Tri-Troy Alliance benefits greater East Troy
By Cathy Kozlowicz
Contributor
While it can be somewhat rare for municipalities to get along so well to have regular meetings, share resources and mentor each other, the Tri-Troy Alliance is doing just that. Through the partnership with key leaders and community members for the Village of East Troy, the Towns of East Troy and Troy, resources are shared and officials say all communities are benefitting.
“It is great our municipalities are working together,” Town of East Troy Board Chairman Joe Klarkowski said. “This is nurturing the benefit of our constituents.”
Led by Klarkowski, Town of Troy Board Chairman John Kendall and East Troy Village Board President Scott Seager, the other committee members are Mary Nicoson, vice-president of First Citizens State Bank – East Troy office; Derek D’Auria, executive director at Walworth County Economic Development Alliance; Jim Rohrer, owner of multiple local businesses; and East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vanessa Lenz.
“This opened the communication with all the municipalities,” Seager said, adding that since he is one of the newest of the three elected to board leadership positions, he has often reached out to Kendall and Klarkowski, who have served for a combined 33 years, as a sounding board so he can be better for his constituents.
“They have been mentors,” Seager said.
He also said that this group, as well as local businesses and organizations such as Gus’s Drive-In, Friends of the East Troy Airport, East Troy Area Emergency Services and the East Troy Electric Railroad all worked together to hold its first Planes, Trains and Automobiles event last summer. The event included action that benefitted all municipalities, Seager said.
This event, he added, will be done annually, returning on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles began with the Friends of the East Troy Airport’s open house and pancake breakfast fly-in with many kinds of vintage, homebuilt and certified aircraft. In addition to breakfast, there were special guest plane appearances, airplane rides and a performance by the Skydive Milwaukee skydivers.
Free shuttles were available to the East Troy Area Emergency Services open house that had demos, games food and fire truck rides. There were also a variety of antique trolleys and interurban coaches at the East Troy Electric Railroad, and the day ended with vintage and muscle cars at Gus’s Drive-In Cruise Night.
“There was a lot of visibility and many people were involved in the event,” Nicoson said.
Other past projects of this group, Seager said, include the purchase of the bucket truck. It was an extra expense for any one municipality to fund, but together they shared the expense and the truck.
“Together, we were able to purchase one,” Seager said.
“The three municipalities have finally drafted intergovernmental agreements to maintain and repair all of Townline Road,” said Kendall.
The towns of Troy and East Troy, as well as the Village of East Troy jointly owned Booth Lake Memorial Park since 1922. It is the only park owned by the three municipalities in Wisconsin, Kendall said. The park is governed by the Booth Lake Memorial Park Board, consisting of representatives from all three municipalities.
Recreational trail
Another large project the municipalities are working on, with Walworth and Waukesha counties and the Village of Mukwonago, is a multi-use recreational trail between the Villages of East Troy and Mukwonago.
“This path will be made for bicyclists, walkers and active people,” Klarkowski said.
The path will be about 7 miles and used for biking, jogging, cross country skiing and walking from Mill Pond Park in the Village of East Troy through Byrnes Memorial Park in the Town of East Troy, to Indianhead Park in the Village of Mukwonago, running parallel to the East Troy Electric Railroad tracks.
The benefits will be to have a family friendly way for communities to connect, for residents to easily enjoy the offerings of both communities and to provide a way to demonstrate the communities’ commitment to healthy, active lifestyles and community growth.
The joint municipalities will divide the funds needed for this project and will apply for grants, such as the Federal Transportation Alternatives Program.
The deadline for a grant submission to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is Jan. 31, 2020.
Library
The alliance is also looking into a Tri-Troy library, where more of the funds from the towns will support the one located in the village, Seager said. The resources of the library will be more representative of both the towns of East Troy and Troy in addition to the village.
By having regular meetings, the three communities can continue to work together to benefit a wider population.
“It is a fiscally responsible way to meet the needs for our constituents,” Seager said.
Cathy Kozlowicz is freelance writer and wrote this article Walworth County Economic Development Alliance. Kozlowicz also writes freelance for Southern Lakes Newspapers.
