Lannon History Index

Sewer and Water Wars

State Public Service Commission staff are expected to recommend today that commissioners not reconsider their earlier approval of a controversial water system in Lannon.

Peter Feneht, a PSC staff engineer, said it would be unwise for the water project to be halted, which could happen if the case is reopened. Commissioners approved the project in April.

The Lannon Village Board approved the water project in July and has awarded construction contracts.

Feneht said the project's increased cost -- from an initial cost of $3.8 million to $4.7 million -- was not enough of a reason to stop the project.

At its meeting today in Madison, the commission will consider a letter from Robert Barisas, a businessman who opposes the project, that asks for reconsideration of the April approval.

Feneht said halting the project would cost Lannon and Menomonee Falls, a partner in the water project, a lot of money, although he could not say how much. Engineers also are concerned about the public health issues of delaying a new water supply to Lannon citizens, he said.

The increase in cost is due to the project being "oversized," allowing Menomonee Falls to share in use and storage for well water, Feneht said.

The public can attend the meeting, but comment from audience members will not be taken, Feneht said.

Barisas says he gathered about 240 signatures of Lannon residents who oppose the project.

Some residents fear that the $3,900 fee to connect a single-family home to the water system will drive moderate- and low-income people from their homes. In addition, residents will pay a monthly fee of $44.50.

Residents also are being hit with sewer installation charges of $5,864 per home, plus $50 a month.

The State Public Service Commission has turned down a request to re-examine the municipal water system project in Lannon, a state official said.

The commission reaffirmed its April approval of the project by voting unanimously Thursday to not reopen the case.

Robert Barisas, a Lannon businessman and project opponent, had asked the commission to reconsider its approval because of mounting public opposition and rising costs.

A commission memo said it had received 203 faxed letters stating opposition to the project. The village has about 900 residents.

In a reply letter to Barisas, the commission explained that there had not been a change in the need for a public water system and that delaying construction would add significantly to the cost of the project.

The PSC authorized $5.25 million as the latest cost of the project, with Menomonee Falls contributing $735,625.

The Lannon Village Board approved the water project, 4-3, in July and has awarded construction contracts.

Opponents fear the $3,900 fee to connect a single-family home to the water system would drive residents from their homes.

Lannon -- An opponent of the village's new $5 million water utility project said he would present recall petitions against Village President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley to the village clerk by Friday.

"I guess they say I didn't listen to the people, but I think that's wrong," Gissal said Wednesday night. "No one spoke against it (the utility project) at the first two public hearings, and now all of the sudden there are all of these people who have come out of the woodwork against it."

He said all Village Board members initially were in favor of the project, which he estimated would now cost more than $500,000 to halt.

"We can't shut it down because of the money we've already spent," Gissal said. "Things will have to come out in the wash, if that's what they want. If I'm gone, a lot of volunteer services would be lost, and I'm proud of what we've done in the past years to keep the tax rates down."

Ehley could not be reached for comment.

A report from Ruekert & Mielke Inc., the village's engineering consultant, says the village stands to lose an estimated $470,000 if it decides to stop construction of the water system. The Village Board is planning to meet at 6 tonight to review contracts for the project.

Robert Barisas, owner of a furniture store in Lannon, said he has collected 225 signatures from eligible voters in the village since launching the recall drive on Aug. 19. He needed 145 signatures on separate petitions against Gissal and Ehley and had 30 days to collect them, he said.

Barisas said he would turn in the petitions early with the hope that the Village Board would set the recall election on the day of the general election in November. The village then could save money by not having to hold separate elections in December, he said.

Two weeks ago, when the recall was brought up, Gissal said: "Bring it on. I have nothing to hide. I'm proud of my accomplishments in the last eight years."

Reacting to the engineers' report, Gissal said Monday that he suspected the costs would be closer to $600,000, based on money the village would have to pay to contractors who already have been awarded the bids.

"There's going to be a substantial cost to close down this water project," Gissal said.

A letter sent this week from the engineers to Gissal says: "As you know, the water main projects have been awarded and the contractors now have contracts for the work. Even though actual hard copies of the contracts have not been signed and notice-to-proceed issued, the contractors undoubtedly have incurred costs."

About $250,000 already had been spent by the village for engineering, financing, legal and administrative costs. Other costs include $120,000 for pipe, $80,000 for cost of contracts and $20,000 for legal matters, the letter says.

The letter stresses that the estimated costs were "ballpark" figures.

"Actual damages incurred by the village may be substantially different depending on when work stoppage occurs, loss of work claims by contractors and other unforeseeable factors," the letter says.

Last week, the state Public Service Commission turned down a request from Barisas to reconsider its earlier approval of the water project, saying that the need for a new village water system was too great to halt the project.

Opponents contend the special assessment for the new water system -- $3,900 per single-family home -- is too expensive for moderate income homeowners and will force them to sell. Homeowners also will have to pay for hookup costs.

In addition to the water project, homeowners also will be charged a special assessment of $5,864 per home for a new sewer system, which is almost complete.

The recall is not only an attempt to stop the project but to make village government more responsive to the wishes of citizens, Barisas said.

Lannon -- Audience members yelled, threw a chair and cursed one another and their elected officials Thursday at a question-and-answer session about the village's $5 million water utility project.

It was the third village meeting this month that elected officials cut short because of rancor among audience members over the installation of the water system.

Residents are upset over the combined cost of the water project and the installation of a village sewer system. For a single-family home, special assessments for the water and sewer projects total about $9,764, plus monthly charges of nearly $100.

After two hours of heated debate and questioning in the meeting, held at the village's firehouse garage, tempers flared out of control.

A uniformed police officer at the meeting stepped between two men who were pushing and threatening each other.

Village President Terry Gissal abruptly adjourned the meeting.

"I'm embarrassed to be a part of this community," resident Karen Nellis, 45, said after the meeting. "These attacks were inexcusable."

Lannon -- More than 100 audience members hooted and cheered and someone shouted, "Free beer, I'm buying," after the Village Board failed to advance a controversial water utility project Wednesday.

Gail Schiller, a village resident and opponent of the proposed utility, said residents showed up in force to intimidate trustees into not approving any water-related issue.

Schiller said water project opponents want to delay any board action to give their lawyer time to obtain a court order to halt the $5 million project, which would cost each homeowner $3,900.

They apparently succeeded, despite an earlier threat from Village President Terry Gissal that anyone who became unruly during public meetings would be ticketed by one of two Lannon police officers.

Barbs of "This isn't Lannon, it's Moscow," and "Saddam Hussein" were directed at board members.

Schiller was ejected from the meeting after repeatedly calling financing figures from Gissal "lies." Schiller wasn't given a ticket, however, and was allowed to return to the crowded boardroom. But by then, the audience had forced Gissal to call a five-minute recess to restore calm.

A ruckus last week that involved the exchange of insults and the hurling of a metal chair brought a board meeting to a hasty end. Gissal had warned Tuesday he wouldn't tolerate a repeat episode.

Gissal tried at Wednesday's meeting to settle how residents would pay for fire protection under the new utility. Village engineers had recommended some water-related fire protection costs be placed on the property tax, but four board members -- Dennis McCarthy, Shirley Ravnik, Danny Martin and Stephen Semo -- abstained, killing the proposal.

After that, Gissal announced that he wanted to table remaining water-related items on the agenda because the village was still "negotiating with the contractors" on water line installations

The meeting was adjourned and trustees will try tackling water project issues again Monday.

Semo was appointed by the board Wednesday to fill the unexpired term of Trustee William Galbraith, who resigned last week. Gissal indicated to the audience that Galbraith had resigned over the water flap. "He told me, 'Enough was enough,' " Gissal said.

In related action, Robert Barisas, a Lannon businessman and project opponent, on Wednesday filed petitions demanding recall elections for Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley, supporters of the new water utility.

A petition containing 308 signatures was filed against Gissal; another containing 297 signatures was filed against Ehley. Only 145 signatures are required in each case.

Lannon -- The Village Board forged ahead with plans for its $5 million water utility project Monday evening, rapidly approving three related project-related resolutions.

Trustees voted to use the property tax levy to pay for municipal water system fire protection costs instead of having a user fee and to allow two firms with construction contracts to proceed to put in a pump and the system's main pipe before cold weather arrives.

All three resolutions passed, 5-2, with Trustees Danny Martin and Shirley Ravnik voting against them.

More than 100 residents once again packed the firehouse where the meeting was held. Three uniformed police officers were on duty, and one escorted an opponent of the project outside the firehouse temporarily before he was allowed to return. Comments from spectators usually indicated that residents could not afford the cost of the system, especially those on a fixed income. Others present at the meeting said they wanted the water service installed.

"I believe it's going to come, and I would rather have the choice to do it now than have it come two years later at a higher price," said resident Ronald Nellis, 51.

Robert Beibel, a planner from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, assured audience members that installing a water system was "the right thing to do." He said Lannon was one of four similar southeastern Wisconsin communities that did not have a water system. Two of those areas are planning to put in a water system, he said. "Between $3,500 to $4,000 is a common cost for this type of system in southeastern Wisconsin," he added. "You can't go anywhere where the start-up costs are less." Each single-family home is facing a special assessment of $3,900 for the water system and an assessment of $5,864 for a new sewer system. A monthly water charge user fee also be enacted in addition to a monthly sewer charge of $50. Beibel said monthly fees were slightly higher because of the area's rocky subsurface conditions.

But information distributed to residents by the Village Board said the village would lose $300,000 in funds borrowed in December 1995 if the water project is dropped.

Lannon -- A Milwaukee law firm has filed a claim with the village clerk on behalf of 225 residents demanding that the Village Board abandon all attempts to proceed with a $5 million municipal water system.

The claim is the latest maneuver by village residents opposed to the creation of a water system and a related requirement to cap private wells.

Village meetings on the contentious issue have ended in fist-pounding, chair-throwing incidents, and police have escorted a few boisterous opponents from meetings in an attempt to preserve order.

Opponents have filed petitions with the village seeking the recall of two supporters of the water utility -- Village President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley.

The claim, filed Tuesday with Village Clerk Pamela S. Gall, contains complaints expressed earlier by two citizens groups opposed to the water utility: the Lannon Estates Home Owners Association and the Lannon Residents and Business Association.

A claim must be presented before a lawsuit may be filed.

Trustees failed to hold a referendum on the creation and financing of the water utility, and by failing to do so the board is spending funds illegally, the claim alleges.

Opponents also contend they would lose investments they have made in private wells, the vast majority of which are safe and meet code requirements, the claim says.

The claim, written by lawyer John DeStefanis, was filed the day after the Village Board approved three water-related resolutions involving the construction of the utility and the fire protection it would provide.

Opponents, especially those on fixed incomes, have said they cannot afford the project. Each single-family home is facing assessments of $3,900 for the water system and $5,864 for a new sewer system.

utility would bring much-needed commercial and residential growth to the village.

DeStefanis said the village has 120 days to respond to the claim. If it disallows the claim or takes no action, opponents can then approach the courts for help.

Mark Blum, the village's lawyer, would not comment on the claim, saying he not yet discussed it with village trustees.

Blum explained that the board took the faster route of creating a utility through the state Public Service Commission instead of holding a referendum. Extensive reconstruction of Highway 74, the main street through Lannon, is under way, and the village can save money by getting water pipes beneath the highway before Dec. 1, the date road work will be near completion, he said.

If the village waited any longer, it would have to tear up the new highway and pay re-excavation costs, Blum said.

Lannon -- Village President Terry Gissal has cautioned vocal opponents of the $5 million village water plan that they will get only two warnings to remain calm during a special board meeting today.

Misbehavior will result in residents being told to leave and may lead to municipal tickets for disruptive behavior, Gissal said.

The Village Board meeting at 5:30 p.m. to award water project contracts will continue a process that promises to open the village to more commercial and residential development, Gissal said.

The board also will consider appointing a new village trustee to replace William Galbraith, who resigned at the height of the sewer controversy that has emotionally rocked this village.

A stormy meeting and informational session about the financing of the project was adjourned abruptly Thursday when officials and audience members hurled insults and, some say, a metal chair.

Galbraith could not be reached for comment about why he resigned. Gissal said he would make the reason public at the meeting. It wasn't because of the Thursday meeting, he added.

Gissal, who is the target of a recall petition over his support of the project, had to hastily adjourn the meeting when the audience reacted to an outburst from Trustee Nancy Sullivan during which she shouted at the audience and pounded with both fists on a table, according to a videotape of the meeting.

Sullivan became upset when audience members attacked the integrity of the village officials, Gissal said.

Walter Sullivan, a member of the Village Plan Commission and husband of Nancy Sullivan, was identified by residents John Hesse and Deborah Schultz as the person who picked up a metal folding chair and threw it toward the audience.

Gissal said he didn't see the incident but was told that Walter Sullivan simply pushed a chair out of his way. Nancy Sullivan declined to comment on the incident Tuesday, and she wouldn't put her husband on the telephone.

Lannon -- The Village Board Tuesday scheduled a recall election for Nov. 5 for Village President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley, supporters of the village's controversial new $5 million sewer system.

A petition containing 308 signatures had been filed against Gissal, and another containing 297 signatures against Ehley. Only 145 signatures were required in each case to force a recall election.

Trustee William Galbraith resigned his post earlier this month, and Gissal indicated later that Galbraith had resigned over the sewer issue.

"I don't care either way," Gissal said Tuesday, during a special Village Board meeting about his recall. "I guess it's up to the people. What they want, they will get."

Village Clerk Pamela Gall said those interested in running on the recall ballot have until Oct. 8 to file nomination forms with her, but no one had expressed interest in challenging the incumbents, whose names are automatically on the ballot.

Challengers must gather 20 signatures to be on the ballot.

The recall petitions filed by Lannon businessman Robert Barisas earlier this month represent the latest effort by concerned residents to halt the project.

Although two public hearings had been held before the sewer proposal was approved, the project was not put to a referendum. Barisas argues that the wishes of the public would have been better represented through a voter referendum.

Large numbers of residents have attended recent board meetings on the project, many of whom voiced their objections. Some meetings were cut short or ended in disorder.

Opponents say the cost of installing sewers is too high, especially for those living on a fixed income. They also point to existing wells in the area they say are safe, effective and functional.

Each single family home is facing assessments of $3,900 for the water system and $5,864 for a new sewer system.

Supporters of the project say they would rather have the system put in now at a cheaper price than later at a higher one. They also see it increasing the value of their property.

A Milwaukee firm has filed a claim with the village clerk on behalf of 225 residents demanding that the Village Board abandon all attempts to proceed with the project.

Trustees voted earlier this month to use the property tax levy to pay for municipal water system fire protection costs instead of having a user fee and to allow two firms with construction contracts to proceed to put in a pump and the system's main pipe before cold weather arrives.

Waukesha -- The Village of Lannon has gone to court seeking a judge's opinion on whether its approval of a controversial public water system was proper and legal.

The village's legal action Tuesday is in reaction to a claim filed against the village by 227 residents and businesses Sept. 10. The residents' claim calls the Village Board's approval of a water system "unlawful" because it failed to conduct a referendum.

The village contends that the $3.6 million water system is needed because of failing private wells, that the state Public Service Commission has approved the project and that the best time to install the system is now because a sanitary sewer system is being installed.

Installing the two systems at the same time would save the village and property owners money, the village contends in court documents.

But the 227 residents and businesses that filed the claim argue they "are threatened with losing their investments in their wells." "The vast majority (of the wells) are safe and meet applicable code requirements," according to their claim.

John L. DeStefanis, an attorney representing the group, said Wednesday he was not surprised by the village's court action.

"We welcome the opportunity for a court to make a ruling on this issue," DeStefanis said. "That's precisely what the claimants would want."

Had the village not sought court intervention in the dispute, the residents would have, DeStefanis said.

"The contention we're making is the village was obligated to call for a referendum," DeStefanis said.

The village says delay of the water project could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Although the village has awarded contracts for the work and has levied special assessments, construction of the system cannot be completed because $3.4 million in revenue bond anticipation notes cannot be completed while the residents' claim is pending.

"The village of Lannon has undertaken this municipal water system project simultaneously with the sewer project so as to save the pavement restoration costs which would, in essence, be duplicated if the projects are not done together," court documents say.

By doing the projects together, the village would save $800,000 in pavement restoration costs, the village maintains.

One of the major sections of the project involves installing pipe under state Highway 74.

"The village has been informed by the (State) Department of Transportation that the pavement on the roadway needs to be restored by Dec. 1," court documents say.

The village has given one of the water system contractors a "conditional notice to proceed" allowing it to begin work so that restoration costs on Highway 74 "are not lost," the documents say.

DeStefanis has 20 days in which to file an answer in behalf of his clients. No hearing dates will be set until the answer is filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

The water system issue has deeply divided the community, ignited heated debate at public meetings and helped spawn a recall drive against Village President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley.

Lannon -- Lannon Estates Homeowners Association vice president Doug Repta plans to challenge Trustee LaVern Ehley for his spot on the Village Board during a Nov. 5 recall election.

Repta filed nomination papers with Village Clerk Pamela Gall last week, making him the first candidate for the position. Both Ehley and Village President Terry Gissal face recall elections after supporting installation of a $5 million water system.

Up to 100 or more residents have attended recent board meetings on the project, many of them expressing fear that they could not afford to pay to add water service on top of an already approved sewer project. Some meetings were cut short or ended in disorder.

Each single-family home owner is facing assessments of $3,900 for the water system and $5,864 for a new sewer system.

The water system has been approved, but opponents have challenged it in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Supporters of the project say that putting in the water system along with sewers is cheaper than installing it separately. They also see it increasing the value of their properties.

Robert Barisas and Dave Droenen, Lannon residents who oppose the project, spearheaded the recall effort. The recall petitions ask for the recall of Gissal and Ehley for "ignoring and disregarding citizens' concerns" about the project.

The opponents gathered 308 signatures against Gissal and 297 against Ehley. The recall required 145 signatures.

Gall said anyone interested in running for either office has until Tuesday to file nomination papers with her

Lannon -- Trustee Shirley Ravnik has filed nomination papers to run against Village President Terry Gissal in the Nov. 5 recall election.

Ravnik, who has a record of voting against the village's controversial $5 million water system, is supported by the Lannon Estates Homeowners Association and the Lannon Residents and Business Association. Both Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley face the recall election after supporting installation of the system.

Opponents of the water project gathered 297 signatures against Ehley and 308 signatures against Gissal. Although the water system has been approved, it is being challenged in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Ehley will defend his position against challenger Doug Repta, vice president of the Lannon Estates Homeowners Association. The deadline for filing nominations with Village Clerk Pamela Gall for either position was 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Lannon -- Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher has told Village President Terry Gissal he will not pursue a complaint filed last month by Robert Barisas and the Lannon Business Association alleging violations of Wisconsin's open meetings law.

The complaint alleges adequate space to accommodate citizens has not been provided at packed Village Board meetings on the $5 million municipal water project. Previous meetings on the issue had been held in various locations, including a packed village firehouse.

Although Barisas recently submitted additional evidence for the district attorney to review, Bucher said Thursday he would not reverse his decision unless he found "something significantly different."

Bucher stressed in a letter to Gissal that state law requires meeting rooms be large enough to accommodate all citizens for meetings, and noted the large crowds that have gathered to protest the water project.

Village residents are divided on the water issue. Some residents say the water system would be too expensive and they'd prefer relying on private wells. Others would like to see the project installed now rather than in years to come at a higher price.

Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley have been placed on a Nov. 5 recall ballot after supporting the water system

Lannon -- Despite having sought a judge's ruling on whether a controversial $5 million village water project is proper and legal, the Village Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve an agreement between engineers Ruekert & Milke and the village.

A clause allows the board to get out of the engineering agreement without penalty should there be an adverse court ruling, said Kurt Peot, project manager for the water system.

The Village Board filed its action Sept. 24 requesting confirmation of the water project's legality in response to opposition from a citizens group opposed to the water system.

Proponents of the water system say it would be less costly to install a water system now while a sewer project also is being installed. Others say the costs involved are too much for residents to afford.

On Sept. 10, 277 residents and businesses filed a claim against the village calling the water system unlawful.

They said the system threatened their investments in their private wells and that it should have been approved with a referendum vote.

The issue also prompted the recall election of Trustee LaVern Ehley and Village President Terry Gissal.

Trustee Shirley Ravnik is campaigning to replace Gissal and Lannon Estates Home Owners Association Vice President Doug Repta is hoping to replace Ehley.

Lannon -- An attempt to recall two village trustees boils down to two issues, recall leaders say: water and respect.

The refusal by the Village Board to give residents a referendum on a $5.3 million water system has rocked this normally quiet community for months and could now cause two officials to lose their positions after Tuesday's election.

"This is hurting us," said Trustee Shirley Ravnik, who is campaigning to unseat Village President Terry Gissal. "This is a little village and we're using tax dollars to fight our own residents because they want a vote on a water system."

Some residents are paying for two lawyers -- one for the village and a private attorney -- in a court action that seeks to resolve the legal question of whether a referendum is required.

A group of residents -- after turning out in droves to meetings where tempers flared, curses shouted and possibly even a chair was thrown -- have filed a legal claim to halt water main installation.

Meanwhile, village streets remain torn up because of construction involving a municipal sewer project. Maneuvering around the dusty, gravel-laden construction is "an adventure," Ravnik said.

Proponents of building the water system argue it will be cheaper and more efficient to do it at the same time as the sewer work.

However, mingling with construction signs are signs reading "Say No to Water!" and election placards for the four candidates: Gissal, Ravnik, incumbent Trustee LaVern Ehley and challenger Doug Repta.

Gissal and Ehley said they don't understand all the fuss.

"That referendum is nonsense," Ehley said. "They had the opportunity at three hearings (to speak out). People who didn't feel it was important to attend those meetings now are doing all the crying."

Gissal agreed. There was not enough time for a referendum, he said, if the village wanted to save some $800,000 by laying the water pipes at the same time it was installing sewer pipes and repaving the roads.

Opponents have said the estimated $3,900 individual assessments and $44.50 monthly service charges are too expensive, especially when residents are facing a $5,864 sewer assessment.

Repta said residents do not trust those cost estimates after watching the original $3.8 million system turn into a $5.3 million project.

"Water would be a good thing if the costs weren't so outrageous and if it wasn't shoved down people's throats," said Repta, who works for the City of Brookfield's water department.

Ehley said stalling the project will only increase the costs. "If water doesn't go in now, it (the cost) will be double or triple later," he said. "We've got the road torn up and the time to do it is now."

Water, however, is not the only issue driving the recalls. Perhaps more important, Repta said, is the board's lack of respect for residents' wishes.

"They think they know better and it doesn't matter what residents say," said Repta, vice president of the homeowners association for the 150-home Lannon Estates mobile park.

"My biggest thing is they make a big show out of having public hearings, but they don't listen to what the people say," he said.

He cited the board's decision to allow Lannon Stone Products to expand its quarrying, over the objections of residents who said the blasting already is shaking their homes.

"They're not doing what's in the best interests of the residents," he said.

Gissal disagreed. "I've done nothing that I'm ashamed of," he said. "You try to do your best and not everyone agrees."

Gissal argued strongly that the time for sewer and water is now, so that the village finally can open its doors to residential and commercial developers and increase its tax base.

"We've got a guy who wants to put up an $11 million condo project, but he doesn't want to drill for water. He wants municipal water," said Gissal, who has been village president since 1990.

"That would be almost one-fourth of the total value of the village," he said. "We've got other developers who are just waiting to come in."

Also, municipal water would benefit the town's two quarries, the owners of which have pledged $2 million toward the utility creation. In 15 to 25 years, when the quarries are depleted, the owners want to build homes and apartments, Gissal said.

A "Gissal for President" sign has been erected on Lannon Stone Products' Good Hope Road entrance.

Repta said it's time to shake up those political connections. "We want a voice," he said. "We want change."

Voters in two communities ousted incumbents -- a village president and a trustee in Lannon and a New Berlin alderman -- over acrimonious issues fought out in separate recall elections Tuesday.

Lannon Trustee Shirley Ravnik, an opponent of a proposed $5.3 million water system for the village, got twice as many votes as Village President Terry Gissal. Doug Repta also won by a 2-1 ratio, knocking out Trustee LaVern Ehley.

In Lannon, Gissal had tried without success to convince voters that an installation of water pipes at the same time as the village was doing sewer work would save taxpayers in the long run.

"God help 'em," Gissal said after the results were in. "The people are going to get what they deserve." Ravnik said that with about $500,000 in water pipe already laid, there is too much of an investment to stop the project altogether.

"The successful recall does not stop the water project," Ravnik said Tuesday night. "What it will go is get a referendum on the project."

Ravnik said the overwhelming recall results attest that Gissal and Ehley didn't listen to residents who are facing combined assessments for the already completed sewer work and water work of $9,600 for a single-family home.

Lannon -- The turmoil in this small village will not end until residents get to vote on whether a municipal water utility should be built, newly elected Village Board Trustee Doug Repta said Wednesday.

"Once the referendum goes through, we can get life back to normal," he said. "We need to get an end to this one way or another."

Village residents packed the polls Tuesday to recall two veteran village officials -- President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley -- and promote freshman Trustee Shirley Ravnik to the village presidency.

Ravnik is to be the first female to hold that post in the village, and Tuesday's recall was believed to be the first in village history.

Of  Lannon's 811 eligible voters, 77% went to the polls. Village Clerk Pamela Gall said she registered 120 new voters. "People said there were lines going out of Village Hall," Repta said. "We've never seen that before in Lannon."

Ravnik beat Gissal, a former village fire chief, by a 2-to-1 ratio.

The winners are expected to take their new seats at a board meeting Monday night. Ravnik's former seat needs to be filled, and she has authority to appoint someone, subject to board confirmation. Ravnik said Wednesday she had some people in mind for the post but did not want to say who until she could make sure they were interested.

"It's been trying for everybody," she said. "I am excited to move forward. I really am looking forward to the challenge."

She and Repta have said that two issues were driving residents' strong interest in local politics: water and respect. "I am certain that this vote said, 'You have to listen to us,' " Ravnik said. "I am not certain that this vote is a 'no' vote for water. For some, it may have been."

She echoed concerns stated by Gissal and Ehley that the village has put too much money into the water system to halt it. "It's going to be a good 10 years to pay off what we've got in it right now," she said.

Neither Gissal nor Ehley could be reached Wednesday. Both have called water opponents short-sighted. Residents have filed a legal claim, halting construction. "It'll cost the village nothing but money," Ehley told a reporter Tuesday night after getting word of his defeat. "People are narrow-minded when it comes to a one-point issue."

Repta had no sympathy for Ehley's loss and accused him of 11th-hour dirty campaigning, bringing up an alleged domestic matter. However, Repta said the only contact he ever had with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department officials, who patrol the village, was in July when a woman was cited for disorderly conduct at his mobile home. The allegation against the woman later was dropped.

Lannon -- The legal action that has brought a controversial water project to a screeching halt, leaving many village streets unpaved perhaps until spring, has Main St. business people saying they are suffering tremendous financial losses. And the sales losses of up to 75% are causing some business owners in this northeastern Waukesha County community to consider legal action, said owners Mike Meyer and Dave Dronen. "I may have no choice but to file a claim," said Meyer, who operates the Main Street Cafe.

Dust and gravel from the ripped-up roads are the only things entering the restaurant these days, Meyer complained. "I've had a 75% drop in sales," he said. Holding up two food orders, he said, "This was what I had all day yesterday."

Tony Singh, who built a new mini-mart and service station on Main St. last fall, said, "I'm just hanging on for dear life. "I have actual losses of about 60% of my business. In cash terms, it's about $50,000 to $65,000 a month gross income." Singh, however, doesn't believe suing the village or its utility construction contractors would be successful or productive. Everybody is blaming everyone else, he said. He would rather hang his hopes on the village's promise that Main St. will be repaved and open for traffic on Dec. 1. "Once that's opened, I can live through the rest of it," Singh said.

Other village streets, however, may be torn up until spring, due to a continued controversy over whether the village should build a $5.3 million municipal water system. Contractors have delayed pouring concrete on side roads until they know whether water lines are going to be installed.

The Village Board's original plan was to install water mains at the same time sewer pipes were laid this summer. Installing the utilities together would save the village from ripping open the roads twice and mean an $800,000 saving, officials argued. But residents said they were blind-sided by the water plan and could not afford a $3,900 water assessment on top of a $5,864 sewer bill. When the Village Board advanced water plans over the residents' objection, a group hired an attorney and filed a claim that has essentially halted all work.

All work except that on Main St., that is. Despite the lawsuit, the Village Board voted to lay water pipe and repave that road. Residents who are calling for a water referendum have called the vote arrogant, but Main St. businesses are thankful. "My impression of this whole project is that it has been grossly mismanaged," Singh said. "They (contractors) shouldn't have been allowed to close (Main St.) all summer. "Everybody is passing the buck now. The Village Board to the sewer (contractors), sewer to the engineering firm, and so on and so on. Meanwhile, everyone is taking a hit." Dronen, who owns the Whiskey Hollow Tavern on Main St., urged the village to blacktop one side of all streets, to give drivers a break from potholes.

The Village Board may discuss the controversy at its meeting at 7:30 tonight. Meanwhile, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Marianne Becker has given the village attorney and residents' lawyer until Jan. 15 to file briefs on whether the village has acted illegally by advancing the water system without a referendum. Oral arguments are scheduled for February, and Becker would not issue a final ruling until March.

Lannon -- A deadlocked Village Board failed Monday night to appoint a replacement for the trustee position vacated by last week's recall election, prompting some residents to say further recalls may be needed.

The board voted, 3-3, on a proposal by newly elected President Shirley Ravnik to appoint Plan Commissioner Robert Winter to the board's seventh seat.

"We're going to be in limbo for another year or at least until April," recall organizer Deborah Schultz said angrily after the meeting. "This is ridiculous."

Residents last week voted overwhelmingly to recall former Village President Terry Gissal and Trustee LaVern Ehley. They replaced them with Ravnik, who was already on the board, and resident Doug Repta.

Ravnik's promotion to president left her former seat open, a seat that could swing the balance of power on the board.

Trustees Steve Semo and Nancy Sullivan questioned whether the seat could simply remain vacant until the April election.

"If it were a one-month thing or two months," that could be acceptable, Ravnik said. But five months is too long, she argued.

Repta agreed. "We need seven different opinions," he said. "We need them right away. The board is set up for seven people, and I believe we need seven people."

His comments drew applause from many of the approximately 70 residents gathered at Village Hall.

But when the vote was taken, it was split, with Ravnik, Repta and Danny Martin on one side and Semo, Sullivan and Dennis McCarthy on the other. A tie is considered a failed vote.

The voting blocks were similar to those taken on the $5.3 million municipal water system in recent months. Ravnik and Martin have supported a voter referendum on the issue, a position favored by many residents.

Lannon -- Residents Daryl Fiene and Beverly Felten have been appointed to fill two vacant citizen positions on the village Plan Commission.

The Village Board voted Tuesday night to appoint Fiene to replace Commissioner Walter Sullivan, who recently resigned.

Felten will replace Robert Winter, who will leave his commission seat to take Nancy Sullivan's spot on the Village Board. Nancy Sullivan resigned from the board last week.

Lannon -- Turnover turmoil continued on the Village Board Monday with the announcement of a trustee's resignation, which comes just weeks after voters recalled the village president and another trustee.

Trustee Nancy Sullivan has formally resigned, board President Shirley Ravnik said Monday.

Sullivan, who could not be reached for comment Monday, submitted a brief resignation letter that did not explain why she was resigning, Ravnik said.

At a special Village Board meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight, trustees may vote to fill Sullivan's seat, as well as the seat vacated when voters promoted Ravnik to board president.

"I think we're down to one-third of who we had," Trustee Dennis McCarthy said of recent board turnover.

Sullivan is the fourth of the board's seven members to leave in recent months. Board President Terry Gissal and veteran Trustee LaVern Ehley were recalled, and another trustee, William Galbraith, resigned in July.

"I've given thought to it (resigning)," McCarthy said. "It's getting too hard. There's too much conflict here. It has gotten to name-calling and threats."

McCarthy said he plans to remain on the board, but added that he understands what pushed Sullivan to step down.

"This is something that she's battled with for quite some time," McCarthy said. "I respect her decision, considering the lack of support from the community.

"The village has lost a very concerned person. She enjoyed working to improve the village."

Much of the turmoil on the Village Board stems from residents' objections to the trustees' decision to create a public water utility without holding a referendum on the matter. Some residents said they could not afford a public water system in addition to the new sanitary sewer system that has been installed this year.

After Gissal and Ehley continued to advance the water plan over residents' objections, a group organized a successful recall of both.

Galbraith resigned in July, reportedly because of the growing water controversy. In August, the board appointed resident Steve Semo to fill Galbraith's seat.

Sullivan also voted in favor of the water system, agreeing with the former board majority that it was a necessary expense and that there was not enough time to schedule a referendum.

Sullivan was first appointed to the board in 1990 and had won re-election in April.

Semo said Monday that he was sad to see an experienced member leave.

"I had hoped that Nancy would have held out," he said. "But it's not a shock to see someone resign after all of this."

Trustee Dan Martin said: "I'm sorry to see her go. I don't know why (she's leaving)."

Martin and newly elected Trustee Doug Repta said they were confident the board would find residents interested in taking Sullivan's seat and the seat vacated when voters in the recall election promoted Ravnik from trustee to board president.

Last week, the board deadlocked, 3-3, on Ravnik's request to appoint Robert Winter, a village plan commissioner, to fill her former seat. Sullivan, who voted against the appointment, said the seat should remain vacant until the April general election.

Sullivan's resignation means the deadlock will disappear and both vacancies likely will be filled, possibly at tonight's meeting, McCarthy said.

Lannon -- Residents can comment tonight on a proposed 1997 village budget that would increase the tax rate 82%.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 20399 W. Main St. The Village Board is scheduled to vote on adoption of the budget at 7:30 p.m.

Under the proposed budget, the tax rate would increase from $4.26 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $7.74 per $1,000. The rate increase is due to debt payments for a new municipal sewer system and costs incurred to date on a stalled water project.

Most Lannon taxpayers will not see an 82% tax rate increase on their bills because the Legislature voted to pay for a greater share of the cost of public schools. Because the tax bill also includes county, state and vocational and public school levies, the overall tax rate may be about $24.52, 3 cents higher than the previous rate of $24.49, depending on the school district.

Lannon -- Attorneys have asked a Waukesha County judge to halt proceedings in a case to determine whether Lannon officials acted properly by approving a water utility without a referendum.

The case may be dismissed, because the Lannon Village Board has scheduled a Feb. 18 referendum on the water system, attorney John DeStefanis said Thursday. In a stipulation filed in court Wednesday, attorneys for both sides agreed that "the holding of said referendum may very well render the issues presented in this . . . action moot."

Attorneys this week asked Circuit Judge Marianne E. Becker to stay the proceedings "in order to avoid needlessly wasting the resources of the litigants (and) the court." DeStefanis filed a claim in September on behalf of some 200 residents who were angry that they had no vote on the creation of a $5.3 million water utility. He said that the residents were not interested in pushing for a court ruling now that the issue will be addressed through a referendum. "The point is that they wanted a referendum," he said. "That's all they wanted."

Village Attorney Mark Blum said that although he had signed the stipulation, the Village Board would decide whether to dismiss its suit in the case. Board trustees filed the suit in response to the residents' legal claim against the village. The claim alleged taxpayers had been damaged by the decision and demanded that the water project be dropped. Village officials, in turn, asked Becker for a declaratory judgment that they had acted legally. The Village Board likely will discuss the situation after the Feb. 18 vote, Blum said.

Lannon -- A natural gas line break Wednesday on Good Hope Road was the eighth time contractors for a village sewer project had struck lines.

On at least two of the eight strikes, the location of gas pipes had been clearly marked by Wisconsin Gas Co. officials.

While the breaks did not cause any major interruptions of gas service, evacuations or threats to public safety, they appear to be another sign of the severe problems Lannon has endured with its rocky terrain. Rock blasting costs have fueled a $700,000 sewer project overrun.

Crew carelessness also could have been a factor in the two hits to marked pipes, Wisconsin Gas Co. spokesman Sue Riordan said.

"It appears that Lannon's rocky soil condition was likely the main culprit," Riordan said. "There also was a lot of rain over the construction season, which saturated the ground and made for difficult digging situations."

This number of hits on one construction project is high, according to gas company statistics. However, it is not unprecedented, Riordan said. She noted that the reconstruction of N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood had a comparable number of hits.

According to company statistics, there were 76,642 construction projects in the four-county metropolitan area from January to October 1996.

From those projects, gas crews responded to 337 repair calls, Riordan said. Seven of the 337 came from Lannon.

Those seven all occurred on Main St. However, on Wednesday afternoon, crews blasting rock on Good Hope Road near Lannon Road broke a three-quarter-inch service line, Riordan said.

Workers from Kasbohm Custom Drilling, an Illinois contractor, were setting charges for blasting, and an explosion broke a small pipe connection.

"The ground shook, and it pulled a coupler out of a service line," Riordan said.

The break, which took about 1 1/2 hours to fix, did not injure anyone or cause other damage. There was no service interruption to area homes or businesses.

Riordan said that considering Lannon's rough and rocky terrain, a large number of pipe strikes would not be not unusual.

"As a community, Lannon is more vulnerable to damages to underground piping," she said. "Normally, you'd like to see it minimized, but they are hampered somewhat by their soil conditions."

Of the eight incidents, five involved village contractor Mainline Sewer & Water Inc. Mainline is the contractor that billed the village $435,000 more in rock excavation charges than engineers had estimated for the project.

The $435,000 made up the bulk of the $700,000 in overruns announced to date on the $14 million sanitary sewer project.

Al Wojtasiak, Mainline's project manager on the sewer project, declined to comment Friday on the gas line breaks. He referred a reporter to the company president, who was unavailable.

Board Trustee Doug Repta said he was not surprised or upset to learn about the pipe strikes.

Repta, who works for the City of Brookfield's water utility and has experience digging and installing water mains, agreed with Riordan that the large amount of rock was a problem.

"When you get into blasting, when you're disturbing that much ground that fast, that kind of stuff happens," he said.

Even if the pipes are marked, crews sometimes can't help but damage them if they're too close to where the new utilities are planned, he added.

Trustee Dan Martin also said he wasn't concerned -- as long as the company paid for any repair bills sent by Wisconsin Gas.

Riordan said the bills were sent to the contractors and typically were paid by their insurance carriers. She would not release the amount, if any, Wisconsin Gas charged Mainline, Kasbohm and Town & Country.

"There is no (financial) impact to the village" or its taxpayers, Riordan said.

Lannon -- If Lannon votes down a proposed municipal water system, the village would probably lose future financial help for its system from Menomonee Falls, an official warned Monday night.

If Lannon voters reject the proposal Feb. 18 in a referendum, the $750,000 that Menomonee Falls already has borrowed and pledged to Lannon to pay for a well, pump station and water tower in Lannon likely would be used to instead build facilities in Menomonee Falls, said Max Vogt, Menomonee Falls public works director.

Menomonee Falls needs a water system to serve its developing western and southwestern quadrant, Vogt said, and it was hoped the two municipalities could coordinate their efforts.

Vogt was one of several engineering and financial officials who spoke at an informational meeting Monday night attended by about 100 people.

The hearing and another hearing, planned for 8 tonight at Lannon Elementary School, were designed to answer questions about the Feb. 18 referendum on whether to approve an estimated $5.3 million water system for Lannon.

The financial impact of voting yes or no on the referendum proposal was explained in a letter mailed to residents. According to the letter:

If the project is scrapped, property owners would have to pay $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation during each of the next 10 years.

That tax levy would be necessary to pay for work that has already been done. The village has accrued about $870,000 in bills, including $608,000 for installation of water mains under Main St., $160,000 for design of a distribution system, $40,000 for engineering work and $20,000 for legal and financing work.

Completing the project would cost property owners $2.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation during each of the next 15 years.

That tax would be reduced if the village receives money from local quarries. Lannon Stone and Halquist quarries have pledged to pay the village 8 cents per ton of quarried rock to help pay for the water system. The amount of a tax decrease would depend on the quarries' production.

Property owners also would have to pay a $3,900 special assessment, service lateral connection charges, possible well abandonment charges and monthly user fees.

Lannon -- Residents will get a chance tonight and Tuesday night to ask questions about the impact of scrapping or completing a municipal water system that is on hold.

Financial advisers, engineers and officials from Menomonee Falls, which is contributing to the project, will be on hand to answer questions and present information at meetings at 7 tonight at Hamilton High School and 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lannon Elementary School.

Voters will decide in a Feb. 18 binding referendum whether the system should move forward.

Some financial information was released in a letter mailed to all Lannon residents late last week. According to the letter:

Scrapping the $5.3 million construction of a village water system would cost property owners $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation during each of the next 10 years. For example, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay $240 in property taxes annually for the project, although the annual taxes would rise if property assessments rose.

Under that scenario, a $608,000 water pipe already installed under Main St. would remain unused, and the village would continue to operate on private and community wells.

Completing the system would cost property owners $2.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for each of the next 15 years. Again, in the case of a home assessed at $100,000, the annual taxes for the project would be $265.

Under the second scenario, Lannon would switch from private wells to a public water system, with a water tower, well pumping stations and reservoirs. Residents would have to pay a $3,900 special assessment, service lateral connection charges, possible well abandonment charges and monthly user fees.

The $2.65 per $1,000 in taxes to complete the project would be reduced if local quarries contribute money. The letter, however, did not say how much of the tax could be eliminated.

"It depends on how much (rock) they sell," Village President Shirley Ravnik said in an interview. "It could be part, it could be all, it could be half."

Two local quarries, Halquist and Lannon Stone, have pledged to give 8 cents per ton of quarried rock -- up to a total of $2 million -- to the village for the water system. The quarries hope to benefit from the system when their resources are depleted and they want to redevelop their sites.

On property tax bills mailed in December, residents were levied about $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for work already done on the project, which was halted when a group of residents threatened to sue.

Trustees borrowed $500,000 last fall to install pipe on Main St. That is not the only money, however, spent to date on the system.

About $870,000 has been paid out, including $608,200 for the pipe and installation, $160,000 for design of a distribution system, $40,000 for engineering, and $20,000 for legal and financing fees.

Those items have to be paid regardless of whether the system moves forward, and that is why residents would have to pay $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value for the next 10 years even if the project is killed.

Moving forward would cost $4.8 million more than what has already been spent. Most of that would be paid through the special assessments and user fees, Ravnik said. That is why the annual tax would be only 25 cents per $1,000 more than it would be under a "no" vote.

Some extra borrowing would be needed for the construction.

"It's unlikely there will be grants, but if there are, we will go for them," Ravnik said.

Monthly user fees still are estimated at about $44.60 per month for a typical residence that uses 48,000 gallons per year. Mobile home park residents likely would see a smaller fee of about $22 per month. The mobile home owners' one-time special assessment also would be smaller than other homeowners: $1,850 instead of $3,900.

Ravnik called the figures the best estimates and the worst-case scenarios that could be determined before the Feb. 18 referendum.

The two informational meetings will be taped and rebroadcast on the local cable access channel up until the referendum.

Lannon -- After months of fighting for a referendum, Lannon residents will get to vote Tuesday on whether the village should build a $5.7 million public water system.

In the binding referendum, voters will cast "yes" or "no" votes to answer a question that will determine whether Lannon will complete or abandon a water system that has already been partially built.

About $835,000 of the estimated $5.7 million cost has been billed, and water mains have been installed along Main St.

Experts agree that a municipal system tapping a deep sandstone aquifer would assure residents that their drinking water is safe and of high quality. But many residents say their water is fine now.

Robert Beibel, a planner with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, told residents at a hearing last fall that installing municipal water was "the right thing to do."

Lannon's high bedrock and shallow ground water source makes it highly susceptible to contamination, the regional planning commission and state agencies have said.

System opponents have argued that there hasn't been enough contamination to necessitate a $5.7 million expenditure.

Numerous water studies have been conducted since the 1960s. The most recent study, reported in February 1995 by engineering firm Ruekert & Mielke Inc., tested 241 of 290 private residential wells in the village.

Of the 241 wells tested, 40, or 16.6%, showed the presence of harmful bacteria. Three of the 40 tested positive for E. Coli, a bacteria contained in human and animal fecal matter.

Of the 241 wells, none showed nitrate levels that exceeded state public health levels. Of 77 wells tested for volatile organic contaminants (petroleum chemicals), none exceeded state safety standards.

The report did not investigate what had caused the contamination that was found. However, engineers listed historical causes of such contamination, including septic system failures and surface runoff of fertilizers and livestock manure.

"A significant source of bacteria contamination is improper operation of septic systems," Ruekert & Mielke reported. Most septic systems will be replaced by municipal sewer connections following a village sewer project constructed in 1996.

But engineer Max Vogt, Menomonee Falls' public works director, said the sewer project would not eliminate ground water contamination.

Municipal water would make Lannon more attractive for residential and other development, supporters have said.

Village growth has been stagnant for decades, and a growing tax base is needed to ease the property tax burden on older residents who are living on fixed incomes, supporters argue.

Having municipal water service would increase property values and resale prices, and give residents better fire protection with hydrants instead of only fire tanker trucks, supporters say.

An assistant fire chief argued that, without municipal water, a second $130,000 tanker will be needed within the next 10 years.

However, water system opponents have said they cannot afford to pay a monthly water charge and other assessments at the same time they are being hit for a new $14 million municipal sewer system.

If residents vote "no" on water, they still will have to pay the $835,000 bill already accrued. That will mean an annual property tax levy of about $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in each of the next 10 years.

If residents vote "yes," they will face an annual tax levy of $2.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. It was initially thought that the levy would be terminated after 15 years, but financial advisers have said the tax levy would remain part of village budgets forever, due to ongoing system costs.

Other costs to complete the system include a $3,900 special assessment, possible well abandonment costs, a service lateral connection charge and an average $45 monthly user fee.

If Lannon ever wants to build a municipal water system, this probably would be the cheapest time to do it. Officials estimated that within five years, the cost to construct the system would increase by another $1 million.

Lannon also could now get financial help from Menomonee Falls and local quarries, and save about $800,000 in pavement restoration costs.

Menomonee Falls has agreed to split the $1.2 million cost for a new water tower and well, and to provide Lannon emergency water service from its four towers and eight wells.

Two quarries have agreed to pay a combined total of up to $2 million, or 8 cents per ton of quarried rock.

Lannon -- A local quarry says it is willing to sign a new contract with the village to help pay for a $5.7 million municipal water system, the fate of which will be decided in a referendum Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Village President Shirley Ravnik scrambled to correct a village mailing that erroneously said voters could cast ballots Tuesday and Wednesday. Voting time is only on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Village Hall, 20399 W. Main St.

A typist not employed by the village made the error, but Ravnik used her own money to pay for the second batch of envelopes and postage.

"It was my responsibility to read it over and catch that typo," she said. "The village shouldn't have to pay for it."

She also stuffed the new envelopes. "Thank God we're a small (community)," Ravnik said.

Lannon's population is about 1,000.

A Main Street businessman used the referendum date confusion to voice his opinion on the water system.

"Lannon: Feb. 18 vote YES, Feb. 19 vote NO," said a sign made by Mark Spranger, a Germantown resident who owns Repco Lawn & Garden in Lannon.

Other business people have complained that only homeowners, not business owners, can cast votes on the water system.

The final vote will be a binding answer on whether village officials will complete or scrap a $5.7 million water system that is partially built. About $835,000 in bills have already been accrued for work done.

The fiscal impact of completing the project has been calculated without including any money from two quarries that last year signed agreements to contribute up to $2 million to the project.

The agreements with Lannon Stone Products and Halquist Stone Co. were contingent on completing the water system by Dec. 31, 1997. But officials now estimate that the system probably couldn't be operational until the fall of 1998.

In Ravnik's letter to residents, she said that Lannon Stone Products Inc. had agreed to sign a new contract extending a water system construction deadline to Dec. 31, 1999.

Halquist Stone Co. Inc. Vice President Tom Halquist said the village had not talked to Halquist about a new contract and his firm has not decided whether to agree to an extension. He expressed surprise at Lannon Stone Products' announcement, saying that the two quarries previously had worked jointly on the contract issue.

The quarries last summer pledged to pay the village 8 cents per ton of quarried rock, up to a combined total of $2 million, to help underwrite the cost of the water system.

As of Jan. 10, Lannon Stone Products Inc. had set aside $23,500 in an special bank account for the system, said Virgil Dawson, company chief operating officer. The account was opened in September.

Dawson said his company would sign a new contract with no changes other than the 1999 date.

"We've always thought it (the per-ton contribution) was a good idea and we still do," he said.

Both quarries would like to tap into a village water system when they close production and redevelop the sites.

Lannon residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to reject a $5.7 million village water project and abandon $500,000 worth of pipe already installed under Main St.

By a nearly 2-to-1 margin, residents said they did not want to trade their private wells for a municipal utility. The unofficial results in Tuesday's referendum were 294 to 165 against the project.

Residents, however, will have to pay about $835,000 in bills already accrued for the water system, including the pipe that has been installed. That will mean an annual property tax of $2.40 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the next 10 years, Lannon's financial advisers have estimated.

Former Village Trustee LaVern Ehley, who was recalled in November in part because of his push for the water system, said Tuesday that residents were shortsighted.

"It's just a sad, sad situation," Ehley said. "Water is never going to get cheaper. People are going to be paying for something that they get nothing for but empty pipes.

"The day will come when they say, we wish we would have (installed village water)."

Trustee Doug Repta, who defeated Ehley in the November recall election, said that many older village residents on fixed incomes could not afford the project's $5.7 million price tag.

"There were two main reasons (people voted no)," Repta said. "One was the cost. The other reason was that people were not convinced that their wells were that bad that they needed to spend $5 million."

Lannon -- Whether it was rooted in financial concerns or political retribution, Tuesday's 2-to-1 drubbing of a water project means construction-racked village roads will finally be restored, an official said Wednesday.

"What we need to do now is just move forward with getting the roads paved," Village President Shirley Ravnik said. "Travel through the village is a real issue."

Some village streets have been torn up for as long as nine months.

Last summer, contractors dug up roads to install sewer and water lines. Repaving was put on hold when village officials halted work and scheduled the referendum. Work should resume now as weather permits, Ravnik said.

Village Trustee Doug Repta said he hoped the referendum would return some normalcy to Lannon, where recalls and rowdy meetings have taken center stage.

"This should pretty much put a cork in all the unrest," Repta said. "People got their say. Now we've got to move forward"

But Trustee Steve Semo, who was criticized for supporting the water project, said he expected more upheaval.

"There's another election coming up," he said. "I'll be surprised if I make it."

Semo is one of three incumbents whose terms expire in April, and four candidates are vying for the three seats. Since the water controversy boiled over last fall, three trustees have resigned and two others have been recalled.

Mark Lubenow, co-owner of M&D Auto Service on Main St., argued that system opponents were motivated by political retribution, not financial concerns.

"A lot of this is still fallout from the old village governance," he said. "Some people just despised the former village president and former board, and whatever they were in favor of, people would reject."

Repta disagreed. The water vote had nothing to do with revenge, he said. "Not at all. I think it had to do with the costs. People were not convinced that their wells were that bad that they needed to spend $5 million."

Business owner Mark Spranger, who backed the project, said residents based their votes on the short-term costs rather than the long-term gains.

"I think this is going to stifle the quarries and any new businesses that would have come in," Spranger said.

Charles Edelbeck, owner of Lannon Estates mobile home park, distributed a flier last weekend that blasted the water system as too expensive and argued project cost overruns would occur.

Edelbeck, who plans to activate a second well he drilled for the park in 1991, said he didn't want to pay for a municipal system after spending $80,000 on his own wells.

A reporter who informally surveyed voters outside polling places found responses mirrored the final result. Of 25 residents interviewed, seven said they had voted for the water utility and 18 said they had voted against it. Opponents cited the cost and the lack of serious water contamination. Supporters said the system was needed and would only become more expensive in the future.

A 65-year-old man who said he has lived in Lannon for 34 years said he opposed both the water system and the newly installed municipal sewer system. "I was against the whole thing in the first place with the sewer," said the man, who asked not to be identified. "We're not big enough for these city-type utilities. I would prefer that we (buy water) from Menomonee Falls or Sussex."

Alan May, 25, voted for the system. "The water out here is iron," he said. "We've had brown water, black water. We use bottled water for drinking." May listed increasing property values and home resale prices as other reasons to install municipal water.

Joan McCartan, 60, said: "It's too terribly expensive. We're senior citizens. How are we going to pay for it? If they were going to put it in, they should have done it 20 years ago."

Arlene Adams said: "It was sneaky the way they were going to build it. That angered a lot of people, including me."

Lannon -- The Village Board voted Thursday to withdraw a lawsuit that sought a judicial ruling on whether the village acted properly by approving a water utility without a referendum.

The board filed the court action last September in response to a legal claim brought by a group of residents who demanded a referendum.

A referendum was later scheduled by a revamped Village Board, after five of seven trustees either resigned or were recalled.

Voters rejected the proposed $5.7 million water system in the Feb. 18 binding referendum.

Village Attorney Mark Blum said the referendum had made the lawsuit moot.

In other action Thursday, the board approved:

A settlement with local property owner James Schaaf in a dispute over his sewer assessment.

Schaaf, who owns The Dug Out tavern at 7273 N. Lannon Road, sued the village last year, saying his $26,535 assessment was too high.

He disputed the village's claim that his property had a sewer use equivalent to 5 1/2 single-family homes.

A compromise was reached in which part of Schaaf's property, which is vacant, will receive a deferred assessment.

The exact amount of Schaaf's new total bill was not immediately available.

The purchase of new village computer equipment. The system is need in part to process bills for the new village sanitary sewer system, Village President Shirley Ravnik said.

Menomonee Falls -- The village should rescind its agreement to help Lannon pay for a new water system but keep the door open for future cooperation, Village President Joseph Greco says.

Greco said the action by Menomonee Falls has been made necessary by Lannon voters' overwhelming defeat of a $5.7 million municipal water system in a Feb. 18 referendum. Most residents said they could not afford the new utility at the same time they were being charged for a new municipal sewer system. "If they ever get another thing going, we're always open (to considering a joint project), up until the time we build another plant," Greco said.

Menomonee Falls likely will not build another well or pump station to serve its southwestern corner for three years, Greco and Public Works Director Max Vogt said.

Greco urged against extending utilities sooner, saying that would encourage urban sprawl.

Menomonee Falls had been willing to accelerate its plans to accommodate Lannon's schedule. Lannon village officials, most of whom have since resigned or been recalled, had wanted to install water mains at the same time a new sanitary sewer system was created last year.

Menomonee Falls offered to pay about $750,000 toward Lannon's water system if Lannon oversized its pipes primarily near Highway 74 to handle additional capacity from Menomonee Falls.

That agreement, which was never signed because of growing opposition to the project by Lannon residents, should be formally rescinded, Greco said.

"I don't want anyone to come back and say we reneged on anything," he said.

Two quarries offered to jointly pay up to $2 million toward the water system, and an attorney for one of them said Tuesday that the quarry could sign a similar agreement again in the future if the project were resurrected.

"Although it would be difficult at this time to commit to anything in the future, I believe that (Lannon Stone Products) would be sympathetic to considering something like this in the future," attorney T. Michael Schober said.

Schober said the owners of Lannon Stone Products were disappointed with the Feb. 18 referendum defeat but understood residents' financial concerns.

"There were two sides to it," he said. "Even though we felt that it was wise to put it in now, we can sympathize with the people who were going to have to bear significant expenses."

In related news, Greco said that without the Lannon water system, Menomonee Falls will not extend water to the Walterwood subdivision and other homes near the two communities' southern border. He left open the possibility that the sewer services could be extended to that area. Residents of the area will be invited to a March 17 meeting on sewer services.

Upheavals in Lannon government have become the norm for the last few years as contentious issues have bitterly divided residents of the small community and resulted in turnover on the Village Board.

While unruly board meetings, which featured chair hurling, expletives and threats, are now just vivid memories, mistrust and divisiveness remain.

Village Trustee Robert Winter is hoping to unseat Village President Dan W. Martin in the April 6 election.

Also, village voters will select three trustees. Two political newcomers but no strangers to village affairs, Beverly Felten and Deborah Schultz are hoping to join the board, and incumbents Jerome Geiger and Gail Schiller want to retain their board seats. Trustee Doug Repta is not seeking re-election.

The president's position, a two-year term, pays $2,400 a year. The trustee position, also for two years, pays $1,320 a year.

Neither Martin nor Schultz responded to a reporter's repeated telephone messages and a letter seeking comment for this story.

Martin, a former trustee, was chosen by board members in May 1998 to succeed Shirley Ravnik, who resigned as village president. With Ravnik's resignation, Martin became the only holdover to survive vicious battles over a municipal water system. Two village officials were recalled and several resigned in the process.

Schultz, a frequent candidate and faithful attendee at village meetings, helped organize the 1996 recall.

Winter said that because discontent lingers, "a lot of people in the village have asked me to run" for village president.

"I would continue listening to and respecting residents," Winter said. "That doesn't happen all the time now. We're there to represent our constituents, not to lord over them."

Winter said there is "a regime" on the board that makes all the decisions.

"Policies are decided before you get there. That's just terrible. That's a real concern to me," Winter said. "My number one goal would be to restore confidence in Lannon residents that our board is working for them. Residents feel like they are not being listened to."

Felten also believes that some board members do not listen to residents. The operations of quarries in the village are Felten's main concern and are reflected on her campaign signs, which read, "Quality of life, not just quarries."

"I don't want to see the quarries expanding toward residential areas," Felten said. "I'm deeply concerned about water and the impact of quarrying and development on the ground water."

Felten also said too much area was set aside in the land use plan for multifamily housing.

Geiger said the village needs to expand its tax base. "One of the ways of doing it is a properly planned multifamily project," Geiger said. "If it's done properly and well, it can be a tremendous boon for the tax base.

"This idea that it's going to ruin this, ruin that -- no. We've got manufacturing, quarries, single-family homes. It's a jigsaw community right now. This master plan will give us some order and help us plan better."

Geiger said he was bothered by residents who said that apartments would bring low-income renters. "This is a bunch of garbage," Geiger said, adding that a proposal currently before the village calls for a quality development with monthly rents of $700 to $900.

Schiller agrees.

"We have very little (open) land left," Schiller said. "The land we do have left we should (develop) it wisely and help the tax base."

Schiller said adequate controls were built into the land use plan to ensure projects are well planned.

Schiller wants to help complete the planning for improvements at the village park and she wants to continue working on administrative issues that remain concerning the recent installation of a municipal sanitary sewer system.

"And the last big shoe to fall is getting our quarries to have reclamation plans with some real dates involved," Schiller said, adding that the village needs to have greater control over quarries.

Jerome Geiger, 59 (inc.)
Address; time in district: 20413 W. Good Hope Road; 16 years
Date of birth: Dec. 19, 1939
Recent work history: Employed at Firstar Bank
Elective offices; other government experience: Appointed to Village Board in November 1996, elected in 1997; Germantown Village Board for two terms in the 1970s
Unsuccessful bids for office: Germantown Village Board
Education: Two years of college courses; Washington High School, Milwaukee, 1958

Gail Schiller, 49 (inc.)
Address; time in district: 7335 Davies Court; 30 years
Date of birth: Feb. 8, 1950
Recent work history: Employed by Ameritech in engineering department
Elective offices; other government experience: Elected to Village Board in 1997
Unsuccessful bids for office: None
Education: Pius XI High School, Milwaukee, 1968

Deborah Schultz, 48 (information based on data provided by candidate in 1994 and newspaper clips)
Address; time in district: 21075 W. Good Hope Road
Date of birth: Aug. 23, 1950
Elective offices; other government experience: None
Unsuccessful bids for office: Village trustee, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1995; village president, 1991 and 1993
Education: Nicolet High School, 1968

Robert Winter, 41
Address; time in district: 19315 W. Main St.; 12 years
Date of birth: Nov. 22, 1957
Recent work history: General contractor, owner of Bob Winter Builders Elective offices; other government experience: Appointed village trustee in November 1996, elected April 1998; Lannon Plan Commission, 1994-'96
Unsuccessful bids for office: None
Education: Attended Marquette University on ROTC scholarship for 18 months, received honorable discharge from Marine Reserves in order to take over business; Washington High School, Milwaukee, 1975

Quarry blasting and rumbling stone-filled trucks have been a fact of life for Ronald and Patsy Monacelli for the last 25 years, having lived, worked and raised two children in the village of Lannon.

The Monacellis live near Mibb's and Viv's, the tavern and restaurant they run in the heart of this small village in northern Waukesha County.

The village is best known as the source of vast quantities of the cream-colored dolomite limestone used for home-building and landscaping.

Appropriately, many of the homes in this community of 924 residents were built from the stone hauled out of the surrounding land. Today, gaping pits, hidden behind tall berms and fences, continue to churn out tons of Lannon stone each year.

The rock-splitting crack of explosives punctuate the atmosphere each spring through fall, shaking walls and stirring dust. Even longtime residents like the Monacellis are still startled sometimes.

"We have a lot of dust but they have to run their businesses, too," said Patsy Monacelli. "They blast and it really rumbles sometimes and it might scare you. But the worst part of it is the truck traffic rumbling through town."

Patsy said she and her husband purchased a home in the village after taking over the family business from Ronald's parents because they liked Lannon's small-town feel.

"This is a good place to live and we have nice neighbors," said Patsy Monacelli. "It's a friendly community."

Like their neighbors, the Monacellis were hit hard with special assessments about two years ago when sewer was extended through much of the village. Each single-family home in the village was assessed about $5,000 to help pay for the sewers.

When village officials push- ed to install public water at the same time, residents revolted, generating some fiery exchanges at village board meetings. Public water was defeated by referendum and several board members either resigned or were ousted in a recall election.

"We needed the sewers, but the village should have put in water at the same time they did the sewers," said Patsy Monacelli.

Long-running businesses like Betti Anne's Antiques and Garry Joeck's Service share space along Main St. with tracts of farm land and vacant store fronts. Most residents work outside Lannon, so downtown often is a quiet place to be on a weekday.

"You don't have the same amount of people coming in that you would have in a busier community," said Patsy Monacelli. "The weekends, though, are excellent, but that's because our food is so good."

Many homes in Lannon were built near the intersection of Main St. and Lannon Road, close to village hall and the recreational facilities at Joeck's Memorial Park.

Some newer homes have been built on the far west side of the village, in a development called Lannon Village Hills.

Patsy said she is not looking forward to the day when the village's substantial amount of undeveloped farmland is turned into commercial or residential neighborhoods.

Village clerk Judy Hughes said there is currently not much real estate activity in the village.

There were 541 zoned parcels in the village in 1998 with an average assessed value of $98,753. The tax rate varies slightly depending upon which school district a home lies within -- $23.56 per $1,000 of equalized value in the Hamilton School District in Sussex, $23.36 for the Menomonee Falls schools.

Jean Badzio, a sales agent for Century 21 Property Specialists in Menomonee Falls, said homes do not go up for sale often in Lannon because there are not a lot of homes in the village. Only 13 Lannon homes sold in 1998 at an average of $131,592, according to the Metro Multiple Listing Service in Wauwatosa.

"Lannon is a good area. Highway 74 goes right through the area giving it major access to the east and west," said Badzio. "It's a nice little area."

Ward and Loretta Kunz built a home in the village 48 years ago on Main St.

Loretta Kunz said she believes the small-town charm of Lannon will be lost if residential development increases.

"I think the leaders are trying to make a city out of the town," said Loretta Kunz.

"This used to be a peaceful town and it was a small town, and now it seems like we are trying to live up to Sussex or Menomonee Falls and then we won't be a small town any more."

Former village president Shirley Ravnik said she anticipates only slight future growth in the village because much of the village's undeveloped land is either wetland or part of a quarry operation.

"A lot of people see all of our vacant land and think people will be building on it, but the fact is that much of it is not buildable," said Ravnik, who has lived 24 years in the village with her family.

Ravnik, who helped publish a book nearly 20 years ago on the 50th anniversary of the village, said large quarry firms in Lannon like Halquist Stone and Lannon Stone Products make up much of the village's history.

"Most of the people who have lived in the village were those who worked for these quarries," said Ravnik.