Elkhart Lake plans another fire station open house
by Emmitt B. Feldner of the Review staff
ELKHART LAKE — For those who didn’t get a chance to see it the first time, the village is holding a second open house for the new fire station.
The open house will take place Sunday, Aug. 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the joint village of Elkhart Lake/town of Rhine fire station on South Lincoln Street.
“This will be an opportunity for the people who didn’t get a chance to see the firehouse the first time to see it,” Village President Alan Rudnick told the Village Board at their meeting Monday.
“The firemen will hang a plaque and do a short dedication,” Rudnick added.
Joint Fire Station Committee member Steve Kapellen reported that the contractor is finishing up the last of the ‘punch list’ post-production items at the firehouse.
Rudnick said the hope is that the landscaping for the firehouse will be completed in time for the open house, including the planting of three memorial trees.
The board passed a resolution listing sidewalks in the village that are in need of repair.
“We will be notifying people who have sidewalk that needs replacement or mudjacking to give them the opportunity to do that,” Public Works Committee chair Tom Nelson told the board.
“They’ll have to get back to us in about two weeks whether they’re going to do it themselves or are participating in our program,” to repair sidewalks, Village Clerk/Treasurer Jeanette Moioffer explained. Those who do not repair their sidewalks themselves will be billed by the village when it does the work, she added.
Rudnick said the cost is estimated to be about $30 a square for sidewalk repair.
The board agreed to review the village’s sign ordinance in regards to banners that are hung across streets in the village.
Trustee Yvonne Landgraf noted that the current rules allow the banners to be left up for up to 30 days. “I thought that was a little long,” she told her fellow board members.
She also said that banners for tourism or chamber events should take precedence over any other banners and that the Village Board should approve all banners before they’re hung.
“There’s so many organizations and charities involved, where do you draw the line,” she asked.
“Do banners just hang willy-nilly? Do we just let anybody hang a banner,” Trustee Rola Ann Klahn asked.
The board granted permission for the Chamber of Commerce to hang signs from the street light poles downtown from Sept. 14-27 for the SCCA runoffs at Road America.
Lynn Shovan, representing the chamber, explained that the signs, red with black-and-white checks reading “Elkhart Lake welcomes race fans,” were first used in the village for Road America’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2005.
