LAKE GENEVA BID BOARD MEMBERS APPROVE TROLLEY PURCHASE
Purchase includes option to sell trolleys to the city
Lake Geneva Business Improvement District Board members have approved to purchase two trolleys from Jones Coach Travel & Tour for about $100,000 with the option to sell the vehicles to the city of Lake Geneva.
The trolleys that Business Improvement District Board members have approved to purchase are able to seat about 24 people and are set to be used to transport people to and from downtown Lake Geneva during the Wisconsin Department of Transportations Highway 50/Main Street road reconstruction project.
Lake Geneva officials and business representatives have taken a step forward in establishing a trolley transportation program during an upcoming road reconstruction project.
Members of the Lake Geneva Business Improvement District Board unanimously approved on Feb. 4 to purchase two trolleys for about $100,000 with the option to sell the vehicles to the city of Lake Geneva.
The trolleys are set to be used to transport people to and from downtown Lake Geneva during the Wisconsin Department of Transportations Highway 50/Main Street road reconstruction and resurfacing project, which is scheduled to be conducted in 2027 and 2028.
City and business representatives have been discussing the proposed trolley transportation program during the past several months.
Members of the Business Improvement District Board first presented plans for the trolley program on Jan. 7, and members of the Lake Geneva City Council unanimously approved to pursue the program on Jan. 26.
Business Improvement District Executive Director Alexandria Binanti said she and city officials have been discussing funding options for purchasing the trolleys including applying for grants.
However, grant applications have indicated that the trolleys cannot be purchased directly by the city.
Binanti said Business Improvement District officials would have to purchase the trolleys first and then sell them to the city after they receive the grant.
She said the Business Improvement District has about $160,000 available, but a business representative has offered to lend the organization funding to purchase the trolleys with a 5% interest rate.
The business representative also would be a sponsor for the trolley program and the Business Improvement District's events for three years, as part of the proposed agreement.
"We can pre-pay and the goal would be to pay that off within a year," Binanti said. Spyro Condos, Business Improvement District Board member, feels the trolley program would be a cost-effective method for transporting people to downtown Lake Geneva.
Condos said the trolleys could be used after the road reconstruction project to help alleviate parking issues in the downtown area.
"We don't have enough parking. We never had enough parking," Condos said. "So when the project is completed, you're still going to be using the trolleys because you're not going to have enough parking unless you do a parking ramp."
Stephen Schroeder, Business Improvement District Board member, said he hopes city officials would be willing to purchase the trolleys, because he feels the Business Improvement District would not have enough funding to maintain the vehicles.
"I would not want to see the BID hold onto them," Schroeder said. "I would want to see the city purchase them."
Binanti feels city officials would be willing to purchase the vehicles because they seem to be in support of the program.
"The overwhelming consensus is that the city wants to buy the product," Binanti said.
Operating costs
Besides the purchasing the trolleys, Binanti said they also have to consider the cost for operating the program, which is projected to be about $85,000.
Operating costs, which would be the responsibility of the city, would include storing the vehicles, hiring staff to operate the trolleys, maintaining the vehicles and establishing trolley stops and parking areas.
Binanti said Business Improvement District officials could obtain state grants and sponsorships to help city representatives pay for the operating costs.
About the trolleys
The trolleys are set to be purchased from Jones Coach Travel & Tour in Elkhorn.
Both trolleys have about 60,000 miles and are able to seat about 24 people. One trolley is a diesel-powered vehicle and the other is gasoline powered.
One of the trolleys features a handicap-accessible ramp.
Mayor Todd Krause said the trolleys seem to be in quality condition.
"They're been kept indoors their entire lives and the bodies on them are essentially mint," Krause said.
