by | October 21, 2015 · 8:00 am

For A Smoother Parkway

Oak Creek Parkway road

Milwaukee County is proposing to spend close to $1 million to rebuild Oak Creek Parkway from the railroad trestle near South Milwaukee High School, east to Chicago Avenue.

The project, contained in the county’s recently released capital budget proposal and pushed by Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik and County Executive Chris Abele, would begin in 2016 with planning and design, with the construction work being done in 2017. From the capital budget plan …

The project scope for 2017 work is anticipated to include reconstruction of the storm sewer and pavement systems. Storm water best management practices and green infrastructure is included. Replacement of municipal utilities such as sanitary sewers, water mains, and storm sewers are being coordinated with this project.

I ask that the full county board approve this plan. If you’ve driven this stretch lately, you know it’s necessary work — or, as the budget plan puts it, a “highest priority” project for a road in need of “immediate renovation.”

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by | October 20, 2015 · 5:30 pm

Planning For The Future: Have Your Voices Heard! (And Get Candy)

October 24 Halloween Open House Flyer update

Here is one more reason to be a part of Saturday’s downtown trick-or-treating event: Along the way, you will have a chance to help shape the future of our city.

Graef Consulting is holding its second open house/public feedback session from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at 924 Milwaukee Ave., the storefront located directly east of Sorce Martial Arts. Stop in and share your input and learn more about the comprehensive plan under development. Displays will include:

  • Opportunity area development scenarios;
  • Boards with visual / design precedents;
  • A photo montage of a concept for the public space at the southeast corner of Milwaukee and 10th Avenues;
  • Recommendations for downtown;
  • A synthesis of feedback from the first open house this summer at the Downtown Market;
  • Blank maps for further feedback (neighborhoods/districts/corridors, opportunity areas, and a large aerial map); and
  • “What I Want For South Milwaukee” stickers to provide feedback and comment forms.

There will also be a coloring station for children and candy (of course). The PBS “Around the Corner” episode on South Milwaukee will also be shown during the open house.

Be sure to take a break from trick-or-treating and be a part of this activity. Your feedback is critical as we continue our work in planning South Milwaukee’s promising future!

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by | October 20, 2015 · 8:00 am

Rocketober Rolls On: Downtown Trick-Or-Treating Details

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One event we were proud to add to the list of Rocketober activities last year: a downtown trick-or-treating event.

It was a hit. Hundreds of families took part, supporting local businesses while collecting some candy along the way. Well, it’s back in 2015 — bigger and better than ever.

Nearly 40 businesses and institutions are taking part this time, and you can see the full list in the flyer posted above. Be sure to stop at them all from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and visit Moran’s Pub for a raffle drawing afterwards. Then head to the Mill Pond Zombie House a few blocks away, or the Human Concerns Haunted House.

(Check out the full list of Rocketober events here.)

Thanks so much to Julie Arnold from Lovenote Creative and James Moran from Moran’s Pub for organizing this year’s trick or treating. This should be a lot of fun.

Be sure to use this flyer as you travel to the various businesses. Either print it, or pick one up at a participating location.

See you Saturday!

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by | October 19, 2015 · 3:53 pm

Spreading The Joy Of Reading, One Little Free Library At A Time

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The Little Free Libraries, 11 in all, are complete … and making their way into neighborhoods across the city.

We presented the libraries to several of the recipient families at a ceremony last week.

Thanks again to local woodworker Larry Oleson, the South Milwaukee Library, Ace Hardware and BMO Harris for their partnership on this fun community-building project. (And thanks to Caterpillar for getting the ball rolling by donating the first library, which we gave away last month.)

I’m so excited to have this come to life. I love seeing the community come together over stuff like this, and it never could have happened without the generosity of everyone listed above. Of course, the biggest thanks go to Larry, who gave of his time and talents (and garage space) to handcraft these works of art. And they are works of art.

Don’t recall the story behind these? Learn more here.

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by | October 19, 2015 · 3:34 pm

Man Hurt As Car Backs Into Home And Other Headlines

Car in house

Check out these South Shore headlines …

NOW has published a new police blotter.

And here is the official report from Fire Chief Joe Knitter on the incident pictured above …

Earlier today, the SMFD Green Shift, under the command of Capt. Glen McCoy, responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting that a truck backed into the porch of a house and someone was possibly trapped underneath it. En route, the dispatcher updated responding units that the person was indeed under the vehicle, but awake and breathing. SMFD arrived on scene and stabilized the vehicle while simultaneously extricating the person from underneath the truck. Once he was removed from his position and evaluated, he was transported to Froedtert Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

As always, like my Facebook page for more regular and up-to-the-minute updates on stories like these.

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by | October 17, 2015 · 8:46 pm

Milwaukee Avenue Fire One Of Three In The South Shore Since Thursday

Downtown fire 1 Downtown fire 2

Downtown fire 3

It was a busy Saturday for area fire departments, including a blaze in downtown South Milwaukee tonight.

More on the South Milwaukee fire from Fire Chief Joe Knitter …

At approximately 5:23 this evening, SMFD units responded to a report of flames coming from the roof of a building at 10th & Milwaukee near Parkway Floral.  As units exited the station, they could see a column of smoke rising into the sky from the area.  A Working Still response was requested by Capt. Sibley, bringing in our mutual aid neighbors.  Upon arrival of SMFD units, flames and heavy smoke could be seen coming from the roof area.  An interior size up showed fire involving the siding materials and wood framing of an light/air shaft located between the west wall of the building at 1003 Milwaukee Avenue and the east wall of the building that houses the Board Game Barrister. Hoselines were stretched into the apartment that the shaft served and the fire was extinguished.  A hoseline was also taken to the roof via our aerial ladder to extinguish some areas where the fire had extended.  Once again, our crews did an excellent job deploying the hoselines and controlling/extinguishing the fire in a very short time.  The light/air shaft was heavily damaged with moderate damage to the adjoining apartment and the attic area directly about the involved apartment.  Two families were displaced and the Red Cross was notified for their services.  The fire is currently under investigation. No injuries were reported.

And more on an Oak Creek fire early Saturday morning …

Oak Creek fire 1 Oak Creek fire 2

At 4:13 this morning, SMFD Truck 1671 and Chief 16 responded to the City of Oak Creek for a report of a fire in a residential building. OCFD units encountered significant fire involvement of the attic of the building upon their arrival and, after assuring that all occupants were accounted for, assumed a defensive fire attack. Truck 1671 was positioned on the C/D corner and provided their aerial stream and eventually went to the interior to conduct a thorough search and extinguish hot spots. The fire was escalated to a MABAS Box Alarm bringing in units from throughout Milwaukee County. No injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.

There was also an apartment fire in Cudahy on Friday.

Thank you to our firefighters for their 24/7 commitment to keeping us safe … and please keep the families displaced by these fires in your thoughts and prayers.

For more photos — and for more regular and timely updates on news from around the area — be sure to like my mayoral Facebook page. I often update Facebook first. 

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by | October 16, 2015 · 4:46 pm

Innovating Around Crash Reporting

“South Milwaukee is the first department in the state to transition to an electronic crash reporting platform and can serve as a template for other agencies state-wide.”

I love reading quotes like this … and innovating in how we deliver our services.

That statement describes a new online service being offered by the South Milwaukee Police Department allowing commercial entities (like insurance companies and law firms) to obtain accident reports electronically through an automated, online platform, 24/7.

I’ll let Police Chief Ann Wells explain the Lexis Nexis Police Reports service better …

“The ability to offer accident reports in an electronic format will save our officers and clerical staff countless hours in processing time. This new system will also provide a benefit to our citizens who are looking to expedite the insurance and/or legal process associated with an automobile accident. Instead of sending physical copies of our reports to the state and then mailing requested copies to insurance companies and law firms, those organizations can now request and access them online. This has the potential to cut delivery time from 10-20 days down to one or two.”

Read the whole press release here.

Keep in mind that only citizens with insurance can use the service, which also provides these benefits …

  • Elimination of the agency’s need to input crash data;
  • Improved agency investigative strength by providing easy access to their crash reports and those of other participating agencies; and
  • Simplified crash data storage, access and distribution.

Also, a portion of the proceeds of each crash report purchased through the system will be provided to the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association.

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by | October 15, 2015 · 10:31 pm

Happy 50th, E.W. Luther!

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Luther 50th 5 Luther 50th 4

Celebrating E.W. Luther Elementary’s 50th anniversary with an open house and a proclamation …

South Milwaukee is blessed with terrific local schools that have stood the test of time — and Luther is clearly one of them. It’s an impressive school that we should all be proud of.

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by | October 15, 2015 · 4:15 pm

South Milwaukee Firefighters Respond To Cudahy Blaze And Other Headlines

Cudahy fire

Check out these South Shore headlines …

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by | October 13, 2015 · 10:01 pm

Driving Economic Development In The South Shore

Update: Here is what I presented. I think it’s a compelling story.

Option flyer

I’m excited to talk about how far we’ve come and — more importantly — where we’re headed at this forum. Please stop by and hear for yourself!

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by | October 11, 2015 · 5:50 pm

Headlines

Check out these South Shore headlines …

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by | October 10, 2015 · 6:20 pm

Leaf Collection Season Is Here

Leaf pile

While the warm weather and still greenish trees may not show it, it’s leaf collection season again.

The city picks up leaves from street gutters from October 1 through November 15 each year.

It’s a service we’re proud to offer, even as many do not (at least not free of charge).

A few notes for South Milwaukee residents … No yard waste and plants will be collected. They must be taken to the Self-Deposit Station. And please do not push leaves into the gutter after November 15 — they may not be picked up.

You may recall my open letter last year on this subject, as we were faced with significantly higher costs in picking up and disposing of leaves. Well, we’ve solved that problem and have a disposal site more reasonably priced and closer by.

Still, I continue to ask: If possible, consider mulching instead of raking. Or compost them. Or save a few bags of leaves in your garage to use for mulch next spring.

Why do I ask for moderation?

  • First, this service is extremely costly for taxpayers. From the labor costs of picking up the leaves and trucking them to our collection site in Caledonia to what the facility bills us for accepting the leaves to the fuel costs associated with that work, we’ll spend more than $100,000 on leaf collection and disposal this fall, if nothing changes.
  • It is also bad for the environment. While the landfill does compost the leaves we give them, the fuel it takes to make the trip alone makes this bad for our planet. Plus, leaves being left in the street can be washed into area waterways, causing water quality issues. And piles of leaves can, and do, clog sewer drains during rainstorms. Mulching is better.

Of course, I realize mulching is not an option for some homeowners, especially those with a number of trees in their yard that can bury a lawn in leaves each fall.

But for those who can, please consider putting the rake away.

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by | October 9, 2015 · 3:09 pm

Water Main Break Update

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Crews are continuing to work on this morning’s major water main break at 9th and Michigan.

Residents can resume normal water usage. The water is safe for drinking and cooking. However, as with any water main break, sediment gets stirred around and can cause households to experience brown or rusty type water.

If your residence is experiencing brown/rusty water, please turn on all faucets at the lowest point of your home until the water runs clear and work your way upwards until all faucets are running clear.

Residents near the area of the break may experience this later this evening as the repairs conclude.

Thank you again for your patience.

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by | October 9, 2015 · 7:18 am

Major Water Main Break Reported; Pressure Low Across The City

Update: As of 8 a.m. the main break had been isolated and it is OK to resume normal water usage.

There was a major water main break in the area of 9th and Michigan Avenues earlier this morning, and water pressure remains low across the city.

Crews are working now to shut off the main. Once that is done, pressure should be restored, the water superintendent tells me. Until then, residents are asked to avoid using water, if possible, to help maintain pressure for those who need it.

A separate main break in the area of Mill Road and Hawthorne overnight has also left several residents without water; that may not be fixed until later today.

I will keep you posted.

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by | October 8, 2015 · 8:00 am

Oak Creek Cleanup Set For Saturday

Blue heron

Join the Friends of the Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse for their fall cleanup this Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon.

Here are details from the group …

Meet in South Milwaukee High School parking lot, North end. 

We will provide safety vests, water, bags and vinyl gloves.

Lunch will be provided after the cleanup at the Warming House.

Targeted area is from North Chicago west to Nicholson Avenue

Please bring boots [if you have them] and your enthusiasm!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

For more information, please visit our website: www.smfomp.org

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