OUR PLACE
The Bid once more attempts to have the city take responsibility for auditing its financial affairs.
Who is being protected here and from when? The city is playing a game of Whack-A-Mole here. The city clerk signs all checks the BID supplies her with invoices for. Somehow the city has determined, partially due to a damaged city attorney, that the entire financial responsibility for the Business Improvement District (an official committee of the city) belongs to the board, wherein board members can’t sign for anything individually. If a citizen has a checking account, and signs the checks for that account, is not that citizen ultimately responsible for what money goes out in the form of signed checks? Can regular citizens, or even officials of a private company, state that the amount paid out is the responsibility of some other person or entity that states what must be paid? In what banking world? You sign the check then the buck, or the check, stops right there. Audit the BID. Pay for the audit. Analyze the result and then publish the results. Act like a real city and not some community living at the edge of survival in a third-world country. If Mr. Hedlund and Mr. Howell want to cover up for friends then that is understandable, but that kind of behavior should be recognized and pointed out too.
Are electric vehicle charging stations coming to the City of Lake Geneva?
The city’s parking manager, Seth Elder, is in the very early stages of researching the possibility and options for installing electric charging stations in the city but has forewarned the public works committee that this isn’t going to be a big revenue maker. The charging stations would be more of a service and convenience for visitors.
The initial investment for the city would be around $14,000, with an annual operating cost of around $1,400 per charging station. If the stations were to be used for 8 hours a day for 356 days for five years, the revenue would only be around $25,000. The numbers are a guesstimate depending on what the fee to charge would be at the time. Elder recommended that the committee not make any final decisions until after the new state laws come forward as to what municipalities can charge in the way of fees the customers.
Some members of the state government want to prohibit the local government and state agencies from owning, operating, managing, leasing, or controlling electric vehicle charging stations. Others think that is unfair, especially since the federal government has sent out infrastructure dollars to states and localities that have installed these stations. Committee member Fesenmaier suggested that the city apply for a tourism grant to help pay for the initial cost of installing the stations since it will be visitors that will be using them, as most locals will likely charge their cars at home. She also said she would like to see stations installed before the summer season starts.
The public works committee decided to have Elder get more quotes from other companies and to think about applying for a tourism grant. The future of the electric vehicle charging stations will be interesting and everyone will be watching every step to see where it ends. The last thing Lake Geneva needs however is what happened in Oahu, Hawaii when private recharge stations were allowed. The owners charged as much for a recharge as a tank of gas would cost, and then they were able to lobby the congress out there to not allow lower fees or even some of the big electric car makers to have stations.
Persons of the Week
Happy Birthday to Kaylynn & Chase! Two amazing kids doing amazing things!
