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IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA!
That headline is simply a lyric line from a rock and roll song, not reality. The first-ever Hillmoor Commission was held last Thursday. The Hillmoor Commission comprises seven residents, Mark David, Kenneth Ettan, Dan Getzen, Larry Happ, Paula Porubcan, Peggy Schneider, and Lowell Thompson, all voting members. Mayor Krause, Alderperson Cindy Yager, and Consultant Michael Krajovic are non-voting members of the commission. The meeting started like all other city meetings including role call and public comments. The mayor started with a review of the Hillmoor Commission ordinance and a review of the open meeting law and responsibilities of the commission.
The Hillmoor Commission is advisory and will make recommendations to the city council. There are several things the commission should be looking at accomplishing including strategic and master planning of the property, evaluation and implementation of potential projects, grant submission, gathering facts on potential projects, reviewing resident and city official input on potential uses of the property, compare similar uses already in action in other communities, provide reports when requested by the city council and to the residents of the city, fundraising, just to name a few.
Micheal Krajovic shared some recent history of the property. Paula Porubcan spoke on the recent archeological study that was done. The results of the study will be presented in the next couple of months. The commission all gathered around the topographical map to review the property. The commission will be visiting the property frequently for a more hands-on approach. All in all, the meeting went well and now the commission is excited and ready to get to work.
How does the YMCA play into all the work and planning for the Hillmoor property?
The “Y” has been after a chunk of the Hillmoor property ever since the city bought it. The organization sold the property it was gifted over along Highway 120 by Badger and directed all its efforts toward getting the city to basically contribute a chunk of the Hillmoor land for the organization to close its current location on Wells Street on the south side of downtown Lake Geneva and then build on Hillmoor. Now, the YMCA has informed everyone involved that it has acquired a gift of property that is located behind the Walmart property in Delavan. After interviewing the leadership of the “Y” last week, one of the senior people at the Lake Geneva facility indicated that the Delavan property is going to be developed but only as a satellite of the main location, which will remain located in Lake Geneva even if the Hilloor offer is rejected by the city. The organization will merely rebuild its current Wells property.
Is this information being given out with any validity to it or is the Delavan development, if in fact that property behind the Walmart has truly been gifted (not listed yet in any property transfer information in Walworth County), or is it being used as a bargaining chip to force Lake Geneva’s leadership to take heed and pay attention to the unspoken fact that the YMCA could, at their whim, just pick up, close Lake Geneva, sell the land and move to the largest plot of land in Delavan they’ve supposedly been gifted?
Todd Krause is the gifted mayor that the citizens of Lake Geneva selected to be at the titular head, or point of the spear, in such a situation. Will Todd figure out what’s real and what’s not, if indeed anything is not? If anybody it will be Todd, although so far, he is remaining mum about the developing situation. If it’s ever occurred to anyone reading this that he or she would like to be mayor, then reading along about this current ‘adventure’ might dissuade anyone from wanting to step into Todd’s shoes.
Incidentally, you cannot ‘stay’ at the Lake Geneva YMCA. Those days are gone for good. Too bad, the YMCA used to offer super-cheap but super-cute and clean rooms to hole up in for a night or two.
Note: The photo is of the new Delavan YMCA land.
