WAUPUN — Three students from the Waupun Area School District Community Engagement and Leadership Project proposed placing a series of guide lights on the Meadow View Boardwalk.
The proposal was presented to the Waupun City Council at the April 29, 2025 Committee of the Whole meeting.
Three students attended, Brackston Heeringa, Braiden Komp, Josie Loomans. Two other students were a part of their group but were unable to attend the meeting, Reese Schultz and Miles Sherden. This was done as part of the Community Engagement and Leadership class that began this year, similar to the Senior Democratic Seminar (SDS) class of previous years.
SDS was previously a class purely for seniors but the new Community Engagement and Leadership class is for both juniors and seniors. The premise of the class is learning through service learning and community engagement.
The project this group decided on was to provide lighting for nighttime and dusk hours. The goals included increasing nighttime safety on the boardwalk, minimizing environmental impact, and preserving the natural characteristics of the boardwalk.
Heeringa showed off some of the lights, which would automatically turn on when it gets dark outside. The lights they had chosen were affordable Patriot Lighting rail/deck 6 lumen solar lights. A box of four is $13 per pack at Menards.
The specific lights they got were pointed towards the ground and were low power, only giving enough immediate illumination towards the ground below—minimizing light pollusion.
The action plan for the project included fundraising from April 23 to May 9, and installing the lights May 16-18. Light placement is planned near sharp turns and elevation that may obstruct visibility, with 50 lights planned for 25 locations.
The only thing that the group needed from the City and city departments was permission to put them out, and to know if the City would be interested in maintaining the lights in the future once the class is over. Funding for the initial installation was fully from the project group through a class bake sale.
The group presentation was included in the Committee of the Whole meeting agenda.
City Attorney Dan Vande Zande commended the group for having “such a good sales pitch” that he wanted some for his deck.
“I think this is a really cool idea,” Mayor Rohn Bishop said. “The boardwalk is one of my favorite places in town and I walk it all the time—it’s about two miles long. Edgewood Church once did a thing where we went out on the boardwalk and we looked out at the stars and when it gets dark it’s dark.”
Mayor Bishop then asked if the lights were intended for use during the middle of the night, or if it was just for evenings and early dawns. Heeringa said it was mostly intended for providing more time in the fall season since it gets darker earlier, and during the night it’s more for guidance than lumination.
Alderman Dan Siebers asked how many lights they were planning. The students said at least 50, but might go more if they get more funding. As of the meeting they had about $200 raised.
Siebers then asked if there were any permits they would need to get, but neither Police Chief Jeremy Rasch or Department of Public Works Director Jeff Daane knew of any.
The City Council passed the proposal unanimously with no further discussion later in the meeting.
The boardwalk follows the course of the Rock River from Meadow View Circle near the Brandon Street Bridge to Edgewood Church along the railroad tracks.
Four of the lights have already been placed on Meadow View Boardwalk, two near the west entrance, one at the Edgewood entrance, and one near the intersection with the pier jutting towards the river.
In an unrelated incident, graffiti was discovered on the boardwalk pier Thursday morning, which was cleaned up via sanding Friday. Any information about this incident should be brought to the Waupun Police Department.
