Four vie for 3 McCullom Lake trustee spots
By SARAH SUTSCHEK - ssutschek@nwherald.com
McCULLOM LAKE – Four candidates are running for three trustee positions on the McCullom Lake Village Board.
Incumbents Anne Bitterman and Patricia Schlitter are running against newcomers Michael E. “Froggie” Fritz and Denise Bogacz.
Bitterman, 57, is a retired post office clerk who was appointed in 2006. She has lived in the village for 30 years.
“We need a new building, so that is my project,” she said. “That building has been there since about 1935.”
Ideally, the current Village Hall would be renovated, but there would be a lot of work to be done, Bitterman said.
“I’ve headed up a committee to try and find funds and had plans drawn up to see what we can do,” she said.
Schlitter, 45, has lived in McCullom Lake for more than 10 years and is running for a second term.
In addition to fighting rising sewer bills and property taxes, Schlitter wants to eliminate two office positions to save money.
“I don’t believe we need that many people in an office in such a small village,” she said.
For Fritz, 43, and Bogacz, 52, their focus is mainly on building a sense of community.
“It’s hard times, and too many somber faces is what I see around here,” said Fritz, a resident of about 18 years who worked as a cook at Cullom Knoll. “Nobody’s having fun, and that’s what I want to do – I want to put fun back in the village.”
Both candidates agreed that there was more of a sense of community when they moved in.
“We kind of lost that,” said Bogacz, a corporate insurance manager for a Wisconsin company and a resident of the village for about 10 years. “Neighbors helping neighbors; that’s something that I miss.”
