Category Archives: South Milwaukee

A few weeks late on this, but the South Milwaukee City Council approved its 2023 budget on November 22.

It includes a 4.8% increase in the levy, to more than $12.6 million.

The tax rate — the amount of taxes per $1,000 of assessed valuation — is falling 26.9% to $7.58, reflecting a revaluation, as the total assessed valuation in the city is rising from $1.165 billion to $1.671 billion.

See the full document here.

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. 22.

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.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel …

A new proposal has been submitted to turn the remainder of South Milwaukee’s former Bucyrus campus into apartments and commercial space.

Milwaukee-based Scott Crawford, Inc. submitted plans in August 2021 for 1100 Milwaukee Ave. for about 160 apartments, a restaurant, green space and more. That proposal eventually fell through.

Now, Scott Crawford has partnered with J. Jeffers Co. for a new proposal for the same space. South Milwaukee’s plan commission unanimously recommended the common council schedule a public hearing for Jan. 3, 2023 regarding a rezoning request. The council will review the project on Dec. 6 and consider scheduling the public hearing.

The proposal includes 92 mixed-income apartment and loft-style units. Plans show a mix of 33 one-bedroom units each approximately 688 square feet for $1,250 per month, 40 two-bedroom units offering approximately 900 square feet for $1,600 per month and 19 three-bedroom units with 1,300 square feet of space for $2,150 per month in the Technical and Corporate buildings already on-site. …

The Heritage building could see a vast transformation with aluminum windows replacing some of the brick to facilitate commercial use. The primary entrance would be the alley parallel to Milwaukee Avenue with parking in the east lot. The entire first floor, which includes a cafeteria, would be occupied by a yet unnamed commercial tenant requiring 50 parking spaces. The second floor could include two commercial tenants and more could be forthcoming, according to planning documents.

The project is estimated to cost $36.7 million. A tax incremental financing request of a $1.6 million over 22 years was mentioned in the submittal.

Additionally, the project would seek $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding, which aims to improve the quality of life for those with low to moderate incomes.

Other sources of funding listed include $1.25 million in Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation grants and $1.17 million in an affordable housing grant, to name a few per the plan submittal.

If approved, the developer hopes to start construction in October 2023 and the project is expected to take a full year to complete.

The Business Journal also has coverage (behind a pay wall).

I love Christmas in South Milwaukee!

From the Events page on the blog … bookmark it for the most up-to-date information. And if I’m missing anything, shoot me an email at erikbrooks32@gmail.com.

Also, check out the Shop Local South Milwaukee Facebook page for more information on what local businesses are doing this holiday season. I’ll be sharing more on Moran’s Pub very cool plans soon …

• Friday, December 2: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 3: Craft Fair & Cookie Walk, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Divine Mercy School. Also photos with Santa and Sant’s Secret Workshop. Details
• Saturday, December 3: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Sunday, December 4: Breakfast with Santa, 8:30-11:30 a.m., Pat’s Oak Manor. Details
• Thursday, December 8: Friends of Grant Park Historic Holiday Party, 7 p.m., Grant Park Clubhouse. Nels Monson, South Milwaukee historian, will talk about the Fowle family and their relationship to Grant Park. Details in flyer
• Friday, December 9: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 10: South Milwaukee Christmas Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Salvation Army, 8853 S. Howell Ave., Oak Creek. Details
• Saturday, December 10: Santa and his reindeer visit South Milwaukee Ace Hardware for photos, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Details
• Saturday, December 10: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 10: Studio K presents “The Flamenco Nutcracker,” 2 and 7 p.m., South Milwaukee PAC. Details
• Thursday, December 15: Free Community Dinner, First Congregational Church. Details
• Thursday, December 15: South Milwaukee Library Children’s Holiday Party, ages 10 and under, 5-6:30 p.m. The Grinch will be stopping by to spread Christmas cheer. Come and play games and make crafts! Full Schedule
• Friday, December 16: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 17: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Sunday, December 18: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” 3 p.m., South Milwaukee PAC. Details
• Tuesday, December 20: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Wednesday, December 21: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Thursday, December 22: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Friday, December 23: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 24: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Tuesday, December 27: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Wednesday, December 28: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Thursday, December 29: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 6-9 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Friday, December 30: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details
• Saturday, December 31: Lights on Edgewood holiday show, 7 p.m., 1322 Edgewood. Details

See how to purchase permits on the city website …

1. During the period from December 1st to March 31st, no person shall park a vehicle on any street in the city of South Milwaukee between the hours of 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM. 
2. However, vehicles may be parked during such hours if a permit is obtained from the Police Department after the filing of an application and the payment of $30.00 per month permit fee, $20.00 if obtained after the 15th of the month, or $100.00 for a 4-month permit.   Hours: Monday – Friday 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM.  Excluding Holidays and Holidays observed (November 24 – 25; December 23 – 26; December 30- January 2)
3.  Any vehicle parked according to (1) or (2) above shall only be permitted to park on the EVEN numbered side of the street on those nights when the calendar date before midnight is even (N and W sides of the street are even) and on the ODD side of the street on those nights when the calendar date before midnight is odd (S and E sides of the street are odd), *Where parking is normally permitted only on one side of the street this section (3) shall not apply. 
4. SNOW EMERGENCY DECLARED 
   The Mayor, if after consulting with the Street Department, finds that due to snow, sleet, or freezing rain, the street must be plowed or salted, may declare a SNOW EMERGENCY, which will prohibit parking on any of the Arterial Streets as named in Section 28.12 of the Municipal Code.  Whenever such an emergency is declared, which will be announced on at least (3) radio stations (WTMJ, WISN,WOKY), it shall be unlawful to park any vehicle between the hours of 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM inclusive, or any of the Arterial Streets as mentioned above. 

An image following November’s historic snowstorm in Buffalo, New York.

Update from 11/29: The person of interest is in custody.

From WISN …

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the woman who lost consciousness at a South Milwaukee bar and later died as Kim Mikulance. She was a 55-year-old Cudahy mother of four.

The cause of death is listed as undetermined. The Medical Examiner’s Office said it is pending.

South Milwaukee Police said Mikulance was at Powers on 10th with 52-year-old Timothy Olson when she collapsed. Surveillance video showed the two sitting together. The Racine Police Department has been warning the public of Olson, accusing him of meeting women through a dating app, drugging them and then using their credit cards.

The South Milwaukee Police Department is unsure if Olson is connected to Raina’s death, but they are calling him a person of interest.

Mikulance’s friends at Powers on 10th knew her as ‘Raina,’ and remembered her for her fun-loving personality.

“She was a karaoke girl. She loved to sing and she was a good singer, you know. So she was pretty good that way,” said Marc Gaidish, a friend of Mikulance’s.

The tight-knit community inside Powers on 10th said Mikulance was a friend to many.

Also check out coverage from TMJ4 and a previous story from WISN.

It was a beautiful day for some World Cup soccer on Black Friday, as Drexel Town Square in Oak Creek played host to the Moran’s Pub USA vs. England viewing party. Hundreds joined the fun, family-friendly event.

Check out images below — and coverage from Fox 6, WISN and Spectrum News.

On this Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and beyond, join me in shopping local!

There are plenty of options, which the City of South Milwaukee has rounded up nicely in a couple of promotional pieces (see below). And give a like to the Shop Local South Milwaukee Facebook page for regular updates on what is happening a local merchants. There have been more than a dozen updates in the last few days alone.

I’m happy to see this page now has over 800 likes. Thank you, Chris Haslam, for maintaining it.

I’m particularly intrigued by what’s happening at Omen this weekend. Krampus!

Links to the above local retailer guides: Shopping | Food & Beverage

I’ll see you there! The weather looks great.

The Route 48 Freeway Flyer is being eliminated, and service on Route 52 will soon be “modified … due to very low ridership,” the Milwaukee County Transit System announced on Monday.

See the full press release here. From it …

MCTS announces changes to service approved by Milwaukee County in the 2023 annual budget. These changes are due to a combination of several factors, including a projected 2025 transit funding gap and a COVID-19-induced transition to hybrid work schedules downtown which led to reduced ridership on Freeway Flyer routes.

According to a Milwaukee County Comptroller report released earlier this year, federal stimulus funds used by MCTS to maintain transit service will no longer by available in 2025. The result will be a need to increase funding to MCTS by approximately $30 million simply to maintain service. As such, MCTS has been directed to begin to reduce service to chip away at the future fiscal gap. In addition, MCTS, like many transit agencies across the country, faces a smaller bus operator workforce despite an ongoing approach to recruiting and retaining bus drivers.

MCTS shared the following service changes and when these changes occur.

• Freeway Flyer Routes 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, and 49: These six routes, which have been suspended since January 2022, will be eliminated due to previously low levels of ridership. Many downtown employers have moved to hybrid work models due to COVID-19 and reduced the demand for this service. MCTS outlined these changes in a public hearing at the County Board’s Committee on Transportation and Transit earlier this year. NOTE: U-Bus Routes 40U, 44U, and 49U are not affected and will continue as scheduled.
• Route 52: Service will be modified in March 2023 due to very low ridership. Additional information will be provided next year.

The developer briefed the city on this opportunity more than a year ago — and I’m excited to see this move forward.

Redevelopments like this are a foundation of South Milwaukee’s future.

For a landlocked city, this gives us our first opportunity at significant growth in decades, while also giving a “second chance” to an abandoned lakefront property that was home to manufacturing for generations.

From the Journal Sentinel story …

The proposal from Fresh Coast Development could be constructed in multiple phases on just over 31 acres of brownfield at 315 Marion Ave. north of the city’s water treatment plant.

“A project cost estimate is still being calculated,” said Assistant City Administrator and Economic Development Director Patrick Brever. “TIF support is likely going to be targeted toward infrastructure needs for the site.”

South Milwaukee’s plan commission acknowledged there are still details to work out but on Nov. 8 voted unanimously to direct city staff to take initial steps to create Tax Incremental District 6 in 2023. In a TIF, property taxes from within the district are used to pay for public improvements and other costs. Once the debt is paid off and the district is retried, the added tax base flows into the general coffers of the city, school, county and other taxing entities. …

The single-family component includes 25 new homes along 5^th Avenue with attached two-car garages accessed via a rear alley. Project documents show the placement of the single-family homes is to act as a buffer to the existing neighborhood to the west.

Brever said the final breakdown of one-, two- and three-bedroom units in each building has not yet been determined.

To the northeast is a clubhouse with community room, outdoor pool, fitness and business centers and a locker room. There is a lawn area set aside for outdoor activities with access to the public park overlooking Lake Michigan. Throughout the development are sidewalks and walking trails connected to the bluff and down to the lake.

Two playground areas are also included in the proposal at the north and south of the property and a fenced dog park along the northern border of the property east of the playground and west of the clubhouse.

Here is Business Journal coverage.

See you November 19!

For a full list of holiday and other events, check out the Events page.

Am I missing your holiday event? Please email me at erikbrooks32@gmail.com.

As Thanksgiving approaches, the public is welcome at two community meals in the South Shore …

• Thursday, November 17: Monthly Community Dinner, 5-6:30 p.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ. This month’s meal is catered by Skyline Catering and served by local youth.
• Wednesday, November 23: Community-Sponsored Thanksgiving Dinner, Oak Creek Community Center. Details

Thanks to both organizations for hosting these events — and to all of the volunteers helping make them a reality.