Topics
- Public comment: Jeff Dahlke calls for mayoral ballot item
- West River Lofts problems
- Blue Heron Condo services
Intro
I’m putting out a quick recap on last night’s meeting, because my end of week post will be about the questionable advice our city Legal gave about closed sessions.
Also, it would be great if council members could learn proper procedure. It’s “I move to…” followed by your motion, not “I’ll make a motion” followed by nothing or just raising your hand and letting the President make the motion for you. It really makes me wonder if half of them understand the agenda in front of them.
Lastly, almost every time Mr. Bittner speaks, it’s not into his microphone. Mr. LeClair often has the same issue.
Public comment
- Jeff Dahlke
- Called for mayoral ballot item.
- He said people have come to him personally and that people talk on Facebook about it, and that they feel marginalized.
- He asked the council to put the item on the ballot.
West River Lofts problems
- Mr. Buckley shared info from earlier in November that the developer for West Rivers Lofts has returned the affordable housing credits to the state.
- The statement suggests the developer may have lost their investor. The development is currently paused, and it seems possible to me that the developers could back out entirely.
- For reference, affordable housing projects involve developers receiving tax credits in exchange for lowering rent prices based on tenants’ income.
- Here’s a video with the main developer. You can get a sense of his general plans for affordable housing projects in Wisconsin (he’s done quite a few).
Blue Heron Condo services
- Condo association requested that the city take over some of their water and sewer maintenance and provide leaf collection on their private streets.
- They believe that they deserve these services for free because they pay property taxes and utility bills. If that logic holds, maybe the city should clear blockages under my front yard and pick up leaves in my driveway too.
- Mr. Bittner claimed this wouldn’t cost the city additional money, but it’s still more work without any additional revenue so that doesn’t make sense.
- Council unanimously approved it.
2025 Budget
- The council already had a work session with minimal discussion. I’ve discussed it in an earlier post. The smaller finance committee reviewed the budget in much greater detail.
- The tax levy will not increase this year, but it’s been repeatedly stated that next year might be different.
- Mr. Wachowski was the only one to push back on a budget items (he previously did more in finance committee).
- Some other council members praised the city and pointed out that tax increases were the fault of the schools and the county.
- Council unanimously approved it.
Packet and Video
Agenda Packet:
https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/tworivrswi-pubu/MEET-Packet-6cd062b0cb8a4008acd1bd7fdd10d9fa.pdf
Video of the meeting can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58aRPHLU_x8
