Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly publishes commentary from readers, residents and candidates for local offices. The views of readers and columnists are independent of this newspaper and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, email [email protected] or mail to 500 N. Third St., Suite 208-8, Wausau, Wis. 54403.

Dear editor,

If you haven’t heard, the City of Wausau is about to launch a program to remove lead service lines (LSLs) from our municipal water system. Everyone, with the possible exception of city council candidate Orlando Alfonso, understands that lead should not be ingested. Lead is a soft and malleable metal that is toxic, even in very small amounts and especially to children. As a homeowner and mother of two, I fully support removing every remaining bit of lead from the municipal water system.  

As a candidate for city council, I have serious concerns about the City’s planned LSL replacement program and the process that got us here. From a bidding process clearly designed to solicit a single proposal, to inaccurate descriptions of program financing and costs, this deal seems to have all the warning-signs that precede buyer’s remorse.  

If you watched last Tuesday’s City Council ‘debate’ of the issue, you may also share my profound feeling of deja vu. Concerns over the qualifications of our new for-profit ‘partner,’ Community Infrastructure Partners (CIP) were ignored by the confident voices of alders who did not understand the program they had approved. CIP’s representative claimed that those asking to reconsider the previous vote were putting politics over people. Alder Lukens summed up her support for CIP by saying we have to put our trust in something or nothing will get done.  

But why should anyone trust CIP?

To introduce the project, we were treated to a “Mission Accomplished” style PR visit from Presidential advisor Tom Perez. Rather than bearing federal funds to finance our project, Mr. Perez brought praise for the mayor and her project. He lauded this program as an example for other cities to follow, apparently unaware that the project had not been defined much less begun. Photographs with our mayor and a baby celebrating success were taken, however. Very trustworthy.

It is especially hard to trust CIP when they charge longtime public servants like Gary Gisselman and Tom Kilian with “politicizing” a public health issue, when they have put together a proposal whose defining characteristics seem to be political connections and layers of unnecessary complexity. 

Another trustworthy element of this plan is the reliance on acronyms and buzzwords to sell its wisdom. The mayor and CIP want us all to be very impressed by the CBP3 model of this program. CBP3, as almost no-one knows, stands for Community Based Public Private Partnership. As opposed to a “traditional” P3s, the CBP3 model apparently stresses local workforce development efforts and local contracting to build capacity and long term economic benefits for the community. 

CIP’s representative at Tuesday’s council meeting (video conferencing from Rhode Island, I believe), extolled these benefits of the CBP3 model. Most alders grabbed onto this as good reason to end questioning of CIP’s plan, apparently without noticing that the “local” engineering firm for this project is from Milwaukee. Had they noticed, perhaps they would have read the contract and remembered that “local” to CIP means from the state of Wisconsin, not the Wausau area, so the notion of “Community Based” is pretty subjective. At least the engineering firm also employs a former Milwaukee Alderman, who will also serve as the lobbyist for our new CBP3. That way, we will be assured that this public health measure is not politicized by Alders Gisselman or Kilian. 

CIP claims to provide expertise in community outreach and identifying the properties most likely to have LSLs. Alder Rasmussen pointed out that we wanted to “start this in areas that need the help the most.” And yet, some of their earliest outreach efforts have been in the west side neighborhood known to locals as “the Hollow.” Of course, “the Hollow” was only connected to the municipal water system after it was annexed to the city of Wausau – long after utilities stopped using lead. A community based program would have recognized this might be the neighborhood least likely to have a single LSL in all of Wausau.

Most importantly, I find it hard to trust CIP because they have been blatantly dishonest in their communications with Wausau residents. CIP is already sending communications to our residents describing the LSL replacement program as a partnership with the City of Wausau. In fact, the contract submitted in December explicitly states that it creates no partnership with the City of Wausau. Perhaps I am misinterpreting the seemingly clear language in this contract; after all, I am not a lawyer. Maybe we will form a partnership with CIP in the future. But we clearly have not done so yet. This company is speaking for the city of Wausau and misrepresenting its role in this LSL replacement program. In short – it is lying to our residents.

Since I seem to be one of the few people in our community – to avoid confusion, I mean Wausau – that has read the contract CIP proposed, I have one more observation. The contract seems to have been drafted by CIP’s attorneys at Godfrey & Kahn. The contract lists Mike Wittenwyler by name as representing CIP. He works in administrative and regulatory law and is also the lead attorney for the firm’s Political Law Group.  Before law school he worked as a congressional aide in Washington DC and immediately after graduating law school he was the campaign manager and spokesperson for Russ Feingold’s 1998 reelection. I have heard he is a very good lawyer. 

I do trust he will get his client every penny they contract for.     

At this point, I do not trust this program. I do not trust the plan for funding. I do not trust the judgment of those who are digging in their heels to defend a half-cocked plan. I certainly do not want those responsible for government oversight on a $60 million program to trust their for-profit ‘partner.’     

I must reiterate, I completely support LSL replacement in Wausau. Like most people in Wausau, I consider the water utility to be a core service. I endorse clean and affordable water as a top priority. Like most taxpayers in Wausau, I would welcome an LSL removal program that is paid for by federal and state money already earmarked for infrastructure projects. What I do not support, however, is my neighbors being promised one thing and then being served a steaming pile of something else.  

If trusted to represent the Southeast Side, District 1, on City Council: I promise to always be honest with my neighbors about city business and my intentions, I promise to demand and help provide vigorous oversight over all city contracts, and I promise to never let party politics or partisan group-think affect my judgment as your alder.  

Catherine Kronenwetter, Wausau

Editor’s note: Catherine Kronenwetter is a candidate for Wausau City Council in Dist. 1. She is challenging the incumbent, Carol Lukens.