When the cat’s away, the mice will play. With council president Mary Jo Fesenmyer off gallivanting on some holiday, three enterprising alderpersons decided it was the perfect moment to dive headfirst into the perk trough. At the Lake Geneva city council meeting on June 10, 2024, the hot topic of free, unlimited parking ignited the room like a match to gasoline.
Alderperson Aimes, with a gleam in her eye, proposed free parking placards for official city business. Cindy Yager, ever the accomplice, seconded the motion.
“This is a terrible precedent,” Peg Esposito declared, her voice cutting through the air. “Suddenly giving ourselves a little perk in parking? I’m against this motion.”
Sherri Aimes fired back, “Well, alderman Yager and I do a lot of ribbon cuttings downtown. This is my district, and I don’t believe we should have to use our free three hours for this.”
“All city residents get three hours of free parking downtown per day,” someone muttered from the back.
Alderman Linda Frame chimed in, “My friend, I agree. There are other things besides ribbon cuttings. I’ve had several meetings with downtown owners, and it doesn’t always last an hour or two. These parking passes won’t hurt anybody. It’s not a perk, it’s part of our job.”
Alderman Joel Hoiland countered, “I oppose it. We are paid, not a lot, but we’re paid. There’s ample free parking at City Hall near downtown. We can park here and walk. I walked here tonight. It’s not good optics for the City Council to grant themselves carte blanche parking.”
Aimes, not missing a beat, retorted, “It’s part of our job. People like seeing us. Business owners have told me it’s the first time they’ve seen an alderman visit.”
Cindy Yager added, “This would be beneficial for several of us on the Council for all the events we attend. No one told me it would look bad.”
Linda Frame nodded, saying she spoke to her neighbors, and no one objected to the free parking passes.
Joel Hoiland expressed concern about how this would look in the local paper, stressing that it’s a small community where people can walk.
Sherri Straube weighed in, “Every time we discuss parking, workers from restaurants and stores tell us how difficult it is. I think it would set a bad precedent for us as city employees to have free parking.”
The council voted on the motion to provide free parking for themselves. Sherri Aimes, Cindy Yager, and Linda Frame voted for it, while Peg Esposito, Ken Howell, Shari Straube, and Joel Hoiland voted against. The motion failed 4 to 3.
After losing the vote, Frame objected, “With all due respect to Mr. Howell, he doesn’t drive. You can’t count his vote. But you can’t count Mr. Howe. He doesn’t drive.”
Mayor Todd Krause, finally fed up with her whining, snapped, “He’s an Alderman. He’s here as an,“
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