Mayor’s Column January 21st, 2023
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun!
As I write this weekly column, it’s another dark, gloomy, cold, and snowy day. I always try to be optimistic, and take hope in knowing it’s only 50 days until Daylight Savings Time and 59 days until Spring!
This past Tuesday we hosted our second listening session on ARPA funding. Between city staff, and city residents, we have acquired a list of close to $20 million worth of needs. The next step will be for the council to meet in a workshop session and discuss the list, and figure out how to prioritize the needs.
I don’t know what our final decisions will be, and this is not an easy decision, but I am proud that we’re considering everything and being very open. We understand that there’s about 11,000 different ideas and opinions, including a few residents who want us to send the money back to Washington. Every idea is being considered. At the council level, we remain committed to doing the most good for the most people.
These listening sessions have been very beneficial and have allowed city staff, residents, and elected officials to learn of the needs in our community. Hopefully, this helps groups raise awareness of their struggles and help with funding goals.
Speaking of fundraising, I had the honor of participating in a ceremonial puck drop before the Waupun Hockey Alumni game. The game helped kick off Waupun Hockey’s fundraising project to save the ice in the community center. If you don’t know, the refrigeration system that keeps the ice is very old and nearing its end, and if it were to die, we would have no hockey and no figure skating. It’s a very costly project, too, coming in at close to $900,000.
Hockey hosts many tournaments, and those events bring many people to Waupun. They spend the night, eat out, and help support our local economy. Stay tuned as hockey continues to work to raise money, and hopefully, I’ll see you soon at one of their events!
As mayor, I hear from a lot of people, and I’ve been getting a lot of code enforcement and reckless driving concerns. As for the code enforcement, we are still looking for a part time code enforcement person. In the meantime, we are being more aggressive in issuing citations, but unfortunately, writing a citation is often all we can really do.
If you’re interested in being the part time code enforcement person, please let us know!
When it comes to reckless driving, the problem really is lack of patience. I know everyone is in a hurry, but I hear a lot about speeding cars, blowing stop signs, and not stopping for pedestrians at a crosswalk. Some residents are so fed up they write down license plates and vehicle descriptions for me.
When these complaints come in, I always pass them along to our Police Department, and we do move squad cars to better enforce different areas. Sometimes this works great, other times not so much, but if you’re seeing a problem do let us know. We can’t address it if we don’t hear about it.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
