2021 Accomplishments Celebrated

Greetings!  While COVID-19 continued to be a focus of 2021 headlines, many non-virus related accomplishments happened across our community over the past year that I wish to recognize.  Waupun continues to rank as a safest city in Wisconsin – #5 in 2021 – by Safewise, a national organization that analyzes national crime and safety trends to determine this ranking.  Despite challenges with staffing, our police team daily goes the extra mile to ensure the safety of our community and I am, as I know many of you are, extremely thankful for their work.  2021 also brought about the start of an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) program to increase our community’s emergency response capacity and reduce response times to medical emergencies.  The EMR team is comprised of a number of volunteers who will receive a small stipend but commit a significant amount of their personal time to responding to emergency needs across our community.  To put this program together at a time when volunteerism is declining is simply amazing and I’m very thankful to each EMR for their eagerness to make this program possible for our residents.  Throughout the community, 2021 also marked the completion of reconstruction of the first phase of Rock and Newton Avenues, repair of the N Madison Street bridge to extend its life, and the start of construction on an upgraded waste water treatment facility funded by a combination low-interest loan and grant from the USDA.  On the economic development front, we saw continued investment in our historic downtown with the Business Improvement District (BID) and Community Development Authority (CDA) awarding nearly $100,000 in grant funds to twelve businesses to support building renovation that fostered nearly $1M in private investment.  In addition, the city closed Tax Increment District (TID) 1, which encompassed sections of Waupun Industrial Park, bringing an additional $12.6M of value to the tax roll.  With community support, we were able to fundraise and complete installation of our first ever ADA accessible canoe/kayak launch and we started the Waupun Community Fund to support ongoing community improvements that will enhance quality of life for all.  Throughout the year, we had an untold number of businesses sponsor various events, from holiday light shows to Celebrate Waupun to a community Easter egg hunt, just to name a few.  For each of you I say bravo!  You make Waupun such a great place to live, work and play.  While I don’t have the space in this column to write about all of the great things that have happened in 2021 to make it year to remember for something other than an ongoing pandemic, I am very proud of the positive mark we have collectively left on this year and I want to thank everyone that made that possible.  If you’d like to learn more about the great working happening across the city, you can view a complete list of accomplishments by department by accessing the document below. 

Around town, Waupun School District is currently offering free rapid COVID testing every week.    Tests are administered on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Visit Waupun.k12.wi.us/page/covid-19-information for more information. The 2022 Garbage & Recycling Schedule has been posted on the City's website; there are also refrigerator magnets that include this information available in the City Hall main vestibule for pickup.  To pay your property taxes, you can pay online, by mail, via the drop box available at City Hall’s main entrance off Forest Street, or in person between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday, with the exception of holiday closures, which include December 31, 2021 as well as on January 3, 2022.  Please note that City Hall is not open for in-person payments on New Year’s Eve, however, the drop box is always available and your payment will be processed on December 31, 2021 if placed in the drop box by 11:59 p.m. that day.  If you have an escrow check and a refund is due, a check will be mailed.

Happy New Year Waupun!