LIVING HERE
Is the BID (Business Improvement District) in trouble?
The BID could be looking at a decrease in funds. Some members of the BID do not see benefits from being a member and do not believe the benefits of being a member do justify the yearly fee paid and they want out. Braden Dental has paid a yearly fee to the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District and would like that to end. Mark Braden came to the last BID meeting requesting to be removed from the BID, as he does not believe it is appropriate for a dental office to be a part of that district (Braden didn’t state for the record that his office doesn’t treat out of state visitors, however). Braden Dental is located on the second floor in the Geneva Towers building right in the heart of Lake Geneva’s downtown.
The BID members were unsure what to do with the request but were justifiably concerned that if one business requested to be removed, then how many more would follow? The BID receives a yearly fee from every business in the district and this allows it to fund beautification projects and events that keep the district thriving. The BID has state guidelines to follow and must comply with the state statute to exist. The map and boundaries are laid out and any business in the district must comply, as well. The business district boundaries can only be changed horizontally and not vertically. The request could not be approved at the BID meeting, but if Braden is serious about the issue, he will have to take it to a higher level…and that would be the courts.
Privately owned lagoon slips want off the BID too. The lagoon slips have a combination of owners. Some are owned by the City of Lake Geneva, Geneva Towers, and some are privately owned by residents of the Towers. The privately-owned slips are owned by Geneva Towers residents and as residents and not commercial entities, they believe they should not be feeding the BID. Some of the BID members were receptive to the request. Some questioned if the slips are residential and not being rented by the owners, thereby creating more of a revenue business than personal ownership.
The issue will be forwarded to the city council for further review. If the council, still hungover from their secret celebratory meeting on Tuesday, has any sense it will deny this motion. The people likely renting the slips from the ‘private’ owners are invariably from Chicago and not local residents, as well.
