Category Archives: Uncategorized

by | October 25, 2009 · 1:19 am

4th District Town Hall Meeting Planned

Your voice counts, and keeping you informed is important to Dave Bartoshevich and me.

That is why we’re holding our first town hall meeting  at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, at City Hall. We’ll kick off the meeting with a brief presentation bringing attendees up to speed on what’s happening in the 4th District … and what’s to come. We’ll then take questions and address whatever is on your mind about life in South Milwaukee.

You may have seen us in the district promoting the town hall meeting with this newsletter.

Our goal is to hold these meetings — and produce a district newsletter — twice annually. Improving the way we communicate with our residents is an important issue for me, and I think this blog, the town hall meeting and the newsletter deliver on that promise.

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by | October 24, 2009 · 3:03 am

More on the 15th Avenue Project

Got some more details today on what’s planned for 15th Avenue next year … and I like it. The most recent proposal — recently submitted to Wisconsin Department of Transportation — includes the following:

  • Removal and replacement of travel lane concrete pavement from College to Rawson;
  • Removal and replacement of selected parking lanes, curb and gutter; and
  • Medians at Maple, Cherry and Beech streets.

Pavement would be widened from south of Cherry to north of Beech to accomodate those two medians and allow for a right-turn-only lane into the South Milwaukee Middle School entrance driveway. The Beech median would run through the entire intersection … eliminating left turns from 15th Avenue on to Beech.

And there would be no widening to accomodate the Maple median, meaning there will be some street parking lost in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of 15th Avenue. The tradeoff is a safer crossing for Rawson Elementary students, something my 4K student son will appreciate.

Want to learn more about the plans? Stop by the Public Works and Property Committee meeting at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28, at City Hall. And, as always, feel free to comment here or contact me at erikbrooks32@yahoo.com.

And click here to read my earlier post on this topic.

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by | October 22, 2009 · 7:36 pm

Keeping Watch of Your Neighborhood

I am  big believer in Neighorhood Watch programs. So when I got a few calls this summer about vandalism and other crime concerns near 14th and Park and also on Parkway Drive, I suggested neighbors look into forming a Watch program.

I don’t think either request went anywhere, but I’ll put another plug in for these groups.

Why? Simply, they work. For starters, they create an increased awareness around safety and serve to educate residents about the active role they can play in keeping them, their homes and their streets safe.

They also serve a less tangible, but even more important, role. Watch programs create strong neighborhoods, bringing neighbors together and creating a sense of solidarity around a common goal. And we need that now, more than ever.

The South Milwaukee Police Department has an officer — Mike Hill — dedicated to this effort. Email him here. Also, click here to access a PDF with more information on the Neighborhood Watch program.

And please let me know of any crime concerns in your neighborhood. South Milwaukee is known as a clean, affordable and, most importantly, safe community, and let’s keep it that way.

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by | October 21, 2009 · 3:13 am

Working Toward a Wider Nicholson Avenue

I take my life into my own hands twice a day while dodging rush-hour traffic on Nicholson/Pennsylvania Avenue on the way to work. In 2012, my commute, and the commute of thousands of others, might get a bit easier.

Work is progressing toward a project that will widen the road from two to four lanes from College Avenue south to Rawson.

Utility relocation is scheduled to begin in 2011, and roadway construction will start in early 2012, according to a request for proposals that was sent out this summer seeking design firms.

Fifteen proposals were submitted, and the RFP was recently awarded to Foth Infrastructure & Environment LLC, which will handle survey work, preparation of alternatives for layout and stormwater management, public information meetings and final project design.

This will be a long process, one that involves South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation working together to come up with the best solution for what I believe is a dangerous roadway. I promise to keep you updated on what’s happening with this project as it moves forward.

Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Do you think widening is necessary? If not, what, if anything, should be done? Post your comments below.

Also, check out this post to learn more about the postal facility project planned for College and Pennsylvania/Nicholson. The status of this project — specifically if the USPS decides to pay for some road improvements — will impact the widening effort. But in the end, no matter what happens with the postal facility, the widening is planned to go on. 

(Thanks to City Engineer Kyle Vandercar for providing these updates.)

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by | October 20, 2009 · 3:03 am

What’s up with That Postal Facility, Anyway?

Update: South Milwaukee City Engineer Kyle Vandercar says Oak Creek has sent a letter to the USPS with a November 1 deadline requesting that they verify they are still planning to fund improvements on Pennsylvania/Nicholson from Hickory to College. As stated below, this all plays into plans to improve the entire stretch of Pennsylvania/Nicholson from College to Rawson. I’ll post more on that effort soon. Thanks for the update, Kyle.

That’s the question I posed to Oak Creek City City Administrator Patrick DeGrave today. The answer? Not much.

“No new information,” he wrote in an email. “We continue to work to get the USPS to commit financially to the design and construction of Pennsylvania. The County is doing the same for College.”

As you’ll recall, the plans, originally announced in 2008, called for construction of an 870,000 square-foot mail processing and distribution facility southwest of Pennsylvania and College avenues, bordering South Milwaukee’s 4th District. Included in the plans were upgrades to Pennsylvania/Nicholson and College, to be funded by the postal service. (You’ll recall that a roundabout at Hickory was among those discussions.)

Since then, the postal project has been put on hold, although there were some rumblings this spring that it was back on again. Where does it stand now? I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.

A big thanks to Mr. DeGrave for the update.

Click here for a Journal Sentinel story on the project from last December and another story from South Milwaukee NOW on project delays in February. And here is a good Q&A on the project from the Oak Creek website.

As the NOW story states, widening on Pennsylvania/Nicholson is still in the works in the next couple of years, regardless of the postal project. And if you’ve taken the circuitous College Avenue lately, you know work there is proceeding to prepare for the installation of the runway tunnel.

Check back here for an update on the Pennsylvania/Nicholson widening project in coming days.

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by | October 17, 2009 · 9:00 pm

New Look for Rawson Elementary Playground

UPDATE: I heard from Rawson Principal Colin Jacobs today, and he said the playground is expected to be completed in mid- to late November. It will take approximately two weeks for the equipment to be installed and another week for the rubber matting to be put down. “Pray for good weather,” he told me in an email. Consider it done. Thanks for the update, Mr. Jacobs.

There’s some good news for 4th District kids.

Work is underway on replacing the outdoor playground at Rawson Elementary, and the new equipment will be first-class. The old equipment has already been removed from the site.  

The project got a boost this summer when the City Council allocated Community Development Block Grant money for the effort. Some “leftover” CDBG funds from Oak Creek also helped with the project.

It’s a worthy project, one that will benefit the entire community. And I know my son, a Rawson 4K student, is even more excited than I am about it.

Thanks to everyone, including school leaders and the dedicated volunteers who have raised funds for the playground, for making this happen.

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by | October 17, 2009 · 7:53 pm

Solid Plans for 15th Avenue Improvements

Some long overdue road work is coming to 15th Avenue … thanks to federal stimulus dollars.

The project includes full replacement of the travel lanes from College to Rawson avenues, and that’s great. It needs it. It also includes localized replacement of curb, gutter and parking lane concrete.

But the best part of this project is the safety improvements that are planned around South Milwaukee Middle and High School.

At this point, two narrow median strips are planned for intersections at Beech and Cherry streets near the two schools, and a third is being considered at Maple Street near Rawson Elementary.

The medians would allow for more prominent and permanent street safety signage and possible school zone flashing lights. They also would emphasize school zone and pedestrian crossings, slowing traffic. 

I am asking that they also include some sort of decorative landscaping to make the new street a first-class corridor for our city.

The pavement would also be widened on the east side of 15th from Cherry to Beech to accomodate the medians and allow for a designated turn lane to the middle school drop-off area.

Work is scheduled for next summer, and actual construction costs will be entirely funded with stimulus money. (The city is picking up an estimated $125,000 in design and engineering costs.)

The city and Collins Engineering held a public information meeting on the project last week. Only several neighbors attended, despite persistent concerns about traffic around the schools during drop-off and pick-up.

I’ll keep you updated on the status of the project and what the final plans call for. In the meantime, feel free to add a comment here to let me know your suggestions for the project and 15th Avenue traffic concerns.

And a big thanks to the city engineer’s office and Collins Engineering for their work on this so far, including meetings with school officials and neighbors to give them a chance to provide their input on the project.

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by | October 17, 2009 · 3:29 am

Budget Season: Make Your Voice Heard

It’s no secret that we’re facing a difficult budget in South Milwaukee this year, and cuts are inevitable as department heads and city leaders struggle to fill a more than $400,000 hole caused by reduced state shared revenue, declining investment income and other factors.

The proposed 2010 executive budget is now available for review, and you can check it out on the city website here.

Want to learn more about it? You have several opportunities to do so.

  • The Finance Committee will review the budget at a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21.
  • The City Council will hold a budget public hearing at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 30.
  • The Council will consider adopting the budget at its meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1.

Let your voice be heard during this crucial time!

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by | October 17, 2009 · 1:52 am

Blogging about South Milwaukee’s 4th District

Welcome to the new blog about South Milwaukee’s 4th District.

It’s been a pleasure to serve as your alderman, and this blog helps fulfills a promise I made during the campaign: to improve the way we communicate with our residents. As coverage of South Milwaukee decreases in the traditional media, we need to fill the void with non-traditional ways to keep area residents informed on happenings around their neighborhoods and city. This is one of those of those ways.

I encourage you to check back regularly as I update the blog with news and information from around the 4th District and city of South Milwaukee.

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