The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) is an independent corporation created by state statute in 1958.

The mission of the Redevelopment Authority is to eliminate blighting conditions that inhibit neighborhood reinvestment, to foster and promote business expansion and job creation, and to facilitate new business and housing development. Toward that end, the Redevelopment Authority:

Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee meetings are held on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. in the First Floor Boardroom at the Department of City Development, 809 North Broadway.

Agenda

The Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) administers Milwaukee’s historic preservation ordinance, adopted in 1981, which provides certain kinds of legal protection for buildings or sites that have been declared historic by the Common Council. The HPC is responsible for designating historic landmarks and historic districts and for approving Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) for permission to alter historic buildings.

The HPC meets monthly on Mondays in City Hall, Room 301A, 200 E. Wells Street at 4:00 P.M. unless otherwise indicated.

Agenda

St. John’s on the Lake – 03

St. John’s on the Lake – 02

St. John’s on the Lake – 04

St. John’s on the Lake – 05

St. John’s on the Lake – 01

The Community and Economic Development Committee hears matters relating to community development, block grants, job development, business improvement districts, city public relations, industrial land banks and revenue bonds, emerging business enterprises, recreation, cultural arts and the library system.

The Community and Economic Development Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted.

Agenda

The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee reviews issues relating to city development, zoning, historic preservation, incremental tax financing, building codes and housing projects.

The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted.

Agenda

All matters concerning county parks and parkways are the responsibility of this Committee. Members set policy for the parks department, organized recreation, cultural activities, the University Extension program, the Environmental Services Division of the Department of Public Works and Zoo park services. Members have jurisdiction over matters concerning the conservation of all uses of energy and make recommendations relating to conservation of air, water, energy and all other resources.

Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 2nd Tuesday before the County Board Meeting

Agenda

It’s time for a clear brand for high-speed rail in the Midwest. The discussion surrounding the Milwaukee to Madison high-speed rail grant has made the need for a coherent brand clear with people confused if the new train will be a stand-alone route, somehow connected to the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail line, similar to the Amtrak Empire Builder, or a competitor to the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line.

As the likely operator for the Milwaukee to Madison extension of the Chicago to Milwaukee Amtrak Hiawatha Service, Amtrak is the likely brand for high-speed rail in the Midwest. If Amtrak is to be the brand for Midwest high-speed rail, it’s going to bring with it a lot of baggage, both good and bad.

What does the Amtrak brand represent?

• Cross-country, slow travel on the rails.
• Inter-city commuter service on routes similar to the soon-to-be upgraded runs between Milwaukee and Chicago and Chicago and St. Louis.
• A money pit
• An essential piece of the transportation infrastructure to others.
• A dying, legacy system that barely anyone rides.
• A growing system that if it were an airline would be the 8th largest in terms of passengers.

Clearly, investing over a billion dollars in high-speed rail in the Midwest is worthy of having a brand absent of past baggage.

Thankfully, there is an established precedent for how to utilize Amtrak as the operator of a branded service. In the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak operates a multitude of services with the high-speed component being known exclusively as “Acela“. In the Northeast Corridor there isn’t brand confusion, there isn’t service confusion, Acela is high-speed rail, and high-speed rail is Acela.

The Midwest needs its own high-speed brand, and it needs one soon. Chicago is set to become a hub for two high-speed rail lines as soon as 2013, and it’s time for a brand to organize around. Grants have been awarded to implement 110mph high-speed rail service between Madison and Milwaukee as an extension of existing 79mph Hiawatha Service between Milwaukee and Chicago and to upgrade Lincoln Service from 79mph to 110mph between Chicago and St. Louis. If more grants are awarded, as the Obama administration indicates they may be, it’s very likely that one of those grants for another high-speed corridor would go to a route out of Chicago.

Keep the Hiawatha and Lincoln branding for individual routes, but it’s time to give an overreaching brand for high-speed rail based out of Chicago.

The Milwaukee County Committee on Economic & Community Development oversees the administration of federal, state and local housing programs in the county, including the Urban Community Development Block Grant Program. Matters pertaining to economic development of Milwaukee County, including the best disposition of county properties, are decided by this Committee. It also makes decisions on the Research Park and the Airport Business Park.

Meets at 9:00 A.M. on the 2nd Monday before the County Board Meeting in room 203-R of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

Agenda

• Walker plans to direct more tax dollars to Milwaukee County bus system By Larry Sandler
• Milwaukee Public Library installs green roof By Don Behm
• How Cul-de-Sacs Are Killing Your Community By Melissa Lafsky
• UWM’s dream of an athletics village By Don Walker
• Urban parks take over downtown freeways By Haya El Nasser
• Milwaukee Officials Advancing Streetcar Project with Goal of Attracting More Federal Funds By Yonah Freemark
• History waits to judge high-speed rail in Wisconsin By Steve Jagler
• First retailers open at The North End By BizTimes Daily
• North End signs retailers By The Business Journal of Milwaukee
• High-speed rail heads to Madison’s Monona Terrace By Paul Snyder and Darryl Enriquez
• UW-Milwaukee favors brewery for health school By Sean Ryan
• Library move approved By milwaukeenewsbuzz.com
• The Problem with Parking: A Case Study From LA By Justin Horner
• EPA tweaks official water policy to invest in existing communities, save taxpayer money By Stephen Lee Davis
• Madison’s high-speed rail center will be at Monona Terrace By BizTimes Daily
• Madison rail station to be at Monona Terrace By Jason Stein
• UWM plays waiting game on Columbia Hospital purchase By Tom Daykin
• Panel approves engineering for downtown streetcars By Larry Sandler
• Site near Monona Terrace picked for rail station By Matthew DeFour
• Committee Votes for Milwaukee Streetcar Line By Erik Bilstad and Jay Sorgi
• Streetcar Routes to Run Through Milwaukee By WISN.COM
• Marquette’s Zilber Hall To Open Thanks To Donor By WISN.com
• We don’t want your stinking high rises
  By Matt Hrodey
• Milwaukee rolls out streetcar plan By Sean Ryan
• City seeks more money for streetcars By milwaukeenewsbuzz.com
• City streetcar route revealed By Matt Hrodey
• Council OKs lobbyist for streetcar plan By Larry Sandler
• UWM County Grounds development plan wins council approval By Tom Daykin
• Brew City Bike Tours gear up for riding season in Milwaukee By Julie Lawrence
• Milwaukee losing bang for streetcar bucks By Sean Ryan
• Harvard Business Review: “The Suburbs Have Lost Their Sheen” By Justin Horner
• # The rise of the new urban agrarian By Outpost Exchange
• Plan Commission OKs design rules along river By Tom Tolan
• Wauwatosa approves UW-Milwaukee campus plan By Sean Ryan
• No Passion For The Land By James Rowen
• Suburban office tenants likely to shift downtown, report says By Tom Daykin
• Oil Drilling, Disaster and Denial By Paul Krugman
• Mitchell St. fights to save Modjeska Theatre By Georgia Pabst
• Lease Arrangement for Intermodal Facility Leaves Local Taxes Unpaid By Robert Bauman
• City looks at lobbyist to grease wheels for streetcars By Larry Sandler
• E. State St. Narrowed… World Doesn’t End. By Dave Reid

Urban Milwaukee’s Upcoming Events & Meetings Calendar should help you keep up to date on important events effecting our neighborhoods, the City of Milwaukee, and our region.

May 12, 2010

Public Works Committee Meeting

May 12, 2010 9:00 am

The Public Works Committee is responsible for physical services provided by the city such as street and alley maintenance, waste collection, disposal and recycling, sewer, water and flood control projects, assessments, public buildings, land and waterways.Public Works Committee meetings start at 9:00 a.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted.[...]

Milwaukee County: Committee on Transporation, Public Works and Transit

May 12, 2010 9:00 am

The mission of the Department of Public Works, including the construction and maintenance of county highways, bridges and public structures are the responsibility of this Committee. Members discuss all matters pertaining to the policy of mass transit and the Milwaukee County Transit System, including fares, service routes and capital improvements. The Committee discusses all matters [...]

Green Drinks

May 12, 2010 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Green Drinks is a monthly event where you can meet people, network, do a business deal, learn something new or maybe even find a job! Check out green drinks to get an idea of the scope of this movement!Join like-minded people in an informal and unstructured setting to talk about the latest sustainability happenings in [...]

May 13, 2010

Public Safety Committee Meeting

May 13, 2010 9:00 am

The Public Safety Committee is concerned with issues brought forth from the fire, police, health and neighborhood services departments as well as traffic control, emergency medical services and parking. It also licenses alarm businesses and public passenger vehicles and drivers.[...]

3rd District Town Hall

May 13, 2010 6:30 pm

All residents and stakeholders of the 3rd District are invited to attend a town hall meeting with Alderman Kovac.Location:
Falcon Bowl
on Clarke & Fratney[...]