Lake Geneva, Wis. — September 10, 2025
The following Takeaways by chatgpt AI
“They know it exists. But it doesn’t exist. And that’s government logic now.”
— A council member, after being handed an appraisal no one is allowed to acknowledge
OLD GUARDS, CRACKED MASKS
The good ol’ boys of Lake Geneva have run this town like their personal poker table for the better part of thirty years smirking, dealing, and quietly shuffling city assets like they’re passing cigars after Sunday brunch.
But lately, their grip is loosening.
Behind the lakefront smiles and backslapping brunches, the creak of ancient power structures is growing louder. The wolves are younger now — and they’ve started sniffing around the mayor’s office.
At the center of the current debacle? An undead golf course. A Christian nonprofit. And a mayor with a pen, an agenda, and no shame.
THE HILLMOOR HUSTLE
Hillmoor, the once-pristine golf course-turned-ghost property, was left for dead in the fallout of the 2008 financial collapse. The city bought it in 2022 — 200 acres of broken dreams, weeds, and speculation.
Then came Mayor Todd Krause, who slipped a little poison onto the July 14, 2025 City Council agenda: a motion to go into closed session to discuss “the potential sale of a portion of Hillmoor” to the Lake Geneva YMCA, under the veil of employment talk for the Parks Director.
The goal: bury the deal in bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. Say it fast, say it quiet, get the signatures. Boom sold.
But Council President Mary Jo Fesenmaier and others weren’t asleep.
They split the motion keeping the personnel talks private, but blocking the secret land discussions. No closed session. No cover story.
Just daylight.
THE PHANTOM APPRAISAL
“I mean they know it potentially exists, but it doesn’t exist.” City of Lake Geneva Administrator De Angelis on the secrete Appraisal.
Here’s where the wheels really come off.
Before the meeting, council members were handed a copy of an appraisal valuing the Hillmoor land the YMCA wanted.
But when a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed?
“No record exists,” the city said.
The appraisal was suddenly an urban legend everyone had seen it, but no one could confirm it existed. Why? Because it hadn’t been “discussed” in public. Because it was “for closed session only.” Because it had been passed around like contraband but never logged like evidence.
City Attorney Dan Draper conveniently absent from the July meeting.
You could call it bureaucracy.
You could call it gaslighting.
You could call it what it is: a lie.
THE BACKPEDAL BEGINS
September 8, 2025. Council Meeting
This time, Aldermen Hoiland and Smith came armed with an actual policy a rare thing in Lake Geneva designed to force all future land sales through a transparent, step-by-step process:
- Land must be declared surplus.
- Staff must confirm it’s not needed for city use.
- The land must receive a licensed commercial appraisal.
- The entire process must be voted on in open session.
The motion passed. Unanimously. Even the good ol’ boys had to fake nodding.
Then Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause tried to gut it.
He pushed a motion to approve the sale of four parcels on Sheridan Springs Road city-owned land adjacent to Hillmoor directly to good ol’ boy Tom Hartz, local restaurateur and organic food golden boy.
That motion failed 6-2.
The good ol’ boys took one right in the khakis.
ZONE 5: WHERE MATH GOES TO DIE
Then came the big one: Zone 5 — the chunk of Hillmoor the YMCA wants to chomp.
How big is it? Depends who you ask.
- The documents say 15 acres.
- Krause says that’s “incorrect.”
- Earlier, it was 50 acres. Then 30. Then 15.
- Now? “It can be whatever the council approves.”
Meanwhile, bond covenants tied to the city’s 2022 purchase of Hillmoor clearly state that no more than 9.5 acres can be sold without violating the tax exempt bond covenants.
Council President Fesenmaier flagged that law while Alderperson Stoodly, serving as the YMCA’s liaison, admitted she had “no idea where they stand” on the current ask.
So now, even the people closest to the deal can’t explain the deal.
A TALE OF TWO AGENDAS
Then came the final act in this clown opera.
The version of the meeting agenda printed and distributed to the council did not include any language about selling property. But the published online version the one that counts legally had that language added in.
By Mayor Krause. Quietly. Personally.
Attorney Draper confirmed that the posted version is official.
Krause admitted to editing it himself even removing language that referenced an appraisal.
You don’t need a tinfoil hat to know what that means.
“WE APPROVE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE POSSIBILITY…”
The final motion?
“Approve the possible future sale of property in Zone 5 for the purpose of a sale to a nonprofit organization.”
It passed.
So, what exactly was approved? A potential potential. A conceptual maybe. A procedural green light to explore the feasibility of possibly considering a hypothetical sale to an organization that may or may not know how much land it wants, and at what price.
And that’s how public land gets sliced up in Lake Geneva.
“We’ve seen this movie before,” said one resident. “But now the film is skipping, and you can see the projector behind the curtain.”
THE LAKE GENEVA TRICKLE-DOWN THEORY
This is not about a YMCA. This is not about parks or parcels or acreage math.
This is about power, and the way it rots from the inside slowly, bureaucratically, and always with a grin.
In Lake Geneva, the Trickle-Down Theory isn’t economic. It’s cultural.
When the mayor skips rules, the staff skips steps.
When the council looks the other way, the public gets shut out.
And when that rot becomes routine, the whole thing collapses in on itself like a dying lung.
But not quietly this time. Not anymore.
In this little Wisconsin town, the old guard’s grip is starting to slip, and you can almost hear the creaking as the good ol’ boys network loses a bit of its old swagger. It’s like watching a pack of aging wolves realize the younger, wilder pack is nipping at their heels, and the old power structures are looking a little more rattled by the day.
This summer while everyone was at the beach good ol’ boy Todd Krause tried to put a fast one for his fellow Christians who helped him get elected. See the Lake Geneva Family YMCA believe they are entitled a “deal” for a chunk of land the city purchased in 2022 which was a defunct golf course known locally as Hillmoor. this land as sat unloved and vacant as a victim of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-2009.
At the July 14, 2025 council meeting good ol’ boy Mayor Todd Krause put the following on the agenda:
Motion to go into Closed Session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(e) deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session regarding potential purchase price fora portion of the Hillmoor property and pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(c) for the purposes of considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility regarding the Parks Director position.
Before the council meeting all the members were sent a appraisal of the land at Hillmoor the YMCA wanted to buy and they wanted to do this in closed session quick quick. Council President Fesenmaier and her fellow councilpersons smelled a set up so they voted to split the question into two parts and divide after the words Hillmoor property. So, they did not go into closed sessions concerning selling the property which they are not required to do. They only have to go into closed sessions to offer employment to the new Parks Director position, which they did.
Now things start getting Kafkaesque concerning the “appraisal “the council members had in their position. Somehow, THEY convinced the council members the appraisal could not be shared with the public because it was intended to be used in close session. City Attorney Dan Draper was not at this meeting.
Your correspondent heard about this appraisal when it was supposedly done in the spring. Having watched the good ol’ boys ,GOBS, dining from the public trough for the last 30 years, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request or FOIA for any appraisal or opinion of value for any Hillmoor property and was told NO RECORD EXISTS. This is well documented.
Now the GOBS are starting to flail. The” Appraisal” is out there and they do not want the public to see it even though it is public record and subject to FOIA. Their plan was by the time the public would get their hands on it the sale would be a done deal.
Thus, the Lake Geneva City Council meeting began on 9.8.25. In the meantime, Aldermen Hoiland and Smith put together policy for potential City Owned land. The key word is policy as city attorney Draped pointed out, it is not a legal document. When the GOBS want to feed, rules, laws are flagrantly forgotten. The rot starts at the top; I call this the Lake Geneva Trickle- Down theory. If you want to really zoom up, look what’s happening at the Federal level.
The one mistake the aldermen made was allowing Todd Krause’s business administrator to edit – water down the documents.
As city of Lake Geneva business administrator De Angelis pointed out “let’s say that there’s a piece of property that that the city is approached by a third party. That wants to purchase that, and it is something that is in the best interest of the city. The city is very happy with it. If the zoning meets all the criteria, there wouldn’t necessarily be a requirement to go out and put it out to public request for proposal or bid.”
The policy passed unanimously.
Up to the public trough steps GOB Tom Hartz owner of Simple Food Group. His restaurant and bakery located downtown Lake Geneva is a very popular local establishment that serve excellent farm to table food. I only wish more establishments would serve as conscientious.
Tom Hartz wants to purchase from the city four parcels of city owned land located on Sheridan Springs Rd. The land is next to the Hillmoor property. The new city policy for land sales requires the land to be designated as “surplus”. Administrator De Angelis “there was, there were no particular uses that came forward from a city perspective for this visa property as it relates to police, fire, public works. Or other services that fell within our current parameters or within any of the current studies that have been brought?”
The next step in the new policy is for the staff to declare the property “surplus” and then report back to the Council. But GOB Todd Krause tried to short circuit the policy by getting the Council to “approve the item as written.”
Discussion/Action regarding the potential sale of city property located on Sheridan Springs Rd tax key parcels ZA467900001, ZA467900002, ZA468000001 & ZA468000002
That didn’t work out for the GOBS, it failed 6 to two.
Joel Hoiland “I would like to move that we instruct staff to conduct a surplus designation for this particular property and if there is a designation for surplus property that they move on to a valuation process, which would be. Commercial appraiser and then come back with the results of those findings.”
First Staff must make determination of property.
Second come back to Council for them to approve.
Third on with the appraisal.
Fourth back to Council to approve appraisal.
The next on the agenda was:
Discussion and possible action regarding possible future sale of property in Zone 5 of Hillmoor and determination of value for the purpose of sale to a non-profit organization Discussion and possible action regarding possible future sale of property in Zone 5 of Hillmoor and determination of value for the purpose of sale to a non-profit organization
Now the Todd Krause administration enters the twilight zone. Remember that appraisal all the Council members got for the property in July that the Krause Administration does not want the public to see…Here’s De Angelis again on that appraisal.
“So, the appraisal was requested back in March after the Y had come forward. You know, requesting the potential sale of property which is you know that had been you know talked about my understanding for quite some time that was. That removed from the agenda it was voted not to go into closed session and therefore the Council has not had the opportunity to discuss set appraisal.”
“Or the draft valuation, and therefore it doesn’t exist currently in the public because it hasn’t been discussed or approved by the Common Council. So, because of that, you know, the Hillmoor Commission does not know anything about that. I mean they know it potentially exists, but it doesn’t exist.”
“I mean they know it potentially exists, but it doesn’t exist.”
De Angelis on the secrete Appraisal
How many acres are in Zone 5 that the YMCA wants?
Alderperson Fesenmaier then points out that zone 5 the number of acres in the documents provided to the council was 21ish. The zones are just arbitrary drawn with a sharpy. “the document it says that the Hillmoor Commission understands the YMCA’s, seeking 15 acres”.
Mayor Todd Krause than states “That’s incorrect”
“There’s no acreage that’s exactly presented at this point. That was a number that was thrown out originally was 50, then it was 30 and now it was 15 in there. But that is not an accurate number. It can be whatever the Council would approve of at a number.”
Fesenmaier “OK. And then the number 9 is tied to the bond, “
The covenants in the muni bond the city floated prohibits selling for than 5% below market value or 9 ½ acres.
Alderperson Stoodly”
“ But as the city liaison for the YMCA, I can assure you that number has been reworked, and right now I don’t know where they stand. “
Krause Administration floats two versions of the agenda item.
The alderpersons are handed out on version of the agenda by the city clerk before the meeting that omits “regarding possible future sale of the property.’
Attorney Draper rules that the one on the web site is the correct one what is published is correct.
Krause admits he added “regarding possible future sale of the property” to the published one. An earlier version did not have that language. There was also some langue about “obtaining an appraisal” that Krause removed.
Council passes “to approve of the possible future sale of property in Zone 5 for the purpose of a sale to a nonprofit or to the nonprofit organization.” Using the policy approved that night.
The good old boys are a slippery bunch. Cathy Stoodley and Todd Krause are the Y’s golden duo, cheerfully backed by city hall. And Frame yep, she’s pro-sale too, because of course she is. Classic Frame
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