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Holiday Party and Tree Lighting set for Nov. 30
The annual Holiday Party and Tree Lighting Ceremony is set for Sunday, November 30, 4-6 p.m. at the Wind Point Lighthouse. Celebrate the holiday season and sing carols as the lighthouse tree is lit. There will be refreshments for all and a visit from Santa himself! Please RSVP by Friday, November 28 at [email protected] or call 262.664.3209. |
The Children's Halloween Party was held at the lighthouse on October 26. Kids had fun wearing costumes, playing games and enjoying treats! |
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Yard Waste and Branch Collection Dates
 Yard waste collection continues every Monday through November 24. Each yard waste bag needs a yard waste sticker; stickers can be obtained at the Village office ($1 each) or ordered online (5 for $6). The final branch collection date of the year is Tuesday, November 11. Piles should not exceed 4 feet in height and 4 feet in width. Branches that exceed 8 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter will not be collected.
Burning Yard Waste
The Village encourages residents to take advantage of the weekly yard waste collection program to dispose of leaves and other waste as opposed to burning. The Village does permit open fires to burn clean, dry, combustible refuse on one or two family residential properties. The fires must be at least ten (10) feet from the property line and may not burn wet, combustible rubbish, garbage, oily substances, asphalt, plastic, rubber products or any other material which creates dense smoke or causes a nuisance. There shall be no burning of grass, leaves, brush or other materials in the drainage ditches. Fires are permitted only between the hours of noon and 7 p.m., but please be considerate of your neighbors.
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Home Safety Tips While Away
The Wind Point Police Department provides the following tips on home safety while you are out of town for the holidays:
- Valuable items, such as televisions, stereos and computers should be inscribed with an identifying number unique to its owner (do not use your entire social security number).
- Create an up-to-date home inventory including make, model, serial numbers, other detailed descriptions, and photographs of items of value (including jewelry). This inventory should be kept somewhere safe, out of the house.
- At least two light timers should be set to turn the lights and television on and off in a logical sequence when away for an extended time period to give the appearance that someone is home.
- The motion detector or other alarm system (if you have one) should be activated when you leave home.
- Mail and newspaper deliveries should be stopped or arrangements for a neighbor or friend to pick them up should be made when you are away from home for a period of time.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to tend the yard, shovel the snow, and watch your home when you are away or have a trusted friend or relative house sit in your absence.
- Make sure all doors and windows are locked when you leave, even if you have an alarm system.
- Contact the Police Department (639.3022) to request extra patrols of your residence while you are out of town.
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License Plate Expirations
Wind Point Police Department would like to remind residents that automobile license plates expire one full year (365 days) from the first date of operation. The actual expiration date may be any day of the month and is not necessarily the last day of the month. If the license plate is not renewed by the actual expiration date, the vehicle may not be legally operated on Wisconsin roads. For more information on license plate renewal with the DMV, click here.
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Friends of the Wind Point Lighthouse Introduce Web Store
The Friends of the Wind Point Lighthouse now have an online store within the Wind Point Lighthouse web site (windpointlighthouse.com) featuring some of the popular items from the Fog Horn Museum Store. Just in time for the holidays, the online store is now live, and you can purchase items that would not normally be available until next May when the Fog Horn Museum store reopens. Thanks to Jim Charnon, Friends Board member, and Image Management for making this happen.
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Information Still Needed for Village Resident Directory
The Community Club will have a special table at the election on Tuesday for final additions or changes to the new Village resident directory, which will be going to press shortly. Also, the deadline to purchase an ad promoting your business in the directory is Thursday, November 6. E-mail [email protected] with ad inquiries or to update your contact information.
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Proposed 2015 Village Budget
The Village Board Committee of the Whole met on October 23 and recommended approval of the 2015 Village budget. The proposed budget is the result of hard work by staff and Village trustees, who reviewed the budget over the course of three workshops. The budget reflects the Village's ongoing mission to provide high-quality municipal services at the most cost-effective and efficient manner.
Following are highlights from the proposed budget:
- Village tax levy increase of 0.2%. Property owners would expect an increase of $1.00 per $100,000 of assessed value for the Village portion of the tax bill;
- The Village expects to receive the same amount of State shared revenue and recycling grant revenue, but a 10% decrease in transportation aid;
- Planned capital expenditures of $86,646 for equipment replacements, $60,000 for road construction, $12,500 for lighthouse improvements and $8,000 for general facilities;
- 3% increase for contracted Fire/EMS services from Racine Fire Department;
- Continued commitment to road maintenance activities to delay costly reconstruction, including $55,000 for slag sealing, $10,000 for crack-filling and $7,500 for patching;
- $12,000 budgeted for legal analysis and recodification of the Village Code;
- $10,000 budgeted for Village Green planning.
A public hearing for the budget will be held at the beginning of the Village Board meeting on November 13. The budget will be considered for adoption that evening. To view the full draft 2015 budget, click here. Please note that the utilities budget will be reviewed in December and incorporated into a final budget document in January.
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Village Board Highlights
The Village Board held a regular meeting on Thursday, October 9. The Board...
- Heard an update about public works-related budget requests for 2015, including road work on a portion of Lamplighter Lane and replacing the Ford F-150 truck an F-350 with dump, box and spreader.
- Heard an update that the Architectural Review Board will meet on November 5 to discuss its architectural review guidelines document.
- Heard an update on the 2015 budget process.
- Authorized the purchase of a new squad car for delivery and payment in 2015.
- Heard an update about new plantings at the lighthouse and the Village Green Park planning RFP.
- Heard an update that staff filed the urban forestry grant application for the amount of $6,313.
- Discussed next steps for staff and village attorney to prepare an agreement document for the use of the lighthouse grounds.
- Heard an update on the property at 4945 Main St. (Schulz).
- Approved a quote from Golden Construction in the amount of $2,695 for concrete work at the Village Office.
The Village Board will meet for the budget public hearing and regular meeting on Thursday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Village Hall (Lighthouse).
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Fall Tree Care
If you have newly-planted trees in your landscape, there are a couple things you can do this fall to help them get through the first and second winter unharmed.
First, wrap the trunk to reduce sun scald and frost cracking. Use burlap or paper wrap and secure it with tape. Keep it on until buds break in spring.
Second, make sure the base of the tree is well-mulched. This helps keep the tree from coming out of dormancy too soon in spring and may also help retain soil moisture. Fall can also be a time to prune trees. With most trees, winter is the best time. But a few tree species bleed moisture. Some tree species bleed sap in spring time from pruning cuts made in winter or early spring. The most common examples are birch, walnut and some maples such as the summer maple. Though the bleeding is not actually harmful to the tree, it is unsightly. Pruning in fall reduces or eliminates spring bleeding.
For more information, click here.
Source: Better Homes and Gardens
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