Mayor’s Column August 26th, 2023
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun,
Can you believe It’s already back to school time?! On Monday, I had the privilege of joining the nice folks over at Central Wisconsin Christian for their “Back to School Convocation/Ribbon Cutting.” The $11 million expansion at CWC is very impressive and it’s remarkable to see the growth at CWC. Recently, at a council meeting we heard from a subject matter expert about the housing shortage in Waupun, and CWC was sighted as one of the top reasons people are looking at moving to Waupun. CWC is becoming an economic driver as people are looking to relocate to Waupun because they want their kids to attend there. CWC, along with the DOC pay increases, are why one of my next priorities will be to work on expanding housing in Waupun. People want to live here, and I don’t blame them. Waupun is a cool little city, with a fun downtown, good schools, a safe community, delicious water, and there’s always something happening, because Waupun has got it goin’ on!
On Wednesday, I had fun attending the Waupun Junior/Senior High School for their Back-to-School Open House, and it was extra special for the Bishop family. Our oldest daughter, Reagan, is entering 7th grade this year and will be new to that building. We were able to find all her classrooms and meet all her new teachers, and we even went up to the Business Ed wing to see Mrs. Bishop and her new classroom!
It was cool to see all the good things happening at WASD! Waupun can be proud of schools and the opportunities they afford to our kids. I really hope all the teachers, kiddos, parents, principals, and support staff have an excellent school year!
By far, my favorite things as mayor have been my visits to Rock River Intermediate School. Over the course of the last school year, I met with and spoke to all the grade levels. I love meeting all the kids, talking about Waupun, what it’s like to be mayor, and answering their questions. With school starting, let me please remind folks to slow down and drive carefully; remember that kids crossing in crosswalks have the right of way and that traffic at drop off times can get very congested. Please leave yourself some extra time and have patience. You will see police out enforcing school zone speed limits and ensuring every kid is able to safely enter school.
With school back in session, that brought an end to our Summer Parks Program. We had a fabulous year, with lots of fun events at the parks, the library, and the aquatic center. We’re fortunate to live in a great community that has fun events for the kids over the summer break. Planning for next summer has already begun!
Finally, budget planning has started. I’ll be making priorities of where to allocate funds, based on my desire to accomplish a few projects and cross them off the list. This will begin with a council presentation on Tuesday followed by me working to keep all of you up to speed going forward. I have worked really hard to have an open and transparent administration. I write this column, visit the Senior Center once a month, appear on WFDL radio almost weekly, and I am active on social media. All our meetings are streamed on line, and I’ve cut way down on the number of closed sessions, because open government is the best kind of government.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
