How to Jumpstart a Dying City

***Those with weak constitutions when dealing with reality are advised not to continue reading***

Menasha is slowly slipping into a comatose state that is testing the will and drive of not only the residents, but local businesses.  Even though the search for a light at the end of the tunnel seems to be cloaked at the moment, all is not lost.  In fact, our great city has some opportunities to turn the blighted economic status into a vibrant city once again.  In order to accomplish this everyone must hold on tight and be willing to look at reality for a moment without diving off the deep end into a pool of negativity and accusations.

Menasha has much to offer, but there are items we do not have on our checklist that surrounding cities do.  In order to grow Menasha, we need to overcome the deficiencies by properly utilizing our strengths…we need to stop attempting to grow outward and start concentrating on growing inward.  Many may scoff in disbelief that such a concept would actually grow a city, some consider it more comical to suggest this can be accomplished without much of the taxpayers money.  The first step in rehab is to admit the faults and focus on them like lasers, which is one way to get many people to wiggle uncomfortably in their seats.  The taboo of mentioning reality must be eliminated if anyone is truly interested in curbing the decline that has overcome our city over the past decade.

Business loss - Unfortunately Menasha has seen an exodus of businesses over recent times with little interest in larger employers knocking on our door.  Some departing has been delivered by plant closings while other are closely related to the lack of a customer base draw to the city.

Less traffic – Traffic flow has subsided primarily in and around our downtown.  Less traffic flow equates to fewer customers which in turn leads to our downtown as a less desirable location compared to other communities.

Taxes – Government function is a necessity to any city, and Menasha is burdened with unique obligations that unfortunately lay at the feet of the taxpayers.  The more businesses our city attracts will result in faster relief of the heavy tax levy…if our departments can keep a firm grip on cost control and spending.

Lodging – Menasha is at a slight disadvantage to surrounding areas and that is partly due to the massive void of lodging.  Having overnight accommodations (hotels or campgrounds) is vital to many aspects of growth.  Lodging facilities supply a revolving-door-supply of fresh potential customers to a community. 

Conventions – The lack of convention facilities permanently places Menasha at a disadvantage to attract economic boosting gatherings. 

Location – Menasha is located between two larger communities that have direct access to Hwy 41 traffic flows.  Through shear placement of our city limits to higher traffic, we have resources that are currently underutilized…we need to unlock the potential we have.

Regulations – This may be the most important drawback Menasha has when attempting to breath life back into our city.  Over regulating and excessive fee structures are not only a deterrent for new business enticement, but also to established business advancement and growth.  Deregulation is essential to obtain the needed growth within our boarders.

The above list may appear to be some large hurdles to overcome, but the reality is by addressing one out of the seven (Regulations) would provide the foundation for the rest to turn over a new leaf.  By removing useless obstacles (and demanded hoop jumping) Menasha can trigger a chain reaction for growth…if only the senseless fear and craving for ultimate control can be overcome.  In order to visualize a chain reaction to growth the overall concept must be dissected one step at a time.

1)      Menasha needs to start turning coarse and make an investment in its own promotion...and that includes special events.  The council needs to form a commission whose sole directive is to promote the city and establish (and run) a couple of large special events during the calendar year.  With the commission being an extension of the city, all permit fees, park rental fees and all other associated fees would be negated, allowing the event to easily produce a profit which would supply the commission the needed revenue to actively promote Menasha.  These funds would need to be securely locked away from political fingers to avoid a raping of the account.  In 2004 Houston, MN (population under 1000) began to celebrate the birthday of an owl that resides in the city’s nature center.  A simple birthday party has turned into the largest owl festival in the world and people from England fly in for this weekend event that nets over $13,000 for the tiny community.  The most unique aspect of the concept is the start-up cost…a considerable sized event can be formed with as little as $500 and generate as much as $10,000 on its first year.

2)      Cutting or eliminating all fees associated with special events for a period of five years would spur interest in new, independent events to take a gander at Menasha.  With little to no overhead that allows an event to become established means newer festivals have the opportunity to firm up their customer base and allow substantial growth.  Certain requirements such as garbage detail and security would need to be accounted for by the event organizer…and held to.

3)      The special events help to establish a consistent, ever growing customer base.  Businesses do not want to locate to an area to assist in trying to attract customers…they are more apt to move into an area that currently can supply them with a customer base.  Drawing crowds into our city with events is one of the few options Menasha is already poised to handle without having a major shakedown of the taxpayer’s pocketbook.

4)      If done correctly, the consistent movement of “tourists” in and out of our city will be the muse that allures lodging facilities to consider erecting a building or two allowing the transient customer base close and easy access to overnight accommodations.  Combining the effort of special events with the promotion of Menasha’s natural and splendorous waterways would garner the eyes of many.  Menasha needs to constantly place itself two steps ahead of other communities instead of viewing the hindquarter of or neighbor’s activities and eventually attempting to mimic them.

5)      Traffic would increase with potential customers, businesses would locate to Menasha to take advantage of the larger “tourist” customer base and in turn would be generating more tax dollars, relieving Menasha’s already stressed families.  Eventually location would become irrelevant as Menasha grows into an epicenter of activity for the Fox Valley and hopefully Wisconsin.

Can the above be accomplished?  Yes, as long as the correct individuals are seated on the council and they are not afraid to start a project with a $500 start up cost.

Will there be critics?  Yes, people who have been programmed to believe that great success stories are only accomplished with massive taxpayer dollars will always ridicule concepts and ideas they cannot comprehend or makes them feel inferior.  Unfortunately Menasha cannot afford the time needed to reassure wavering egos.  This past council meeting has shown that the current direction is hitting home to many individuals in a negative way and there is apprehension to what lays around the corner.  We need a positive vision for the residents to look at without wondering when city hall will strike at the pocketbook again.  We can rebuild Menasha in a relatively short time compared to the epoch it took to disintegrate.     

Neenah/Menasha Sewerage Commission Building Project...Steam Plant 2?

With such an important issue at hand, a one hour workshop before a scheduled council meeting seems to bind the hands of discussion to a determined timetable when a subject such as the Neenah/Menasha Sewerage Commission Building Project is at the table.  Full disclosure and discussion are trumped by a stopwatch and many questions have been left to float in an abyss until a later date.  Mayor Merkes was able to quantify some of the issues that disturb many of the council members and I do not want to cart off with his very valid points and comments, the following are a few brief uncertainties and matters of concern, out of many, that I feel need to be included in the discussion.

A) Sonoco uses a service that is provided by the Neenah/Menasha Sewerage Commission and as with any other utility service any customer would expect the billing to include a set amount for expected repairs, upgrades and replacements.  It would be of concern if any customer that pays for a service to be approached by the provider requesting a sizable “donation” to the retrofitting of their facility because there was an absence of a pro-active mechanism to deal with a known and pending life expectancy of the equipment and machines used to provide the service.

B) As with all technology, when a device or production capabilities from the mid 1980’s is replaced or compared with modern technology from 2011 there should be an expected (and drastic) increase in productivity and a decrease in expenditures to operate the equipment resulting in a savings.  With a 2 ½ decade difference in equipment there is a reasonable assumption that the equipment to be installed will require less manpower to operate than the replaced antiquated equipment.  Areas yet to be discussed include how the new equipment will provide a positive efficiency in man hours to the overall operation of the system.  There needs to be concern, if after the upgrade, the same numbers of employees are required to work relatively the same amount of hours as the old system.  This revamping of the treatment plant should bring about great efficiency, requiring less man hours to operate allowing for a greater cost savings. 

C) Was there, or is there, a government regulation that prevented the NMSC from implementing a pro-active means of dealing with known factors such as complete equipment life expectancy?  If the NMSC was prevented from taking a pro-active posture by government regulations then a late response to an impending situation is a bit more understandable.  However, if no such obstacle stood in the way of developing a well thought out plan for such a large known depletion of mechanical life, then a scrutinizing eye must be focused on the reason for the lack of insight or planning.  On average, if the equivalent buying power of the U.S. dollar every year was used, and an equivalent of $4 today was added for every month on each NMSC utility bill starting in the mid 1980’s ($1.90 in 1987 = $4 in 2011) and placed in a separate trust account drawing 1% to 2% interest, the need for any loan for this project would not exist.  If this was an overlooked viable option in the past, is there a pro-active program being constructed for the subsequent 25 year equipment end-of-life replacement in 2037?

The committee’s soothing words about the project and its components has not quelled my overall apprehension with the course this issue has been taking.  I thank Mayor Merkes for the trepidation he displayed during the workshop and I fully share in the unease.  Our own steam plant is not the only regrettable mishap that has occurred in the Fox Valley when it comes to municipalities revamping a complete structure or service, a recent water treatment plant in a neighboring community went afoul costing those taxpayers more than they bargained for.  The Neenah/Menasha Sewerage Commission is basically asking the City of Menasha, and all other involved parties, to take out loans for their use, which the taxpayers will be ultimately liable for if the utility cannot make the loan payments.  There are no guarantees that the commission will keep wages and the number of employed personnel reasonable…there is no guarantee that operating expenditures will be kept at a minimum.  The only guarantees that seem to exist include change orders that will add extra expense to the final cost of the project, and when something goes amiss the taxpayers of the participating communities will be paying the bill. 

All municipalities were assured in the not too distant past that every component of the project was scoured over and all needed replacements were addressed.  Thirteen months later the municipalities are informed that new components are now targeted for upgrades even though one year earlier they were not singled out as needing replacement.  Tonight the City of Menasha was again assured that all troubled components have been identified and no others are in need of upgrades…I will stress the word AGAIN. 

It boils down to two options:

1)      Menasha uses the Clean Water Fund to obtain its share of the project cost at a 3% interest rate and allowing your utility bill to rise to an appropriate amount to cover the loan payments…but signs the Menasha taxpayer on the dotted line for ultimate responsibility for a direct loan.

2)      Menasha allows the Sewerage Commission to pursue its own financing for the project on the bond market at a 4.5%+ interest rate and allowing the utility bill rise even higher to cover the loan payments…but excludes the Menasha taxpayer from ultimate responsibility on a direct loan.

If ever there was a subject to contact your Alderman to voice your opinion it would be the Menasha Sewerage Commission Building Project.