OUR PLACE

Lake Geneva is building a wall.
Once again Mayor Klein requests more money from the tourism committee. This time it’s not for a gala or large event at the Riviera but (and not surprisingly) it’s for the Riviera. Mayor Klein has taken an almost exclusive interest in anything that pertains to the Riviera. With the renovations of the grand ballroom, the first-floor concourse, the bathrooms, and the mechanicals complete, and the building and occupants get in sync, little renovation kinks need to be worked out. The mayor, along with many other people, has noticed one major kink that needs to be fixed immediately.

The new women’s restroom, which turned out very nice, has one issue that must be immediately addressed; a direct line of sight into the restroom every time the door opens and then is held open for long periods of time on busy weekend days. The mayor, being the mayor, talked to MSI, the engineering contractors on the Riviera project, and city workers, for ideas on what could be done. The grant application was submitted in the nick of time but did not include any details or any specific plan. This kind of application has never been approved before, but the tourism committee allowed the mayor to give a verbal explanation and a very wishy-washy plan, including the price, and approved the five-thousand-dollar grant.

The committee did ask why the city wasn’t paying for and doing the work to remedy the problem and the answer was simply that it wasn’t in the budget. The plan turns out to be a wall, floor to ceiling, approximately thirty feet wide, so it can also potentially be used as a bulletin board and or for advertising. The tourism committee did agree it was a major issue and needed to be fixed, and that the Riviera should be treated a little special as it is the closest thing Lake Geneva has to a city convention center.  There is no question in anyone’s mind that this facility highlights the city in a spectacular centrally located way.

Egg Harbor’s Liquor license request was denied.
The Egg Harbor on Main Street is one of several in the Egg Harbor chain but one of the few remaining without Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas on the menu. Egg Harbor is located at 827 Main Street and is open from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. for indoor dining, carry-out door dash delivery, and outdoor dining, weather permitted. Egg Harbor recently filed an application for a liquor license to accommodate its patrons’ request for a celebratory adult breakfast beverage as most of the guests are on vacation in Lake Geneva.

The application was reviewed by the finance, licensing, and regulation committee, but received no support before being sent to the city council. The council listened to a professional presentation from the Egg Harbor representative that included reasons why granting the license would benefit not only the restaurant but also the city. The restaurant wants to accommodate patrons’ requests and create a relaxed vacation experience benefiting not only the customer in keeping Lake Geneva a vacation destination.

After some discussion Hedlund spoke up as not in favor of the request as the only liquor license available is a reserve and to his knowledge reserve licenses are for new development only. Other council members argued that maybe, but four out of the five reserve licenses were given to existing thriving businesses already. Hedlund’s response was that was done in the good old boys’ era and should not be repeated. A couple of council members spoke in favor of the reserve being granted as Egg Harbor is a wonderful asset to the city and creates familiarity to visitors and would be an easy license to police as it does not draw a rowdy crowd, nor does it encourage heavy drinking and closes at 2 p.m., not 2 a.m. making it easier for the police who work third shift.

The other great points brought up was the possibility of being granted an additional liquor license from the state if the 2020 census shows approximately a four hundred person increase in the city’s population (which is the amount left to qualify) and the possible opportunity of purchasing a liquor license from another community once the last remaining reserve is granted. Even with the possible additional licenses and the wonderful presentation, the answer was still a big no.

Lake Photo of the Week

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