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THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
The ad hoc parking committee is created, or rather resurrected from the dead. This collection of selectees came, they saw, they talked. This group of hand-picked (oh, sorry…self-picked) locals, and a few outsiders (the parking czar himself isn’t from Lake Geneva) sat for one-hour last week, just as they will sit again this week, to discuss coming up with ideas about how to better the parking situation in Lake Geneva. Situation is defined as ‘get more money.’
Mayor Mayor was there to let everyone know, those on the committee and those attending as observers, that the new parking regulations and rates were not on the agenda for discussion in any way. So, what did they talk about, in the way of new ideas? How about a parking structure that would sit on the southern part of Maple Park, doing away with the tennis courts, the swings, the basketball courts and, of course, those pesky kids from the nearby school (located only a few feet to the north). Those kids have used that part of the park as a playground forever.
Sheri Ames, who sits (fidgets) on the group, stopped the Maple Park idea cold. She will oppose it to the grave (a nearby cemetery is not too far, by the way) and she believes others will too. No parking structure, above ground or below. Go Sheri!
The next idea was to share revenue with the Cove by taking over their parking lot, located just across the street north of them, but that idea can’t work because public entities in Wisconsin can’t share revenue with entities that can punish citizens by going after their vehicle registrations if they don’t pay. This practice is being done already, however, as the strange city attorney of the city thinks it’s legal. It’s not. Roger Wolfe gets his fifty percent share all the time. Incidentally, those sharing entities and people don’t share in enforcement or parking meter collection costs or anything else!
The final straw that sunk the parking ad hoc canoe was a discussion about extending parking meter spots all the way out to penetrate much farther into the local neighborhoods than they currently extend. Many people in older houses out in those neighborhoods don’t have garages, or maybe one garage with a short driveway. If they have guests, do the guests have to pay four dollars an hour to simply visit?
Seth, the parking czar, is a great guy. He discussed how all the 1200 meters together in the city are only 28% occupied on average for the whole year. Interesting. He also said that there are only five large celebrations a year in which all the parking spaces are taken and there’s no room for anyone else. That sounded nice but it’s not true, which everyone living here, and experiencing regular good weather weekends in summer, knows. The re-surfacing parking committee’s rising to accomplish one thing, more money. The members are meeting again to talk some more. Oh, and those members also talked about buying the Cove parking lot, which the city can’t do without violating the deed restriction. The Cove was forced to purchase the property across the street and build a parking lot because they failed to have enough spots to get the permit to build the main building.
More time wasted in discussions about another possibility that’s not a possibility at all. The local radio show at 96.1 at the Lake was most excellent in covering this story. Nancy Douglass, the owner, and star of the Sunday morning show, said it best: “the leadership of the city should have provided the ad hoc committee with accurate background information so they wouldn’t meet and simply waste their time.”
