Thanksgiving meal at Ripon Medical Center

RIPON – Ripon Medical Center is hosting a free meal for all comers from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, in the lower level dining room. The outreach, begun last year by Jeanne Payton, is for anyone who wants to participate, no strings attached. They may not be able to afford the meal, or don't want to be alone, or simply don't feel like preparing a large meal, Payton said in a news release from the hospital. The meal will include turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, dinner roll and pie. Live music will be provided by several people, including children who will play violins. Anyone wanting to help or make donations may do so by calling Payton at (920) 748-0407.

IDEAS ON THE STATE'S $5 BILLION DEFICIT

So, we have a $5 billion deficit staring us in the face in Wisconsin. And, so far, the only committment from the Governor is to not raise taxes other than the hospital tax and a tax on oil companies. He would not rule out the possible increase of the state sales or income tax. The Governor has presented "balanced" budgets since being sworn in five years ago, but, as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel pointed out, "that's because Republicans and Democrats have solved each budget with one-time fixes, relying on accounting tricks, increased borrowing and transfers from the state's transportation fund." WE MUST stop these tricks, borrowings and transfers (raids). Here are some ideas I would throw out there:

1 - Elimination of the state patrol. Controversial, yes, but do we really need a state patrol, when most cities, like Ripon, have their own police department, and we also have a county sheriff's department as well
2 - Stop buying land, and start selling some state land. We have been on a land purchasing spree in recent years, and it simply reduces the amount of taxable property. If you want people to conserve the land privately, re-assess them as "environmentally-protected" land or something of that nature
3 - Reduce or eliminate state shared revenue. Leave it up to the local units of government to determine their own tax rates.
4 - Merge the technical college and 2-year university system into one unit of education, and, perhaps, roll it all into the state university system.
5 - Revise the state retirement system, so that contributions are guaranteed to be paid out at retirement, not the payouts guaranteed. I noticed in the most recent story about the reduction in the state retirement fund that the taxpayer will be covering the difference. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel - November 2 - Taxpayers are also expected to take a hit, as the Department of Employee Trust Funds is warning municipalities, counties, school boards and the state that they will have to boost contributions to the pension fund that covers approximately 540,000 active employees and retirees...If the city or county pension funds ever did go sour, local taxpayers would be required by state law to make good on retirees' pension checks, officials said.) Why? I would love to have the "taxpayer" cover the shortfalls in my 401-K, and my wife's. Wouldn't you?
6 - STOP the raiding of segregated funds. If I am paying a gas tax, I expect it be used on roads.
7 - Change the bid process. A number of years ago, the Journal-Sentinel did a study of state road projects, showing that the final tabs ended up being considerably higher than the initial bid prices. Who pays the difference? You and I. I would propose that any company which secures a road project bid, and delivers a final product that is more than 10 percent over the intial bid, will be required to cover half of the overrun, and be banned from bidding on any state transportation project for one year
8 - Review all property tax exemptions every five years. These little "gifts" do add up after awhile, and the Legislature should be required to re-authorize them every five years, with a full fiscal analysis of what the exemptions do to local and state government bottom lines. Start with 20 percent of the exemptions the first year, and go from there.
9 - Adopt a "pay-go" system. ANY increase in spending in one area must be balanced by a cut in another portion of the budget, or, if a person has the desire, a tax increase.

These are just "ideas", but I would hope we have some discussion in Madison...non-partisan, substantive and respectful of the people paying the bills.

THIS IS STARTING TO GET SCARY...

DETROIT
(November 12) - The Detroit City Council passed a resolution today calling for a $10-billion bailout for the city of Detroit. Council President Pro Tem JoAnn Watson sponsored the resolution to use the money for public service employment, to fund mass transit plans and to place a moratorium on home foreclosures for two years. The resolution specifically requests the council meet with Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., Gov. Jennifer Granholm, the state’s congressional delegation, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and officials from President George W. Bush’s office and President-Elect Barack Obama’s transition team...The city recently received $47 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by the nationwide foreclosure crisis. Officials with the city’s Planning and Development have prepared a plan the city council is expected to vote on in a week.

CHICAGO
(November 13) - Mayor Richard M. Daley says the economic woes in Chicago will get much worse, and more local workers could soon be getting pink slips. As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, the news is especially alarming because the discussion concerns not just city jobs, but the private sector. Thus, it seems the City That Works is about to become the city that gets laid off.Mayor Daley says chief executive officers told him huge layoffs will impact the city this month and into the new year. He also says city, county and state governments should be prepared for their revenue to fall dramatically because of the souring economy. "This is going to be all year, so it's going to be a very frightening economy," Mayor Daley said. "Each one tells me what they're laying off, and they're going to double that next year. We're talking huge numbers of permanent layoffs for people in the economy. It's going to have a huge effect on all businesses." The mayor said the gravity of the situation cannot be underestimated. "We never experienced anything like this except people who came from the Depression," Mayor Daley said. "When you have that many layoffs early – and they're telling me this is only the beginning of their layoffs – that is very frightening." Mayor Daley also warned that local governments will be in jeopardy and may not have enough money to meet payroll, although he is not worried about paying City of Chicago employees...The City Council will take a vote on the 2009 city budget Nov. 19. The budget contains layoffs, a slowdown in police hiring, and new taxes and fines – some bad news for Chicagoans who remain employed.

ATLANTA
(November 13) - Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said Wednesday the city’s employees will have their hours —- and pay —- cut by 10 percent each week to help the city weather an expected budget shortfall of $50 million to $60 million.The pay and hour cuts, which begin Dec. 1, affect 4,600 city employees.Franklin also announced an immediate hiring freeze for most city agencies and said the city will have to cut back some services, dip into its reserves for about $12 million and make other personnel moves.Blaming the shortfall on the nation’s economic crisis, Franklin said the city needs a “federal rescue plan” in addition to its cuts to balance the budget. In a letter Tuesday to U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, she asked for federal investment in Atlanta’s —- and other cities’ —- infrastructure, public safety, and programs for job training and placement.“The future prosperity of this country is tied directly to our ability to provide basic services and quality infrastructure to our citizens,” Franklin wrote. “We are at serious risk in failing in that most basic public responsibility.”And if current economic conditions continue, she told the City Council’s Finance/Executive committee, “This will not be the last time you see me before the end of the fiscal year.”Although Franklin and her staff said they have not made decisions about how they will make the service cuts, some union leaders said the changes will erode morale and threaten public safety.“This is a dangerous time for our firefighters,” Atlanta fire Lt. Jim Daws, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 134, told reporters. “The city is putting them in a dangerous position.”

NEW YORK CITY
(November 5) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Wednesday he has instructed the finance commissioner not to send out $400 property tax rebates to homeowners because the crisis on Wall Street has cost the city dearly in lost tax revenue. Bloomberg, who hopes to win a third term by convincing voters he is best suited to guide the city through its fiscal crisis, told a news conference that Wall Street already has taken half a trillion dollars in write-downs. Financial companies might not pay city or state taxes for three to five years as they struggle with losses, he said. The mayor estimates New York Stock Exchange member firms will have to earn a combined $10 billion a year for several years before the city can resume collecting taxes from them. Wall Street, which could shed over 30,000 workers, represents about 35 percent of the city's wage base. Adding to the gloom, the mayor is expecting a total of 140,000 job losses city-wide by July 1, 2009. Even financial planning has its limits. "If it turns out to be a meltdown, nobody can prepare for that," the mayor said. Should the economy fail to recover soon, sales or income taxes may have to be raised to plug the $1.3 billion deficit in next year's budget -- despite $1.5 billion of new cuts that begin now, Bloomberg said. To illustrate the problem, the mayor said a 7.5 percent increase in income taxes for a family of four earning $50,000 to $70,000 annually would mean they would pay an extra $116 a year. That "does put in perspective what might have to change," Bloomberg said. The harsh remedies he unveiled on Wednesday include cutting 3,000 city jobs, mainly through attrition. "If you're going to spend less, then you clearly have to have fewer employees," he said. New York City has about 300,000 workers.

MEETING TO BE HELD ON NEWBURY STREET

On November 18th at 5 PM, the City of Ripon will host a neighborhood meeting at the Council chambers to discuss the Newbury Street project. As mayor, I have received a number of complaints and concerns about the project, and have asked staff to host this meeting so that we can air all of these issues. I have met with our City Engineer as recently as last Friday morning to review the complaints and concerns, so that he had some idea of the issues. The project is part of a two-year effort to reconstruct Newbury Street, and I would like to avoid the same issues in 2009, so I would encourage ALL residents on Newbury north of Griswold to attend the meeting next Tuesday night. Then, stick around for the Cornerstorne Project informational meeting at 630 PM.

COUNCIL REVIEW - November 11th

1.Proposed increase to room tax rates - On October 14th, the Council requested that a public hearing be scheduled to consider raising the room tax rate from 6% to 7%, effective 1/1/09, to gain more funds for tourism and promotion. The last increase took effect on 1/1/05, when the rate was increased from 5% to 6%. After considerable discussion, the Council voted 6-0 to reject the room tax increase.

2.Proposed increase to taxicab fares - Upon recommendation by the Transportation Commission, the Council authorized submission of a request for federal and state taxi grant funds based upon a $.25 across the board fare increase, effective 1/1/09, and our 2009 budget is based on this, too. The taxifare increase passed 6-0.

3.Proposed 2009 employee health insurance renewal – Network Health - Network Health’s 2009 renewal includes an 11.1% premium hike. This would continue benefit levels required by the agreements with our unions, and it is within the range of premium increases that Network is seeing with most of its other clients. The renewal passed 6-0

4.Proposed 5-year agreement for assessing services – Action Appraisers - At Council’s request, staff sought bids for assessing services under multiple options, as highlighted on the attached spreadsheet. After reviewing the bids, staff recommends Action Appraisers with Option #3, at a cost of $149,500. Our 2009 budget covers the first year amount. There will be a MAJOR change in the way we do appraisals. Instead of one city-wide appraisal in 2012, we will do a quarter of the city each year, starting in 2009. One of the main reasons is to reduce the potential hit on 2012 budget, which would have been about $50,000 over the amount we will pay under the new system.

5.Request for “Media Director” position – Cable TV Advisory Committee - At our last budget meeting, the Council showed willingness to add a “Media Director” position, who would be responsible for cable programming, website management, news releases, etc. Proposed budget and a job description are attached. The council rejected the proposal, 6-0

6.Request to reduce and modify membership for citizen advisory board - Passed 6-0
Loan Review Board, from 10 to 7 members (3 bankers, mayor, city administrator, one council member, and one citizen at large)
Park & Recreation Committee, from 7 to 5 members (we have 5 members now, so no immediate membership change is needed)

INFORMATIONAL MEETING

INFORMATIONAL MEETING -CORNERSTONE PROJECT

On Tuesday, November 18th at 6:30 p.m., an informational meeting will take place in the Council chambers of Ripon City Hall regarding the proposed Cornerstone project. This is a collaborative effort to build a new facility in this area to provide fun fitness activities to families at an affordable price. The purpose of the meeting is to present information on this project, and to address any questions that residents have. If you have questions about this meeting, please call Steve at 748-4914 or e-mail him at sbarg@cityofripon.com.

Ripon Shack-a-thon offers residents a chilly glimpse of homelessness

RIPON — Ripon's Village Green will be transformed into a shantytown the night of Friday, Nov. 21. Community members and college students alike are invited to build, and spend the night in temporary shelters to bring attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness in the community. The event, sponsored by the Ripon College Office of Community Engagement and Habitat for Humanity club, begins at 9 p.m. with the construction of shelters for the night, Teams of six or fewer will be provided cardboard boxes, wood, tape and other materials to create a home to withstand the chilly night. Prior to constructing the shacks, teams may participate in a scavenger hunt to gather items for local food pantries. Teams will meet at Ripon College's Pickard Commons at 5 p.m. to start the event, and prizes will be awarded to the fastest teams. More information or registration is available by calling (920) 748-8153.

Brewers' Torres decides to retire

I did not see this coming at all.............

By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel - Nov. 11, 2008 1:32 p.m.
I just spoke on the telephone with Brewers reliever Salomon Torres and he gave me some surprising news. Torres said he called general manager Doug Melvin today to announce he is retiring from baseball as an active player. The Brewers had a $3.75 million option for 2009 on Torres, which they certainly would have exercised by the Saturday deadline after he emerged as their closer last season. But Torres said he wanted to take that out of Melvin's hands by telling him he was retiring. "I wanted to make it easy for him," said Torres, 36, reached at home in Pittsburgh. "I already had made up my mind and wanted to tell him this was my last season."
Torres, a deeply religious man, said he wanted to devote more time to his wife and three children as well as his faith. "It's time for me to dedicate more time to my family and my religion," said Torres. "Doug was very understanding, which I appreciate. I had a wonderful experience in Milwaukee but he knows I am serious about it." The loss of Torres creates a huge hole in a bullpen already thinned by free agency. Torres took over for faltering closer Eric Gagne in late May and was a stalwart in the pen, saving a career-high 28 games in 32 appearances from that point (he was 28 for 35 overall). Torres led the Brewers with 71 appearances and 80 innings out of the bullpen, compiling a 7-5 record and 3.49 ERA. His numbers were much better until a September fade in which he posted a 12.46 ERA over his last 10 outings. Torres said the fact that he would walk away from the $3.75 million option shows how serious he is about retiring.
"It was a given (that the Brewers would exercise the option)," said Torres. "It's a small sacrifice I'm making. I know I'm doing the right thing. It might be a surprise to a lot of people and some might not understand, especially from a money standpoint. That shows you how determined I am to lead by life in another way." Torres briefly thought of retiring after he was traded to the Brewers last December but decided to give it a shot in Milwaukee and said he was grateful for doing so, especially after experiencing the playoffs for the first time. He saved the Brewers only victory in the NLDS against Philadelphia, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam. "It was a great season," he said. "I thank everybody in the city -- the fans, my teammates, the reporters -- for all their support. It was a privilege to play there but you don't want to have me there half-hearted. "This decision has been a long time coming. I'm happy I have the strength and faith to do it. This is the route I want to go." Torres retired in August 1997 after pitching for Seattle and Montreal that season, but returned to baseball in 2002 after signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh. Torres said he would not change his mind this time about leaving. "I am very confident I am doing the right thing," he said. With Gagne, Guillermo Mota and Brian Shouse all free agents, Melvin has to do some retooling of his bullpen, including finding a reliable closer.

MADNESS IN MADISON

Ok, can we all admit now that the Governor's budget skills were less than honest and forthright? It is time to STOP electing people who cannot say no to spending. NOT ONE mention in this article about cutting taxes...

Madison - Gov. Jim Doyle gave a grim assessment of the state budget Tuesday, saying the deficit would top $5 billion through mid-2011, making it by far the biggest budget gap in state history. The Democratic governor also endorsed plans to impose taxes on oil companies and hospitals - ideas he has pushed for two years but that Republicans who controlled the state Assembly blocked. Doyle's tax proposals have a much better chance after last week's election because Democrats will now run both houses of the Legislature and the governor's office.
Doyle said he hoped to avoid increases in the sales tax and income tax, but could not rule them out. "Let me just say this: I am going to do everything humanly possible to avoid any general tax increase," he said. "We got through the last significant deficit (in 2003) without raising taxes and that is what I really want to accomplish here. I just want to say, having said that, if you finally get to a point where you would just have to destroy schools or have such high tuition increases at the university that ordinary people wouldn't be able to afford it, you know, then you have to look at everything. But I think people know me well enough by now to know that I work to do these budgets and I've worked very, very hard to do them without tax increases." The $5 billion shortfall includes up to $500 million in the current budget, which runs through June 30. Doyle stressed the deficit may continue to balloon as the scope of the national economic crisis becomes clear. When Doyle came into office in 2003, he inherited what at the time was a record deficit of $3.2 billion. He balanced that budget, but each subsequent budget has opened with a sizable gap between revenues and expenses. That's because Republicans and Democrats have solved each budget with one-time fixes, relying on accounting tricks, increased borrowing and transfers from the state's transportation fund. Now, resolving the budget gap will be the sole responsibility of Democrats. Democrats captured the Assembly in Tuesday's election for the first time in 14 years, giving Democrats a lock on running the government.

And of course, this comes from the Democratic Part chairman. At least he admits there will need to be some spending cuts.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Wineke said today that Democrats who control the Capitol should consider a temporary increase in the income tax to fix the state budget, as long as they also cut some spending programs. “Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet,” Wineke said in an interview with a Journal Sentinel reporter on the WisconsinEye public affairs network. He said he thought voters would understand a one-time surcharge to finally fix the state’s budget, which he said has been running a deficit since the 1990s. Wineke was the second Democratic official to call for a temporary increase in the income tax to fix the 2009-’10 budget, which Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle has said faces a budget deficit of more than $3 billion. Former Gov. Tony Earl made a similar suggestion in an interview last week. In 1983, Earl signed into law a 10% temporary income tax surcharge to pay for state services in the face of another national recession.

Try this on for size tomorrow. Go into your boss' office and say you need a wage increase of, say 10 percent. But you are also willing to cut back your spending, but at a percentage you won't disclose. Think he will go for it?

I HOPE YOU DID NOT FORGET............

THANK YOU TO ALL THE VETERANS

CALIFORNIA FACES $28 BILLION DEFICIT

Funny thing about this article is that there is NOT one mention of cutting spending, but numerous hints at raising taxes and fees....



SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's budget deficit will grow to $28 billion through June 2010 unless lawmakers take bold action, possibly including a hike in the state income tax, the Legislature's nonpartisan analyst said Tuesday. The Legislative Analyst's Office urged lawmakers to act immediately on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals to close the deficit for this fiscal year, projected at $11.2 billion—about 11 percent of the state's general fund. They include a 1 1/2 cent sales tax increase and $4.4 billion in across-the-board spending cuts.
The Schwarzenegger administration had projected a $24.5 billion hole for the rest of this fiscal year and the one that runs from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. But the analyst's office estimates tax revenue will be even lower than the administration expected. The revenue collapse is so bad that if lawmakers did nothing, the state would face $22 billion shortfalls each year from 2010 to 2014, the analyst's report said. "With the expected slow recovery of the state's economy, it is imperative that the Legislature attack the grim budget problem aggressively, making permanent improvements to the state's fiscal outlook," wrote Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor. He said the governor's proposals would address only about half the state's long-term problems. Taylor proposed raising the state income tax by 5 percent for all taxpayers in 2009. Another option is to boost the licensing fee on vehicles, which Schwarzenegger cut when he took office in 2003. That action cost the state about $6 billion a year. Lawmakers scheduled a budget hearing Friday to debate the governor's proposals. The legislative session ends Nov. 30.

Planning under way for Obama holiday

From the The Topeka Capital-Journal - Published Sunday, November 09, 2008

Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation's 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20. "Yes We Can" planning rallies will be at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the downtown McDonald's restaurant, 1100 Kansas Ave., until Jan. 13. The goals are to secure a national holiday in Obama's honor, to organize celebrations around his inauguration and to celebrate the 200th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who was born on Feb. 12 1809. At 7:30 a.m. on Inauguration Day, Obama Cake will be served at the downtown McDonald's, and a celebration is scheduled for 8 p.m. to midnight Jan. 20 at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, 420 S.E. 6th. For more information, contact Sonny Scroggins, (785) 232-3761, 845-6148 or at biasbustersofkansas@yahoo.com; Lamont Lassiter, McDonald's general manager, 608-2739; Ava Chander-Beard, (785) 234-9138, ava.beard@sbcglobal.net

Here is a novel idea....let's see the new president do something for the country before we even think about a national holiday for him. At the same time, I read the above, I find this on the Washington Times website, and I am getting increasingly nervous:

EXCLUSIVE: Agenda disappears from Obama Web site - Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Over the weekend President-elect Barack Obama scrubbed Change.gov, his transition Web site, deleting most of what had been a massive agenda copied directly from his campaign Web site.
Gone are the promises on how an Obama administration would handle 25 different agenda items - everything from Iraq and immigration to taxes and urban policy - all items laid out on his campaign Web site, www.BarackObama.com. Instead, the official agenda on Change.gov has been boiled down to one vague paragraph proclaiming a plan “to revive the economy, to fix our health care, education, and social security systems, to define a clear path to energy independence, to end the war in Iraq responsibly and finish our mission in Afghanistan, and to work with our allies to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, among many other domestic and foreign policy objectives.” “We are currently retooling the Web site,” said Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro. The site went active on Wednesday and was available to the public Thursday. The agenda items, which were active for at least part of the weekend, appear to have been deleted by late Saturday.

COUNCIL PREVIEW - November 11

CITY OF RIPONCOMMON COUNCIL MEETING

Council Chambers, City Hall - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 7:00 p.m.

I.Call to order/roll call
II.Pledge of Allegiance/Invocation
III.Public communications and comment
IV.Hold public hearings and consider resolutions
1.Proposed increase to room tax rates - On October 14th, the Council requested that a public hearing be scheduled to consider raising the room tax rate from 6% to 7%, effective 1/1/09, to gain more funds for tourism and promotion. The last increase took effect on 1/1/05, when the rate was increased from 5% to 6%.)
2.Proposed increase to taxicab fares - Upon recommendation by the Transportation Commission, the Council authorized submission of a request for federal and state taxi grant funds based upon a $.25 across the board fare increase, effective 1/1/09, and our 2009 budget is based on this, too. At Council’s request, a public hearing has been scheduled to consider this fare increase.)
V.Consent calendar (Unless the Mayor, Council or staff asks that one or more of the items listed below be pulled, this list may be approved with a single vote.)
1.Reports from standing committees and staff
2.Request for street closures (December 5th) – Dickens of a Christmas
VI.Other business
1.Proposed 2009 employee health insurance renewal – Network Health(Staff note: Network Health’s 2009 renewal includes an 11.1% premium hike. This would continue benefit levels required by the agreements with our unions, and it is within the range of premium increases that Network is seeing with most of its other clients
2.Proposed 5-year agreement for assessing services – Action Appraisers(Staff note: At Council’s request, staff sought bids for assessing services under multiple options, as highlighted on the attached spreadsheet. After reviewing the bids, staff recommends Action Appraisers with Option #3, at a cost of $149,500. Our 2009 budget covers the first year amount.
3.Request for “Media Director” position – Cable TV Advisory Committee - At our last budget meeting, the Council showed willingness to add a “Media Director” position, who would be responsible for cable programming, website management, news releases, etc. Proposed budget and a job description are attached.
4.Plan Commission minutes and action items – October 15th
a.Request to amend concept PUD map – Sandmar Village - As noted on the attached map, the developer wants toamend the concept PUD map, replacing the YMCA with seniorapartments. The Commission recommended approval.
b.Declaration of surplus property – land at Hillside/Van Dyke - The City owns a small strip of land on the south side of Hillside Terrace at Van Dyke Avenue. It was likely kept for an entrance to Kiwanis Park, but this is no longer possible. The Plan Commission recommended disposing of it as “surplus property”, as set forth under Wisconsin Statutes.
5.Request to reduce and modify membership for citizen advisory boards
a.Loan Review Board, from 10 to 7 members (3 bankers, mayor, city administrator, one council member, and one citizen at large)
b.Park & Recreation Committee, from 7 to 5 members (we have 5 members now, so no immediate membership change is needed)
VII.Mayor’s communications and appointments
1. Review Community Appearance Team’s preliminary recommendations
VIII.Agenda items for future Council meetings
IX.Adjourn to closed session under Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(e) “Deliberating ornegotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session
RE: Possible modification in lease terms for City-owned property
RE: Request to amend developer’s agreement – Sandmar Village

ALLIANCE HAS GREAT EARNINGS....BUT WARNS OF THE FUTURE

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Alliance Laundry Holdings reported third-quarter earnings more than tripled on higher sales of commercial laundry equipment, but its CEO warned of slowing demand in the coming quarter. The Ripon maker of Speed Queen and Huebsch washing machines and dryers said today net income rose to $4.2 million from $1.2 million. Sales increased 3.7 percent to $117.6 million from $113.4 million. More than three-quarters of the company’s revenue increase was attributed to higher commercial laundry revenue of $3.2 million. Chief Executive Thomas L’Esperance said the company has seen a drop in demand in North America and Europe in the quarter. In expectation of a continuing slowdown, Alliance has already taken steps to reduce its work force and spending, he said. “Overall, we are confident that our strong market position, continued focus on our strategic priorities and our ability to control costs, should enable Alliance to manage the current economic challenges while maintaining our commitment to long-term profitable growth,” L’Esperance said in a statement. Alliance Laundry is privately held but some of its debt is publicly held.

SANDMAR VILLAGE UPDATE

I have enclosed two memos - one from our City Administrator to the residents on October 6th, and then an update that was sent shortly after:

October 6, 2008


Dear Sandmar area residents:

Here is an update on what has happened since the Plan Commission met on August 20th:

· The developer (Hank Mehciz) has submitted the attached new concept plan, and a public hearing will be held by Plan Commission on Wed, Oct 15th. (You should have received a letter from me regarding this meeting.) As you see by comparing this plan with the concept plan approved 2 years ago, the major change is putting senior apartments where a YMCA was first suggested, on the east side of Pleasant Street, extended to the south of its current endpoint.

· There have been communications and discussions between the developer and City officials regarding conditions that need to be met in order for the City to allow the extension to the south into Phase 2 to facilitate construction of assisted living and senior apartment projects on either side of an extension of Pleasant Street. As of now, no decisions have been made and no approvals given, but I’m expecting that the developer will submit a proposed amendment to the developer’s agreement (a document signed by the City and the developer in 2007 that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties), and I will bring this to the Council for review and discussion in closed session on Tuesday, October 14th. Please understand that City approval of additional work into the next phase of this project will be based on, among other things, the developer adequately addressing drainage issues and resolving a number of outstanding items remaining from Phase 1 of this project.

· With respect to stormwater management, which is of great importance to most of you, the developer’s engineer (Jim Knowles) has been working on this issue over the past 6 weeks, and he has offered the attached update. I’ll stay in close contact with the developer and his engineer to ensure that progress continues according to the schedule that Mr. Knowles has outlined.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Steve,

I wanted to update you on our progress:

We met with the COE onsite two weeks ago to go over the issues and what is needed to get water moving through site; namely, the ditch clean out effort. According to the COE they would seek to issue an exemption under the Clean Water Act as a minimum and/or look to issue a permit if exemption rules for the ditch clean out effort would not apply in this case. The COE agrees that the exemption rules would allow for sidecast of dredged material but if a permit is needed that the spoil material would need to be relocated into nearby farmed uplands. We will need to delineate the wetlands as part of this effort. I have scheduled the wetland field work October 9th with a report to be written on the 10th and into the COE and WDNR the following week.
We have been in touch with a surveyor that works frequently with Montgomery Associates. The surveyor has submitted a proposal to Hank for approval. We have scheduled both the topographic survey of the ditch area and wetland mapping to occur the same day.
Ann-Marie and her team are working on the stormwater engineering effort; she is shooting to have the draft report ready by October 15th. We are going to try to get her the results of the survey and wetland mapping details by the 10th or the following Monday so that she can incorporate that material into her study and draft report.
Once the field work and draft engineering is complete, we are scheduled to meet with Hank and go over the results; we are shooting to meet on the 16th or 17th here in Beaver Dam. At that point we should know what is needed and be able to develop a more precise schedule.
In the mean time we have some other steps to undertake, which are:
Meet with neighboring property owners that own land where the ditch is located and seek their approval to do the work; survey, wetland mapping and eventual ditch work.
Meet with the County to discuss permits at their level.
Meet with the railroad track owners and operators to discuss what may need to occur within the track corridor as part of this effort. We may want to hold off on this step until after October 16th.
We need to identify qualified contractors that can do the ditch clean out work. I believe that Navis Excavating in nearby Waupun is probably the best equipped to the do the work. I can make contact with those folks directly and seek a proposal from the owner Dennis Navis.
We need to meet with the WDNR but they have declined until some more concrete direction is obtained from the COE. I recommend we invite the WDNR and COE to a meeting, along with County, to be held at the City of Ripon the week of October 20th.

My hope is that we can get a permit package together and into the COE and WDNR, as needed, that same week of October 20th but no later than the end of October. With a potential 60 to 120 permit review time frame we would be looking at doing the ditch clean out some time in January or February which is ideal! We can seek County approvals simultaneous to the WDNR and COE review. I would assume that we will need to appear before the Plan Commission and/or City Council at some point during this process, also.

Any questions, feel free to give me a call.

James R. Knowles
Senior Environmental Professional
President

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please call me at 748-4914 or e-mail me at sbarg@cityofripon.com if you have questions, or if you wish to discuss this further. I’ll provide another update on or before the end of October, or earlier, if conditions warrant.


Have a great week everyone!

Steve Barg
City Administrator

RIPON HOSTS WSFL TITLE GAME

Snow, cold, sleet...all the perfect elements for a championship game. And Ripon's Ingalls Field was the host of the WSFL title game on Saturday night. Yes, FieldTurf was one of the big reasons the game was held in Ripon, but I do NOT want to get into a debate about the Turf on this site. When the turf was proposed, one argument was that Ripon could bring in games and add money to the local economy. That happened Saturday night. Let's just say it was a great night, and the school district made some money by renting out the field. And the FFA made some money running the concession stands.

UPDATED: Ripon will now host a Division Three playoff game between Waupaca and Kewaskum this Saturday. More money for the local economy...

COME TALK ABOUT THE CITY BUDGET

NOTICE OF BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING - CITY OF RIPON

Notice is hereby given that on Monday, November 24, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Building, 100 Jackson Street, a Public Hearing on the Proposed Budget of the City of Ripon will be held. The proposed Budget in detail is available for inspection in the City Administrator's Office in the City Building from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and at the Ripon Public Library on Jefferson Street. The budget is also available on the city website at www.cityofripon.com. Citizens are invited to provide written or oral comments concerning the proposed budget. The following is a summary of the proposed budget.

The total budget ($5,271,552) is 5.88 percent higher than last year's total. The specifics can be found here.

HOW DID RIPON VOTE

PRESIDENT
Barrack Obama (DEM) - 2042
John McCain (REP) - 1715
Obama carried every district but one.
CONGRESS
Tom Petri (REP) - 2180
Roger Kittleson (DEM) - 1376
STATE ASSEMBLY
Joan Ballweg (REP) - 2116
Scott Millheiser (DEM) - 1457
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Dan Kaminsky (REP) - 1797
Mike O'Rourke (DEM) - 1737

TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS - 5039
TOTAL VOTES CAST - 3842 (76 percent turnout)

Other websites have noticed the apparent oddity in the Birthplace of the GOP supporting Barrack:
Birthplace of the Republican Party Goes for Obama

DEMOCRATS RUN THE SHOW NOW IN MADISON

* According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Democrats will again control the state Senate by an 18-15 margin, the same gap between the two parties of the past two years. Alberta Darling's early morning victory over Sheldon Wasserman insured the continuing margin. Associated Press has not called the race, and if Wasserman does win, the Democrats would have their largest margin in 17 years.

* Democrats will control the Assembly 52-46 with one independent, after Democrats gained five seats Tuesday. Democrat Fred Clark of Baraboo beat Rep. J.A. "Doc" Hines (R-Oxford) in the 42nd District; Democrat Ted Zigmunt of Francis Creek beat Rep. Frank Lasee (R-Green Bay) in the 2nd District; and Kristen Dexter of Eau Claire defeated Rep. Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls) in the 68th District. I am sad to see Doc Hines leave the Legislature. I thought he was a voice of reason. As for Frank Lasee, I had a chance to visit with him at Royal Ridges, and found him to be a political enigma. His loss likely means the end of the TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) movement in Madison, which reached its peak in 2005.

* It's been 14 years since Democrats had control of the Assembly and 24 years since they had total control of the state government. With a Democratic governor, the Republican Party will find itself in a position they will have to get used to. My biggest fear is that the budget shenanigans of the past several years (structural deficits, transferring funds around, over-enthusiastic revenue projections) will continue and hamstring the state government for several years

* Mark Jefferson, the chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, has said the GOP would bide its time. In an interview with Capital Times, he said said midterms are rarely kind to incumbents, and Democrats would likely pave the way for a Republican comeback. He said voters will likely recoil when minority Republicans hammer away at the cost of Democratic initiatives on health care and taxes. I cannot agree with this approach. This is a recipe for another disaster down the road. Waiting for your enemy to move puts the GOP on the defensive for two years. The GOP needs strong leadership, and it needs to articulate its agenda, and simply not bank on taking control back in 2010 by negatively portraying the Democrats. I would even argue that a "big tent" approach may be required to keep the door open for centrists and moderates to join the GOP effort down the road. I would urge Jefferson to get out in front, and organize the GOP by shoring up its existing base and opening the debate to make it inclusive in the very near future.

POST-ELECTION THOUGHTS

Barrack Obama - He is our President, yours, mine and our neighbors. It is our patriotic duty to support him in his efforts to lead the nation, a more patriotic duty than playing higher taxes. While I do not support many of his positions, and worry about the direction the country will be going, I will support the office, and by association, the man who occupies that office.
Dan Kaminsky - I am very pleased to see Dan win the Fond du Lac County District Attorney's race, since I endorsed him in late September. Some critics are claiming that Kaminsky won because he was the GOP candidate, but, here in Ripon, Barrack won the presidential race, and Dan won the DA's race, and they are from different parties.
John Gard - While this district does not cover the Ripon area, we are inundated with the commercials on Green Bay television. Gard lost by 7,000 in 2006, and he lost Tuesday by 28,000. Someone from the Republican Party needs to pull him aside and point out the mathematics, and then find someone who can actually defeat Steve Kagen with a positive, visionary campaign. Gard, to me, represents the GOP which is reeling this morning. His record in Madison was very partisan, and resulted in more people being turned off to the party than coming in under the "big tent".
Ripon - I did not think that the Birthplace of the Republican Party would cast more votes for a Democrat than a Republican in the presidential race, but it did. I am proud 76 percent of the residents turned out for the election, and we had little to no problems at all.
The Republican Party - Is this the wake-up call the party needs? Similar to 1964 and 1992, the party has been shocked at the polls. In 1964, it ran a candidate ahead of its time. In 1992, it had fallen out of touch with the general electorate. I think 2008 is more representative of 1992. At that time, a new wave of leadership took control of the party, setting the stage for the historic 1994 takeover of Congress and the "Contract With America". It is my deepest hope that the leadership we need in Washington and in Madison will come forward, leadership that will get past the flowery speeches and agendas fueled by fear and hatred. We need leadership that will sit down with the American people and talk straight to them about the problems we face with our state and national budgets, the health care and insurance system, Social Security and other entitlements, our crumbling infrastructure, and the crushing debt we face on the personal and governmental levels. Any new leadership must impress upon the people that, in solving these problems, there will be winners, and there will be losers. Trying to please everyone, and trying to shove agendas down people's throats, will not work. Time is running out for us to solve many of these issues.