Letter to the editor: Kronenwetter is ignoring citizens over dangerous railroad blocking

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About a year ago, people came around to the homes WEST of the CNN rail line, discussing the need for Village intervention with CNN rail line trains blocking our roads. Emergency services has had trouble getting to our properties when the train is stopped or blocking our roads. Further, residents west of the tracks are often ‘stuck’ and unable to get out when the train blocks our roads. There are over 1000 citizens west of the tracks facing this issue. Since then, I have attended many committee meetings and board meetings and presented evidence that we had a serious issue:

Here is a quick synopsis:
-Our Fire chief says we don’t need relief as they will do whatever it takes to get to us.
-Our Fire Chief says they will use the pedestrian path to get to us. The Board said they passed a resolution authorizing emergency services to use the path….But only emergency services. -We residents cannot use the path….we will be ticketed.
-The ambulance will fit down the path, but the ladder truck cannot go down the path. Any of us with a two-story home, home set back a distance, or having a metal roof, will not have adequate fire service.
-We discussed personal emergencies, such as a woman in labor, or an injury that does not require an ambulance. I stressed that the residents NEED to have a way IN AND OUT of their properties. Not JUST emergency vehicles.
-They said that WPS put in a loop – therefore it is not an issue. They said that WPS is moving to natural gas in about seven years, so it is not an issue. They said that the train engineer is supposed to call the WPS gate before arriving so this would never happen. But it still does!!
-In February of 2024, the Village Board directed Leonard Ludi, the Public Works Director at the time, to create an official Request for Proposal (RFP), to hire a firm to analyze the issue and find all the possible solutions. Then Leonard Ludi, now administrator, said that there was no money for the study. (Previous administrator Manley put money in the budget, but others removed it, leaving no funds in 2024 budget for such a study).
-The Village Board then directed the APC committee to find the funds. Trustee Coyle said ‘there are no funds’.
-Peter Kampfer, our next administrator, was fully on board with the necessity of the project, but, an unresponsive village president and obnoxious fire chief, caused him to resign. I was then told we had to wait until the 2025 budget was addressed and get funds set aside for a study.
-On Wed, 9/4/2024, CLIPP began discussions of the 2025 budget. Members of the committee voted 5 to 1 to NOT PROCEED with the funding. This was after a lengthy discussion of their personal opinions that we did not need resolution: The committee expressed that this is a DEAD ISSUE. NO ONE IS GOING TO ACT!!! They feel that that the 200 people who signed the petition have nothing to complain about. They stated, it’s been this way for fifty years, so the residents can live with it for another fifty years. Theresa O’Brien, Fire Chief, has even stated that the stories I relayed from each of you were NOT TRUE.

We have 3 choices: 1) give up and let them dismiss our concerns, 2) bombard the members with emails and phone calls to express our displeasure and 3) vote these people out of office.

Here is a list of elected and appointed people that have been dismissive of our concerns:
Ryan Leff, citizen member of CLIPP (715) 323-5118, ryan.l4435@yahoo.com

• Aaron Myszka, trustee and member of CLIPP (715) 370-7456, amyszka@kronenwetter.org

• Pat Kilsdonk, citizen member on CLIPP (715) 298-2520, patkilsdonk@msn.com

• Trent Karch, citizen member on CLIPP (715) 347-4454, karch.trenton@gmail.com

• Kelly Coyle, trustee and member of APC (715) 498-6024, kellycoyle@kronenwetter.org

• Jordyn Wadle- Leff, citizen member on APC (719) 466-1138, wadlejordyn@yahoo.com

• Theresa O’Brien, fire chief, (715) 571-0173, firechief@kronenwetter.org
  
  Please help me in expressing my anger over the lack of respect for the public and for our concerns. More importantly, please keep these people in mind when choosing whom to vote for in the upcoming spring election for trustees and appointed individuals. The citizen members are appointed by the Village President, Chris Voll, ( 715) 359-1931, cvoll@kronenwetter.org.
  
  Please contact me if you have questions, concerns or helpful suggestions about this specific project. (715) 432-7855.

  
  Faye Buchberger, Kronenwetter

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