Eyes on Milwaukee

Eyes on Milwaukee this week focuses on the committee appointments by Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines, Supervisor Haas’ efforts for a Milwaukee County attraction pass, the restaurant coming to The Moderne, and more.

Zielinski to Chair Licenses Committee

Common Council President Willie Hines committee appointments have been released. In a surprising twist, Alderman Zielinski has been appointed Chairman of the Licenses Committee. His appointment comes as a surprise given the number of controversial licensing issues Zielinski was involved in over the past four years (A.K. Food Mart being the most prominent). Zielinski could certainly get by all of that to become a good Licenses Committee chair (as his predecessor Alderman Jim Bohl was), but he’ll need to remain cool in the hot seat during the committee’s notoriously long meetings. Conduct similar to that exhibited by Zielinski during the Community & Economic Development Committee on September 13th, 2010 during the Zielinski – Davis “I’m the chair” debate (see the 108:30 mark in the video) won’t get the job done.

Bohl to Chair Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee

My predictions for the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee chairmanship to go to Alderman Willie Wade were incorrect. Wade will remain the Vice Chair of the committee, with Alderman Jim Bohl apparently executing a successful horse trade to end up as the new ZND chair. Bohl was previously chair of the Licenses Committee. Despite representing one of Milwaukee’s most suburban districts, Bohl will likely make a good chair of the powerful zoning committee. His experience as Licenses Committee chair, showed that he controls the meeting, and is fair and pragmatic.

Donovan Removed as Public Safety Chair, Witkowski Appointed

Alderman Bob Donovan will no longer serve as the chair of the Public Safety Committee. Donovan, who is well known by the local media for his frequent press releases, has historically been one of the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Departments biggest allies on the Council. Replacing Donovan is long-time public servant Alderman Terry Witkowski, who was a City of Milwaukee employee for 31 years. According to his official biography Witkowski was the “longtime Safety Director for the Milwaukee Safety Commission and the Milwaukee Police Department.” Most recently, Witkowski has attempted to rework Milwaukee’s historic preservation laws and rename the Milwaukee Fire Department to Milwaukee Emergency Response Services to better reflect the work of the department.

Milwaukee County Attraction Pass

Supervisor Jason Haas, through public meetings and his blog, has begun leading the charge for the “SuperPass.” Originally a campaign idea, the pass would create a single form of admission for multiple venues around Milwaukee County. While the idea is already done in many cities, Milwaukee County has yet to see a coherent strategy to encourage people to attend many of the County-owned attractions. Here’s to hoping the Supervisor is able to find a way to improve the bottom lines of many of Milwaukee’s cultural amenities, while at the same time driving greater and more frequent attendance by visitors and residents alike.

The Moderne Lands Carson’s Prime Steaks and Famous BBQ as Tenant

Unlike many new mixed-use buildings constructed in Milwaukee, The Moderne won’t be subject to an empty first floor for the first couple of years. According to a story broke by BizTimes this morning, Carson’s Prime Steaks and Famous BBQ will open their third location on the first floor of The Moderne. The restaurant will seat between 125 to 150 people, with about two-thirds of the 8,000 square foot space being used for the kitchen. Rinka Chung Architecture, who designed The Moderne, will also design the restaurant space.

According to Carson’s owner Dean Carson ”Rick is a persistent person in every sense of the word.” This certainly accurately reflects Rick Barrett’s struggle to convert his model unit in orange shipping containers into an actual building.

Development News

An industrial building at the northern end of the Riverwest neighborhood has been sold to Johnson Bros. Beverages Inc.

Chris Abele announced at his inauguration that one of the primary focuses of his first full term will be on the development of the Park East and the underutilized Downtown Transit Center.

Sciortino’s expansion was recommended for approval by the City Plan Commission. The Brady Street bakery intends to tear down and expand into the house immediately south of the current facility on Humboldt Avenue.

University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s lease at 223 W. Pittsburgh Avenue for the School of Freshwater Sciences and College of Engineering and Applied Science has been approved by the state Building Commission. With that the Water Council’s efforts to develop a water cluster at the Reed Street Yards site are one step closer to reality.

Openings and Closings

Pop-up stores are set to come to the Shops of Grand Avenue.

The Triangle, 135 E. National Ave, will close on Friday according to Michael Horne.

Yo Factory has finally opened at 2203 N. Farwell Avenue. Stop on in for some frozen yogurt.

Photo of the Week

Windows on the Milwaukee River by John December

Milwaukee's Next Potential Mayor Willie Hines, Jr. stands in front of Former Mayor John Norquist

Welcome to the seventh installment of Eyes on Milwaukee. This week the focus is all on City of Milwaukee elected officials following yesterday’s election. I explore the likelihood that Willie Hines runs for Mayor, how the new Common Council will resemble the old Common Council, the wide disparity in vote totals between districts, Bob Donovan winning the war, the shocking number of votes Johnny Thomas got, and Spencer Coggs’ new job.

Willie Hines for Mayor

There’s no question that Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. was considering a run for Mayor in 2010, predicated on the idea that Mayor Barrett would become Governor Barrett and Hines could win a special election. When Barrett lost in the general election, the talk of Hines throwing his hat in the ring for Mayor started to dry up, but not before Hines held a large, out-of-district fundraiser at Whiskey Bar on Jackson and Wells.

Now that Mayor Barrett has officially thrown his hat back into the ring (for the third time) to become Governor, it seems likely that we will hear rumors about “Hines for Mayor” again.

All of this is of course made all the more likely by the fact that Hines defeated challenger (and County Supervisor for less than one year) Eyon Biddle to retain his seat on the Milwaukee Common Council, and most likely his position as Council President.

A lot stands in the way of Hines becoming Mayor at this point, but it’s something worth following. First up? Barrett needs to lock up the Democrat’s nomination for Governor in the recall election.

Senator Spencer Coggs Wins Large Pay Increase, Shorter Commute, Likely Position for Life

Congratulations are in order for State Senator Spencer Coggs, the City of Milwaukee’s Treasurer Elect. Not only did the Democratic State Senator win a job that will net him a much shorter commute, he also now holds a job that pays $114,040, an amount he claims he was “shocked out of my socks” about. It is worth mentioning that the position of Treasurer was up for being converted from an elected position to an appointed one, less than a year ago, and to which the former top heads claimed would run fine without their presence.

Outgoing Treasurer Wayne Whittow had held the post since 1976 (and previously served in the Wisconsin State Assembly), and all signs point to Coggs now being able to hold the seat as long as he would like.

What Will Johnny Thomas’s Jury Look Like?

One surprise out of the election results last night was the number of votes Johnny Thomas pulled in for Milwaukee Comptroller. Despite being charged with a felony for accepting a bribe, suspending his campaign for Comptroller, and being stripped of his Milwaukee County Board committee appointments, first-term Supervisor Johnny Thomas still managed to bring in 34% of the votes (18,457)  in the Comptroller race yesterday.  Thomas, who accepted an envelope filled with $500 cash from another Milwaukee County employee at Dunkin’ Donuts new location on West Wisconsin Avenue in December. Had he won, Thomas could have assumed the office of City of Milwaukee Comptroller, and it appears that without this whole felony bribery thing lingering, he would have won in a landslide.

Thomas’s ability to draw more than 33% of the vote indicates one of the following possibilities is true, the influence of the media (of all mediums) is declining, there was a belief by a large number of voters that he’s innocent, or he has an usually high amount of name recognition for a first-time Supervisor.

Assuming the case goes to trial, it will be interesting if any of the potential jurors are excused for voting for Thomas in the Milwaukee Comptroller race.

Meet the new Common Council, largely the same as the old Common Council

If you’re grown comfortable over the past four years with the Milwaukee Common Council, you can likely rest easy about the next four. Voters re-elected 14 (out of 15) Common Council members, with the only change happening in Walker’s Point with incumbent James Witkowiak falling to Jose Perez.

Witkowiak, likely much to his own displeasure, has now established a pattern of winning two elections in a row, and then losing the third. Being first elected in 1992, re-elected in 1996, losing in 2000, being elected again in 2004, re-elected in 2008, and now falling short in the Common Council’s closest 2012 race.

Witkowiak chaired the powerful Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee during his past term (a post previously held by former Alderman Michael D’Amato, who represented the East Side and Riverwest), and his departure leaves open a fairly significant post in the Common Council hierarchy.

Being that it is rare for an Alderman to hold two chairmanships (last done by D’Amato likely as a result of Hines’ rise to President), who is the likely next Chair of ZND? All signs point to Alderman and Milwaukee Bucks season ticket holder Willie Wade. Wade is currently the Vice Chair of ZND, and also serves on the Community and Economic Development Committee.

Who are the other likely ZND chairs? The Common Council’s most senior Alderman Murphy (who trounced his opponent, Richard Geldon, by a 4-1 margin for the second time in a row) seems likely to stay put as Chair of the Finance and Personal Committee. The other likely candidate for the job, Alderman Bauman seems likely to maintain his Chairmanship of the Public Works Committee.

Jim Witkowiak’s departure leaves open one slot on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee. Given that Council newcomers seem to often enough end up on Licenses Committee (and are therefore subject to its marathon hearings), it is likely that Perez will not end up on ZND at this point. My guess for the newest member of ZND goes to Alderman Nik Kovac, who is entering his second term on the Common Council and represents the East Side, Riverwest, and the north side of Downtown (an Aldermanic District that sees a significant number of proposals come before ZND).

As far as the Milwaukee Streetcar project goes, the project appears set to remain on track at the Common Council level. Jim Witkowiak was a supporter of the project and had voted in favor of the project in the past. It remains to be seen if Alderman-Elect Perez will continue that support, but he hadn’t campaigned against it.

Bob Donovan Wins the War

Alderman Robert Donovan held onto his seat on the Milwaukee Common Council by a wide margin following yesterday’s election. Donovan defeated challenger Ben Juarez by over 500 votes, registering 60.5% of the vote total (1,463). As discussed last week’s “War on Donovan” section, the Juarez campaign had increasingly focused on Donovan’s 20-year-old disorderly conduct ticket. Those in the district have spoken with their ballots, and it appears that issue alone isn’t enough for them to replace Bob Donovan.

District Disparity Evident in Common Council Races

Voter turnout in Milwaukee’s various Common Council districts is disturbingly varied. Looking only at the competitive Milwaukee Common Council races, the vote totals for each candidate were as follows.

• District 8 – Bob Donovan (1,463), Ben Juarez (955) – 2,418
• District 9 – Robert Puente (2,959), Ray Harmon (2,183) – 5,142
• District 11 – Joe Dudzik (4,614), Daniel Plumb (2,826) – 7,440
• District 13 – Terry Witkowski (3,905), Richard Pfeiffer (1,922) – 5,827
• District 12 – Jose Perez (1,290), James Witkowiak (1,204) – 2,494
• District 14 – Tony Zielinski (4,556), Jan Pierce (3,390) – 7,946
• District 15 – Willie Hines (2,587), Eyon Biddle (1,735) – 4,322

You’ll remember him most recently for his campaign against the Hide House redevelopment.

UPDATE:  Here is the official press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MILWAUKEE ALDERMAN FILES STATEWIDE COMMITTEE
ZIELINSKI TAKES STEPS TOWARD LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR’S RACE

MILWAUKEE, WI. August 21, 2009 . . . Tony Zielinski (D-Milwaukee) announced today he has formed a committee to set the groundwork for the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the open seat of Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor.

Alderman Zielinski was first elected to public office in 1988 as a Milwaukee County Supervisor, and has served since 2004 as an Alderman representing the southeast district of Milwaukee.

Zielinski holds a B.A. in Political Science, a Masters Degree in Business Administration, is a graduate of Marquette University Law School, and is a practicing attorney.

“The Lieutenant Governor has a bully pulpit to champion this state’s Law and Order issues, promote a healthy economy and level the playing field for American workers, “ said Zielinski. “That’s my plan to move this state forward. I will aggressively champion Wisconsin.”

“We will have a new team leading Wisconsin after the election,” said Zielinski. “I look forward to working with the Governor and serving the citizens of Wisconsin and seeing their interests come first when the state spends their tax money.”

Zielinski, who graduated as an Officer from St. John’s Military Academy said that experience taught him discipline and dedication to hard work, adding, “My twenty-one years of experience in elected office has helped me learn how to create coalitions and work with disparate groups to bring people together.”

“My six election victories – most recently with 84% of the vote — have shown I understand the rigors of campaigning. I have experience in building grassroots support,” said Zielinski. “I look forward to stumping the state for the Democratic leadership ticket in the 2010 race.”

Under state law Zielinski can transfer the balance –approximately $50,000 — of his current campaign account to his Lieutenant Governor campaign committee. This is in addition to the $10,000 he raised for the Lieutenant Governor’s race in the first day.

The primary election is in September 2010. The Lieutenant Governor serves a four-year term.

Deputy DCD Commissioner Martha Brown explained that the official staff report recommended designation of the 1898 buildings, although not the 1940s buildings.  Alderman Zielinski , took issue with this characterization of the staff report saying the front line historic preservation staff who don’t have any political motivations recommended interim historic designation for the entire development.

Bruce Block, the attorney representing the developer, pointed out that the development team has in the past “received national recognition for development excellence,” and that the proposed building, and use are allowed under the site’s current zoning.  Further he noted that it wasn’t until they had obtained a building permit and WHEDA tax credits that Alderman Zielinski requested the interim historic designation.  He laid out the reasoning for the appeal.  The major points were that the case for designating the structure is marginal at best, the 1898 portion is not at risk, rehabilitation of the 1940′s section is not economically viable, the proposed project is within zoning, and the project is consistent with Southeast Side Plan.

Reference was made to a December 2006 Business Journal article in which the developer stated their intention to demolish a portion of the Hide House complex to build condominiums.  At the time no nomination for historic designation was brought forward by Alderman Zielinski, in fact it wasn’t until after WHEDA tax credits were received, and building permits were pulled that the papers were filed.  There was debate over whether or not the Southeast Side Plan supports this type of project.  Attorney Bruce Block pointed to page 94 while Alderman Zielinski fired back pointing to page 99 on the plan saying that it contradicts the developers view of the plan.  Bruce Block expressed the development team’s belief that historic preservation laws are being misused in this case saying “it’s an inappropriate use of the city’s landmark ordinance.”

Alderman Zielinski brought his own theory to the table indicating his belief that there was something unusual going on saying that “basically what we’re seeing here is the executive branch using their pull and power to override the interests and the will of the neighborhood.”  He also on numerous occasions railed on about the lack of a community meeting, and specifically stating “there’s a big difference between an open house and having an actual public meeting.”

The development team had contacted the Wisconsin Historical Society and hired John Vogel, Ph.D., of Heritage Research LTD, an expert in the field of historic preservation, when this issue arose to determine if an appeal was warranted.  The Wisconsin Historical Society found that the Hide House complex consisted of unremarkable architecture, and was no nexus to Milwaukee’s tannery industry.  Specifically the Wisconsin Historical Society findings indicated that no portion of the project would be eligible for protection under history or architecture.  John Vogel , Ph.D. remarked “is something significant simply because it is old?  The simple answer is no.”  He explained that the Hide House was not the headquarters building, and it was not the primary facility of the Greenbaum Tanning Company.  Further, the structure itself has no distinguishing features of an architectural type, and lacks any company branding.  He went on to point out that it is not a unique example of south side industrial architecture, and that numerous other buildings of this style still exist on the south side.

Sig Strautmanis, one of the developers, explained that “the vast majority of the space have been vacant for decades,” which has led to the serious decline of the 1940′s buildings.  Just a few of the issues included items such as roof sections collapsing, structural slab failure, severe water damage, and some of the buildings were built with salvaged brick which is deteriorating.  He added that they don’t allow employees into these buildings anymore and that “this is beyond repair and salvation.”  Additionally, he explained that these buildings are functionally obsolete.  Saying that “the layout makes no sense,” the floors don’t line up, and some levels have no windows in large parts of the building.  He also explained that yes at one time the apartment building would have needed to go before BOZA for a variance, but that they had adjusted their plans to insure it conformed to the current zoning.  Referencing the nomination for historic designation he said “needless to say, the timing isn’t curious, it’s blatant frankly.”  Finally, he stated his belief that the opposition “isn’t about history,” that in fact “this is about thwarting a high quality affordable housing project”

A large number of Bay View residents spoke in opposition of the appeal.  The general argument for historic preservation spoke of the working class history of the neighborhood, and that the Hide House complex is part of this history.  It was said that Bay View workers  put their blood sweat, and tears into their homes, and the tannery.  Sandy Palokonis , a Bay View resident, summed up the opposition’s argument for historic preservation stating “it’s part of our houses, it’s part of working man’s history.”  Another common thread that rang through was that the neighborhood felt a community meeting should have been held regarding the project.  In addition to the dozen or so people who spoke in opposition, seven additional neighbors were counted in opposition.

There were residents, and tenants of Hide House that spoke in support of the appeal.  Marilyn Walczak, expressed her belief that the reason behind the interim historic designation “has nothing to do with historic preservation” she indicated that from what she’d seen that the opposition was about the low-income housing component.  Gibson Bathrick , whom initially attempted to redevelop the Hide House, explained that precedences had already been set at Hide House as other structures had been demolished due to safety concerns.  He added that redevelopment of the north end “wasn’t in the cards,” and that “it’s just not feasible.”

Assistant City Attorney Gregg Hagopian pointed out that “interim designation is on a structure basis,” not a complex basis indicating that the action taken by the Historic Preservation Commission may not be in line with the ordinance.  Recognizing the implication and in a clear attempt to find a balance between the needs of the community, and the rights of the property owner, Alderman Murphy made a motion to in effect “split the baby,” and designate buildings 1,2,3, and 4 as historic.  In reference to the other buildings he stated “in my opinion [they] don’t meet the definition of what is historic.”  Alderman Zielinski opposed the motion saying “I don’t follow the argument of splitting the baby.”  The appeal was granted on a vote of 3 to 2, in that it removed the historic preservation designation from buildings built in the 1940′s.  This action will now be taken up at the next meeting of the full Common Council.