Author Archives: Erik Brooks

I am thankful for family and friends, and for the privilege to lead this great city every day. I have never been more excited for the future of South Milwaukee.

It starts with our people, especially our 150 or so city workers who deliver our services every day — including holidays. Thank you!

Today, we look back, with gratitude. Tomorrow, we continue our work toward our more promising future.

Stronger, together.

Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and what better time to join me in committing to shopping local this holiday season?

Here are some ideas …

1. Shop at the South Milwaukee Christmas Market on Saturday, December 7. More than 100 vendors are expected at South Milwaukee High School for this really fun local Christmas institution.
2. Buy a limited-edition Crusher Christmas ornament. You will only be able to buy them at the Christmas Market, I’m told. Stay tuned!
3. Nothing says “happy holidays” like jewelry, Check out C3 Designs, including their World of Gemstones event Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
4. Buy gift certificates from some of our great bars and restaurants, from Moran’s Pub to Azteca to Barbiere’s to Paisano’s to Taco Stop to Island Jam to Spirts Pub & Grill to Tap Room to China Chef – and many more.
5. How about giving the gift of burgers and custard at the beach, in advance of Ferch’s returning next summer? Or some AM Ice Cream?
6. Local coffee makes a great gift from Avenue Coffee.
7. Nothing says Christmas like meat products! Milwaukee Sausage Company, specifically. Very cool new business.
8. Give the gift of fitness and health at the South Milwaukee Fitness Center, Sorce Martial Arts, Neutral Ground … the list goes on.
9. Games for Christmas? Absolutely! Shop downtown at Pink Bunny Games for trading card games, board games, table top games, and more; they also have Black Friday specials happening this week. Also, check out the Board Game Barrister clearance center.
10. Get a beautiful stained glass piece from Studio One Art Glass. (We have one hanging in every first-floor window of our home.)
11. We have boutiques! Check out Serendipitous Designs & Gifts and Hollyville for some truly unique holiday gifts.
12. Think leather! Gecko Leatherworks has Black Friday and Small Business Saturday specials planned.
13. Buy Rocket, South Milwaukee and other apparel from one of our downtown t-shirt shops, Styled Aesthetic or JB’s Tee Shirt Factory.
14. Military collectibles? You really need to see the museum-like atmosphere at Military Connection Collectibles.
15. Staying with collectibles, check out South Milwaukee-based MEARS Online Auctions, which has one-of-a-kind vintage sports gear, toys, and military items up for bid as we speak. Wise Owl Auctions also operates from downtown South Milwaukee.
16. Give the gift of performing arts with tickets to an upcoming show at the South Milwaukee PAC.
17. Pick up some holiday flowers or a centerpiece from one of our two awesome Milwaukee Avenue florists: Parkway Floral or Mari’s Flowers, Wine and Gifts.
18. Buy a bandanna, jigsaw puzzle, notebook and other HANmade item — designed by South Milwaukeean Colleen McCarrier.
19. Enjoy a children’s book from award-winning local author Janet Halfmann. (She and HANmade will be at the Christmas Market.)
20. Keep your vehicle running right with the gift of an oil change or three from a local car care center in our fair city.
21. Get your holiday meal from a local caterer like Charlie’s Catering.
22. Pick up a pie, bread or cookies from Wild Flour Bakery.
23. And don’t forget holiday beer, wine and spirits — I’ll put a plug in here for Leinenkugel’s Snowdrift Vanilla Porter, or a nice Miller Lite or Coors Light — from local liquor stores Chicago Avenue Liquor, Marquette Liquor, G&K Liquor or BJ’s Liquor.
24. Give the gift of golf this Christmas, with a free round or three at Grant Park or other county courses.
25. Know a disc golf fan? Stop by Acetime Disc Golf.
26. Hopefully Off the Beaten Path will be open in time for Christmas, for all your vinyl record needs. Stay tuned.
27. How about a VISA gift card from one of our local financial institutions?
28. Get a loved one (or you) a new hair style, with a gift certificate from a local salon, like Barberella, CM Salons, and Venne’s Creations.
29. Get a family photo done at Studio 919 or Sandy Conway Photography.
30. Be the talk of the neighborhood: Buy a Cheata Bike.
31. Or get a tattoo!
32. And, finally, let’s not forget local chains, many of them owned by local franchisees — small business owners themselves. If you’re going to shop at a chain store this holiday season, please do so at places like South Milwaukee Ace, Planet Fitness, Pick ‘n Save, Aldi, Cousins, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, Toppers, Walmart, Napa, Speedway, Walgreens, Aurora Pharmacy, Dollar General, Dollar Tree and others that all call our city home.

What did I miss? Post your comments below … and shop local!

The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s work on the Oak Creek Watershed plan is ramping up.

Their focus now is on the critical Chapter 4 of the plan: a deep dive into water quality, quantity, and other “inventory findings,” including a review of the status of the Mill Pond and dam.

That “state of the watershed” information will be reviewed at a meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square, 8040 South 6th St., in the Multipurpose Room.

From SEWRPC …

The intent of this meeting is to briefly review and receive comments on Plan draft Chapter 4, “Inventory Findings”, which includes discussion on stream flows, the history and current conditions for the Mill Pond and dam, and water quality conditions in the watershed. 

Beverages and a light supper will be available.

You can review the plan, and the partially complete Chapter 4, here.

It is sobering information, culled from volumes and volumes of available data from a variety of sources, and the results of years of physically walking the creek by SEWRPC staff.

From the report …

The entire mainstem of Oak Creek is currently listed as impaired with three impairments. The Creek is listed as impaired due to chronic aquatic toxicity related to an unknown pollutant. It is also listed as impaired due to the presence of a degraded biological community related to high concentrations of total phosphorus. Finally, the Creek is listed as impaired due to chronic and acute aquatic toxicity related to high concentrations of chloride. Each of these impairments apply to the entire length of the mainstem of Oak Creek. One tributary stream is proposed for listing as impaired on the 2018 list. The WDNR has proposed adding a 5.7-mile section of the North Branch of Oak Creek to the impaired waters list due to the presence of chronic and acute aquatic toxicity related to high concentrations of chloride.

There is a lot of information — A LOT. The incomplete draft version of Chapter 4 being reviewed in December is already nearly 200 pages long, and counting. However, I’m glad to see SEWRPC taking this deep of a dive. The watershed will be better off for it.

We need science to drive our decision making, as we look to breathe new life into the Oak Creek Watershed. This report — and all the data behind — will be the roadmap we need to do it.

It’s Christmas in South Milwaukee! Here is an updated schedule.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who made Saturday’s Old Fashioned Christmas and Lighted Christmas Parade happen! It was a terrific afternoon and evening, and it got the holiday season started off right.

I love our special events in South Milwaukee — I will always get behind them. They bring our community together.

Support these local businesses by voting for them in the annual Shepherd Express “Best of Milwaukee” Awards. Voting ends Dec. 5.

Click on the topic to vote …

• Fine Jewelry: C3 Designs
• Flower Shop: Parkway Floral
• New Retail Shop: Hollyville
• Caribbean Restaurant: Island Jam
• Bratwurst: Milwaukee Sausage Company
• Sausage: Milwaukee Sausage Company
• Bar to Watch Soccer: Moran’s Pub
• Sports Bar: Moran’s Pub
• Sausage Shop: Milwaukee Sausage Company

Also, a couple local financial institutions are finalists in the “Services Rendered” category: Associated Bank for “best bank” and “best financial institution for opening a checking account” and Educators Credit Union for “best”credit union” and “best financial institution for getting a business loan … home mortgage … and checking account.”

And two of our local politicians made the list of “City Confidential” finalists: Steven Shea for “best Milwaukee County Supervisor” and Chris Larson for “best state legislator.”

I apologize if I missed anyone!

The Brooks family is proud to present a holiday tradition that continues to grow.

We’re again gathering toys, games, etc.  and then delivering those Christmas gifts to several Milwaukee-area homeless/domestic violence shelters on Christmas Eve.

Our family will go shopping for toys around Dec. 21.

So here is the ask: If anyone wants to donate gifts for us to take, or donate money for us to spend on gifts when we go shopping, drop them off with Sarah or me any time before Christmas Eve.

New, unwrapped items, please.

And if you’d like to come with us on Dec. 24 — and show your kids the true meaning of the season — please join us. We’d love to have you. We leave from our house around 9 a.m. and will stop for lunch afterward.

Post a comment here, or feel free to email me at erikbrooks32@gmail.com for more information.

Thanks for helping make a child’s life more merry this Christmas.

South Milwaukee’s rebirth starts in our city center. And it’s happening, as the city makes the investments necessary to transform downtown … and very cool new and existing businesses take notice.

Let’s start with a couple projects the city is driving …

First, Milwaukee Avenue streetscaping, the $1.5 million project that will completely transform our Main Street, bringing new infrastructure and a new look and feel to the Avenue.

Work is done for the season. And while the early onset of winter weather has delayed the project some, we were able to replace off the light poles from 9th to 13th Avenues and complete the street improvements on 9th (removing angle parking near Azteca Restaurant) and the 900 block of Milwaukee. Work will pick up again in the spring, when you’ll see new sidewalks installed, as well as trees, planters, bike racks and a bike lane from Mill Road to 15th Avenue.

Much more to come on this — and you can can get project details here.

Also, the planning effort on the public space planned for 11th and Madison is progressing. We have released our request for proposals — see it here — which outlines a potential vision for this space that includes strong public input early and often in the process.

We want this to be your space, and want you to have a say in planning what’s next for this important parcel. Think bandshell, pavilion, permanent restrooms and much, much more.

Now let’s take a small business tour!

• Let’s start at 723 Milwaukee Ave., at Military Connection Collectibles. If you haven’t seen this combination store and museum yet, stop in. Craig has built something really special here, and he’s expanding. He bought his building recently, and is planning to complete the second story, build a garage and make a showroom visible from the street, bringing the store to Milwaukee Avenue. He presented his plans to the Plan Commission last month, and was featured in a NOW story this week.
• Across the street, Spencer Allen and Tracy Quigley  have purchased 710 Milwaukee Ave. with plans to convert it to art studio and co-op space. Tracy is a lampworker — more details on this art form here — and plans to work on her craft in the space, while also leasing spots to other local artists. More details soon on this exciting project … and you can follow them on Facebook.
• Let’s continue west to 2101 12th Avenue, the new home of Mikey V’s 4-Speeds, as it recently relocated from Milwaukee. Muscle cars have come downtown as part of this terrific reuse of a building at the former Line Material complex (more recently Johnson Health Tech, among other companies). The investment in their new home is significant. See for yourself on their Facebook page here.
• Finally, Off the Beaten Path. This popular vinyl record store has begun his move from Bay View to downtown South Milwaukee, 1219 Milwaukee Ave. Chris is hoping to open soon, and potentially bring live music to the store as well. More details on their Facebook page.

So, lots going on. And these downtown wins are not without losses. For example, we’ve recently seen Milwaukee Gourmet House close, and the King’s Row liquor store is also closing (according to its signage).

But that’s how we are going to revitalize our city center: two or three steps forward, one step back. It will take years, just as it has in every other downtown revitalization effort everywhere, but with patience, hard work, diligence and focus, it will get done.

We’re on our way!

The South Milwaukee Common Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to pass the city’s 2020 budget. You can see it here.

I’d like to thank the council for their support, and thank our city administrator and all of our department heads for their hard work in crafting another challenging spending plan.

The good news: We were able to avoid people and service cuts, while continuing to invest in critical areas for growth.

At the same time, the levy and tax rates will increase, driven in large part by a significant increase in insurance costs and a small increase in pay for our employees. More details ….

• The city portion of the tax levy will increase 4.88%, to $11.5 million.
• Tax rates will increase from $9.38 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $9.85. So, for the owner of a hypothetical $150,000 home, your city tax bill will increase about 5% to $1,478.34 in 2020.
• Keep in mind that this for the city portion of your tax bill only. The city makes up about 34% of your overall tax bill. Schools are about 40%, and Milwaukee County and the Milwaukee Area Technical College make up the remainder.
• Tax bills should begin arriving around the second week of December.

You can read more context on my previous post.

This bears repeating …

We continue to be responsible stewards of taxpayer money, and we will continue to be. And there is strong data to prove this.

First, our strong Aa2 bond rating, reaffirmed by Moody’s just last year, and reflective of our “healthy financial position.”

Also, the Wisconsin Policy Forum — the gold standard, in my mind, of independent research on governments — recently released its Municipal Data Tool, and it shows we manage our finances, and live within our means, as well as anyone.

While their most recent data is from 2018, it shows us with the third-lowest property tax levy per capita among the 19 communities in the county. Similarly, we stack up well in their measures of net operating spending per capita (third lowest) and debt (also third lowest).

Check out the chart with this post, and do your own comparisons here.

I love this new “shop local” activity that supports local businesses and helps local families in need.

Thanks, DB Tax & Wealth and the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, for making this happen. I’m hoping this becomes a local holiday staple!

From Milwaukee County Supervisor Steven Shea’s press release …

As Milwaukee County’s structural deficit grows we are forced to do more with less every year. Despite the limits on our revenue and overall reduction in spending, there are several bright spots in the 2020 budget that South Shore that residents can look forward to. Transit service will be maintained for residents who depend on Milwaukee County Transit System’s routes 48, 52, 55 and 80, seniors who use the Kelly Senior Center will be happy to know we are investing $250,000 for a new boiler, outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate a resurfaced parking lot at (Wil-o-Way) Grant Park, and I’m very happy to report that Grobschmidt Pool will remain open for the 2020 season,” said Supervisor Shea.

Thanks, Supervisor Shea, for fighting for South Milwaukee and the South Shore, and to the County Board for including this funding in their final budget, and to County Executive Abele for letting it stand.

Here is a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story on the budget.

So, we rejoice for now, while recognizing the future is far from certain on Grobschmidt Pool — still one of the lower-utilized pools in the county, and one of its oldest — and all of the county assets in South Milwaukee.

Parks, pools, transit, you name it … it is increasingly difficult for the county (and cities like us, for that matter) to invest in their services and facilities.

It only gets harder from here, and the next county executive.

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

Winter Parking Permits are now for sale at SMPD. Winter parking regulations begin December 1.

Keep in mind, permits will NOT be available for sale over Thanksgiving weekend, November 28 through December 1, our clerical staff will be out for the holiday. Get in early to purchase your Winter Parking Permit. Hours are Monday – Friday, 7am to 6pm.

Cost of the permits is $30.00 per month or $100.00 for the entire 4 month season. Between December 1st and March 31st, any resident who wishes to park on the street between the hours of 3am and 6am must purchase a parking permit.  Alternate side parking rules also apply.  Winter parking is enforced 7 days a week.

With State Sen. Chris Larson formally entering the race yesterday, the field is taking shape to replace Chris Abele as Milwaukee County executive.

And South Milwaukee should take notice. With almost a third of our land owned by the county, including key assets like Grant Park and Grobschmidt Pool, and three bus lines serving us, we’re as reliant on a strong Milwaukee County as any community. Who leads the county matters.

Here is my ask of him or her …

• Be executive of the whole county. All ZIP codes.
• Solve problems, together. Leaders unite. Unite, don’t divide. Lead.
• Develop and have a clear vision for where the county needs to be … and work deliberately to bring that vision to life.
• Encourage and get behind big, bold ideas. Build on the foundation Chris Abele leaves here. There are no sacred cows.
• Support cities and villages. This is where real change happens. Partner where possible. More often than not, get out of their way. Start by being a strong advocate for the sales tax legislation.
• Check the politics at the door. Leave partisanship, political games and overheated rhetoric to Madison and Washington. Tone matters.
• No political opportunism, please. Want this job because you want this job, not the next job. Chris Abele wanted this job and acted accordingly. His predecessor wanted the next job and acted accordingly. Be Chris Abele. 

And I’ll add one more: Ask tough questions, not necessarily promising these things have to change, but to understand things like this …

• Why is Milwaukee County the only county in the state that patrols its own freeways?
• Why does Milwaukee County own an airport?
• Why is it the Milwaukee County Transit System, and not something more regional? And why doesn’t it include The Hop?
• Why is the “front line” of county government so inaccessible? Why should you have to fight parking downtown and then go through a metal detector simply to get a birth certificate (and access other basic county government functions)?
• Why does Milwaukee County own so much parkland, while also making it clear it can not adequately maintain it all, and make necessary investments in its infrastructure?
• Why is Milwaukee County not in the state pension system?

Good luck to all involved! You have a heck of a job ahead of you … and I look forward to partnering with you to lead Milwaukee County forward.

We are stronger, together.

From the Street Department …

The last day to rake leaves to the curb is Friday, November 22nd. It will take our Street Department crew a least a week to make a final pass through the city. Once the leaves are removed from your area, please do not add to the curb. Leaves may be dropped off at the Self-Deposit Station, at 1106 Blake Ave, with no fee (for leaves only) until the end of the year.

Crews will be out at least the next two Saturdays working on this.

Thank you for your patience, as we strive to deliver this service as efficiently as possible despite this early dose of winter.

Christmas is drawing closer, and the number of holiday events in South Milwaukee keeps growing! Here is an updated list. This week alone …

Wednesday, November 20

• South Milwaukee Lions “Season of Giving” Blood Drive. Give the gift of life by donating blood from 2 to 6:30 p.m. at American Legion Post #27. Sign up today at bit.ly/smlions1120 or call 877-232-4376.

Thursday, November 21

• Community Meal. The monthly meal features roast turkey and gravy, buns, roasted potatoes, Italian green beans, cranberries and pumpkin bars. 5 to 6:30 p.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1111 N. Chicago Avenue. All are welcome. Free of charge.

Saturday, November 23

South Milwaukee Old Fashioned Christmas

Our city’s official holiday celebration moves to the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and includes the return of the lighted Christmas Parade!

• 3 to 6 p.m. Visit with Santa, kids’ crafts, Cousins subs, free hayrides and more. South Milwaukee City Hall, 2424 15^th Ave.

Lighted Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting

• 6:30 p.m. South Milwaukee Lions Club Lighted Christmas Parade runs along 15^th Avenue near City Hall, from Madison to Marion. Reserve your entries today … or line the streets to check out this new holiday tradition.
• Following parade: City Hall tree lighting.

And get those Light Up South Milwaukee entries in!