Another great letter!! A MUST READ!! Good Morning- I saw last night that the minutes were finally published from the October 7th meeting where an overwhelming number of residents (22) and merchants spoke against Fowler Lake Village or something that was a direct result of FLV. I am very disappointed that it took this long for the minutes to be published. I think it is a disservice to the public, especially during this time while we are discussing FLV. I also want to point out that I found it interesting that almost 100% of those that spoke in favor this week will directly benefit or profit from the project - bank board members, investors, potential buyers, Realtors, developers and a couple of merchants. I was shocked that Jeff Seymour was allowed to lead the Comments from Citizens portion of the meeting this week with a 15 min power point presentation once again selling Fowler Lake Village. He has had many opportunities to present this and during the Comments from Citizens portion of the meeting was extremely inappropriate. If he was going to be allowed to speak at all, it should have been an agenda item. The minutes from October 7th were rather brief and I dont think they really outline what I said that night, so I am providing you with my comments, questions and concerns exactly as spoken that night below. Minutes - Christina Donald 610 N Oakwood has many questions and concerns and wants the Council to vote no to FLV I have followed the development of the Fowler Lake project since the onset, attended meetings and followed City business and the various swaps of properties that have taken place with development in our City for several years now. I come here with no hidden agenda and no conflict of interest. I am simply a resident who loves her town, moved here 18 years ago here for its charm, lakes and history and doesnt want to see it given away. Over the several years I have attended Common Council meetings and have witnessed how fast things go from idea to development with no input from the public. I have also spoken to you about the poor format of this meeting and asked that the public be allowed to make their comments at the end, prior to voting, and be allowed to ask questions that get a response so that there can be some real discussion about how residents feel about any ideas or changes being proposed. However, it feels to me as if these meetings are purposely designed to not really hear the public and to allow some City leaders to comment and negate what residents say, without allowing the ability to respond or provide clarification. Unfortunately over the many years of attending these meetings my overwhelming feeling about our Cities government is that a lot of these changes and approvals seem to be more about putting money into developers, Realtors and banks pockets rather than really listening and doing what the public, residents, taxpayers and even what some of the merchants really want. I attended the meeting at St. Pauls on the Fowler Lake development and was excited to see community involvement and found the majority feel like I do. They were upset and unhappy with the changes taking place in our Citu. They dont like the large buildings flanking our Main Street. They arent against all development but want some thought given to development - a master plan. And the overwhelming consensus was NO to the fowler lake project. It was also very apparent that the majority questioned why the City was in the business of promoting a development rather than letting the developer sell and promote his own project. The City is supposed to be supporting the residents and taxpayers not private interests. I wish all of you had attended to hear the questions being asked and concerns people have with placing a property on our lakefront behind City Hall. I believe if you had been there, there would be no question as to how to vote. Again, I believe the City is acting irresponsibly putting our lakefront property up for trade. Would you trade Boardwalk for Baltic Ave? Unfortunately, this is not a game and our lakefront property is at risk. Why would we give away our most valued asset? There is no getting it back! At last months meeting Floss Whalen spoke and asked how would it look to the public and other developers if Oconomowoc went back on its word on the MOU with this developer. My response is how does it look to the taxpayers and residents that this developer went back on his word to this City and residents as a result we have a blighted area and now we are giving him our best property to develop? Why are the taxpayers responsible for getting these developers out of financial trouble due to a downturn in the economy and bad business decisions? Why are we responsible to ensure the bank gets paid? A lot of our residents and taxpayers purchased homes and are now falling on hard times and underwater on their homes. The City isnt providing those residents assistance or offering them a swap for a better property. The City isnt offering to pay their mortgage with their property taxes as proposed in this deal should the condos not sell. It sounds ridiculous when I put it that way doesnt it? Lets get real. The Mayor always says people complain but dont offer a solution. The solution for Fowler Lake Village has always been simple- make the developer take care of the blighted condition he created and let him create a project on his own property on St. Paul or take this property back. As a taxpayer I would like to know what the Village Green has cost thus far vs what the original Hitchcock Plan proposed. From the numbers on the Cities website it appeared these plans were really only about 1M apart. I am sure that additional buildings acquisitions will probably get us to about even. So where did we get money to construct the Village Green that nobody really wants? It certainly seems there was money available all along. We as a City and community need to figure out a way to make our lakefront a park and community gathering place. The hub of our City center. A place for all to enjoy. This is the time to listen. Really listen. Be honest about what you have heard people want for our community. Be honest about the phone calls and emails you have received. Honor your role in representing the people of your district not private interests. You cannot get this one wrong. We will lose this lakefront property forever. History, charm, unique shops and restaurants and an amazing lakefront are what makes our City a destination for tourism, not condominiums. This property belongs to the community and should remain that way. I urge you please vote no to the Fowler Lake project. In closing, I would like to provide you with this link (page 4) that I referred to in my comments that outlines the estimated costs of the Hitchcock Plan vs the UWM Plan (aka Village Green). It also shows the estimated costs of moving the boat launch to be $350,000. oconomowoc-wi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1568 Respectfully, Christina Donald
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:56:01 +0000
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