July Update: County Newsletter
Hello all, and I hope you’ve been having a wonderful summer. The County Board had only one formal meeting in July (as our early meeting was canceled for the holiday), but there is still plenty of action to report.
Earlier this month, Brian Thomas (the supervisor in District 5) submitted his resignation, and the county has been accepting applications for his interim replacement for the past several weeks. There are currently seven contenders, and the replacement will be announced early in August. This person will serve until spring elections in 2025, when the elected replacement will be selected by the typical process.
There are two new faces over in Public Works. Wyatt Moore is the new director of Parks and Recreation and Gregory Boldt is the new director of highways. Both of these folks seem to be hitting the ground running and doing a great job.
In our meeting last week, there were a few notable resolutions that came to the floor. From the Human Services committee, we voted to split the behavioral health division from aging and disabilities. This will hopefully allow resources to be allocated efficiently for all those who need them. The additional leadership positions will be funded using opioid settlement funds for the first several years.
There was a proposal that would provide an advisory calling for a projected law levy hike limit of 1.9-2.5% over 2024 to try to curb excess spending, but this was voted down on the floor with an 11-8 vote. More information on this is linked in the Kenosha News article here.
In the legislative committee, we voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution to include Kenosha County in the feasibility study for the Kenosha Racine Milwaukee lightrail (KRM). This will move to the County Board vote next month. As a daily train commuter, I am planning to go to bat for this project.
Finally, relevant specifically to District 2, the Public Works committee is hard at work in discussions about the Kemper Center. Kemper will be a standing item on the Public Works committee’s monthly agendas for the foreseeable future. I am not personally on this committee, but I plan to keep up with these discussions and report them back in this newsletter every month. I will also make sure to relay the opinions of folks from the neighborhood to the committee, so if you have strong feelings, please feel free to reach out. This month’s committee was held at Kemper and included a tour of the facilities. I participated in this, and I learned a lot! It was very encouraging and convinced me even further of how important it is to protect this very special asset. I will do my best to make sure we do. They also presented updates about current maintenance that is underway on the outside envelope of the campus, which is one important part of the overall project.
I have appreciated hearing from you about all the issues that you are concerned about. I also appreciate your graciousness with the time it takes for me to navigate the structure and get the answers I’m looking for. I encourage you to speak your mind and keep me updated. Your engagement gives me hope; I truly believe our future depends on local networks and support. I am so grateful to be a part of that.