OUR PLACE

Sandy Derrick.  
Last week Lake Geneva lost one of its great citizens. Sandy Derrick was a friend to all and loved by just about everyone. She was devoted to her family. Sandy was a wonderful mother, grandmother, and wife. When she wasn’t busy with family affairs, she was a huge participant in the community. Sandy spent many hours of her time giving back and supporting the men and women of the Lake Geneva Fire Department and Police Department. Sandy was a member of the highly regarded Fire Bells, and she was also a big part of that organization. Visitation was yesterday evening at the Derrick Funeral Home, and services will be held Wednesday, May 3rd, at 11 a.m. at St Francis Church followed by burial in Oak Hill Cemetery. Sandy is now, and is going to be, very much missed by her family and the community.

 

The inflated parking rate and its reduction will be continued from Monday night’s city council meeting to the next meeting.
The issue of the outrageous new parking fine of $50 was discussed with no resolution, due to a lack of agreement on how much the fine should be and how changing might affect the city budget. More information on the potential loss the city would endure if the ticket was reduced was requested by council member Howell, even though that amount was already available from Seth, the city’s parking czar.  The council members also need to have a majority in agreement on what the ticket should be reduced to if it’s reduced; $20, $30, or $40.

With the discussion out on the table, many of the public comments were in agreement that the fine needs to be reduced. Members of the Business Improvement District (BID) had a lot to say on the topic. Jeanine, from Harbor Shores, and a member of the BID board, spoke passionately in favor of the fine being reduced. Alex, Executive Director of the BID, shared the same opinion on the issue, adding some of her own thoughts about the fine and the city’s seeming disdain for the BID’s opinion. City officials looked like ‘deer in headlights,’ as Alex eloquently spoke of an email not meant for the BID to read. The email contents from David Nord, the city administrator, contained a passive aggressive tone threatening the BID by trying to pass the potential lost revenue from reducing the $4 an hour weekend parking rate and the $50 ticket fee, on to the BID.

Alex had done her homework, however, and cited the definitions contained in the ordinances explaining how the BID cannot and will not take on that responsibility, and that the city has no power to assess the BID for anything. The BID President, Spyro Condos, shared her same opinion, opposing the parking rate and ticket fee. Condos was very emotional as he spoke about defending the BID members and their livelihood that can be deeply affected by these current parking issues. The State Highway 50 road construction project is fast approaching, as well, and the local businesses are feeling growing stress, as they try to prepare for the potentially tumultuous effect it is going to have on the downtown area. Spyro Condos, and the BID board, are their advocates and none of them want to miss an opportunity to share their concerns and fear for the downtown community.

 

Medusa is open at the corner of Geneva Street and Broad in downtown Lake Geneva.
And wow!  Simply wow!  The GSR staff went in on a Sunday afternoon and picked up some cream puffs.  We were stunned.  This kind of light, airy, crisp, and then wondrously quality and tasty interior of the delight blew us away.  Greg, the owner (with his great daughter running the place) is back, and he’s making pastries that nobody east of New York is getting anywhere close to.  The cream puffs weren’t cheap, at about six bucks apiece, but the six we bought, and then totally consumed, will be replaced as soon as Greg and his daughter open the store on Monday afternoon.  Visit Medusa, assemble your change and other currencies, and get these cream puffs before the world finds this place and a line runs around the corner.  All we can ask is that Greg, with a fully built-in kitchen, also goes back to making some other stuff that he was so highly regarded for at his old location.

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