Page 2 - Village State of the Address

with the kids will also help with safety and prevention with certain programs. This will be a challenge for
the Board moving forward in our future budgets.

When I was first elected in April of 2012 as a Trustee, all I heard about was the Department of Public
Works was under-staffed with a four man crew. For years it was a goal with the TID closing to hire a fifth
worker. Since we hired Jeff Seitz as our Village Engineer/DPW Supervisor, the same four men have
shown they can be sufficient, and now we no longer need the fifth person, thus saving money. Thanks Jeff
for your hard work on showing the crew on how to take pride and ownership in what they do. Thanks to
Lyle, Jimmy, John, Jesse, and now Chance on all your hard work in all different kinds of weather
elements. Jeff, thank you for all your advice, knowledge of the Village, and the your positive thoughts and
ideas. You have been a huge help to me in my new role as President.

Our Parks, as we all know, were severely neglected due to a limited budget in in the past years. Parks are
for our children, grandchildren, and families to play in and enjoy as a safe place to go. We have
accomplished a lot since 2012 in our Parks. They are starting to look more appealing. We still have more
work to do. South Park is our only Park with a tennis court. However, no one can enjoy it because of the
shape it is in. It needs to be sealed, repainted, and a new net needs to be installed. A new fence also needs
to be installed or at least pained. The playground equipment also needed to be upgraded. Let us keep that
on our radar for the very near future. As we look forward to a possible skate park in the Village, we still
have to take care of what we already have.

For the last few years, we have seen a lot of new community events happening in the Village. The Petting
Zoo, the Bouncy House, the Park and Rec Program, Vendor Fair, Art Classes, and Cooking Classes are
events that the Village hasn’t seen prior to Carrie Harbach being on the Board. Carrie continues to plan
and setup these events along with The Santa Dinner and Pancake Breakfast. Carrie not only took over
after Linda Busha, she took it to the next level. Thank you Carrie for all the hard work it takes to put on
these events with only a few volunteers.

I also want to recognize our Staff in the Office. As I look at our staff, it reminds me of our young Board.
We have Mary and Char who have been with us for years, which is half of the office. Then we have Jenny
our accountant of two years. Cassie who we just hired, after her 6 months of temp service, this year. Now
we have our new part time Property Grounds position, employee named Kent Demers. This office is our
front line, day-to-day of all our operations. It isn’t always easy to deal with all the phone calls and the
public that walk in every day. Mary, who has grown within our Village, has a lot of job titles to her name.
I feel we ask too much out of Mary to carry all those job titles. Our previous Administrator didn’t have all
these different job duties that can stretch a person in several directions. As mentioned earlier, we have a
lot going on. As we move into 2018, with TID # 4 , and now Foxconn, Mary will need to be involved
with more meetings and other duties outside the office. It makes me question the clerk position. It is
something we all need to discuss and think about. Mary, you are doing a great job. I enjoy working with
you. I see the obstacles ahead, and want our priorities with you more as an Administrator. Thanks you for
helping me grow and learn in this President role. Jenny, you are a ‘God send”. Your detail in our finances
and every day operations is truly noted. You always have a smile on your face, and always positive.
Char, your knowledge and experience with the Village and the Police Department is well appreciated.
Your years of service are remarkable. Cassie, you have become an asset to the Village office. Thanks for
your eagerness and quick learning. I can see the progress in you and see you to continue to grow.

We recently passed the 2018 budget, and I need to thank the Trustees and Staff for all thier hard work to
make that happen. This year was difficult with the relocation of the land North of Hwy 20 that was
detached to the Village of Mt. Pleasant. Due to that, the Village lost 5% of equalized value at $31,482.00.
The revenue sharing payment to the City of Racine increased $100,700.00. The loss of tax revenue with