By Kim McDarison

Members of the Whitewater Common Council offered a portion of Tuesday’s common council meeting to honor and remember the late Jim Allen, who, at the time of his death last month was serving as the council’s president.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first conducted since Allen’s death. 

Allen was found dead in his home after members of the Whitewater Police Department performed a welfare check at the request of his family.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Lisa Dawsey Smith, serving as president pro tem, invited fellow council member Neil Hicks, who was later installed by the body as its new president, to ask those in the council chambers to observe a moment of silence in Allen’s honor and to read a proclamation.

As stated in the proclamation, Hicks cited Allen’s 15 years of service as a council member, further describing him as a founding member of the Birge Fountain Restoration Committee and the Whitewater Tourism Committee, and a contributor to the creation more recently of the Lakes Advisory Committee.

Additionally, Hicks read, Allen played a “crucial role” during the formation of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services referendum, and “provided support” to the Whitewater Aquatic and Fitness Center, and was a member of many board and committees, including the Alcohol Licensing and Finance committees, among others, saying of Allen that his “dedication to these complex issues demonstrated his passion for the betterment of the community.”

Within the document, the city proclaimed Allen’s birthday, Oct. 10, 2024, as “Jim Allen Day,” in dedication of his service to the city.

After reading the proclamation, the floor was opened to comments made by those wishing to remember Allen.

Comments from council members

Councilwoman Jill Gerber, reading from a prepared statement, noted that on Dec. 23, she “ bid farewell to Jim over the phone.”

She noted that she was unaware at the time that it would be the last time she would speak with the late councilman.

Since that day, she said, “I find myself wishing to have spoken more, to have expressed the gratitude and emotions that now weigh heavily on my heart.”

She next shared, within her statement, comments, she said, she wished she had shared with Allen, saying that he was among the first people to reach out and thank her for taking on the role of council member, adding: “Your words resonated deeply as you spoke of the rewards and challenges. You foresaw the trials that lay ahead, urging me to stand tall when faced with adversity.”

She said Allen faced challenges with “unwavering determination until the very end.”

Additionally, of Allen, she stated: “While some may recall your assertiveness, brashness or distinctive demeanor, those qualities only serve to make you stand out in the most remarkable way. You were a tenacious fighter …”

Gerber called Allen’s devotion to Whitewater “palpable.”

Hicks, too, reading from a prepared statement, offered his own comments about Allen, saying that while he only had known him for about a year, “his presence in the city was well-known.”

Hicks said residents could “typically find (Allen) at almost every city event,” further noting that Allen “wanted nothing less than to see the city prosper.”

While he noted that Allen did not always agree with “everyone and everything,” further describing him as “a man who had stern beliefs and he was not afraid to state them and defend them,” he noted such traits were “to be praised.”

“Above all, he was a gentleman. He was always willing to listen to you. He was always ready with a joke to lighten up the situation,” Hicks said.

Lukas Schreiber, noted that he was a college student when he was appointed to the city council, further recalling that Allen was among the members that appointed him some two and a half years ago.

“He was a great man to look up to, to get comfortable in that role as a 20-year-old,” Schreiber said.”

He described Allen as a person who knew Whitewater’s history and who possessed “a lot of wisdom that I could lean on.”

Comments from members of the public

From the public podium, Whitewater resident Jeff Knight also spoke about Allen.

“He was an incredible civil servant that always put the citizens of Whitewater ahead of himself,”  Knight said.

He noted that he, and his wife, Sharon, “viewed his friendship with high regard.”

Knight said he would often see Allen at Kiwanis Breakfast and firehouse events.

While Allen was “maybe not as polished as some thought he should be,” Knight said, Allen also was “caring and had common sense.

“Most importantly, he was a friend when one needed one most.”

Knight listed several achievements which he attributed to Allen, including the development of the Indian Mound subdivision, “saving the Birge Fountain,” and “bringing a grocer to Whitewater or something smaller.”

Next at the podium, Stephanie Goettl, a former member of the Whitewater Common Council, offering her impressions of Allen, said: “I spent seven years of my much younger life in these chambers, making decision I felt were right, and still, my service does not even begin to measure against the countless hours Jim gave in this same room.”

She described Whitewater as a “community of service,” and offered praise to individuals who serve through volunteerism in multiple capacities, citing among them those serving on boards, to those participating in education.

“I am grateful to see those examples and do my best to replicate them,” she said.

She cited mentoring as instrumental in achieving such goals, noting that Allen was one who “stood out” within a group from whom she received mentoring advice.

Additionally, she said, she would miss his “laugh” and “love.”

She said he was skilled in making connections with people who were both younger and older than he.

Said Goettl: “He recognizes imperfections though, too. Perhaps we both got a bit too passionate a bit too quickly, but in working to improve those imperfections, he reminded me we can forgive ourselves and still try to be better.”

Sharing intimate details about her own life, Goettl said “there was a time in my life I did not want to continue. Living (with) mental health is a struggle for many.”

During that time in her life, she said, she was “open with very, very few people in my life and Jim was one of them. Instead of treating me with stigma, judgement or embarrassment, he reminded me of reasons every single day to stay alive. He stood by my side in private and public. He checked on me when I thought I didn’t need someone to, he made sure I took care of myself.”

Goettl described Allen as a man with a sense of humor who generously offered “gifts and smiles.”

Whitewater resident Lee Loveall said he had only known Allen for a “couple of years,” but during that time, he “became a very good friend and he was somebody that I knew I could talk to about pretty much anything.”

Loveall said Allen motivated him to get involved with local government by attending meetings.

Whitewater resident Larry Kachel, arriving at the podium, said he met Allen when he was a high school student dating Allen’s next door neighbor. Allen was in junior high at the time, Kachel recalled.

“He’d kind of come over and he’d kind of smirk at me like, ‘uh, whatcha doing’” Kachel reminisced.

Kachel noted that Allen had several involvements within the community, working at the former Randy’s Restaurant in Whitewater, which was then-operated from space today occupied by 841 Brewhouse, and after the business was sold, Allen began working on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus as an employee of Chartwells, the school’s then-food services provider.

He was involved in community committees, Kachel noted. Additionally, Kachel cited Allen’s service on the city’s Community Development Authority (CDA).

Kachel said that he and Allen “started our grocery store tours. Jim had a background (in) food service. We went and kicked tires. We knocked on doors in grocery stores from (the) Milwaukee area to Madison, to Palmyra to Burlington, to Muskego to Milton, looking for the right type of store that we thought might have an interest in coming to Whitewater.”

He described his and Allen’s efforts to learn about grocery stores and the types of markets for which they look.

“Whitewater, it’s kind of limited because of the way its population works; student here part of the year … and Jim did more involvement in helping to bring that grocery store here.”

Said Kachel: “We met with ALDI many years ago, not with a current group that ended up buying the spot, but back then, they said, ‘you don’t have traffic of 20,000 people,’ going by their daily (counts). ‘We’re not even gonna talk to you.’

“That obviously changed. Jim didn’t give up. We didn’t give up.”

Addressing members of council, Kachel said: “The only negative thing I would like to say is the last few months of Jim’s life, he was not in great health; he did not get the best treatment from some of the members in this body, and I just want to let you know that the fight for Jim’s causes are just beginning.”

Following comments made by members of the public, the regularly scheduled meeting proceeded.

Dawsey Smith next took a roll-call vote to allow the body to move into the first of two closed session meeting scheduled as part of Tuesday’s agenda, during which time Gerber invited Goettl to the dais. She presented Goettl with flowers and other mementos in remembrance of Allen that had previously been placed on the dais in front of Allen’s seat.

A photograph of Allen remained in place during the full council meeting.