Monthly Archives: August 2016

Rounding up upcoming athletics fundraisers, with information provided by the South Milwaukee School District …

1. Girls Volleyball Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, Sept. 10, 8:00am-12Noon, High School Commons, $8 at the door, $7 in advance from any player.
2. After the pancake breakfast people can swing by Piggly Wiggly/Rawson Avenue, for a Car Wash from the Marching Band, 10AM-2PM, suggested donation $5.00
3. Football is holding a Donation Night at Cousin’s Subs (2965 S. Chicago Avenue, South Milwaukee), September 12 & October 3, 5:00-8:00pm. 10% of all proceeds will benefit Youth and High School football programs.

All details for Activity & Athletic group fundraisers are on the High School Activities & Athletics webpage. 

Happy to see new and growing businesses downtown!

I wrote about the new barbecue place earlier this week. Here are a few more examples …

• Jen’s Sweet Treats: Exciting news for this business at 907 Milwaukee Ave., which opened earlier this year and is already in expansion mode. Wrote owner Jennifer Clark on Facebook this week: “I’m doing the happy dance. We’ve obtained the other half of our South Milwaukee building so we are starting renovations as I speak. Unfortunately that location will be closed temporarily till everything is complete. We will try really hard to get back open as soon as possible. New additions will include a party room and meeting space for rent. As well as a gift shop, and coffee with indoor seating .We will also be expanding our candy counter and adding hand scooped ice cream! Woohoo big things are coming! Stop by our Cudahy location for all your sweet treat needs in the mean time! We’ll be back soon, bigger and better than before! :)” I’m doing a happy dance, too.
• MKE City Sippers: If you haven’t heard, Nicole Maxey, owner of MKE City Sippers, is moving on to her next adventure in Florida – we’ll miss her around here – but Sara Lewkowski, one of her baristas, is taking over and planning to continue the coffee house. It will be called Avenue Coffeehouse and feature many of the same products as MKE City Sippers, including terrific Anodyne Coffee. Sara plans to close on August 31, then reopen on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 6 a.m. Stop by and say hi!
• THE SHOP: Renovations are nearly complete, and Tim Schneider this week officially moved his cool antique motorcycle repair business from Bay View to the edge of downtown at 1905 13^th Ave. Look for more details soon on a grand opening date.

So, lots going on in our city center … and much more to come.

Summer is winding down, but there are still several cool events coming up in our city center, all at the farmers’ market site …

• Saturday (Aug. 27): First, don’t forget about the Restore the Lagoon Festival this Saturday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be live music and entertainment, games, a silent auction, a car/bike/truck show, crafts, vendors, food, beer and much more. Learn more on the Restore Facebook page.
• Thursday, Sept. 8: Also, the South Milwaukee Downtown Health Fair is coming up. More than 20 local health and wellness vendors are expected, in addition to the regular market lineup. This year’s event is presented by the South Milwaukee Health Department. Hours are 3 to 7 p.m. Learn more on the market Facebook page.
• Saturday, Sept. 17: The third Guardian Credit Union outdoor movie date has been set: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” airs at dusk (around 7 p.m.). This is the makeup date from the June show, which was postponed due to rain.

Also, we are cancelling the second South Milwaukee Food Truck Festival, which had been set for Sunday, Sept. 18. It’s not for lack of popularity. We are just looking for a new “owner” of the event, so if your organization is interested, let me know. I look forward to bringing this back next May – stay tuned.

I love me some barbecue … and that’s why I’m excited about South Milwaukee’s newest downtown restaurant. You should be too.

Scrappy’s BBQ will be opening soon in the former Lloyd’s Lunch, 925 Madison Ave.

Mike Hintz, barbecue aficionado and caterer, is planning to open his doors on Oct. 1, with a specialty in barbecue beef brisket, burnt ends, ribs, pulled pork, Italian beef, pressured-fried chicken and more.

And if the food tastes like it did at last week’s South Milwaukee Community & Business Association meeting, which Mike catered, it will be a hit. Much more to come on this exciting new business.

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• Caterpillar Cutting Jobs at Former Bucyrus Plants, Considers Sale of Part of Mining Business (Business Journal)
• Districts Hope to Find Crossing Guards Before Start of School Year (WISN)
• Milwaukee, Oak Creek Among Members of Group Challenging Waukesha Water Plan (Business Journal)
• Mandel Group Developing its Vacant Lot in St. Francis (BizTimes)
• Drexel Town Square Apartments Welcome First Residents (NOW)
• Oak Creek Teen Missing Since Aug. 19 Has Been Found (NOW)

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” This quote from Dolly Parton gets to the heart of an important initiative the South Milwaukee City Council approved on Tuesday.

The council voted unanimously to spend $20,000 to contract with Third Ward-based Savage Solutions to develop a new brand for the City of South Milwaukee.

This is about so much more than a logo. Rather, it’s about the community coming together to define who we are, what we want to be, and then bringing it to life graphically in a multitude of ways.

Developing and launching the brand will take months, as long as a year. A group of stakeholders – residents and business owners – will guide the process throughout. Once that is complete, the exciting part starts – exploring and delivering creative ways to make the brand part of our community identity.

Of course, there will be business cards, logo gear, and digital executions. But I’m just as excited about opportunities like street banners (I love this one Savage has done in Oak Creek, and this one they’ve been working on for downtown Waukesha), welcome signage, directional street signage, and even advertising campaigns (you have probably heard the Oak Creek radio commercials during Green Bay Packers games). And how about murals, or billboards?

All of these details will be the subject of more discussion – with funding subject to council approval — as the brand is launched and evolves over time. This will take years. But at least we’re getting started.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Savage – in a presentation that included the Parton quote referenced above – gave us a glimpse into who they are, how they define branding, their process in defining a brand, and work they’ve been doing (and continue to do) in Oak Creek and Waukesha to develop their brands.

It’s that work that has me excited about what Savage can do for us.

Oak Creek officials rave about the firm, and after several meetings ahead of Tuesday’s council meeting, I share their enthusiasm as we begin this process.

The timing is right, especially with the recent passage of the comprehensive plan, which includes as one of its recommendations doing exactly what we’re doing. Practically, it makes sense, too. With downtown streetscaping getting underway in 2017, I see our new-look city center as one potential place this brand can be born.

But first things first. As Dolly Parton said, let’s first discover who we are. Then we’ll do it on purpose.

Alderperson Pieper is raising $5,000 for the purchase of a soon-to-be-retired South Milwaukee ambulance, which will be donated to a Third World country.

She’s already more than halfway there … and here’s another opportunity to help!

A note from the city engineer …

Sanitary sewer, watermain, and storm sewer replacement is in the final stages of construction with service laterals being installed the week of August 22, 2016. 

Pavement removals will be starting on the southbound lanes from Pine Street south to Oak Creek Parkway starting as early as Thursday August 18^th.

During pavement installation, the road will be detoured and opened for local and business access only.  Northbound traffic will be detoured onto Hawthorne, Memorial and Pine, and back to Chicago Avenue.  Southbound traffic will be detoured at Walnut, Oak Creek Parkway, and back to Chicago Avenue. Local access as allowed, will be on gravel at certain times.

For northbound lanes, from the bridge to Hawthorne, concrete should be complete for the start of school on September 1^st. (E.W. Luther) The balance of paving work and other work should be complete by mid-October.

Please use alternative routes as much as possible. 

And I have two asks as mayor: Please be patient, and please support the local businesses impacted by this project. I know they would appreciate it!

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• Medal of Honor Recipient Recovering from Crash (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Couple Takes Enhanced Ranch House to a New Level (Journal Sentinel)
• Former Cudahy Police Official Charged (Journal Sentinel)
• Retail Website Developer Buys Oak Creek Office Building for Expansion (Milwaukee Business Journal)
• Oak Creek Lions to Host Annual Labor Day Lions Fest (Oak Creek Patch)

And NOW has published a new police blotter.

Summer turning to fall — that means it’s time for South Milwaukee football.

The Rockets open their season at 7 p.m. this Friday against Sussex Hamilton at Spaltholz Field. The next week, it’s at Nathan Hale, then at home against Greenfield.

And mark your calendars for Sept. 23: Homecoming vs. Cudahy, with the parade, bonfire and other festivities planned for the evening before.

It’s football season, and I love it. Go Rockets!

Check out the full South Milwaukee schedule here. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has team capsules here, and it calls South Milwaukee, behind first-year head coach Mike Bertok, a “contender.” 

I can’t think of a better time to bring a community together, and support law enforcement at the same time.

Join us this Wednesday, August 17, for South Milwaukee Community Night Out!

From the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission …

Join us for the next Oak Creek Watershed Restoration Plan meeting on August 30, 5:30-7:00 p.m. at Oak Creek Civic Center’s Multipurpose Room, 8040 S. 6th Street, Oak Creek. SEWRPC staff will give a presentation on goals for the meeting and attendees will break out into small groups based on geography to discuss restoration priorities and projects.

The public is welcome, but attendees are asked to register. Do so here.

As we prepare for the meeting, a lot has happened with the early efforts to produce a much-needed restoration plan.

I asked SEWRPC for an update …

SEWRPC staff have begun field work for the Watershed Restoration Plan, focusing first on the mainstem of Oak Creek. Staff are walking the stream, collecting data and photos for streambank erosion, sewer outfalls, debris, sediment, and channel characteristics. Commission staff have also started to collect historical information on the Mill dam and pond.

Success in downtown South Milwaukee must be long-term success.

There are no quick fixes. Instead, we must build a foundation of strong policies, programs, and approaches that transforms the passion we have for revitalization into action.

We’re doing that with our new Downtown Revitalization Grant recently, with new Milwaukee Avenue streetscaping coming in 2017 and with our stepped-up business outreach efforts. We’re doing that with an unmatched downtown events calendar — including  last night’s well-attended Guardian Credit Union outdoor movie. And we’re doing it with the “ownership” work that is now underway.

I’m especially excited about that last piece. The city, working with Graef, our consulting partner, has formed a workgroup of nine local business and property owners, other residents and city officials (including me) to help us answer key questions facing us as we continue the work in our city center.

The goal of this group: Deliver a set of recommendations for action as early as next spring, bringing to life strategy No. 1 in the downtown we passed in May. That strategy reads: “Organize a downtown revitalization structure to build local capacity and credibility to conduct successful work over the long-term.”

In doing so, we will answer key questions like:

• Who should “own” our downtown revitalization efforts in South Milwaukee? Should it be some sort of nonprofit association, or our local chamber of commerce, or the city, or some sort of hybrid? Is a downtown ownership group even necessary at all?
• And should our efforts involve a taxing entity like a business improvement district — one that can assess property owners to fund an executive director and efforts like marketing, building rehabilitation, streetscaping, events and more?
• What role should the Main Street program play? The program has certainly worked in other communities, but is it the right thing for us? Should we make an application?

We’ll find these answers after site visits to four or five downtowns in the region, additional study and meetings of the group. I can’t wait to begin.

This “ownership” work has the biggest potential for driving long-term success. If we figure this out and do it well, it will enable so many other efforts that will drive the positive change and promising future we need in our city center.

It will take time, but we will do this right. I’m as excited as ever about the opportunity in front of us.

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• South Milwaukee Teacher on Leave Facing Drug Dealing Charges (WTMJ)
• South Milwaukee’s Matt McCarty Ready for Next Phase (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Cudahy Police Spokeswoman Arrested (WISN)
• Growth Fuels Master Lock’s Oak Creek Decision (Business Journal)
• Photo Project in Oak Creek Honors Those Serving in the Military (WISN)

NOW has also published a new police blotter.

I did reach out to the South Milwaukee School District on the case involving the Lakeview teacher, and Superintendent Rita Olson said the district immediately put the woman on unpaid administrative leave. She could not comment further, as it is a personnel matter.

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

Come and visit Dunkin’ Donuts on August 12th, while our local police officers stake out Dunkin’ Donuts rooftops to benefit Special Olympics Wisconsin. Guests who make a donation will receive a coupon for a free medium hot or iced coffee.

They’ll be on the rooftop from 6 to 11 a.m. DD is at 3103 S. Chicago Ave.

More details on the overall Special Olympics effort here.