A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News July 13, 2005 - CIty needs more than 'no' to every idea Editorial, Daily Tribune In a recent Capital One advertising campaign, actor David Spade plays a sarcastic telephone operator for a competing credit card company. His response to every customer request is the same: No. The concept is funny in a TV ad, but it's not so humorous when the same response plays out over and over again to every progressive idea that pops up in Wisconsin Rapids. Should we consider developing a condominium complex along the Wisconsin River downtown to create an attractive living center and spur more development? No! How about a nice aquatic center to give the community's young people and families an affordable and safe place to spend time together? Nein! Would it be worth the effort to try to improve traffic flow on Grand Avenue in the downtown area by replacing the green-yellow-red lights with four-way stop signals, just for a few weeks? Nunca! We've editorialized on each of these subjects recently, and in each case we have stopped short of endorsing the ideas. At some point soon, after a fuller examination of each proposal, our editorial board will draw final conclusions. But in all three cases, we have encouraged readers to have open minds. And after all three proposals became publicized, the naysayers emerged. The common refrain: This community needs jobs, not frills. We need jobs and businesses, not condos. We need jobs and businesses, not a new pool. We need jobs and businesses, not flashing red lights. It is true that Wisconsin Rapids needs more well-paying jobs, and the objectors have their hearts in the right place. Without economic stimulation, the community faces the prospect of retreating in population, prominence and progress. No one seems to want that. But on one side are people who stick their necks out carefully to develop and propose a variety of strategies to make the community more attractive for current and prospective residents, and on the other side are people who complain about all those proposals but offer no specific, reasonable alternatives. Maybe we don't need condos or an aquatic center or slower traffic downtown, but then how exactly do we draw in businesses that are looking for an attractive community? How do we show investors and developers that if they build in Wisconsin Rapids, their tenants and employees will want to move here? There is no magic solution guaranteed to work - or if there is, no one has found it. But there is a sure-fire way to send the wrong message to prospective job developers: Just keep saying no to every proposal for change, without offering other ideas for debate and discussion. Participants in the Community Progress Initiative essentially are trying to find ways to make Wisconsin Rapids a place that is open and welcoming to new ideas - and by extension, new businesses and jobs. Many, many residents here have accepted that challenge and have worked hard to follow the initiative's theme: "Make it happen." For all others, the challenge is not to approve of everything that comes out of City Hall or out of a Community Progress Initiative committee meeting. It's simply to give those ideas a fair shake, and if you don't like them, offer something more useful than "No."
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