A Lesson For Caledonia (Camping World, con't)

I know that some people are unhappy when I talk about Caledonia's recent "black eye" known as Camping World, but it is an important issue.

Had I been a Board Member at that time, I would have made a special effort to attend meetings dealing with the proposal to try and welcome them to our community. I would have asked our Board to reexamine the policies in place that lead some on our Planning Commission to give Camping World the impression they were not welcome; and I would have made an extra effort to work out any differences we may have had with Camping World's building design.

Had I been a Board Member at that time, I would not have wasted my time trying to impose Caledonia's standards on Raymond, making it more difficult for Camping World to develop there; rather, I would have tried everything within my power to get Camping World to give Caledonia a second look (to my knowledge that didn't happen).

Unfortunately, the Camping World proposal came and went so quickly, it never even made it to the Village Board, but as a Village Trustee, when you have a $50,000,000 a year business looking to bring taxbase to your community, you can't afford to sit on the sidelines and wait for a proposal to come to you - you need to be proactive to find out what it will take to bring that business here. If I am elected Village Trustee, I will do everything within my power to try to prevent this type of mistake from happening again.

I know that we cannot go back in time, but we can learn from our mistakes. Camping World should be a very important lesson... a lesson that we will need to carry with us as Caledonia moves into the future.

Question #1: "What kind of development do you want in Caledonia?"

Answer:

I would like to see responsible commercial development happen here in Caledonia to help keep the taxes of the residents low.

When I say "responsible" development, I'm referring to development that reflects the values of the community and makes sense for Caledonia.

Camping World is a great example of a responsible development that Caledonia could have had, but doesn't.

Caledonia currently has two campgrounds: Cliffside Park, and Jellystone. It makes sense that Caledonia would have a Camping World here.

Camping World would have been located in our I-94 corridor, beckoning campers passing through to stop here in Caledonia.

Hostility not hospitality caused Camping World to leave Caledonia and take its $50,000,000 a year business with it. What a loss for Caledonia; not only financially, but it also reaffirmed Caledonia's reputation as a community not open to development (making it harder for businesses to want to come here). That is a shame.

The following posts will address questions and issues that I've been asked about during this campaign.

My name is Kathy Burton

My name is Kathy Burton and I would be be honored if you would consider me for Trustee #2 on Tuesday, April 1st.

I have grown up in Caledonia and am now raising my children here as well. Caledonia to me means family, friends, and community. It is the place that I call "Home".

As much as I love Caledonia, it is not without its challenges. This year staff positions had to be cut to maintain our budget. If we do not aggressively pursue commercial development to help ease the burden on the taxpayers, I fear that we may be facing not only cuts in staff, but services as well; or an increase in our taxes to maintain the services that we do have. It's time to be proactive before we are forced to be reactive.

I firmly believe Caledonia should be an affordable community in which to raise a family! As a fiscal conservative, I will never raise taxes simply for the sake of raising taxes, but will work to keep taxes low. To achieve that end, my focus will be an aggressive campaign to attract responsible commercial development as designated in the Land Use Plan which will not only add to the taxbase, but provide jobs. It is also essential that sewer and water services are extended to the I-94 corridor - sooner, rather than later.

I will work diligently to communicate and connect with the community. Since most of our Park and Recreation programs are financially self-sustaining, I would like to see us enhance and expand those programs to serve as an avenue to community involvement.

I will work very hard to do my homework so that I can bring a fair, balanced, common sense approach to make the best decisions that benefit ALL Caledonians.

I am very excited at the prospect of serving the Village and working hard for its residents to make Caledonia a great place to LIVE, WORK and PLAY!

In closing, I would like to let you know that I will be expanding on these ideas in a series of posts yet to come, so check back often and feel free to leave comments or questions. In the meantime, I would like to say, "Thank You" to all readers and I'm asking you for your vote on Tuesday, April 1st.