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DAWN OF THE AGE OF AQUARIUS
Has the astrologically determined naming of this current period of the planetary axial tilt of earth caused politicians, national and local, to simply step off some logical cliff and free fall into God knows what? There’s no Speaker of the House nationally (as of the time of writing this) and there’s no ‘speaker of the house’ in Lake Geneva’s city government either. Mayor Mayor sits there, up on the dais, flanked by members of her sycophantic associates, while another force, almost equal in size and power sits opposite to almost everything Mayor Mayor might want to do (thank God!).
Hillmoor, and what it might mean for the city’s future should be a ‘no brainer,’ but instead of that expression meaning the performing of some simple tasks that should take little thought, when it comes to what to do with Hillmoor, there appears to be no brains doing much of any thinking about it at all. There’s talk. There’s more talk. There’s ad hoc this and that. Ad hoc meaning, in literal translation from the Latic; ‘to this.’ The usage of this rather undistinguished phrase has come to mean something else entirely; ‘as needed.’ A better usage, under current leadership, might be ‘to do nothing.’
The demonstration of poor planning and performance has cloned when it comes to short-term housing. This looming and growing problem, where quiet peaceful neighborhoods are overwhelmed by short-term party-driven outposts of loud open debauchery should call for a ‘no-brainer’ solution. The State of Wisconsin, under the orders of Scott Walker and the Republicans, limited local municipalities from banning these potentially divisive and possibly future sites of neighborhood violence. The law also made it very difficult to lay down restrictions on the usage of these places. On top of that, many short-term rentals don’t register and sort of hide out in plain sight. It is not illegal to tax these new coming blight ‘holes in our hearts’ kind of structures or usage of current structures. Yes, these places and the people who rent them can be taxed almost at will and amount by the local municipalities.
What is Lake Geneva doing? Nothing. Maybe an ad hoc committee will be formed. There are also companies, having recognized the ‘hide in plain sight’ these places can subscribe to offer not only detection, investigation, and analytical enforcement of short-term properties, but they also can do so objectively. One of the problems recently appearing with respect to these new places coming in is just how many locally successful businesspeople and even current leadership members have purchased and now operate them. Objectivity has gone right out the window when it comes to the city administration wanting any rules or regulations regarding them. The for-hire companies bring back objectivity. Somehow, however, the city entertained one company that provides software to explore the Internet for people running short-term rentals who don’t register.
The software, to cost around $26,000 is to be used by the same city personnel as the current ‘bats in your belfry’ junk (oh, just got a new IOS from Apple for my computer and the cost was zero!). City inspectors didn’t do their jobs to prevent the nightmare that’s become known as Symphony Bay, and it isn’t doing the job with short-term rentals. Lake Geneva’s very close to becoming a cargo cult of mid to later-aged people moving here to sit inside their small, heated areas waiting to die. If it isn’t that, then it’s the ‘party like it’s 1969’ crowd. Can there be no middle ground here? Can we please have some objectivity brought back to the local government? There’s little hope that’s going to be found nationally, but none of us live nationally. We live locally.
The good news is that it sure looks like there are going to be a lot of quality contenders for the mayor’s seat in April of 2024.
