KRONENWETTER, WI (WSAU) — New Kronenwetter Administrator James Davel says he was ready to retire from municipal administration, but someone in his house convinced him to take one more assignment.
“My wife said you will go nuts,” said Davel. “She said you should look at this place (Kronenwetter), and I was intrigued. First of all, it’s the largest village in the United States, which was kind of interesting to me.”
But Davel’s research didn’t end there. He knew the headlines that had come out of the area over the last two years, as multiple interim and permanent Administrators came and went. “There was a lot of controversy, all kinds of stuff on the internet, and my wife actually said to me, ‘You can help them. You kinda like doing stuff like this, so why don’t you at least apply?”
Village President Dan Joling, who is also new in his position, says those skills have come through loud and clear in his first few weeks. “Just stabilizing staff, what few folks we have, Jim has been a big part of bringing them together and letting them know, ‘hey, we’re demanding of you but at the same time we are behind you.”
Joling says the Village has had a reputation of “shooting itself in the foot,” but he feels the current Village Board is ready to put that behind them and focus on what can be done. Davel says that means creating a stable and consistent environment for everyone. Joling says he already sees that happening. “I think we are heading down that road. There is a different feel here; I see a lot more smiles than I used to, and that is important. Jim understands that you have to build your team; you don’t just go into command and start kicking over end tables, making life miserable for everybody.
“If you do, you’re probably going to be short-term commander,” added Joling.
Davel has been on duty in Kronenwetter since November 3rd. The Village Board will meet this evening to conduct an early performance evaluation of Davel.
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