Update on first Grand Chute citizen's advisory police merger panel meeting

The following post is an update on the first Citizen Advisory police merger panel meeting. At Tuesday's meeting, my suggestion to communicate what transpires to the public through press releases was not very well received. It was decided residents could keep updated through meeting minutes. Unfortunately, meeting minutes will not be posted on the town's web site until they are approved at the following meeting. The next meeting will be September 23rd. Therefore, I am providing this update to Grand Chute residents.

The Grand Chute citizen's advisory police merger panel met this past Tuesday. It was the first time the panel had met. James Milslagle, member of the panel, was selected as Chair, with Tom Dreier elected as Secretary. A representative from Virchow Krause was present as they have been hired as a consultant to oversee progress and provide direction to the panel. I was initially concerned when Edmund Henschel, the representative from Virchow Krause, told the panel he had been directed by the Town Board to lay out a six month time table for the study. His directive was to split the phases into two three month segments. I informed Mr. Henschel, the Town Board had not set forth any time table; Chairman Marsden later indicated this was a directive from himself.

I asked Mr. Henschel, in his 27 years of experience, if he had encountered mergers that were put together in less than six months. My police merger investigations indicated a much longer time period, some taking 2-5 years. Mr. Henschel agreed six months was an extremely short time frame.

Since the purpose of the panel is to ensure a thorough investigation into the pros and cons of a police merger, the panel agreed to leave the time table open at this point, and not restrict itself to a six month period. The panel also agreed monthly meetings may be too far apart, and may consider bi-weekly meetings at the next session.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 23rd. Interim Chief Peterson will be gathering information, including statistics that were requested in the original RFP, including calls for service, scheduling, and a planned budget. Panel members will receive this information for review and at the next meeting will forward our questions to Interim Chief Peterson.

I will be happy to have Interim Chief Peterson answer any citizen questions as well. Please email or comment with any concerns. I fought for this panel to be formed to ensure taxpayers are at the forefront of the decision making process. This is your opportunity to become involved.

Exploring sustainability in Grand Chute

The Grand Chute Town Board agreed at the August 19th meeting to direct staff to investigate requirements for becoming an eco-municipality. Community Director of Development, Allen Davis, is busy researching the direction it takes to become a sustainable town and will report back to the Town Board. Also, next week, he and I are meeting with leading advocates in the Fox Valley for sustainable practices. We'll discuss what practices could be easily adopted by the town and receive the quickest benefit.

One of the people we'll be speaking with is Leslie Taylor. She has helped coordinate sustainability workshops in the Fox Valley, and arraigned for the authors of the book The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices at the FOTH conference this past June.

The following is an announcement Ms. Taylor sent regarding the formation of community book study circles:

"The Natural Step for Communities" Study Circles Forming

Are you interested in helping to build community understanding and knowledge about sustainability?

Individuals and groups in communities all over Wisconsin are reading The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices. This book is commonly used for group study circles to deepen people's understanding about sustainable communities and the decision-making process that leads to them.

Torbjorn Lahti (co-author of the book and founder of the eco-municipality movement) has been quoted saying, "Perhaps the most important factor to why we were successful in becoming an eco-municipality were study circles…It's a question of people taking control over their own situation and their own future."

Many people who have participated in a study circle have felt more informed, empowered, and encouraged to create positive change in their own community.

If you are interested in being part of a study circle, please contact:

Ø Leslie Taylor at ltaylor@sustainfv.org (920-739-7307), or

Ø Catherine Neiswender at catherine.neiswender@ces.uwex.edu (920-232-1972).

We will do our best to coordinate groups at times and places that work for the greatest possible participation. If you are part of an existing group that's interested in learning about The Natural Step for Communities, let us know.

The Appleton Public Library has several copies of the book in circulation, or you can purchase your own copy. Conkey's bookstore in Appleton and Amazon.com have been good sources.

Study circles work best when done over an 8-week period, but we can condense them into 4-week timeframes if that's all you have time for!

We have planned 3 one-hour orientation sessions to get people the information they need to get started. You only need to attend one of these sessions - after the orientation we will connect you with a group and a leader, meeting at a yet-to-be-determined time and place.

Here are the orientation sessions:

September 10, 7 – 8 p.m., Appleton Public Library lower level meeting room

September 17, 7 – 8 p.m., Menasha Public Library lower level meeting room

November 12, 7 – 8 p.m., Appleton Public Library lower level meeting room

Please respond to this message with a note indicating which days of the week, time of day, and location will be best for you to participate in a circle.

We will organize the circles to begin shortly after the orientation sessions.

If you are interested, but unable to attend any of the above orientation sessions, let us know that, too. We'll do our best to plan something that will work for you!

Also, please forward this message to any friends, neighbors, co-workers, or business associates who may be interested in learning about building a sustainable future for the Fox Valley area.

April Aire assistance Summary and Final Report

The following is a communication I received from Curt Detjen, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, regarding the April Aire Mobile Home Park. The Community Foundation worked with the April Aire Task Force, helping displaced residents when the mobile home park shut down. This was accomplished with donations to the Fox Valley Emergency Assistance Fund within the community foundation. Other agencies and business throughout the Fox Valley Region donated their time or services as well. This is the final report for assistance through the Community Foundation.

April Aire Mobile Home Park
Assistance Summary and Final Report

Total families assisted: 26
Total individuals assisted: 79

Type of assistance:
Move trailer to new location: 9
Assistance with rent: 16
Assistance with home purchase: 1

February, 2008 $2,186.46 (5 families)
March, 2008 $300.00 (2 families)
April, 2008 $600.00 (2 families)
May, 2008 $600.00 (2 families)
June, 2008 $5,123.00 (5 families)
July, 2008 $15,235.81 (10 families)

Total: $24,045.27

Contributions from the community: $12,334.33 (23 contributions of $10-$5,000)
Remaining funding: $11,710.94 anonymous donors will provide for this

Sample demonstration of need:

S. is a single man whose 31-year-old estranged wife passed away in December of 2007. He moved into her mobile home at April Aire to care for his two young children and his stepson. With assistance, S. was able to secure a three-bedroom duplex to raise his family as a single father.

C. is a 64-year-old military veteran who has worked for the same employer for 22 years. He has lived alone in a mobile home at April Aire for sixteen years. With assistance, he was able to secure safe housing in a new location.

R., T, and their two young children lived in one of the older homes in April Aire. During the cold spell this winter, the pipes froze, causing sewage to overflow into the home. The condition of the home was described by the receiver as “horrible.” The family was able to relocate to a new apartment.

J. is a single woman who has lived at April Aire for 17 years. She lived alone after inheriting the mobile home from her parents. She was distraught over the thought of losing her home, but with financial assistance, was able to transport her home to a new mobile home park.

D, her husband, and young daughter lived in a mobile home at April Aire which was located right next door to her disabled mother, P. The living arrangement was mutually beneficial—P. was able to provide day care to her granddaughter while D. was able to assist P., who is confined to a wheelchair. With assistance for a first month’s mortgage, the families were able to purchase a duplex.

Chairman says no to public participation

I mentioned in the August 10th post that the public would be able to participate in the Citizen's Advisory Panel Meetings. This assumption was based upon the format of the Communications Committee meetings that were held last fall. The public could attend the committee meetings and ask questions, or would be asked for input on certain matters. I assumed this would be the case as well.

Yesterday, the Chairman informed me he absolutely does not want any public participation at these police merger panel meetings. While the public can attend meetings, they will not be able to speak. I am posting this information as I had stated otherwise in an earlier entry. As an advocate for open government, I still encourage the public to attend these meetings and welcome any input via phone calls or emails.

Hwy A and JJ opening delayed

The construction of the roundabout at Cty Hwy JJ and A is taking longer than expected. The intersection, originally scheduled for completion in early September, will remain closed until early October, according to Outagamie County Highway Commissioner Al Guerts. The delay is caused by unexpected bedrock found throughout the soil. . Blasting is needed in order to install new sewer lines on Hwy A, slowing the entire project down.

August 19th Town Board Agenda

The agenda for tomorrow's Town Board meeting is available for download. It looks like this will be a short meeting.

Update: There is an amended item on the agenda under New Business. The Board will vote whether to direct staff to investigate Grand Chute becoming an ecomunicipality. This is a direct result of myself and Community Development Director Alan Davis attending the FOTH conference for sustainability in June.

Tire Disposal week

Free tire disposal week is set for September 15-19. This program is for residential use only. Tires must be no larger than 17” (rims are acceptable), limit of four (4) tires per household.

Call the town hall at 832-4771 or email Sally.Leopold@grandchute.net by Friday, September 12, 2008 to be placed on the list for pickup. The town will need your address, phone number and the number of tires for pickup. Tires must be at the end of the driveway by 7:00 am on Monday, September 15th. Collection will only take place during this week by the Department of Public Works employees.

Wisconsin guitar prodigy censored

Regular readers of my blog may remember a posting earlier in the summer about my visit to Steel Bridge Songfest 08 in Sturgeon Bay. I mentioned seeing 8 year-old blues prodigy Tallan "T-man" Latz play on stage with Jackson Browne.

Looks like he's gaining national attention. You may not be able to see him perform in clubs, except on youtube, but he'll still be rocking at festivals around Wisconsin.

First Citizen's Police Advisory Panel meeting to be held

The first Citizen's Advisory Panel will be held Tuesday, August 26th at 6pm in the Community Room at the Grand Chute Town Hall. These committee meetings are different than regular town board meetings in that the public is able to join in on discussion throughout the meeting.

The Citizen's Advisory Panel was formed to evaluate the proposed consolidation of the Grand Chute Police Department with the City of Appleton Police Department and file a report with the Town Board.

The first meeting will be organizational in nature. I will post notice of future meetings throughout the process.

Grand Chute stays at AA3 credit rating

At Tuesday night's meeting, the town of Grand Chute was informed the town's rating for credit purposes remained at AA3.

What does this mean?
According to Moody's Bond rating:

"Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as "gilt edged." Interest payments are protected by a large or an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues. "

This is one of the highest ratings a municipality can achieve. This rating directly affects the bargaining power a town has for its interest rates, both borrowing and the return on the bonded monies we currently have in reserve. This rating is an indication to lending institutions as to how financially secure municipalities are.

In the words of Schenck and Associates, the town is doing very well. Its nice to see that in these financially trying times, our town is remaining financially strong. I am committed to continuing this trend.

If you are interested in seeing the detailed report, it is available for review at the town hall.

National Night Out 2008 is tonight

Grand Chute is participating in National Night Out this evening. The event will be 6-8pm at Carterwoods Park. This year's theme is 25^th Annual National Night Out. According to Staff Sargeant Todd Zolkowski, 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.

Last year's National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 35 million people participated in National Night Out 2007.

Hope to see you there!

August 6, 2008 Town Board agenda

The agenda for tonight's Town Board meeting is available for download.