This concept, which had been floated by Mayor Barrett recently, is just one part of a bigger vision of branding Milwaukee as a water industry hub.  Other pieces of this puzzle include UWM’s School of Freshwater Sciences, Marquette University’s new water law specialty, the proposed Reed Street Yards redevelopment, the 30th Street Industrial Corridor redevelopment, and a variety of other initiatives and ideas.  As Alderman Murphy explained this is a “unique, creative idea,” but it also just one piece of the plan.

Although, somewhat similar proposals have turned down by the Public Service Commission in the past, Carrie Lewis, Superintendent of the Milwaukee Water Works, explained that this particular rate’s likelihood of being approved is “excellent.”  She explained that the previous proposals were viewed as “discriminatory,” by the commission but that this proposal isn’t being viewed similarly because the Milwaukee Water Works has excess capacity, and that this would allow the Milwaukee Water Works to better utilize the existing system, and therefore in the long run hold costs down for all users.

The complete street option is valuable, because it takes people in mind when constructing a street, not just automobile traffic, with the thought of creating a livable community, and spurring economic development.  Juli Kaufmann, a partner with Pragmatic Construction Co., described the concept saying “it looks at street as, a community, a neighborhood in itself,” and added that “it’s an economic opportunity.”  The idea being that a complete street is more than a street, it is a place, where people are comfortable to walk, sit out, chat, and interact.  It accomplishes this goal by utilizing street trees to create shade and shelter from the rain, by narrowing streets and minimizing travel lanes to slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety, and with aesthetic improvements to make the overall experience more appealing.  Alderman Witkowiak explained that by making these type of improvements “we can have some real quality development, if we treat the street properly.”  The idea of utilizing TIF funds if the state wasn’t to support the project was suggested and championed by Alderman Bauman as a way to insure this project moves forward.

Beyond rebuilding the street with people in mind, the investment itself sends a signal to developers and potential entrepreneurs that the City of Milwaukee is willing to invest in this area.  For an area of the city that hasn’t seen a lot of public investment, this could be a catalytic project that spurs new private investment and grows the neighborhood.  Nathan Bernstein, a property owner on S. 2nd Street, suggested that this plan could accelerate his plans to redevelop his property.  Although today it might not be obvious that the potential for economic development along S. 2nd Street is there, it is clear that local property owners and developers see the potential, and that with a push from the city the redevelopment of S. 2nd Street could begin.

To get and idea of the buildings that currently exist along S. 2nd Street, and the potential for redevelopment we’ve provided a photo gallery of the area.

The first item was a proposed lease agreement between Waters’ New Biotech Company and the Port of Milwaukee.  This proposal would be the second large alternative fuel facility in recent years to open at the Port of Milwaukee.  Waters’ New Biotech Company intends to develop a facility that will convert wood waste into a solid fuel which will be used as an alternative fuel to coal.  This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.

The second item was the culmination of three years of efforts by Alderman Bauman.  In an effort to improve the walkability and vibrancy of East Town, he has been working to convert E. State St. between N. Edison St. and N. Prospect Ave. to two-way traffic.  His efforts resulted in the necessary changes to file number 081667 which will provide the funding to reconfigure E. State St., rebuild and repave the street, reconfigure the signals, construct a median at Water St., and potentially add a new signal.  This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.

I am no art critic, this isn’t an art blog, so I couldn’t tell you if Janet Zweig‘s work is a master work or not, but again that’s just not the point.  For example, I love the Calatrava wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum, arguably a piece of art in its own right, but there are certainly detractors in the architectural world that think it is more a monument to ego than anything particularly timeless.  And there are others who thought the Bronze Fonz was the end of all art in Milwaukee, but again to each their own.  What matters, is that it is time for Milwaukee to recognize that we have to value, we have to be open to, we have to be tolerant of, creativity, if we ever want Milwaukee to move forward.

It seems that anytime art is brought up in Milwaukee it is immediately tarred as “a waste of money,” or “ridiculous” whereas in cities like Portland and Seattle public art moves ahead with creating a vibrant urban environment, that in turn helps grow their city.  To be clear, no one small public art project is going to attract thousand of new visitors or residents to Milwaukee, but by creating a vibrant and unique environment, that is open to creativity, we can eventually grow our city.  So the question really is which way does Milwaukee want to go?

For me, I hope it is to move forward.

The approval of the schematic designs of public artwork which is to be incorporated into streetscape improvements within the first block of East Wisconsin Avenue was up for approval.  The project put out a RFQ to which nearly fifty artists responded.  Artist Janet Zweig was selected to design the artwork and at a recent Streetscape Public Art Advisory Committee meeting the committee approved the schematic design.  The design would include five kiosks attached to five light poles.  Each kiosk would essentially be a historical reference to a type of flip board system that existed in train stations.  Each kiosk would display flip movies of Milwaukee, and would be custom built to hold 80 flaps.  This project was funded under the federal CMAQ program to promote walking as an alternative method of transportation by making improvements to the pedestrian experience.  Additionally, of the total project only a little over 1% of funds has been allocated to public art.

Initially, Alderman Bauman was concerned that there might be a cost to moving this project forward so he questioned, “tell us why this is even in front of us?”  After much discussion it became clear that this file was just the approval of the schematic design and that as he said “rejecting this concept saves no money.”

At this point Alderman Donovan began railing against the design saying “Thomas Edison had that 100 years ago,” and that “I refuse to have my name associated to something as ridiculous as that.”  Alderman Wade took a more measured approach in his response to the work stating “I’m not impressed with this at all” and that “this is too old school for me.”  Attempting to bring the discussion back to the overall idea of improving public space through the addition of public art Alderman Bauman explained that “art is in the eye of the beholder.”  Debra Usinger, who appeared previously in regards to a Riverwalk project, explained that “public art is great” and that despite the sentiment in the room, this art works because “all of a sudden we’ve created discussion in here.”  She added that “I think this is really innovative.”  This file was held to all for public input.

A file that would have funded a variety of nonassessable public improvements was held because of future budgetary concerns.  Alderman Dudzik questioned the wisdom of this spending while planning on significant layoffs, which sparked the discussion regarding holding the file.  Wondering if there was a cost to delay action on the file, Alderman Dudzik questioned “is there any urgency in getting this file passed today?”  Apparently if delayed projects might see a increase of 10% to the cost so the committee held the file with the agreement that a special meeting will be held prior to the Common Council meeting to take action on individual projects.

Another file proposed authorizing the City Engineer to apply for twelve CMAQ grants.  Alderman Dudzik started the discussion complaining, “does the Department of Public Works understand that the 11th Aldermanic District is in the City of Milwaukee too?”  He was expressing his belief that because none of the projects on this list were in his district, his district was being slighted.  Jeff Polenske , the City Engineer, tried to explain that the process used to pick projects attempts to pick projects that would have a chance of winning and that there was a set of criteria that drives which projects are eligible.  Alderman Bauman attempted to sum up the criteria saying, “gotta have sidewalks for that” indicating that the 11th District isn’t generally pedestrian-oriented, often lacking sidewalks, which these specific grants are often used to improve.  This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.

In addition to the previous items, other items of note included Milwaukee Public Schools moving forward on the land sale of the Clairmont property, an easement which was created to facilitate an ADA ramp connecting the Riverwalk along State Street, the news that the Kilbourn Avenue bridge will fully open on May 22nd, and that the Department of Public Works was able to move ahead with their stimulus funds request.

After being held at the January 28th, 2009 meeting of the Public Works Committee, the file which would allow the City of Milwaukee to apply for a 2009 Stormwater Best Management Practices Partnership grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District that will be used in part for the construction of a green roof on the central library was brought back before the committee.  It appears the confusion over the value of moving forward with this file was cleared up as it was quickly approved this time with no discussion and will now go before the full Common Council.

The first item to run into issues with the committee was the Central Library’s resolution that would of allowed them to apply for a $250,000 MMSD Stormwater Best Management Practices Partnership grant.  This grant was to be used in conjunction with $950,000 of city funds in the construction of a green roof on the Central Library.  The existing roof is in disrepair and will be in need of replacement in the near future.  Although it was presented that this green roof could potentially double the lifetime of the roof, concerns were raised over the cost of construction.  Additionally it was estimated that the green roof was would save $3,500 in energy costs per year.   Lost on the conversation regarding the increased cost was that this grant has an education component that goes above and beyond the building of a new roof.  Alderman Donovan expressed his thoughts on the costs when he said “everybody likes green, well we’ve gotta have the green money”.  This file was held at the call of the chair which opens up the possibility that the City of Milwaukee could miss the deadline to request the grant.

The second resolution of importance that was held up proposed having the State of Wisconsin paint bike lanes on to West Forest Home Avenue between South 68th Street and South 45th Street after completing a road construction project.  In reference to problems experienced with recently painted lane markings Alderman Bauman complained that “what we’re painting doesn’t last even in months”.  Alderman Dudzik argued that if the City of Milwaukee can’t keep the roads painted properly for drivers, then the City of Milwaukee can’t add the additional burden of new markings to maintain.  This file was also held to the call of the chair.

First up, was a series of street reconstruction projects that prior to the recent passing of the wheel tax would of included, assessments in thousands of dollars, post card surveys, upset citizens, and would of had a good chance of being deleted.  The majority of these project were immediately approved because the change in the funding mechanism significantly reduced opposition to reconstruction projects.

One road reconstruction project that was held was the proposed reconstruction of S. Howell Avenue.  Alderman Dudzik moved to hold the project to see if the redesign could be done without widening the street and removing trees.  Alderman Bauman supported the motion saying “I agree we do not need to be taking trees, to accommodate bikes.”  They proposed looking into the concept of narrowing the boulevard which would create space for the bike lanes without widening the street.

The Department of Public Works presented a list of projects that would be ready to move forward quickly if a federal stimulus package was passed.  The list included $25 million in sewer projects, $15 million in bridge projects, $10 million in paving projects, and $5 million in proactive street maintenance and sidewalk replacement projects.  Alderman Bauman said, “now is the time to call in that chip, as far as I’m concerned,” indicating that Milwaukee should be in a good position to receive this federal aid because of Mayor Barrett’s early support of President Elect Barack Obama.

Resolution 071176 proposed the vacation of the right-turn bypass at East Pittsburgh Avenue and South Water Street.  This street vacation is intended to support the Transpak redevelopment project in the Fifth Ward.  The mixed-use facility known as South Water Works will include 350,000 square feet of office, entertainment, retail, and residential space.  Initially this resolution was held because of DPW’s concerns about trucks ability to turn the reconstructed corner but after further discussion it was explained that DPW’s initial concerns had been resolved.  This resolution was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.