The City of Whitewater hosted their second Common Council meeting for the month of November and discussed possible projects that may occur within the next year.
The Department of Public Works in Whitewater has been getting busy around this time of year prepping for the winter and removing old decorations and putting up new ones around the city to give it a more festive look for the holidays. They are also in the process of cleaning up the leaves around the city in preparation for winter.
“They’re busy getting ready for winter items, including the removal of art designs and the installation of snowflakes and other lights, which are already going up,” Whitewater City Manager John Weidl said. “We’re also in the full swing of fall clean up. Besides bags and leaves, we’re working on the street cleaning leaves and, in particular, rainwater, which causes a large phosphorus load to the lakes and the creeks.”
There has also been some discussion regarding the Starin Park Water Tower.
Representative Brian Schanen pointed to “a memo referenced in [his] motion,” that the city council is working to figure out what the city will do with the water tower.
Weidl wrote a memo thanking for the approval and engagement as they move into the topic of the Starin Park Water Tower. In the recent election 2,209 people voted that the water tower should be kept standing and renovated so the legacy of the tower can be carried on within the town for future generations of Whitewater citizens to enjoy. However, 2,836 people opposed using taxpayer money to restore and renovate the water tower.
There has been much debate throughout the city on whether or not the city should use taxpayer money to keep the water tower up, considering it is one of the city’s oldest landmarks and holds so much history. On the other hand, some people seem to want to take it down, or at the very least not see tax dollars go toward it, considering it may be the cheaper option for taxpayers that live in the City of Whitewater. There is much flexibility with this specific decision due to the fact that the water tower is not deteriorating at a fast rate to the point where immediate action is needed to keep it up. There have been plans created to try to preserve the water tower by implementing fundraising strategies and other optional developments. The water tower is a beloved historical landmark that many generations of Whitewater citizens have come to know for over a century. There is a great amount of historical and sentimental value that this water tower holds within the community and it could potentially stay alive and well with the help of a great amount of resources to preserve it.
