Gerard Griswold v. Wendy McCalvy Trustee Seat #2 Shawn Olley v. Tom Weatherston Trustee Seat #4
Gerard Griswold
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LAND USE PLAN/CONSERVATION SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE?
Gerard Griswold: Disagrees with Olley that the board keeps changing directions (see her response) since there haven't been many changes proposed. He would make a couple changes: 1) Exempt commercial/industrial developments in infill and redevelopment areas from the conservation ordinance which would almost immediately open up development on Douglas Avenue and in the Caledonia Industrial Park. 2) Reduce the open space requirement from 40% to 20% in sewered areas.
Wendy McCalvy: Feels this is the central difference between her and her opponent (Griswold.) The conservation subdivision will make our community something special in the future. It's not just for looks, but because of the open space, we don't have to run sewer and water all over. It contains more natural options to limit stormwater runoff and reduce future costs.
Things are not working well right now in open space subdivisions, but the Open Space Committee is looking at ways to revamp things and will present options to the board in the future.
Shawn Olley: This is tough to answer and make everyone happy. It needs to be used as a plan; a lot of money and time went into it, but don't necessarily have to go step for step. Some of her relatives' farmland is designated as "parks" in the plan, when they are not. The Plan is what we would like to be, but we can't keep changing directions with every new board.
Tom Weatherston: Likes the current Land Use Plan, but thinks we have to put it into practice and use it. We've been remiss in finding commercial and industrial business and helping them come here. Good example was Camping World - we missed that opportunity and have to make sure when those opportunities come along, we capitalize on them.
DO YOU SUPPORT A CALEDONIA SCHOOL DISTRICT?
Gerard Griswold: Concept wise it's a very good idea, but we're in a deep recession and it should probably be put on hold and talked about again at a later date.
Wendy McCalvy: The Village Board spent money ($30,000) on a study from Wisconsin Taxpayer's Alliance, but the board has nothing to say about it. We wanted the citizens to get the financial facts. The school buildings would be split up, but Caledonia would have to build a high school and that would be very expensive.
Shawn Olley: How much will it cost? How long will it take? If the citizen's group was interested they could have gotten information from the Department of Public Instruction.
Tom Weatherston: He would be supportive of public efforts to get a school district going, but feels the Trustees can do little in this instance.
