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Wega council sends message

Chamber’s parade permit denied

By Angie Landsverk


Some Weyauwega Common Council members are making it known how they feel about late requests for parade permits.

They are tired of them.
“The permit was not turned in on time,” Ald. Nick Gunderson said of the Weyauwega Area Chamber of Commerce’s application to receive a permit for its Dec. 3 Christmas Parade.

He said the organization turned the application in two days before the event was to occur.

The common council typically meets on the third Monday of each month.

The chamber’s application for the parade permit was thus turned in after the council’s Nov. 21 meeting.

As a result, consideration of the chamber’s application for a parade permit and its request for a waiving of the permit fee was before the council when it met on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

That was about 3 1/2 weeks after the parade took place.

The common council voted 3-2 to deny the parade permit application.

Gunderson, Shani Appleby and Rich Luedke voted to deny it, while Keith Najdowski and Bruce Goetsch voted not to. Johanna Edwards was absent.

Gunderson made the motion to deny the parade permit, citing the lateness of the application.

Appleby agreed with his sentiment and seconded the motion.

“Obviously, denying it is not going to stop a parade that already happened,” Gunderson said of the Dec. 3 parade, which he described as being “illegal.”

Gunderson said it was not the first time an organization turned a parade permit application in late.

During the last four years, there has been a history of people doing things and asking for permission after the fact, he said.

Those who want to hold parades should turn in the paperwork in advance, Gunderson said.

Najdowski said he did not know who would benefit from voting to deny the chamber’s parade permit application.

Perhaps there should be different fees when something is not done correctly, he said.

Gunderson said the city has ordinances.

Appleby said getting things done correctly is a matter of common sense.

While the parade already happened, “at least we’re on record that we were not happy about the way it was done,” she said.

In another matter related to the Christmas season, Mayor Jack Spierings said some community members wondered why the city did not do more decorating this year for the holiday.

He made the comment as part of his monthly report.

City Administrator Patrick Wetzel said it cost about $1,400 each year to purchase garland.

If the garland was not taken down fast enough after the season, it turned brown.

That also resulted in comments from residents, he said.

The city did not order garland the past two winters, Wetzel said.

The one-time cost of the seasonal banners currently hanging throughout downtown was $700, he said.

Wetzel said some businesses and the chamber did place strings of lights downtown.

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