Chairman with a service agenda

When some people seek public office, they bring a personal agenda with them. New Saukville Town Chairman Kevin Kimmes said his only agenda is the meeting agenda on the table before him — the business, and best interests of, the 1,822-resident town.

“I’m not coming with an agenda to change things — I’m literally just trying to help the town out,” said Kimmes, who replaced retiring Town Chairman Don Hamm (2014 to 2021) last week.

“I’ve seen in other communities where someone gets angry about a particular thing and so their reason for running is really about the thing that’s affected them ... and their heart’s not in the full vision for the whole community. I think that’s what I’m trying to say when I say I don’t have an agenda.

“My agenda, if there was one, is to look out for the best interests of the whole town and how can we improve upon things.”

Although only a six-year resident of the Town of Saukville, Kimmes, formerly a 16-year Cedarburg resident, is no stranger to town residents. He was appointed to the Planning Commission within the first month of his relocation, given his longtime track record as a consulting engineer with the Mequon office of Stantec, Inc. for communities including the Village and Town of Grafton in Ozaukee County, the Village of Johnson Creek in Jefferson County and the neighboring Village of Newburg in Washington County.

Kimmes serves as a principal and U.S. municipal sector leader for Stantec, an engineering services company that operates four offices in Wisconsin among some 400 globally.

Due to his new role as Saukville Town Chairman, Kimmes will be “transitioning out” of his consulting engineer role with Newburg, given the potential conflict of interest posed by extraterritorial zoning areas in the adjacent towns of Saukville and Newburg.

Since taking office, Kimmes said he has had a “very positive” welcome from town staff, board members and town residents.

Kimmes said he hopes to work collaboratively with incumbent supervisors Michael Denzien and Curt Rutkowski in charting the future for the Town of Saukville amid the challenges of pressing issues,  including maintenance and improvement of town roads, provision of fire and emergency medical services, balanced land development and equitable broadband access.

“I want to work with the board to come to decisions on everything,” Kimmes said. “Nothing is my decision. I think those two (Denzien and Rutkowski) have done a great job. I’m excited to work with them.”

As he begins his new public service role, Kimmes draws inspiration from his late grandfather, Arthur Kimmes of New Trier, Minn., a 30-year board member of rural Minnesota power cooperative Dakota Electric.

“I have a sense of connectedness to him,” Kimmes said. “My civic service is kind of an homage to my Grandpa Art. Kinda idealistic stuff, I know, but if I have the talent and skills to help, I’ll do it.”

Kimmes said he also draws inspiration from American artist Norman Rockwell’s oil painting “Freedom of Speech,” published in the Feb. 20, 1943, issue of The Saturday Evening Post with an accompanying essay by American novelist Booth Tarkington. The painting depicts a resident speaking his piece at a local public meeting.

“I really think highly of the ability for everybody to speak up and weigh in on the process of administering the community,” Kimmes said. “I try to make sure everyone’s voice is heard, everyone has the ability to say their part respectfully.

“I hope to administer the town where you’ll be able to publicly watch the decisions being made and have the opportunity to speak your piece.”

A native of the area around Hastings, Minn., where his relatives were legacy farmers of German and Luxembourgian ancestry, Kimmes attended North Dakota State University and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned a degree in civil engineering.

“I went into engineering because I was good at math and I wanted to be outside — I’m a big outdoorsman,” he said. “That’s why I went into civil engineering — to engineer the land. I wanted to make sure I was outside, not being stuck inside in a cube all the time.”

Away from his work and town duties, Kimmes is a league golfer, an avid hunter and angler, and a member of Riveredge Nature Center, calling himself a “big advocate” of Riveredge’s mission.

“I think they’re a jewel that really draws people to the Town of Saukville,” Kimmes said of Riveredge. “I help out where and when I can.”

As a devoted longtime hunter, Kimmes has also competitively toured the National Bird Dog Circuit, winning national titles in 2008 (U.S. Pheasant Open Championships) and 2011 (Puppy Nationals), as well as several Wisconsin Series Dog of the Year trophies.

Kimmes’ wife Nicole, a Wauwatosa native, is a breast-cancer registered nurse at Froedtert Medical Center.

The couple, who met during college while on spring break in Acapulco, Mexico, are the parents of two adult children.

Son Jared, 23, is an accountant.

Daughter Kaitlyn, 20, in college studying for a career in marketing and supply chain management, works part-time on Saturdays at the Town of Saukville Recycling Center.