(LWV-Whitewater Area press release) The League of Women Voters of the Whitewater Area reminds voters to get ready to vote in the upcoming April 6 Spring Election. On the ballot this election in Whitewater and surrounding communities in Walworth and Jefferson counties are candidates running for common council, school board, village and town boards, clerks and treasurers, and municipal judge as well as a state race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The League encourages voters to start their candidate research before they cast their ballot, so they are informed voters whether they vote by absentee ballot or on Election Day.
Walworth and Jefferson County voters can access nonpartisan candidate information for many local races by using the League’s voter guide on VOTE411.org. Enter your street address, ask to view your ballot and then link to read candidates’ responses to the League’s questionnaires. Candidate responses to a selection of local races has now been posted on VOTE411.org.
In addition to the voter guide on VOTE411.org, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin has created a fact sheet for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction with information on the role and responsibilities of this elected office and why it matters in the lives of everyday Wisconsinites. This fact sheet is available on LWVWI’s website at https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/state-superintendent-public-instruction.
The League is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Visit our website at lwvwhitewater.org and like us on Facebook!
Banner note: A video of the Whitewater Unified School Board Candidate Forum which was held on March 13 is available at this link. All of the active candidates: Tom Ganser, Larry Kachel, and Maryann Zimmerman, participated. Andrea M. Svec’s name will be on the ballot, but she is no longer actively seeking to be elected. The Banner also invited candidates to provide information about their background and views. A link to their responses may be found here.
Banner note: A video of the City of Whitewater Common Council Candidate Forum which was held on March 13 is available at this link. Candidates running for City Council are Carol McCormick (District 1), Brienne Diebolt-Brown (District 3), Greg Majkrzak (District 5), Neil Hicks (District 5), Lisa Dawsey Smith (At-Large), and Daniel Machalik (At-Large). All of the candidates participated in the forum. The Banner also invited candidates to provide information about their background and views. A link to their responses may be found here.
Spectrum News (Channel 1 on Whitewater’s Spectrum cable service) featured a video interview and article on March 16 titled, ‘I Plan on Being Here’; Restaurant Owner Remains Optimistic Despite Challenging Year.” Tyler Sailsbery, chef and owner of the Black Sheep, discusses the pivots his restaurant has made in staying afloat during the pandemic. Click here for the interview and article.
Downtown Whitewater Board of Directors Meeting – Monday @ 6:00 p.m. Agenda includes USDA Rural Development Grant Information & Update https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88988262965?pwd=cjBVMVpZTWNDNHNqNkJtamJwb W1KZz09 Meeting ID: 889 8826 2965 Passcode: 020436 Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 889 8826 2965 Passcode: 020436
City of Whitewater Pedestrian & Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting – Wednesday @ 5:00 p.m. Agenda includes trail map planning Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/652920493 You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240-3311 Access Code: 652-920-493 New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/652920493
Whitewater Community Development Authority Board of Directors – Thursday @ 5:30 p.m. Agenda includes closed session regarding discuss terms of sale of Tax Parcels /A323600002 and /A323600003 located on Bluff Road. (Action may follow in reconvened open session.) Citizens are welcome, and encouraged to join us via computer, smart‐phone or telephone. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (224) 501‐3412 Access Code: 635‐977‐541
Hey — it’s market day! It’ll be a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday, March 20, and you’ll find us at the CEC from 10 am to noon. The UW Whitewater Community Engagement Center is the former Sentry building located at 1260 W. Main Street.
This week’s special treats include lamb and freshly picked spinach (My Farm), duck eggs (Helena’s Plant Closet) and a strawberry rhubarb tart (Wood Street Bakery). The full list of vendors we’re expecting is below:
Bowers Lake Coffee ● locally roasted and brewed organic coffee & coffee beans Clark Family Farms ● lion’s mane mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, pink oyster mushrooms, blue oyster mushrooms, microgreens; take-and-eat dishes Helena’s Plant Closet & Whitewater Egg Delivery ● air plants, succulents, cactus, jade, peperomia, in handmade & whimsical pots, chicken and duck eggs Kettle Moraine Honey ● local honey, beeswax products, scented soaps Kristie’s Creative Kitchen ● jams, pickled items Komboocho Brewing ● quality kombucha using organic & local ingredients Margie Hammerl ● eggs, chicken My Farm ● spinach, eggs, fresh lamb, greens mix Soap of the Earth ● local, handcrafted soaps & lotions Stephani’s Spot ● garden preserves, baked goods, salsa, mustards, sauces Sunny Brook Farm ● local produce, eggs Wood Street Bakery ● cranberry almond scones, coconut chocolate chip scones; strawberry rhubarb tart; sourdough bread, Asiago cheese bread, cranberry walnut bread & multigrain bread; assorted granolas
Looking ahead: Market on the move! With the milder weather, WWCM has decided to move on to the outdoor season earlier than normal this year. Here’s where you can find us over the coming weeks.
Remaining indoor markets at the CEC: Saturday, March 20, 10 am-noon Saturday, March 27, 10 am-noon Saturday, April 3, 10 am-noon
April markets in the parking lot next to the Depot Museum: Tuesday, April 6, 4-6 pm Tuesday, April 13, 4-6 pm Tuesday, April 20, 4-6 pm Tuesday, April 27, 4-6 pm
By May, we’ll be back in our regular spots around the Depot. We’ll run 4-7 pm, and you can expect food trucks, music, and furniture out when the weather permits. Fingers crossed for sunny days, everyone… see you at the market!
It’s time for another round of #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society!
Today’s image features our very own Depot Museum in its earliest years! Designed by architect J.T.W. Jennings (who later became the Supervising Architect for UW-Madison), the depot was built 1890-1891. The building served the community well, but trains no longer stopped in Whitewater after 1951. It briefly became a feed and seed store in the 1960s, however, in 1974, it became the Whitewater Historical Society Depot Museum of Local History. This image is from our recently-digitized glass plate negatives collection from around the turn of the twentieth century.
Join us next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society collections!
The Whitewater Historical Society collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Whitewater and the surrounding area. Be sure to join us next week for more from the Society’s collections. Please “like” us on Facebook, and check out our website at whitewaterhistoricalsociety.org!
The Whippet Volleyball Team continued their winning ways, sweeping Big Foot on Thursday, March 18, 25-22, 25-21, and 25-12.
Cora Linos had 6 aces, with 3 more added by Emme Bullis and 2 by Kindyl Kilar. Kilar and Bullis each added double-digit kills with 15 and 12 respectively. Linos totaled 29 assists in the victory.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (March 12, 2021) – The following area students completed degree requirements at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in December.
UW-La Crosse, founded in 1909, is one of the 13 four-year institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. UWL has more than 10,500 full and part-time students enrolled in 101 undergraduate, 28 graduate and two doctoral academic programs.
UW-La Crosse – www.uwlax.edu- is the state’s top-ranked public or private higher education institution by U.S. News & World Reports for master’s degree institutions and has been ranked among the top Midwestern public institutions for more than a decade. UW-La Crosse remains one of only two Wisconsin colleges to consistently make Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s list of the top 100 best values nationwide in public colleges.
Students earning degrees in December included:
Whitewater, WI
Tom Duval, Bachelor of Science, Public Health and Community Health Education Major; Psychology Major Keagen Stonewerth, Bachelor of Science, Physics Education Major
The Banner believes that it is in the best interest of our citizens to have as many opportunities as possible to learn about candidates for public office. We are pleased that the League of Women Voters – Whitewater Area hosted a forum for the candidates and also compiled responses to questions for inclusion on the vote411.org site. The Banner recently invited the candidates for School Board and Common Council to share anything they wished with our readers. The School Board candidate responses were published in a previous article. We are pleased that most of the candidates for Common Council have provided responses, which are printed verbatim below.
COMMON COUNCIL MEMBER AT LARGE
Lisa Dawsey Smith
Background: You’ll likely hear remnants in my accent on occasion, I was born and raised in a rural part of upstate South Carolina. As an adult I remained on the East coast spending much of my career in operational retail management in the greater NYC area. I married one of my closest high school friends and we have two beautiful daughters aged 6 and 9. My husband, Garrett, is an Associate Professor of Finance at UW Whitewater which is truly what originally brought us to the Midwest. From the moment we arrived in Whitewater we realized we couldn’t have hoped for a better place to call home for our family. I am fortunate to now have the opportunity to homeschool our daughters and invest my time as a volunteer in a variety of ways in the Whitewater community.
Why I’m running: I’m going to recycle what I wrote as an intro to the candidate forum this past weekend by saying I never imagined myself running for public office. But as my father taught me, when something matters, you show up. It really is that simple. Whitewater matters to me. It matters to me the direction of the city my children flourish in is moving. It matters to me how our money is spent. It matters to me how our life-saving personnel access what they need to continue saving lives. It matters to me our businesses have the ability to survive the challenges of the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of all, it matters to me the people who live here want to live here, that they are proud to live here.
My father also taught me the value of service. Before I was allowed to get a paying job as a teen my father made sure I spent my first summer working as a volunteer. Local government should be service and if you look at what I have spent my years in Whitewater doing until this election, you will find it is entirely dedicated to service. I do believe the distinction in service when it comes to local government is a critical one. I will always endeavor to make sure that the voices of the people who make up this community are at the forefront of decisions being made for Whitewater. If you give me the great honor of electing me to this council, I assure you the platform will be used to amplify those voices to the necessary volume.
One of my main goals is to bring together the Whitewater community. The greatest resource that this great town has are not only the diversity of the community, but the University as well. We need to come together and get this city running at its full potential. Another goal is to have easy communication between the community and the common council. I’ll always be a text or email away from helping you solve your issues. I also plan on having weekly updates so you all know exactly what my goals/plans are and what the council is doing to complete them. It has been an honor to be apart of the Whitewater community these past few years. I’ve learned so much about the people that make this City and University great. On April 6th I hope you realize that I will fight for the issues that matter most to you. Small and local businesses, strong education, and the growing of an already strong community.
When I ran for Council 4 years ago, I was motivated by the call to “fix the lakes”, “get us a grocery store”, and “fix our streets on the Eastside”. To some extent, some of those issues are getting resolved. There is still work to be done! It’s exciting to see Kwik Trip come to Whitewater and the lakes being drawn down for the next phase of restoration. The grocery store is still an ongoing project whether it is resolved by a cooperative or a independent grocery. I will continue to support all those efforts.
I have enjoyed working with all the City officials and staff through serving on several committees including Park and Recreation, Public Works, and Alcohol Licensing. I have learned a great deal of knowledge about the inner workings of our City and am willing to learn more. I look forward to the challenge that the next two years might present and to represent my district fairly.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to run again for a AD3 position on the Whitewater Common Council. It has been an enlightening experience working with Whitewater citizens about what they want for their city, trying to figure out how to afford it, and do it in the most practical manner possible. My metaphorical door (e-mail and phone) is always open.
We’ve had some challenges, and challenging decisions to make as we navigate old debts and COVID-19, and it’s been wonderful working with city staff – who really know what they’re doing and work hard to do the best job possible. While I have been on Council, we have done the unglamorous work of budgeting to fix infrastructure problems that have been decades in the making. We have done a fabulous job of paying off debt and keeping our credit rating at high levels. We’ve created some wonderful community projects – like an outdoor amphitheater, funding for the Aquatic Center, and adding to our park facilities. I serve on the library board, which is researching how to create an expansion to the library that creates an outdoor space as well as updated infrastructure for computers, electronics, meeting rooms, and children’s area. Libraries are even more necessary than ever as a space for the community to gather and educate themselves.
I spearheaded the creation of a committee to revive a 20-year plan to create a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly city. This is close to my heart, as I spent much of my career in epidemiology looking at chronic disease and injury. One of the most cost effective ways for children to gain independence and for people to live healthier and longer (aging in place) is to make foot and bike traffic safer.
During COVID-19, so many more people tuned in to our Council meetings online than ever attended meetings in person, so I’m going to advocate for making sure that livestreaming is still available to our community.
And, the big question: A grocery store for Whitewater. I’ve been researching this subject extensively for the last 6 years. The Common Council and the Community Development Authority (CDA) are trying to make Whitewater attractive to a big retailer … even medium-sized retailer. However, Whitewater’s median income is close to poverty level, and food does not make money, so there is a small chance a food chain will take the chance on Whitewater, even if we give away land. If a food retailer takes a chance, I’m all in. But, in the meantime, I am on the board of directors for the Whitewater Grocery Co., an initiative to build an affordable, community-owned grocery store in town. Become an owner! Make your voice heard.
We are a small city with limited funding and some big problems to overcome regarding housing and making all citizens feel welcome and involved. And I encourage more people to get involved in our committees so that we have more input on issues that are important to our community. I hope to see you in some of the meetings. Your participation helps us all make better decisions!
Education Masters of Business Administration Bachelors of Science – Mechanical Engineering
Community involvement Council Member representing Aldermanic District 5 – City of Whitewater Common Council Alcohol and Licensing Committee – City of Whitewater Finance Committee – City of Whitewater Board of Zoning Appeals – City of Whitewater (previous) Vice Chair for the Whitewater Gro Co Board of Directors (2nd term) CEC Advisory Group – UWW
My vision for my time in office is to ensure we are solving problems that our community members have brought to us. Being transparent in our problem solving and consistent in our communication. Continuing to support and push affordable single family homes and a local grocery store for Whitewater. I’ve been working hard, even before being on common council on bringing a grocery store as it has been clear we need something local that has fresh affordable options.
The Whitewater Common Council on March 16th passed resolutions closing out five Tax Incremental Districts (TIDs) which is expected to generate unanticipated revenue for the City of Whitewater and the Whitewater Unified School District (WWUSD) along with other units of government.
Just over $100,000 of remaining TID balances are expected to be refunded to the City, WWUSD, Walworth and Jefferson Counties and two technical colleges that levy property taxes in different parts of the city. An additional estimated $607,000 refund is also likely to be distributed among the governmental units when a sixth TID is expected to be closed later this year.
The WI Department of Revenue (DOR) defines a TID as part of an economic development strategy that allows a municipality to fund infrastructure and other improvements with the property tax revenue generated by new development. As property values rise within a TID the city uses the property tax paid on that development to pay for infrastructure and development projects within the TID’s borders.
Whitewater has created six TIDs over a 20 plus year period. The City plans to close all six by year’s end which will allow the use of that tool for future development. When a TID is closed any remaining dollars in its accounts are to be returned to participating units of government after a complete audit. The city, school district, county(s), and technical college(s) are then able to levy taxes on the value of TID improvements in future years.
The combination of refunded TID balances and the fact all taxing authorities will be adding significant equalized value to their tax base in coming years could result in a more favorable tax climate for residents and businesses who pay property taxes that are administered through the City of Whitewater and distributed to the other taxing units.
City Finance Director Steve Hatton estimated that returning the equalized values within the initial five TID closings would add over $4 million dollars to the tax rolls. Closing of the sixth TID later this year is expected to add over $92 million. A state authorized mechanism allows for a special “extension” of a TID which the Common Council adopted for this sixth TID at the March 16 meeting.
State law allows municipalities to extend the collection of TID revenue for one year after closing for several initiatives that are expected to provide value for area residents. The only option that applies in this case is a mechanism to encourage what the DOR refers to as “affordable housing” according to Greg Johnson of Ehlers and Associates, the City’s financial advisor.
Johnson explained that beyond a state requirement that defines affordable housing as housing that costs “no more than 30% of the household’s gross monthly income” the City can further define the projects funded through the program. The state requires that at least 75% of the funds must be used for “affordable housing” and the remaining can be used “to improve housing stock.”
Johnson provided Common Council members with examples of how other Wisconsin cities have taken advantage of the so-called “affordable housing” option. They included new home development, 10-year zero percent loans for property improvements by landlords and homeowners, neighborhood revitalization efforts, historical preservation grants and other programs based on an individual community’s goals. The City has scheduled information sessions with the other taxing districts in advance of the planned extension. Attracting more families to live in Whitewater is expected to benefit both the city and the school district.
Several other related issues were discussed and/or actions were taken. The council authorized accepting an $859,000 Community Development grant to be used to partially fund the construction of a new west side water tower and discussed the required reassessment of City properties based on the sales of nearby similar properties.
City Manager Cameron Clapper commented on concerns voiced by city residents over letters indicating changes in property assessments. He pointed out that a property’s assessed value is only one part of the formula that determines a homeowner’s tax bill. The tax rates set by each of the various taxing jurisdictions are increased or decreased based on any increase or decrease in the jurisdiction’s projected budget but also by any increase or decrease in the total value of all the taxable property in the jurisdiction. Theoretically an increase of valuations across the board and the reintroduction of TID improvements to the tax base without considerable increases in jurisdiction budgets could have a positive impact on local taxpayers.
Clapper urged citizens who have concerns over their assessment to call 920 749-8098 or 800 770-3927 to speak with an assessor. They also have the option to appeal their assessment to the City’s Board of Review and can attend what is called “Open Book” sessions on March 22nd or March 23rd where recent sales that have affected their property’s value can be examined.
