This was a meeting where the interesting remarks, like the devil, were subtle and in the details.
‘Death-Knell for the District.’ A councilman didn’t waste time explaining (again) that student housing is bad for the community. He described it as the “death-knell” for his district. Presumably, he feels that it would be the death-knell for any district. That leaves Whitewater with only two choices (death-knells being avoided wherever possible): confine the students to campus, or insist that they commute each evening to their home towns. Even his tone changes – and turns angry — when he describes his concerns about students, students, students encroaching on our fair city.
He’s yet to propose a bounty on students discovered outside the campus, but the academic year is young, and he’s not shy about talking and proposing…
That brings us to the subject of talking and talking and talking. Is it possible that a man, accustomed to lecture patients who cannot reply while dental instruments are in their mouths, has stopped listening to the replies or interests of others at all? Are dentists more likely to engage in irritating monologues than the rest of society? I don’t know, but it’s possible.
Downtown Whitewater. We have a new director, but we many have to wait longer for a director who commits decisively to living in Whitewater.
The Whitewater Aquatic Center and Mercy Fitness. The WAC group is trying to move the Center in the right direction, from all accounts. It can’t be an easy job, but they seem to be doing it well. There’s still room to go to reach the number of memberships for the center to break even, but the trend is favorable.
(When someone on Council asked if the WAC might consider closing for part of the year, one could only wince; a seasonal shutdown would be one of the worst choices they could make.)
Committee and Board Volunteers. Council considered and approved nominations to city boards and committees. Ms. Kienbaum is surely right that, ultimately, a board member should not be excluded for his vocation alone.
The Landmarks commission had a nominee who did not live in the city. People from many places may be interested in membership, but we should confine participation to those who reside in Whitewater. It may not be unprecedented that some non-residents have, in the past, served on local boards; it should not be the practice in the future. There are fourteen-thousand residents in the city, and we should find membership among that number. Council sensibly voted in favor of a city resident for the open spot on the Landmarks commission.
Here’s a question for city leaders: when will everyone with a management job at the municipal building actually follow the principle set last night, and live within city limits? The taxes that pay their salaries come from Whitewater, and it betrays a lack of commitment to this community for them to live outside the city. If citizen-volunteers should live within the city — and I believe that they should — then those who are paid at public expense from the taxes of the privately industrious should live in Whitewater also.
Salting Our Streets in Winter. Filling a molar does not make one an expert on salting our streets in winter.
2008 Budget Assumptions. The key assumption is presumption that, overall, it’s business as usual, only in slightly more constricted circumstances. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The assumptions are not the budget (that will come later), but they show how timid, cautious, and lacking in dynamism the current administration’s approach will likely be.
Tax Incremental Borrowing for Incremental District 4. The presentation will come later, but then or now, the question the community will confront is: (Up to ) five million dollars for what? It’s the details that matter. We’ll see.