South Milwaukee Blog

Disappointing, albeit not surprising, news from Caterpillar today …

This morning, the company announced to employees a decision to centralize its Surface Mining & Technology Division in Tucson, Ariz. The move “is the result of a comprehensive study to place our footprint closer to customers and proving grounds, drive a deeply collaborative culture between employees, dealers and customers, and create strong mining-focused career pipelines,” the company tells me.

The transition will occur over the next five to seven years, and does not impact Cat’s approximately 250,000 square-foot manufacturing footprint in South Milwaukee — one that continues to undergo upgrades with millions of dollars of new equipment and other investment, according to our local spokesman, who said the goal remains to make South Milwaukee a “world-class” maker of rope shovels and draglines.

(Last year, you’ll recall Cat announced it was shrinking by half its local manufacturing footprint, closing two buildings while investing in what remains.)

The opening of the new Tucson facility will result in some management roles moving from South Milwaukee and other locations around the country to the Tucson area over time. This year, about 10-15 employees from South Milwaukee will move. Longer term, more of Cat’s engineering and support positions will transition, although key operations support will remain. The bulk of the local moves will occur closer to 2018.

All in, a Cat spokesman tells me South Milwaukee could lose about 200 jobs to Arizona, including some that had been located in Oak Creek before Cat announced last year it was closing that facility and moving those workers to South Milwaukee. 

Cat has about 800 active local employees today, including about 600 in salaried and management positions.

Please keep the families of the impacted workers in your thoughts and prayers. These types of transitions are never easy.

While this news is disappointing, I am not discouraged. We will continue to push, undeterred, forward. We have to.

Tonight is a big night on that journey, as the council considers final passage of our comprehensive plan update and downtown plan — one that begins to ponder a smaller Caterpillar — as well as an enhanced downtown small business incentive program and additional funding to bring the top priorities of the plan to life for South Milwaukee.

We have strong economic redevelopment momentum in our city. We will build on that and work harder than ever to deliver on the promise of our promising future.

The case to do so has never been stronger, especially with today’s news.

Here is early newspaper coverage from Tucscon. Here is a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story, with this comment from former Bucyrus CEO Tim Sullivan: “This is truly a very sad day for Milwaukee and Wisconsin as these jobs have existed in the region for 136 years.”

From the South Milwaukee Police Department …

Today at about 3:42 PM South Milwaukee Police received a call of a reported robbery at Walmart at 222 N. Chicago Ave. The caller reported that a person had passed a note at the service counter demanding money and, based on the note, the clerk believed the suspect may be armed. No weapon was displayed. Money was obtained and the suspect fled the store in what appears to be a Silver Chrysler 300 4dr.

Suspect is described as a m/b possible in his 20’s approximately 601-603with Black medium length hair in short twists type hairstyle. The suspect also had a mustache and beard that were short in length. The suspect was wearing blue jeans, red jacket over a red t-shirt, red shoes (red on top-white on the bottom) black rimmed glasses.

Check out these South Shore headlines, including information on significant development happening with our South Shore neighbors …

• Ikea Considers Oak Creek (BizTimes.com)
• Valentine Coffee Co. to Open Location at Drexel Town Square (BizTimes.com)
• Puppies Found in Trash in South Milwaukee Now One Week Away from Going Home (Fox 6)
• Snakes, Gators Removed from St. Francis Home After Man Bitten (WISN)

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter.

And Caterpillar recently reported first-quarter earnings. From CNBC:

“We’re close to the bottom or bottoming,” Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He said he hopes 2016 is the last down year. Citing a bright spot, Oberhelman said: “We’ve seen actually an adjustment upwards in China in the first quarter, which is kind of nice. It’s the first time we’ve talked about that in a couple [or] three years.” “China is stimulating and they’ve added a little debt to their GDP forecast,” he said. “We’re feeling some of that in large products. Hopefully that will be sustained; something they do throughout the rest of the year.”

Caterpillar also announced the closure of five more factories last week.

Our city employees continue to step up to help others.

This time, it’s the South Milwaukee Fire Department. From Fire Chief Joe Knitter …

I wanted to bring you up to date on a volunteer initiative started by FF/Paramedic Ryan Wendt to help the family of a nurse from St. Luke’s – South Shore Hospital whose husband fell from a scaffolding over the weekend while helping a friend repair a helicopter.  The man fractured his neck in 3 places resulting in what appears to be permanent paralysis from the neck down.  In fact, he was placed on a permanent ventilator and had a feeding tube inserted [last week]. … 

Members of Local 1633, the Firefighters Protective Association, have stepped up and offered to take care of all the yard work for the family in their time of need.  The family accepted quite willingly knowing that their focus must be on their husband and father. Even though the family resides in Oak Creek, this offering by members of Local 1633 and spearheaded by Ryan exemplifies the type of guys we have working for us.

In addition, members of the department have been donating to a GoFundMe Campaign started by the ER Supervisor at SLSS. (https://www.gofundme.com/ricklloyd). If you click on this link, you can learn more about this terrible tragedy. 

Thanks to our firefighters for making this tragedy a little easier to bear.

Brenda Santiago is the local mother of two-year-old Naty and her two older siblings, who attend South Milwaukee schools. (One plays basketball with my son.)

Brenda wanted to give Naty a birthday present of a lifetime, one that would also help in her therapy. Naty suffers from Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Congenita, also known as SEDc. It is advanced dwarfism, and the condition has limited her bone growth.

I’ll let Brenda take it from here, from Facebook …

Today Naty received a special birthday gift from the Home Depot! She has enjoyed walking up and down her new stairs and plopping herself in her bed. I walked in to the store on Sunday and spoke to Rob Rafalski about what my idea and needs were. We spoke for about 20 minutes or so and by the end of the conversation rather then telling me what supplies were best, he offered to get a crew together and build it for Naty. He wanted to do something special for a special girl. Rob and the team at home depot took a drawing I had and turned it into a reality within a matter of days, staying after shift to make sure it was done in time for Naty to be able to take it home and use on her birthday. Not only did they build it, but they had a team decorate it fit for a princess! They worked hard and it is greatly appreciated. I am amazed at how much effort and creativity these wonderful people put into this project for a child most of them had never even met. It’s moments like these….when a group of strangers can come together to shower my daughter with love…the emotion I have is unexplainable. Although Naty may not be able to know or remember what is going on, this is a day I will never forget.

TMJ4 told the story last week.

The headline says it all. Thanks, Officer Mike Hill. Well done!

You can see the Facebook video here. And check out coverage on WISN.

Here is the recap from Rita Wiskowski, who filmed everything (and took photos).

I was on my way out of the park after the Grant Park Warbler Walk (that happens every Sunday morning in May). I was driving past the Mill Pond when I saw the female mallard acting all agitated, so I stopped and looked down the sewer and saw the ducklings. I called Betsy Abert, who I had just been birding with and she came right over. I called the police and she left to get a net to scoop up the ducklings. She then stopped by the fire department to tell them about it. The police arrived first. After Officer Hill had rescued all the ducklings, the fire department arrived. It was a lot of effort for a bunch of ducks, but I couldn’t have been more grateful. I was on the verge of tears when I first saw the situation, before knowing that the police would be so quick to respond. I love this city!

I couldn’t agree more.

I certainly have. WUWM has the answer, courtesy of local historians.

Thinnes says it was that combination of independent spirit and manufacturing might led South Milwaukee to establish, early on, its own infrastructure including a water filtration system, sewer system and its own street and address scheme.

“South Milwaukee, they didn’t really feel they were a continuation of the City of Milwaukee, so they tried to keep their own identity. And when this whole process started, they decided, no, they were not going to do it; they were going to keep their street numbering system and keep their street names,” according to Milwaukee address history buff Carl Baehr. 

Derek Hoff has resigned his job as South Milwaukee football coach.

He reported this on his Twitter account today: “Officially stepping down from Head Football Coach @SoMilwSchools w/ intent to head north to be closer to my family in a time of need.”

Hoff leaves after two seasons, after replacing John Galewski in 2014. The Rockets finished 8-2 in 2014 and won the Woodland East title, but they slipped to 4-5 last year.

I’ll miss Coach Hoff. I remember when he was first hired, and I was running for mayor, he emailed me: “I believe our team has a responsibility to this community to perform in the classroom, on the field, and to provide volunteerism within the community. I want our athletes to be a positive spark for the people of South Milwaukee.”

His teams were that spark. I saw countless examples of Rocket football players stepping up to serve the community during Hoff’s tenure, from coordinated activities like their fall cleanup for seniors to shoveling snow for an elderly resident to team efforts like getting heads shaved to raise money for St. Baldrick’s and the fight against childhood cancer.

Coach, I wish you well. Family first. You made the decision for the right reasons.

After more than 30 years of guidance by Joseph Murphy, South Milwaukee has a new city attorney: the Franklin-based firm of Wesolowski, Reidenbach & Sajdak.

The South Milwaukee City Council chose the firm at its April 19 meeting following a strong interview earlier this month.

The firm also represents Franklin, Hales Corners, Germantown, and Mequon and comes highly recommended. Chris Smith will be our lead attorney, but we will also benefit from the decades of collective municipal law experience of the three partners.

Please join me in welcoming Wesolowski, Reidenbach & Sajdak to South Milwaukee.

As I wrote previously, they will certainly have some big shoes to fill, but I’m confident they will deliver the legal counsel and representation we need to move the city forward.

As they put it in their initial letter to the city council … “While perhaps not stated in elegant terms, our internal operating procedure is four-pronged: i) tell the truth; ii) care about the people; iii) work hard; and iv) make no mistakes.”

I’m excited to see that procedure put into practice effective May 1.

From local history teacher to military artifact collector and small businessman — that’s the story of Craig Luther, who has opened Military Connection, a military collectibles store at 723 Milwaukee Ave.

I stopped by recently to welcome him to South Milwaukee and came away impressed with Craig, his store and his assortment of items from World War II onward, with a specialty in items from Desert Storm and Iraq.

The store, in the rear of the former Voice Journal and Kelly Driving School building, is open from noon to 8 p.m. on Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and Friday, Saturday and Sunday by appointment.

Craig, a former teacher at Divine Mercy School, also buys, sells and trades items at military collectible shows and online, including through another South Milwaukee business, MEARS Online Auctions.

Check them out on Facebook, or stop by, say hi and join me in welcoming Craig to downtown South Milwaukee. It’s great to see another destination retail business open in our city center. And there are more to come!

Updated flyer posted on May 5.

Our new Beautification Committee is doing some great things.

From bringing a new approach to our Christmas streetscaping to planning this summer’s downtown plantings, this group is making a real, visible difference in its first year.

Their latest effort has them focusing on our neighborhoods. Their goal: Partner with property owners to improve the curb appeal of their block, one home at a time.

Check out the flyer for information on discounts at local garden centers, opportunities for free or low-cost trees and plants, free planting advice and expertise, and even help with their  yard work, for those who need it. And look for more information soon on awards we’ll be offering for participants who make a real upgrade in the look of their properties.

Check out a high-resolution version of the flyer here.

Here’s to a more beautiful South Milwaukee!

Stop by Blakewood Elementary, 3501 Blakewood Ave., from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday (April 23) for a big children’s rummage sale.

A few details …

Children’s rummage including clothing sizes Newborn to 14/16, toys, games, books, movies, video games, sports equipment, seasonal and outdoor gear and equipment, and baby furniture and equipment!

Cash, check and credit card accepted.

DONATE items to the sale!! Donations accepted at Blakewood through Friday (today, 8-10 a.m.). 

Proceeds benefit our new playground! Play is essential to children’s development. Our older playground equipment is more than 30 years old and due to safety concerns will be removed at the end of the school year. Help us replace it and ensure a safe place for our students – and our community – to play!

On my first day as mayor, we created a new system for recruiting members to our boards and commissions.

It is a simple application process designed to introduce people to the opportunities we have available and to introduce me and city staff to a broader network of people who may have a passion or skill that we never knew.

It’s working. We’ve had dozens of applications in the past two years, and we’ve placed some of those applicants in key positions.

My continued ask: Apply. We regularly have openings to fill and, when we don’t, we want to keep a good list of interested candidates at the ready.

We currently have openings on these board and commissions …

• Board of Appeals
• Board of Health
• Board of Review
• Police and Fire Commission
• Housing Authority

Interested? Learn more and apply here.