July 29, 2008

Police merger Q&A

I've been fielding a lot of questions about the status of the potential police merger and the advisory referendum. I think I Q & A format would be the best way to address these questions.

You made a motion to put an advisory referendum on the ballot.Why didn't you push to ensure it stayed on the November ballot, as you originally requested?
It would be difficult right now to say with certainty that all the facts will be in by November and that the public will be able to make an informed decision. Whether you agree or disagree with the idea of a merger, I think at this stage, it is important to have all the facts, figures and budget in place. This is something that has not yet been provided to board members or the public.

Was the possible referendum delay a ploy to ensure a lower voter turnout in a spring election?
I believe whether it's held in April or November, it's important that the people who vote make an educated decision. I think the burden should be made by the Board and the panel to provide the information to the public so they can make an educated decision. At this point, I do not know if that information can be guaranteed available by the November election.

How was the committee selected?
The committee members were selected by the town chairman and approved by the Town Supervisors at a recent Board meeting. See the next question for more detailed answer. Questioning the selection process would have delayed the already much needed committee.

What do you think of the make up of the advisory panel, is it stacked with pro merger or anti merger members?
I don't feel the panel is stacked. It's possible each individual may have a bias one way or another, but the purpose of the committee is to be a voice of the community, review the information presented by the interim chief and formulate questions that otherwise may not have been asked. All members of the panel are highly qualified to carry out these tasks.

Who are the members of the panel?
  • John Burgland, general |manager of the Fox River Mall.
  • Tom Dreier, secretary of the Grand Chute Police and Fire Commission.
  • Ken Johnston, chairman of the former Town Board |compensation panel.
  • James Milslagle, businessman, Fox Valley Technical College Foundation vice president.
  • Ron Tank, former member of town zoning Board of Appeals.
  • Supv. Jeff Nooyen, who voted for merger with Appleton |department.
  • Supv. Travis Thyssen, who voted against Appleton merger plan.
Why are there no women on the panel?
I guess it's unclear why the Chairman did not include a woman to be on the panel. We receive the Chairman's five recommendations in our Friday report before the Tuesday board meeting. I did not see a full list of people who had asked to be on the panel until I requested it after seeing the item on the agenda. I received the list the Monday evening before the Tuesday board meeting. There were several women that were on the pool of candidates, including a Grand Chute business owner. There were no discussions held as to who would be on the committee.

What is the status of the advisory panel?
Before the Chairman left for Canada, no chair was appointed for the panel. I have several questions that need to be answered about the chair and the Consulting firm (I have not received info on recommendations) before meetings can get rolling.

I keep hearing this is a done deal and the merger will completed in six months.
I think its important for the committee to have the first meeting and form milestones and an outline of questions that need to be answered. From that we can establish a timeline that we can give to the public. This is something I feel strongly should have been done from the beginning, but I am happy the advisory panel has been formed so we can ensure these steps are put in place.

July 24, 2008

Lions Park playground equipment


Here's a sneak peak at the new playground equipment currently being installed Lions Park. The rubberized surface is scheduled to pour tomorrow or early next week.

July 23, 2008

July 1st meeting minutes

Minutes from the July 1st town board meeting are available for download.

July 21, 2008

Convention center followup

The convention center facts and figures in the previous posting were taken from highlights given to the public last week. The full 150 page study will be released to a panel later.

One of the main questions that will come up after the full study is released is who would pay for it and how. It was discussed at the meeting that the convention center could perhaps be financed by Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties, or soley by Outagamie County. It was also mentioned that some communities fund their centers through hotel room tax. This might be more difficult in our area, as a large portion of the hotel room tax already supports the Performing Arts Center.

Convention centers, in general, don't turn a profit. The main attraction in building them is the money they generate into the community. Knowing this, I got to thinking of alternatives to the main hotel/convention center idea. What kind of facility might be attractive for a company to invest in that has both entities, but has something else tied into the convention center space that would generate a profit. Something that would motivate a company to plunk down $40-60 million dollars. How about a waterpark? A large scale one like those in Wisconsin Dells.

There have been rumors of waterparks on and off in our area for a number of years. Grand Chute would be the ideal location for such a development with land available near the mall; it has the retail and eateries, along with other available hotel rooms cited as important success points in the study.

I contacted Kahlarahi Resort last fall and spoke with members of the development team. Unfortunately, Grand Chute falls within their "250 rule". That is, the company doesn't build resorts within 250 miles of an existing one.

So, what do you think? Do you know of any waterpark companies that aren't already located in the Dells?

July 17, 2008

Convention study presented to community

I attended the report to the community yesterday regarding the feasibility of a convention center in the Fox Cities. I was especially interested, as the Grand Chute hotel room tax had funded $21,750 of the $75,000 study, and had been scouted as a possible location for the convention center. Following, are some highlights of the presentation.

Need
Convention, Sports and Leisure International (CSL) reported the Fox Cities "has a relatively strong array of visitor ammenities in place that makes it appealing to many small and mid-sized non-local groups." They also suggested the market demand is not being met for potential convention product in our area. While the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton has ballroom and meeting space, there is still a lack of exhibit space in our area. They recommend a public/private partnership with Radisson Paper Valley, so there would not be competition between a convention center and the hotel for some of the same events.

Site Development
Eleven sites were identified throughout the Fox Cities for potential developement of the the Convention Center. Two sites and downtown Appleton were recommended at the top, with two in Grand Chute, near the Fox River mall were ranked third and fourth, repectively.

Construction Costs
The study lists three different scenarios that affect construction costs.

1. Public/Private Partnership with Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. (About $25 million)
The public would purchase site near the existing hotel, and fund construction of exhibit hall and related infrastructure
Radisson would operate at it's own risk/gain.

2. Public/Private Partnership with other new hotel (About $45 million)
The public would purchase site, and fund construction of exhibit hall, meeting rooms, and ballroom space.
A new hotel chain would construct their own full service hotel with at least 300 rooms nearby would operate at it's own risk/gain.

This option was ranked lower because of incentives required to gain hotel partner and the competition of the existing Paper Valley Hotel.

3. Stand-Alone Convention Center (About $45 million)
Public would purchase site, fund construction of entire structure.
Public would own and operate the center or contract third party management
A new full-service hotel would be developed nearby.

This option was ranked lower in part because of the ongoing operating obligation for the public.


Benefit vs. Costs
Convention centers in general do not make money. Rather, they generate money into the communities where they are located with new visitation, and spending in the local community. They also provide a venue for events and activities for local community members.

The study looked at "net new" economic impacts generated by visitors not residing in the Fox Cities.

For scenario 1. (Paper Valley Partnership)
Annual Costs to operate would be $1,920,00 vs. $25,050,000 Development Cost
Annual Economic Output $8,429,085
Annual Benefit to Cost Ratio 4.39

For scenario 2. (Other Hotel Partnership)
Annual Cost to operate would be $3,886,900 vs. $50,014,000 Development Cost
Annual Economic Output $7623,074
Annual Benefit to Cost Ratio 1.96

For scenario 3. (Stand Alone Center)
Annal cost to operate would be $4,466,90 vs. $50,014,000 Development Cost
Annual Economic Output $7623,074
Annual Benefit to Cost Ratio 1.71

My personal thoughts/questions will follow soon.

July 15, 2008

Advisory referendum motion passes

Just got back from tonight's town board meeting. The following is a copy of a motion I made:

Our residents have once again spoken and submitted almost 1400 signatures asking the town board to hold an advisory referendum regarding the Grand Chute police merger. This is in addition to the overwhelming support for a referendum at the annual meeting.

It is our job as elected officials to represent our constituents on their behalf.

Not holding an advisory referendum is ignoring the will of the people. As an advocate of open government, I move to direct staff to prepare advisory referendum language that will be placed on the November ballot.


The motion was amended to have the language ready for the next appropriate election ballot. The reasoning being to allow time for the advisory committee to gather information that may educate the public as to their final decision.

The amended motion passed unanimously.

I feel this is a step in the right direction. When a community speaks out, whether by signatures on a petition, or an annual meeting, the representatives they elected should listen.

July 13, 2008

July 15th Town Board agenda

Blog postings took a backseat to my personal life this past week, as my wife has been in the hospital for major surgery. Hopefully, I will get a chance to catch up on postings this week. There will be a lot of activity coming up at this week's town board meeting that I will want to talk about. Please see July 15th's Town Board agenda. More postings to follow soon.

July 7, 2008

Hwy A and JJ closed starting today

Cty Hwy A near Cty Hwy JJ is closed for the summer while crews install sewer lines and the new roundabout. The highway intersection is expected to reopen the beginning of September.

June 17th meeting minutes

Minutes from the June 17th Town Board meeting are available for download. This is the meeting where I discussed formation of the Citizen's Police Advisory Panel.

July 3, 2008

Convention study will be unveiled

I will be attending a meeting July 16th sponsored by the Fox Cities Visitor's and Convention Bureau and the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce. They will unveil study findings on whether the Fox Cities should build a Convention Center. Convention, Sports & Leisure International, a consulting firm from Wayzata, MN was retained earlier this year to conduct the study.

The email invitation indicates CSL will share:

  • An overview of the current convention situation in the Fox Cities
  • What meeting planners think about the Fox Cities
  • The amount of demand for large meeting spaces
  • A "what if" scenario using several sites in the Fox Cities and how they stack up against the needs of meeting planners.

I will report back after this meeting.

July 2, 2008

Fire Station on time and on budget


Residents were given an insiders view of the new Grand Chute fire station.

Tour guides were Fire Chief Tim Bantes and project managers from Boldt construction. The station is set to meet the October completion date.


The outside masonary is in its finishing stages and work will turn to the inside. As you can see from the photos, the inside is mainly studs for now.


Town Supervisors have been getting weekly updates from Boldt that show the project is within budget.