Commercial areas are current focus of consultant’s study
By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
A vision for the commercial future of Salem Lakes is taking shape with the assistance of consulting firm hired by the village.
At the Sept. 17 Salem Lakes joint Planning Commission and Village Board meeting, Mike Blue, of Teska and Associates, shared facts his company had already gathered about the village business areas.
“We are looking at the pieces of the village to get a big picture for the future of the village,” he said.
Blue said the information that will be gathered gives “context for future decisions and helps with the budgeting process.”
Blue said it appears Salem Lakes has eight business areas. Those are Camp Lake, Highway 50, Salem, Silver Lake, Trevor south, west and north and Wilmot.
All areas share some problems, one of them being lack of parking. Another issue is that Salem Lakes needs branding that identifies the village.
Plan Commission member Bruce Francart said the Silver Lake downtown area is old and in disrepair. Commission member Bruce Nopenz said that it is off the beaten path and requires some thoughtful planning for an upgrade.
Village Board Trustee Dennis Faber agreed that the lake is a valuable asset but said it may be overused at this point.
Village President Diann Tesar said, “Wilmot does well for some ventures. Hansen’s Ice Cream Shop is doing very well.”
There are other ventures there such as a wood shop, a dance studio and Wilmot Mountain that provide greater potential there, she said.
The land on Highway 50 is mostly vacant now. Development standards are needed for that area.
The Trevor hamlet has several commercial spots and has a traffic corridor. The Salem Lakes business park is on Highway C in Trevor and needs more services that cater to those who work in the park. These include restaurants, drug stores and hardware type stores, according to Blue.
Village resident Vicki Galich asked Blue if anyone wishing to locate in Salem Lakes had questions about fire and emergency services.
“We need more full-time emergency service people,” she said.
Blue said the more common questions regarded where one might go for lunch or to run other types of errands.
The next step is to create a survey for village residents to ask for their vision of the village’s future.
“We need as much information from area residents as we can get,” he said.
Information from this process will be used to update the current Salem land use plan.