Looking on the Bright Side
What’s going to happen and when with the coming (unannounced formally) departure of Office Max in Lake Geneva?
Is that going to be it for Federal Express, other than the small package pickups around the area? Is some other organization going to come in or add small items to inventory like envelopes, files, print supplies and stuff? The departure of Office Max leaves little in the way of customer care or satisfaction behind. Staples, the next large supplier of office products, is located near Lowes in Delavan. That’s a half hour trip one way for most people living Lake Geneva and that’s on a good clear day. Quite possibly the biggest problem created by big box stores like Office Max is in their departure. All small ‘stationary’ stores died when Office Max moved in years ago. They are all long dead and not coming back. The same is true for grocery stores when Wal-Mart moved into eastern Lake Geneva. If Wal-Mart leaves what will be left? A buyers and customer’s wasteland is the answer to that question. Who or what entity should be assigned fault in the office supply wasteland in front of Lake Geneva. The fault is in business evaluation and consideration. When a big box business applies to Lake Geneva for opening in the area it ought to be very cautiously considered from a departure standpoint and also for its initial impact on smaller businesses. Wal-Mart’s position as the center of Lake Geneva shopping is akin to that of a very small country possessing one undeliverable nuclear weapon. About the only use for the devastating thing is to blow the place up in case of attack or failure.
The Lake Geneva City Council met on Monday night.
It was a ‘barn burner’ of a meeting. The council opened up about how it would like to see the future unfold for Lake Geneva when it comes to reorganizing how the government of Lake Geneva is to be conducted in the future. Alderperson Chappell wants to do away with most committees because the committees have no voting power to do much of anything other than recommend. Chappell thinks that staff can simply put together applicable paperwork for city councilors to read, make decisions about and then act upon. Others on the council, in concert with Utah Blaine, Lake Geneva’s City Administrator, thought it might be good to combine the finance and personnel committees as well as the public works and parking committees.
Alderperson Kupsik, proving he’s a man of the people, was properly rebuked by Alderperson Kordus when he said that the Committee of the Whole, meeting once a month, might be a great place and time for the council to discuss things the council normally only discusses behind closed doors. Alderperson Kordus, aghast, had to inform Kupsik that the council does not meet behind closed doors. Only attending staff of the Geneva Shore Report thought the exchange was uproariously funny. There was also talk of cutting city council meetings to once a month and possibly allowing the public to speak at the end of any meetings when the business of meetings would already be done. All the open conversation at the council meeting was about the council and the councilors. None of it was about the citizenry or what to do to help the citizenry.
It was as if every member of the city council and attending staff had recently read and internalized House of Cards, as presented by Netflix.
In the Army the word for this was a Charlie Foxtrot.
Which seems to describe the city council best.
I usually don’t like to say “I told you so!” BUT, way back in 2004 when I moved to Lake Geneva, I was aghast that the charming little town I had moved to was suddenly becoming just like everywhere else – big box stores and suburban chains that I had moved here to get away from!
If you could go back to view City Council videos from that year, you would see me addressing the council, basically saying, “What are you doing?!?!?!” I moved here to get away from all of that!”
As I told Mayor Connors two years ago when he wanted to tear down my home along with others to build a parking structure, “If you continue to allow all the chain stores to come in and drive out the small independents, you will not have a parking problem. There will be no reason to come to downtown Lake Geneva because there will be no businesses left to come to.”
Yes, the big box stores departure IS the problem! But had our city officials had the foresight to maintain and preserve the heritage and charm of Lake Geneva in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to worry about ANYONE departing.
Great sharing, Charlene.
But I wonder if some Box Store introduction in outlaying areas is possibly beneficial to local residents?
What do you think, Charlene?
Is there really some overall cost savings…
What is the “cost saving” of a town being annialated by the prolifence of big box stores, chains, cheap, poor quality merchandise and the locals being forced out of business? The real costs are insurmountable – reduction of property values, quality of life, low-paying part time retail jobs that provide no ability for individual and family economic sustainability. Where is the economic development commission? Years ago they should have been pursuing companies that provide good full time jobs. I met with Mayor Connors several years ago, shortly after his election, and expressed dismay that Trostel Company was considering moving its corporate headquarters. They employ as many as 60 engineers. Maybe they don’t ALL live in town, but they will more than likely shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants, etc. I really don’t know if he ever met with them or not, but thank goodness they decided to stay.
Cost savings of a few pennies on the dollar, in my opinion, doesn’t equate. Instead, let’s take a hard look at city government and what our real costs are for a small town of 7500 residents.
Just my opinion, of course.
By the way, you can phone FedEx and they will very promptly visit your home or office and pick up your package after you print out a shipping label online. Just FYI.
Thanks for that Valuable Information, Charlene