Rhinelander adopts Guild work plan for 2019; some conclusions questioned

By Ken Krall

WXPR News

A work plan put together by Rhinelander City Administrator Daniel Guild resulted in a split vote Monday night at the city council meeting. The plan was requested by the council to prioritize what the city should be working on.

While prioritizing projects including Heal Creek recreation area, opportunity zones, Hodag Park and 17 other projects, he also said he has encountered city employees not following the chain of command and poor attitude, along with a number of other observations. He wrote there are perceptions that the city is known for the Hodag and a music festival but little else, the city is losing residents, is a poor community and confusion about where the city should make future economic investments.

There are dozens of other recommendations including dealing with workplace problems and proposed action plans.

His conclusion drew reaction from Dawn Rog and Lee Emmer, who asked how Guild came to some conclusions about activity on the city council. Rog wanted to postpone adopting the plan until Guild could explain some comments he felt were objectionable.

"We all look at it and have questions about his ideas of people's personalities, how he came to those conclusions and he had proof of those conclusions, so I do think that parts of this should be removed, at least a memo coming to us how he came about these conclusions," Rog said.

Emmer felt that adopting the plan also would approve a new management plan that he said he didn't a full grasp of. He also agreed with Rog that Guild's conclusion should be out of the work plan. Council member Steve Sauer's opinion was the work plan wouldn't codify actions and Guild agreed..

"I'm not operating under the assumption that passing this document approves anything in this document. For example, item No. 8, ATV-UTV ordinance, passing this document would not create that ordinance."

The council split 4-3 to approve the plan.