The Mukwonago Chief just published an article written by Amy Nixon entitled “Citizens group seeks to save joint Fire Dept.” (3/10/10 Ed. Note: Good article by the way Amy! Please don’t take to heart Mr. Reilly pointing at you and giving you a hard time at the meeting last night. [Thanks for calling him out of order Mr. Michalek.] I think your article was pretty fair and well balanced.)
http://www.livinglakecountry.com/mukwonagochief/news/87114212.html
In reading this article, you have to ask yourself some questions. I suggest you think about the following excerpts from the article then try to answer the questions that follow the excerpts. If you don’t know the answer, then please ask whoever said these things:
CHIEF: “At Thursday's [March 4] Town Board meeting, Supervisor Joe Reilly said he was against a referendum on the issue, citing the April 1997 annual meeting in which residents voted 44 to 14 to direct the board to "review all joint departments, joint projects, cost sharing arrangements, service contracts and other agreements between the town and village or city so annexing such territory is hereby authorized to modify, suspend or terminate the same."
QUESTION: If at the April meeting of the electors a motion passes to renegotiate the agreement with Big Bend and continue the joint fire department, will your honor this motion or are you going to pick and choose which motions of the people to follow? Is the 1997 motion more valid than a 2010 motion?
MY COMMENTARY: This is a little silly, but hey, I’ll make the motion and we’ll see what happens. According the Mr. Reilly the will of the people should prevail, we’ll see if he’s a man of his word.
CHIEF: “Supervisor Bill Craig said that it will actually cost the town more if it does nothing and cited the village's intent to put in sewer, which he said will lead to big-box stores which will force a joint department to purchase costly equipment such as ladder trucks. The town would be paying for the village's growth, he explained.”
QUESTION: How do we service the Waynez World building? Isn’t that a big box? When the village develops, doesn’t that trigger a shift in the funding formula so that they pay more and more as the village develops? Long term, won’t the town costs start to shift downward?
MY COMMENTARY: I have spoken to fire fighters close to this issue and they all admit that it would be hard to justify a ladder truck for this interchange. Plus this interchange has easy access from the surrounding communities that do have ladder trucks (New Berlin, Waukesha, Mukwonago and Muskego all have ladder trucks). I’ve been told by senior fire fighters that if there was a fire of the size necessary for a ladder truck, then the situation would be addressed through mutual aid.
Mutual aid is a formalized system in the county that in essence is an agreement between departments to provide assistance to adjacent departments when there is an emergency outside of the capability of one department to handle. Have you ever heard of a “five alarm” fire? We’ll that means that besides the original fire company, four additional [local or mutual aid] fire departments are alarmed to respond. This is a real situation that we deal with now; not speculation on some distant circumstance.
The truth is that we don’t need to buy any more fire trucks if we get the “big box” that Mr. Craig is referring to. BUT, IF we do, AND we’re partnered with the village, the village has the ability to force whoever is making the impact, PAY for the impact. This is called an “impact” fee. The Town of Vernon alone does not have this power; only villages and cities do. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a partner in our fire department that has the power to have developers pay for their impacts? I want people to pay their OWN way, the best way to do that under state law is to be a village/city or be partnered with village/city. Despite their higher taxes, there are some advantages to being a village. Why don’t we remain a town and keep our way of life, but partner with the village to get the benefits for our fire department? Makes sense to me.
CHIEF: “Instead of keeping the Fire Department as is, Reilly suggested the village could contract with the town.”
[RHETORICAL] QUESTION: Maybe Mr. Craig and Mr. Reilly should talk to each other because if the Village contracts with us, don’t we have to buy that truck? Sorry, I forgot, we don’t need a truck….see above. [This is a rather snotty comment by me, but I’ve decided to leave it in only for the humor of it. Much like my comment about razing the barn just south of town hall in an earlier post….]
CHIEF: "We're trying to do what's in the best interest of the town - the town - not the village," said Reilly. "Last night [at the VRSG meeting] we heard a lot of misstatements. We are not (being) deceiving … we wouldn't do anything to hurt this town."
QUESTION: What is the plan to provide fire service to the town and how much will it cost? Shouldn’t the town board have considered the costs and impacts of not partnering with the village before this decision was made? If the costs were considered, then where is the data to prove to me that this is going to be better for our community and not hurt our community? Can you give me a plan?
MY COMMENTARY: I have never suggested that the town board is WILLFULLY not working in the best interest of the town. I DID suggest that the town board demonstrates from their actions that they do not have enough information or understanding of the complexities of this issue to make a decision that will benefit the town in the long term. I feel this decision was made in haste, in the heat of a battle of wills with the village, and without consulting the people. This was a big decision. We the citizens should have been involved. It should not have been made at 12:15am without this being specifically on the agenda.
When I read the agenda for that meeting on 12/17, I did not go to the meeting for two reasons: first, I read in the Mukwonago Chief just two days earlier that Fred Michalek was reported to have felt comfortable that an agreement had been reached with the village over the budget; second, I did not see anything on the agenda that would indicate anything other than the town board would discuss this agreement (in closed session) and then maybe suggest some changes to the ordinance that governs our joint fire department and maybe some other budget negotiation matters before meeting with the village again. I breathed a sigh of relief after quietly following this issue for four months. Here is the article I refer to:
http://www.livinglakecountry.com/mukwonagochief/news/79317052.html
This article actually says that Big Bend finally acquiesced and agreed to shift the $4,000 budget item to cover increased insurance costs instead of legal fees. Big Bend gave in and completely compromised. Read it for yourself. Yet, two days later the town board took action to not continue our agreement with the village.
CHIEF: “Craig stated that although the citizens committee insinuated that it is the Town Board who voted to split the department, it is not the town that dissolved the agreement.”
BACKGROUND (From the minutes of the meeting on 12/17):
Chairperson Michalek stated reconvening in open session to consider taking actions on those matters in discussed in Closed session including but not limited to issues regarding the Intermunicipal Agreement, “would accept a motion to give notice to the Big Bend Village Board dissolving the Town of Vernon’s participating in the Big Bend – Vernon Fire Department per the provision of the “Inter-municipal Agreement for Creation of a Joint Fire Department and a Joint Fire Board and a Joint Fire commission between the Village of Big Bend and the Town of Vernon”.
MOTION Supervisor Reilly moved to give notice as stated by Chairperson Michalek, seconded by Supervisor Bird.
QUESTION: Did the town board’s action (or maybe inaction) cause the joint fire department dissolution provision to come into play?
MY COMMENTARY: In all things said by a member of town board recently, stating that they did not take action to dissolve the fire department is the MOST disingenuous. Nearing the deadline of 12/15, the village was willing to agree to pretty much anything to avoid the provision in the ordinance that calls for the dissolution of the joint fire department (see above), including removing the $4,000 in attorney fees from the budget. The board spent about four hours in closed session contemplating their action (or inaction, I guess) to break away from the village. Is this really about a $4,000 budget item? I think I’ve proven not.
Ask your town board why they think putting $4,000 for attorney fees in the Fire Department Budget is a bad idea when they spent $110,939.70 in attorney fees in 2009? (Don’t blame this on Paff, he was only there for three of those months.)
Anyway, my fingers are getting really tired of writing these things over and over again. But this is my only platform. At town board meetings I only get 3 minutes to state my case in public comments; I try to remain calm and respectful. The town board can respond however, whenever they like, can take all the time they like, then they can play the tape of the meeting over and over again. I don’t have the power to get the message out like they do. They can pretty much say whatever they want with no consequences and then put it on TV and hammer the point home over and over again. It’s an uphill battle for me and others that see the benefits of partnering with the village.
Any of you out there that read this, please call me if you want more information. I’d be happy to sit down with you and lay out the details, provide facts and figures, and help you become informed. Please call me at 262-662-9745. I’d be happy to back up anything I’ve said AND I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong. Is the town board willing to do the same?
Oh and by the way, all of the quotes from the town board above were made under an agenda item from the March 4th Town Board Meeting that reads:
9. ANNOUNCEMENTS. The following individuals will be given the opportunity to make announcements at the meeting in regards to activities they have undertaken since the last meeting on behalf of the Town, future activities and citizen contacts. It is not contemplated that these matters will be discussed or acted on but referrals to the appropriate committees and/or individuals will be made.This is a violation of the open meetings law. I’m not suggesting they should not respond, just put it on the agenda next time.
Town Board, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, Department of Public Works Director and Building Inspector.
But who I am to say so, I used the some logos without permission.
Posts
I’ll bite…
ReplyDeleteRegarding: “What does sewer have to do with the Town’s cost of running a Fire Department?” Sewer seems to be one the basic needs and requirements of the “box” stores. I suspect that an available “Ladder truck’ would be a second such need for insurance purposes. Without appropriate Fire services the Village may have their hands tied with regards to continued development of the ES/164 area. By controlling the Fire department the Town can control spending and possibly hamper uncontrolled growth at ES/164.If this suspicion is true the Town effectively kills two birds with one stone.
However, “anonymous” pointed out that the Town already has one “box” building and it is covered through mutual aid. I wonder if surrounding departments would be as free to offer mutual aid with multiple “Box stores”. Eventually “I suspect”, the Town would have to make such purchases under the current system.
With the Town owning/operating the fire department, could the village obtain mutual aid for free without some type of Fire Department? The Town has suggested a future agreement in which the Village would pay for Fire services. Would the Town be required to obtain a mutual aid agreement to protect Village properties? Could they void the contract and leave the Villages “Box buildings” in a mile wide bubble from the nearest fire service? I don’t know the answers to these questions, maybe someone else does.
Regarding “if the Village contracts with us, don’t we have to buy that truck?” Not necessarily (See the above comment).
Regarding: “What is the plan to provide fire service to the town and how much will it cost? Extra cost for the same service hurts the town.” Again, not necessarily, any contract could require the village to pay for “Ladder Trucks etc. saving the Towns taxpayers tons of money.
Regarding “Craig stated that although the citizens committee insinuated that it is the Town Board who voted to split the department, it is not the town that dissolved the agreement.” Here’s a paraphrase of the Inter-municipal agreement: If the Town and the Village can’t come to an agreement the Department will be dissolved. I didn’t see any smoke and mirrors here. However,“Craig stated that although the citizens committee insinuated that it is the Town Board who voted to split the department, it is not the town that dissolved the agreement.” Regardless, of the account you choose to believe the Town and the Village did not come to an agreement and the Fire department will be dissolved per the inter-municipal agreement.
Funny… and of greater concern: To explain the humor I must explain some back ground…
ReplyDeleteDuring the last election Brian Paff posted the following on “Wake up Vernon “…I saw Mr. Bird’s statement in the paper stating he wanted to be instrumental in drafting Chapter 144. We have worked on this ordinance for close to a year now in spite of Mr. Reilly’s opposition and I am sure that once it is finalized Mr. Reilly will give the credit to Mr. Bird the same way he did with the Off Road Vehicle Ordinance which many people worked on and only Mr. Bird was credited with writing!”
At the last Town Board meeting Mr. Craig gave a speech regarding some research he had done. Mr. Bird felt it necessary to add something to the effect… And I helped!!! The incident reminded me of a TV commercial from about 20 years ago where a little southern girl was helping her mother cook. Afterwords she states “Momma made biscuits and I helped!!!”
Well that was the funny part (and almost prophetic when you consider Mr. Paff’s comment from last year) here is the portion that concerns me. Mr. Bird went on to state that Mr. Reilly also “helped” and in a self aggrandizing manner detailed the number of hours that “He” spent on this research with the brain trust (Add a few Dems and Does).
Considering the facts Mr. Doble reported regarding open records violations involving the Town of Vernon supervisors. Combine that with the fact that Tom Bird publicly acknowledged the three (A quorum as I understand it)“worked together” on this study (I suspect Mr. Bird took the lead) outside the prevue of a Town Board meeting and a conclusion could be reached that there was an additional violation of the open meetings law.
Finally, I may agree with some of the results achieved by the Town Board but I do not agree with some of the methods used.
Ronald Reagan quoter
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments Ronald Reagan quoter! I still feel the mechanics of working with our neighbor in partnership will enhance our operations and costs in the long term. There is much less need to argue about costs, future agreements, impacts and the like.
ReplyDeleteLike I said before and I don't mind repeating:
1. I really don't feel there is any way to truly stop the development of the interchange; we can throw up roadblocks, but we won't stop it. Let's benefit from it and keep our seat at the table to help shape the outcome for our benefit.
2. We can stop businesses and property owners from annexing to the village by taking a proactive stance in helping business in this community prosper.
3. If the cost split between town and village is not fair, then re-negotiate the funding formula.
FOR THE RECORD: In 2009 here is what we paid for fire department operations -
Town of Vernon - $390,143 - 7,455 Residents - $52.33 per person.
Village of Big Bend - $75,055 - 1,340 Residents - $56.01 per person.
So the village paid $3.68 more per person than Vernon? How can this be true when they "are getting a free ride." "We're subsidizing they're success!" Ugh! Avail yourself of the facts.
Take a look at the funding formula. I'll email it to you in excel format if you like. Or if you prefer to not reveal yourself to me, then contat the fire chief, he'll make you a copy. I think if Big Bend is willing to adjust and account for future development and costs, then GREAT! Let's do it.
Renegotiate, don't dissolve the fire department. The formula can be adjusted to have Big Bend pay for impacts created. We're creating a big mess that will be with us forever. Every time Big Bend approves a site plan we're renegotiating their contract? Wow, will this make our attorney rich! Do it once, do it now and do it right.
I removed my last post due to errors...I have to remember to proff (I mean proof...) before hitting post! :)
ReplyDeleteSince we need some facts out there. Enjoy..
ReplyDeleteHere are the minutes from the Vernon Town Board Meeting dated December 17, 2009...
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Chairperson Michalek stated reconvening in open session to consider taking actions on those matters in discussed in Closed session including but not limited to issues regarding the Intermunicipal Agreement, “would accept a motion to give notice to the Big Bend Village Board dissolving the Town of Vernon’s participating in the Big Bend – Vernon
Fire Department per the provision of the “Inter-municipal Agreement for Creation of a Joint Fire Department and a Joint Fire Board and a Joint Fire commission between the Village of Big Bend and the Town of Vernon”.
MOTION Supervisor Reilly moved to give notice as stated by Chairperson Michalek, seconded by
Supervisor Bird
The Town Board agreed to send out a letter as soon as possible informing the town residents of the background and decision of the Town Board to dissolve the above referenced municipal agreement.
Chairperson Michalek asked for a roll call vote.
Supervisor Barikmo stated that all board members sign the letter which was unanimously agreed upon.
ROLL CALL VOTE
Chairperson Michalek Yes
Supervisor Reilly Yes
Supervisor Bird Yes
Supervisor Barikmo Yes
Supervisor Craig Yes
Motion carried.
------------------------------------------------
Now you show me where they decided that the budget was the issue. Chairman Michalek had an agreement with the Village President and the Village Board passed that agreement that removed all the Legal Fees and put more money into insurance costs because they went up. Here is the newspaper article that quotes Chairman Michalek...
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Big Bend, Vernon agree on fire services
Posted: Dec. 15, 2009
After the Town of Vernon and the Village of Big Bend each met separately last week regarding the budgets for the Fire Board and Fire Department, Vernon Chairman Fred Michalek and Big Bend President James Soneberg sat down for a couple of hours and worked out a compromise on the budget issue. The agreement keeps the Big Bend-Vernon Fire Department from dissolving, as it would have if the municipalities had not come to an agreement on the budgets by Dec. 15.
The agreement reallocated $4,000 in legal fees to help cover increasing insurance costs. In October, the two communities disagreed on the $4,000 line item for legal fees, $2,000 each for the Fire Board and Fire Department. Big Bend approved the legal fees and the Town of Vernon did not. After Michalek wrote a letter to the village pointing out the consequences if an agreement was not met, Soneberg responded with a letter a month later outlining the village's compromise and the Village Board attended a town meeting Dec. 3 where the issue was discussed. The village suggested leaving $2,000 in the Fire Board budget in case the board needed an attorney when hiring a new fire chief after Chief Phillip Buchholtz resigned last month, effective May 1.
Soneberg said he and Michalek talked for a couple of hours last week and worked out a proposal for the two boards.
"A joint municipal agreement has been reached," Michalek said.
Vernon provides 83 percent of funding for the fire department while the village provides 17 percent. Percentages are determined based on population, the number of fire calls and property value.
--------------
So now you tell me who broke up the Big Bend/Vernon Fire Department...
Think about this...
ReplyDeleteActually a ladder truck would not be second. The priority is making sure there is a water system that can handle a sprinkler system in these big box stores... Sprinklers are designed to help put out the fire... Oh yeah, if Big Bend needs to get a ladder truck, how much you want to bet that the Town of Vernon Fire Department requests mutual aid for that ladder truck. The Big Bend/ Vernon Fire Department does it already from everyone else who has one now and we don't even have big box stores....
Mike, there is one thing the people should know and that is The Village of Big Bend is still willing to work through all of this. Good neighbors work together to mend fence's.
ReplyDelete"I THINK SOME FENCE MENDING IS IN ORDER"
CHIEF: “Craig stated that although the citizens committee insinuated that it is the Town Board who voted to split the department, it is not the town that dissolved the agreement.”
ReplyDeleteThis is such a ridicules comment that I have a hard time responding but I will try. The current Town Board did everything it could to make sure that the budget wasn't identical to Big Bends so they could use the dissolution clause in the inter municipal agreement to end the joint Fire Department. The reason they did this is very clear, they wanted full control and by that I mean the Town Board, not the Town of Vernon. The inter municipal agreement was agreed to by a previous board that had the intelligence to see that the politics needed to be removed in order for the Fire Department to function properly. The funding formula was setup and agreed upon and as shown above is working like it should. It will continue to work as populations and values change because that is how it is setup. The Town of Vernon will always have a majority of members on the Fire Board and Fire Commission because we are the major shareholder in this partnership. What we don't have and shouldn't have is the Town Board making decisions on the day to day operation. That is the Fire Board and Fire Commissions jobs and that is the way it should be. The Town Board still gets to negotiate the budget before it is approved and that is the only control that they should have along with appointing the Fire Board and Fire Commission members. This is designed to keep the politics out of the Department and has worked well for many years. The big issue that started all this is the large attorney fees that have been generated because of different charges brought and no official rules and regulations in place to help determine the legality of the charges. This is because Mr. Reilly and Mr. Craig weren't satisfied with getting a basic document approved and then refining it over time. Instead they wanted it to be perfect and the results of that are over two years later and over one hundred thousand dollars in legal fees, we still have NO Rules and Regulations in place.
Bottom line is our current Town Board wants control of everything in the Town and is willing to do whatever it has to so it can gain that control. They believe that because they were elected by a majority of residents they should have this power and control. Because of this I believe they have abused their office for their own personal power trip and the only way to change that is to remove them from office and replace them with rational thinking individuals. It is up to the residents of Vernon whether or not that happens, but I truly hope it does.
Former Town Board Chairman
Brian Paff
People - please understand - we have a big box building - it's the Painter's Union (formerly Waynz World) and it actually is probably more fire friendly now because of the chemicals that are in the building.
ReplyDelete"LOTS OF FENCE MENDING IS IN ORDER AND A MORE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TOWARDS ALL CITIZENS INVOLVED IN THESE TWO COMMUNITIES AS EASTER APPROACHES"
AMEN!
Town government is completely derailed.
ReplyDeleteWe need to get the town board on the right track with what the residents wish to happen regarding the fire department, local business and their conduct as elected officials.
When is the meeting and what action can take place
Thanks for your comment. The next meeting of VRSG will take place on March 31st at the Lion's Community Center.
ReplyDeleteYou might be talking about the annual meeting of the electors which takes place on April 13th at the town hall. I think it will be at 6:30pm. I'll post a link to the agenda when it is posted.
This is from an email message from Vince Siegel to me. He gave me permission to post it in these comments:
ReplyDeleteMike,
The Vernon Town Board seems to be angry that The Village allows hard working business people to annex into the Village.
I think it is using the Fire Department to fight back.
I do not feel that Big Bend is wrong if their ambition is to be a urban community.
I do not feel that Vernon is wrong if their ambition is to be a rural community.
What I do believe is wrong is when you feel that your neighbor is wrong about something or has done something wrong so you do something back to or against them.
"Two wrongs do not make a right"
Kind of a cliché, yet it's a simple truth.
Good luck Mike. I hope you and the VRSG can help bring order to the town and mend the community.
I have dealt with both communities on planning commission and board level issues over the past 4 years and the current town government is not a good representation of past government in the township.
It is time for the residents to stand up and do something about this.
Sadly we had to go, as you know our annexation to Big Bend is in progress, not by our choice though.
The Vernon Town Board (specifically Reilly, Bird and Michalek) drove us out of Vernon, The board wants to have control over everything even small business.
Take Care Mike and keep up the good work!
Vince
American Fireworks
Why doesn't the Town of Vernon contract with the Village of Big Bend for Fire/Rescue Service???
ReplyDeleteEveryone on the Town Board is saying Big Bend needs to contract with Vernon. Why?? How come Big Bend is not offering to have Vernon contract with them? It is all about control and it appears the Town wants that control. Otherwise the Village would be doing the same thing.
Mr. Doble and to everyone else, I read all the complaints and arguments from everyone on this blog and they are all good. No matter how far fetched you may think someone's opinion is. I have one serious consideration for everyone...
What if... You and your group are successful and Supervisor's Reilly and Barikmo are not elected to office. A referendum is forced on the Fire Department and is also successful.
The big what if is.. What will we do if the Village of Big Bend has already signed a contract with another community or decided to start their own Fire Department??? I realize the Village President has repeatedly stated in the newspaper the Village would prefer to keep the Fire Department together.
But what guarantee do we have the Village is going to come back to the table with the Town?? This Town Board has done and said some despicable things about the Village and toward their Village President. All the Village has been doing, in my opinion, is moving forward and has not attacked the Town Board.
I fear all of this could be for naught and the Village may not come back to the table. I hope that does not happen and I hope they don't make up their mind to start a department or sign a contract before people in the Town of Vernon can act...
I fear the Vernon Town Board (Bill Craig, Tom Bird, Joe Reilly, Kurt Barikmo and Fred Michalek) have damaged our relationship with the Village beyond repair. I would not fault the Village of Big Bend for not wanting to come back to the table and talk with us. If anyone needs to send an olive branch, it is this Town Board.
How much more damage can be done and what is yet to come...............
"Great Republic"
Wow, great comment. You’re right; what if?
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts have always been that it’s never too late. April 6 will be a big decision point for all of us. If Reilly and Barikmo are not replaced, then we continue down this road.
Why doesn’t Big Bend provide service to Vernon? That seems to make the most sense as they are a village and we’re a town. This probably won’t happen because even though Big Bend is a village, Vernon is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The town is 5.5 times larger than the village by almost every measure. I find it hard to figure out how they could [financially] acquire the equipment from the town necessary to provide service. As I contemplate this, I conclude once again that we need a joint fire department.
Keep in mind folks that we’ve done this for a lot of years and periodically we go through some turmoil like this. This time is different because of the lack of recent poor management of our department and the personalities involved. Other times we have gotten through the rough spots and moved on.
Infuse new blood, renegotiate the ordinance, figure out the funding/budget and let’s put this behind us. I have not heard one logical argument that going alone makes sense.
So, no matter how far down this road we go, it’s never too late to begin mending fences, develop a solid agreement and work together again. The sooner all involved realize this, the better off we’ll be.
These comments are great. But replacing 2 of the 5 members of the board that had voted unanimously to break up the fire department may not be enough. You mentioned making a motion at the annual town meeting. Could a motion be made to replace the entire town board? Or some type of recall?
ReplyDeleteConcerned Resident
Personally, my hope is that a replacement of two members of the board sends a message that WE DON'T WANT OUR BUSINESS CONDUCTED IN THIS MANNER!
ReplyDeleteIf this election does not send the message; if the annual meeting does not send the message; then the next step is a recall. I'm not going to quit. They need to change their tune and change the tone or move on as far as I'm concerned.
Never mind the issue at hand with the fire department, the town board has conducted themselves in a manner that I absolutely cannot tolerate. I feel they all must go.
It's not much different than most of our Washington politicians; I am not a happy constituent! It's time to start over on a local and national level.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if anyone during the VRSG meeting had brought to the table the idea of consolidating the town and the village? I have read that it was being considered 10 years ago but I am not sure what became of that idea. It seems that Big Bend has a good idea of how government should conduct itself.
Vince Siegel
This post is to large for one entry so I’m post two consecutively.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been following this blog closely. Being a Village Trustees, we have had to endure the attacks and
criticism that the town board has thrown at anyone who has dared to question or go against their agenda.
Not to mention the half truths and outright lies that come from the town hall. Integrity? Honesty? Please.
I’ve had Town Board members pee on my leg and tell me that it’s raining. I’ve even been referred to as a
drunk by a Supervisor, not to my face of course, he would have to grow a pair to do that. In reality, where
these guys seldom travel, I’ve been drunk once in 22 years. And that was in Las Vegas, I don’t want to talk
about it even though the statute of limitations is up by now, or is it statuette, can someone help me out with
that...Joe?
I want to commend Mike Doble and the VCSG for their clear headed thinking when dealing with factual
information. Watching that meeting a couple of Wednesdays ago, I was impressed with the calmness and
civility used as Mike pointed out that the flyer handed out by Supervisors was in fact garbage! I’m not as
“diplomatic”, I truly wish I had that ability. I just want to tell them to go...well lets just say it would be a
“solo” activity. And Mikes breakdown, on this blog, of the Fire Department cost per person, genius!!
Figuring in the per capita income of Vernon is probably much higher than Big Bend’s, I feel I should quote
Karl Marx “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” Or was that Groucho? I'm
not sure. But I want to know is when the hell are you Vernon people going to pony up you fair share!!!
What was your tax rate last year? Around $2.00 a thousand. The Village’s was around $8.70. Cheap
B@#&$*D’s!!! Just kidding. ;)
This Blog says what the Village Board has been saying all along. But what else would we say, we’re evil
and just out to screw the town. Some of my best friends live in the town. Two of the Supervisors go to the
same church as my family and me. Before the train screamed off the tracks I considered them friends. I
would talk with Bill about Fire Department stuff because I knew he attended Fire board meetings and I
don’t because I have a life. Tom goes camping with a group from our church, as do I. I can recall watching
him passed, uh...er...sleeping in front of the fire. Only to wake up and get his second wind. He’s a fun guy.
I’ve been looking for snow sculpting partners to compete in a few competitions and he showed some
interest. But after the hostile takeover attempt of every aspect of Vernon/Big Bend life, I would be afraid
he would take all the credit.
I did get a preview of things to come back in spring or was it early summer, after Supervisor Finch left
ReplyDeletethe board. I was talking to Tom at church and I said “Now that your board is all of the same mind who are
you going to fight with, us?” Meaning the Village. “What would we fight with you about” he said. How
prophetic. And when they changed the fireworks ordinance and screwed the Siegles I called Mr Bird and
asked him why? “We don’t want him, you take him” he said. Thanks.
I know, I’m ranting again, a non-elected town supervisor told me I do that. That’s why I don’t add to the
blog very often. Rodell Singert has told me we need to take the high road, well if we do will we ever get a
glimpse of the Town Board? They seem to be on a different road. Or maybe they’re just off in the ditch, or
should I say gutter. Disrupting a persons job, as in trying to get Jamie Soneberg’s patrol area moved to
another part of the county, is that the high road? I don’t agree with Jamie on everthing, but he’s a good guy.
If there were a couple of “concerned” citizens worried that he might stop and ticket them, maybe they
should stop speeding back and forth to the DA’s office trying to file frivolous charges against citizens not to
mention the soon to be retired Fire Chief!
I just want to tell everyone involved in the VCSG to not give up. One thing that I would like to see is
fewer anonymous posts. They are not as effective as signed posts. The same goes for anonymous blogs,
letters, etc, etc. Thomas Jefferson said “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good
conscience to remain silent.”
Just my opinion, signed Bob Heinemann, evil Village of Big Bend elected official, and steward of the tax
payers money!
"Karl Marx “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”... But I want to know is when the hell are you Vernon people going to pony up you fair share!!!". We are not Communist's yet Chairman Mao ZeHeiny...You, you Democrat!
ReplyDeleteRe Rodell Singert: I've seen a lot of his signs in the village... Fortunately Village supervisors can not vote in the Town's election.
The reason there are anonymous posts here is many businessmen in the Community do not want what happened to the Siegles to happen to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the reason why some people wouldn’t want to come forward. I find it TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE that any member of the community,
ReplyDeletebe it a resident or a businessman, should have to fear their government!!!! That should be enough for the people to vote these guys out of office!!!
The address below is a link to the town's agenda for tomorrow Thursday March 18th.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.townofvernon.org/Uploads%20to%20Website/TB%20Agendas/031810%20a.pdf
This is the most ridiculous agenda I have ever seen.
Read the propaganda riddled agenda and go to the meeting / public paid infomercial.
I feel that there is two important thing's that people need to know about my annexation.
The town pushed us out, that's the first thing.
and the second:
Mike Doble of LandCraft Professional Servies and former co-owner of LandCraft Survey and Engineering designed the portion of the industrial park that we purchased. He designed it for Jim Coughlin of Aqua Fun Pools. The Couglin's sold the property to us after the town would not let them do as they wanted with the property, which was to sell pools and spa's.
Mike Doble was instrumental in working with us and the previous town planner on the survey, design, civil engineering, culvert dimension and other aspects that needed to be done to build our store.
Mike Doble is also working on a project that we own in Slinger WI.
Should he, a professional tradesman, turn his client's away because the town has turned on us?
It is not Mike Doble's land, it is mine!
He asked us to try again with Vernon.
Forget That!
Why is our annexation on the town's agenda with reference to Mike Doble?
Is it retaliation? Is it to discredit him?
Is it going to be on TV before the election?
Does it have anything to do with government?
The agenda is now being posted on the town website after almost a year without agenda's.
How convenient!
I'm happy to be leaving the town, but I'm not going away only the tax dollars are.
Mr. Doble is a gentleman and cares very much about the town, if the -----'s on the board cared half as much as he does there would not be a need for the VRSG.
VINCE SIEGEL
Just arrived home from the town meeting and I have a couple of interesting things' that I thought worthy of mention.
ReplyDeleteChairman Michalek is stating to try and get some control over Joe Reilly which is long overdue.
I personally believe Mr. Reilly has sanity issue's and is not fit for office.
Chairman Michalek did not know when the annual meeting of electors was scheduled for the clerk had to tell him.
The annual town meeting is April 13 @ 7pm and anyone who wants a joint fire dept should attend.
Michalek referred to his planning commission and when doing so he did not know who is actually on the planning commission. He mentioned Mr. Bartholomew who he had removed from the board last year. I think he meant Mr. Johnson who is the last remaining member of the old planning commission.
Michalek also said that he would like to go back to a 7 member board with 2 town supervisors' and 5 at large members. Wow, they could have just left the planning commission alone and created a resolution that planning actions be approved at a town board level. But that may not have given them total control the second week of the new regime, it would have taken two more weeks.
Shoot first ask questions later! I wonder if they regret pushing us to annex out?
They really did a job trying to smear Mike Doble for working on our annexation.
Wait isn't Bill Craig's real estate office in the village is that a conflict, I don't think it is but the town board would suggest that Doble working on our documentation is.
By the way the state commented on our annexation map and said that it is a textbook scenario and it will be published in the state handbook regarding annexation because of the quality of the work.
Thanks for reading
Last nights meeting…
ReplyDeleteMany of the points I addressed on this forum were discussed and some were actually expanded upon (although I had to listen closely to spot them… ). Of specific concern was the comment made by Mr. Craig regarding the financial situation and spending habits of the village. Why would residents of the Town of Vernon want to “hitch their wagon” to the Village, when the Village intends to spend millions on development at 164 and ES?
Supervisor Bird:
1. “Discovered” that Mr. Michalek attended a meeting prior to being sworn in, then tried to attach some insidious importance to that meeting.
2. “Discovered” that Mr. Doble also attended that meeting… and…what? I guess that would make the meeting insidious!
3. Acted like a child and sneered while Mr. Michalek addressed his concerns. Mr. Michalek, called Bird on his childish behavior.
4. Suggested that the Town Clerk wasn’t doing her job because he didn’t get a document in a timely fashion.
5. Inferred that the Town should pull out of the inter-municipal agreement if the Fireworks stand was built. This sounded threatening…
6. Mr. Bird seconded all of Mr. Riley’s motions except one… The issue involved payment for a special council… Mr. Michalek mentioned that a “citizen of Vernon” filed a complaint… Mr. Bird began rocking nervously in his chair and covered his mouth with his hand throughout the discussion (Watch the video). It will be interesting to discover who filed the complaint, I have my suspicions.
7. Yelled at a citizen in the audience ( Mrs. Shuh?) and was called out of order by Mr. Michalek. Mr. Bird’s response was either thanks or thank you.
8. Listed the names of everyone on the committee headed by Mr. Doble. The list sounded like his enemies list and included Mr. Doble and I believe Mrs. Shuh.
9. Repeatedly made a motion with his microphone as if he was going to throw it (Watch the video).
Ronald Reagan quoter
I could be wrong, but I believe Mr. Bird filed the complaint - watch for the newspapers.
ReplyDeleteThe good and bad of it all..
ReplyDeleteSo based off the meeting last night I have come to the following conclusions..
Mike Doble bad,
Bill Craig good.
Fred Michalek bad,
Tom Bird good.
James Soneberg bad,
Joe Reilly good.
Marilyn Gauger bad,
Kurt Barikmo good.
Big Bend/Vernon Fire Department bad,
Town of Vernon Fire Department good.
Village of Big Bend Board bad,
Town of Vernon Board good.
Town Attorney's opinion bad,
Supervisor's Barikmo's book of law good.
Annexation bad,
Blaming the Village for all the Town's problems good.
Fireworks bad,
Loosing another business to the Village good.
Sewer bad,
Bill Craig needing sewer to rebuild his business at its current location when the road construction of Hwy 164 happens good.
Fire Chief Buchholtz bad,
Supervisor Thomas G. Bird filing charges against the Chief and then voting on spending $1,000 of Town tax dollars on a special attorney good.
Complaining about the Town Board bad,
Degrading and insulting people at Town Board Meetings good.
Putting money in the fire department budget for a special attorney bad,
Spending $25,000 on a consultant good.
Taking care of issues that are important to the Town of Vernon bad,
Placing 12 newspaper articles on the Town Board agenda good.
Finally, letting Chairman Fred Michalek run the Town Board Meetings bad,
Letting Joe Reilly rant and rave about everyone who opposes his position GOOD......
If Joe Reilly, Bill Craig and Tom Bird put more effort into fixing some of real issues, besides bashing everyone and the fire department, the Town wouldn't be the laughing stock of Waukesha County....
4. James Soneberg
5. Fred Michalek
6. Town Attorney John Macy
7. VRC
I have questions about the write in candidate. Why is she not on the ballet? The most common reasons I'm aware of are lack of planning / organization or inability to get enough signatures. Both cause me to not want to vote for her. If there is a real reason, I'd like to know it because without more information, I just can't vote for her. Joe
ReplyDeleteA couple comments from the road....(I'm currently traveling on spring break with my family; we're camping and have limited internet access. Fortunately I'm able to publish comments from my Blackberry)
ReplyDelete1. The insidious meeting Mr. Bird referred to at the meeting: I told him about this business meeting that occurs about every other year with the fire board president, village president, town board chair and attorneys. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss policies relating to the intermunicipal agreement. Changes needed, etc. Nothing too big, but the issue of adding legal fees to the department budget was discussed. In light of the fuss created by Craig, Bird and Reilly in the election cycle about legal fees and "unauthorized" spending of fees, Attorney Macy (NOT Michalek as stated by Bird at the last meeting...) suggested that a minor amount of money, maybe $2,000 or $4,000 be added to the budget for incidental legal issues.
2. Response to Joe about Diane: Diane decided to run for town board AFTER she saw how poorly the town board is doing with our affairs. All of us involved with VRSG have been very unhappy with the board since last April, but the arrogance and lies that followed their discision to not continue the joint fire department was a the final staw for us. We as a group urged Diane to run as a write in against Kurt Barikmo. Diane never hesitated to throw her hat in the ring. Unfortunately, this all occured after the deadline to be included on the ballot; not due to her poor planning. Honestly, none of us really had a problem with Kurt Barikmo until this all happened.
All this being said, join VRSG on March 31st at the Lion's Club Community Center to find out more. Come with you questions and please don't be afraid to ask the hard questions such as why I say "lies followed their decision to not continue the joint fire department."
I am amazed that the town would take a position against having $2000.00 in the fire board budget for legal fee while negotiating with Big Bend and use that as their reason for breaking the agreement. Then they found another reason an advisory motion made in 1997 by a citizen. Then they voted to put $1000.00 towards legal fee's. Now according to their agenda they are going to reverse the vote for the $1000.00 and put all available money into a legal fee line item.
ReplyDeleteWhat is all this?
What is going on?
Confused
Wouldn't the Town be breaking the Intermunicipal Ordinance right now by authorizing legal fees (funds) to come out of the Fire Commission budget? Shouldn't Big Bend be notified that this is what the Town wants the Fire Commission to do? How can the Town get away with this?
ReplyDeleteA quote from the Mukwonago Chief:
ReplyDelete"I cannot put our community in harm's way by not reporting a serious crime," Bird wrote in the complaint.
If he is concerned about the community why did he wait until now to file these charges?
Is it because Big Bend has requested the fire chief to stay on until the end of the year?
ALL DIFFERENCES ASIDE FOLKS
We teach our children to do the right thing.Our government should be doing the right things as well.
The Fire Chief is retiring May 1st, what is the point of chastising the man?
Is this the right thing to do?
Why did Bird wait until now to file these charges?
Vince Siegel
I find it disturbing that Supervisor #3 Kurt Birikmo found it necessary to state that Big Bend allows Adult Books store's and also stated twice at the candidate forum that the town does not allow such establishments.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of the matter is that the town does offer a license for adult establishments (they can not completely restrict them due to 1st amendment constitutional rights)the town's ordinance chapter 105 specifically allows for this.
Why is he pointing at the community next door for anyway? What does this have to do with anything other than offending your neighbors?
He also made false statements regarding Dianne Herried who he stated had broken the law, she later corrected him, but I did not hear any apology.
I think as an elected official it is of the utmost importance to know what the hell your talking about, after all you are representing the residents of the town.
Barikmo seems likable and is a good speaker but lacks common sense required to know the difference fact and fiction or find the out the facts before making such statements.
My vote is for Dianne Herried
Today’s Journal/Sentinel
ReplyDelete“…After analyzing the recent Town of Vernon debates, Mr. Barikmo and Riley were the clear winners…”
Contact a Mr. Fox via (414) 771-3040 for comments or concerns.
I have to say that the forum was well run and fair. I disagree with the assessment that anyone "won", but I'm jaded...
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter everyone!
414-771-3040, number for the Milwaukee County Zoo. Obviously not a real person. Mike, please remove this post. Fake people do not have vaild opinions.
ReplyDelete"414-771-3040, number for the Milwaukee County Zoo. Obviously not a real person. Mike, please remove this post. Fake people do not have vaild opinions."...
ReplyDeleteThe post was made on April 1st.....
If Mr. Fox is unavailable ask for Mr. Bear or Mr. Wolf...
April Fools
I love it! I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Thanks for reminding me not to be so serious....
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, you got me!