Dear Mr. Thiel

In these tough economic times, money is a worry of Americans. As a citizen of this town, you have done an exceedingly well job making smart spending choice for Hartland and hope you continue to do so. I am writing this letter in response to the proposal of having a high speed rail station in Hartland. Yes it would modernize Hartland, but with the costs and the population of this town, it would not be a smart decision to go through with this.

Wisconsin is in a great amount of debt, yet we continue to spend money on unnecessary things. The speed rail project can be considered one of them. Costing a substantial amount of money, the small population of Hartland could not support the train’s demand. As you already know, Brookfield and Oconomowoc have both declined a station in their city (because they know it would be losing investment). I strongly oppose a train station in Hartland, because the facts of failure are undeniable. What are the odds enough people in Hartland will ride the train for it to make money? Also, after the train in constructed, how will the state pay for the up keep on the rail, increase on taxes? My request is that you and the Village Board, allow the citizens to discuss this matter before agreeing to anything.

From my point of view, this would be careless spending and a man of your knowledge can see this. The rail is a want not a need. In times like this, we need to focus on saving money and lowering taxes, not deciding how to spend money we don’t have on things with a slim chance of success.

I would like to say thank you for taking your time reading my letter. I hope my reasoning gave you ideas on how to approach this issue.