Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wonder Lake Election Results and the Future
Stygar is popular amongst his neighbors, active in his community. His background as a consultant to other associations helps him with the big picture but perhaps makes him less of an accessible concept to the people who make up the picture. Arnos, especially, would benefit from a campaign with a more listening and responsive attitude, and a more grass roots feel.
Arnos is a credible and reliable candidate. His background as a police officer has broad appeal; his promise to secure more support and funding to take the Wonder Lake Police department to 24-hour service affected all residents equally.
This appeal was overshadowed by the grandiose hyperbole of the joint Stygar/Arnos campaign; bright tomorrows, progress riding a white steed, etc. And in the background, the Other Side: sullen, frightened, holding flaming torches, ready to take down Dr. Frankenstein’s brilliant yet misunderstood new subdivision, Thatcher Meadows.
Would he have won had it not been for the way the Ed Peters endorsement was handled (see story below)? It is unlikely this greatly affected the outcome, although it did not reflect well on the process. However, it is this writer’s impression that the overall tenor of the campaign, the hiring of a large outside entity to produce the campaign, did not do the new candidates any favors. It lacked substance and heart.
Thatcher Meadows will be built, the current Village Board has not blocked it. Some have reservations, notably the two reelected incumbents Reinard and Heger. The rhetoric over growth in the village has been excessively polarized for some time.
Growth/change is a natural phenomenon but it can take many forms and it can be managed. Resistance is futile yet equally inevitable. This resistance had produced frustration in the pro-growth sector, leading to demeaning rhetoric (although not in this campaign) that failed to reach out to those with suspicions or reservations.
Listening to the previous rhetoric of the pro-growth crew, one might easily have believed that the more cautious Heger and Reinard would be campaigning on the platforms of
On one side is a small core of active lakefront owners who will most directly benefit from a cleaner lake (but who may also have reservations about having hundreds more lake users), and, on the other side, a small core of those who wish to maintain the "Unincorporated Lifestyles" to which they had become accustomed.
But for the most part, there is probably more of a consensus than both extremes will admit to.
Evidence of this? Ed Peters, who occupied the middle ground in several ways, got the most votes. Growth-questioning voters could have abstained and voted for their 2 favored candidates instead of 3, which would have left Peters in third place at best.
In the middle are those who probably wouldn’t mind losing their well and septic as long as they could still afford to live here. They would get involved but they’re too busy working the three jobs they need to support their family. Most will probably get used to the higher traffic on the roads. The schools? You know what they say in McHenry County? Taxes, Death and School Referendums…
As a former resort/part-time community, Wonder Lake is possessed of a unique dynamic. Alongside the base of Wonder Lifers, there are longtime part time residents who have retired and become full timers. Entirely new residents and subdivisions with no institutional memory now join them. Wonder Lake has a higher than average proportion of renters, but as the village grows with new owner-occupiers motivated to vote, the proportion of renters will dwindle.
Eventually, Wonder Lake will be ten times its current size. Until that time, small town campaigns can still be effective. Inevitable growth doesn’t mean the Village can’t be assertive with developers. The Village should be less afraid of offending them in insisting upon watertight terms.
The lake is a rare and unique bargaining tool, dredged or otherwise. It is worth every effort to ensure developers plan carefully and pay upfront for the impact on the community. Profit margins are negotiable too. Passing on costs to the new subdivision residents may well come back to haunt current residents in the
form of dormant SSAs. We will be told not to worry; they will not be activated unless needed.
“?”
Exactly.
Attractive and community-friendly developments can be built, but the developers must be supervised.
Otherwise, in ten years, Wonder Lakers may be looking across a bleak tundra of damp cardboard and flapping Tyvek, whilst cutting Progress another yet another check and watching more dormant SSAs awake from their fiscal hibernation.
Unifying the community is not just a matter of bringing the Village and lakefront under one controlling body. It’s about bringing the people together. to circulate. The new developments will feature bike paths, but they are bike paths to nowhere. They do not unite the communities.
If we are to believe some economic forecasters, in 20 years there will be no Social Security or Medicare, meaning that “retirees” may also be working three jobs. This will have an interesting effect on small local government and homeowners’ associations across the nation. The collapse of Medicare should also mean
that public health is every community's priority.
There are many reasons why we need to get out of our cars. What’s needed in Wonder Lake is a circle tour, a bike and pedestrian path to the bank, to school, to our friends across the lake, and, Bull Valley permitting, to the Metra stations.
This may not sit well with some for whom unity is strictly about sharing administration. Good heavens.
Do we really want to share delinquents and offenders, too?
Arnos is a credible and reliable candidate. His background as a police officer has broad appeal; his promise to secure more support and funding to take the Wonder Lake Police department to 24-hour service affected all residents equally.
This appeal was overshadowed by the grandiose hyperbole of the joint Stygar/Arnos campaign; bright tomorrows, progress riding a white steed, etc. And in the background, the Other Side: sullen, frightened, holding flaming torches, ready to take down Dr. Frankenstein’s brilliant yet misunderstood new subdivision, Thatcher Meadows.
Would he have won had it not been for the way the Ed Peters endorsement was handled (see story below)? It is unlikely this greatly affected the outcome, although it did not reflect well on the process. However, it is this writer’s impression that the overall tenor of the campaign, the hiring of a large outside entity to produce the campaign, did not do the new candidates any favors. It lacked substance and heart.
Thatcher Meadows will be built, the current Village Board has not blocked it. Some have reservations, notably the two reelected incumbents Reinard and Heger. The rhetoric over growth in the village has been excessively polarized for some time.
Growth/change is a natural phenomenon but it can take many forms and it can be managed. Resistance is futile yet equally inevitable. This resistance had produced frustration in the pro-growth sector, leading to demeaning rhetoric (although not in this campaign) that failed to reach out to those with suspicions or reservations.
Listening to the previous rhetoric of the pro-growth crew, one might easily have believed that the more cautious Heger and Reinard would be campaigning on the platforms of
- No roof repairs to be permitted in Wonder Lake, ever again
- At least three old plumbing fixtures and one piece of indoor furniture must be displayed at all times on each front lawn, and
- Every Saturday, villagers are to get to together to smash printing presses and burying ringing telephones.
On one side is a small core of active lakefront owners who will most directly benefit from a cleaner lake (but who may also have reservations about having hundreds more lake users), and, on the other side, a small core of those who wish to maintain the "Unincorporated Lifestyles" to which they had become accustomed.
But for the most part, there is probably more of a consensus than both extremes will admit to.
Evidence of this? Ed Peters, who occupied the middle ground in several ways, got the most votes. Growth-questioning voters could have abstained and voted for their 2 favored candidates instead of 3, which would have left Peters in third place at best.
In the middle are those who probably wouldn’t mind losing their well and septic as long as they could still afford to live here. They would get involved but they’re too busy working the three jobs they need to support their family. Most will probably get used to the higher traffic on the roads. The schools? You know what they say in McHenry County? Taxes, Death and School Referendums…
As a former resort/part-time community, Wonder Lake is possessed of a unique dynamic. Alongside the base of Wonder Lifers, there are longtime part time residents who have retired and become full timers. Entirely new residents and subdivisions with no institutional memory now join them. Wonder Lake has a higher than average proportion of renters, but as the village grows with new owner-occupiers motivated to vote, the proportion of renters will dwindle.
Eventually, Wonder Lake will be ten times its current size. Until that time, small town campaigns can still be effective. Inevitable growth doesn’t mean the Village can’t be assertive with developers. The Village should be less afraid of offending them in insisting upon watertight terms.
The lake is a rare and unique bargaining tool, dredged or otherwise. It is worth every effort to ensure developers plan carefully and pay upfront for the impact on the community. Profit margins are negotiable too. Passing on costs to the new subdivision residents may well come back to haunt current residents in the
form of dormant SSAs. We will be told not to worry; they will not be activated unless needed.
“?”
Exactly.
Attractive and community-friendly developments can be built, but the developers must be supervised.
Otherwise, in ten years, Wonder Lakers may be looking across a bleak tundra of damp cardboard and flapping Tyvek, whilst cutting Progress another yet another check and watching more dormant SSAs awake from their fiscal hibernation.
Unifying the community is not just a matter of bringing the Village and lakefront under one controlling body. It’s about bringing the people together. to circulate. The new developments will feature bike paths, but they are bike paths to nowhere. They do not unite the communities.
If we are to believe some economic forecasters, in 20 years there will be no Social Security or Medicare, meaning that “retirees” may also be working three jobs. This will have an interesting effect on small local government and homeowners’ associations across the nation. The collapse of Medicare should also mean
that public health is every community's priority.
There are many reasons why we need to get out of our cars. What’s needed in Wonder Lake is a circle tour, a bike and pedestrian path to the bank, to school, to our friends across the lake, and, Bull Valley permitting, to the Metra stations.
This may not sit well with some for whom unity is strictly about sharing administration. Good heavens.
Do we really want to share delinquents and offenders, too?
Labels: Wonder Lake
# posted by Cal Skinner : 7:23 PM
