Mayor’s Column April 29th, 2023
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun!
Greetings from Rochester, Minnesota! At least that’s where I should be when you’re reading this. This week I’m writing this column at 4:00 AM on Friday morning and then packing to cheer on my daughters at a national dance competition through Waupun’s Just for Kix program. Unfortunately, this landed on the same weekend as two events I really would have liked to have attended.
On Saturday night, Central Wisconsin Christian is celebrating their 75th anniversary. Even though I can’t be there, Mr. Zonnefeld does have a Mayoral Proclamation congratulating them on this achievement that I was able to present to them at the Waupun Business Alliance banquet a few weeks ago. Congratulations to CWC and all the families who work hard and sacrifice to give their kids a Christ based education.
On Friday night is the City of Waupun Employee Banquet. I’m heartbroken to have to miss this event that thanks the hard work of our city staff. Originally, we had the banquet scheduled a couple weeks earlier so that I could attend, but the event had to be pushed backed due to scheduling conflicts, and this weekend worked best for city employees.
In an era of shrinking revenues, a tight labor market, and high inflation, we’re asking more and more from our team, with fewer people and no ability to keep up with wage growth. One example is back in 2002 our DPW team had 17 employees. They’re down to 13 employees, and nowadays we have more parks to maintain, roadways to plow, and buildings to fix. It’s gotten so bad that our Public Works director has been coming in on Saturdays to help with things like the community garden, simply because they’re running out of time during the week. These budget cuts along with a growing list of demands are making many feel unappreciated, and I get it. That’s why I feel awful about not being able to attend and say “thank you” myself. I can tell you that this Mayor sure does appreciate all the hard work that goes on to help keep Waupun a great little city!
I want to use this column to thank everyone who works under the umbrella of the City of Waupun for all they do. From handling payroll and permits at city hall, to restoring power after a thunderstorm, Waupun is blessed to have a dedicated crew who really care about our community!
In other news:
The Community Garden will be taking a year off as we look for a new location. This is unfortunate as close to half the produce grown at the garden is donated to the Waupun Food Pantry, but the residents who live around the empty city owned lot where we were going to put it objected, so the gardeners asked to just skip this year. Hopefully next spring the Community Garden will be back and better than ever!
Speaking of that empty lot. It’s an old road right of way for Brown Street and is just a lot that the city maintains, for no real reason. Because of this, I’ve requested city staff look into selling it off. There’s really no reason for the taxpayers to be maintaining it.
The Waupun Lions Club is having a “Watch your Balls Drop” contest. Each ball you purchase for $10 could win you $1,000 and the proceeds from this fun contest are being donated to the Waupun Fire Department to help construct a wash/decontamination station for our brave firefighters. For more information, please contact Jan at janharmsen2020@gmail.com.
At the city level we’ll be spending the next few months working on some ordinances, and increasing inspections, to help clean up some properties around Waupun. We’ve seen an increase in beached vehicles in front lawns, washed out mud pits as driveways, commercial properties operating in violation of both zoning and fire codes, and living conditions at some rental properties that are disgraceful.
We’re also moving forward with a staffing study for our Fire and Rescue Department. As you know, we’re struggling to have enough available firefighters to fight daytime fires and our ambulance service is missing more and more 911 ambulance calls. Once we complete our staffing study, we will be holding community listening sessions and city-wide surveys to gage public opinions. Maintaining a fire and rescue service that’ll show up about 9 minutes after you call 911 won’t be cheap, so this will be a community decision. Stay tuned as we move forward as your input will be asked for.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
