The Finance and Personnel Committee considers appropriations, finances, taxation, revenues, labor relations, personnel, pensions and other benefits, insurance, audits and city budget.
The Finance and Personnel Committee meetings start at 1:30 p.m. and are held in the Room 301-B, City Hall, unless otherwise noted.
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.
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.
CIty of Milwaukee Police Department
Bradley Tech, a fight, gangs, guns, and more squad cars than you can count. And no news. Why? What happened?
For years much of the crime reporting on the evening news worked like this: Listen to scanner, put out news story.
But today with the Milwaukee Police Department’s move to OpenSky radios, and more importantly to digitally encrypted communications, the days of scanner based reporting are coming to an end. Maybe that’s a good thing, because having officer communications listened to in real time could possibly impact their security. But somewhere between MPD and MPS, a press release, statement, or a news conference should of been held to notify the public of the events. It didn’t happen.
Representatives from MPD responded to complaints that the public wasn’t notified by pointing out that the calls for service were visible on the City of Milwaukee’s website, at least for awhile. And yes, a close look at the page might have clued a very astute, and likely bored, reporter to notice something big had happened. But even this would only have been possible within a short window of time, and only with very careful monitoring, as after 90 minutes the data is no longer available from the website. Removing the data after 90 minutes is hardly open, accurate, or easily monitored.
The impact of this lack of communication has Alderman Donovan calling out Milwaukee Public Schools for a cover-up and there are citizens that think there is a MPD cover-up as well, but what is clear is there has been a lack of transparency. Cover-up or not, what needs to be learned is that openness of public information makes for good government.
Alderman Donovan has suggested allowing certain news agencies access to the radio communications, and although that is one solution, another is to work towards providing the dispatch log in an open machine readable format. This would offer developers and news agencies the opportunity to build mashups, a web application that combines data from multiples source, to monitor the activities of MPD. These applications could include mapping tools, alert systems, and even monitoring applications to start, but with the addition of other data, such as liquor licenses or violations, citizens would be better prepared to work with the city in improving their neighborhoods.
This may never replace the level of detail that officer to officer communications once provided, but it could be a small step towards open government in Milwaukee and hopefully a big step away from conflict and disenfranchisement.
Clybourn Street Bridge Renovations
Clybourn Street Bridge Repairs
Clybourn Street Bridge Work
Clybourn Street Bridge in Winter
Repairs underway at Clybourn Street Bridge
Bay View Apartment Proposal
HKS Holdings LLC. proposal for a $12 million mixed-use apartment building in Bay View was recommend for approval at the December 6th, 2010 City Plan Commission meeting. The 5-story building, to be located on the southeast corner of Kinnickinnic Ave. and Conway St., would include 70 loft apartments, 9,000 square-feet of first-floor retail, 71 underground parking spots, and 14 additional parking spots dedicated to retail use.
Eric Ponto, from Engberg Anderson explained the design and how it addresses the pedestrian environment. Along Kinnickinnic Ave. the building will be setback to allow for wider sidewalks, and along Conway St. walk up units will hide the parking. He added that they wanted the corner to be the “icon of the development.” The building’s materials include a synthetic cast stone block and cement panels, while the balconies will be stainless steel with Ipe wood caps.
The development group is seeking WHEDA financing for a portion of the project, which would require 20% of the building to consist of affordable rental units.
There was some opposition to the project by a couple of community members. Greg Bird went so far as to say “the design is boring,” and another neighbor arguing against the gentrification impacts of a project like this saying Bay View isn’t the Third Ward and “we are not that classy.”
This proposal will now before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on January 11th UPDATE December 17th. If approved by ZND, the proposal will go before the full Common Council.
West Elevation Perspective - Rendering by Korb Tredo Architects
Mercy Housing Lakefront’s Greenwich Park Apartments proposal was recommended for approval at the December 6th, 2010 meeting of the City Plan Commission.
The $8.5 million apartment building is planned for the corner of N. Farwell Ave. and Thomas St. on Milwaukee’s East Side. It will be 5-stories tall with 54-units, ranging from studios to 3-bedroom units, and include 109 parking spots, of which 39 will be available for public use. The project will provide workforce housing in attempt to create walk to work opportunities for East Side residents, and will utilize federal affordable housing tax credits to finance construction.
David Lyon, of Mercy Housing, explained that “one of the goals was to make this a more pedestrian friendly block”. Examples of this were the including of curb bump-outs, street-level activation within the building, backlit storefront style windows, and how the building connects with the surrounding buildings. For example, it ties together the existing US Bank building with the new structure by matching the masonry materials at the pedestrian level, and with a garden wall, to be constructed, which will shield the US Bank drive through operations.
Alderman Kovac spoke regarding the project, and although he didn’t come out in support of it, he didn’t oppose the project either. He went on to say “Do we want economic diversity in the area I represent? Yes”. But later qualified the apparent support saying he still wanted to take further community input.
Despite multiple neighborhood groups opposing the project, many more neighbors actually showed up to speak in support of the project. Jeff Jordan stated “I think they [Mercy Housing] have bent over backwards,” to work with the neighborhood.
The City Plan Commission recommended approval for the project and the three associated files. The Detailed Planned Development will go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on January 11th, and the land sale will go before the Public Works Committee on January 6th. If these approvals are granted, the proposal will then go before the full Common Council on January 19th.
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.[...]
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 [...]
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.[...]
Dress up as Santa and come barreling through the streets of Milwaukee spreading holiday cheer and discovering hole-in-the-wall taverns.
Cafe Hollander
2608 N Downer Ave
Milwaukee, WI[...]
Photos from featured photographer, Todd Montgomery. High Speed Rail Rally!
Featured Photographer Todd Montgomery
Todd Montgomery has been photographing the life around him for more than 40 years. His diverse background experiences as a Naval officer during the Vietnam War, as an investment manager, an educator, an urban planner, and as a world traveler have given him a view of the world and its inhabitants from many perspectives. His photos cover the expanse of his travels and experiences all over the U.S., Asia and Europe. While the themes of his photography are as varied as his experiences, his work focuses on key moments that capture the essence of his subjects. Todd has exhibited his photos in many galleries, including the Agora Gallery in Soho, New York City.
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