SMALL GEMS
Some citizens who showed up at the Town of Linn meeting to decide whether the Town’s Comprehensive Plan should be broken spoke with a heartfelt sincerity hard to ignore. Betty Suffrage noted that the Town had been kept up extremely well, as indicated by the fact that the building everyone was meeting in was over a hundred years old. She also said that if the plan were broken for the Geneva Inn, that the expression used in the future would always be “what were we thinking?” Sal Demiceli, the man famous for helping so many poor people, stepped away from that important role to be the only person speaking out in support of breaking up the plan and favoring the Geneva Inn over everyone and everything else. He failed to note that he might be the real estate mogul (using his real estate license and business) to put the whole thing together. He proved that there is nothing wrong with being a bit self-serving here and there.
The Panco’s spoke eloquently with emotion. Aging World War II veteran Panco and his daughter Mary Ann talked about what the lake means to them. Both of these wonderful people spoke about loving the Geneva Inn but being frightened that their great lake might be sacrificed to commercialism by the Inn’s new plans. “We’re gonna lose our lake to people like those “Armada” people showing up at Buttons Bay in their boats.” Penny Roher spoke eloquently about how a banquet hall (what the Geneva Inn is really proposing building without proposing anything yet) would increase traffic going and coming at particular times and the traffic on that portion of South Lake Shore Drive was bad enough. John Hofstater got yelled at by Mr. Weiss (presiding over the meeting) for taking a poll of hands from the collected citizens sitting before the committee. Mr. Weiss showed anger when over 80% of the people present raised their hands against the breakup of the comprehensive plan. Mr Hofsteter took his verbal spanking well. The 80% laughed. Mr. Weiss informed those people that there would be “no further applause or laughing allowed”. The 80% proceeded to laugh and applaud. Mr. Weiss had nothing further to say to them. He got even however by throwing total support to breaking the comprehensive plan into small bits.
Mrs. Levy, a woman of great quality and class, spoke at the Town of Linn meeting against the coming breakup of the comprehensive plan. She spoke eloquently about how bad the noise had been in the old days coming out of the speedway located miles away. She spoke about the noise that comes out of Gordy’s and Chuck’s bars late on weekend nights. “I don’t want to dance to their music,” was her comment about being forced to endure the noise and traffic a new banquet hall on the lake would spew out. A former Miss Wisconsin even showed up. With all her beauty on display she showed the true intellect and great heart behind it. She spoke about taking care of the community and listening to the will of the people.
I see the “emergency meeting” called by the Town of Linn for Friday August 28 ended with this issue tabled for a “procedural problem” from the planning meeting.
Is that good or bad?
Regarding the Friday Meeting:
Congratulations, I think. Shortest meeting I have ever been to.
What happened? Why did they reverse their original vote? What happens now?
They didn’t give us proper notice for the Planning Meeting on Monday so I had our attorney write them before the meeting that it was an improper meeting. When we threatened to take them to court they capitulated. I’ve been fighting Weiss all week over it. I did this to them back in July too, so they don’t like me. That’s why Weiss flew out of there. There were so many people, I didn’t know where you were. Dick
Wow, Dick! Great job !!!! This community is extremely lucky to have you. Thank you so much for all you do!
Wonder what percentage of the overall Linn property tax base comes from Geneva Inn.
Here’s my Fantasy:
Geneva Inn property taxes are waived forever but they can never, ever expand, and they MUST HIRE A GOOD CHEF and serve decent food at reasonable prices. ( Their food is truly HORRIBLE. They wouldn’t last in Chicago for a week.) If their taxes were waived and absorbed by the community, then the threat of annexation wouldn’t hold any weight.
Please let me know if you need any help for any reason.
And thank you again, Dick! You are a hero warrior!
Thanks, for the kindly compliment, but any cause worth fighting only succeeds when ” the people” stand together, like you always do. It’s only when the Geneva Lake Community comes together and organizes like we did over Mirbeau/Hummel, the re-route of South Lakeshore Drive, and now the commercialization of the lakeshore, do we have the power to control what happens in our community.
As for property taxes, I think you and your mom pay about as much as the Geneva Inn and a lot of your neighbors on the lake pay more.
Thank you for solidarity. Dick
P.S. Your fantasy is a great idea. But if we could find a way of getting Schawks to turn the operation over to the employees for some tax benefit and letting the employees run the business, it would turn into a much better venture without having to expand commercialization on the lakeshore.