WNA Better Newspaper Contest 2017 entry: Reporting on Local Government by Ripon Commonwealth Press

Thursday, September 1, 2016 - Page 1

Ripon Commonwealth Press www.RiponPress.com

Issue No. 35 Serving the Ripon community since 1864

Single copy — $1 Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016

Wisconsin Weekly Newspaper of the Year

INSIDE

Book fees Library specialist The Ripon Area School District was able to hire the library specialist it wanted — but the choice comes at a cost. See page 3

Education

2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015

City gets nearly $10M sticker shock Aldermen’s request spotlights lengthy list of road projects and more on hold by Ian Stepleton

Pay for it via referendum? Not so fast by Ian Stepleton

ians@riponprinters.com

What might be the one thing worse than a “relaxing” drive down one of Ripon’s less-fine roads — say, Pacific, Hamburg or Scott streets? The sticker shock one receives when learning how much it would cost to fix that road — as well as all the other projects in immediate need of repair around the community. A new report suggests that, just to get caught up on fixing local roads and repairing city b uildings most in need of repair , city residents w ould need to fork over nearly $9.7 million dollars. It’s a figure that was as shocking to city leaders as it may be to residents. “How much of this needs to be done no w?” Ald. Todd Elliott ask ed

See CITY/ page 18

! M

O BO

Identifying problems w ith Ripon’s road, buildings and other infrastructure is easy. Figuring out h ow, a nd when, to fix them? That a political hot-potato that’s muc h more d ifficult to grasp. While several aldermen acknowledge funding nearly $10 million in repairs and reb uilds could lead to another “R” word

— referendum — no one appears ready to accept that as the answer just yet. And, in all lik elihood, knowing about the lengthy list doesn’t mean city officials are likely to tackle all, or e ven much of it, in the immediate future. The list came into e xistence only after two Common Council members, Alds. Joel Brockman and Rollie Peabody, were needled by residents along Nordane Avenue, where a road project recently had been undertaken.

Supersonic jet surprises Ripon area

See light, slow down Bus drivers hope drivers get the message to slow down when they see the newly mandated amber lights. See page 9

Business

Ripon, WI 54971

“Joel and I met with Travis regarding the Nordane [Avenue] project, because we were not satisfied with ho w that project looks when it was completed. We were wondering exactly what the thought process w as [that led to the final product],” Ald. Rollie Peabody said. “When we had the conversation with Travis, [he said] basically, ‘We’re w orking on limited funds; there are a lot of streets around Ripon that need

See PAY/ page 18

‘Water hammer’ causes huge water main break by Ian Stepleton

by Ian Stepleton

far away as Montello and Neshkoro to Ripon’s west. “There was a large ‘boom’ heard; several citizens heard it in the city. We received approximately a half dozen phone calls about it, and A heavy “boom” shook the Ripon area last week Saturday at had several people w alk in,” Ripon Police Capt. Bill Wallner said. about 10:30 a.m. “People basically said their houses shook, windo ws rattled. It w as The noise was thunderous in the Ripon area, leading some to more of a curiosity, more than anything.” speculate whether it was related to the rainy weather. See BOOM/ page 17 But the same “boom” could be heard throughout the region, with social media reports noting it was heard as

ians@riponprinters.com

Ripon w ater/wastewater util ity manager Chris Li veris worked with municipal w ater systems for decades. Never has he had a day such as the one he had last week Friday. “You’ll never see that, never see that. I haven’t,” he said. “I’ve been in the business over 35 [years], and I’ve never seen it.” How unusual was the situation, per City Engineer Travis Drake? “Very,” he said, chuckling. That’s the kind of reaction one will get when a community experiences a series of water main breaks on a w arm, s unny summer day, instead o f du ring a m id-February MILITARY JETS WERE reported over Ripon again Monday morning, likely leaving behind the contrails seen her e. Ian Stepleton photo freeze. Nevertheless, Drake and Liveris have another “first” tallied for their long caree rs: a “w ater hammer” led to a do wntown water line that cracked in multiple locations. This caused the w ater level in by Aaron Becker ward for the nine-day trip from could not afford the trip will be forward to say , ‘We are going Ripon’s tower off Thomas Street to aaronb@riponprinters.com to assist your students to make drop 7 feet before the line could be April 6 to 14, 2017. able to attend.” “We are v ery pleased to an Polcyn said the donation en - this trip a reality for them’ — shut off. It also meant several lanes A generous donation means nounce that we have received a sures at least a $1,000 credit per absolutely speechless. of traffic were closed off through each Ripon High School music large donation “They don’t w ant cost to be Saturday afternoon as city cre ws student. student who takes the China trip from an anon “Speechless the biggest factor [in whether to conducted emer gency repairs to this spring will receive at least a y m o u s b e n e the water line, and water had to be — absolutely attend],” Polcyn said. peechless — absolute $1,000 credit, although the final factor,” reads With no f inancial aid, the shut off to multiple downtown busis p e e c h l e s s ,” ly speechless.” cost remains to be seen. she said of her total cost per person w ould be nesses during the process. the letter from That’s because the remain - band director Sandy Polcyn Yet, in a w ay, Li veris w asn’t r e a c t i o n . “ I about $3,080 for a minimum of ing cost depends on the number Sandy Polc yn know that our 25 participants, the letter states. surprised by what happened. band director who attend, and that’s still being and choir di “Main breaks will happen when community is This means now the cost would decided. very generous be no greater than $2,080 due to you have that kind of pressure difrector Rachel The anonymous gift w as an- Zarzyski. “The generosity of ferential which creacted the w ater and gracious to the music de - the donation. nounced last week Thursday in this donor has signif icantly partment as a whole here in the This is expected to be reduced hammer,” he said. “Those types of a letter to musicians and parents reduced the cost of the trip so instances will sho w you the kind Ripon Area School District, and See CHINA/ page 15 of weak points in your distribution as plans continue to mo ve for - many students who pre viously to think that people are coming system.” That’s e xactly what happened in this case. A city w ater department em -

Massive gift slices China trip cost by 1/3

A new draft Old fund-raiser didn’t work? Boys & Girls Club now has a new plan, with lots of local help. See page 12

Sports

“S

See kids? Slow down.

Great start The Tiger volleyball team christened Ripon’s new gym with a victory in the first match ever held in the space. See page 19

See WATER/ page 16

RIPON AREA Fire District Lt. Paul Tvrdy affixes a sign to the back of the Rapid Response Vehicle reminding other drivers to “Please drive slowly. We § our children.” The banner was installed just in time for school to start, as children head back to local classrooms Thursday. “Back to school is a busy time, and the Ripon Area Fire District wants to do our part to help keep our kids safe,” said Tim Saul, fire chief with the Ripon Area Fire District. Ian Stepleton photo

THE BROKEN fir e hydrant lies on the sidewalk in front of American Family Insurance. submitted photo

Page 18 - Thursday, September 1, 2016

News

CITY/Roads deteriorating PAY/Aldermen believe options exist

city-wide

continued from page 1

City Engineer Travis Drake when the number came before the Ri pon Common Council last week Monday at the request of Alds. Joel Brockman and Rollie Peabody. “All of it,” Drake said atthat time. How does a nearly $10 million bill come due without anyone knowing about it well ahead of time? Through a combination of almost a d ecade o f deferred maintenance created by years of city lea ders choosing not to fund anything more than a meager portion of the capital projects at hand, all in the name of fiscal management. “We’ve been kicking the can down the road for the last eight years … to make a balanced budget,” Drake said in an interview with the Commonwealth. It’s a phrase that has been said in many recent years, and could be uttered again in the coming weeks as aldermen consider the 2017 budget: “I’d like to see a budget with no tax increase.” While potentially a noble goal, it’s also one that leads to certain realities when pricey projects get put on hold to reach the no-tax-increase ideal, Drake explained. “In 1998, I had $250,000 for street overlays or chip seals or pulverize and overlay. At that time asphalt was $32 a ton,” he said. “For the last four, five years, I’ve had a few years where I had absolutely no money, other years where I had $40,000. Asphalt’s $60 to 65 a ton these days.” As such, road projects, as well as city b uilding repairs, were put on hold until the financial rainy day passed. It’s still pouring. “In a community that is as slo w growth as Ripon, if you take away the ability to raise the tax le vy, you’re in trouble,” Drake said. “It’s the same people paying the same thing, and fuel goes from $1.50 to $4 ... Prices are going to go up.” Thus, the list of deferred maintenance continued to grow. As of last week Monday , the list — as presented to the Common Council — was lengthy. Fifteen streets are identified as needing an overlay: this is a thin coat of asphalt over the top of the existing pavement to give the street another five or 10 years of life. Thirteen more were tar geted as candidates for pulverization, where the top layer of asphalt is pulv erized, but the road base is left intact, before a fe w inches of asphalt are laid down. Seven additional roads need complete reconstruction, as does the State Street bridge, a parking lot retaining wall and one cul de sac. This doesn’ t include a halfmillion dollars needed for park work, another half million for storm sewer repairs or replacement, repair work needed on several city buildings — plus, ideally , a ne w public works b uilding lik ely to cost $3 million alone. “Three million dollars of that is to replace at least a part of the existing shop. Do I expect that’s going to happen? Probably not,” Drake said, noting city crews have tried to patch the building together as best as they could for years. “W e’ve upgraded the lights in there three times since I got here, and you still can’ t see worth a darn to work on a vehicle … I think the shop [was built in] 1958, and then had a fire in it sometime in the ’80s, so all the walls — even though they were painted light blue, still show all the smok e and soot

film on it. That doesn’t help with the light issue ... “We need a three-bay shop with all the epoxy-coated floors, wash bay, lights and hoist, so you can realistically see what you are doing when you work on this stuff.” Drake isn’ t holding his breath for that shop. Nor is he optimistic about reconstruction of some of those roads. “These are items that if I had the money I’d be fixing now,” he said. “And yet, some of those are more critical than others as f ar as urgency.” Though Drak e believes all the projects need to be done today, the list presented t o c ouncil was p rioritized from greatest need to least. How does one choose one critical patient over another? Impact on the community, and likelihood of f ailure in the near future. “The thing you have to consider is, what is the traffic on it? What does it serve?” Drake said. Roads with truck traf fic were pushed ahead of those with minor residential traffic. “Just looking at the overlay portion, North Union and Berlin Road carry a huge amount of truck traffic for paving ... and vehicular traffic,” Drake said. “Now, you compare that to Van Dyk e or Hillside Terrace, where you ha ve 12 to 20 homes that drive their f amily vehicle up and down the road four to six times a day; so, whichone do you address first? And yet I kno w that, like the Hillside Terrace area ... there just isn’t much flexibility to the asphalt underneath.” Such roads are lik ely to get worse, assuming the current trend holds, Drake added. “They will just get pot-holed and fractured and whatnot. You can see it in the pavings: if you look at some of the streets listed here, you can see they’re all alligatored; that’s where t he cracks meet t he cracks meet the cracks ... it’ s almost lik e cobblestone,” he said. “You can only patch so many potholes.” He doesn’t expect s uch d ire warnings, though , to alter pas t practice as 2017’s budget hearings begin this fall. “That’s probably the w ay it’s going to be,” he said. Despite his concerns, the fiveyear capital projects plan — the master list of projects lik ely to be completed over the next half-decade — only reflects a handful of the rebuilds, overlays and pulverization projects identified. “On the five-year capital plan, we are not going to do a street reb uild next year, like Watson [was done the past two years], Drake said. “One of the things we are going to try to do is to try to budget that same amount of money but maybe pick up items 1 and 2 of the o verlay and 1 and 2 of the pulverize [list].” That refers to the top priorities on the big list: overlays of North Union and Berlin roads, and pulv erizing Fenton as well as Hamburg north of Oshkosh Street. That, at least, could knock off the most serious patients — if that’s the direction the city chooses to take. “We haven’t got that far to work it out,” Drake said. “Usually we go with, ‘This is what the b udget can stand, so here are the priorities.’” Recognizing ho w forlorn his comments might sound, he later added with a pause, “I love my job; I really do. I think Ripon is a great community.”

PARTS OF FENTON Street demonstrate the “alligatoring” effect Ian Stepleton photo in asphalt pavement.

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repair w ork.’ We were asking, ‘What is that list and ho w much money is required to do the projects?’” That’s what led to a lengthy list distributed to the Ripon Common Council last week Monday. That list included numerous street projects, repairs to se veral city-owned b uildings, and w ork on local parks and utilities.

continued from page 1 due diligence [first].” OTHER OPTIONS

Even if the city were to go to referendum, it’s unlikely the figure would be anywhere near $10 million, as Elliott alluded. A third of the total put for ward by Drake is for one project: expansion or replacement of the city’s public works building. Take that out, for instance, and the total is considerably smaller. DEFERRED, NOT FORGOTTEN Then there may be w ays to Mayor Gary Will was not surwhittle do wn the total bill with prised by the breadth of the list, “Some of the projects can be “because there’s al ways repairs afforded by their proximity to and upgrades you can do, but it alTIDs,” Peabody said, referring to ways takes lots and lots of money. tax inccrement finance districts. You put those together ... and it’s “There’s a much longer conversagoing to be a big number. That’s probably just a short list. tion that we need to ha ve: where “But with budget cuts and the do these projects fit and how can money we have to work with, we they be afforded?” have to live within our means.” As Peabody noted, some proj“Living within our means,” ects listed are in close proximity however, is what led to the nearly to existing tax increment finance eight-figure repair bill, as multiple districts. This means those dis Common Council members noted tricts could fund part or all of in separate intervie ws with the some of those projects, thereby Commonwealth. taking them of f the capital im “I knew a lot of projects needed provement projects list, since the to be done because ... things get city’s re gular b udget w ouldn’t pushed back,” Ald. Howard Hanfund the work. Other aldermen aren’ t con sen said. “That’ s unfortunately vinced all of the projects men what we get.” tioned need to be done immedi “It’s lik e an y other service: ately. you get what you pay for, and we “This time of the year , everyonly have so much to pay with,” Brockman said. body needs [funding], ” Hansen As Ald. Ji m Werch a dded, said. “It’s really going to come these aren’t new requests — just down to, in my opinion, what are a series of old requests wrapped the major projects that need to be up neatly in one document for the CONSIDERABLE CRACKING IS visible on Pacific Street by the done right now, not the 30 project first time. Ian Stepleton photo [Drake listed]. And that’s what Ripon Public Library. “I wasn’t surprised by the list. we’ll focus on.” HOW MUCH FOR 2017? Travis has always discussed the No one, though, is den ying Will said. “I’m going to say it’s a Does that mean, a s budget tool that’s hanging out there and work needs to be done. need and the disrepair of the com“Every district in this commumunity with the council, through discussions heat up this f all, the it’s up to the council to ultimately city will take a more serious look decide whether it’s the direction nity has a street, if not multiple budget discussions and through at capital projects for 2017? streets, that need to be repaired,” council meetings, he said. they want to go ...” No one was prepared to make “We all understand that the Brockman said. Council members, by and infrastructure needs work; we all that leap just yet. “Sure [they’ve gotten w orse], large, haven’t made that decision. “Travis has done a good job understand we’ve had struggles “Are we thinking of referen - however I’ ll tell you I dri ve with our f iscal situation,” said over the years bringing to the dum now to bring some of these through a lot of communities Ald. Todd Elliott, who was most forefront what really needs to be projects to fruition or closure? and our streets in our community vocal at last week’ s meeting. done,” Hansen said. “W e ha ve How do we approach this?” Pea- are far better than man y in other to, as a council, trust him in that body asked. “This is a question communities I dri ve through,” “We’ve had to cut projects that were on the public works list and aspect.” Will said. “We’re pretty well of f for the council going forward.” “There’s no w ay I’ve got the others [during past budget discuscompared to other communities.” “I think we need to do a little answer for that. All we heard was more homework before we go to Even so, decisions need to be sions].” ‘list’ and ‘dollars, ’” Elliott said. a referendum,” Brockman said. made. The dismay Elliott displayed “We need to get the facts out at the meeting, he explained, was “We’re going to have to get with “We need to lay out a plan that our him in the budget process and get- staff believes we need to do and there first so people can make an born of a belief that he thought ting that answer for you.” Drake w as saying $10 million the council agrees we need to do.” intelligent decision,” Brockman “It becomes a political deci said. needed to be funded today , with “I couldn’ t say at this time; sion on where we work and what that’s something we’d have to talk And, as Werch added, this is at no warning. we do,” Brockman said, noting “I think after the discussion, about as a council,” Hansen said. least the right time of year to have that’s not the case, ” Elliott said. residents “know the resources we At least one council member , this discussion. “I’m glad he brought it up at “The $10 million isn’t real. The have are limited, so we need to though, feels more strongly about prioritize what we are going to do. going to referendum. this time because we are going by-product of our discussion is “One option would be a refthat there still is a prioritization “Absolutely not. This is not into budget process ... [and will be process that needs to go on. That erendum to the citizens: do you referendum time. We need to go talking] about the ability to make list is for all of us to work through want us to be more aggressive [re- through this and vet this. We need some of the projects possibly as we go into the budget season.” pairing Ripon’s infrastructure]?” to have deep discussions; we need more urgent, but we are going to But that doesn’t mean the projto tour facilities. There’s a whole have to weigh our options against REFERENDUM? ects don’t need to be done. lot of steps b efore we c onsider what we need to do and what we But will city leaders entertain that,” E lliott s aid. “There a re a want to do — with all our depart“We had a good e xample in the idea of asking Ripon residents myriad of things we can do that front of City Hall on Friday; we ments,” he said, adding that behad it on Seward Street last week to pay more each year so that the we have not even talked about.” cause the state continues to freeze city can start getting caught up on also,” Hansen said, referring to cities’ levies, allowing for little to Werch agreed. the water main break and a recent its infrastructure needs? “It’s always an option, because no additional tax growth, “this is Again, city leaders hedged. storm sewer collapse on Se ward you need to explore every option. the pot we ha ve to play with. If “There’s no way we would be Obviously referendum is asking — both occurring on aging pipes. we don’t have net new construc“Things pop up ... It was kind of a able to address an y of that stuf f for public permission, ” he said. tion outside a TIF, we don’t have shock to see the list and the cost.” unless there is a referendum ..., ” “[But we’d need to do way more anything we can do more.”

Thursday, September 8, 2016 - Page 1

Ripon Commonwealth Press www.RiponPress.com

Issue No. 36 Serving the Ripon community since 1864

Single copy — $1 Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016

Wisconsin Weekly Newspaper of the Year

INSIDE

China More money One big donation to students’ China trip was nice. A second one means the experience now is much more affordable for all. See page 3

Education

School daze Don’t be frightened; it’s just the first day of school, as students head back to class across Ripon and beyond. See page 9

Ripon, WI 54971

2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015

Welcome home! Revamped building opens for Ripon High/Middle School by Aaron Becker

aaronb@riponprinters.com

It came d own to the wire, a nd Ripon Middle School Principal Rick Bunge knows it. “I w ant to say one comment to our staf f right no w: the lock er combinations are ready. Just got ’em done!” The throng of onlookers — gathered in front of the newly improved Ripon High School/Middle School less than 24 hours before classes began — laughed and applauded. Indeed, after a 16-month race, construction on the $31 million facility w as a photo f inish. But the winner w as the Ripon Area School District, as sho wn by the large crowd of parents, students, staff and community members that eagerly turned out to dedicate the improved, combined b uilding last week Wednesday. Separate, basically identical ceremonies were held at each school’s remodeled entrance, with a snip of a ribbon and the ceremonial raising of a crisp, new American flag. Each side got its own program “because we’re not opening one f acility, but actually two,” Superintendent Mary Whitrock said.

For a video of a flag raised at the new school, visit this story on RiponPress.com. The e vent b urst with man y smiles and accolades as school leaders and b uilders lauded each other and the community for the long, successful journey. T h e warm, summer weather was a con trast to the last time the community gathered there — during the groundbreaking in April 2015 — for which the Commonwealth records the high school grounds “swarmed with well-wishers, despite cold, blus tery conditions.”

See SCHOOL/ back page

A B OV E , Ripon Superintendent Mar y Whitr ock hoists her cer emonial scissors at the ribbon-cutting. Joining her are, from left, architect Nick Kent, Eric Schmid t of CG Schmid t, high school Principal Randy Hatlen and School Boar d member Dan Zimmerman. Left, raising the flag at the school are, from left, Aaron Becker photos assistant principal Bill Kinziger, Dave Berndt and Hatlen.

Guard unit that served in Iraq will be reuniting

Business

by Aaron Becker

aaronb@riponprinters.com

An artful exit It’s time for the owners of Dabble to say goodbye. But they don’t want it to be farewell for the business, too. See page 11

Sports

ABOVE, MASKED “INTRUDER” Officer Jesse Tipton demands to see a fictional doctor while speaking with Katie Barzano, middle, and Anna Schultz. Below right, a sign informs patients not to worry because an “Emergency Drill [is] In Progress.” Ian Stepleton photos

Active shooter? RMC will be ready by Ian Stepleton

startled associates. “I need to see Dr. Remington! Where is Dr. Remington?” As patients at Ripon Medical He didn’t carry a weapon, but a Center (RMC) waited for appointsuspicious backpack was slung over ments Thursday, his shoulder. Aug. 25, a man Might there be entered the hosFor a related editorial, see explosives in it? pital’s second“Sgt. Durkee: ‘The fight Weapons? floor clinic. Patients is all in you guys,’” on page 4. looked up, Dressed in black, face curious, and then obscured by a went back to paging through their mask, the individual pounded on People magazines, unfazed. the desk and shouted at several Those patients weren’t unconians@riponprinters.com

cerned because they missed the significance of the angry visitor. No, they knew he was coming. It was all part of an exercise designed to prepare employees of the hospital for an event they hope never occurs: the arrival of an “active shooter.” As many institutions across Ripon and the nation are doing, RMC simulated what could happen if an angry or vengeful person enters the facility bent on injuring employees

See READY/ back page

Alderman’s email etiquette proves misguided by Ian Stepleton

ians@riponprinters.com

Difference maker An unlikely play helped the Tiger football team earn its first victory of the 2016 season. See page 13

In the course of a recent Ri pon Common Council conversation about creating city-owned email addresses, Ald. Rollie Peabody attempted to e xplain why sending carbon-copy emails is verboten for aldermen. “How many times have you seen somebody’ s email come back and say , ‘He y, look. You need to stop doing ... ‘CC,’” he said, referring to a le gal prob lem known as either a “walking

quorum” or “rolling quorum” that can be created by carboncopying others on the council. This is an ille gal situation in which a quorum of a v oting body discusses, and potentially works toward a decision, outside the public’s eye — whether it be intentional or not. His solution, though, may have raised an eyebrow or two. “[Instead], ‘BCC’ everybody so you’re not ha ving a con versation on email,” Peabody said during the m eeting, r eferring to the “blind carbon cop y” op -

tion a vailable for most email accounts. Peabody’s comment appeared to re gister immediately with Mayor Gary Will, who leaned over and started whispering to City Attorney Lud Wurtz. Why would suggesting aldermen “blind carbon cop y” other aldermen cause concern? Simply put: because it doesn’t eliminate the creation of a “walking quorum” — it only makes it less transparent to the public. Peabody has since apologized

for the misunderstanding. When approached about Peabody’s suggestion after the Aug. 22 meeting, Wurtz was quick to state that blind carbon-cop ying other aldermen also is not per mitted. “Whatever he sa id ce rtainly does not represent the position of the city regarding email activity,” Wurtz said. “The reason you must be careful with email activity, if you are discussing substantive things and you are

See EMAIL/ page 12

You might not think a b unch of military buddies would want to do push-ups during a reunion, but that’s the plan. Twenty-five, to be exact. That’s how many thrusts the soldiers will do to gether during a g athering of the Alpha Co., 2-127th Infantry Bat talion, 32nd Infantry Bri gade Combat Team of the Jeff Paulson Wisconsin Army National Guard. This compan y, which in cludes soldiers from the Ripon and Waupun units, is planning a 10-year anniversary luncheon to mark the group’s return from its yearlong service in Iraq (August 2005 to August 2006). The 25 push-ups are symbolic of fello w soldiers who ha ve died: two from the company who were killed in action, one who committed suicide after return ing home and another 22 for all other U .S. veterans w ho have committed suicide. “Twenty-two v eterans com mit suicide e very day ,” said Sgt. Reuben Re x, one of the reunion’s organizers. One of the two killed in action w as Ripon’ s o wn Sgt. Andrew P. Wallace, 25, who passed away in f all 2005 when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his Hum vee. Also killed in that incident was Spc. Michael J. Wendling, 20, of Mayville. Then a staf f ser geant from the company killed himself after

See GUARD/ page 12

Page 12 - Thursday, September 8, 2016

News

GUARD/Riponite Jeff Paulson will speak returning home. Rex said the 25 push-ups are meant to honor both the military fallen, and those who have died by their o wn hands. This sym bolic gesture is “a great touch” to what is likely to be a powerful get-together, he said. The reunion is planned for Saturday at the armory in Waupun. Logistically, organizers had to work to reach out to about 74 of the approximately 80 possible soldiers. A small handful could not be located. Of those who were located, some remain in the service, and are deployed presently. “Right now, we’re looking at

ving In Lo ry of Donnie Dombrowski Jr. o Mem son Happy 48th Birthday our

around close to half — maybe 30 to 40 members, I think — are going to show up,” Rex said. Spouses and children are invited as well. Or ganizers are planning a catered lunch, open microphone time, a video/slideshow a nd guest speaker C ol. Jeff Paulson (retired) of Ripon. The colonel’s son, Jake, served in the compan y during the de ployment. “Because [the colonel] was a higher-echelon leader, we did think it would be a nice touch,” Rex said. While serving in Iraq, the soldiers were primarily involved in convoy security and route se-

on September 8th. Thinking of you ~ miss you.

Love, Your furry children: Keli, Brutus, Rukus and your Family and friends.

continued from page 1

curity, seeking to keep the desert roads clear of IEDs and debris in which they could be hidden. “A lot of the people that are going to be at this reunion, we all started out in convoy security ... It w asn’t long [before] our mission changed to doing route security,” Rex said. It was this work that led to the deaths of Wallace and Wendling that day in f all 2005, shortly after the unit had arrived in Iraq. Rex said that during a 10-year memorial service for Wallace and Wendling last year, the idea was born for having a reunion of the entire company — this time, to mark their return.

For Rex personally, when he returned home in 2005, he w as single. No w he has a wife, a house and a little bo y. It’ ll be remarkable to see ho w others’ lives have evolved, too, he said. “It’s going to be strange,” he admitted. “I’ ve often thought about [seeing them ag ain]. But for the most part, it’ s going to be really great to see ho w we’ve all changed in the last decade — where our lives have gone, from being acti ve in the service, training together , see ing each other once a month, to not really seeing anybody. Some of them I haven’t seen since we came home.”

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EMAIL/ continued from page 1 discussing it with more than a negative quorum, you may be [doing so illegally]. “The position of the city is you do not communicate sub stantive issues with more than a negative quorum.” In the case of Ripon’s Common Council, a “ne gative quo rum” would be a sufficient number of aldermen who, if they voted as a block, would be able to determine a course of action. City Administrator Lori Rich later offered a strikingly similar response. “That is definitely not city policy,” she said. “... Email is used to commu nicate meeti ng dates, notices, items like that — not conversations.” She added that, if multiple aldermen are copied into an email string, “Conversations could be a quorum of council, and it’s unnoticed. They just can’t do that.” Rich added that ne w alder men are w arned ag ainst doing exactly that. “We tell ne w council mem bers, ‘They can’t have conversations via email, ’” Rich said. “I don’t know where the BCC [idea came from]. That’s def initely not city policy.” Wurtz agreed. “I have no real clue as to what conclusion he reached and how he reached it,” the city attorney said. “There is no polic y whatsoever in that respect. The only reason you might communicate electronically is notice — not discussion of the issues.” When this news was presented to Peabody last week Friday, he was apologetic. “Maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” he said, adding he kne w carbon-copying was wrong, but hadn’t realized the problem extended to blind carbon-copying as well. “Then it’ s a learning experience for me ... It’ s not trying to hide any open records.” He added that he ne ver had been gi ven an e xplicit instruc tion not to blind carbon-cop y council members. “[My recommendation w as born of] not knowing i f there is a law out there ... It needs to be e xplained. I did not kno w,” he said. Has the blind-carbon-cop y option been used? “Typically not, no, ” he said, though he called back Tuesday to clarify — after re viewing email records — that he had done so once in May, and that it was a “procedural email” rather than a substantive discussion.

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Thursday, October 6, 2016 - Page 1

Ripon Commonwealth Press Road work set The intersection of County Road K and Highway 23 will be under construction one more time as turn islands are installed. See page 3

Mill Pond dam, taxes likely up in ’17 by Ian Stepleton

ians@riponprinters.com

Ripon’s Gothic Mill Pond dam finally will be replaced in 2017. That’s among the good ne ws to be re vealed by the release of the city’s preliminary 2017 b udget, introduced in preparation for Thursday’s budget meeting. But the new dam w on’t be the only thing going up next year, as-

suming the proposed b udget gets approved as presented. The city’s tax rate also w ould rise in 2017 by 1.96 percent. Though this lags the projected consumer price index increase for 2017, it still represents more tax dollars homeowners in the city of Ripon would need to pay for the city’s portion of a property tax bill. If the budget is a pproved in November as is, the city will have

its mill rate increased to $7.7737, up from $7.6232. This means the o wner of a $100,000 home would pay $777.37 to the city of Ripon for 2016 taxes this winter, as opposed to $762.32 for the 2015 taxes. This represents only one portion of the o verall tax bill homeo wners will receive. The largest share traditionally comes from the Ripon Area School District, which ten -

tatively is anticipating a sizeable drop in the tax rate. The state, county and Moraine Park Technical College also contribute to local homeowners’ tax bills, though to much lesser degrees. Regarding the city of Ripon slice, local officials described the proposed b udget as “responsible and prudent.” Specifically, City Administrator Lori Rich wrote to Ripon aldermen

that the budget she has put forward: ‰ Continues programs and services that Ripon residents have come to expect, ‰ Completes dam replacement and overlay of various streets, ‰ Borrows less than the amount of principal being paid off on existing debt, ‰ Complies with the state’ s

See DAM/ page 15

Our Views

THIS IS A rendering of the proposed hotel. The gap in the middle is where Blossom Street would pass beneath.

It’s getting old Editor Ian Stepleton discovers what happens when life’s milestones align in unexpected ways. See page 4

2015 © BlowfisH Architects, llc

Business

New meat men After more than three decades under the same ownership, Brandon Meats now is led by a new duo. See page 12

by Ian Stepleton

ians@riponprinters.com

Tennis’ top trio Three Tigers will represent Ripon as they advance to the sectional championships for girls’ tennis. See page 19

THIS IS THE proposed location in downtown Ripon where the hotel would be built, if the two sides agreed. Ian Stepleton photo believe [it would be successful],” say, fear a public outcry at another feasible. lak, a representati ve of Light As such, developers have come house Hospitality Group. said Don Klain, whose compan y developer coming to to wn, even Lighthouse Hospitality Group if for a vastly different proposal. to one conclusion about the proThat being said, others may be They also may be wary o f posed hotel deal. would run the proposed hotel. waiting in the wings to tak e this But Boca’s shadow may loom providing the kind of developer’s “I t hink it’s pr obably de ad i f developer’s place. incentives proponents say are doubly large. we don’ t talk about it and ge t See HOTEL/ page 16 Public of ficials, de velopers necessary to make the p roject some support,” said Da vid Mal -

Panel: Media has been ‘disillusioning’ during election by Ian Stepleton

Sports

rendering courtesy of Bill Hoch /Blowfish Architects, LLC

Hotel project appears dead, but may not be only plan For do wntown Ripon, Boca Grande Capital LLC appears to be the “gift” that keeps on giving. Years after the de veloper de faulted on a plan to transform downtown Ripon, costing the city millions of dollars, another potential development appears to have been sunk by Boca’s wake. A ne w de veloper has sought for several years to b uild a midmarket hotel — far different than the opulent Ripon Inn & Spa Boca had pr oposed — o n the same along the 200 and 300 blocks of Watson Street. Developers ar gue it w ould recapture visiting e xecutives for Alliance Laundry Systems, families and guests of Ripon College, as well as others, who now flee the community for some what nicer accommodations in neighboring communities. All told, it’s a $9.5 million proposal that potentially would create an anchor in downtown Ripon. “We certainly wouldn’t spend time on this project if we didn’t

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No name is more synon ymous with conservative media inWisconsin than “Charlie Sykes.” So the WTMJ talk sho w host’s comments last week Wednesday at Ripon College may have taken some of his fans aback. “I was a part of creating the other alternative media to fill this gap, and I thought it w as a w onderful idea and I’ve been a part of it and it’s been w onderful,” he said to a moderately sized audience in Great Hall. “... What I thought, until very, very recently, [w as that] this w as balancing the mainstream media and creating a more informed electorate who would then be able to become more engaged. “... And then to w atch the f anboys such as Sean Hannity sell out everything they believe in has been really disillusioning, I have to say.” He later went on to add, “ As critical of the liberal media as I have been, w hat’s happened with the conservative media has been just as alarming this year — and unfortunately Donald Trump is exploiting that.” His comments criticizing a movement he helped spearhead came as

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State needs to raise tuition, Ballweg says by Ian Stepleton

ians@riponprinters.com

It all comes down to dollars. For college and university graduates with student-loan debt, state Rep. Joan Ball weg, R-Mark esan, sees opportunities to sa ve a fe w bucks. Meanwhile, for the institutions that make up the University of Wisconsin system, she belie ves more money should be made a vailable — breaking rank with Go v. Scott Walker’s stated position. These were among the com PARTICIPATING IN THE panel last week were, from left, Commonwealth publisher Tim Lyke, professor ments made by Ball weg as she Michael Wagner, moderator Henrik Schatzinger and talk show host Charlie Sykes. Ian Stepleton photo visited Ripon Colle ge Monday Each offered concern to varying evening. part of a panel discussion on “Media the trio tackled issues such as media bias, how earned-media co verage degrees about how a changing media and the 2016 Elections.” During a 20-minute talk and Sykes — who announced Tues- affected Donald Trump’s rise and and technological landscape may be question-and-answer session that reinforcing individuals’ views, even followed, she focused o n h igher the impact of social media on the day he will retire by the end of the if they are wildly inaccurate. year — was part of a panel of three. 2016 race. education and ho w students can “This has been one of the really find success at liberal arts colleges, The most critical comments, Other panelists included University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate though, came as the y considered disorienting things about this year,” universities and technical colleges. Sykes said. “... What has happened f Professor Michael Wagner and whether the media has acted in a air Commonwealth publisher Tim Lyke. and neutral way during this election See PANEL/ page 18 See BALLWEG/ page 14 cycle. Over the course of 70 minutes,

Ripon Development

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HOTEL/Project would require removal of old Mapes House, American House A MID-RANGE HOTEL

City officials, though, have little to say for no w, lar gely because discussions thus f ar have been in closed session. “No comment at this time, ” Mayor Gary Will said. If this particular deal is dead, Klain believes it would be a shame, because he is “v ery confident” it would benefit both his company and Ripon. “We’ve spent a lot of time on this project, and we’ ve had other opportunities out there. It’ s been four years,” he said. “One of the council membe rs asked us one time, ‘I don’t know why you guys keep coming back to us.’ “It’s a v ery good pr oject, and we certainly wouldn’t have stuck with it if we didn’t think so.” Lighthouse Ho spitality G roup first became aware of the project while Boca still was in the picture — though comments from Klain and Mallak mak e it clear ho w they felt about Boca’s chances of success. “We’ve been working on th is since January 2012 in v arious forms. We tried to do something with [Boca principal] Jim Con nelly when he o wned the properties,” Mallak said. Klain noted his shock at Con nelly’s proposal, way back when, for the Ripon Inn & Spa. “Average daily rate, I belie ve, Connelly w as looking at some thing lik e $220, which e ven in Kohler the y don’t get that on an annual basis,” he said. “Downtown Mil waukee e ven wasn’t getting that kind of rates,” Mallak added. That is not what the y are pro posing. “The Boca project w as com pletely different than this,” Klain said. “This is just a hotel with a nice bar, nice rooms, nice breakfast area — b ut it’s a hotel, nothing more than that.” Proposed rates w ould come in somewhat above Ripon’s current hotels, but not approach the $220 rate from Boca. “It’s going to be low-100s: $100 to $115,” Klain said. RETAIL WOULD BE INCLUDED

Cost w on’t be the only distin guishing point from Ripon Inn & Spa that Boca never accomplished. Though the Lighthouse’ s hotel would occup y roughly the same

Two adjacent houses along Blossom Street also w ould be removed. The city currently o wns all the property involved except 308 Watson St., which is o wned by Ripon Main Street Inc. DEMOLITION WOULD BE NECESSARY

THIS IS A rough site plan for how the proposed hotel would be situated in downtown Ripon if it design courtesy of Bill Hoch /Blowfish Architects, LLC were built. footprint as Boca’s proposal, similarities end there. The current proposal is a mixed retail/hotel project that would retain space for up to four stores along Watson Street and two more floors of hotel rooms above the retail area. It would stretch along a considerable section of the west side of Watson Street not currently in use. It w ould reach on its southern edge from where the fire occurred at 310-312 Watson, go north to the corner of Blossom and Watson streets, and also incorporate the building formerly housing the American House senior li ving home. An enclosed bridge o ver Blos-

som Street w ould link the tw o structures. All told, it would include space for 60 rooms, including a few suites in the bridge over Blossom. Construction of the hotel and

retail space, though, would require removal o f se veral v acant b uildings: the former Mapes House, American House and 308 Watson Street, which had beensmoke damaged by the fire.

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Though some Ripon residents have expressed concern at removing any 1800s-era downtown buildings, Mallak e xplained the only way to create a profitable business is to build new. “Bill [Hoch of Ripon, architect for the project] talked to a structural guy and the Mapes House just isn’t structurally sound to incorporate into the design,” Mallak said. Though the current b uilding couldn’t be retained in a new hotel development, he explained the design of the proposed hotel w ould include features that would help it blend into Ripon’s downtown. “Our plan is to give it a historical downtown look,” he said, including brick at street le vel, windows that evoke the same feel as else where in do wntown and railings along windows. Mallak added the national hotel brand chosen also w as selected to ensure the structure w ouldn’t feel like a cookie-cutter chain hotel. “The reason we chose [Ascend Collection b y C hoice Hotels] is because their whole collection are mostly downtown hotels …All are unique. It doesn’t have to look like a chain motel,” he said, explaining only a plaque on the building would designate it as being part of the Ascend Collection. “...We would make it match the city.” DEVELOPERS: WOULD BRING NEW GUESTS TO RIPON

Overall, argue Mallak and Klain, the plan just w orks for downtown Ripon. “The w ay we ha ve it laid out

continued from page 1

actually works pretty well,” Klain said. The do wntown location, for example, would be mutually beneficial to both the hotel and local shops, he noted. “Being able to w alk outside and walk to a restaurant — people enjoy that, and you’re not next to a highway, and you’re not next to a truck stop. Those are positives,” he said. Parking, once believed to be a major concern for such a project, is addressed in the current plans, he added. Space for 60 vehicles lines the rear of the hotel property . And, because of the hill, those spaces would be at the second floor level, adjacent to the hotel rooms. “The elevation change is nice ... so you w alk right into the ho tel,” Mallak said. “ As this thing evolved, it worked quite nice.” The duo also believes the downtown location w ould position it well for year-round success. “In the Midwest here, summer business is big … and the end of the year and the be ginning of the year aren’t very good,” Mallak said of how most hotels operate. But the proposed hotel’ s location adjacent to Ripon Colle ge could help offset that problem. “In hotel terms, ha ving a col lege in your area is very helpful,” he said. “The school itself has prospective students, parents ... alumni e vents, graduation. And now with the sports complex, they are doing a lot of tournaments; there w ould be a lot of b usiness from that. “That was never built into our pro forma; that happened after the fact. [But] that will be a good feeder for this as well.” Expansion at Alliance Laundry Systems in Ripon, too, plays favor-

See HOTEL/ page 17

Thursday, October 6, 2016 - Page 17

News

HOTEL/City’s financial package only half of what requested, developer says ably into the hotel plans, he added. “Executives, sales people, all their vendors come into the mar ket” could stay at this hotel, rather than be sent to other communi ties as they are now, Mallak said. “With all that e xpansion there’s a lot of tra vel that comes in with that.” Craig Tebon of Ripon Main Street Inc., meanwhile, ackno wledges that a development in that space would benefit Ripon, though he did not go as f ar as to endorse this particular project. “Main Street worked with Wisconsin Economic D evelopment Corp. for an economic impact assessment, and a hotel with 54 rooms w ould ha ve had a major impact on the community on business,” he said of the study commission, noting the study suggested a hotel could bring about $1.4 million a year , according to the study. “[That] would change a lot of things — it w ould change the dynamic of the downtown ... That wouldn’t happen overnight, but it would build our community o ver a period of a few years.” TALKS ARE DEAD

While some project may of fer that benefit to Ripon, at this time it does not appear this particular developer’s vision will be carried out. Potentially irreconcilable dif ferences between Lighthouse and city officials, particularly in terms of dollars, stand in the way. “What stalled the project out is the extra cost of building in the downtown environment,” Mallak said of his plans. Cost to get the proposed hotel up and running, from construction to set-up costs, is $9.5 million. Of that, a significant share — $2.3 million — are cost increases related to the difficult downtown location. This includes cost increases related to “the different grade changes ... demolishing the b uildings, working in the downtown environment, bumping up to a b uilding, which is costly , and doing some of the other things we would need to do in this do wntown environment,” Mallak said, explaining that an identical project on a flat, open field would cost $2.3 million less. “We were working with the city in mitigating those costs.” That meant seeking several local sources of re venue, including grants, low-interest loans and local investors. But it also meant requesting money from the city’ s downtown tax increment finance (TIF) district. “I think this project f its into what the TIF … was designed for. They’re supposed to help projects happen that w ouldn’t otherwise happen without that assistance …,” Mallak said. “I think this one really fit that niche because it drives a lot of economic development, there’s almost no other use for this piece of property that w ould generate greater tax income, both from a property tax and room tax piece, and generate the economic impact of the area by bringing people into the area and getting people who aren’t staying here to stay here, and getting additional people in.” Mallak and Klain were reluc tant to get into specifics of what was discussed behind closed doors with c ity o fficials, b ut e xplained they were seeking help with much of the $2.3 million of added costs to build downtown. “We’re looking for as much, or nearly close to that amount, to make this financially viable ... before we opened the doors,” Mallak said of ho w much TIF assistance the group sought. “This is a real project and this is really happen ing, unlik e some of the pre vious stuff that happened.” The request for some where in the neighborhood of $2 million in TIF assistance, though, is the sticking point. “That’s where I think we stalled out,” Mallak said. “The city of fered up some TIF mone y and some dollars over a 27-year period, which really doesn’ t help. And we understand completely all of the political stuff the whole Boca thing created, and that’s probably a good reason why this whole thing stalled out.” While some of the $2.3 million could come from other sources, including local in vestors, the de velopers need a c ertain le vel o f

city assistance to make the project financially sound, they explained. A pay-as-you-go assistance plan, in which payments are stretched o ver the life of the downtown TIF district, would not help, they added. “It negates [any profits local investors could receive],” Klain said. “[The city’s] big concern, a couple, w ould b e, No. 1, they wouldn’t want to pay us up front for an y TIF, and we under stand that completely. Other projects we’ve done ha ve involved some kind of city financing, and it came in during construction of the

project …,” Mallak said. “There [also] w as concern from council members that we would cannibalize from other hotels and mak e them do worse. Our experience is it increases [the pool of visitors] … If you have a bigger supply you do better in a target area.” HALFWAY THERE

At this point, the di vide be tween the city’ s position and the developers’ appears too great to bridge. “They did of fer up a good amount of money, but it was only about half of what we needed, ”

Klain said. “... I think there’ s a fear of public pressure because of the Boca situation; e veryone can understand that … I can under stand wh y the City Council and the mayor would be afraid of that.” “If the y came up with that amount right then, we’d probably be under construction,” Mallak said. But, will that happen? Probably not, as the situation currently sits. Substantive c onversation between the tw o sides hasn’ t hap pened since late spring. “It’s b een o n a nd o ff f or f our

years, so I don’ t really kno w” if it will mo ve forward, Klain said, noting he last told the city, “I understand it’s stalled, I understand you want to do the 27-year thing; if for any reason you change your mind, we’re still enthusiastic about the property.” Tebon, meanwhile, belie ves that e ven if this project doesn’ t move forward, it’s vital that some project gets completed there. “Something needs t o happen. The city’s in a difficult position economically since the settlement with Boca, so we need de velop-

continued from page 16

ment that will enhance the tax base,” he said. And other options do e xist, Tebon added. The Lighthouse project, is “one of many options, and Main Street will w ork with whoe ver decides to pull the trigger ,” Tebon said. “I’ve heard a couple different possibilities, and there are some other people who have come forward in the last three, four, five months who ha ve t alked about doing something, b ut there’ s nobody with cash down on a project right now. It’s just possibilities.”

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