The Millennium Gardens Story

Leaving the world a better place?

We have been taught to leave the world a better place. But what about the consequences of such a mission? Is it worth the effort?

Many years ago, Sherry Towns traveled to France and was overwhelmed with the beauty of the famous Versailles Palace and its gardens. French citizens were proud, and sometimes even a little smug, that they had such planned beauty in their country. Ms. Towns wondered how to share the inspiring summer gardens with those in our country. This led to her designing the magnificent Millennium Gardens, located near a community she had grown up in—beautiful Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

Ms. Towns purchased 131 acres outside of Mukwonago (later selling 20 of those acres to help fund the project). The site was between a county park and a private site that had been approved for Halloween events 2 months of each year.

Ms. Towns designed fountains even more detailed than those in Versailles. Realizing the responsibility to teach future generations of the importance of history, she commissioned artists to carve life-size statues of local men who had done great things for the world. These granite and marble pieces took approximately four years to complete. During this time, the ground’s balanced geometric pathways were planned and installed—calculated in historically correct angles.

Crowning the Millennium Gardens was the Colonnaded French patio. Ms. Towns called the local Town government in the early summer of 2005 and was informed that she did not need a building permit or property line restriction because of her rural zoning. What they did not tell her was that she had to not only adhere to her zoning but also to the zoning of adjacent property.

By 2006, the Millennium Gardens main area was complete. It contained over 5,000 manicured shrubs, six elaborate fountains, 23 statues, two gazebos, and the French Colonnade patio. Ms. Towns often said she was merely a caretaker for what are really God's and the publics'. Soon she was approached by photographers, brides, magazines and organizations seeking to have fundraisers in the Gardens. She found there was not another gardens similar to it in the U.S. Magazines choose to do photography shoots in Millennium Gardens rather than in more famous gardens/buildings in the nation and Caribbean. Ms. Towns desire was to eventually donate Millennium Gardens to the public—to be used as a park that could be enjoyed by foot or small buggy.

Ms. Towns allowed the first few weddings to occur after checking with her attorney. Legal counsel informed her no permit was required as the weddings were occasional events. The weddings, complete with horse and carriage, were beautiful events. Subsequently, Ms. Towns received notice from the Town of Mukwonago government stating permits were required for such events, and she would be fined for each event held. She paid the fines rather than cancel pre-planned events, and she then opted to not schedule more events. The local chamber of commerce and businesses in Mukwonago requested the Town of Mukwonago allow the Millennium Gardens to be opened to the public for at least a few days a year to help attract visitors to the area and help struggling local businesses. The Town Board rejected those requests.

One woman, a property owner to the north of the Millennium Gardens, was the alleged catalyst in demanding Millennium Gardens never is open to the public. The neighbor could not see the Gardens because of a thick forest between her and the Gardens. After the right to open the Gardens to the public was denied, the woman had no reason to complain. She was quoted as saying, “Rich people think they can get their way on anything they want."

The woman scrutinized the town codes until she found something else to pursue... it was the French Colonnade patio. Though it had been three years since the completion of the Colonnade, she demanded the Town Board require Ms. Towns to remove it. The Colonnade was too close to her property line, the complaining neighbor asserted, and that the zoning on her seven acres also applied to the 110 acres of Millennium Gardens. She likewise claimed that when the land was leveled to build a base for the Colonnade, there was a change in the water flow over her property. The Town of Mukwonago’s engineer came after a heavy rain to view the neighbor’s land and found there was no water pooling on her property. The complaining did not cease.

Ms. Towns contacted a local architect who determined it would be useless to move the Colonnade 25 feet, and that he could easily make a drainage program to satisfy any concern. The Town Board advised that Ms. Towns try to personally resolve the issue with the neighboring property owner. Over a six-month period, Ms. Towns sent the woman two letters inviting dialog, and phoned twice. The Waukesha Mediation Center twice requested the assertive property owner and Ms. Towns meet to resolve the issues. The neighbor refused to meet.

Leaders from another community had heard of the Town of Mukwonago / Millennium Gardens situation. They contacted Ms. Towns asking her to consider bringing the benefits of the Millennium Gardens to their community. The Milwaukee Domes administrator and the County Park Manager drove out to view the Gardens and were baffled as to why such a beautiful remote venue should not be open to the public. Many citizens were perplexed; they could only guess as to the rationale for denying public use of Millennium Gardens.

Another Millennium Gardens neighbor came to a Town Board meeting and waited an hour to speak. The neighbor said that she did not know Ms. Towns but had been reading the government meeting notes. She said property owners in the Town of Mukwonago should be concerned because according to this situation, if one neighbor doesn't like you, they can cause major destruction in your life and to your property. The woman likened this to the witch hunts of decades ago.

Ms. Towns was steadfast in doing everything possible to stop any destruction to the magnificent Colonnade, and was advised by the Town of Mukwonago attorney as to rules and regulations–even seeking a zoning variance in order that the Colonnade not be removed. Ms. Towns laboriously completed each request and application and attended the meetings. During this process, Ms. Towns was shocked when one day she came home and received in the mail an $80,000 fine levied by the Town of Mukwonago–based on the fact that she had not torn down the Colonnade.

The Town of Mukwonago did not give full, accurate information that was requested prior to construction, however the town was unmoved by their error.

Six hundred Town of Mukwonago adults signed a petition, addressed to the Town of Mukwonago, requesting Millennium Gardens be opened to the public. Those 600 constituted approx 50 percent of the townships normal voting population. The plea of the petitioners has been ignored by the Town Board and Planning Commission.

Review of Mukwonago's government meetings show Ms. Towns experience is a reflection of current times in Mukwonago’s history…”destroy-don’t-create.” To contribute for the benefit of many, a citizen must try to endure painful resistance by the few.

The inscription carved in granite on the French Colonnade Patio states “Create. Persevere. Contribute."

-Tamara E. Pozorski-