By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Village Board approved the East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce’s request Jan. 18 to have the Cycling Classic on the village square June 17, but not without some questions.
Village Trustee Dusty Stanford, who said he has been an avid proponent of the annual bike race since it began five years ago, but had seen a decline in attendance the last two years and wondered if the village should continue to host that section of the Tour of America’s Dairyland.
“Local attendance has waned and businesses on the square are unhappy,” Stanford said. “The first year was fantastic, but attendance has been slipping.”
Chamber Executive Director Vanessa Lenz said they had worked at boosting attendance at different times during the event by adding attractions such as the kids bike race, the racing sausages and the slow bike race. She said the goal was to stretch out the attendance by doing that and it might have appeared that attendance was dropping, but they didn’t think it really was.
Trustee Linda Kaplan is a member of the chamber and has been the Cycling Classic chairperson in the past, said she expected she would be the chairperson for the event this year as well. Kaplan told the board the purpose of an event like this is to get people to come to East Troy and spike their interest so they return on another day to frequent the businesses and restaurants in the area.
Trustee Ann Zess, also a member of the chamber, said she still supported the event and thought anything that brought attention to the square and East Troy was a good thing.
Village Board President Randy Timms brought up the possibility of maybe changing the route so the entire square isn’t blocked off for the whole day.
Lenz said the chamber works with the businesses on the square to help minimize the inconvenience and had things like a golf cart shuttle to transport people from the parking area to the square so businesses could stay open.
Zess said The Shave Shop on the square had one of its best days ever during last year’s event.
The board also approved the chamber’s request to bring back the East Troy Farmers Market on the village square every Friday from May 20 to Oct. 7. The weekly event runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. with live music, fresh produce and area vendors.
For more information about the Cycling Classic or Farmers Market, call Lenz at the chamber, (262) 642-3770.
In other business Jan. 18, the board:
- Approved a contract with Lynch and Associates for a one-year trial period for village engineering services;
- Approved the $158,000 financing of a new dump truck for the Department of Public works;
- Re-appointed Tim Jaeck on Zoning Board of Appeals for a three-year term, expiring Dec. 1, 2018;
- Approved a request from the Police Department to use $700 from a seized vehicle toward the purchase of new portable radios with the remainder to be paid by a traffic grant;
- Approved the renewal of the village general liability insurance (not including health insurance) with EMC; and
- Discussed changing the village ordinance to allow for wine and beer walks on the village square.
