believe this proposal should have been presented to the Board back in February, so the change in hours could have been included in the spring/summer newsletter that is distributed to all residents. Notices could also have been posted at the Town Hall alerting citizens.

New office hours will begin June 30th and continue through Labor Day.

Grand Chute Administrator Mark Rohloff featured

Town Administrator Mark Rohloff was featured in yesterday's Oshkosh Northwestern as an applicant for Oshkosh City Administrator Position. Candidate interviews will be conducted June 6th and 7th, with a finalist announced June 7th.