6-12-14 fdl council votes to form committee to study commercial development at lakeside park

It didn’t take long for the Fond du Lac city council  to get the discussion rolling on commercial development at Lakeside Park.  After listening to a nearly hour long power point presentation by the city manager the council voted unanimously to form a 15 member ad hoc committee.  Applications are due by June 23^rd with the committee appointed by July 9^th.   A handful of people were in the audience at Wednesday night's council meeting including former Park Board president Velesca Fleischman.  "I could just cry.  The park is such a fabulous entity, how could they even think of such a thing,"  Fleischman told WFDL news.  Former Park Board member Mary Wilcox says she wants to know who’s clammering for commercial development at the park?   "These people were saying at the election we would support a discussion and yet Mr. Moore (city manager) says there was nothing on the table.  The way this is coming down it just doesn't seem quite right,"  Wilcox said.  Brent Rothwell lives in Fond du lac and opposes commercial development at the park.  "The park's purpose is to serve other than commercial enterprises,"  Rothwell said.  "Its to serve the people and the generations prior that have given us this gift and turn it over to the next generation."    Jane Ricchio says she is in support  of park preservation and opposed to commercial development.  Ricchio says she wants to know why this is coming up for discussion now and why the council is in such a hurry to form a committee?   "What I've seen here tonight, the actions of the council, I'm stunned,"  Ricchio said.  "They didn't shut the conversation down, they didn't fully answer what caused the city manager to put together a power point presentation.  What made him bring this presentation here?"   Craig Molitor is the Fond du lac Convention and Visitors Bureau director and says he thinks its important to have a conversation about it.  "Fond du Lac is like a family, the park is similar to our living room.  Today were were talking about the ability to talk about our living room,"  Molitor said.  "No decisions were made, there's really nothing to take us to the point of talking about specific commercial development."