Thursday, November 30, 2017 • Vol. 53, No. 28 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1
New VAHS
Wisconsin's PRIVATE PRACTICE OF THE YEAR RECIPIEENT adno=545776-01
Verona Press The
608.848.6628 │ capitolphysicaltherapy.com
APPOINTMENTS WITHIN 24 HOURS!
City, VASD disagree on road funding Initial $5M commitment, land swap in question
What’s next The city’s Plan Commission will review the school’s site plan Monday and then bring it back for approval as soon as January. The Council is expected to discuss payment for the road again in January.
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Rendering courtesy Epstein Uhen Architects
Views from the southeast, pictured at top, and northwest of the proposed Verona Area High School building show features like the fieldhouse, football stadium, performing arts center and pool. The design is still in draft form, and could change before the Dec. 5 public meeting.
Design update Dec. 5 Inside
If You Go
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Plans for the new Verona Area High School building are changing on a near-daily basis, but those working on the plans will take a step back Dec. 5 to check in with the public. District officials and consultants on the project, including the architect, construction manager, aquatics team, performing arts center team and athletics officials, will hold a presentation and question-and-answer event Tuesday from 6:30-8 p.m. at the
What: New high school design update When: 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5 Where: Verona Area High School Performing Arts Center Info: verona.k12.wi.us
City approval processes begin Page 8
opportunity to go from table to table to talk with the different consultants and teams in attendance and ask questions. VAHS PAC. The presentation will include a The first 45 minutes will be a presentation by architects from Eppstein “more in-depth look at exterior renUhen Architects and the construc- derings and design imagery” than has tion team from Findorff. Community members will then have the Turn to Design/Page 17
Ice sculptures added to this year’s festivities HELU WANG Unified Newspaper Group
After a warm Thanksgiving weekend, Verona Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Le Jordan hopes “traditional” wintry weather will come
soon to allow for Hometown Holidays’ newest feature: ice sculptures. The annual event begins Friday, Dec. 1 and will also feature many of the traditional events like the chili supper, tree lighting and Santa visit, though Verona Area Community Theater will not be putting on a show this year. Artists will demonstrate how a ice sculpture is created from 12:30-2 p.m. The
Verona Press
Saturday, Dec. 2, at Hometown Junction park. During the 90-minute demonstration, artists will create a sculpture from a block of ice while an apprentice explains the process and tools used. People can drive around the city to check out four other ice sculpture displays at other sites: the library, Verona Vision Care, Purple Goose and the Chamber building. Jordan hopes
to make the ice sculptures an annual program for the weekend and add more sculptures around the city. H o m e t ow n H o l i d a y s ’ first official event, the tree lighting, begins at 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1, at Central Park, featuring carolers from Resurrection Lutheran Church, WISC-TV meteorologist Gary Cannalte’s annual live weather
Turn to Holidays/Page 2
Turn to Road/Page 17
Spring election 2018
Mayor’s exit signals big changes ahead JIM FEROLIE Verona Press editor
Hometown Holidays begins Friday with tree lighting, chili dinner
2020 opening plan without knowing how much the city will contribute. If the city contributes less, other parts of the project might be cut, which could affect the approval and design process and endanger the timeline. “Decisions by these bodies here need to be
On the night Mayor Jon Hochkammer announced he would not attempt to win a seventh term next spring, he broke a tie. That N ov. 2 0 action, on a $30,000 budget amendment, was the first Hochkammer time in four years. And yet, during that time, he had presided over a Common Council that was far more divided on major issues than it had
Inside Nomination papers out Dec. 1 Page 7 ever been during his previous eight years in office. As Hochkammer heads into his final 19 weeks in office, significant changes could be on the way in Verona’s political landscape – and that’s clear even before candidates are allowed to circulate
Turn to Mayor/Page 7
Give the Gift of Creativity this Holiday Season Gift Certificates and Lesson Packages for Kids from 1 to 92
RhapsodyArts.org | (608) 848-2045 Music and Art for Every Stage
Now through Dec. 21 6-Week Intro Music Lesson Package $ 185 (with ad) $ 100 Gift Certificate for $90
To ddler Tunes, Senior Piano, Insanely Busy Adult & Teen, Art Lessons and More!
adno=546125-01
Event includes presentations, Q and A
Elected officials in the City of Verona and Verona Area School District disagree how much the city should pay for a piece of land to help fund a new road leading into the new high school site. Monday night, the Common Council and school board held a joint meeting that included each body going into a closed session, featured questions over each side’s motives and planning and ultimately produced no resolution. The district needs to submit its site plan and other documents by the end of the year to stick to its