by | November 7, 2011 · 4:24 pm

Packed Agenda: What Else Happened At Last Tuesday’s Council Meeting

Walmart wasn’t the only item on the agenda at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The meeting had a few other interesting topics that came up for debate after the Walmart vote.

  • For starters, the City Council unanimously denied a liquor license to a Cudahy man interested in opening a bar at the former Frozen Rope — and to not entertain any license applications for the tavern at 1815 10th Ave. until the end of the 2011-12 license year on June 30, 2012. You will recall this is the same bar location that was the site of two shootings earlier this year — incidents that led to the revocation of the liquor license from the previous bar owner. I was strongly supportive of that punishment, but torn on this issue. This building will mostly likely be a bar again some day, and I believe our responsibility to neighbors is to find the right operator, not necessarily give a blanket “no” to anyone interested in opening there. And the prospective operator in question seemed like a good fit, with his plan for a bar catering to an older crowd. Aldermen, however, were concerned that not enough time had elapsed since the license revocation, and the previous troublemakers could return to the new establishment. Ald. Frank Van Dusen III — a spokesman of sorts for neighbors in their fight against The Frozen Rope, before he was an alderman — agreed, saying neighbors “need a break.” Hearing that was enough for me to change my mind. He’s right.
  • The council unanimously denied a request from JD Shooting Sports for a variance to city code to allow for a retail storefront at 1436 Michigan Ave., which is currently zoned residential. Business owner Jason Dziedzic was seeking permission to sell guns out of his home, going beyond an appointment-only business and into one with regular hours and other (albeit minimal) trappings of a storefront. It is part of an interesting debate about the definition of “home occupation” — what type of businesses the city should allow people to run out of their residences. I voted no not necessarily because it was a gun shop. I would have similar concerns with any retail business owner seeking to operate out of a home. Retail businesses should operate out of commercial zones.
  • The council also voted unanimously to impose a moratorium on new pawnbrokers and dealers of second-hand items like gold and jewelry. The goal: Give the Plan Commission and council some time to review zoning regulations regarding these businesses. Obviously, there are concerns about a proliferation of these types of establishments — be it “cash for gold” or otherwise — and I think it’s good to be proactive in considering restrictions on them now vs. later. How tight those restrictions should be is up for debate. Police are concerned about criminals stealing items and reselling them to these businesses. Greenfield, however, drew strong criticism for how it approached this problem, and its ordinance was ultimately rescinded. I hope for a more balanced approach here.

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by | November 7, 2011 · 12:11 pm

Going Pink Raises Big Green

South Milwaukee raised $7,142.91 as part of its “Going Pink” efforts to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

You’ll recall the effort included the sale of specially designed t-shirts and other activities across the city and school district spearheaded by South Milwaukee students, Police Chief Ann Wellens and others.

Congratulations on the success, and thanks to everyone who played a role in this!

The money raised this year is almost twice as much as what was raised in 2010.

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by | November 6, 2011 · 10:11 pm

Oak Creek We Energies Bluff Collapse Update

Cleanup is under way, and the scope of this week’s bluff collapse at the Oak Creek We Energies power plant is just now becoming known.

Check out the Journal Sentinel story here. From it:

An estimated 2,500 cubic yards of coal ash and soil – enough to fill more than 208 large dump trucks – was pushed into Lake Michigan in Monday’s bluff collapse and landslide at the We Energies’ Oak Creek Power Plant, a state environmental official said Friday.

The slide carried 25,000 cubic yards of ash and soil down the slope and about 10% of the load washed into the lake, said Ann Coakley, director of the waste and materials management bureau for the Department of Natural Resources.

Samples of coal ash and lake water were collected this week for testing to determine the environmental impact of the ash slide, officials said. Tests will show the levels of heavy metals and other contaminants in the ash.

Test results were not available Friday, Coakley said.

Here is a WISN 12 story on the cleanup.

I also asked South Milwaukee Water Superintendent Doug Fischer about the potential impact of the bluff collapse to South Milwaukee, and he said he was not concerned given our filtration processes and because the debris made its way south of Oak Creek, not north to South Milwaukee.

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by | November 4, 2011 · 11:37 am

Concealed Carry In South Milwaukee

The sign above was posted on the front door of my church, Trinity Lutheran of South Milwaukee, last week, with the advent of the concealed carry law in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The city, too, has also banned concealed weapons in city-owned buildings, including the City Hall complex and the library.

I’m wondering what other businesses, churches and organizations are doing to react to the law. Are weapons banned at your church or favorite restaurant or shop? Let me know what you’re seeing. And do you agree with the decision? Also, are you carrying, or expecting to carry, in the near future? If so, when and where? And why?

Post your comments below!

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by | November 4, 2011 · 9:11 am

Parkway Drive/17th Avenue Project Update

A quick update on what’s up with the sewer and road work planned for 17th Avenue and Parkway Drive …

The bulk of the project, initially set to begin this summer, will now be done next spring and completed by the end of June 2012.

You’ll recall that the project includes a variety of stormwater and sanitary sewer work, including installing and rerouting stormwater pipes in the 500 block of Parkway Drive, as well as the resurfacing of 17th Avenue from Rawson Avenue to Hemlock.

This document provides a good summary of the contemplated work and reasons for it.

Contracts for the stormwater and sanitary sewer work have been advertised and will be opened Nov. 22. Once a contractor is chosen, some off-street work and fabrication of structures needed for the work can be done over the winter. The sewer work is set for completion by May 25, according to the contract advertisement.

The roadwork will be advertised separately, with an estimated completion by the end of June — in time for Parkway and 17th to act as an alternate route during the Pennsylvania-Nicholson expansion project set to begin in July.

The delay was caused by extra review and design work necessary when the city decided to change the scope of the 17th Avenue roadwork and resurface all the way from Rawson to Hemlock, instead of the shorter length we were initially looking at.

I’ll keep you posted as this project progresses.

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by | November 3, 2011 · 1:47 pm

Water Main Break Near 16th And Madison

In case you had no water service for a time on Wednesday, or little pressure, here is an excerpt from an email I received from Water Superintendent Doug Fischer this morning …

In case anyone gets any calls about being without water; we experienced a pretty good sized break in the parkway near 16th and Madison at around 7:00 pm tonight. We were not able to notify residents like we normally do before we shut the water off because our water tower was dropping so fast. Also we needed to shut off a fairly large section of town to isolate the break.

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by | November 2, 2011 · 9:15 pm

A Downtown For Oak Creek And Other Headlines

Plans for a “town center” development at the former Delphi site in Oak Creek received mixed reviews at a public meeting on Monday.

That’s according to this story from Oak Creek Patch. From it:

The Delphi property, at 85 acres, would allow for several different uses.

According to the plan unveiled Monday, to the east of the City Hall and library would be retail along a “walkable Main Street.”

The type of retail would largely be determined by market conditions, but officials expect restaurants and small- to medium-sized shops to be a part of it. A space for a farmer’s market was also included.

To the west is housing; likely, some combination of condominiums and apartments. A large park and public greenspace is planned for the southwest part of the property.

Also check out the NOW story.

And check out these other local headlines:

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by | November 1, 2011 · 10:59 pm

Walmart Gets Final Approval From Council … And Why I Voted Yes, Amid The Shouting

Update: Check out coverage from Fox 6, WISN 12 and CBS 58. There is also coverage in the Journal Sentinel and New Kid’s View blog.

Walmart got final South Milwaukee City Council approval Tuesday night.

Specifically, the council gave its final backing to rezoning the land at 222 N. Chicago Avenue, the drawing of a new certified survey map for the area and the vacation and discontinuance of 11th Avenue between Carroll and Davis Avenues.

The vote was 6-2 on all issues, with 1st District Aldermen Frank Van Dusen III and Craig Maass voting no. Here is why I voted yes …

First, I think the majority of residents in the 4th District support the project. It’s not a big majority, but I feel confident it’s a majority. I believed this to be the case in the weeks leading up to the vote through various and countless conversations around the district, emails and phone messages received, feedback on this blog and other sources. And I confirmed this with some leg work over the weekend, when I spent a number of hours taking an informal survey of all homeowners in the three-block radius bounded by 17th and 18th Avenues and Maple and Chestnut Streets.

I simply asked people at each home where they stood on Walmart – without giving them any inkling where I stood, unless asked. In other words, no “push polling.” The results? Support, by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Now, this poll was not even close to scientific, and I do think the gap between supporters and opponents in my district is closer than 2-to-1. But I do believe more than ever there are more supporters than opponents in my district.

Secondly, I personally think the project will be good for the city – specifically when it comes to the tax increment Walmart will provide. Simply put, I couldn’t get past the fact that this is a minimum $12 million development going on a contaminated piece of land that I suspect would otherwise stay vacant for a decade or more without this project moving ahead. For a city in need of revenue to maintain valuable services – and for a city and its taxpayers in need of a more diversified tax base – this is easily the most compelling argument on this issue.

That said, there were a number of valid concerns raised against the project, including many that I agreed with, including issues like traffic, impact on local businesses and a lack of formal public comment until recent weeks.

However, I also supported the project because none of these concerns, nor others I heard, was a dealbreaker on its face.

You can learn more about my position in my previous post on this.

I should also say that, in the end, I did not consider the “how Walmart does business” arguments in this case – concerns raised about how much Walmart pays its employees, or what type of benefits they provide, or from where they source their products. I don’t think these should be part of the debate for this project. Am I concerned about all of these issues? Absolutely. But these are debates that should be happening at the macroeconomic level – not among aldermen as they ponder whether or not to allow construction of a single new store.

On that point, this is a slippery slope argument for me. For if we must consider these factors with Walmart, must the City Council ask the same questions of every employer in town? And what if we don’t like how much Pick n’ Save or Walgreens or Milwaukee Avenue Mom and Pop Shop X pays its employees? What if we’re not happy with the benefits workers at Ace Hardware or Advance Auto Parts employees get?

You can see how troubling that gets … and why I put those concerns out of my mind.

Indeed, these are all points I tried to make at Tuesday’s council meeting, but was shouted down too often to make many of them. I was frankly disappointed, and saddened, with the tone of the meeting. Simply, it got ugly, much uglier than I thought it would.

I hoped for a reasonable, rational debate about the development and its impacts. Instead, we got an angry shouting match, and I left the meeting scared for my safety.

I hope readers of this blog come to realize how difficult a decision this was for me, and recognize how much time, energy, effort and thought went into this process over the last several months. I suspect I will never take a harder, more gut-wrenching vote.

In the end, however, my vote all came back to constituent support, economic development and taxes.  Those were my tipping point considerations, and I acted accordingly. I am willing to live with the consequences.

Of course, you are welcome to post your comments below. Please keep them constructive.

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by | October 31, 2011 · 10:16 pm

Scary Stuff: No One Hurt In Oak Creek We Energies Plant Bluff Collapse

The pictures and videos that have emerged following Monday’s bluff collapse at the We Energies plant in Oak Creek are nothing short of stunning.

Here is Journal Sentinel coverage, and here is a story and video from WISN 12. From the Oak Creek Patch story:

The collapse happened after an embankment gave away about 11:15 a.m., causing a mudslide and sending a pickup truck and two other vehicles into the lake.

No one was injured. In fact, very few people were working in the area and saw the collapse, Manthey said. Most of the workers will be back tomorrow.

“We’re incredibly fortunate there were no injuries,” Manthey said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The accident was at a construction site where an air-quality control system was being implemented and did not cause any disruption to the plant’s operations.

Thank God no one was hurt … and hopefully there are no long-lasting environmental impacts.

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by | October 31, 2011 · 3:09 pm

Progress Report: Updating College Avenue Construction And Seven Bridges Repair

Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik has published her latest eNews update, and it contains updates on the progress around the reconstruction of College Avenue and repairs on Grant Park’s Seven Bridges.

Check it out here. The long and short of it …

  • College Avenue west of Pennsylvania is expected to open by Nov. 18.
  • The Seven Bridges will be repaired over the winter.

The update also includes some good information on the reconfigured Route 15 bus line, Hoan Bridge bike lanes and other topics.

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by | October 31, 2011 · 10:27 am

Probably No Reminder Needed … But Walmart Is On Tuesday’s Council Agenda

The City Council is expected to vote on three items related to the Walmart development at its meeting Tuesday night.

  • The first is related to rezoning necessary for the development to move ahead.
  • The second is consideration of resolution to approve a certified survey map to redivide the property.
  • The last item is adoption of a resolution vacating and discontinuing 11th Avenue to make way for the store.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Here is the agenda.

I expect another large crowd at the meeting, and all I ask is that the debate be constructive, rationale and respectful, much like it’s been on this blog. I continue to thank you all for that.

And here are a few other notes related to the Walmart development:

  • The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a story over the weekend on property value “guarantees” developers are providing local communities for projects. In South Milwauke, for example, Walmart is promising that it will pay property taxes on a  minimum $12 million property value through at least 2027. Check out the story here.
  • While I am happy to discuss the issue, questions about project specifics can also be directed to South Milwaukee Economic Development Director Danielle Devlin (414-762-4114, or ddevlin@bizwi.rr.com) or City Engineer Kyle Vandercar (414-762-2222 or vandercar@ci.south-milwaukee.wi.us).
  • Finally, the Friends of South Milwaukee group, organized to fight the Walmart, has launched a website. Check it out here. For balance sake, I also encourage you to read the information materials provided by the city here. And here is a good summary of tax incremental financing from Danielle.

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by | October 29, 2011 · 5:58 pm

City Publishes 2012 Budget

The city has published its proposed 2012 budget, and I feel strongly that it does as good a job as possible as dealing with the pain of declining revenues while still maintaining our vital and first-class city services.

And those cuts are painful.

In all, the city is being asked to deal with $400,000 in declines to state aids for next year, including $259,000 less in shared revenue, $90,000 less in transportation aids and $51,000 less in recycling funds. Combine that with state-imposed levy limits and factors – such as declines expected in other local revenues (such as court fines and forfeitures) – and, like other communities, South Milwaukee is faced with another difficult budget year in 2012.

The published budget addresses those issues head on and does so sensibly and responsibly. Check it out on the city website here.

The budget calls for a levy increase of 2.55%, which meets the state-imposed limits. Most of the levy increase for 2012 comes from increases in debt payments — in large part due to the large borrowing the council approved earlier this year to fund various public works and other projects — as our new construction in 2010 was minimal.

Here are some other details from the document:

  • Expenditures are budgeted to increase 0.19%, from the $19,158,798 budgeted in 2011 to $19,195,772 in 2012. This keeps the city well under the cap needed to receive our additional “expenditure restraint” payment from the state – expected to be $350,680 in 2012.
  • Revenues are projected to decrease 3.66%, from $9,759,251 to $9,401,701.
  • The proposed budget balances in part due to an anticipated $193,238 transfer from the non-lapsing fund to “buy down” the amount of the 2012 levy. This follows a similar $160,000 transfer budgeted in 2011 and $195,000 transfer in 2010.
  • The budget reflects no layoffs. Staffing levels remain the same as in 2011.
  • Due to the number of employees that have indicated that they will retire in 2012, the cost for retiree health insurance has increased.

Tax rate information won’t be available until November, although it’s safe to assume that the rate will go up to address declining home values due to this year’s revaluation. The increase in the final size of your tax bills, however, should be reasonable … and I am OK with reasonable, especially in these times of increasing city budget pressures.

Of course, there is still a big budget variable for 2012.

The 2012 budget assumes a 0% salary increase for all union and non-represented employees. And it assumes all employees – including those in our police and fire unions, which were not touched by the collective bargaining limits imposed by the state legislature earlier this year – will begin contributing 12% toward the lowest cost qualified health care plan and 50 percent of the cost of their pension (or about 5.8% of their earnings).

The police and fire union contracts expire December 31, and it remains to be seen what negotiations with those unions will yield. I’ll keep you posted.

Our contract with AFSCME, meanwhile, expires June 30, 2012, and employees represented by those unions will begin paying the higher health care and pension costs then. Non-represented employees began paying the higher pension costs earlier this year, and the higher health insurance contributions for those employees will kick in in January.

So some of the “tools” given communities through the “budget repair bill” passed this spring are working – but, as expected, they aren’t nearly enough to make up for the other shortfalls and unfunded mandates passed on by the state legislature.

This budget reflects that reality.

Of course, I wonder what you think of the budget. Please post your comments below.

And don’t forget you can weigh in on the budget at a public hearing Nov. 28. The City Council is expected to vote on the budget on Nov. 29.

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by | October 29, 2011 · 5:51 pm

More Honors For A Popular South Milwaukee Children’s Book Author And Other Headlines

South Milwaukee children’s book author Janet Halfmann recently took home a prestigious award for her picture book “Fur and Feathers” — the same honor she won for her previous book, “Little Skink’s Tail.”

And the honors don’t stop there for this author whose books are proudly part of the Brooks family bookshelf.

Learn more in this post about Janet on the New Kid’s View blog.

And check out these other headlines of interest:

Also: state Sen. Chris Larson has published a new Larson Report. Check it out here.

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by | October 28, 2011 · 4:45 pm

On Buses And Bike Lanes …

A quick update on two transportation projects that stand to impact South Milwaukee and the entire South Shore …

First, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has released a study its done into adding bike and pedestrian access to the Hoan Bridge. What did it find? Well, it would cost a lot … and may require reducing the number of traffic lanes from three to two.

Check out The Business Journal story here. And here is the actual report.

Also on Thursday, regional planners recommended spending $12.7 million in federal funding on four new express bus route lines in Milwaukee County — including one that would connect Mitchell International Airport to Bayshore.

With this new line will come some changes to the existing Route 15 footprint, as some of it (including the portion running through the 4th District) is replaced with a new Route 52.

Here is the Journal Sentinel story on the express bus funding. And click here for the a Milwaukee County Transit system map that shows what would happen to the 15 if the express routes become reality.

I’m interested to know what you think about both issues. Post your comments below!

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by | October 27, 2011 · 9:27 am

Coverage From Wednesday’s Walmart Meeting

Update: Here is a story about the Wednesday meeting on the New Kid’s View blog.

WISN 12 was in South Milwaukee to cover Wednesday’s meeting of Walmart opponents.

Check out the story and video here.

It was a fair and balanced piece that showed clearly the emotions surrounding this issue — sentiments I absolutely respect and, in some caes, agree with.

I expect to hear similar sentiments at Tuesday’s City Council meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall. And I welcome the continued feedback.

On a related note, I want to thank readers of this blog for the tone of the ongoing dialog about the Walmart project. I appreciate the rational and intelligent nature of the debate on these pages. Dozens of people have posted comments here in the last few weeks, easily pushing blog traffic to an all-time high, and I have yet to see anything inappropriate.

It is much appreciated. I want this blog to be a respected forum for debating important community business, and readers are delivering on that promise. Thank you.

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