Curt is Chicago native – but don’t hold that against him. After stops in Madison and California, he and his wife moved to Waukesha in 2004 to open their own downtown business.
A recent Journal Sentinel article reported the discussion between the Assistant City Attorney and the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry regarding an ordinance about un-leashed dogs in Waukesha.
It was fascinating. If you haven't read it, you must do so.
The fascinating part (for me anyway) wasn't the hubbub over the now "illegal" MacAurthur dog run, or the tongue lashing Park and Rec received from the Assistant City Attorney, or the emergency re-draft ordered by the Ordinance and Licensing Committee.
No, no- the fascinating part is this:
"The (Ordinance and Licensing) Committee members questioned how the dog run functioned for nearly 10 years with a ban on un-leashed dogs. There was no immediate answer."
Ten years. One hundred twenty months. Three thousand, six hundred, fifty days. The unleashed dog ordinance never went checked.
And now it's an issue.
Why is it any surprise?
As I walk the streets of downtown Waukesha, I pass numerous ordinance violations that sit, unnoticed and unchecked for days, weeks, months, and years.
Buildings in ruin. Garbage piled in alleys and entryways. Signs and banners displayed in windows without permits. Shopkeepers living in their shops. Campers parked in lot three, overnight, for days without a permit. These are just the tip of the ordinance violation iceberg.
And then there is my absolute favorite ordinance violation ever. This violation has a history as long as time itself.
It's covered under ordinance 12.04, number two: gambling devices. It includes ordinance 11.945.02: gambling, as well.
The ordinance describes gambling and slot machines as being illegal in the City of Waukesha.
But I can walk a few doors over from my house, right now, and belly up to a gaming machine. And when that one gets old, I can mosey down few more doors and belly up to another. And another. And another.
These machines are described as "for entertainment purposes only".
But the machine owners keep track of a player's credits. And they tell players to return the next day for their winnings. It's a known fact. And it is allowed to happen every day.
An illegal dog run? Big deal.
A 10-year ordinance violation should be of no surprise to the Ordinance and Licensing Committee.
Gambling has been alive and well right under our noses for a lot longer than that and no one gives a second glance to it; its public knowledge.
And just wait until unleashed dogs start gambling on their way home from a hard day of chasing geese at the cemetery. Next thing you know they will be relieving themselves in public (Ordinance 11.944.20).
Oh, wait; they already do that.
Let's just ban dogs altogether.
Ten years. Wow. I am surprised anyone admits they let it go that long.
Actually, I'm not really that surprised.
