Mayor’s Column March 16, 2024
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun and happy birthday!
March 20th will be Waupun’s 185th birthday! On March 20, 1839 Seymour Wilcox and his wife Lucy settled along the banks of the Rock River, by where Harris Mill Park is today, to build the first homestead and created a new community that was supposed to be named Waubun. Waupun comes from the Ojibwe word “Waubun” which means “the east,” “the morning,” “the twilight of dawn” and “dawn of day.” Waupun was originally supposed to be named “Waubun” but the state of Wisconsin made a spelling error, and Waupun never bothered to change it. For that reason, we’re the only Waupun in the world, as we should be! We’re the most unique, coolest little city ever!
Speaking of being the coolest little city ever, the reason we’re so cool is because the people here care so much about making Waupun, well… Waupun. For that reason, you’ve seen me fight to purchase things for the city from local businesses. I believe our city should buy from the businesses who support our city. For that reason, I’ll be pushing for a change to our purchase policy. Basically, I want to eliminate the policy. I’m tired of using the policy as an excuse to buy things out of town to save a little bit of money. The last example was, by policy, we should have bought the new DPW truck from Oconomowoc, not Homan in Waupun, to save $900. $900?? To not buy from a local business that does so much for Waupun?!
I find that unacceptable, and I’m not putting up with it anymore! The policy I will be putting forward is no policy. Let the council decide, and own their decisions. My recommendation is to just have the city receive bids but allow the Common Council to make their purchase decisions on what they feel is best for “the City.” Criteria they should look at is whether the winning bidder is a taxpayer in the City of Waupun, convenience of service, product/options offered, availability of vehicle or item, do they employ local people, support local causes, etc.
The Council is currently pigeonholed by their current policy. And it is their policy… I believe we should entrust the Council to make decisions that are in the best interest of the City and I hope the Council chooses to keep the money in town. And every time a purchase comes up, you know I’ll fight to buy local. Whether it’s a truck, or flooring, or furniture, I want to buy locally. Waupun just needs a policy that lets the alderman make their purchasing decision based on “fair and reasonable” and make this on a case-by-case basis without a percentage attached.
Is this perfect? Of course not. Will the city always choose the local business, no. But let’s give local businesses a chance, it’s the local businesses who pay taxes, and hire people. Local businesses support youth sports, local events, and help keep Waupun a great place to live, work and play.
Speaking of local business, I’d like to give a shout out to Bucky and Jackie Wetland of All Phase, who generously donated towards the purchase of the new DPW truck. Their donation helped close the $900 gap to help convince the council to buy local! Thank you to everyone who pledged to help out.
I have a couple other projects near and dear to me that I might need some fundraising help with.
1. I want to help clean up the cemetery and fix some of the broken grave sites. Specifically those of President Harding’s grandparents, and place historical marker signs to draw attention to more significant people buried there.
2. I want to buy new “Welcome to Waupun” signs. Nice signs put in better locations, and that have the End of the Trail on them along with “City of Sculpture” or Wisconsin’s Sculpture City.
3. I would like to see Waupun add a sculpture of Mr. Shaler to our permanent collection of sculptures.
Please stay tuned for updates, and if you’re interested in helping me out, please reach out to me.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
