Category Archives: Uncategorized

Update: We passed the library transfer unanimously. We put off a vote on the cycling event guarantee until a future council meeting, as we continue to seek sponsorship dollars to help defray the annual site fee and other costs. We also approved the Sportz Medicine II agent change … after speaking to the owners about the February stabbing.

A rather light agenda for the next South Milwaukee Common Council meeting, but there are a couple items of note on the agenda:

• The council will consider approving the transfer of $16,000 from the library contingency fund to the library budget in order to avoid a potential state-imposed penalty. Apparently, the state requires that a single year’s local library budget can not be cut to a level below the average of that library’s previous three years’ budgets. Cuts to the South Milwaukee Library budget this year would have put spending below that average, and the transfer will avoid that. Not sure I like this law …
• The council will also consider entering into a contract with the International Cycling Classic for the bicycle race I’ve written about. The search for sponsorship to back that $15,000+ investment continues …

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall. You can see the full agenda here.

There’s another meeting of note on Tuesday at City Hall. The Legislation & Permits Committee meets at 6:30 p.m., and on the agenda is a discussion regarding the recent stabbing incident at Sportz Medicine II. We’re also considering a “change of agent” request for the Sportz Medicine II Class B liquor license at this meeting. I’ll keep you posted.

Scary news from the South Shore’s only hospital …

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that eight people who have been to Aurora St. Luke’s South Shore in Cudahy over the past three to four weeks have been diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease, a form of pneumonia caused by waterborne bacteria.

Click here to see the full story, which says all of the cases have been reported by residents of the south suburbs.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a wonderful opportunity before city leaders — the chance to land an international bicycle race in South Milwaukee.

The International Cycling Classic would like to add a Superweek race to the city in July, bringing with it more than 500 cyclists and perhaps thousands of spectators. I remain just as excited about this, but here’s the reality: We need to find sponsorship dollars to make the race happen. And soon.

I want to give credit to Community Development Director Danielle Devlin for her work so far in seeking sponsors for the race. She’s done well, and there’s been strong interest. And why not? This is a first-class event that local businesses and organizations should be proud to sponsor.

We need more than $15,000 annually to bring this event to South Milwaukee, money that goes toward a “site fee” paid to the ICC and other expenses. In my mind, it’s a bargain, a good value when you consider the economic impact an event like this can have.

I hope the City Council agrees with me. The issue is expected to be on the council agenda at next Tuesday’s meeting, when we’ll discuss the city potentially backing the $15,000 annual investment (over three years) the ICC is seeking.

The hope is that sponsorship dollars will cover that entire amount, leaving taxpayers on the hook for nothing and with just one responsibility: Enjoy a first-class sporting event on the streets of South Milwaukee.

If you have any sponsorship ideas or, better yet, connections, please email or call me. And don’t be surprised if I’m back asking for help in bringing this event to life should we land it.

Should communities be able to determine where sex offenders are allowed to live? Or is a state standard needed to guarantee uniformity across rural and urban areas?

I choose the former. And I hope you do too.

This is a local control issue, and an effort by some in the legislature, including two Milwaukee-area legislators, to outlaw local sex offender ordinances is misguided.

I realize that the lack of uniformity brings with it some issues (sex offenders being concentrated in Milwaukee and in rural areas, for instance), and there is probably a larger debate needed here about just what to do with sex offenders in the penal system.

But stripping the power of local governments to make their ordinances is not the answer.

Click here to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story on this issue. And click here to see the South Milwaukee child sex offender residency ordinance.

I’d like to know what you think on this. Post your comments below.

Things are progressing on the Nicholson Avenue expansion project … and the city is committed to keeping you informed every step of the way.

This week, City Engineer Kyle Vandercar sent a letter updating the project to more than 300 households in the 4th District. You can view a copy of the letter here.

Here are the highlights:

• Oak Creek, South Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation have approved a design and engineering services contract with Foth Infrastructure and Environment LLC. The consultant is now evaluating alternatives for the new road.
• It is likely the alternatives will boil down to two options: a four-lane roadway with a median and a four-lane roadway without a median. DOT standards, funding limitations and projected traffic counts make a narrower option unlikely.
• Construction remains scheduled for 2012, following the design work, right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation.
• The Nichsolon project is proceeding amid the uncertainties surrounding the Oak Creek postal facility and Lake Parkway extension. There remains no real update on the postal facility, which was put on hold last year and may be scaled back. The Lake Parkway extension is also years away. It might happen in 2025, if it happens at all.   

Public information meetings on the project are expected in June. I will keep you informed about these and hope you’ll be able to attend one of them.

In the meantime, I’d like to hear what you think of this project. Post your comments below!

We’ve got some big things planned for the South Milwaukee Downtown Market when it returns this summer. The biggest may actually be an event planned for April.

I am helping lead the effort to bring an indoor spring market to Bucyrus’ Heritage Building from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. We hope you’re planning to attend … and tell your friends and neighbors.

So far, we have about a dozen vendors committed to the event, including many that you may be familiar with from our summer market. We’re hoping to get that number to 25 or 30, and I’m confident we’ll get there.

Do you know someone who might be interested in selling at the market? They can email me at erikbrooks32@yahoo.com.

Learn more about the spring and summer markets from my previous post, from this this press release and at the South Milwaukee Downtown Market at www.smdowntownmarket.org.

While I was in Madison watching the Badgers roll past Iowa at the Kohl Center, I apparently missed quite a meeting of the South Milwaukee School Board on Wednesday night.

Hundreds packed the Performing Arts Center for several hours to protest proposed cuts to South Milwaukee school music and other programs as part of what could be a $1 million to $3 million budget shortfall.

The video from this Today’s TMJ4 story says it all.

Now if only City Council meetings had live music …

Seriously, I’ll do my best to keep you posted on this as the budget process continues. This is an important community issue.

And something tells me this won’t be the last we hear from concerned parents and students. There is a lot of passion around this issue, and rightfully so. Our school music program is a strong source of pride for the entire community.

But my challenge is always the same when it comes to budget debates — school, city, state, federal and otherwise: If your feel your program should be spared, then what should be cut? The shortfall is real, and cuts have to be made … somewhere.  

Your next chance to weigh in on the proposed cuts appears to be the March 10 School Board meeting, with approval of the preliminary budget and staffing plan expected at the March 24 meeting. Here is the full school budget calendar.

Also check out the South Milwaukee Music Portal for more.

Parents, students and others upset at the proposed cuts to the South Milwaukee school music program are making their voices heard on the issue.

Click here to see a WISN-TV story on the topic. From the story:

In South Milwaukee, the music has played as long as anybody can remember, but unless there is a dramatic change for the good in the district’s school budget in the next few weeks, the entire string orchestra could be cut. “I came from a broken family and the orchestra program saved my life, so I’m very strongly opposed to them cutting this program,” Music Alumni South Milwaukee member Carol Rehak said.

Parents, students and citizens are outraged at the mere thought of it. “I really don’t want them to cancel the music program, cause it’s pretty much everything to me,” student Travis Paget said.

Said Superintendent David Ewald: “We’ve tried not to gore anybody’s oxen, at this point, though, we can’t not do that. Things that we treasure are being eliminated and they will be eliminated because we have no choices except to do that.”

Be sure to check out Blogging Blue, a blog run by former South Milwaukee School Board candidate Zach Wisniewski, for more thoughts on the topic. And you can visit the South Milwaukee Music Portal, which has even more information, including links to join a Forward South Milwaukee Facebook page devoted to the issue.

Also check out my previous post for links to the key budget documents.

So, what do you think?

Learn more at the South Milwaukee School Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3, when a public hearing on the preliminary budget recommendations is planned.

Here is the meeting agenda.

A stabbing was reported at Sportz Medicine II on Milwaukee Avenue last night.

Click here to see the story from WTMJ. From the story:

A fight over a woman, or possibly even the song selection at one South Milwaukee bar, ends in a stabbing. Police in South Milwaukee say a 29-year old man reportedly stabbed another 29-year old man inside the tavern Sportz Medicine II, on the 1100 block of Milwaukee Avenue. Authorities have arrested a suspect after a chase. Police caught up to him two blocks away.

I’ll post an update as I get one.

When I was elected alderman last April, I wanted to hit the ground running, tackling some of the biggest issues I raised in my campaign quickly. Downtown development was, and still is, the biggest one.

That’s why I am so glad to have co-founded (with Alderman Jim Shelenske) the South Milwaukee Downtown Market.

It launched last July and quickly grew into an amazing success with the help of a dedicated committee of volunteers and others.

Unlike other farmers’ markets, our goal is to use the event to help get people excited about coming downtown again … and open their eyes to the opportunity of our city center. We achieved that goal in 2009.

We want the same thing in 2010, as we bring back the market even bigger and better this summer. We hope can join us.

The Downtown Market, located at 11^th and Milwaukee Avenues, will again be held on Thursday afternoon and evenings from June 3 through October 14. It will be open from 3 to 7:30 p.m. in June, July and August and from 3 to 7 p.m. in September and October.

We’re also holding a one-day Downtown Spring Market and Business Fair on Saturday, April 10, at Bucyrus International. The market, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature many of the same vendors found at the summer version of the market, including produce, food, jewelry, art and craft vendors. It will also feature a South Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce Business Fair showcasing some of the city’s top merchants.

 The spring event will be held at the remodeled Bucyrus Heritage Building on 10^th Avenue just north of Milwaukee. The hours coincide with those of the Bucyrus History Museum, which is also located in the Heritage Building.

Learn more about both events in this press release, and check out our website at www.smdowntownmarket.org for more information, including information on how to sign up as a vendor at both the spring and summer markets.

To all who supported the 2009 market, thank you. We can’t wait until 2010.

It’s a relatively light agenda for Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting, but there are a few interesting items we’ll be considering.

Two are related to the potential summer cycling events I wrote about earlier this week.

We’re also taking up a resolution requesting that the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission create a study committee to investigate the potential extension of the Lake Parkway south to Ryan Road or even Racine County.

This is an easy vote in mind, so I expect it will pass unanimously. This deserves a study, even if the project may not happen for 15 years or more.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Join us!

You can read the entire agenda here. And click here to read a press release about the 794 project from County Supervisor Pat Jursik.

Here are some headlines of note about South Milwaukee and the area …

• South Milwaukee Promotes Superintendent from Within: A Journal Sentinel story on the naming of the new head of South Milwaukee schools. As best I can tell, my blog was the first to report this other than the district’s website. Disappointing, but not surprising … and proof of how much the Journal Sentinel has cut back its suburban coverage.
• Good Samaritan Gets Helping Hand: A WISN.com story about a benefit for the son of a South Milwaukee firefighter.
• Cudahy Development Plan Shows New Life: A Journal Sentinel story on the development prospects of a key corner of Cudahy at 794 and Layton Avenue.
• Bucyrus Completes Acquisition of Terex Business: A Business Journal story on the major Bucyrus deal that promises to bring hundreds of jobs to South Milwaukee.

It didn’t take long to replace David Ewald as South Milwaukee School District superintendent.

A little over a month after Ewald announced his retirement, the School Board looked in-house to hire Dr. Rita Olson as its new leader.

Dr. Olson has served as the district’s director of instruction the past six years after spending more than 20 years in a variety of roles, ranging from German and French teacher to elementary principal. Learn more on the School District website.

Dr. Olson certainly has her work cut out for her.

The district also released its 2010-11 budget assumptions this week, and it’s not pretty.

The district is facing structural deficit of more than $900,000 this year after already having reuced staffing, programs and individual budgets by more than $6 million since the 2003-04 school year. Learn more here.

Of particular note in the document: The district is aiming to reduce its projected salary and benefit increases from $1.2 million to $600,000, but only if approved by the distict’s five unions and non-represented personnel. That certainly won’t be easy.

Without the $600,000 reduction, the district will have to consider a number of significant changes and cuts, including increasing student and athlete fees and eliminating orchestra, the high school golf team and a variety of teacher positions.

Congratulations, Dr. Olson. I don’t envy the tough decisions ahead of you.

I’ve said for quite a while that we need to find new and innovative ways to introduce people to South Milwaukee and let them know about all that South Milwaukee has to offer.

My contention is that when people learn more about our great city — and its safe streets, affordable housing, downtown opportunity good schools and great recreation opportunities — their perceptions of South Milwaukee will forever change.

So when you get the chance to bring thousands of visitors here, count me in.

That’s the opportunity we’re faced with this summer, as two large cycling events consider riding through South Milwaukee.

One, the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts, is a South Milwaukee regular. Its 25-mile route, the most popular of its five routes, winds through South Milwaukee every year, with an oasis stop in Grant Park. The Ride is looking to return again in 2010, bringing a couple thousand people into the park and onto the streets of our city on June 6. 

An even bigger opportunity, however, is the International Cycling Classic. This is a series of more than two weeks of races in communities throughout southeastern Wisconsin, and they want to stop in South Milwaukee the next three years.

This will bring hundreds more bicyclists to our city, and, more importantly, the chance to hold a true city celebration built around cycling.

My vision is the Food, Folks and Spokes event held annually to coincide with the Kenosha stop. It’s a great family festival that is a true community event, all built around the Classic. Why not consider doing something similar in South Milwaukee?

Of course, neither event, the Cycling Classic specifically, comes free. For instance, there is a $15,000 annual “site fee” for the Classic, which is seeking to come to South Milwaukee on July 19. That money has to be found somewhere — ideally through sponsorships, and no city tax dollars. 

The Miller Lite Ride and International Cycling Classic will be discussed at a joint meeting of the Public Works and Property and Finance committees at 6:15 p.m. on Monday. Click here for an agenda. I’ll keep you posted on what happens here.

Stories like this remind you to always be thankful of what you have … and recognize what’s really important. 

Fox 6 has a story of a South Milwaukee house fire late Monday morning that left nine people homeless. No one was hurt in the blaze at 3424 S. Chicago Avenue thanks in part to an observant three-year-old.

Check out the full story and video on Fox6Now.com. From the story:

The Herzog family had many to get out of the burning house. The kids had no school, and were home. All except one child who’s in a program for autism. Three-year-old Hannah was the first to see fire shooting out of the basement dryer. Another family was trapped on the upstairs porch of the duplex. Bobbie Herzog says, “The people outside were yelling. The girl’s standing out there yelling. ‘Get me down, get me down’ and we couldn’t find a ladder so he says ‘Slide over the side, I’ll just catch you’ So we all helped her down.”

The Herzogs have no renter’s insurance and have to start from scratch. There’s not much left to salvage.

At least they have their lives … and, hopefully, your prayers.