It’s that time again. Yes, Christmas, but also time for another ‘Forming Fennimore’s Future” meeting.
Held every five years, the meeting serves as a time when community members can come together and discuss how Fennimore citizens can help make the community thrive.
Roughly 40 people attended the meeting, the fourth of its kind, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Fennimore Memorial Building.
Fennimore Industrial and Economic Development Corporation (FIEDC) President, Aaron Peterson, lead the meeting, which started with a brief update on the Fennimore Community Schools recent public survey by Fennimore School District Administrator Jane Wonderling.
Wonderling thanked those who provided feedback for the survey and announced the results would be announced at the Dec. 20 school board meeting, and made available to the public the next day.
Next, Troy Maggied, director of the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, spoke on what “strategies” the community should take while submitting ideas for future city projects, which could be summarized as a balance between keeping current residents here and attracting new ones to Fennimore.
Before “the fun began,” Peterson reminded everyone of the five projects/ideas that were created at the last Forming Fennimore’s Future meeting in Feb. 2018. The five, which were wayfaring signs, a dog park, filling the store front, youth STEM, and crosswalk safety were all accomplished.
From there, the brainstorming session began, which consisted of five board members writing down on easels suggestions from those in attendance.
After a whirlwind of ideas being shouted out, written down, and explained, a plethora of ideas were up for voting for narrowing down to five projects to focus on.
A few ideas were already in progress, a few of which were housing expansion, business park expansion, and the future of the World of Variety and Energizer buildings.
Mayor Ryan Boebel stated the city recently acquired 11.7 acres of land at the southwest corner of the city for a possible 11 lots for future homes. Boebel stated the city does own the land, and more could be on the way, but funding the infrastructure still needed to worked out.
Peterson then explained that an expansion of the business park is “in the works,” and they were working to acquire more land for park.
As far as the former World of Variety location, Peterson described it as “a tough sell.” They have remanded in contact with the owner, but the current asking price is on the “high side,” and the building itself is in need of renovations.
Filling the building and replacing the jobs at the soon to be closed Energizer location was also brought up. Peterson said there are prospects and talks with them on been on going, which was also recently stated by Grant County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ron Brisbois.
Everyone in attendance was given three stickers to place on their top three choices for future city projects and after the voting had been completed, the group had voted on the following five projects:
•Update the library with a possible community center included
•Law enforcement of driving speeds and crosswalk safety
•Park improvements
•Community branding
•Bike path to the ballparks
The large group then broke into five smaller groups, one for each project, for discussion and establishing next steps.
After a little over a half hour of small group discussion, everyone came back together to hear brief recaps of what was discussed/planned for each project.
Library/Community Center
Dwight Parker Library Librarian Cathy Smith had explained in the small group that a facility assessment had recently been done, and that the library was in the process of hiring FEH Design of Dubuque to help with community input.
Updating the current building or building a new facility would need to be decided, with the hope being that besides the library, the remodeled or new facility could also be used as a meeting space for those of ages and be more handicapped accessible than the current building.
Surveys, fund raising and recruiting additional members to the project team were some of the next steps provided.
Law Enforcement - Speed/Crosswalk Safety
Installing speed warning indicator at the four main entrances to the city will be explored, and possible stricter enforcement by the police department are some of the ideas to control traffic speeds on Lincoln Avenue.
Crosswalk safety, namely drivers not slowing down at crosswalks, primarily the five busiest intersections in town: 5th, 7th, 12th and 11th Streets, as well as Madison and Highway 18, also needs addressed.
Working with the police department, the Department of Transportation (DOT), as well as input from surrounding communities is where the group will begin addressing this issue.
Sidewalk repairs also was included in this project, with first figuring out responsibility for possible repairs lays with, property owners or the city, before action can be taken.
Community Branding
This project basically involves advertising Fennimore. Some ideas floated around by the group included updating the city’s website, making it more “user friendly,” as well as creating a new city logo which would be displayed on new welcome signs.
Focusing on who to target to visit/relocate to the city was also discussed, with three of the top items searched for involving Fennimore including fishing, hunting and the Railroad Museum.
Park Improvements
Improvements to all four city parks, Oakwood, Foxmoor, Aborvitae, and Marsden were discussed, namely lighting at the parks. There are street lights at each locations, but the parks themselves could use more lighting.
Park equipment updates was also discussed, with a possible third ballpark in the future for Oakwood.
The group did acknowledge that they would reach out to the Marsden Park Board of Trustees to work with them on any possible updates.
Bike Path to Ballparks
Lydia McLimans, Community Development Manager for the City of Fennimore, stated that the DOT does have a plan for Highway 18 in 2028 with a walk/bike path from the city to the car wash. But from the car wash to the ballparks needs to be addressed.
Earlier in the meeting Mayor Boebel stated that a path has been looked into in the past, with having to cross Highway 18 twice, and the path possibly having to “cut into” non city property as some of the stumbling blocks for such a project.
Marketing the idea needed to be “hashed out,” before any possible grant opportunities or fund raising could began.
McLimans pointed out that the DOT was planning a community meeting on the 2028 Highway 18 project, is planned for sometime in January, and she will release information the meeting when it becomes available.
Held every five years, the meeting serves as a time when community members can come together and discuss how Fennimore citizens can help make the community thrive.
Roughly 40 people attended the meeting, the fourth of its kind, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Fennimore Memorial Building.
Fennimore Industrial and Economic Development Corporation (FIEDC) President, Aaron Peterson, lead the meeting, which started with a brief update on the Fennimore Community Schools recent public survey by Fennimore School District Administrator Jane Wonderling.
Wonderling thanked those who provided feedback for the survey and announced the results would be announced at the Dec. 20 school board meeting, and made available to the public the next day.
Next, Troy Maggied, director of the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, spoke on what “strategies” the community should take while submitting ideas for future city projects, which could be summarized as a balance between keeping current residents here and attracting new ones to Fennimore.
Before “the fun began,” Peterson reminded everyone of the five projects/ideas that were created at the last Forming Fennimore’s Future meeting in Feb. 2018. The five, which were wayfaring signs, a dog park, filling the store front, youth STEM, and crosswalk safety were all accomplished.
From there, the brainstorming session began, which consisted of five board members writing down on easels suggestions from those in attendance.
After a whirlwind of ideas being shouted out, written down, and explained, a plethora of ideas were up for voting for narrowing down to five projects to focus on.
A few ideas were already in progress, a few of which were housing expansion, business park expansion, and the future of the World of Variety and Energizer buildings.
Mayor Ryan Boebel stated the city recently acquired 11.7 acres of land at the southwest corner of the city for a possible 11 lots for future homes. Boebel stated the city does own the land, and more could be on the way, but funding the infrastructure still needed to worked out.
Peterson then explained that an expansion of the business park is “in the works,” and they were working to acquire more land for park.
As far as the former World of Variety location, Peterson described it as “a tough sell.” They have remanded in contact with the owner, but the current asking price is on the “high side,” and the building itself is in need of renovations.
Filling the building and replacing the jobs at the soon to be closed Energizer location was also brought up. Peterson said there are prospects and talks with them on been on going, which was also recently stated by Grant County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ron Brisbois.
Everyone in attendance was given three stickers to place on their top three choices for future city projects and after the voting had been completed, the group had voted on the following five projects:
•Update the library with a possible community center included
•Law enforcement of driving speeds and crosswalk safety
•Park improvements
•Community branding
•Bike path to the ballparks
The large group then broke into five smaller groups, one for each project, for discussion and establishing next steps.
After a little over a half hour of small group discussion, everyone came back together to hear brief recaps of what was discussed/planned for each project.
Library/Community Center
Dwight Parker Library Librarian Cathy Smith had explained in the small group that a facility assessment had recently been done, and that the library was in the process of hiring FEH Design of Dubuque to help with community input.
Updating the current building or building a new facility would need to be decided, with the hope being that besides the library, the remodeled or new facility could also be used as a meeting space for those of ages and be more handicapped accessible than the current building.
Surveys, fund raising and recruiting additional members to the project team were some of the next steps provided.
Law Enforcement - Speed/Crosswalk Safety
Installing speed warning indicator at the four main entrances to the city will be explored, and possible stricter enforcement by the police department are some of the ideas to control traffic speeds on Lincoln Avenue.
Crosswalk safety, namely drivers not slowing down at crosswalks, primarily the five busiest intersections in town: 5th, 7th, 12th and 11th Streets, as well as Madison and Highway 18, also needs addressed.
Working with the police department, the Department of Transportation (DOT), as well as input from surrounding communities is where the group will begin addressing this issue.
Sidewalk repairs also was included in this project, with first figuring out responsibility for possible repairs lays with, property owners or the city, before action can be taken.
Community Branding
This project basically involves advertising Fennimore. Some ideas floated around by the group included updating the city’s website, making it more “user friendly,” as well as creating a new city logo which would be displayed on new welcome signs.
Focusing on who to target to visit/relocate to the city was also discussed, with three of the top items searched for involving Fennimore including fishing, hunting and the Railroad Museum.
Park Improvements
Improvements to all four city parks, Oakwood, Foxmoor, Aborvitae, and Marsden were discussed, namely lighting at the parks. There are street lights at each locations, but the parks themselves could use more lighting.
Park equipment updates was also discussed, with a possible third ballpark in the future for Oakwood.
The group did acknowledge that they would reach out to the Marsden Park Board of Trustees to work with them on any possible updates.
Bike Path to Ballparks
Lydia McLimans, Community Development Manager for the City of Fennimore, stated that the DOT does have a plan for Highway 18 in 2028 with a walk/bike path from the city to the car wash. But from the car wash to the ballparks needs to be addressed.
Earlier in the meeting Mayor Boebel stated that a path has been looked into in the past, with having to cross Highway 18 twice, and the path possibly having to “cut into” non city property as some of the stumbling blocks for such a project.
Marketing the idea needed to be “hashed out,” before any possible grant opportunities or fund raising could began.
McLimans pointed out that the DOT was planning a community meeting on the 2028 Highway 18 project, is planned for sometime in January, and she will release information the meeting when it becomes available.
For those who were unable to attend last Wednesday’s meeting, and are interested in helping with one of the five projects, visit the city’s website, https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fennimore.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ctyra%40morriswi.com%7C9233cfeb91d242b6316a08dc00018713%7C596d7feeb08c4816b9fc4c6034829fc6%7C1%7C0%7C638385253846171643%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JUQjFig6EtZqDoEXMyW0BoaS0f3h96YKWUOBHiWe8qc%3D&reserved=0 for information on volunteering to be posted in the near future.
