Lake Country This Month

By Chris Bennett Special to The Freeman CITY OF PEWAUKEE — A long-time issue looming over the City of Pewaukee will be resolved in 2016. After years of trying and stops and starts, the city will finally construct a new water tower. "Ours is the rusty water tower," City Administrator Tammy LaBorde said of the city's current vessel for pro- viding thousands of gallons of water to thousands of thirsty residents. The current water tower dates to the 1970s, and call- ing it an eyesore might be insulting to other eyesores. It is rusty and streaked and not indicative of the city's spirit and status. According to published reports the current water tower holds 250,000 gallons. The capacity of the new tower will be 750,000 gallons. The new tower will be built near the old tower. LaBorde said construction will begin in 2016 and will take about 18 months. As for the old tower, someday it will be finally gone. "We'll be very happy to see the other one come down," LaBorde said. "Unfortunate- ly, that's probably two years away." At one point the city intended to build its new water tower near the Wauke- sha County Airport. The proximity to the airport required the water tower to sport a paint scheme of white and orange stripes or checkers. Earlier this year the city decided to build on land it owns away from the airport, which greatly expanded the aesthetic options. LaBorde said residents will get the opportunity to help decide the new tower's color through a survey, which will soon be available on the city's website, www.cityofpe- waukee.us. Another long-term initia- tive is moving forward in 2016. After more than 10 years of talk and planning the city sports complex is coming to fruition. "They broke ground and started some of the work this fall, and there will be more this fall and next year," LaBorde said. The complex is located on Lindsay Road near Hwy. 74. According to published reports the City of Pewau- kee Common Council approved borrowing up to $2 million for the proposed development. LaBorde said other 2016 capital projects in the City of Pewaukee include replacing the roof on the village hall and building a new salt shed. That's not the only build- ing that will take place in the city in 2016 – not by a long shot. "We currently have 22 to 25 subdivisions that are in some form of development," LaBorde said. One hundred new homes went up in the city in 2014, and it projects at least 120 new homes in 2015. "In 2009, the economy went belly-up and everyone saw a decline," LaBorde said. "We were an anomaly. We have not slowed down." LaBorde said the City of Pewaukee has counted 80 to 90 new homes each year since 2009, and also pointed to a large number of commercial devel- opments within city limits in that same time frame. Location and taxes might be the two biggest drivers of the city's growth, and will continue to shine good fortune upon it in 2016. It has the second-low- est tax rate for cities in Wisconsin, according to LaBor- de, and the benefits of life in Lake Country are well-document- ed. The city's tax rate in 2015 was 3.058 per thousand dol- lar of assessed value. In 2016 the tax rate will be 3.056 per thousand dollars of assessed value. "The Common Council is very cognitive of taxation, and tries to keep it as low as possible," LaBorde said. "The difficulty is, as we grow, the services we have to provide increase. The center line miles of highway increase. You have to be able to take care of all of that." Page 2A • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY December 2015 Circulation Dept. To reach the Circulation Department call 542-2501 or go to www.gmtoday.com/wfhelp. MANAGEMENT Bill Yorth - Publisher & Editor-in-Chief..513-2671 byorth@conleynet.com Arthur Thomas – Managing Editor........513-2657 athomas@conleynet.com Jim Baumgart - Freeman Group Ad Director 513-2621 jbaumgart@conleynet.com Tim Haffemann - Circulation Director....513-2640 thaffemann@conleynet.com Patricia Scheel - Prepress Manager.....513-2690 pscheel@conleynet.com NEWS DEPARTMENT Local News - Arthur Thomas................513-2657 athomas@conleynet.com Sports - Pat Neumuth............................513-2667 pneumuth@conleynet.com Death Notices - Shana Duffy................513-2618 obits@conleynet.com Newsroom Fax.............................262-542-8259 CLASSIFIEDS: 542-2211 Hours: M -F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PHOTO REPRINTS Color reprints are $25 each. Call 542-2501 PAGE REPRINTS Go to www.gmtoday.com/freemanreprints 262-542-2500 Hours: M-F 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. 801 N. Barstow St., P.O. Box 7, Waukesha, WI 53187 The FREEMAN How to reach us Lake Country T H I S M O N T H If you have a news tip from the Lake Country area, contact Arthur Thomas at 513-2657 or athomas@conleynet.com To advertise in "Lake Country This Month," call the advertising department at 262-513-2624. To subscribe to the daily Freeman or weekly Enterprise, call 542-2500 Freeman subscription rates • By in-county mail 13 weeks...........$36 26 weeks...........$66 52 weeks.........$120 • Out-of-county mail 13 weeks...........$51 26 weeks............$99 52 weeks..........$192 Easy buy .....$10 a month with credit card Electronic edition ......$10 a month with credit card & ENTERPRISE Enterprise subscription rates • Oconomowoc ZIP code 6 months.....$21.00 1 year..........$35.00 2 years........$68.00 • Ashippun, Ixonia, Neosho, Rubicon, Okauchee, Watertown and Sullivan ZIP codes and other Waukesha County addresses 6 months.....$25.00 1 year..........$43.00 2 years........$84.00 • All other addresses 6 months.....$29.00 1 year..........$51.00 2 years........$99.00 Holiday Fur Fashion Days Creative and Unique designs crafted with quality and pride. Furs & Leathers for Men & Women A.J. UGENT FURS & FASHIONS 8333 W. Capitol Drive, Milwaukee 414-463-7777 | 1-800-544-3877 www.ugentfurs.com 247381002 City of Pewaukee will see towering achievement in 2016 New water tower will finally be constructed; more work on sports complex coming as well Pewaukee is open for business By Katherine Michalets Freeman Staff PEWAUKEE — If you have a business and are looking for a vibrant loca- tion, Pewaukee Village President Jeff Knutson wants to hear from you. During a Nov. 13 Pewau- kee Chamber of Com- merce event, Knutson called upon business own- ers to move their opera- tions to downtown Pewau- kee or along Capitol Drive in the village — areas with potential for growth as he sees it. "No matter what busi- ness you have, bring it to the village," Knutson said in a phone interview Thursday. "Let's talk about it." In addition to observing untapped potential in those two key business areas, Knutson is also aware of the need to grow the tax base to keep taxes down. He's taking that mes- sage to the chamber events and will share it with the Pewaukee Kiwa- nis at their upcoming meeting. When it comes to down- town Pewaukee near the lakefront, Knutson said there is undeveloped land that is ripe for construc- tion. He gave the empty lot between the colorful, "main street" develop- ment by Siepmann and a new building by Siepmann on Wisconsin Avenue as one example. There is also potential for redevelopment, he said. An idea Knutson likes is constructing a building with retail on the first floor and residential above because people like to be able to walk to events and businesses. "I am open and excited about any business that would want to locate in the downtown area," Knutson said. "I get so excited; there is so much potential down there." One recent redevelop- ment project that Knutson highlighted is Mangold Creative's remodeling of the former Masonic Tem- ple. "It shows what people can do in developing prop- erty down there," he said. Knutson said he has heard proposals from busi- ness owners who are con- sidering opening along Capitol Drive, but nothing has been finalized yet. The proposals have mostly been additional retail, he said. The recruitment of busi- nesses only recently began for Knutson so he has yet to have discussions with most of the Village Board members or the Pewaukee Chamber of Commerce and Positively Pewaukee about his ideas. He said he has been focused on some other business proposals, including for a small busi- ness to open behind Aldi off Capitol Drive. Nancy Waters, executive director of the Pewaukee Chamber of Commerce, said Pewaukee is a great place to live and do busi- ness because the village is easily accessible by the freeway and it has a good mix of small, locally owned business near the lakefront and larger, chain stores along Capitol Drive. She also cited Mangold Creative as a great exam- ple of revitalization efforts in Pewaukee. Email: kmichalets@conleynet.com Village president actively recruiting for downtown, Capitol Drive areas Charles Auer/Freeman Staff Pewaukee Village President Jeff Knutson hopes for new development at this Wisconsin Avenue site on the lakefront. Much on Hartland's plate for the new year By Chris Bennett Special to The Freeman HARTLAND — Village Administrator David Cox calls it "regionalization," and he expects it will be one of the issues that helps define 2016 in Hartland. "The county executive is working on a regionalization study for fire and emergency services," Cox said. "I think that will be a big conversa- tion." With communities facing rising fire and rescue costs, County Executive Paul Far- row announced a plan in September to examine the idea of consolidating fire and medical services in Lake Country. Cox said Hartland is sched- uled to spend $1 million on a fire engine in 2017. "That's no small potatoes," Cox said. "We're having con- versations with some neigh- boring communities about that. It's been an ongoing dis- cussion." Cox said the Hartland Fire Department provides the Town of Lisbon with some emergency services and also works with Lake Country Fire & Rescue per Mutual Aid Box Alarm System agreements. Cox said it is not uncom- mon for the Town of Delafield to be the first responder for a fire in the south end of Hart- land, and it also common for Hartland to occasionally respond first to emergency scenes in other neighboring communities. Pivotal to all talks of how best to provide fire and emer- gency services is the acknowl- edgement of the role fire departments play in their respective communities. The Hartland Fire Department dates to 1893, when it formed as the Hartland Volunteer Fire Company. The village of Hartland took over the fire company in 1958 and formed the Hartland Fire Department, according to information on the village's website. Each fire company and fire department brings with it a proud history and culture that is hopefully not lost to efforts to curtail spending and provides the best possible fire and emergency services. "We're dealing with the fact that fire equipment is so expensive," Cox said. "I think that is going to be a big con- versation." Growth will also be a key issue in Hartland in 2016. Four significant projects — three subdivisions and devel- opment downtown — are tak- ing place. The Sanctuary of Hartland is unfolding near downtown with 34 single-family units. Windrush, in the northeast section of the village, consists of 56 new home sites and is under construction. Hartland annexed land ear- lier this year from the Town of Merton and construction of Four Winds is underway in the northwest part of the vil- lage. The subdivision consists of 47 single family homes. The development taking place downtown is a multiuse commercial project that includes 77 units of multifam- ily housing. "All of those are under con- struction today," Cox said. "Depending on how those sell out will determine how soon we start talking about the next phases." Cox said the developers of Windrush, in particular, might approach the village about the next phase of the subdivision by the end of 2016. Like the trains that rumble through the railroad quiet zones that went into effect ear- lier this year at the Canadian Pacific crossings at Cotton- wood and Maple avenues, Cox said talk of financial issues is also quiet. "Hartland is fortunate to not have to be in a conversa- tion with huge issues with financial aspects of govern- ment," Cox said. "We've accomplished a great deal here in the last year or two. "We're now going to watch the fruits of that labor devel- op as we look at how we move forward with fire and rescue."

• Cover