Frank Fiorenza

Few communities have as their top elected official someone with the positive outlook, collegial attitude and energy of Frank Fiorenza.

A transplanted city dweller who has lived in Potosi for nearly three decades, Fiorenza is village president and a key member of the Potosi Brewery Foundation, dedicated to restoring the site.

In a David-and-Goliath scenario, Potosi recently was selected - over Milwaukee and St. Louis - for a national brewery museum.

The Telegraph Herald recently engaged Fiorenza in an extensive interview. Here are the highlights.

Frank Fiorenza Age: 62 Occupation: Village president of Potosi, Wis. Retired teacher, including 22 years in Potosi. Family: Husband of Potosi native Mary Doser Fiorenza. Hometown: Rockford, Ill. Also lived 10 years in Chicago. Education: Master's degree, Rockford (Ill.) College, 1971. Bachelor's degree, Tolentine College, Olympia Fields, Ill., an extension of Villanova University, 1964. Community leadership: Potosi village president since 1997 and a village board member since 1992. Served as spokesperson and coordinator for Potosi Brewery restoration project. Hobbies: Reading and fishing.

TH: How did it happen that you came to Potosi?
FF: Well, my wife (Mary) and I both taught in Rockford. And when we decided to get married - we went together for about five years - she asked if I wouldn't mind moving to her small home town. And I said sure, I was happy to. I was a little apprehensive because, you know, I'm an outsider moving in to a small town and all of that sort of thing, I didn't know if I would be accepted. But I never had any problem at all.

TH: After teaching in Potosi for so many years, you ended up in local government. How did that come about?
FF: I was still involved with the village board before I retired from teaching. I got on the village board in April of '92. I just wanted to get involved with the community, give something back to the community. I never had any idea that I'd end up the village president. I was on the board for five years. Then in '97, the then-village president took a job in West Bend. They needed somebody to be village president. I said, "Fine, I'll do it, just for a couple of months until the election." The election came. I didn't even run, but then there was a write-in ballot and I got on.

TH: When you talk with friends back in Rockford or Chicago, what do you tell them about Potosi, Wis.? How do you describe it?
FF: Well, that's really a good question. It is a small community, obviously - 711 people. It is a close community. It is a friendly community. It is part of the scenic treasure that is part of the tri-state areas.

TH: What are the major challenges facing Potosi, and what are those same challenges that you see in many small communities in the Midwest?
FF: I think the major challenge is striking a balance. Preserving the character and the uniqueness of your small community, but still making changes in order to keep your community viable. It's a delicate balance, but you cannot just keep things the way they were in 1958 or 1964 or 1972. If you don't grow, you die. On the other hand, you don't want to grow so fast or in such a way that you destroy the uniqueness of your community. I think that's the challenge, really.

TH: Potosi has not gone the industrial park route in pursuing industry. What's the thinking behind that?
FF: I had talked to state office, WEDA (Wisconsin Economic Development Association) and other state offices about that, and they said that Potosi was about 20 years behind the times to put in an industrial park. We were surrounded by industrial parks. There were industrial parks in Cuba City, in Lancaster, in Platteville and Benton and on and on it goes. Did we need another tool-and-die manufacturer in southwest Wisconsin? They recommended that we concentrate because of our geographic location, we concentrate on being a residential community. We are close to Dubuque, close to Platteville, close to Lancaster and that we concentrate on being a residential community and - I don't know if "cater" is the word - but cater to tourism. So that's what we've concentrated on.

TH: What have been some of the results in pursuing more of the residential or the "bedroom community" approach?
FF: Well, we've added - in Potosi and Tennyson combined, and basically they're one community - we've added about 39 houses in 31/2 years. So that's just been fitting right into that concept of a residential community. Then we have the St. John Mine. We have the Passage Through Time Museum. We have the Corps of Engineer campground at the Grant River Recreational Area. We have the Mississippi River. And now with the brewery restoration, we will then hopefully be attracting more tourists. What I see happening - and it already has started to happen with good news about the brewery - is that stores will be opening on Main Street similar to Galena (Ill.). Stores that cater to tourists. Gift shops. We have a new gift shop that opened last Dec. 7, Creative Thoughts Gift Shop. I have someone interested now in putting in an antique shop on Main Street. So those things are just gradually happening.

TH: When you take on some of these challenges, how hard is it to get people in a community to step forward and volunteer their time? In a town of about 700 people, you don't have a deep pool for volunteers, and I'm sure you run the risk of burning people out.
FF: That is a problem. I have a board that's been very cooperative and forward looking. So that helps. The people on the brewery restoration project are very dedicated and committed. Most of them have been working on it for four years. They've gotten tired but they haven't quit. I now have a couple of people interested in helping with the downtown renovation or restoration. You're right. Most of the people in the area are involved with some community activity already. Whether it is a volunteer fireman or on the volunteer rescue squad or member of 4-H or Lions Club. You get spread pretty thin. But you just keep plugging away and find people who believe in helping the village in one way or another and then you go forward.

TH: Clearly, the major effort in this volunteerism in Potosi is the brewery restoration project. How did this notion of taking that - for lack of a better term - a bombed-out-appearing building? How to convert that into what apparently will be, before too much longer, a national museum?
FF: Well, I knew we weren't going to attract a Disneyland. We weren't going to get a Great America. We had to work with what we had. And what we had was the brewery. It sat there idle for a number of years and something had to be done. It was a health hazard. It was an eyesore. It was blight. It was a danger, actually. Something had to be done with it. So a group of concerned citizens purchased it and I think their original intention was to do something on their own. But once they realized the monumental nature of the task, it was then that the non-profit Potosi Brewery Foundation was formed. I was approached by those who bought it: Would I support it and be part of it? I said, "Sure," because I saw this as being the village's best chance for doing a turnaround.

TH: What's the timetable for renovation and having some viable for tourists to see?
FF: Well, depending on donations and grants and revenue sources, we hope 21/2 to three years. I think I can safely say that the roof will be going on this fall. Certainly by early spring. That's the start.

TH: How much money are we talking about?
FF: Right now, $3.4 million for doing what we have to do to the building that is right there right now. We did have to take some buildings down in the back. They were too far gone to be salvaged. My guess is that we would probably put those buildings back on, but that would be additional cost.

TH: And the funding is a private-public partnership.
FF: Well most of the funds we've generated so far, about $480,000, we did get $120,000 grant from the state. Thirty thousand of it was free and clear; the remainder we had to match. We did that. Altogether we've raised about $480,000. We have a challenge grant from the Jeffries Family Foundation for $400,000. We have individuals who have pledged $50,000 or $75,000. We have a federal grant pending in Washington, a Scenic Rivers Byways Grant. We will be applying for a Brownfield Grant. The real credit goes to the people who have worked for four years without tiring and to those people, not only in Potosi but in the surrounding area, who have really supported us.

TH: Little more than a month ago, you got some news that was remarkable in that Potosi was selected for a national museum, a national brewing museum. St. Louis wanted it; Milwaukee wanted it; and here's Potosi, without a functional building, that gets it. How in the world did this happen?
FF: The American Breweriana Association was interested in putting in a museum. They had looked at proposals from Milwaukee, St. Louis and from Potosi. Two years ago, at their convention in Stevens Point, they invited all three communities to make presentations, and I think Potosi made a stunning presentation. We were probably the most prepared plus we also had, I think, a facility that they were looking for that met their needs. They will also come with about $260,000, contributing to the project. Their president said he was struck by the dynamic nature of the group, the passion and commitment that the people in the Potosi Brewery Foundation had. So they decided to come to Potosi. I think we were further along than Milwaukee or St. Louis. Milwaukee, still to this day, doesn't even have a building or a facility, so they don't even know what they are going to do there. St. Louis has some plans but very little funding, so we were a lot further along and probably met their needs.

TH: So, what thought crossed your mind when you got that phone call?
FF: The phone call that they were coming? I was out in Denver the day they made the decision. We were extremely excited, but it really wasn't until the next day when it hit me: "My gosh, what has this community accomplished? 725 people." This is major. It was stunning. It almost was - I don't know, I'm trying to find the right word - kind of knocked me on my rear end really to think, "Wow, what have we done?"

TH: Are there estimates about how many people might come to see a brewery museum?
FF: Yeah, I've heard various estimates. Before the American Breweriana Association got on board, the State Historical Society estimated between 110 and 125 a day. Well, I think that is going to change significantly. I was talking to someone the other day from Galena - and that's quite a tourist area - and I was talking about if we brought 20,000 or 30,000 people in a year, that I would be pleased with that. He said, "You should expect a lot more." I do know that there was a small brewery museum in Kentucky and they had 150,000 tourists a year. Will Potosi get 150,000? I don't know. But if we had 20 or 25 or 30 (thousand), I think this is a plus, not only - and I think this is important - not only for Potosi but for southwest Wisconsin and for the tri-state area. I see what we're trying to do, fitting in or dovetailing nicely with the efforts being made in Dubuque to attract tourism.

TH: Right. You're an advocate of regional approach to a lot of these projects.
FF: Definitely.

TH: How do you see what Dubuque is doing with tourism, feeding off of Potosi, Galena and vice versa?
FF: Well, I love that riverfront museum that Dubuque put in a year ago. It is a quality first-rate facility and it is drawing people to the area. Dubuque is the major metropolitan community in this region and that includes much of southwestern Wisconsin. Now I know some small communities are probably fearful of being swallowed up by the big city and losing their uniqueness and their individuality. I don't have that fear. Potosi might not want to be married to Dubuque, but we are happy to go to the prom with her and to dance with her. I think if we're going to survive, not just Potosi and Dubuque but any of the small communities - whether it's Galena or Dubuque, Potosi, Cuba City, Hazel Green - we have to work together as a region if we're going to survive. To exist in isolation is not going to make it anymore.

TH: What are the biggest challenges you face as a village president?
FF: Managing people's fear of change. And not getting tired out. Because it can get tiring. My wife says, "Another meeting? You're going to be gone again today?" That type of thing. I have to be able, just like you talked earlier about balancing the uniqueness of the community with changes. I also have to balance the activities that I'm involved in with home life. So I have to preserve a happy home front.

TH: You mentioned Mary. How did you two meet?
FF: We both taught in Rockford in the same school system. God, I hope you don't print this, but I went out to a Christmas party, faculty Christmas party. I asked her. And I came home and I told my mom and dad, "I met the girl I'm going to marry."

TH: Now, why would you hope that I don't print that?
FF: Well, I don't know. She might be embarrassed. It took five years for us to finally get married.

TH: Whose fault was that?
FF: Well, it was mine, because I didn't really want to ask her because I was afraid she might say no and I didn't want to be rejected. So I just kind of was friendly and we were on the same bowling team and so forth and so on. I thought, now how can I ask her to go out on another date but not have the fear of rejection. I said, I know, we'll make a bet on the Packers and the Bears football game and whoever loses takes the other one out to dinner. And it really didn't matter to me whether the Bears or the Packers won, because, either way, I was going to be able to go out to dinner. So we went out to dinner and one thing and another happened and five years later we got married and moved to Potosi.

TH: I take it you're the Bears fan.
FF: I'm the Bears fan because I was born and raised in Illinois.

TH: Why kind of teacher were you?
FF: I was a very good teacher, but I wasn't as good as Mary was. At least not for the middle school. I think I did a better job with the high school. I taught college-bound seniors literature and writing. That was really what I enjoyed tremendously. I enjoyed the middle school kids but I don't think I had the quite the command that she had.

TH: Do you consider yourself "in politics?"
FF: No, not really. In the village, we don't run as Democrats or as Republicans. We're just public servants. I probably consider myself a political person, but I don't see myself being in politics.

TH: Anyone in a leadership position has an opportunity to make decisions that some people aren't going to like. How do you deal with controversy or unhappy constituents?
FF: It's difficult. First of all, it's not just me. It's me and the village board. So the decisions are not just my decisions. I am not the king of Potosi. I'll present things to the village board. I try to present things giving a complete picture, the pros and the cons on any particular situation. And certainly I have my leanings, but, really, the village board makes the decisions. Now, in answer to your question, you try to stay calm. I think I have. You try to point out to them that this is in the best interest of the Village or in the best interest of the long-term needs of the Village. We had, many years ago, when I first got on the Village board in '92, a sidewalk controversy. Whether or not when the new highway was going through, Highway 133, whether to include a sidewalk. I was originally against it because where the DOT had decided to put the sidewalk, the side of the street they chose, was really taking a lot of property from yards that were small to begin with. I was able to get the DOT to switch the sidewalk to the other side of the street. The yards were larger. There were some people who were against it at the time, but now they're very happy that it's there. I wasn't on the board at the time but I remember a situation where Hickory Hill Park, a joint project between Potosi and Tennyson, was incorporated, having a park facility for people. Oh, there were all sorts of rumors and scare tactics and oh, you know, "It's just going to be a hangout for teenagers. They're just going to be drinking. There's going to be raucous noise until 11 at night." None of that happened. So I think the biggest thing is trying to deal with the situation before it becomes a problem that mushrooms out of control. And you deal with it by dispelling the fear. You know, some people put up an umbrella before it starts to rain. I think with a lot of these situations, the same thing happens. People will put up all sorts of umbrellas and it hasn't even started to rain yet. Calm down. It's not going to happen. The park will close at 10. It will be patrolled or whatever, so it's going to be OK. So I think what you do is you try to deal with that fear and apprehension and you deal with it before it becomes a problem that mushrooms out of control.

TH: The brewery project, of course, is on your "To Do" list. It's in progress. What else?
FF: Downtown renovation. There's a group now that is beginning to work on trying to do some downtown renovation, restoring the buildings to the way the looked in the '30s or '40s. What happened over the years, board and batten was put onto the fronts of buildings and artificial or fake stucco was put on buildings. Paint was put on the brick. All of that used to have beautiful big plate glass windows with awnings. We'd love to be able to restore it to the way it looked in maybe the '30s or the '40s.

TH: Is village government now your hobby or do you have time for other things?
FF: Oh, I read a lot. Between Christmas and now, I probably read about 20 books. Fiction, non-fiction, it doesn't make any difference. Harry Potter books or a mystery novel or non-fiction on politics, whatever.

TH: You strike me as a very positive person. But there must be some days when something's getting you down. What is likely to have things fall in the "bad day" category?
FF: I don't know. I really don't know. I mean, even if we found out, for example, let's say for some reason or another some grant we applied for didn't come through, I might be down for about 20 minutes, but self-pity is fine, but it shouldn't last more than 15 minutes. Then you've got to move on.

TH: Well, let's move on and look at the other side of the coin. What really excites you about what you do for the village?
FF: What really excites me? This is probably going to sound hokey, but I think what I'm trying to do for the Village is like planting a tree. I might not live to see it turn into a majestic oak, but I've left something behind for the generations that follow. And that excites me. To leave something behind in the Village of Potosi. I don't care if it has my name on it or it doesn't. To leave something behind that keeps that wonderful community vibrant and alive. That would excite me. That does excite me.