Politics
The Mack and Mac show talking La Crosse “granny flat,” rules, selling Lincoln School , chicken coup regs, homeless update
City council members Mackenzie Mindel and Mac Kiel in the WIZM studio for Monday’s La Crosse Talk PM, ahead of committee week, where they’ll be discussing accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules. We also talked chickens, selling Lincoln Middle School and a homeless update.
La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.
Began the show with a quick rundown, but did talk about chicken coup regulation quick.
After that (6:50), we discussed the recent sale of Lincoln by the La Crosse School District to a group that is looking to build affordable housing, and what that would mean for the city.
We also talked about Transit Equity Days (12:45) in the city, where riding the bus is free, and how Mindel and Kiel are taking council office hours during rides. We also discussed the city’s electric busses and, since it was so cold a few weeks ago, if there were problems, would the council know about it.
Speaking of cold, Kiel then gave us an update on homelessness (15:45) — as she goes out weekly with an outreach team. It also comes a few weeks after the city-county put out their five-year plan to end homelessness, called Pathways Home.
The second half of the show (19:25) consisted mostly of ADU talk, as the council two months ago put off any decision on changing regulations for property owners. In that time, the city held two public hearings on ADUs.
Mindel and Kiel are both on the city’s Judiciary and Administration committee, which meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Realist
January 30, 2024 at 8:33 am
Interesting on the Mack & Mac show they both talked about the “hidden” costs of the homeless that our community is paying anyway. They state the public pays for police, medical/hospital , etc. are cost for the homeless and they are inferring that by paying for shelter we are going to get a cost avoidance. i.e. medical care, police. Look back at the the editorials here, WE HAVE ALREADY PAID for their housing by putting them up in a motel. Then we paid for 180 doses of Narcan. There were hundreds of police calls PER MONTH. At the end of the season, there was so much destruction to the motel, many industrial dumpsters were filled with the damaged fixtures. Over and above that, look at the property damage at Houska park after the “unsheltered” or un-willing had electric, bathrooms, food, and social workers. So let’s be open and honest with all of the citizens about the lack of individual motivation by the unsheltered.
Realist
January 30, 2024 at 12:38 pm
The Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) or “granny flats” is not an economic or realistic option and a wonder why this is being covered with so much vigor. Even the two guests acknowledge the difficulty and costs yet we discuss in board meetings and even here on the radio. It is so ludacris in scope that we may as well discuss allowing every person in lacrosse being able to build their own inter-galactic space ship. Ain’t gonna happen, so what’s all the hyperbolic discussion?