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Politics & Government

As Good as it Goetz

Village president-elect to start meeting with businesses and leaders in nearby communities.

One day after learning he’ll be the next leader of Sussex, Greg Goetz is readying himself to move the community forward.

“We got an excellent new board,” he said. “I’ve worked with all of them before, but I think the key thing for us to do is to delegate someone to my seat and get that filled right away and that will be a top priority of mine.”

Goetz for village president, collecting 1,899 votes compared to 749 for Kolesari. Goetz will replace outgoing Village President Tony Lapcinski, who did not seek re-election.

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Joining Goetz in leading the village will be trustees Jason Wegner and Tim Dietrich who were both re-elected Tuesday. Jim Batzko, a former trustee who didn't run for re-election in 2010 so he could pursue state office, elected to replace Trustee Stever Berger who didn't seek re-election.

While Goetz said he isn’t sure why he won by such a wide margin despite his and Kolesari’s common views on issues and friendly campaign, he said the 48 percent turnout was fueled by the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between incumbent Justice David Prosser and Assistant District Attorney JoAnne Kloppenburg.

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“I thought it would be a lot closer,” Goetz said. “I was really surprised by how far the two of us were apart.”

Goetz will take office in the next couple of weeks and he said he plans to go to meetings in neighboring communities soon to introduce himself to leaders there so they can get to know each other and foster better intergovernmental cooperation. By creating the close relationships, he said should help the communities create more efficient programs and save money.

Goetz said he will also go visit with every business in the community in order to make a connection with the owners and find ways to help them thrive in Sussex. He also wants to promote existing businesses while attracting new ones to the village.

He said there are a few subdivisions in the community that could be completed and he also wants to help them move forward in the development.

“I think it’s something new,” he said. “But I think it’s important to do.”

By the end of the month the Sussex Area Chamber of Commerce will complete its move into Village Hall, Goetz said, and he also plans to meet with Chamber officials to find ways the village and the organization can work together.

“I want to see what their needs are,” he said. “They’re the ones in the know of how to bring in business and help what’s already here.”

With and still in the planning process, Goetz said he wants to have the board examine how to maintain the and the village’s 17 parks as the community moves forward because those amenities are important to Sussex residents.

“We just started funding those parks and I think it’s important we keep rebuilding those and keep going with our parks,” he said. “Our parks are used a lot.”

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