Author Archives: Erik Brooks

What a parade! What a market!

I couldn’t be more excited about the South Milwaukee Christmas events the last two Saturdays. From Old Fashioned Christmas to our city tree lighting to our first-ever South Milwaukee Lions Lighted Christmas Parade to the South Milwaukee Christmas Market, it has been a terrific start to the holiday season in South Milwaukee.

This week, it’s Christmas show at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, the Festival of Trees, a reindeer visit and more. 

Here is the full schedule. 

I’d like to thank everyone involved the past two weekends, and that list is long.

I start with our city workers, led by our Street and Police Departments and Clerk’s Office. The Nov. 24 events could not happen without their support and hard work.

And thank you to all of the volunteers as well! 

• Old Fashioned Christmas: Thanks first to the committee: Adeline Becker, Byron Borck, Joyce Bulley, Bernice Czarnezki, Rose Flores, Beverly Garves, Dolores Page, Sharon Paprocki, Debbie Polzin, Jim Shelenske, Karen Skowronski (and daughter Jenna), Sandy Skrobiszewski and Janet Talaska. Also, volunteers from South Shore Masonic Lodge #3, the South Milwaukee Middle School Volunteens and students from the WI-951 Greenfield High School Air Force JROTC Program also stepped up to help, among others. 
• South Milwaukee Lions parade support: Thank you to Jim Shelenske; Al Bassett; George Becker; Dick Blaha; Luis Castillo and his son Frankie; Jackie Ove and husband Rick; Tim Talaska; Chelsea Weirich;  Patti Redlin, husband Larry and two grandkids; Debbie Polzin and two grandkids; and Leo Cameron. 
• And to the South Milwaukee Downtown Market Committee and South Milwaukee High School, congratulations on another wonderful indoor market. What a festive annual event. 

And congratulations to our parade float winners, as judged by our super secret judges we have placed along the route … their photos are in this post. 

Check out this really cool story from NOW about a local artist painting a 7 Bridges-inspired mural at the South Milwaukee Library, as part of its ongoing upgrades. From the article about Sarah Henry … 

Henry said she grew up going to Seven Bridges, shot a few college films there, and she couldn’t imagine growing up anywhere else.

Drawing since she was a child, Henry created her first comic books at age 7 – which she still has. In high school, Henry began to take her art more seriously by deciding to go into comics and animation as a career.

“What I enjoy, personally, is the mindset you drift into once you are immersed in your creative flow, and the feeling of looking at something and knowing ‘I made that with my hands,’” she said. “People’s reactions are probably my favorite part, though. Knowing you had a positive impact in someone’s life is something I don’t take for granted.”

Congratulations, Sarah! Here is a picture of her from Gallery Night, where her art was on display at Serendipitous Designs.

Now, more than ever, communities need to work together to effectively deliver their services. In an era of increasingly constrained budgets, partnering is an imperative. We must collaborate. 

That is why I’m proud to announce the South Milwaukee Common Council has passed an intergovernmental agreement to allow us to provide public health services to the City of St. Francis.

The St. Francis Common Council approved the agreement on Tuesday. 

The three-year deal, effective Feb. 1, is positive for both sides and builds on our already strong relationship with our neighbors, including our work on the Environmental Health Consortium. 

• For us, we gain a full-time equivalent employee to help us deliver our wide array of public health services and programming, including education, immunization, clinic services and code enforcement. It also adds capacity for emergencies. The deal also brings additional revenue opportunities to us, as we will now collect grant dollars and fees that would have flowed to St. Francis.  
• For St. Francis, it expands the amount of services and programming available to their residents, and alleviates concerns raised with the retirement early next year of their public health administrator and nurse. (Indeed, concerns over filling open positions in this increasingly tight labor market may drive more of these kinds  of discussions in coming months and years.)

The deal also makes sense financially. The partnership is essentially budget neutral for both parties, as St. Francis will pay South Milwaukee between $6,700 and $7,387 per month, or about $84,000 per year. 

I want to thank South Milwaukee Health Administrator Jacqueline Ove and City Administrator Tami Mayzik for driving this on our end, and St. Francis city leaders for being so open to this common-sense consolidation. These deals are not easy, and it took many hours to get this to the finish line. 

My pledge: We will not stop here when it comes to working with our neighbors. This is only the start. 

The city portion of your upcoming tax bill will likely be smaller after the South Milwaukee Common Council passed our 2019 budget last week. 

Per my previous post on this, the overall tax levy will increase 3.5% to $just under $11 million, while the tax rate will decrease 2.8%, from $9.65 per $1,000 of assessed value, to $9.38. That means the city taxes on a property assessed at $150,000 will decrease from $1,447.50 to $1,407 when you see your tax bills in the mail in coming weeks.

Check out the 2019 city budget here.

As I’ve said, I’m proud we can deliver a city tax reduction for most property owners, and lower our debt. Still, the budget does not change the economic realities we continue to face — marked by restrictive state levy limits and other mandates that make it more and more difficult to fund our first-class city services. We will continue to fight that fight. We have to. 

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

On November 27th, at approximately 11:00 AM, a robbery occurred at the Associated Bank branch in South Milwaukee. A single male suspect implied a weapon and obtained an undetermined amount of money before fleeing on foot. Suspect is described as a thin black male, 20’s to early 30’s, wearing a dark colored hooded jacket or sweatshirt, dark jeans and white and black athletic shoes.

We continue to investigate and are asking for the community’s help. If you have any information regarding this case, please call the South Milwaukee Police Department at 414-768-8060.

Additional information will be provided as we have it.

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. We’ll also donate toys to South Milwaukee Human Concerns.

Our family will go shopping for toys in the next few weeks.

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.

Drafting of the Oak Creek watershed restoration plan is underway, and we’d like your feedback on some of the early work, as we continue on this journey to revitalize and reinvigorate this waterway. 

From the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission …

We have scheduled an Stakeholder meeting for Thursday, December 13, 2018, in South Milwaukee. The intent of this meeting is to present Plan draft Chapter 1 (Introduction), Chapter 2 (Prior and Ongoing Studies, Plans, Projects, and Programs), and Chapter 3 (Characterization of the Watershed). Draft chapters are available for review on the project website.

Beverage and light supper will be available.

Please register for the meeting using the link here.

The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., will held at City Hall, 2424 15th Ave. 

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• Better Angels: South Milwaukee Third-Graders Sent a Gift to a Stranger with Cancer. She Found a Way to Say Thanks. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• A Living Legend: Gary Wetzel Celebrated on 50th Anniversary of his Medal of Honor (Milwaukee Independent)
• South Milwaukee Woman Reunited with Birth Mother After Decades-Long Search (WISN)
• Driver Arrested in First Hour of Stepped-up Holiday Patrols (CBS 58)
• South Milwaukee Mom Pleads Not Guilty to 3 Counts of Neglecting a Child (Fox 6)
• 12 Under-the-Radar Boutiques in the Milwaukee Area (Milwaukee Magazine) 
• 13-year-old From Oak Creek Had a Hunting Knife During Attempted Shoplifting in South Milwaukee (NOW)
• Kinnickinnic River Shedding its Concrete Lining at Pulaski Park as Part of Flood-Control Plan (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Answer the question in the comments below, and maybe share some hidden gems. So many options, and more on the way …

Also, be sure to follow the Shop Local South Milwaukee Facebook page I created several years ago for Facebook updates from local businesses.

I’m so excited for this Saturday, when South Milwaukee will come alive for the holiday season. Here is your schedule … 

• 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Visit with Santa, kids’crafts, Cousins subs, free hayrides and more. South Milwaukee City Hall, 2424 15^th Ave.
• 5:45 p.m. City Hall tree lighting.
• 6 p.m. The first-annual South Milwaukee Lions Club Lighted Christmas Parade runs along 15^th Avenue near City Hall, from Madison to Marion. There is still time to enter … or line the streets to check out this new holiday tradition.
• 6:30-10 p.m. Join more than a dozen downtown businesses, as they host local artists and offer in-store specials and other fun activities. The full list of participating businesses is with this post.

Let’s “Light Up South Milwaukee” again this year!

Visiting again this year, Santa’s Elves will be back looking to honor the South Milwaukee homes and businesses with the best outdoor holiday lights displays.  Winners will receive a small cash prize, a yard sign, and recognition on the city website and Facebook pages – and be the envy of your block, and city.   You can enter more than one address.  The more, the merrier!

All entries must be submitted by December 10th.  Judging will occur on December 14th. The Beautification Committee will be sending out a “scouting elf” during the week of December 10th – so make sure you are ready!

Entries can be submitted via:

• Pinned post on the City’s Facebook page.
• Via our Google Form
• Using our SM Work app – Look for the Light Up South Milwaukee category

And check out the 2017 winners in this post!

Update: Note 6 p.m. start time.

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

Join the South Milwaukee Police Department, Health Department and South Milwaukee Unite Against Drug Abuse Coalition for a presentation on drug awareness.

SMPD Investigator Jon Rivamonte will be speaking.

I love this! From Lee Stovall, vocal music director …

Delta V and The PopRockets, two a cappella groups at South Milwaukee High School, are thrilled to announce the release of Keep Myself. Officially dropping on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and Google Play on November 20th, it will be the first professionally produced high school a cappella album from the state of Wisconsin. Students recorded the album at the school, and had it edited, mixed, and mastered by professionals. Grammy award-winner Ed Boyer, who mixed this album and has mixed Pentatonix, Glee, and Pitch Perfect  says, “It is fun to mix something so expressive.” The album is also mastered by Dave Sperandio, who has mastered thousands of a cappella albums over the past 20 years.  “I can truly feel the message and emotion coming through!” Sperandio says.

Exploring topics of high school life, hope, regret, and identity, Keep Myself earns its title from the introductory song, based off a line of Nine Inch Nails’s “Hurt.” The 8 song album embeds the idea and emotion of “I would keep myself, I would find a way” through covers of popular songs, sometimes imagined in different ways. The process of making the album began by students suggesting lyrics that fit the theme, choosing songs, and then arranging them in the studio one singer at a time. “It was an amazing experience to record music with my friends that we could all relate to” says current senior Alexa Wilhelm, who plans on going into music production as a career. This process was part of her inspiration to continue with music. Students also developed the album art and shot and edited a music video to accompany the album prior to its release.

In 2013-2014, The PopRockets and Delta V began as extra curricular a cappella groups at South Milwaukee High School. Inspired by established groups from Port Washington, and GET High School in western Wisconsin, they have competed and performed at the regional and national level. Wisconsin a cappella has now grown to local districts such as Oak Creek, Grafton, and Brookfield, and there is even an a cappella summer camp at UW-Parkside called “A Cappella University.” This release marks itself as a foray into the recorded realm, as it is the first full length album available on all major digital platforms from its region.

Keep Myself would not be possible without up-and-coming a cappella professionals Luke Dutelle and Justin Crichfield, who helped with recording and editing, respectively. A student edit crew also worked extensively on the project, and the hardware and software was provided by SM Legacy and the School District of South Milwaukee. Administrators Blaise Paul, Beth Kaminski, and Ante Udovicic, as well as secretary Denise Roszak made the finances and paperwork for this album happen.

Check out the promo video.

Ruddy Cancel Ramirez recently passed away at the age of 50, much too soon. His legacy in this city will live on for many years — through his art.

It’s only a small solace. 

This fall, Ruddy completed the mural at Tony G’s Grant Park Garage, and other designs and detail work at the South Milwaukee business. If you haven’t seen it yet, please check it out; it’s a beautiful painting that honors the legacy of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, just feet from the South Milwaukee veterans memorial.

Ruddy had plans for other projects, too, and we discussed those after a recent service at Trinity Lutheran Church in South Milwaukee, where we are both members. 

I just wish he could be with us longer to share his gift, and other passions.

From his obituary …

Ruddy had a passion for painting. He also loved to bird watch, and he combined his two favorite hobbies to create extraordinary art. His paintings of various birds & flowers were much admired not only by friends and family, but also by all who frequented the locations where his paintings were displayed. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit.

We mourn the loss of that spirit at Trinity Lutheran and across the city, and we offer our heartfelt prayers to his entire family, including his mother, three children, two grandchildren, three brothers, three sisters, nieces and nephews.

Many joined me in paying tribute at his funeral on Thursday, sharing memories of the talent that I saw come to life in the years I knew him.

It came to life in big ways, like the mural.

And it came to life in small ways, like in the cross drawing you can see in this post, shared with our pastor. Or in the pencil drawing he did in my 10-year-old daughter’s sketch book in church just recently.

“Always dream,” Ruddy wrote to my daughter. “A journey of wonderful things will come your way. Keep smiling and praying. Never give up hope.”

We won’t, Ruddy. We won’t.

Look for more information soon on how you can help the family. 

The proposed 2019 city budget includes a 3.5% decrease in the property tax levy, driven in large part by a reduction in city debt.

And while I’m happy to potentially deliver a tax cut, the budget does not change the economic realities we continue to face — marked by restrictive state levy limits and other mandates that make it more and more difficult to fund our first-class city services.

You can see a draft summary of the proposed budget here.

A public hearing on the budget is set for 6 p.m. this Monday, Nov. 20, with the South Milwaukee City Council expected to vote on it the following night, with that meeting set for 7 p.m. Of note …

• The version of the budget being discussed on Monday differs slightly from the budget published last month. As if often the case, we were able to refine some of the numbers to get more clarity on certain revenues and expenditures.
• It includes a 2.4% reduction in expenditures, to just shy of $20 million, and a 1.05% decrease in revenues.
• The decrease in the levy stems from a reduction in our debt. Our 2018 debt payments were just over $4 million; in 2019, they are projected to be just over $3.6 million, with our levy being reduced by the $462,871 difference.
• Levy limits continue to hamstring us, and hundreds of communities across the state. For the 11th straight year, our “net new construction” figure measured less than 1%; this year it was 0.3%, meaning we were only able to increase our levy by approximately $22,000. This is obviously not sustainable.
• The budget reflects the referendum passed in 2017, and segregated the extra $616,641 in revenue to support the sustained funding of our paramedic program and the hiring of two new police officers. We feel it’s important to segregate the funds this way to ensure taxpayers can see the additional revenue is being spent in exactly the way we said it would. We will continue to deliver this transparency.
• The proposed budget also includes 2% pay raises for employees.
• Health insurance costs continue to rise at a high rate. Our initial renewal came back at +9%, but we have negotiated that down to a more manageable increase of 3.9% — still an additional $223,000 in costs to the city.
• The budget includes no expenditure restraint payment for 2019, typically more than $300,000 for us. This is due to increased expenditures following the referendum result. We expect to once again receive that payment in 2020.
• We are also anticipating state transportation aids to decrease by $24,000.

We remain committed to being good stewards of your money — it’s our most important job. And I welcome your thoughts on the 2019 budget.