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HILLMOOR!!!

The city of Lake Geneva voted unanimously (the common council on Monday night) to acquire the Hillmoor property for a price of six million dollars.  This purchase also settles the lawsuit (which Whitewater Holdings wasn’t expected to win in court, but who really wanted to take a chance on that?) that was filed against the city when the owners of Whitewater became angry about the fact that the city would not rezone the property to allow for residential and commercial development almost two years ago.

The acquisition of the property now becomes a different sort of challenge.  What does the city do with this piece of property, a multi-acre spread that was once a golf course but long ago allowed to grow wild and out of control.   The conservancy people spoke at the Monday night meeting, and were able to provide some guidance, as they’d somehow and for some reason been given confidential information that wasn’t supposed to be released to anyone before the voting took place (the city council in Lake Geneva has become famous, or infamous, for the secrecy it has lowered over even the most mundane of decision-making sessions).

The high society representative from the conservancy talked about natural grass parking lots instead of ‘environmentally unfriendly’ concrete or asphalt, as if she was from Arizona or Florida instead of living in the reality of Wisconsin’s muddy or frozen weather exposures.  But then, she probably does spend most of her time in one of those other states, as members of that conservancy are about as representative of the public as the seagulls snacking every morning on the beach.

The upshot, however, is that this last crown jewel of Lake Geneva real estate is now firmly owned by the citizenry of Lake Geneva (nothing is final until November, however).  The property that was so feared to be instrumental in possibly destroying what Lake Geneva has become before Hillmoor (the Mirabel Hummel tract annexed in from Town of Linn) was put on the market and was saved by J.B. Pritzker’s purchase. It remains undeveloped to this day (and may continue to be so according to his promise made seven years back).

Once more Lake Geneva is saved, and this time around it was because of an inflamed and vitally interested public showing up and making its presence verbally known.  There were no speakers opposed to the purchase at that most meaningful meeting on Monday night. Only Mr. Peter Peterson and Alderperson Headland ran on a bit about how the whole project should have been put up for referendum so the entire public could chime in.  Their comments were quietly accepted by the crowd but the power of those people in that room, online and waiting upstairs in the overflow room was evident and nearly overwhelming.  Weeping was not heard from any people as the unanimously decision was made by the council, only delayed by Mayor Charlene Klein commenting while basking in the coming vote she knew was coming.

What happened in all the secret communications and negotiations?  Alderperson Mary Jo Fesenmaier cried while bringing the matter to a vote, which was totally unexpected.  She couldn’t even continue, which was very interesting and quite surprising to many because Mary Jo is usually so strident, committed, and plainspoken. It was that kind of a night.  The last comment made by the last speaker, Judge Hank Sibbing, was so apropos: “I used to drive by Hillmoor and hear it whisper to me, ‘save me,’ but this night, on the way here, I heard it whisper, ‘thank you.’”  The administration and application of local democracy is just as messy and screwed up as the national situation, but it works if given time and is constantly worked at.