Shorewood Village Board
Shorewood has two seats open, with three contestants. Here are their responses.
Mitchell Auping
Do you think our main street or downtown is successful? If not, what would you do to change that?
I think it’s mostly successful. We have many small businesses well supported by the community, however things could be improved. For example I think that providing dedicated and protected space for bike riders would help. And one of the places that I think we missed was allowing one business to have so much of our major commercial corridor.
How do you feel about the transportation options currently available in our city? Can all of our residents affordably get where they need to go? If not, what will you do to improve transportation in our city?
I think Shorewood is a reasonably good village to navigate for all users, but again there are definitely places we could improve. Our sidewalks are a major transit network and we should treat them as such. Clearing them and bus stops of snow should be as high a priority as clearing the roads
What's more important for our city right now: building new homes and commercial space, or rehabbing, expanding, or better utilizing our existing homes and storefronts?
Shorewood is already fairly built out, we have few opportunities to build new in spaces that are not already built up, however I believe would should be giving property owners more freedoms in what they do with their land. For example Alternate Dwelling Units should be both legal and easy to build.
Some people in our community say we have traffic problems. What do you think? How would you mitigate those concerns or change the situation?
Making it easier for people to use alternate forms of transportation will help reduce the number of private vehicles on our roads. If kids felt more comfortable crossing Capitol Drive likely fewer would drive to school.
If you could change one thing in our zoning code, what would it be and why?
Make it easier to build housing for example by legalizing Alternate Dwelling Units.
How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process in our town?
I think residents should be very involved in building out our long term visions for the community. I think we did good job with this with things like the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan and we should continue to find opportunities to allow our neighbors to shape the future of the village
If someone came to you with a proposal to build a new piece of public infrastructure in our city (road, bridge, etc.), how would you evaluate whether or not that project was worth implementing?
I would evaluate it against the Complete Streets approach, prioritizing our most vulnerable road users first.
If elected, what three steps would you take to put our city on a firmer financial footing?
More housing broadening the tax base, continue making long term investments like replacing sewer lines and street lights, and finding ways to cooperate with our neighbors to sustain or increase service while saving money.
If you received a $1m grant to use for the city any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why?
The village already has various items and the best way to spend this money would be to use it on things the community has already determined we need.
What neighborhood do you live in? Why? Where are your favorite places to spend time in our town?
I live in Shorewood because I really enjoy the tight knit community as well as the accessibility and convenience. I really enjoy getting a bite to eat at Cloud Red or Pizza n’ Curry or Crave Cafe, or pastries at North Shore Boulangerie, or coffee at Stone Creek, or a drink at Draft and Vessel, and spending summer days at the beach.
Note: Responses are published as submitted by the candidates without editing by Strong Towns North Shore. All candidates in this race were given equal opportunity to respond.