Some Commonsense From A Waukesha Blogger

Jim Bouman, Waukesha resident and blogger, has posted items worth viewing and reading.

After a discourse about real estate values, development and taxes, Bouman comes to this conclusion:

"We have enough water for now, and enough for a conservative future. We do need to conserve it. It's the CONSERVATIVE thing to do. We might do well to recognize that continued uncontrolled growth of the city through annexation will produce a situation in which we do not have sufficient water from our only available source--deep wells and shallow wells.

Cutting back on development and annexation is the sensible choice. Pursuing an incredibly expensive and decidedly iffy path like trying to get expensive Lake Michigan water pumped to Waukesha (and then back to the lake) is not the choice of the homeowner who is concerned that the taxes are too high in Waukesha."

Of course, this is not the mainstream Chamber of Commerce and bankers' roundtable position out Waukesha way, but note that the Waukesha City Council and Plan Commission have held their ground in precedent-setting opposition to a 300+ acre annexation that was ostensibly to get access to more shallow well water.

Critics said it would be a costly extension of city services too far beyond the city's current borders and would remove land and water from the Vernon Marsh Wildlife Area.

So Bouman's down-to-earth conservatism in the name of conservation may be gaining acceptance in Waukesha, where sprawl is pushing west to the Jefferson County line