Here at Care for Lake Geneva, we recognize the central role the “voice of the people” plays in protecting Geneva Lake communities from outside commercial interests. A huge thank you is in order for those who attended the February 7th Finance Committee meeting and/or the February 13th City Council meeting on short notice to oppose the Geneva Inn’s annexation into the City of Lake Geneva. Together, your collective voice helped prevent immediate approval and will continue to influence our elected officials to act responsibly as the city seeks outside council on the annexation request.
Despite first hearing about the Finance Committee Meeting the morning of February 7th, several community members came to City Hall that night, eight of whom spoke out against the annexation. Thanks to your participation, the Finance Committee decided to send the request to the City Council without a recommendation. The following week, the City Council had its first discussion about the pre-annexation agreement. Three area residents stood up and spoke in opposition. During the meeting, City Administrator Blaine Oborn stated via memo that while he personally favors the annexation, he recommends an outside attorney be retained to assist the city with consideration of the pre-annexation agreement.
Oborn pointed out several concerns with the proposal. One notable concern is that this agreement does not address who pays the five years of local taxes due to the Town of Linn upon annexation (estimated at over $66,400). Oborn also discussed other conflicts of interest not raised by the Finance Committee that he concluded warrants the request of outside council.
The annexation request has been an ongoing discussion in closed-door meetings for a while, as the Geneva Inn has long sought a commercial re-zone that it cannot get in the Town of Linn. Here at Care for Lake Geneva, we find the private planning behind this annexation request unacceptable. Geneva Inn and the city should be collaborating with the community to implement plans that preserves lakeside properties. Instead, private planning and limited public notification illustrate that this proposed annexation is poorly conceived and ill advised.
Engagement and participation is critical over the coming weeks as we urge city officials to preserve our communities and honor the vision set forth by Lake Geneva’s founders. One action you can take immediately is to sign our petition urging city officials to turn down the annexation request.
If the City Council reaches an agreement on the terms of annexation with the Geneva Inn, then the request goes to the City Planning Commission for public hearing and consideration. Final approval would be made by the Lake Geneva Common Council, which would ultimately request authorization for annexation from the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Let’s make sure the request is killed before it leaves the City Council! Sign the Petition today!
You can also keep up to date with upcoming City Council meetings on the Care for Lake Geneva calendar. These are opportunities to stand before our elected officials and vocalize our opposition.
Ways to Participate:
Contact the Lake Geneva City Council:
* Be sure to include C4LG on all emails; info@careforlakegeneva.com
1st District Elizabeth Chappell – echappell@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-903-8035
1st District Chris Gelting – cgelting@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-751-7109
2nd District Doug Skates – dskates@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-249-0091
2nd District Ted Horne – tthorne@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-425-4366
3rd District Richard Hedlund – rhedlund@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-203-5900
3rd District Bob Kordus – bkordus@cityoflakegeneva.com / 414-916-9663
4th District Ken Howell – khowell@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-949-7564
4th District Cindy Flower – cflower@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-374-0678
Mayor Alan Kupsik – akupsik@cityoflakegeneva.com / 262-749-0842
As a member of this community, I support Care for Lake Geneva’s efforts in securing a bright future for Geneva Lake and its surrounding natural habitat. I recognize that we can only achieve this goal through community involvement and education. That is why I am committed to advocating for responsible land development and ensuring our elected officials hear our collective voice. By joining in this organization’s efforts, I will work to ensure this community remains a peaceful and clean habitat to be enjoyed by residents and visitors for generations to come.