The Forum

I welcome my good friend Joe Mangiamelli to the Shorewood blogosphere. He has been a regular contributor to the North Shore Herald's opinion pages, and I know he has a variety of strongly held opinions. He was a supporter of mine during this year's campaign. I look forward to a healthy debate on the issues facing our Village.

That said, I must disagree with his comment about the Village Board having become a "pothole government."

"Local democracy, like the practice of medicine, must keep the well being of the individual in mind if the government is not to become "pothole government". Although filling potholes and other routine processes are also important, the living patterns and the improving of the culture of its citizens must rise above these mundane functions."

Although I frequently and publicly level criticisms at the Board, I must come to their defense in this case. I do not believe that criticizing them for being too involved in the day to day operation of the village is a fair criticism at this point. They just passed an ambitious master plan for complete redevelopment of Oakland and Capitol drive, the heart of our Village business district.

There are many in our Village who support the contents of the master plan, and many who oppose it. Whether you like what the details of what the Board has passed or not, their plan is ambitious and forward thinking. In my view, the board is fully engaged in long range planning for all aspects of the future of our village, not just on day to day management.

Section 13-802 Bathing Institutions

No person or persons, firm or corporation shall have a bathing institution upon or near any of the public waters within this Village without the consent of the Village Board, and then only subject to such regulations as the Village Board shall prescribe.

Election day is a ways off yet. But filing day is only a few months away. If you know anyone you think would make a good Trustee, now would be the time to start talking to them about running.

In my view, it would be helpful to strive for more of a demographic balance on the Village Board. Specifically, we need a broader swath of Shorewood's economic spectrum represented on the Board. Also desirable as Trustee candidates, in my view, would be renters, senior citizens, residents who live west of Oakland Ave, and young families. While none of these characteristics alone would indicate a qualified candidate, any of them would provide an increased level of diversity to the points of view represented on the Board.

I do not mean to suggest that there is perfect homogeneity of thought on the current Village Board. But adding different perspectives could only be positive in terms of more thorough debate on the issues. For instance, renters will likely have differing opinions on how the Parking Enterprise Fund's budget should be written. Younger families may feel differently about what the Village should look like in 15-20 years. Senior Citizens may feel more strongly about walkability issues, or about additional space for the Senior Resource Center.

Let's start now looking for candidates. Let's have a healthy debate again this year.

As I have mentioned before, my roommate and I act as foster parents for puppies from the Wisconsin Humane Society. Many of them arrive at the WHS with minor health or behavior problems. After a few weeks or months of care, they are ready to go back to the WHS and be put up for adoption.

This is the latest puppy we have, Ruby. She is a 4 1/2 month old Lab/Hound mix, sweet in temperament, and very active. She will be available for adoption in 2 to 3 weeks.


If you are interested in fostering dogs or in adopting Ruby or another dog, visit the Humane Society website.

Renters are members of our community. When the 2000 census was taken, 52.4% of the housing units in Shorewood were rental units. That number is much higher than the rental percentage numbers in the other North Shore communities. As such, we in Shorewood must find a way to make peace between homeowners and renters.

There have been several stories in the Shorewood Herald lately which have, intentionally or unintentionally, struck an anti-renter tone. While I understand that we must enforce our zoning, noise, and parking ordinances, we must also take steps and make public statements which make renters feel welcome in our community.

Positive public statements by elected officials would be helpful, rather than only stern warnings about increased enforcement of ordinances which exclusively apply to renters. Pro-renter events or activities would make renters feel like community members rather than unwelcome guests. More realistic parking ordinances, similar to the relaxation of the parking rules on North Oakland, would also benefit renters.

The future of Shorewood depends on how we treat our renters. We need them to stay and have kids and send them to our schools. We need to attract them to drive down our soaring vacancy rate in rental units. We need them to move in en masse, drive up rent, and improve the economic prospect of owning a duplex. We need them to stay and become homeowners. We need renters.

I am back from my seven weeks of Army duty. It was an intense seven weeks, and it is good to be back.

I start work at The Mark Travel Corporation tomorrow. I will do my best to post regularly, though the first week of my new job may be more busy than usual.