Category Archives: City Council

by | February 6, 2012 · 9:47 pm

Busy South Milwaukee Council Meeting Includes Consideration Of Walmart Extension

Walmart is back on the South Milwaukee City Council agenda on Tuesday night, as the retailer seeks a 30-day extension of the purchase agreement it has for city land for its proposed 115,000 square-foot store.

This is the second extension Walmart has sought. You’ll recall that last November the council voted to give Walmart 90 extra days to obtain necessary approvals from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Union Pacific railroad.

It has the DNR approval it needs, but the UP approval, regarding an easement for UP-owned property on the south end of the proposed development, is still outstanding.

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the vote … and of what happens around several other issues before the council on Tuesday, including:

  • The secondhand dealer ordinance;
  • Junk dealer license fees;
  • Changes to our sex offender ordinance; and
  • Consideration of a $5,000 expenditure to the Public Policy Forum to fund a joint study looking into the potential consolidation of South Milwaukee fire, emergency medical and dispatch services with Cudahy and St. Francis.

Here is the full agenda.

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by | February 5, 2012 · 10:12 pm

Common Sense Legislation To Hold Secondhand Merchandise Dealers Accountable

The City Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on an ordinance that would make it harder for secondhand dealers to acquire, and ultimately sell, stolen goods.

The Legislation & Permits Committee will debate the ordinance at its meeting Monday.

If passed, the ordinance will require local retailers who purchase certain goods for resale – including precious metals, jewelry, coins, electronics, expensive sports memorabilia and other goods – to more strictly record each transaction (including with photos) and enter those purchases online through the police department’s NEWPRS computer system. NEWPRS allows police to more easily track stolen goods that thieves may try to resell for some quick cash.

The ordinance also requires secondhand dealers to hold all impacted items for seven days before reselling them – further protecting theft victims.

Now, is the reselling of stolen goods a widspread problem in South Milwaukee? There is no evidence it is. But that doesn’t mean the council shouldn’t be proactive in making sure that victims of burglary and theft in South Milwaukee are protected. This ordinance does so, while not putting unreasonable burdens on secondhand sellers.

The ordinance also exempts those reselling goods for charity, rummage sales and other instances outside the traditional secondhand retail environment.

It also is a big improvement from a first draft of the ordinance – a version some other communities like Greenfield have adopted – which would have put the restrictions on many more types of items, imposed a per-transaction fee on retailers dealing in the impacted goods and required retailers to enter all transactions into NEWPRS within 24 hours (vs. the adopted 48).

Those types of restrictions are unreasonable and could be chilling to current and potential businesses in South Milwaukee. This version goes just far enough.

I’ll keep you posted.

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by | February 3, 2012 · 5:03 pm

Junk Truck Fees: How Much Is Too Much?

When the City Council passed our laundry list of fees late last year, I was hesitant to support just one of the literally hundreds we approved: the junk dealer fee.

Why? The size of the increase. The annual fee, to go into effect July 1, was to go from $150 to $1,000 under the fee schedule we approved.

I voted to approve the fee schedule because I didn’t want to hold up the entire schedule over one fee. But I remained uncomfortable with it. It was simply too much.

Well, the Legislation & Permits Committee is thankfully revisiting that fee at our meeting on Monday night, and I hope we can lessen the increase.

I understand there have been concerns raised with junk dealers and their business practices, from how they secure their loads to how they dispose of Freon-bearing appliances to the dealers taking items that would have real recycling value had the city picked them up.

But raising the fee by as much as we did is not the answer to dealing with the issue. If we have concerns with junk dealers, then let’s talk about a stronger ordinance to regulate them. Let’s not “fee them” out of existence. A $1,000 annual fee would probably do that.

I’ll keep you posted.

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by | January 18, 2012 · 11:42 am

South Milwaukee Council Recap: Walmart Site Stormwater, Appleton Noise, Junk Trucks, Upcoming Meetings, Police And Fire Commission

It was a rather full agenda at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, our first since December. Here is a brief recap … 

  • The council voted 6-2 to spend more than $99,000 to construct a new stormwater relay at the North Chicago Avenue site soon to be a Walmart. The new pipe and other infrastructure will replace rusty, metal pipe more than 50 years old and improve stormwater flow through the area. This is work the city has contemplated for some time, but we wanted to wait to do it until we had formal plans from a developer for the vacant site to move ahead. The system will connect to Walmart’s proposed underground detention pond and also serve the approximately 10 acres north of Carroll Avenue to College – site of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, etc. Bids ranged from the one we selected to more than $170,000. We chose Bradford Contractors out of Burlington to do the project starting as soon as possible.
  • The council voted 8-0 to spend up to $8,000 to hire a consultant, Sigma Environmental Services, to study noise and vibration reported by neighbors of Appleton Electric in 5th and Milwaukee Avenues. Neighbors have complained for some time about excessive vibrations coming from the foundry. The city looked into the matter in 2011, but with continuing complaints, we felt it best to bring in an expert to look into the issue further. Sigma will do two weeks of testing in and around homes in the neighborhood. I am glad we’re doing our part to get to the bottom of this. I’ll keep you posted.
  • The council also agreed to amend our ordinance around junk dealer licenses. It passed 8-0, but the debate was more on the size of the annual fee we’re now asking junk dealers to pay. As part of the approval of our annual fee schedule last fall, we increased the junk truck fee from $150 to $1,000. I was uncomfortable with the increase then but voted yes because it was one of hundreds of line items in the schedule – and the only one I had serious issues with. We now plan to have a deeper discussion on the junk truck fee at a future Legislation & Permits Committee meeting, where I hope the fee – which would kick in July 1 – will be lowered to a more reasonable increase. I’ll keep you posted.  
  • Aldermen also made a couple changes to upcoming meeting times. We moved our meeting scheduled for Feb. 21 to Feb. 22 to accommodate the primary election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge. We also decided to cancel our first April meeting (April 3) and only hold our April 17 meeting that month. This is because of expected high turnout (and added work for the clerk’s office) for the election on April 3, which you will recall is also the Wisconsin presidential primary. The council also meets May 1.
  • We also named former Alderman Mark Milinovich to the Police and Fire Commission, replacing Richard Cole, who is moving from the city.

Of course, if you have comments on any of the topics above, post them below!

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by | December 7, 2011 · 9:43 pm

Recapping Tuesday’s Council Meeting

Rounding up the City Council meeting Tuesday night …

  • The council voted to approve submittal of an application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a “Ready for Reuse” brownfield grant. This grant would help fund cleanup of the former tannery property on North Chicago Avenue where Walmart wants to build. Learn more about the program here.
  • We also voted to approve cancellation of the contract with Breakaway Event Productions for an International Cycling Classic event in South Milwaukee this summer. In other words, no downtown bike race, like last year. This is the last year of the three-year contract we signed with the race promoters — with the easy “out” language, thankfully.
  • The council unanimously approved combining the Water and Wastewater Commissions into a single, seven-member Water/Wastewater Commission. This approach will give the council more line of sight to the operations of both utilities — without micromanaging — and also help ensure a more a unified approach as the city tackles some of the major water and sewer infrastructure projects we’re facing in coming years.
  • The council also approved conditional use permits for an auto repair business at 2201 12th Ave.; for construction of a 2,940 equipment storage building (plus a second addition down the road) for EK Construction at 1113 Montana Ave.; and for a shared commercial kitchen, craft fair, indoor farmers’ market and restaurant planned for the former Zion Lutheran/Calvary Academy property at 2200 9th Ave.
  • The council also voted to cancel its Jan. 3 meeting due to the holidays. It will meet on Dec. 20 and then not again until Jan. 17.

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by | November 29, 2011 · 11:24 pm

Council Recap: City Approves 2012 Budget, 4th District Public Works Project And More

Update: Here is the letter sent to area residents on the Parkway Drive/17th Avenue project.

The South Milwaukee City Council unanimously approved the 2012 city budget at a special meeting on Tuesday night.

It is essentially the same document I’ve already written about.

Of note, however, is the 2012 tax rate. It, too, was set Tuesday night, and it will be $8.83 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This compares with a city tax rate of $7.24 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for 2011 … although it’s important to point out that this is not an apples to apples comparison.

The revaluation earlier this year reduced property values by an average of more than 10%, so the tax rate was certain to rise to reflect this.

So, how much will your bill increase? Of course, that depends a lot on your revaluation (among other factors). In fact, it’s possible the city portion of your tax bill could decline if your home dropped in value significantly more than the city average.

Among other topics discussed at the council Tuesday …

  • The council voted unanimously to approve wages and benefits packages for union and non-union employees in 2012. The biggest changes in these reflect that all city workers outside of police officers and firefighters will pay more for their health insurance and pension next year, in line with the “tools” given communities by state lawmakers. Non-represented workers already began paying more for these benefits last year. Members of AFSCME will pay the higher out-of-pocket costs once their contract expires on June 30.
  • We also voted unanimously to spend more than $220,000 to tackle stormwater and sanitary sewer work on Parkway Drive and 17th Avenue in the 4th District. This document describes the work in more detail. Work will begin within the week, as the contractor hopes to get as much done before winter sets in. Construction will continue in the spring – and include the resurfacing of 17th north of Rawson Avenue. The road work will be subject to a separate set of bids in 2012. I’ll keep you posted.
  • The Public Works & Public Property Committee also voted to recommend council approval of an ordinance to combine the Wastewater and Water Commissions. The new Water/Wastewater Commission would include seven members and have more direct oversight from the council. One of the biggest changes: All water utility rate increases would now need council approval before they are forwarded on to the state’s Public Service Commission. We’ll also have to approve the water utility and sewer treatment budgets going forward. I’ll keep you posted.

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by | November 15, 2011 · 10:10 pm

Council Backs Walmart Extension

Walmart has its extension.

The retailer will have until Feb. 16, 2012, to close on the purchase of the city-owned land it wants for its new store on North Chicago Avenue following 6-2 vote of the city council Tuesday night.

Similar to the previous votes on the project, 1st District Ald. Frank Van Dusen III and Craig Maass voted no on the 90-day extension. The other aldermen, including me, voted yes.

Read my previous post on this for more details on what Walmart was seeking.

While I wish they didn’t need the extension, this was a pretty easy vote for me. My support for the overall project hasn’t changed.

I asked at the meeting if they expect this will be the last extension to the agreement, and an attorney for the project said yes. She said they hope it will take far less than 90 days to obtain necessary approvals from the Department of Natural Resources and Union Pacific railroad and close on the deal. I hope she’s right.

I’ll keep you posted.

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by | November 7, 2011 · 4:24 pm

Packed Agenda: What Else Happened At Last Tuesday’s Council Meeting

Walmart wasn’t the only item on the agenda at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The meeting had a few other interesting topics that came up for debate after the Walmart vote.

  • For starters, the City Council unanimously denied a liquor license to a Cudahy man interested in opening a bar at the former Frozen Rope — and to not entertain any license applications for the tavern at 1815 10th Ave. until the end of the 2011-12 license year on June 30, 2012. You will recall this is the same bar location that was the site of two shootings earlier this year — incidents that led to the revocation of the liquor license from the previous bar owner. I was strongly supportive of that punishment, but torn on this issue. This building will mostly likely be a bar again some day, and I believe our responsibility to neighbors is to find the right operator, not necessarily give a blanket “no” to anyone interested in opening there. And the prospective operator in question seemed like a good fit, with his plan for a bar catering to an older crowd. Aldermen, however, were concerned that not enough time had elapsed since the license revocation, and the previous troublemakers could return to the new establishment. Ald. Frank Van Dusen III — a spokesman of sorts for neighbors in their fight against The Frozen Rope, before he was an alderman — agreed, saying neighbors “need a break.” Hearing that was enough for me to change my mind. He’s right.
  • The council unanimously denied a request from JD Shooting Sports for a variance to city code to allow for a retail storefront at 1436 Michigan Ave., which is currently zoned residential. Business owner Jason Dziedzic was seeking permission to sell guns out of his home, going beyond an appointment-only business and into one with regular hours and other (albeit minimal) trappings of a storefront. It is part of an interesting debate about the definition of “home occupation” — what type of businesses the city should allow people to run out of their residences. I voted no not necessarily because it was a gun shop. I would have similar concerns with any retail business owner seeking to operate out of a home. Retail businesses should operate out of commercial zones.
  • The council also voted unanimously to impose a moratorium on new pawnbrokers and dealers of second-hand items like gold and jewelry. The goal: Give the Plan Commission and council some time to review zoning regulations regarding these businesses. Obviously, there are concerns about a proliferation of these types of establishments — be it “cash for gold” or otherwise — and I think it’s good to be proactive in considering restrictions on them now vs. later. How tight those restrictions should be is up for debate. Police are concerned about criminals stealing items and reselling them to these businesses. Greenfield, however, drew strong criticism for how it approached this problem, and its ordinance was ultimately rescinded. I hope for a more balanced approach here.

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by | October 15, 2011 · 6:09 pm

South Milwaukee Council To Consider Weapon Ban Inside City Buildings

South Milwaukee may become the latest city ban weapons inside city buildings, including City Hall and the South Milwaukee Public Library.

The City Council will consider adopting a resolution to that effect on Tuesday night.

The resolution would adopt the state concealed carry statutes for the city, with one key exception: Our ordinance would say “no person, except sworn law enforcement officers, shall carry or possess a weapon or firearm whether concealed or not within any City owned building or facility.”

We are not alone in having this debate. Local governments across the state are determining whether or not to allow weapons in public buildings in light of the Nov. 1 effective date of the state concealed carry legislation.

Some communities like Milwaukee have already enacted ordinances banning weapons in city buildings, and a number of others are considering similar ordinances. Others like Germantown and Sturtevant are allowing guns in public buildings.

I support the ban in South Milwaukee.

I am liberal on some issues, conservative on others. I am a liberal on guns. I favor tight gun control laws and would prefer not to have concealed carry laws in place in Wisconsin at all. But we do.

So I focus my energy on strongly supporting common-sense restrictions like the ones the council is considering Tuesday. Simply, there is no reason someone should have to carry his or her gun or knife inside City Hall.

Citizens, staff and elected officials have a right to feel safe inside public buildings. And I feel more safe knowing guns are prohibited inside places like City Hall — just as I would feel less safe wondering if a citizen angry with me about an issue in front of the council has a gun or not.

Indeed, guns don’t kill people. People do. People with too easy access to guns.

So bring your guns to the mall, park or the countless other places the legislature is allowing you to conceal them. Carry them on the street or in your car.

If you’re heading to City Hall, leave them at home.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think of this issue — and every issue. Vote in the poll on the right side of this page, and post your comments below.

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by | October 6, 2011 · 10:17 am

Protecting Worker Rights Post-Collective Bargaining

Regular readers of this blog know exactly where I stand on the issue of collective bargaining for public workers. My position has not changed. In fact, it’s probably been strengthened.

But we move on … into a world where the protections offered often because of strong public employee unions are no longer guaranteed. Among these: civil service regulations and grievance procedures.

In this new world for public workers, it has become imperative for public employers like the city to have clear policies in place when it comes to how they hire people — and when it comes to the recourse employees have in the workplace during difficult times.

South Milwaukee, thankfully, now has those. Last month, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance amending our civil service regulations and establishing a grievance policy.

Check it out here.

The policy will become especially crucial when the contract covering our local AFSCME employees expires next summer, and it will immediately impact all of our non-represented employees. Police and fire employees are exempt.

The policy was written based on recommended language from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and an association of city attorneys, and I think it’s a strong alternative to the union protections in these areas.

They’re fair. And, while I wish we didn’t have to take on this task in the first place, I am OK with fair.

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by | August 2, 2011 · 10:21 pm

City Council Meeting Recap: New Alderman, Stormwater Rate Increase, Funds Transfer

It was a busy City Council meeting Tuesday night, and we ended it with a new alderman.

After several rounds of voting, the council appointed Frank Van Dusen III, 914 Minnesota Ave., to replace Mike Karbowski as a First District alderman.

Frank, who will be sworn in at the Aug. 16 council meeting, joins Craig Maass as aldermen in that district. He will serve until next April, when an election will determine the person to serve the remainder of Mike’s term into 2013.

It was a close vote and a good debate because we had a strong pool of candidates, and I’m excited to work with Frank, an electrician with Patrick Cudahy and lifelong South Milwaukee resident who you may recall was out front as a complainant against The Frozen Rope this spring. Welcome!

The council also voted unanimously on two other items:

  • Stormwater fees. We voted to raise the city’s stormwater utility rate to help fund commitments we’ve made to upgrade our stormwater infrastructure. If you recall, we borrowed approximately $1 million for stormwater management projects earlier this year, and the increases will help pay down that debt — and build up a cash balance that we will use to take on additional projects and perhaps add manpower we desperately need to address these issues. How much will you pay? If you are the owner of a single- or two-family home, your annual stormwater bill will increase $18 this year, from $48 to $66. In 2012, it will increase to $72, as the cost per “equivalent runoff unit” (ERU) increases from its current $4 per month to $5.50 to $6. Owners of large multi-family homes and commercial property and the school district will obviously see bigger increases, some measuring in the thousands of dollars. This is because the utility fees are based on the amount of “impervious surface” properties have, and these properties have a lot. I voted “yes” because this is money well spent. We need to pay back the money we borrowed — money that will be used to improve our stormwater management system and alleviate some of the longstanding flooding concerns in certain areas of the city.
  • Fund transfers. The council also voted to transfer various funds … something we do regularly. Of particular note this time was the transfer of $285,000 from the general fund to the “tax stabilization account.” This is an account we use to “offset” our tax levy, keeping that amount relatively stable from year to year and keeping taxes low. This year, as you will recall, we plan to use about $160,000 to “pay down” our levy and cover our budget. How much will have to set aside for 2012? With sharp cuts in state shared revenue and other declines in revenue on the horizon, that remains to be seen as we enter next year’s budget process.

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by | July 15, 2011 · 9:55 pm

Five Candidates for 1st District Aldermanic Post

Five candidates have applied to be the next alderman of South Milwaukee’s 1st District.

  • Patricia Gruber, 1216 Monroe Avenue
  • Dan Jones, 505 Hawthorne Avenue
  • Michael Moeller, 719 Hawthorne Avenue
  • Meghan Nitz, 811 Carrington Avenue
  • Frank Van Dusen III, 914 Minnesota Avenue

The City Council will interview the five candidates at a meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. on August 2 at City Hall, and we will likely make our choice that evening. The meeting is open to the public.

The appointee will serve until next April, when that seat will be decided with an election. The winner of that election will serve until April of 2013, when the entire council is up for re-election.

Of course, we are doing this because Mike Karbowski passed away (too soon) in June. You’ll also recall that Moeller ran unsuccessfully against Karbowski and Craig Maass for the 1st District aldermanic seat in April. He finished third.

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by | July 12, 2011 · 10:13 pm

Recapping Tuesday’s Council Meeting: Police Accreditation, Community Block Grants, Sidewalks

Our police department does things the right way.

But don’t take my word for it. Ask its peers.

The department received its prestigious police department accreditation award from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting. The three-year accreditation comes after an exhaustive review of the department by the group earlier this year.

To receive the award, the department must comply with 238 wide-ranging standards, and it apparently did so with distinction.

West Allis Police Chief Mike Jungbluth presented South Milwaukee Chief Ann Wellens with the award, calling the department “exceptional” and saying “this agency walks the talk.” I can’t agree more. Congratulations to Chief Wellens and the entire department!

Among the other news coming out of Tuesday’s council meeting …

  • The council approved allocating $54,608 in Community Development Block Grant funds to Human Concerns ($15,000), Interfaith ($6,000), the South Milwaukee School District ($21,608) and the city ($12,000) for various projects and other needs. The school district funds are for a project to upgrade the playground at Lakeview Elementary School, and Human Concerns plans to use $10,000 of its money for a new fire alarm system and outdoor sign. The city’s project is to improve our handicap door openers and sensors.
  • We also approved spending more money on ongoing sidewalk improvements (up to $300,000 for the year) throughout the city (although mostly in the first, second and third districts). We originally approved a contract of $181,925 for this work earlier this year, but we want to take advantage of low concrete costs to get as much work done as we can. This work is overdue, and I consider this a sound investment in our city’s infrastructure.
  • Former Mayor Chet Grobschmidt also presented an impressive plaque honoring Bucyrus International’s legacy that will be placed at Heritage Park on 10th and Milwaukee Avenues. Oddly enough, the plaque was made before Caterpillar announced that it was dropping the Bucyrus name last week. Now it looks like that plaque will be one of the few physical reminders Bucyrus even existed.

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by | June 29, 2011 · 11:03 pm

City Council Denies Frozen Rope License … Again

It’s closing time at The Frozen Rope.

The City Council voted unanimously (5-0, with Ald. Bukowski abstaining and Ald. Stoner out) Wednesday night to deny a Class B “combination” license filed by DBF Enterprises for the tavern at 1815 10th Ave. — the site of shootings on March 26 and June 4.

The action came after a more than three hour hearing where aldermen heard from the bar owner, patrons, neighbors and the police. It means the bar can only stay open through Thursday, the end of the 2010-11 license year.

This is actually the second time the council has acted on this issue. We also voted on June 14 to both revoke The Frozen Rope license for 2010-11 and deny the agent’s 2011-12 license application. The owner then appealed the decision to Milwaukee County Circuit Court, and a judge ordered the council to rehear the case around its application for the new license year.

I voted in favor of denying the license, which included renaming the bar the “Cat House.”

If you recall, I was the only “no” vote when the council voted to suspend The Frozen Rope license for 14 days in May, following the first shooting. I didn’t think the penalty was harsh enough, although I was open to giving the bar owner a second chance to clean things up.

He squandered that second chance when five shots rang out in the early morning hours of June 4 — shots allegedly fired by the bar’s DJ.

As neighbors and others eloquently put it Wednesday night: Eight gunshots have now been fired outside The Frozen Rope since late March. To date, no one has been hit by the gunfire. When will our luck run out?

It’s time to put neighbors’ fears to rest. Our vote does that.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think of this issue. Please post your comments below.

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by | June 28, 2011 · 8:39 am

Lake Bluff Lawsuit Officially Settled

The long-standing Lake Bluff Apartments legal battle is over.

The settlement between the city, the owners of the apartment complex, the American Civil Liberties Union and others was signed earlier this month, City Attorney Joe Murphy told the City Council at our meeting last week.

Check out a Journal Sentinel story on the subject here. From it:

Provisions of the settlement, according to lawyers, include:

  • The two buildings of Lake Bluff, at 3344 Marina Road, will not be torn down, and the complex will continue its mix of 25 affordable-housing units and 31 market-rate units until 2025.
  • South Milwaukee will change the zoning of the property to make it a legal use.
  • The developers, Lake Bluff Housing Partners, will acquire and deed to the city a 10-acre parcel just north of the complex that was once the Northwestern Barrel Superfund site.
  • The plaintiffs in the lawsuit will drop any charges of discrimination, and the parties will release one another from liability.

Indeed, the details have not changed much since my previous post on this topic.

I’d like to know what you think of the settlement. Post your comments below!

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