New Glarus Village Board Candidate - Bell

Michael J. Bell
Age: 33
Occupation: Operations Manager - Chalet Landhaus Inn
Years lived in village: 30
Incumbent? Yes
Have you been on the village board or held any other public office before? If so please describe: Yes, I joined New Glarus Village Board on 08/2019 to fill a vacant position. I am also on the Public Works Public & Safety Board; along with the Finance and Personnel Board. I have also been a board member of New Glarus Chamber of Commerce since 02/2015 as well as a board member with Green County Crime Stoppers since 01/2020.
Why are you running for village board? New Glarus is where I have called home for 30 years of my life. I want it to continue to be a wonderful village for my children, as well as their children. I want our village to make smart investments that will be worthwhile for decades to come.
What issues do you find most important to the village board? List your top three priorities: I am gravely concerned with essential equipment that is in dire need of attention within New Glarus. One piece of equipment is our water tower, which to my knowledge is one of the oldest water towers in our state. I am in no way shape or form excited for a catastrophic failure of the tower, and would appreciate taking care of that before it becomes an issue.
The other essential infrastructure I would like for us to continue with is our roads and sewage system. As some of you may already know, we have issues with sinkholes throughout our village. Our sewage tunnels are in a similar state. These are issues that we can avoid in the future by setting up a maintenance schedule after we get them fixed.
I would like to see a new housing development, marketed toward middle class families. As Verona expands, we are seeing more houses being built in Belleville. With new growth comes more jobs, and residents who will love the Village, like we all do. I believe our Village should invest in infrastructure for the property North of 39 (Parcel # 2316102240000) or Southeast on County Road W (Parcels # 2316106460000 - 2316106462000). Each new house is a new revenue stream provided to the Village, and once infrastructure is in place it will show developers that we are committed to the expansion of New Glarus.
If you could reverse one village action, what would that be? I have not had any regrets from our village actions. Every time we meet, there are multiple viewpoints from each trustee that I take into consideration. Additionally, I will always make sure I have expressed my concern with other trustee members if I have any. Most importantly, no matter what the outcome of a decision, I will never be unable to work together with each of our trustees.
Any additional comments? Thank you very much for taking the time to read my answers. I highly encourage everyone to attend our village board meetings as well as our sub committees to keep informed on what we are doing. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at bell@newglarusvillage.com or (608) 214-4224.