Last Saturday morning (October 8) the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 'Stone Horse Green' downtown plaza took place in the presence of many current and former City officials and other people who contributed to the project in one capacity or another, as well as members of the public (pictured).
As is customary for events of this sort, the speeches consisted mostly of mutual backslapping, thank yous and self-congratulations, although their quality varied considerably, ranging from the dignified and informative deliveries of Middleton Area Development Corporation president Kevin Mahaney (who also led the fundraising committee for the project) and City Council president Kathy Olson (whose District 1 includes the downtown area) to the random ramblings and (microphone-amplified) ear-piercing screeches of Middleton's public cheerleader number one, mayor Gurdip Brar, as he yelled out name after name of increasingly embarrassed attendees involved with the project, each one to be given "a big hand". To the relief of all present, the official entertainment consisted of live jazz music.
The 'Stone Horse Green', though now open to the public, is not completed yet, and work crews are still putting finishing touches on landscaping and masonry work, among other details. The four restrooms, meanwhile, are already causing problems. Most of them are inaccessible most of the time because of faulty locks: They don't unlock properly when somebody leaves the restroom, leaving the restroom locked for the next person.
But you get what you pay for, and what can you expect for two million dollars?