by John H. Fischer on August 12th, 2009
On my blog, I gave some personal commentary on the Wausau City Council meeting of August 11th, and I had been asked to turn my commentary more into something “Front Page”… so here it goes:
For me, there are three reasons to attend government meetings. Reason #1 is because you want something: a zoning change, a conditional use, etc. Reason #2 is because you want to be more familiar (and maybe involved) in what is going on in local government. You want to meet the people behind the names and understand how the process works. Reason #3 is because sometimes… sometimes… the inner-workings of local government is actually just good, honest, entertainment. My attendance last night involved all three of these reasons.
A project that I have been working on for over 10 years, over a quarter my life, is finally nearing completion and three different issues on the agenda were addressing this project. Although I figured my items would be a no-brainer and would pass unanimously with no discussion, it still qualifies as Reason #1.
Based on how many people came up to me after the meeting to ask for my thoughts on a number of things that happened during the meeting, it is fair to say Reason #2 was covered as well.
However, the primary reason for spending over four hours of my life in a second row seat in Council Chambers was Reason #3. I went to the Council meeting to be entertained, and I was not let down. *NOTE: A suggestion for future marathon meetings with standing room attendance that almost went outside… CONCESSIONS! Think of the money that could have been made with the sale of popcorn, candy and soda out in the hallway.
So, for those that didn’t attend, what did you miss?
The meeting started with three citizens being awarded certificates by the Wausau police dept. for going out of their way to assist the police in making some arrests… Kudos to those three!!
Next was public comment for items on the agenda. There were two items that generated TONS of public comment, the 400 block and the 25th Street apartments. All of the comments on the 400 Block were in favor. There have been comments that no one against either the plan or public funding were there, however as more of the discussion centered around a private funding requirement, I heard the applause of at least 10-15 people. In the people speaking under public comments, NONE of that discussion even came close to hinting at exclusive private funding. As a matter of fact, many of them mentioned the public/private partnership which, translated, means generate what funds you can but have taxpayers pick up the rest. I found the comments from Mark Craig of Compass properties interesting — calling the 400 Block not only the City’s front yard, but also his “front yard.” (When I do work to my front yard, I don’t ask the taxpayers of the Town of Wausau to pick up the tab, but then… that’s just me.)
After the council meeting, a few people (including a few council members) asked why I didn’t say anything during the public comment section. Simple… first… everyone in the council knows my thoughts on the matter, how would verbalizing them change anything. Second, I truly believe that each member of the council, at 7:00 PM, knew how they were going to vote once it finally got there, and whatever public comment there was had very little chance of changing a vote. And finally, because verbalizing my thoughts wasn’t going to change anything, and because everyone’s mind was made up long before the hour of public comment, why should I subject myself to the boos and harassment that would have come from speaking against public funding from the 400 Block? (Because based on the reaction of the crowd last night, to be against public funding is no different than being against the plan.)
Between the public comments on the 400 block and the public comments on the 25th Street apartments, the Mayor changed the agenda. An item on the agenda was a settlement offer in a lawsuit the City is involved in with the owners of the M&I Bank building downtown. I assume (but do not claim to know) that this item was moved up because an attorney the city had hired was there to brief the council on this settlement, and I assume she was “on the clock.” So, just after 8 PM, the council considered settling a lawsuit that was filed against the City because of a “discrepancy” in what the assessed value of their property was. If I remember right, this was the assessment for the 2007 tax year. The settlement offer was finally accepted by the City, but not after some discussion. The two major objectors to the settlement were Hadley because she didn’t feel she had enough information to determine if the settlement was the proper course of action, and Kaiser because based on some information he received from the assessor’s office, he felt that the M&I Building was under-assessed.
Personally, I feel that if you hire an attorney, pay them what I assume is already into 5-figures, and they tell you they have a settlement offer and you should take it… well… I guess that’s why I hired the attorney. After all, I listen when an attorney I hired tells me to settle because it is actually in the attorney’s best interest NOT to settle and instead litigate this because by her own statement, litigation would result in over $30,000 more in legal fees with no assurance that the result will be better than the settlement.
Then came the public comments on the 25th Street apartments. I had written a blog entry about this proposed 96-Unit Apartment complex on the East Side after the public hearing because of how that hearing was handled by the developer. It was a TEXTBOOK example of how to present your case. I consider myself pretty good, but I was no where near their league when it came to background work and “selling” the plan. The neighbors of this currently agricultural area are against this type of development, and they showed up in force to object. Of course the developer was there to speak in favor. What I did not learn until after the meeting is that the developer had hired a PR firm to do some of the work. I suppose, if you have to “sell” a plan to the city council, might has well hire a PR firm to do the selling.
The 400 Block was then up for council discussion, which went on another hour or so. It became a Roberts Rules nightmare where even I was confused for a little bit (and I consider myself pretty good with parliamentary procedure). We started with a motion to pass the resolution approving the plan. We then had the Kaiser amendment. Finance Director Groat asked how the amendment would address interest on money already set aside, and the motion for the amendment was modified to take into account that interest. Then after much discussion, there was a motion to amend the amendment. I believe this was done by Gale who re-worded his amendment to the amendment a couple of times to make sure the intent was clear and agreeable to Kaiser. After more discussion, there was suggestion that the amendment to the amendment needed to be amended.
By this time, Rosenburg threw out the motion to send all amendments to the finance committee. That motion then “trumped” all of the other motions relating to amendments, but created a new question. If you have a resolution on the floor, and there is a motion to amend that resolution, and then that amendment to the resolution gets referred to committee, does the original motion also then get held up while the amendment gets polished in committee? The answer is no; because the original motion had not yet been officially amended, it could still be addressed even though the amendments were now sent to committee.
There was also discussion of just adding a line to the resolution clarifying that this is for the plan only and does not address funding. Brezenski seemed dead set against that and pointed out at least three times that the resolution only covers the plan and says nothing about funding. He claimed adding that last statement is redundant. Okay, fine, I agree. It would have been redundant. But, if being a little redundant helps some people sleep better at night, is a little redundancy a bad thing? If the last statement is unneeded and won’t change anything, then why such opposition to it? That part of the meeting greatly puzzled me.
Once the vote on the 400 block was done, there was a “recess” of a few minutes while over half of those stuffing the council chambers who only attended for Reason #1 left. Once the meeting started back up, the Mayor then, out of respect for the 30 or so people there for the 25th Street apartment issue, moved it up on the agenda. After much discussion on everything from Wausau’s comprehensive plan to apartment vacancy rates to legislative procedure, the approval came to a 6-6 vote, and was approved when the Mayor broke the tie. I am actually somewhat surprised that I wasn’t called to the podium to answer questions because shortly after the meeting, two members of city staff as well as three different council members had questions of me concerning this issue.
NOTE – CITIZEN WAUSAU NEWS EXCLUSIVE!!!
Something that just occurred to me and I hope someone reviews the minutes and/or tape of the meeting. This item had two agenda items. There was the proposal to amend the general development plan to allow for the apartments, which is what was approved with the Mayor’s tie-breaking vote. However, there was also the following item on the agenda where if the general development plan change was approved, the Council must now also approve the “Precise Implementation Plan” for this development in order for it to proceed. In all the excitement of that tie vote, I don’t honestly remember that the Precise Plan was ever voted on or approved?
Other interesting parts of the council meeting included the decision by the City to walk away from Veolia after this year ends and go with a different, smaller, more “local” garbage hauler. The biggest concerns that a couple of council members had was that the new hauler (Northern Waste) wouldn’t be able to “ramp up” in time. I assume people somehow associated with Veolia were in the audience because as the question was asked by Gale if they (Northern Waste) would be able to get the trucks they need by January 1st because there is often a lead time, I heard at least three people voice behind me that it can’t be done. I was actually surprised to learn that to service Wausau, only 6 garbage trucks are needed. For personal reasons, I was VERY pleased with the Council’s decision.
Also on the agenda was a new ordinance to limit rummage/garage sales within city limits. Such sales would be restricted to no more than 4 days in row, no more than 4 times each year, and at least a month between sales. When this first came up, there was significant public outcry so a public hearing was held to get input. At that hearing, literally no one showed up to testify, for or against. During the council meeting there was a proposed amendment to change part of it, and a different council member had stated they were thinking about amending it but in a different way. Because the urgency of this ordinance is really not a huge deal, Hadley asked that it just be sent back to committee so they would work out the concerns.
So… I went to the council meeting for the primary purpose of to be entertained, and I was. By the way, yes. My three items on the agenda were passed with a unanimous vote with no discussion.
by Cheryl Mathis on August 11th, 2009
Woo-hoo! Comments?
by Dino Corvino on August 11th, 2009
Like a gun fight in a cowboy movie, tonight’s City Council meeting figures to be a single vote, big crowd, no one caring about anything but the principal action item sort of night.
We have belabored this discussion for a long time. I have gone so far as to switch sides, but I still retain the blame of the Mayor and the Council for the reason this is so bungled.
So, one side is claiming that the 400 Block is the needed spark of progress, and a little spending to get that started is the way to go. They further have talked about private partnerships to raise the funds. They have made the claim that this will bring opportunity to the city, bring pride to downtown, will look to the future.
The other team, well they want to be seen as fiscally responsible, and make sure that in these tough times that we are not spending money that we do not need to spend. They want fairness for the city, and they want to not see the money spent in such a focused manner.
The voices of progress versus the voices of fiscal responsibility. Interesting thing to look to as a conflict.
Here is the rumor for tonight, just in case you want to add intrigue. Rumor has it that Councilman Kaiser is going to introduce the amendment that will say that tax money cannot used for this project. I believe the exact language is, “Use No Tax Money”.
The issue with that, Councilman Kaiser, is that there is already money set aside for this project. Not a lot of money, but money nonetheless. The inclusion of this amendment will make that money go away. It is money that exists for this purpose. How about redrafting your amendment this afternoon?
Progress versus Fiscal Responsibility?
by Dino Corvino on July 29th, 2009
Last night I attended the public hearing on the 400 Block Renovation. I have written extensively about the 400 Block, we have had lots of comments about the block, and last night a lot of people spoke out. To be frank, I am a little frazzled today, so this will be a little bit more like bullet points than anything else.
-First off I was ashamed of the members of the City Council who left the proceedings and did not listen to the people. The sort of exodus out of the room by some members was a little bit surprising, given that this was a meeting that is political in nature and created to show THEM what the public thought.
-Bill Forrest ran an amazing meeting. He had a clear agenda, a clear direction, and he kept everyone on course and outburst free with an easy hand. Clearly Bill is a good, possibly great, leader.
-Endorsements of support came from Central Wausau Progress, Wausau Area Events, ChalkFest, the Court House Committee, the City Pages, and the Wausau Chamber of Commerce. That might just cover everyone.
-There has been a lot of talk about Central Wausau Progress in various list serves and the WDH Forum recently. They have been painted as an all powerful, behind the scenes puppet master. From the public nature of what Joe Mella did and said, that could not be further from the truth. They are simply another constituency group put together around an idea. If anyone has made a mistake, the City has by putting these sort of non-City groups on the city website, and allowing for conspiracy buff fodder.
-One woman stood up and said that trees and walls will make her feel unsafe while walking. She referenced living in the high crime city of Milwaukee.
-A man named Vern spoke of the need for a referendum. He accused the committee of being a dictatorship, and he said the council cannot spend money without a public referendum. I have seen Vern give this speech before, so it was par for the course.
-A man named Bart Hobson had been doing some reading in the library about city design and urban planning, and he supported the design and explained with external sources why he did. I thought it was pretty cool to hear Jane Jacobsen and William Whyte mentioned.
-The woman who owns the Beltone business in town wants to call the square the DOVE Square. It is an acronym for something, but I totally forgot.
-Tyler Vogt from Malarkeys was a bit scattered, but he supported the design, and mentioned Why Not Wausau. So that was cool.
-A man in sweatpants said that we cannot afford to build the block.
-The members of the committee that I recognized were Leah Alters, Ann Werth, the guy who owns Shephard and Schaller, David Freeman, Bill Forrest, some lady from the county board, Jim Rosenberg, and some other folks I did not know.
-At one point Ed Gale leaned over to Joe Gehin and made a joke about skateboarding on the square. Since I am both pro skateboarding and anti-skateboarding ban fellow, I have to say Ed was right. This square has some definite things that skaters will love.
The highlight for me was the idea of putting a glockenspiel on the block. Here’s the thing, I do not know what glockenspiel is, or what it does, but this man made a case that people would come from all over the country to see a glockenspiel. I nearly fell out of my chair with laughter and the idea of what someone thought I would travel across the country to see. It boggles the mind sometime. Why is ANYONE going to come to see a glockenspiel?
I also came away thinking that the naysayers, the anti-change crowd in this town, those divisive voices that seek to only stop things but never propose anything, should have been there. Rather than sitting back, sending around a steady stream of invective laden emails, and attacking people BEHIND the scenes, democracy should be done in the light of day. Leaders stand in front. Assassins stand in the dark.
And finally my thought is this…all of this could have been staged. The forces that want the block to change could have called on all of their friends and neighbors and like-minded folks, and they could have packed the podium. But, if that is the theory, I saw no one stopping anyone from getting up and talking. It was in fact a free flow to the podium, and no one was left out. If you had something to say, then you had a chance to talk. I have not changed my mind that the city has bungled this from the beginning, but last night went a long way to shutting me up about that. Thank you Bill Forrest for trying to do the right thing and speaking to the public.
by Dino Corvino on July 20th, 2009
I suppose that my writing this is something that is a long time coming, and also a sign that I have been not communicating very well. I have been pegged as an opposer to the 400 Block reinvention program for a while now, and for the most part, I relish the role of the anti fellow. In this case I was miscasting myself.
I believe that the design for the 400 Block is the right one. The one that we offered on this sight, that is downloadable from deep within the city website (we shall get to that later), or one that you can go to city hall and ask someone to see, and they will roll their eyes and go dig it up. If you want to go through that, you can see the plan.
I should be clear about the first thing though, one million dollars is a lot of cabbage. In this time of recession when 10 percent of America is out of work, one1 million is a lot of loot. Is it really though? How can we look at that? The budget for NTC is around 50 million, I think. I am just estimating from the short time I worked there. Companies like Kocurek have over 10 million dollars in inventory on their lot, and Eastbay sells tens of millions of dollars worth of shoes. But, yes, a million on a park is a lot.
But, it is going to happen sooner or later. We cannot leave the block sitting there like that, poorly maintained, poorly designed, and under utilized. Sure you say that there are dozens of people every day and thousands once a week for concerts. But, what if there were thousands there every night, and hundreds during the day? Would the downtown businesses want that? Would Evolutions In Design not sell more flowers, and Downtown Grocery not sell more mangos? And Shepherd and Schaller not sell more tennis racquets and swimming suits? We all go on and on about buy local (Bill and Lisa Coady even started a website), and it seems like most everything around the 400 Block is locally owned.
Let’s just draw a “what if.” What if we build the stage, and the city seeks out a way to lessen the hurdles to event producers to use the venue, and suddenly you have corporations seeking out ways to put on live music events each day, all summer. Noon and evening shows. I suppose the position could be taken that it would water down the success we have now, but that is so very selfish. I often use a glass of beer as a metaphor. When I was an employee (did I get paid or file taxes?) at Scott Street we had Guinness on tap. The owner wanted to charge like six bucks a pint, so no one was drinking it. He said he needed that to cover his costs. I said, are you making more money selling ten pints at the 30% profit you need, or would you make more money selling 100 pints at 15% profit? I was never good at algebra, but think about it. Would we not benefit by having a consistent increase in downtown traffic, rather than a weekly spike that is not recreated any other day of the week? Would that not increase income to everyone over a longer period of time?
The other thing, we simply need to grow. Like putting a fresh coat of paint on your house, the city needs to grow. You do not always need to paint, but you know that if you do not paint, bad things might happen, and it will take longer to correct later on. The 400 Block is that coat of paint. Sure, the pools, eh, we got lucky with a hot summer, and Councilman Rosenberg looks like a fortuneteller. But, it could have gone the other way, and we would have been hanging him in effigy (some consistently do). But, the 400 Block is happening no matter how cool or warm we go.
To not do it, to have our hands cuffed, indicates that the status quo is going to keep going. That the city is NOT INTERESTED in supporting those businesses that look to events like that for help, that the exclusivity of those in the know will keep going. We have an exclusive culture, a cool kids table where not everyone is allowed to even volunteer to help out, and this will allow that to go forth. Opening this process up, making these changes, will draw new people, new ideas, new possibilities to the table. Yeah, those football players and cheerleaders are not going to like sitting with the kids from FFA, but this is 2009 and we need all hands on the oars. Not just the ones that hang out in the right places.
We need to grow, and this is a way for us to grow. The vision is not complete or inclusive yet. It is not what I had hoped for, but, a zebra cannot change his stripes, and this plan will push the zebra along a little bit. Change will happen.
How this thing was Bungled
I have been vocal about this process. I have written often, argued with many, been accused of failing to build consensus by people who should know that their vision is not mine to sell. I learned a few things recently, and I thought they helped me.
- This thing started 14 years ago. Huh? Yep, 14 years.
- This is the first public meeting I can find where the goal was to discuss the benefits of the 400 Block plan. First one in 14 years, I think
I wrote in an article that this started off as 600 grand, and now is a million bucks. I have no idea why. No one ever told anyone why that was. I cannot find it anywhere in any minutes of any meetings, or any public statements made by this mayor. So, what am I supposed to think from that … that the price went up. For no reason. At least not one that the mayor has ever communicated, and this seems to be his ball to run with.
We have a meeting on the 28th, which has been described a meeting for public discussion of the design. It has been scheduled to take place in the council chambers. This choice limits the amount of people who can attend. This choice limits discussion. I would have rather seen the event take place in the big hall at UWMC or the David R. Obey building at NTC. I would have liked to see this meeting open to the public, and promoted accordingly.
I would have further liked to see that this meeting is not a meeting about input, but rather about the Mayor and the supporters of the plan standing in front of the people who elected them, and telling the people why this is a good thing. This has not happened. This vision HAS NOT been communicated in any substantial way with the people, and as such, the people reject anything that costs a million bucks in a time of recession.
I had a heated discussion with my good friend and local reporter about this idea. The idea that this plan has not been communicated with the people. He said that it has been discussed at length at a ton of committee meetings and council meetings. These meetings are open to the public, and the agendas are available in advance. I literally laughed out loud at this. You see, I attend council meetings. I have even gone to a committee meeting or two just to listen. And he goes to every meeting. He is after all, a reporter, so it is his job to know. But, if you go to a meeting of the city council here in Wausau, you will find a handful of people, less than two dozen usually, in attendance. So, to say that the public had a chance to know, or that it was communicated to the public in this manner is laughable to me. And insulting to the people.
We are two mayors into this. Mayor Tipple and Mayor Lawrence have both been elected with the concept of moving the city forward. Mayor Lawrence was an amazing hard charger, with a real vision for the future (and she was cool in my opinion), and Mayor Tipple was elected primarily with the slogan of Freeze It and Fix It. No one knows what that meant, but we have thrown out the idea of freezing anything in this city, save for public information, leadership with vision, and communicating with our Mayor unless you own a really cool house up north. Our Mayor has been criticized for being invisible, for refusing requests for public documents, and for not leading.
Mayor Tipple has an opportunity to stem that tide on the 28th. His handlers, his supporters have to see this moment as crucial to the election of both the council he would like and his own election. The council can live in fear of the forces of negativity in the city, like we have documented before. Or, they can be embraced by a leader who wants to protect them while giving them a vision to support.
The chance to stand up, make a riveting case in support of the 400 Block, and provide the council to which he is the leader of, a chance to act within that vision.
Mayor Tipple also has a willing, eager, and supportive media across the board that he can go to and communicate his vision to. He and the others on the 400 Block progress team can go to TV, the newspaper and radio, and talk about this between now and the 28th, and sell the public. Then, at the meeting, they can sell it again. They can hear from the people, and they can overcome the objections of the people. They can stop sitting on their hands, and they can sell me on this plan. They can show me the benefit, they can show me that a million dollars is a good investment.
I told my friend Pat Peckham this idea, and a few others as well. What about making the acceptance of the block contingent on the city raising X amount of dollars or percentage of cost for the block prior to a nickel of public money being spent? Why not do that? We have had Mayor Tipple telling us that donations will come, and we have seen none. Why not make it the responsibility of this Mayor and this council to put together a fundraising campaign to ensure that we have the money prior to the first bit of dirt being shoveled out? Would you support it then?
I believe that the plan has not been communicated to the public in any sort of concrete way. Those in the know, they know it and support it. But that information has not gotten out to the people. That is the true 14-year failure of the 400 Block effort.
by Dino Corvino on June 17th, 2009
I have spent a lot of time decrying the 400 Block plans, and the lack of transparency involved in the process, and the rising costs, but the reality of it is I love the 400 Block, and I love downtown. I spend a lot of my time there. I have also spent a good portion of my adult life living and working in and around the idea of community creation. While it would be easy for me to spout off about Web 2.5 tools and social media, I thought I would talk about the 400 Block.
This week I had a chance to have my first lunch on the block. It was an amazing sort of thing. I bought some food from a locally owned downtown grocer (wink wink), and I went and sat with a friend in the park. There were about 50 people there, all doing the same thing. We were lucky enough to get a bench early, and some strangers sat down with us. And the four of us ended up talking about everything, and they even mentioned this website, which was cool.
There were a ton of 20 somethings, and teens doing whatever it is that teens and 20 somethings do. Primarily I think they were socializing, and by degree, looking for help finding their way through this world. At least that is what I was doing at that age. They were all cool kids, and they seemed to like what was going on there, and the vibe was nice.
Wausau Area Events puts on these little lunches that have amazing farmers, and other stuff. It is truly one of the best, more pure things that Leah and Kari and that group does. I am eternally grateful. I look forward to more time with my spork and some veggies on the square.
But, the event that is sort of the embodiment of the 400 Block, and in a lot of ways downtown, is the concerts.
For me, the music is just sort of warmed over, and not all that interesting, but I think the music is secondary. Every week thousands (maybe) sit on the square, and they get along and have drinks and food and enjoy each other’s company. Young people, old people all sitting together and doing the things that people do – talking about the events of the day, watching kids play, drinking some wine – and it all comes together like community. A community within a community. An inclusive event, put on by the groups that put on things like this in town, for free.
And we are lucky to have it. Communities can be online, focused around a sports team or idea, or around mutual interests. I have always found broad spectrum community is the best thing. Sitting with people, and doing regular people things: that is cool.
And that is what the 400 Block is to me.
by Dino Corvino on April 28th, 2009
So, far be it from me to give props to the cats at 550 AM, but, today I happened to have nothing in my car to listen to on the drive to work. So, I was trapped. I turned it on, and bang, they were talking about the 400 Block.
It appears from this agenda item that this City Council has once again sought to move forward on the 400 Block. Now, according to sources, there is a completed project and the design will be approved tonight. This, according to a source within City Hall, is the final step of discussion prior to the actual spending of the money.
What will happen next? Well, the city will approve this design, and then the city will go seek out bids for the work. A casual estimate from a city employee in the know is around a million bucks into this project.
So, I am broke nowadays. The insurance companies are gone, the banks are failing, I think ReMax has the entire state of California listed in this month’s Buyers Guide, and our City Council wants to move forward and spend money. How does it work that our state is in a budget deficit, that one of our local school district had to seek a line of credit for the first time, and our City Council seems to be able to spend freely?
When I asked about that at City Hall, the universal response was … eh, no idea.
So, we just hired a new Development Director, we are facing a giant settlement in the Van De Yacht matter, and your City Council once again seeks to defy popular discussion and move forward with a 400 Block construction in a time of economic recession? To quote Seth Meyers from SNL … “Really?!?”
You can see the item on the agenda below. If you are interested, you could possibly email your City Council reps.
Council Agenda
Council Addendum
by Dino Corvino on February 5th, 2009
I want to be up front about this. I have very little knowledge about the budget processes of government agencies. We are in the midst of some hand wringing at the federal level, and being a fan of the local budget, I was looking through the local meeting minutes regarding the 400 Block.
So, I started asking some questions. I really was unsure of the nature of the 400 Block anymore, and as such, I needed to revisit it. I first had to remember how long ago this all started. Did you know the first submission of a plan was three years ago? This plan was put together for the city, by the city, and THEN sent out to consultants. A Common Council subcommittee that worked with the Parks Department put together a plan for the block. A proof of working concept.
I want to state that again. The subcommittee worked with employees of the City of Wausau, people who are professionals in the park and recreation area, who work here, who are already on the city payroll, and they all put together a plan. In that, they had a plan, a vision, a goal, an idea, a concept of what people who live in the city would want, drafted by people who live and work in the City of Wausau. According to a source within the Park and Rec department, the rough cost of said design was between 600 and 800 grand. For sake of discussion here, let us put a thumbtack in 800 thousand dollars, simply for discussion sake.
After that, the City sent the design that our in-house parks professional did out to consultants. It is fair to say that this consultant or firm got paid for their work. To reiterate, it appears that someone, an employee of the city, worked with the City Council to come up with a plan for the 400 Block. The Council Subcommittee was involved, and they approved it. Then, the Council approved it. So there was a lot of approval by this point. Then, after this wave of approval, it went to a consultant. Sure, we can use the word CONCEPTUAL DESIGN all we want, like they do in the minutes, but it appears that everyone liked the idea. The plan seemed to go to a consultant to get polished, maybe transferred into a technical rendering. I trust that there must be concrete reasons like liability or something for a design to be sent to others, a design agreed on by the council and developed by the people who would be building it.
So, it is my reading of this story that now the plan has once again returned. This time the price tag is $907,500. This comes from a man named Terry Kittson from Becher-Hoppe. According to minutes from a committee meeting, Mr. Kittson says that the cost could go to $1,357,500 with improvements.
I asked the source at the Parks department what these additional costs were. They made mention of a cover for the stage, a sound system and other items. So, it is my understanding that when the media talks about pork in appropriations bill, it comes down to adding items into a useful and needed appropriation bill that might be seen by some as extra spending. Bridges to nowhere towers to celebrate obscure historical figures.
I am sure that someone needs all these items that have been added. But without a proper accounting of them, as they do not appear in the minutes of the committee meeting, how are we to know what they are? Are we to take it on faith that the committee is not buying a Corvette or espresso makers for their whole family? One of the ideas brought forth in the video played at City Council meetings is transparency, and this seems to be a little bit foggy.
I also have a question about the representation on the Ad Hoc committee. It is my understanding the largest use of the 400 Block is the Concerts on the Square that are put on by the City Pages. Yet, no one from the City Pages is represented at these meetings. In full disclosure, I do freelance for the City Pages, but am not a staff member. Would it not make sense to include the largest user of the square?
In a personal note, it appears that Sherry Abitz has reversed her “supporter of the teens” role. In this meeting she highlights a need to have anti-skateboard measures on the railings. In fairness, most skateboarders are teens. I question if this is another way for the committee created by Janet Herring to ban downtown skateboarding to revitalize itself. I surely hope not. There is no need to single out a group, skateboarders, in advance and design something with anti-skateboard measures. It is less than inviting to read a city councilperson make such a point. What shall be done to ban fast moving bicycles? Or skydivers from landing here?
The 400 Block is a community gem. The Concerts on the Square are the shining beacon showing the true nature, and openness of our community. Nice people and families getting together, sitting around talking and laughing with kids playing, and some folks playing music. This is the utopian idea that we need to keep going. This is the best of Wausau.
This long, drawn out process is painful to read about, painful to listen to, and even more painful to think about. No one will ever make everyone happy, no governing body could ever achieve that, but what they can achieve is inclusion and transparency. In this case, a little explanation and frugality would not hurt. We have gone from $800,000 to over $1.3 million. In today’s world, we need to pursue the answer as to why. Are we spending ourselves into a hole? Should we not put money into the bank, instead of taking it out?
Oink.
by Tyler Vogt on November 12th, 2008
I am new to Citizen Wausau, but I have been working downtown for almost ten years. Currently I am one of the owners of Malarkey’s Pub. I am looking over the 400 block everyday.
Except during events, most of the time there is no one on the square; if it’s really nice outside, maybe a handful of people. I think this is due to the lack of definition on the square. People don’t like to sit in the middle of an open space. Having walls, flower boxes, trees, shade or whatever would help divide up the square into spaces people may feel more comfortable.
I think next year we should try putting the stage on the north side of the block. Eventually it would be nice to see some streets close down (and buses re-routed). I think having the stage on the north side may help a business to move into the old Little Italy building (I looked at that space for Malarkey’s, and one of the reasons we did not go with it was because I felt that space was “behind all the action”).
If the stage were moved to the North side I would like to eventually see an environment where 3rd, 4th, and Jefferson Streets could be used to let businesses supply tables and chairs to cater to customers, like they do in Milwaukee, Chicago, Madison, other cities, and all over the world. This of course would require the city to loosen its prohibition laws. They some how get this to work in other communities, couldn’t we at least try?
Imagine if you could come down to the square just like you do now, but you also had the choice to grab a stage view table outside at the Mint, Malarkey’s, Yao’s, Erberts, and other places? After the shows on the square you could enjoy the evening till 10 (or some other designated time all the tables have to be cleared) then go check out local nightlife at The Intermission, Malarkey’s, The Fillmor, the Red Eye, or The City Grill. Eventually, the downtown retail shops could get together and stay open later or restaurants could serve past 8 or 9. We could have events on Thursdays, too, since so many people take Fridays off. And how about a weekend music concert or two? (I’m in it to win it!)
When I travel to other cities the downtown areas are teaming with activity on hot summer nights. In Wausau, Wednesdays do all right, but other than that, it’s a ghost town at times.
I realize that is a pipe dream at the moment, but all this momentum for downtown retail and nightlife could stem from the events that are already held downtown. It’s important to keep them there. Please don’t move them.
I believe all this discussion could really be helped out by asking a simple question: What is the downtown for?
If it is for the people of Wausau, then one could argue it’s doing a decent (although the square is not too pretty) job the way it is.
But if its goal is to help continue to make Wausau more of a destination-style city, we are on a good path, but we have a way to go. The square is a step in the right direction, but I would like to see it expand in a way that could let local business cater to the growing crowds, generating an energy that would make people want to spends more time downtown and in Wausau.
by Dino Corvino on October 29th, 2008
This week Citizen Wausau explores the considered updates to Wausau’s City Square on the 400 Block. For your reference, have a look at these plans. They are not final, but they give a good idea of what is to come.
One of the joys of being a small town fighting its big town future, is we still have interesting little pockets of personality that have tremendous influence. Whether it be Janet Herring and her ad hoc ‘committee’ trying to band teenagers and skateboards from downtown, to the guy who wants electric cars, to the small group of insiders who want 400 Block redesign.
It is an amazing time for Wausau. The economy is in the tank in this country, local dude John Noell got a little of the bailout money, factories are closing, local cultural icons are being led by bad business people…and the city wants to spend a half of a million on a park.
The position has been taken that this money is needed for tourism improvement, and then that position was further explained away. For a while I read that this was State of Wisconsin money, but that appears to not be the case now. This appears to be money that the city is CHOOSING to spend on the block.
If you read the WDH, or even worse, the WDH forum, you see the amount of vocal dissent about this very issue. While I am not one to hold up the wisdom of mobs, at a certain point the mob is telling you to stop this process. To save the money. No one is upset with current layout of the park. No one has been vocal about NEEDING to change it. Yet we have a push from a very small group of people, and alderpersons who want this to go through.
It has become a cult of personality. We have read extensively from Councilman Rosenberg talking about how it will be like a Parisian park, and it will only grow the city. How it is better to fix something before it breaks. How the people who are saying no, just simply do not understand urban planning. All valid, if somewhat argumentative from an elected official.
So right now the 400 Block is the place where The City Pages/Wausau Area Events concerts draw thousands of people each week. The farmers market draws a giant amount of vendors now, and hundreds of people to buy…wait for it…produce. The balloon thing is so pretty. Those dogs and the Frisbees, pretty cool. It is also a place to sit during the day, to sit in the grass and just sort of let it go during the day.
Yet we choose to change it. We choose to go against the will of the people once again. Our elected officials have sought to, and continue to seek to thumb their nose at the people by doing something people do not want. Recently the people were vocal about the 8 Million dollar pool rehab or something, and it went away. At what point will this stop. It seems every few months these folks try to push this through.
We choose to add trees, which diminish space so less people can come to events. We choose to add concrete structures; once again less people can come to events. We seek to put what appears to be a water fountain in front of the stage, because not only is that limiting space, adding water to electrical instruments is a bad idea.
In 2008 we have no money as a country. Wausau is part of that country. We need to conserve our resources. Let us not spend money on something like this now. A strong enough case has not been made, the design is not available to the public on the cities website, the people have no idea what is going on. Make this discussion public, at the very least embrace your City Council plank of transparency, and show us the plans. Bring in real voices of change on this like Jim O’Connell, or Leah Alters, or Tammy Stezinski from the City Pages. Bring in event planners through out the state to give testimony on the idea of what the plan is now, versus what you want to make it.
More than that though, let this idea be in response to the needs of the people. The people are everyone, not just people we share drinks with at Loppnows, or at the Golf Club. Let us not be lobbied by the people who do not use the space, but you know socially. Let yourselves hear the voices of everyone.
