Planning for the Future

Iron County looks like an area that hasn't had
anyone planning for the future in realistic terms.
The only growth here for the past several decades
has been in the negative direction. I've been
watching a series on TV History Channel called
"Life After People." In episode after episode
they demonstrate what will happen to the things
that humanity has built. Literally everything
collapses over time.

Looking around Iron River, such signs are on
us already, and it is happening in an inhabited
community.

In 2006, the City of Iron River participated in
what was then called the Cool Cities project. As
a result a report and plan was prepared by a
consulting firm, some 47 pages of data, information,
and four items on the primary wish list created
from information provided by the people who live
here. The report is available on line at
http://www.ironriver.org/government/cool-cities.htm

I attended one of the evening meetings at City Hall
where, in addition to the discussions, a sincere
sounding request was made for ideas to help the city
progress and grow.

In December 2006 I made my presentation to John
Archocosky for a trolley project that eventually
grew to two phases. The first was to provide public
transportation in the city but to duplicate, in terms
of a trolley system, a railway that resembles, in
operation, a main line railway.

The second phase would have instituted a school for
high school age children to experience railway
operations. Since then several rail accidents have
demonstrated the need for a railroad operations
school, another growth possibility for the proposed
Iron River Trolley.

In the end, the proposal failed because, in my
opinion, those who were the decision makers were
too afraid that their political power would probably
become diluted, and they would no longer enjoy the
prestige they currently held among their similarly
placed peers.

And that, dear reader, is why I have come to accept
the opinion first offered me by a lifetime resident,
that no progress can ever be made here that has even
a remote possibility of threatening the existing
power structure. In fact, it is this same threat that
leads to so many in this county being frightened of
increasing the tourism that is presently probably the
largest single contributor to the local economy. I
have heard it expressed as the fear of any change
(despite the fact the local population voted for a
President who offered nothing other than change.)

I have heard it expressed as a fear that more money
in the community will drive land prices, and thus
existing property taxes, up.

In discussing the problem with one public official
I asked the individual what they thought an improvement
in the local economy and property taxes might to
the income they were being paid by the county. They
hadn't thought about it, but the reality is that with
an overall increase in revenues in all aspects of
private business and local governments, the income of
all those employed by both would necessarily increase
as well.

Consider the fact that the US Government has begun a
railway improvement program in the USA.



http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0128/Obama-s-high-speed-rail-plan-Which-states-get-the-money

A recent article in the Iron Mountain Daily News
discusses the approval of the Madison-Milwaukee
line improvements by the Wisconsin Legislature.

Every region, like Iron County, has been unhappy about
the fact that rail lines have been ripped up and
are no longer available. In most of the civilized
world railways provide the bulk of transport of goods
to all parts of the country. And in some places the trolley
tracks connect to main line railroads and are used at
night to deliver freight cars to make deliveries in
cities and towns.

But this reporter's best guess is that we don't need
to worry about progress in our community because those
in power will see to it that their little fiefdoms
remain undisturbed, and the community can continue to
deteriorate around us so long as they retain their
pecking order among their peers. By all rights, if we
had a few "highly placed folks" wanting progress, we
should be close to having a trolley system in place,
the Middle School would become a Railroad Operations
School, and we could be looking forward to a bright
future for our community.

Bill Vajk