Lake Hallie
(WQOW) - Another
meeting, more talk, but no resolution yet on a big project in Lake Hallie. Voters gave their support to a new public
safety building a few months ago.
Since then, there's been a lot of
discussion about how to get it done. Wednesday, a work session was held on the $4.5
million project.
They did agree to one thing, keeping
the old building as storage for now, but they will revisit that issue later.
The village board came up with a
long list of questions it wants answered. The biggest issue seems to be cost,
and whether the project can be done for less than $4.5 million. That debate has sparked a new candidate for
village president. Wayne Walkoviak has
been on the board for ten years. Now, he's decided to run for president in April's
election against current president John Neihart.
"I have to respect
the referendum. I have to respect the village residents spending this amount of
money. But we have to do it in an orderly cost-effective fashion. So if we
could build this building for, say $3 million, wouldn't everybody be happy," asks Wayne Walkoviak.
"He's indicated
that I'm not giving direction to the board. I believe I have given direction,
but as president, as a trustee, I only have one vote," says John Neihart.
At Wednesday night's meeting, it
seems many are fed up with how long this process is taking, considering the
village went through a similar process six years ago.
"Can you assure us
as residents of the village
of Lake Hallie that after
six years, four meetings is going to get us someplace," asked one resident.
No formal decisions were made at Wednesday
night's meeting. There are still two more work sessions scheduled regarding the
public safety building. They will be held the next two Wednesday nights.
