Author Archives: Erik Brooks

The former South Shore YMCA has new owners, and there is a chance on Saturday to learn more about their plans for the building.

Details on the event are in the image above, and here is a Fox 6 report.

I’m looking forward to learning more about their plans — and to see new life brought to this property. It’s been vacant too long. From the Fox 6 story …

Fetic says a lot will stay the same. It will be a place to workout, daycare and classes will be offered — but there will be some additions. “We have a lot of things we emphasize here. Education is incredibly important for us here. Multiculturalism, openness and friendship,” said Fetic.

For now, they’re calling themselves, “Youth in Motion.” And while they still have some work to ahead of them to reach their goal of an early September opening, they’re looking forward to it.

Me too.

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

On July 6, 2016 at about 8:24 pm, the South Milwaukee Police Department responded to 1131 Marquette Avenue (Subway Restaurant) for an armed robbery. According to witnesses, a black Nissan pulled up in front of the restaurant. Two male suspects exited the car from the passenger side and went into the store. One male displayed a handgun while the other male, jumped over the counter. The second male told the employee to open the register. The male took approximately $560 from the register. Both males left and got back into the car. The car fled the area, but was later stopped by Milwaukee Police Department.

The suspects are now in police custody. There were no injuries during the incident.

We’re going even bigger this July 4th.

The latest addition, thanks to new sponsor Mara’s Sewing House, will be patriotic upgrades to the Brown Pavilion, as we help the building look the part as a concert venue for the U.S. Navy Band on Monday night.

Look for red, white and blue throughout historic space, presented by the new local business that specializes in making custom U.S. flags and other items.

This is in addition to the enhanced fireworks show we’re doing this year, bike judging, kids’ games, the Mayor’s Picnic and bouncy houses.

None of this would be possible without our sponsors. In addition to Mara’s, we thank the Milwaukee County Parks, Max A. Sass & Son Funeral Home, TASC Services, Sprecher Brewing, and Beer Capitol.

See you on Independence Day!

With that, I’ll be taking a few days off from blogging. Be sure to like my Facebook page, if you haven’t already. I often post breaking news and share images from local events there. 

Work begins Tuesday on one of our more significant road construction projects in years — and, as anyone who drives it knows, a necessary one.

You’ll recall we’re reconstructing Chicago Avenue from the Oak Creek bridge (near Dairy Queen) north to Pine Street. This includes installation of new sewer and water lines, storm sewer upgrades, median and island reconstruction and more.

The project begins on Tuesday, July 5, with traffic control setup. Work will continue into October. Traffic will remain flowing, with limited exceptions.

Here is the letter we sent to local businesses and others this week with more details.

The project is being funded entirely through the Water Utility, sewer enterprise funds, our stormwater utility, and the city’s general fund (through borrowing) — and not through any special assessments to abutting property owners.

We appreciate your patience as we embark on this significant investment, and improvement, in our city’s roads. We think the short-term inconvenience of the construction project will be worth it for the long term.

In February, the South Milwaukee City Council voted to purchase a new ambulance as part of its regular rotation of vehicles.

That left one vehicle – in this case, a 2001 model with approximately 80,000 of miles on it, the last van-style ambulance in our department — to be “retired.” Typically that means we’d send it to auction, and maybe get $5,000 for it. But Alderwoman Lisa Pieper had a better idea.

She wants to send the ambulance to a country that needs it.

That’s why Lisa is raising funds to reimburse the city for the fair market value of the ambulance, title transferring and any related shipping costs.

Please join me in helping her out on this terrific mission, and put a piece of South Milwaukee in the hands of the less fortunate.

Here is the Go Fund Me page. Please consider a donation, and spread the word!

Once again, the South Milwaukee Historical Society Garden Tour provided a terrific showcase for our city’s top outdoor spaces.

There were six gardens on the tour this year, and all of them were first-class examples of homeowners’ commitment to making South Milwaukee more beautiful. I thank all of the participants for their hard work — it’s not easy to do this, nor is it easy to put yourself out there and show your work to the world. But I also see this is a labor of love. These gardeners have a passion that shines through.

So, who was the best of the best?

For the second year, I was asked to give out a Mayor’s Choice Award, and instead of one, we are giving out two grand prize winners. They are …

• Al and Cath Bassett. The Bassetts’ garden at 3509 Willow Lane is pristine and bursting with color. But the real treat is the handmade art work you discover as you walk through it, especially the glass pieces. There is also a mermaid fountain, a mini-fairy garden and a flower kaleidescope machine that it truly mind-blowing.
• Bryce and Debra Ruddock. You probably saw their home, 1002 Sycamore Ave., featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently, and for good reason. As the article stated: This “isn’t the typical garden filled with showy flowers. Here the focus is on plants that can be eaten and/or used for medicinal purposes, and the garden is laid out in a method called integrated forest gardening, which is a system of design using patterns and principles found in nature.” Bryce literally wrote the book on the this type of gardening, and his love of permaculture comes through loud and clear in what is one of the more unique outdoor spaces you’ll find. And it’s beautiful.

Both winners receive a personalized piece of garden art from one of the artisan vendors who set up shop on Milwaukee Avenue on Saturday, as well as a lifetime membership to the South Milwaukee Historical Society. I’ll also present them with a mayoral proclamation at an upcoming ceremony.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s Garden Tour, and I wish I could have given all of the participants an award. All were worthy of recognition.

And thank you to the volunteers from the Garden Club and Historical Society enough for all the hours they put into this event. It paid off with a wonderful celebration of what makes South Milwaukee so special and so beautiful — our unique neighborhoods, homes, people and, of course, gardens.

P.S. I have lots more photos of all the gardens on my Facebook page. 

Our July 4th celebration is bigger and better than ever – and now louder.

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we’re adding to the fireworks show, with $1,000 worth of extra shells and a ramped-up grand finale.

Consider it one more reason to celebrate Independence Day with us in South Milwaukee. Here is the rundown of activities …

• 10 a.m. Call to colors, kiddie parade and judging; bouncy houses open until 4 p.m.
• 11 a.m. Games, presented by the South Milwaukee Recreation Department
• 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mayor’s Picnic (free hot dog lunch, as well as Cracker Jack and ice cream for all attendees)
• 7 p.m. Navy Band Great Lakes Brass Ambassadors and Fair Winds quintets perform
• 9:30 p.m. Fireworks

All events are at Grant Park Picnic Areas 5 and 5A and the Brown Pavilion.

None of this would be possible without our aforementioned sponsors, and please join in me in thanking them:  Milwaukee County Parks, Max A. Sass & Son Funeral Home, TASC Services, Sprecher Brewing, and Beer Capitol.

See you on Independence Day!

The South Milwaukee Fire Department has issued its 2015 Annual Report, and it provides a great summary of the hard work they put in every day to keep us safe.

From Fire Chief Joe Knitter …

This report provides only a brief snapshot of the hard work put forth by the members of your fire department who continue to demonstrate their commitment to providing an exceptional level of service and standard of coverage to meet the increasing needs of our community. Our overall call volume increased during 2015 with a notable increase in the number of EMS calls. Conversely, the number of total fire incidents dropped slightly as did the dollar loss associated with structure fires.

One area of improvement that I am once again proud to highlight is the increase in the number of community members impacted by our fire prevention/community outreach efforts. As you will see on Page 12, we interacted with a significant number of K-4/5, 1st grade and 5th grade students who participated in our fire safety education programs and visited a number of businesses and industries instructing community members on the safe and proper use of fire extinguishers. Although it is nearly impossible to predict how many fires or injuries these initiatives prevent, our dedication to maintaining a presence in the community and delivering fire and life safety messages can only become more effective as we interact with more community members.

Thanks to all of these everyday heroes for all they do!

This is becoming one of my favorite events in this city, as we showcase some of our city’s most beautiful properties.

And stay tuned to see who wins the “Mayor’s Choice” award!

You may recall the push earlier this year to have Milwaukee County parkland actually rezoned as parks in local communities – and my questioning of some of the motives behind this effort.

The city tackled the issue quickly when asked by the county administration, and, after a few months of study and discussions, we’ve now “cleaned up” our zoning designations for parkland in South Milwaukee. The city council passed the new zoning in May. You can see the ordinance, which creates new designations in our code for parks and public buildings, here.

No one wants to sell parkland, and no one had that intention. This takes steps to ensure that won’t happen in South Milwaukee.

I’m excited to see all the positive changes at the South Milwaukee Library these days … and that starts with a terrific lineup of programming.

There is literally something for all ages throughout the summer.

See for yourself on the library’s summer calendar and on this flyer promoting the library’s summer reading program — for both kids, teens AND adults. Also, check out information below on three unique events that combine walking and learning this summer.

Learn more on the library’s website and Facebook page.

Showtime is dusk this Wednesday at the site of the South Milwaukee Downtown Market, and it’s free. Thanks to Guardian Credit Union for getting behind these again in 2016 — and be sure to mark your calendars for July 13 and August 10!

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began two weeks ago, and with it worship at the South Milwaukee location of Masjid Al-Huda, the mosque at the former St. Adalbert’s site.

I re-extend my welcome to our fair city.

I got a quick tour of the campus a couple weeks ago and left impressed with the work the new owners have done to breathe new life into the longtime dormant space.

The biggest change is to the sanctuary, which you can see in the photo above. Many of the other rooms, including the classrooms, have been cleaned and have received a fresh coat of paint, and it’s made a world of difference – they look much as they did when the last St. Adalbert’s students transferred to St. Sylvester’s/Divine Mercy. The gym does too, all the way down to the “DM” logo still at center court.

Masjid Al-Huda plans to grow into many of these rooms – in fact, the entire campus — over the course of years, as they look to make this a long-term second home and keep their Greenfield location. That includes Guardian Academy, the religious school that will start this fall with maybe a few dozen children and adults. (Most mosque youth will also attend a  traditional local school or be home schooled.)

There will be five worship services per day. This month, the first is at 3:45 a.m., with the last at 10:30 p.m. More typically, outside of Ramadan, services will be held at dawn, in the early afternoon, in the late afternoon, after sunset, and in the evening.

Attendance is expected to be small to start and grow over time, with the most well-attended services likely to be those held around noon Fridays. Holy days and festivals – such as Ramadan, a month of intense prayers and fasting from sunrise to sundown to mark the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad; it continues through the evening of July 5 – will also draw more attendees.

I look forward to the positive impact the mosque and their worshipers will have on our community. I have met with mosque leaders and attendees several times, and I have seen first-hand their commitment to openness, outreach and community.

These are not radical Islamic jihadists, the people behind attacks like the one in Orlando, which Al-Huda quickly and forcefully condemned. These are good people who are excited to become part of the South Milwaukee community, while bringing much-needed new life to an abandoned property in our city.

These are our neighbors, our co-workers, and our friends … and I ask that we all take time to learn more about who our new neighbors are — and, just as importantly, who they aren’t; what they believe and what they don’t.

Look for more chances to meet them at a barbecue and open house coming this summer. You can also get individual tours of the South Milwaukee site, and meet with mosque attendees and leadership, by contacting them at info@alhudamke.org. Lionsfest will also continue at the site July 29-31.

Learn more about Masjid Al-Huda on its website and Facebook page. They also have an app. Here is the full Al-Huda statement on the Orlando shooting.

Here is another sign of summer: Milwaukee County’s outdoor pools, including Grobschmidt Pool behind the city administration building, open for the season on Saturday.

Grobschmidt, 2600 16^th Ave., will be open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily, with a night swim from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We’re blessed to have a local pool like this in South Milwaukee, and it’s exciting to see it will be here for the long term after the county’s investments a year ago.

See you at the pool!

Mara Vignevic helped build Eder Flag’s sewing department in her more than 20 years with the Oak Creek company. Now she’s on her own, and she’s bringing her sewing business to downtown South Milwaukee.

Mara’s Sewing Shop has opened at 915 Milwaukee Ave., where she and her eight employees will sew flags, banners, garments, and other custom items for customers big and small, as well as do alterations. (They were sewing thousands of American flags for one client this week alone.) There will also be a small walk-in retail shop, where they can take custom orders.

Mara is no stranger to Milwaukee Avenue. The shop was previously at 1200 Milwaukee Ave., but she had to scale back when her husband took ill. He passed away late last year, and Mara is now looking to return her business to the city in which she grew up.

You can learn more about Mara’s story in this 2013 Business Journal article.

I met Mara and her assistant for coffee at their new neighbor, MKE City Sippers, recently. She feels a strong tie to downtown, and wants to be part of its continued revitalization.

She is also expanding her business as a tribute to her husband, who encouraged her to continue growing Mara’s Sewing House before his death.

“It took me 6 months to even go for coffee with a friend or accept phone calls but now I feel like he is watching me and approves of my growth and is very proud,” she told me. “That thought has helped me with my grieving process.”

I can’t think of a better tribute. Welcome back to downtown South Milwaukee!