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Decision to keep park fence ends prolonged debate For several Bridgeport residents and their supporters, last night's Prairie du Chien city council meeting might best be summed up by rephrasing two old sayings: "Good fences do not make good neighbors," and "Persistence doesn't always pay." Ending months of discussion and debate, council voted to retain the fence that separates residences in the Park View Estates development in Bridgeport from La Riviere Park. The fence in question runs along approximately 749 feet of residential property in Park View Estates. It was erected in 2004, torn down during some construction, and put up again in the spring of 2005. Over the past months, residents had patiently but persistently appeared before property, park and city council meetings requesting that the fence be removed and replaced with interval markers. They offered to pay all costs associated with the project. They objected to its appearance, the danger of children being injured when sliding downhill in their own backyards (in at least one yard, the fence sits right at the bottom of a hill) and the fact that they feel the fence is an insult to them. Said Scott Kennedy, one of the Park View residents "I feel the fence is telling me to stay out." He said the residents themselves are a better protection to the park than the fence, since they could see and report any wrongdoing in the park. La Riviere park committee member Dean Achenbach spoke in support of the residents and brought in samples of boundary markers used in other parks. However, Dennis Kirschbaum, park chairperson, defended the fence, saying the fence more clearly delineated boundaries than markers would, and that most of the problems in the park such as ATVs, dirt bikes, hunters, erection of a tree stand and dumped building debris, had occurred in areas where there was no fence. He said the fence was not directed specifically at the Park View Estates residents, since there was over three miles of fence line in the park. Council member Kathleen Hein, also a park committee member, agreed with Kirschbaum, and addressed the liability issue, saying that, since there are archery shoots conducted in the park, having controlled access to the park could reduce the possibility of a child running into the park from a neighborhood yard and being injured. She also said the residents have been invited to tie in to the park fence in erecting their own fences if they would prefer something more attractive. On a split vote, council upheld the decision to keep the fence. Study reveals strengths, problems of Prairie du Chien business climate A business retention and expansion study for Prairie du Chien was the topic of discussion as City Planner Garth Frable addressed the Prairie du Chien Area Chamber of Commerce last week. To obtain information for the study, a survey, consisting of about 140 questions, was distributed to 32 Prairie du Chien businesses, followed by follow-up interviews with the chief executive officers of these companies. Among the findings of the report were: ´Employees in professional/technical roles earn an average of $24 an hour; office staff average $11.84 per hour; highly skilled employees average $15.67 an hour, semi skilled $10.51 and unskilled $8.51. ´Executives report that they are having greatest difficulty recruiting for professional and technical staff positions, and half of the respondents reported difficulty recruiting for blue-collar positions. Almost a third report difficulty recruiting for office support staff. ´Executives believe the most positive factors dealing with recruiting are the quality of life and cost of living. ´The factor considered the most negative is personal taxes. ´Of those responding, 89 percent feel their community is an excellent or good place to do business. Recommendations of the study included: ´Focus on expanding and developing support businesses that provide needed goods and services to existing industry ´Focus on improving quality of life factors such as housing, shopping opportunities, cultural resources, and downtown revitalization and redeveopment. "If those improve," Frable said, "people would be more inclined to move here. We want to give a positive impression for people coming in to the city. We're not just attracting an individual person to work, but that person's whole family." ´Implement a county-wide approach to economic development. If someone locates in a nearby city instead of Prairie du Chien, Frable explained, it still helps the residents of this city. Without such a plan, cities end up competing instead of cooperating. ´Implement a Lean Six Sigma in all government functions. This is a program which has been in use in business and manufacturing, but governments have started to implement it. With assistance from 3M Corporation, which has an individual trained in the process, the city plans to test it out. "If this works," Frable said, "we'll be the first government in Wisconsin to implement it." Participants begin by mapping out a process, then questioning each step to see if it is necessary, and finally eliminating useless steps. In one instance, a governmental body reduced the time for processing air quality permits from 66 to seven days. The city will test the process with one event to see how it works before considering adoption of the process. The approach, he explained, is not to cut employees, but to reinvest employee time in other, more productive areas. In summary, said Frable, the study shows that the city is in generally good shape. "It has a growing business and industrial sector," he said, "but at the same time it is clear there are some bottlenecks we're running into." Frable agreed with the recommendation to focus on quality of life issues. The traditional approach, he said, has been to attract jobs and then people will follow. Now, quality of life needs more emphasis. He also anticipated that the city would increasingly face employee shortages, mainly in white collar and senior management levels, but also some shortages in so-called blue collar jobs. In commenting on high personal taxes, he said, the issue must be approached by asking the question "Are we getting value for our dollar." One way to get that value is to focus on ways to improve and consolidate functions of government among various governmental units while still producing quick, efficient and high quality service. In summing up, Frable said, "We have an extremely hard working work force, a beautiful area and a good infrastructure. We should focus on these."
Can you dig it? Historical artifacts found in two recent archeological excavations in Prairie du Chien Many people dig archeology as evidenced by two recent archeological digs in Prairie du Chien that turned up some interesting artifacts that were viewed by many. An archeological dig at the Ted and Janet Finn residence on Beaumont Road near The Fort Crawford Museum was enjoyed by about 860 people on Sept. 15 and 16 during Cannons and Redcoats. The small-scale excavation, conducted by Vicki Twinde-Javner of the Mississippi Valley Archeological Center (MVAC) of La Crosse, uncovered foundation pieces from the second Fort Crawford, pieces of white clay smoking pipes, a musket ball, two marbles, some square nails, window glass and bottle glass fragments, and fragments of historic ceramics. Twinde-Javner said that the artifacts are from a period between 1829 and the mid-1850s. On Sept. 15, 800 students and from area schools and several adults enjoyed viewing the dig. On Sept. 16, approximately 50-60 people viewed the excavation. Twinde-Javner said that these types of excavations have been conducted for the past four years during Cannons and Redcoats to help students and adults learn more about the process of archeology. During the previous three years, small-scale excavations have been conducted in the area of what once was the southern officers' quarters of Fort Crawford, now located on the Wyalusing Academy property. Twinde-Javner said that Ted Finn had found some pieces of limestone in his front yard and had asked that the dig be done there this year in order to find out if part of the Fort Crawford Hospital foundation was there. Another dig may be conducted on the Finn property next year for all to enjoy. Twinde-Javner said that the artifacts found on the Finn property, as well as those found on a site south of Lockwood Avenue and west of Beaumont Road during a dig conducted in late July and in August, are in the process of being cleaned, analyzed and pieced together. The large-scale excavation conducted by the MVAC south of Lockwood Avenue and west of Beaumont Road, a site known as the "Lessard Cabin" site, was the first of four archeological digs that will be conducted in preparation for the expansion of South Main Street as a truck route. The expansion of South Main Street is expected to begin in the year 2010 and the four large-scale excavations are being conducted over the next two to three years so that those areas can be surveyed and artifacts recovered before the road construction begins and those sites are blacktopped over. Twinde-Javner said that the Lessard Cabin site has the potential for being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two limestone cellars were found next to each other at the site. Also found were dated medicine bottles from the 1850s, a whiskey flask, broken bottles, a large amount of historic ceramics, window glass, clay smoking pipe fragments, square nails, a bridle bit, a sleigh bell, a variety of miscellaneous metal artifacts, and a large amount of animal bone of both wild and domesticated animals. In addition to the continued digs for Cannons and Redcoats each year and the four digs in preparation for the South Main Street construction, Twinde-Javner said that the Fort Crawford Museum and the MVAC are considering small-scale excavations open to the public in the spring, summer and possibly the fall of 2007. Dates for these educational digs have not been set yet, but people wishing more information can contact Sharon Martin at (608) 326-8045 or Vicki Twinde-Javner at the MVAC at (608) 785-6475. Interested persons may also write to Mississippi Valley Archeological Center at UW-La Crosse, 1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI, 54601. Grant should enhance city appearance, transportation "It's amazing," said City Planner and Zoning Administrator Garth Frable, "what a little cosmetic work will do in improving the looks of the city." Frable was commenting on the favorable reactions to the turf installed beside the new Walgreens building, but with the $660,000 transportation enhancement grant recently awarded for improvements to the Blackhawk Avenue streetscape, a great deal of cosmetic work should be possible. The history of the grant began with groundwork started about two years ago by city officials with a discussion of how to redevelop and enhance the city's streetscape, said Frable. Then, about a year ago, with the help of Prairie du Chien Downtown Revitalization, Inc. (PDRI), they developed an initial streetscape design and began to research possible funding. The transportation enhancement grants became available, and the application was submitted. "Generally, streetscapes do not fare well in these applications," said Frable, but the city received encouragement and applied. Frable said it represents about seven percent of all the money available for the grants, which is impressive for a community of about 6,000 population. One reason he cited for the success of the application was the overwhelming number of letters of support which came from national, state and local sources. When the money becomes available July, 2007, it will be used for improvements along Blackhawk Avenue in the downtown area. These improvements will include decorative pavement for sidewalks and cross walks; street furniture such as benches, waste receptacles, bike racks and moveable flower planters; and various directories, signage and plaques which will direct people to historical areas in the city and to downtown businesses. Another goal of the project is to promote pedestrian and bicycle traffic in the downtown area. This will begin with the connection between St. Feriole Island and the downtown area and will eventually continue to Marquette Road. Benefits of the project, as listed in the application, are as follows: ´Create a linkage between STH 35 (Marquette Road), St. Feriole Island and the downtown business district. ´Reduce local vehicle traffic so that employees working in the downtown can walk and/or bike to work, downtown business customers can walk or bike to do their shopping, and city residents can walk or bike to St. Feriole Island. ´The development of a walking/biking trail will address safety issue along Blackhawk Avenue ´The enhancement of downtown will bring tourists to St. Feriole Island through the downtown from STH 35, creating economic opportunity for downtown business. ´The enhancements will promote the historic nature of this river community and the transportation history of the area. The grant will not cover the costs of all the projected improvements, said Frable, and the city is exploring other sources of funding. One possible source is the Department of Commerce, which awarded the city a $1.5 million grant for redevelopment of the downtown area. The city had requested $2.5 million, and was told that more money might be available as the project progressed. At the same time the city does the streetscape, he said, it only makes sense to address any problems with sewer, water or utilities. It would, he said, be nice to have all the utilities underground. If funds are available, there may be some improvements to side streets as well. The PDRI, he said, would probably lead the way in raising additional funds for the streetscape, and he said there is a lot of additional opportunity for community involvement. He suggested, for example, that as new lights are needed, families or individuals might want to sponsor a light. In looking ahead a few years, Marquette Road is scheduled for reconstruction in 2011, and the downtown streetscape project will connect to that. |
