Please post comments...really intended this to be a sounding board for the snow on the square!
_____________________________________________________________December 24 - A new idea has surfaced that bears at least some consideration:
9.20 Direct Legistlation
"to summarize...this means to circulate a petition properly and within Village confines that would force the Village Board to either pass the ordinance or resolution ie 'the Snow Square Removal' or submit it to the electors in the next general election"
it would enforce the Village Board to act or to refrain and give it to the voters to decide.
Is this the direction we are heading because of inaction on the Board's part?!
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The East Troy Village Board met on Monday Dec. 15 and agreed to postpone any action/decision on the 'snow on the square' matter until Monday January 19, 2009 - please note front page East Troy Times [Dec. 17, 2008 edition]- please note that snow is ALREADY being piled on the square with another foot of snow due tonight. Village Board Procrastination is NOT the answer!
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This is my speech presented to the East Troy Village Board on December 1, 2008:
Thank you for the opportunity to address the East Troy Village Board this evening. The first thing I want to do is to read my petition into tonight’s minutes.
[PETITION READ OUT LOUD]
ATTENTION EAST TROY VILLAGE BOARD Nov. and Dec. 2008
The people signing this petition respectfully request that the Village of East Troy clear the snow off the pathways and sidewalks (as per ET regulations for everywhere else in the Village!) of the East Troy Village Square [ETVS]. The ETVS has been always rated as one of uniqueness and rarity and something promoted as an asset for the visitors and the all the residents of the Village of East Troy, Town of East Troy and the Town of Troy. By piling up all the snow all winter on the SQUARE, are we not doing a disservice to our area by covering up our treasure with brown snow?! The Village already has a workforce in place with all of the necessary equipment and manpower, the snow could easily be diverted elsewhere, and we can once again claim OUR SQUARE to be special AND assessable year round. While everyone signing this petition is not a resident of the Village of East Troy, we respectfully submit that the SQUARE belongs to everyone and those that want to support our petition should have the voice to do so.
Name Address Telephone
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This petition was distributed to most of the businesses on the East Troy Village Square on Thursday and Friday the last week of October. In addition to that it was emailed to all the members of the East Troy Chamber of Commerce. Besides initiating the petition, I have done virtually nothing to promote it. I wanted to see what feedback would happen.
Just to show you my lack of promoting this petition, I left for Jerusalem for almost 3 weeks getting back just before Thanksgiving. I have returned to an overwhelming response. Faxes, emails, voice mails, people stopping me in the bank, at my favorite coffee shop JT Interiors, at Mielkes – all with a very, very strong opinion and all with the SAME opinion: Remove the snow off the square so we can all enjoy the square year round.
Any promotional item that has to do with the Village of East Troy always comes with a tag line of ‘come see and enjoy our Historic Village Square’. And yet all winter – after Santa comes – the square gets buried with snow. Now, there have been some winters where snow was not an issue but as last year showed, the square can and did get ‘butt ugly’ with all the snow heaped upon it.
As a business person located on the square, it was not a pleasant sight for a looong time. Now, in all fairness, I don’t know if the Village has ever removed the snow off the square. As a former President of this Village Board in 1984-85, I don’t remember if at that time we removed the snow. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t change the policy now to correct the error and make things right.
The Village has a policy that is rightfully strictly enforced for all the residents to remove their snow if front of their homes and businesses within a certain time after it snows or face a monetary fine if its not done. So why theoretically, does the Village itself get away with not removing the snow off the public sidewalks on the square?! Does anyone realize for those wanting to park their car on the square side of the square, it is not possible to even get out of your car because the drivers door is on that side and that public walk is full of snow?!
When I was first proposing this petition, one consideration was the extra cost of accomplishing the snow removal. When I was interviewed by the East Troy Times I believe I addressed that by stating that maybe a special assessment paid by the business people on the square would be an idea or a special fundraiser of some sort. But, then I realized something that was obvious: this is something that should have done every year as part of a regular snow plow event by the Village of East Troy DPW. Why should anyone, let alone the square people, be penalized for something that should already be part of a normal routine?! The issue is not how much extra it’s going to cost to remove the snow but the real issue is that we can’t afford NOT to remove the snow.
If you take the time to view the signatures on this petition, you will see they are from all over the country. Seattle Washington is, I believe, the farthest away. That couple remembered the ugly pile of snow from last year and just couldn’t believe that it was allowed to happen. And I know that because this petition is from not just East Troy Village people it is not a binding resolution of any sort. It really is just for the Village Board to refocus on what drives our little community and to say that everyone cares about what is the right thing to do.
We have a special pride in showcasing ourselves to others. We have a right to ask that you put our best face forward to the rest of the world. In any event, I am placing this before you for your consideration. I would hope that the East Troy Village Board would take the time to initiate what’s right for the Village immediately.
There are two very important sides to this situation, and the solutions are not easy, nor cheap. I am directly down the middle on this one. I do understand where both sides are coming from. It is easy to sit back and blame the Village, but there really is not an easy solution for them, that the tax payers would not have to pay dearly for, again. As I understand it, the Villages solutions for not piling snow on the square: 1. An outside contractor would need to be hired to truck the snow out of the Village Square area during the time of each snow storm. If this is not done at the time of the storm, the snow turns to a block of ice, as it mixes with the salt from the road. OR 2. The Village would need to find a place very near the square to direct the snow, instead of to the inside of the square. I am not sure if this is possible with the current Village equipment, and where that space to handle all of the snow would be.
ReplyDeleteThe other consideration is that the solution, whatever that is, would need to be determined before the first snow fall, as once it starts piling up, it turns to a block of ice and cannot be moved at that point. The Village would need to add this to the budget the year before, and the plan would have to be in place.
The other considerations involve the clearing of the sidewalks directly on the outside of the square so cars can park there, and be able to get out of the car. Further considerations are clearing at least one path North and South and one path East and West so that people can walk across the square to get to the other side. The Villages concerns are the damage done to these walkways, including the stamped concrete, during the snow removal process, resulting in an increase to the maintenance budget to keep the concrete looking nice during the summer.
On the other side, yes, the snow looks ugly piled on the square. The reason I write is that I do not think that this is just a matter of the Village not wanting to do something about it. We need a feasible solution for everyone. . . .
Now, regarding the "new" Village Hall, I have a whole new set of comments regarding that one!
A little history on the snow on the square. Years ago, the village did not pile snow on the square. It started to when the village workers started to clear all the sidewalks in front of the businesses. This helped the business stay open and made it possible for people to get to where they were going. It also made it possible for people to park without crawling over snowbanks. It worked fine for the many years we had little snow. For the last couple of years we have had a lot of snow. As a thought, I wonder if the businesses are paying for the snow removal, and if they are, shouldn't that money go to the snowremoval on the square? And if they do not charge, maybe it is time to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe Village bd. should also consider the liability that the snow mounds create. On some corners there is obstructed views and I have also saw children playing on the mounds and could easily slide into the street. Of course the police can control this now, but soon our police department will be off the square with no one to keep an eye on what is happening. But this is another subject....and my blood pressure is already too high to comment on this at the moment.
Carol
the business's on the square shovel their own walks in front of their prospective business' They shovel onto the street and the Village of ET plows after 2am when the square is empty
ReplyDelete