The city has set dates for three public hearings related to the proposed Walmart development. Here are the details ….
- Monday, Oct. 3: Two hearings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. before the Community Development Authority. One is on modifications of the project development plan for tax incremental financing district No. 2. The other is on the sale of property in TID 2 to Gatlin Development, the Walmart project developer.
- Tuesday, Oct. 18: A hearing at 6:30 p.m. before the City Council on the proposed vacation of 11th Avenue, which is called for as part of the development plan.
Click on the links above to see the official notices. The Plan Commission is also expected to hold its own hearing on the issue at some point.
As you recall, I wrote about this issue after Tuesday’s council meeting. And don’t forget to vote in my poll on the right side of this page.
South Milwaukee Blog 
Thank you for providing this information. Are you able to shed any light on the closed joint session(s) held by the CDA and the Common Council? I have not been able to locate any minutes from this closed session (and frankly why was it closed?). What bothers me is the wording of agenda item 4 of the September 6 CDA meeting: it would appear that the goal of any open sessions and public comment forums is only for show and that decisions have already been made. Shouldn’t it read “may or may not include approval of the terms of sale” to indicate that this is still not decided?? And the article from the JS has stated the $1.8 million loan as a done deal, which I agree may not be the whole story.
I am deeply concerned about the process of this TID development and the lack of meaningful opportunity to publicly discuss this. I live close to where this development is proposed, and I feel frustrated at the lack of community involvement in what has the potential to drastically alter the nature of these neighborhoods. I want to feel good about living in South Milwaukee, but at the moment I feel railroaded and ignored.
Is the Common Council and CDA still willing to discuss this proposal with the citizens of South Milwaukee, and if need be decide against this development, or are the public hearings merely to fulfill legal requirements in the face of an already done deal?
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