LIVING HERE
The City of Lake Geneva Police Department has lost one of its own.
It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we report Community Service Officer Steven Richard has passed away. CSO Richard was the lead CSO/Booking Officer. He was hired by the department in 2008 and was a Marine Corps Veteran. He could always be seen around town with a smile on his face, chatting with locals and visitors. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. He will be deeply missed in Lake Geneva.
The G. Moxie communications consultant for the Highway 50 project was approved at the last city council meeting.
With the major Highway 50 project scheduled to begin in 2027, the city is preparing for the challenges ahead. Over the past several months, the city has been developing a plan to address expected issues affecting businesses and residents. Proper communication is key. Consistent messaging from a single source with proven experience in this area will be essential throughout this project. The cost for G. Moxie services will initially be $59,750 in 2026. This initial cost covers the impact assessment, access solutions and coordination, communications plan, materials, and ongoing construction support. 2027 and 2028 will cost $16,520, covering a 28-week season at 8 hours per week. The G. Moxie total fee for all services will be $92,790.
G. Moxie proposes to provide comprehensive public outreach and stakeholder engagement services for the HWY 50 project. They specialize in helping communities navigate construction impacts with assessments, solutions, mitigation strategies, communication plans, outreach, and ongoing construction support. With the hiring of a communications consultant, the city, businesses, residents, and visitors will be able to gather accurate, necessary, and consistent information from multiple sources, as all will come from one source and be shared across multiple channels.
The editorial staff, once again, when a consulting firm comes in, believes that the city is somehow not able to either hire, train, or retain the kind of six-figure mid-management level of employees who should be able to do what this firm is expected to do, or more likely hoped to do. What is the city going to do for all the downtown businesses that are interrupted, avoided by detours or inconvenience, to lose enough business not to survive the summer season in downtown Lake Geneva? This advisory firm is as likely to do as little about the financial devastation of these businesses as the city leadership: flat-out nothing.
