Living Here
Paid parking started on Monday, February 1st.
In previous years, the free parking began November 15th and lasted through February 28th, then, on March 1st, paid parking began. With the shutdowns, loss of revenue, and unpredictability of 2020, Lake Geneva City Officials decided to extend the paid parking months and include February. This decision was made in order to collect some extra parking revenue during Winterfest. Last weekend, Lake Geneva was hit with a substantial amount of snow, creating a mess for the public works department to get cleaned up quickly in order to have parking stalls worthy of being paid for by the time Winterfest is scheduled to begin (February 3rd). Parking will be enforced seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and charged at a rate of $2.00 per hour per stall. The public works department is in charge of making sure the parking stalls are cleared of snow, but the parking department will be in charge of making sure there is a clear and safe path from the parking stalls to the parking kiosks. The most convenient way for everyone (parking patrons and parking attendants) is to pay for parking with the ParkMobile app. Of course, you can always pay at the kiosk, but remember parking is now recorded by license plate number, not the stall number. The kiosks only accept credit cards and coins, and not paper money.
Interesting note.
The Town of Sequim, located in the State of Washington on the Pacific Peninsula, must have heard about what happened in the Town of Linn. Some dissatisfied city leaders investigated the town elector rules and, like the Town of Linn originally, voted to end the town’s existence in order to reform it and then take over. It’s as if Chris Jones had decided to retire in a more liberal area. The fate of Sequim is up in the air. They have no Jim Weiss or other members of their board to save them. The residents don’t know what to do. It is fortunate that God saw his way to make his face smile down upon the Town of Linn. The winter is cold in the Town of Linn, but the residents are warm and snug. Sometimes things do turn out for the best.
“Are we waiting to lose somebody before anything is done?” is the question the Lake Geneva School Superintendent Jim Gottinger asked at the last public works meeting.
Years back the intersection at Bloomfield Road/Highway 120, and the need for a stoplight, was brought to the attention of the city. There is a shared interest in this intersection, as the county and state are involved, and the land is apparently owned by the Town of Bloomfield. The concern for the safety of young inexperienced drivers, school buses filled with students, the parents of the students, and nearby churchgoers is an ongoing concern. This safety issue keeps getting kicked down the road, and that needs to change according to Gottinger. He also stated that he’s not going anywhere and that he will do whatever needs to be done to avert what has to be a coming tragedy.
The responsibility of the cost is a question that is still unanswered. The school districts have made a commitment to help fund the cost. The DOT (department of transportation) concluded years ago, through studies, that a traffic light was not warranted at that time, however, the city is waiting on an ICE (intersection control evaluation) to be completed. This may help with the approval and cost of the project. There’s a lot of paperwork and departments to get through to make that happen and it’s not as easy as just doing it and paying for it without DOT help. A work permit still needs to be approved. Alderperson Mary Jo Fesenmeier made a motion to request a permit to get the ball rolling. The Flower (also an alderperson) stated it would be better to clean up the boundary issues and make the intersection a part of the city of Lake Geneva, in order to give Lake Geneva more control. The motion to file a permit request was approved. Another motion was made to have the Lake Geneva Mayor start working on the boundary issues of the intersection, which was also approved. It looks like, after years of voiced but ignored concerns, something is finally getting done.
