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LAKE GENEVA POLICE
The Geneva Shore Report ran a story last week in which the staff’s displeasure at the topsy-turvy and unnecessary way the purchase of a new police boat and the money to operate it were jammed through the police and fire commission and then the city council. That article was not intended to disparage one of the finest police forces in all of Wisconsin. From the chief on down, the Lake Geneva Police Department is world-class. It keeps the peace, and it does that without a lot of fanfare or thanks, and it makes Lake Geneva an even better place to visit for tourists and also for locals to be out, about, and wandering without any fear at all or even discussions about safety. The safety is just there, held in reserve so many times, just the way a solid American community wants it to be. The police boat was unneeded and expensive, and it takes officers off the streets.
On top of that, the Geneva Lake Police Association has done a fine job over the years working on behalf of all the communities surrounding the lake. There is no real crime going on in the Geneva Lake water area. There’s occasional speeding. There are some wake violations, some lack of safety equipment, stuff, and more. There’s also an entire outfit dedicated to providing water safety and help on the water all around the lake. That outfit has more than a dozen boats costing a hundred grand for each one. The supposed reason the new police boat was deemed, out of nowhere, to be necessary was because of ‘response time.’ Response to what? That question was never pursued for a suitable answer.
The stewardship of the lake is officially placed in the hands of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, but they don’t even have a boat, as they feel one is not necessary. The new boat is supposed to be a command-and-control boat, which presupposes that it might have something or someone to take command and control of. When stuff like this happens in small towns, it’s a big deal because the money that goes into unnecessary and expensive projects takes that money away from other things that can be mightily important. Like fixing the mess of street woes, one can see all over the place. Check out Wrigley Drive, which runs past Flat Iron Park. Its condition is shameful. How about the playground equipment that Never Say Never wanted and couldn’t get the money for, and now Delavan has that attractive and so popular, and generous project. There’s a parking lot to be built somewhere in the city. There’s the repair and sanding of Big Foot Beach to be considered. The list of great places that stick to the kind of money discussed here is endless.
But, despite that, we must all continuously respect, enjoy, and thank the entire Lake Geneva Police force, even when the police and fire commissioners occasionally do what the GSR accuses them of doing this time…a brain-damaged decision.
