Al Arnold
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Weston now is taking citizen involvement in government to the next level.
Nationally, Generation Xers have low rates of interest and participation in local government. And in Weston, 69 percent of residents were born after 1969; the average age of residents is 32.
In other words, the core constituency, the Village Board is a group that is inclined not to be involved with the Village Board.
That sort of disconnect can't be good. So earlier this year, the village created the Future Weston Academy. It reached out to young families and asked for volunteers to come learn about government and shape it.
The village got 22 people, all under age 35, to accept the offer. For a couple of months now, they've been discovering how government works.
Last week, though, they were given a real opportunity to take the reins.
Village leaders broke the academy up into three groups, handed them blank sheets of paper, and asked them to design a new park.
Weston is considering purchasing 40 acres of land near the Aspirus YMCA, and academy members were allowed to plan it any way they liked.
What they came back with startled Zuleger.
"Our baby boomer park and rec committee a few years ago, they focused all on hockey rinks and baseball fields and soccer fields and stuff like that," he said. "These young families, they don't want any of that."
Instead of designing their parks around organized sports, academy members created spaces that appeal to their own interests.
"It was all family stuff -- camping and hiking and a bandstand for community theater, Frisbee golf, big playgrounds, things like that," Zuleger said. "It was really more leisure and recreation stuff. The common denominator was they didn't have an athletic field. One had a big open area for kite flying or golf or whatever, but it was all stuff families can do together."
This isn't earth-shattering stuff. But it does allow for some observations.
Government still is led primarily by boomers -- boomers who probably think they know what the people want. Sure, they schedule open meetings at which people can come share their views, but the meetings primarily are held at times convenient for government, not the governed. And while they answer their phones when constituents call, leaders don't often actively reach out to solicit opinions.
Smart businesses ask their customers what they want, and then tailor products to suit demands. Government, on the other hand, all too often does things the way it always has done them and expects residents to dance to its tune.
It's no surprise that today's young families choose not to dance.
Weston is on to something -- something other communities might want to steal.