Mayoral Candidate Vollmar Focuses on Downtown as Destination

Editor's note: This is the final article in a series profiling the four candidates running to be the next Port Washington mayor. The other three candidates include: John Sigwart, Tom Mlada and Ricky Ranz.

In thinking about how he can best improve Port Washington, mayoral candidate and current alderman Jim Vollmar said he has one overall goal: "To make the downtown everybody’s third best place."

The idea comes from a book that describes everyone's first best place as their home, the second best place as their work and the third best place as the spot they go to when not at home or work.

One way to do it would be to follow a strategy such as that employed by Pear & Simple's owners, Vollmar said. The owners offer regular activities within the store so that it is more than just a place that people shop.

Another strategy that that will help make downtown everyone's "third best place" is to focus on getting owners downtown who also own the building that houses their business.

"Those are the people who will work to survive — if you come into town and you want to run a business, and the business that you want to run is going to be source of your livelihood and you’re going to rent, your chance of success  is going to be limited until the city has enough year-round traffic," he said. "The new stores that have been successful are people who have a sufficient income to weather the winter storm. I think we’d like to make a year-round destination, not just a summer destination."

Vollmar said while he assumes the other mayoral candidates will focus on business development to a certain extent, the key ingredient to take into consideration is strategy.

"The strategies so far have not worked," Vollmar said, adding that his years as an alderman have given him the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of what hasn't worked so that hopefully he can find the right mix.

"(Downtown) has to be like a shopping center — it has to have the right tenant mix, it has to have the niche market, and, if it has those things, people will come to the city for the shopping center," he said.

And, the mayor has to be ready to assess the progress on a regular basis.

"You have to recognize your mistakes and whether it worked and readjust every year," he said.

Vollmar said he would also like to see city officials be more active in participating in seminars, workshops and other learning opportunities that will help them further the city or learn more about changes being made in government, such as a recent seminar on the conceal carry law.

Vollmar said he would likely set up office hours and would also be available for conversations by appointment.

At 68 years old, Vollmar moved to Port about 10 years ago with thoughts of retiring here, though he continues to practice law in an office in the building connected to the Dockside Deli. He feels rooted in Ozaukee County, with plenty of childhood memories and a father who grew up in Cedarburg.

He looks forward to using his legal and real estate background as well as leadership skills to further the city.

"I didn’t start out to be a politician," he said. "But I fell in the love with the ability to be a contributor to the community."