Dear Editor,

In another mass mailing by Mayor Fred Smith he complains that the Township of Watertown is suggesting that the WisDOT put a Highway 26 bypass directly through the city of Watertown. In fact he claims the same negative impacts that the Town of Watertown has mentioned over the past year and a half. Construction of a bypass would disrupt neighborhoods, force relocation of businesses and private property owners, bring in noisy, high-speed traffic 24 hours a day speeding past residents, and my favorite, "has dramatic potential consequences". These are all the same things that the Town of Watertown wants to avoid for its people, too. Now that this same threat is on the other foot these concerns suddenly have become important to Fred Smith. Alderman Norman Bartel in his testimony to the DOT on October 11, 2000, said, "If the Town of Watertown doesn't like it (a west bypass), it's too bad... the City of Watertown would have to annex three mile increments all the way to Johnson's Creek to solve this problem... I would certainly go for that," Alderman Patrick Bleske indicated on May 2, 2000, that he doesn't care about his neighbors in the town of Watertown and proceeded to vote yes to a city referendum that okayed the stealing of farms and properties outside his jurisdiction, outside the city to the west.

It is your beloved city mayor that invited the DOT to build a bypass within Watertown in the first place even though he was aware that the existing highway is to be made into four lanes in the next two years. It is your beloved mayor himself that has worked with the DOT to design the revised Rail Corridor Alternative presented today. It is the mayor's good-ole-boy connections that have caused this serious dilemma as he works to fulfill an old campaign promise to Wis-Pak before he leaves office for good.

Please note that in Mayor Smith's comments within the newspaper article published last weekend, he doesn't mention anything about promising Watertown a bypass. What he says is Watertown (and what he means is Wis-Pak) wants a River crossing west of the Shopko bridge and an interchange on Highway A and, if this were truly needed by the city, this could have been accomplished without subjecting city and rural citizens alike to eminent domain and the wholesale loss of homes, farms and dignity. Now he has set his sights on taking this same ambition for power with him as he tries to move in as a municipal judge.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I say lets be done with that good-ole-boy, Chicago style politics and fix this problem! Fortunately the new year ushers in a time for Spring cleaning and with you now sits a lame duck mayor that has worn out his welcome and will leave office in April. Perhaps now is the time to begin working together like true Christians and come up with a cure to the plague that has been brought upon us despite Fred Smith's political shenanigans.

Reasonable people can work together. Reasonable people can make a difference. On November 1, 2000, State Representative Steve Foti also made a campaign promise and that is to form a committee to work out the differences between all parties concerned regarding Highway 26. "We haven't gone far enough in Watertown and the surrounding area to iron out the controversy," he said. Then, again at a highway 26 meeting on November 13, 2000, Rep. Foti reaffirmed that commitment, "to get everyone on board," he said this to several people including myself who were present at that meeting. In fact he recommended that I contact Randy Roeseler, Executive Director, Chamber of Commerce, regarding becoming a member of that necessary committee. Also, Rep. Foti and Rep. David Ward have requested that the DOT conduct an origination/destination traffic study in Watertown this Summer, so how does the mayor imagine that the DOT will make a final route selection before that study is conducted? What he really means is that he "hopes" the DOT would make a decision by Spring because it will be more difficult for him to influence the outcome once he is out of office.

Now I have waited well over a month to see that a highway committee will be formed and in that month's time the mayor has initiated several mass mailings in order to put himself in a better position to fulfill his campaign promise; not to the people of Watertown but to Wis-Pak. In mid-November he initiated yet another mailing to get the project enumerated in December and now this strategic decisive mailing condemning his own design flaws in the Rail Corridor bypass. This is not an effort to reach consensus but to conquer any opposition that will keep him from his self appointed task.

Watertown does not need a bypass. It simply needs improvements to Church Street and this project is already underway. South Church Street will be four lanes from Johnson Creek to Main Street in two years. Now, with the Shopko bridge being expanded to a four lane Rock River crossing, perhaps Wis-Pak can finally be appeased.

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known by his fruit." Matthew 1233

A. James Ortega
N8805 Cty Tk A
Watertown, WI 53094
(920)261-8823 e-mail jimjen@netwurx.net

Cc: Rep. David Ward and Rep. Steve Foti, Assembly District 37 and 38, Richard Gimler, Chairman Town of Watertown, Randy Roeseler, Executive Director Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce