Why Special This?

It is the duty of the Public Works staff to study the various needs and requests for new or improved facilities, and make recommendations to the Council. Projects are initiated by several methods, including by petition from property owners, as well as the necessity to add sidewalks to existing streets to meet needs in older sections of the City. The Public Works Board reviews these requests, staff recommendations, and feasibility studies, and if the proposed projects appear reasonable, the Board recommends the Council adopt a preliminary resolution instructing the staff to beginning design of the project. Staff notifies all the property owners who would be assessed of a public hearing which the property owners are invited to attend at the Public Works Board. The Council also holds a public hearing before action is taken on a Final Resolution levying the Special Assessments. Council’s final authorization of a project is made only after the public hearing has been held, and all information relative to the project has been presented and reviewed. (Public hearings can be waived if all affected property owners agree in writing).

Being PC

The Plan Commission Handbook from the Center for Land Use Education says that in general, plan commissions advise their local governing body on comprehensive planning and land use issues and may make related decisions that are delegated by the governing body. A primary role of the commission is to prepare and administer a comprehensive plan, providing leadership and insight into opportunities and challenges that confront the community.

All Good things Come to an End

The City used debt to finance required water facilities for growth related projects in 1997. The debt issue was to be repaid through impact fee revenues. Impact fee revenues were projected to be sufficient to cover the growth related portion of the debt service of these bonds and the fees would continue until any shortfalls that may occur were recovered by the General Fund.

The City issued the bond to finance improvements in the Brookstone/Industrial Park Area. The annual bond debt service, including principal and interest, were being repaid through a combination of user fees and impact fees. The impact fees collected had been sufficient to pay the growth portion of the debt service until 2008. The slowing of construction and the related reduction in the collection of impact fees has resulted in user fees having to cover a larger share of the debt service. The result is that the operations of the water utility and the debt service are now greater than the revenues from user fees and impact fees.

Snow Again

One of the biggest factors that determine the city’s snow plowing performance is the type of storm and range of temperatures. There are reportedly more than 60,000 combinations of winter storms that can hit Wisconsin during the winter and each storm poses unique problems to snowplow operators. Storms with low temperatures can be difficult because de-icing agents become less effective at the lower temperatures. Storms with high winds also are a challenge because the snow quickly blows back onto the roadway after the plows pass.
There is no doubt that salt makes the roadways safer during the winter. Salt lowers the freezing point of snow and ice and keeps the snow "workable" so it is more easily removed. Salt can be used for anti-icing, de-icing, or melting. Anti-icing is a technique where a chloride is applied to the roadway prior to a storm to prevent the snow/ice from bonding to the pavement. De-icing and melting is when a chloride is applied after the storm has begun in order to break up ice and snow pack or to melt glare/black ice.
The city may apply salt to a bare street when the projected temperature of the road surface will influence the treatment of a road. If plowing operations have finished and a road is left in “black and wet” condition, there is sometimes a danger of the water re-freezing on the road. There are times, especially at night, when a post-storm salt application may be necessary.
The city doesn’t use a lot of sand because the body of research on the use of sand, indicates the benefits of abrasives (sand) applied to roadways are very minimal. Abrasives are easily displaced from the roadway by traffic and have no ice melting properties. There are also negative environmental consequences such as siltation of waterways.

A Donation

Is there an advantage to making the built environment interesting? Does an archway add to the significance of place? If you have to have all these utilitarian structures in the urban environment – does adding something like an arch make the place better? Is there a monetary value to this feeling?

Verona

I wonder how fine of a line there is between being a dolt and being an enlighten soul?

Much Ado About Nothing

It’s all the comedic misunderstandings about things that mean nothing that turn into tragic actions.

Today's Quote

“My Experience in government is that when things are non-controversial and beautiful, coordinated, there is not much going on.”
John F. Kennedy

Public Discussion

A councilmember has little or no power acting alone. If there is an issue or problem that should be addressed by the city, it has to be put on the public agenda. Some issues are so important that there is a consensus that something must be done. However, your issue may be in competition with others for time and attention. The support of other members of the legislative body is needed to commit time and resources to study the issue.
The policy-maker must be prepared to explain why action is necessary and why this issue is more important than other issues that compete for time, attention, and resources. What is the problem that needs to be solved? What are the implications of not acting? What is at stake? Why is government involvement or action required?