Category Archives: Uncategorized

Heritage Week is already a great time to be in South Milwaukee. Spaghetti dinner at the firehouse. Evening on the Avenue. Lionsfest. Car cruise. Heritage Days parade. Friends of the Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse Duck Race.

This year — and hopefully for many years to come — we welcome another great event: the Bucyrus International Cycling Classic.

The Classic, planned for Tuesday, July 20, promises to be a day full of competitive international cycling AND family fun.

Races begin around 10 a.m. and conclude around 8, as hundreds of cyclists, from amateurs to professionals, loop through a 2.8-mile course through the heart of downtown South Milwaukee and into the Oak Creek Parkway and Grant Park.

The start-finish line is planned for 9th and Milwaukee Avenues, and that’s where the fun continues with a special Tuesday edition of the South Milwaukee Downtown Market and a Wheaton Family Medical Group/South Shore YMCA family fun area.

Learn more in this press release, and I’ll have plenty more details in the weeks to come. Also check out our website, where you can learn more about sponsoring the race or taking part in the Downtown Market.

I also ask you to consider volunteering for the event. We need dozens, if not a hundred, volunteers to pull this off. Please consider giving a few hours of your time to help bring this wonderful day to life. Email me or comment on this post if you our your group is interested.

Here are some other headlines from around the South Shore:

• County Supervisor Larson to Challenge Plale (Blogging Blue)
• Slain Driver in Oak Creek Loved Cars, Was Loved by Friends (Journal Sentinel)
• DA To Review Crash Involving Deputy (Journal Sentinel)
• County Supervisors Bus, Bike to Work Friday Morning

State Sen. Jeff Plale, a South Milwaukee Democrat and 4th District resident, will face a challenge in the September primary from Milwaukee County Supervisor Chris Larson, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

State Rep. Mark Honadel is facing a Republican primary fight from Oak’s Creek’s Jason Scott Komorowski … and he is likely to face a sitting Oak Creek alderman in November.

Learn more about Plale’s competition in this Journal Sentinel story and this blog post. Larson’s quote: “There are definitely folks on the left (who) are not happy with the way things are going in Madison.”

Check out the press release announcing Larson’s candidacy and his website, which is currently under construction.

So far, just one Republican, Milwaukee attorney Jess Ripp, has formally declared his candidacy in the Senate race.

Oak Creek Alderman Tom Michalski is the only Democrat to formally declare in the Assembly race. Learn more in this Blogging Blue post.

Both races bear watching, and I’ll keep you posted as the Sept. 14 primary nears.

The South Milwaukee High School softball team rolled past Oak Creek, 11-1, on Thursday to qualify for its first WIAA state tournament berth in 12 years.

Here is the full story.

Here is some other news of note from around the South Shore …

• Woman Drives Car Off Grant Park Cliff (AM-620 WTMJ)
• Oak Creek Crash Victim  Was to Graduate Saturday (Journal Sentinel)
• Internet Sex Sting Leads to 10-Year Sentence (Journal Sentinel)

Week two of the 2010 South Milwaukee Downtown Market is here … and we hope you can join us.

This week, Lopez Bakery, the “kettlecorn guy” and Quednow’s Heirloom Apple Orchard are back, joining more than 50 other vendors for what promises to be a great event.

(And here is a quick sneak preview for June 17: Next week’s market features both the Health Department Poker Walk and a performance from the South Milwaukee Municipal Band!)

Learn more at our website, and be sure to become a member of our Facebook page.

Alderman Dave Bartoshevich and I hope you can join us for our second town hall meeting starting at 10 a.m. this Saturday at City Hall. We’ll cover a variety of topics, from all of the road projects going on in the district to the water rate increase.

Learn more in my previous post in our summer newsletter.

Bucyrus paid $9 million for the former Midwest Airlines headquarters building in Oak Creek, according to a story just posted on BizTimes.com.

Here is a link to the story, which clearly states that Bucyrus is moving its corporate headquarters to Oak Creek from South Milwaukee. (Other media outlets, and Bucyrus itself, have been a bit fuzzier on that reality.)

From the BizTimes.com story:

“At $9 million, Bucyrus purchased the 120,833-square-foot office complex for $74.48 per square foot. The property had been listed for $14.9 million, or $123.31 per square foot. …

Bucyrus, which manufactures mining equipment, has grown significantly in recent years and in February closed on the acquisition of the mining division of Terex Corp. With that acquisition, the company says it will create approximately 700 jobs in the Milwaukee area in the next 2 to 3 years. That means the company needs more office space, which is why it is purchasing the Oak Creek campus. Bucyrus plans to renovate the Oak Creek buildings and will move its corporate staff there in about 3 to 5 months.

The sale of the buildings should provide a property tax boost to the city of Oak Creek. Midwest Airlines did not pay property taxes on the property under a state property tax exemption for airlines with hub facilities in the state.”

Update: Here is the actual ordinance we passed. It basically mirrors the state law but clarifies issues around definition of an enclosed space, permitted smoking areas at municipal buildings and the use of approved cigarette receptacles.

As you probably know by now, the statewide smoking ban goes into effect July 5.  (Hooray!)

And, as you may not know, the City Council unanimously voted last week in favor of a local smoking ordinance that clarifies a few points contained in the state anti-smoking law.

You can learn more about both the state law and local ordinance at an informational open house from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2424 15th Ave. While the open house is aimed at business owners, anyone who has questions about the ban is welcome to attend. Please note that this meeting is for informational purposes and to answer questions regarding compliance with the law.

Learn more about the state smoking ban on the Smoke Free Wisconsin website.

One night down, 19 to go. And night one went great.

Opening night of the 2010 South Milwaukee Downtown Market was a big success, with more than 50 vendors taking part and hundreds (maybe more than a thousand?) area residents enjoying shopping, food, music and fun.

Thanks to everyone who came out, and we hope to see you next week and beyond.

Tell your friends, check out our website and be sure to friend us on Facebook!

Here is some more news from around the South Shore …

• South Milwaukee Man Organizing a Canada Day Celebration (Journal Sentinel)
• Mother of Six Found Dead (Journal Sentinel)
• Support for the Drexel Interchange (Bay View Compass)
• Cudahy Approves Increase in Liquor Licenses (Journal Sentinel)
• 2 Oak Creek Officers Cleared in Shooting Death of Suspect (Journal Sentinel)
• Trial Ordered for Former Cudahy Student in Overdose Death (Journal Sentinel)

By now, most of the 4th District should have seen a copy of the summer newsletter Dave Bartoshevich and I put together … and the invitation to join us for a 4th District town hall meeting on Saturday, June 12.

You can access a PDF of the newsletter here. It contains updates on a few 4th District public works projects and a quick guide to some South Milwaukee summer events, among other news and information. It also has details on the upcoming town hall meeting at City Hall, 2424 15th Avenue, where we’ll be discussing a number of topics and taking questions.

We hope to see you there.

As your aldermen, we are committed to keeping our 4^th District residents informed on key issues and to giving you an opportunity to voice your opinions. This blog, the newsletter and these biannual meetings deliver on that promise.

Just three more months to go …

The ongoing improvements to 15th Avenue between College and Rawson Avenues will be complete by August 30. That’s according to a letter sent to area property owners this week by City Engineer Kyle Vandercar.

Three phases are planned:

• May 20 to June 11: North of Oak Creek Parkway to College Avenue
• June 14 to July 11: Intersection of 15th Avenue and Oak Creek Parkway
• July 25 to August 30: North of Rawson to Oak Creek Parkway

Of course, the plans may change due to weather, change orders or other circumstances, but this is good news because it means work should be done in time for the start of the 2010-11 school year.

Keep in mind that connecting streets will be closed during construction phases, and traffic will need to use other routes. Please be patient during this time … and keep your eye on the prize (a great new road through the 4th District).

If you have any additional 15th Avenue construction questions, contact Chad Bigler at OTIE at 414-856-1345. You may also reach Kyle at 414-762-2222, ext. 136.

Here are some other items of note from the South Shore …

• Discussing School Funding with State Rep. Brett Davis
• City Won’t Use Eminent Domain to Acquire Farmland
• Rail Ideas Await Their Fate in Milwaukee
• KRM Opponents Question Cost, Ridership Figures
• Dog Park Construction Commences

So, I leave for a Memorial Day weekend vacation and apparently miss a lot …

As you all know by now, Bucyrus announced on Friday it has “completed the purchase of the former Midwest Airlines Corporate Center located at 6744 South Howell Avenue in Oak Creek, Wisconsin from Westminster Badger LLC.”

And, according to Bucyrus, “due to the continued growth of the company, Senior Management and other personnel will be moving to the new location making room for additional employees at its South Milwaukee facility.”

This sounds great, and in many ways it is. Hundreds of new jobs are coming to South Milwaukee due to the company’s expansion, and we should celebrate that, as I have regularly on this blog.

But is it all good news? I fear not.

My first question upon hearing the news on Friday is one that still remains: Will Bucyrus still be based in South Milwaukee?

This is not an insignificant question and should not be overlooked. Thousands of communities, large and small, across the country have large manufacturing plants, but we’re different. To people around the world, we’re the actual home of Bucyrus International, the world’s largest mining equipment manufacturer. It is based in South Milwaukee and has been for 117 years.

This is more than a name on a press release. It is a huge point of pride for us, something that no other city can boast.

I worry that will change … and Bucyrus will now be officially based in Oak Creek.

Media accounts differed as to whether or not that will be the case.

Read coverage in the Journal Sentinel, Business Journal and BizTimes.com. And here is the actual press release.

• The BizTimes.com account says clearly that Bucyrus “will move its corporate headquarters from South Milwaukee to the Oak Creek site.”
• The Business Journal is less clear on that fact, stating that Bucyrus “will move headquarters personnel from South Milwaukee to Midwest Airlines’ former headquarters space in Oak Creek” and “all of the company’s senior management staff, including (CEO Tim) Sullivan will move to the Oak Creek site.”
• The Journal Sentinel, apparently the only local media outlet to land an interview with Bucyrus CEO Tim Sullivan on Friday, is similarly unclear: “The former Midwest Airlines corporate center will have between 200 and 300 employees, including Bucyrus top management, but the company will continue to have 1,500 employees at its headquarters in South Milwaukee and stopped short of calling Oak Creek its new corporate home.”

In other words, I still don’t know the answer to my question.

This is an important distinction. I look forward to hearing the answer, although we may not know for sure until that first earnings release after the move to the former Midwest Airlines headquarters is complete.

Trust me, I will be looking very closely at the dateline: Will it say “South Milwaukee” or “Oak Creek”?