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THE ELECTION LOOMS
April 2nd rushes at the Lake Geneva city community and there’s a lot on the line, just as is the situation coming concerning the national election. The two are not similar in almost every aspect but the local race for mayor is just as vital to those living around the lake as the presidential race is for so many out across the country.
Charlene Klein, aging and showing so many signs of it, attempts to hold on to her position as de facto leader of the Lake Geneva community, while Todd Krause, a local businessman of long experience and note (but not aged whatsoever) seeks to make changes to areas of the city’s operations that appear to him, and to many others in the community, as more fitting as Lake Geneva eases its way beyond Covid 19 times but into a future of some uncertainty, especially for the business community that no one argues is the beating downtown heart that attracts and supports so many who come to enjoy the city’s main attraction…Geneva Lake waters themselves.
Both candidates are citizens of merit and nice people. There are no scandals that can be associated with or held by either person. However, there are major differences the public needs to consider as it moves ever closer to casting votes at the polling place. Krause is way more interested in and critically questioning how the money is being spent across the board in the city.
Why, for example, are the top positions of appointed city government paid so highly (low to mid-six figures, not including rather generous to even lavish benefit packages)? There are also the Hillmoor property treatment differences between both candidates. Todd is about doing something for people to access the site right now (and not alienating the conservancy as was done by the current leadership). The property has been purchased but not one decision of consequence has been made about its usage, other than that chains were strung to keep the public off its extensive and beautiful grounds and the Geneva Lake Conservancy was told to go pound sand when it tried to intervene and build bridges across the river and add walking paths throughout.
The Hillmoor ad hoc committees have supplied just about nothing when it comes to making any kind of real definitive suggestions that the current leadership has found approvable. Gold course ideas, a move of the YMCA with included parking and traffic problems that would come with it have been seriously considered. Alliant Energy wants a generous piece of the property as well. Nothing has been approved and nothing is really on the horizon for such approvals. The giant rebuild of the entire Main Street downtown highway is grumbling toward an ever-approaching future, with the State and County so far in the driver’s seat.
Lake Geneva needs young new business-caring and business-responding leadership to manage this coming series of potentially devastating consequences for the entire community and Todd Krause, along with new city council members Sheri Ames (hopefully!) and Pam Wilkenson (hopefully), maybe just the ticket for some Lake Geneva advancement, responsibility, accountability and even contentment. It might be more beneficial if more women got into politics.
