Time to get involved in the village issues
I know how it is … you move into a new village, you love your new home. You’re busy painting, improving the landscape, creating your personal touch both inside and outside of your home.
It is a great feeling to be a homeowner, to know that your kids have adjusted to their new school, to feel confident that when you have children, this is the place that you want them to grow up.
The streets are cleaned weekly in the spring and summer, the plants are put up throughout the business districts and downtown, parks are being cleaned up, and even in some cases they are being totally revamped.
The village parade route is marked, and you know that you’ll have a great seat on Grand Boulevard. You have even found a friend on the south side of town where you know you can enjoy the fireworks show at the closing of the Brookfest this year. Life is good.
During the fall and winter seasons the leaves are picked up, the snow plows seem to make it to your block, actually every block in the village each time it snows. The Christmas tree in the Circle has been decorated. The parks and green spaces are just beautiful after a fresh snow.
Santa is scheduled to appear at the village hall, and all the kids and adults are anxious for the holiday season to begin. You may even want to go ice-skating at Kiwanis Park this year.
All of this happens so fast and then you realize that you have been here for two years already and now its election time. You also remember that you’re not even registered to vote, or your not sure who or what to vote for.
You think back and realize that the past two years have been good, no complaints. Or when you had a problem you came to village hall, spoke with someone and the issue was resolved. So what happens next is really sad. You feel a little intimidated, unsure of the candidates, unsure of the financial situations at the schools and you decide not to vote at all.
This is the part that really makes me mad. Instead of asking a neighbor, making a few calls or even reading the newspaper and reviewing the issues, you decide that you will not vote at all.
This means that you did not support the current administration that has brought you all the things that make you proud of your home and your village. It does not mean that you actually supported the opposition party. However, abstaining from voting creates a gap that allows for votes that will change the current staff and administration to pile up. In the case of the Village of Brookfield the party for change has now won.
What can we do now? Now is the time to start getting involved in your village. This is your chance to become active in your community from the start of a new administration. Make it a point to attend village meetings, review the financial reports of your schools and village, ask questions, and most of all, remember how it was. Review the proposals for change, and speak up if you agree or even disagree.
This is your village. Please be responsible and take interest. After all, you can’t complain if you sit back and let the votes pile up for changes that you did not want.
Leanne M. Digan
Brookfield
Dream of village inn really a nightmare for Brookfield
Bill Russ’ dream of a village inn type of hotel with a tram to Brookfield Zoo and commercial property to service the guests on the site of the Brookfield Village Hall (“Hotel campus concept floated for Brookfield,” NEWS, March 2) would be a great windfall for the zoo–at the expense of the taxpayers and at no cost to the zoo.
First, let me point out that from November to May, when the weather is cold, you would be lucky if the hotel would get a 10-percent occupancy and maybe no one staying there at all. During Christmas vacation or spring break, people will take their children someplace warm like Florida or California.
I do not know if Russ is aware, but the Wisconsin Dells has a 100-day window in which they know they are going to make a good profit, and the rest of the days they stay open only for show.
The dream that Russ has would end up a real nightmare for anyone that would invest in his plan.
That money would be better spent to repair and widen many of the streets here in Brookfield that are in such poor shape, not to mention the money spent on our Bedrock-type alleys.
Ted Schwartz
Brookfield
Sign truce kept Brookfield beautiful during campaign
I would like to thank the VIP Party and PEP Party for not putting up political signs this election. It was so nice to come to work and see beautifully kept lawns instead of masses of political signs.
Linda Sokol Francis
Brookfield
Thanks for the encouragement, inspiration during campaign
I would like to thank my community for making my run for District 96 school board one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done. The support of the Community Caucus and the hospitality shown to me by the district PTAs and other civic groups I visited was wonderful, and the many involved parents and educators I got to meet was inspiring.
I have more friends now than before, and, although I was not elected, it’s hard not to feel like a winner in the midst of such goodwill and kindness. Our schools will be well served by the incumbents who were deservedly reelected, and who I know care deeply about providing the best education possible for our children.
I look forward to finding other places to serve and am very grateful for the encouragement I received from so many quarters.
Ben Sells
Riverside
Towner thanks Brookfield voters for support, confidence
I would like to thank all the residents and voters of Brookfield for the opportunity to serve you and Brookfield. I am honored to have been elected to the Brookfield Village Board. I will work hard and honestly as your village trustee.
The road ahead is filled with exciting and challenging possibilities for our village and I am excited to get started. The character and pride will be restored with the new administration at village hall. When all was said and done, the only endorsement that mattered was that from you–the voters. Let the journey begin.
Michael A. Towner
Brookfield
