Feature
Governor Doyle, County Executive Walker, Some Explanation is Needed
On Wednesday Governor Doyle announced plans to spend the first $300 million out of $550 million stimulus funds on 63 road construction and repair projects in 30 counties.
Feb 14th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Milwaukee’s Stimulus Request
Yesterday the U.S. Senate approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and although it still has conference committee changes to go through prior to arriving on President Obama's desk it's interesting to see what items the City of Milwaukee would like to see funded.
Feb 11th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Historic Preservation is a Good Thing
Historic preservation is a good thing, when for example it is used to restore City Hall or re-purpose the Grain Exchange because it adds value to Milwaukee.
Feb 9th, 2009 by Dave Reid
County Board Votes for Task Force Recommendations
The proposed Regional Transit Authority recommendations were on the agenda after being delayed at a previous meeting of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. At the previous meeting a task force was created and charged with putting together a positive message from the county supporting regional transportation. Supervisor Pat Jursik explained that despite the task force’s work and positive output the Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee unfortunately rejected the findings. She expressed her displeasure with the committee’s actions saying “I’ve been very depressed the last few days”. She then made a strong plea to deny the committee’s rejection so they could then move to take positive action on the task force’s recommendations. She also referred to a public meeting held on January 13th saying “I was really quite surprised by the consensus of the speakers in terms of regional transit”. The concerns over governance and control popped up again when Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs stated “my concern is the governance issue wasn’t brought up” and that “I think it needs to be strongly said that we do need representation”. Supervisor Chris Larson attempted to quell these concerns saying that “we’re trying to issue our opinions on this” and added that “there’s a coalition building and I think Milwaukee County should be part of it”. He felt Milwaukee County needed to step up as even “the business community is willing to step up”. He was part of the task force that put forward the recommended response. Supervisor Johnny Thomas added his support to the task force recommendations saying “if we don’t get outside of this room we’ll be talking about this for at least another 30 years”. The board took an extended lunch to work out an amendment to the task force recommendations to gain majority support from the board. This amendment added specific governance recommendations, including additional appointees for Milwaukee County and diversity requirements, to the RTA’s configuration. In the end the board rejected the committee’s action and voted positively in support of the task force’s recommendation with the additional amendment in place.
Feb 6th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Who Lives in Milwaukee’s Condos?
The UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) undertook the first comprehensive study on Milwaukee's "condo boom" to understand who was actually living in the condos stretching from the northern part of Walker's Point up to North Avenue on the East Side.
Feb 5th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Committee Welcomes New Commissioner
Martin Collins‘ retirement left the Department of Neighborhood Services with a significant leadership gap. Art Dahlberg, from Richmond, VA has been tabbed as the person to replace Mr. Collins as the Commissioner of Neighborhood Services and clearly the committee was cautiously optimistic. He expressed his understanding of the position he’s walking into saying that “I recognize I’m filling some very big shoes here”. Alderman Bob Bauman asked about his philosophy regarding the demolishing of older housing stock and if he felt this was a good or bad choice. Mr. Dahlberg indicated that it was to be used as a last resort saying “it is not a broad solution, it is a fine tool that we have to use”. The committee approved his appointment and it will now go before the full Common Council. Another item of note was the potential city land sale of 3427-3429 West Villard Avenue. This land sale would allow the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation to move forward on a four-story mixed use development that would include the Villard Library moving in to the first floor of the new building. In addition to the library the upper floors would include 47 affordable housing units targeted at “grandfamilies”. The project will be developed by Gorman & Company utilizing low-income housing tax credits and new market tax credits. This item was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.
Feb 4th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Small Changes Coming to Preservation Ordinance
One item of interest was a proposed change to how appeals of Historic Preservation Commission actions were to be handled. Alderman Bob Bauman explained that most issues related to actions by the Historic Preservation Commission are handled by the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee or the Common Council. It was pointed out that during a typical situation the Historic Preservation Commission may deny a demolition permit and then the property owner could appeal to the Common Council whereas in the case of the Transera project the Administrative Review Board stepped in due to what Alderman Bauman characterized as a “a glitch in the HPC ordinance”. Alderman Terry Witkowski supported the measure and added “I’ve been on that board for five years and this is the first time anything from historic preservation came that way,” indicating that this change wouldn’t burden the Common Council with numerous appeals. In response to this legal quirk, Alderman Bauman considered passing legislation to dissolve the board but instead brought forward an amendment to the ordinance. The amendment directed future appeals to the Common Council and restricted who may appeal a decision by the Historic Preservation Commission. This ordinance change was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.
Feb 3rd, 2009 by Dave Reid
Milwaukee’s War on Fun
It was just a few years ago when Milwaukee was named the #2 Party City in America, and although that might seem like a funny or insignificant title it was actually a well deserved and beneficial honor.
Feb 1st, 2009 by Dave Reid
Opportunities to Voice Your Support for Transit Service in Milwaukee
The City of Milwaukee is offering two new ways for residents to support transit initiatives in Milwaukee. First the City of Milwaukee has rolled out an online petition and are asking residents to sign it if you agree with the four points laid out below: The Connector plan should enhance and expand existing public transit service in Milwaukee. Transit routes that are fixed in place are more likely to spur significant development. Thus, the Connector plan should include fixed transit. The design of the Connector plan should maximize the amount of federal transit investment attracted to Milwaukee. The Connector plan should be viewed as a significant, substantial beginning to major transit improvements in Milwaukee — with the expectation that our community will build upon these improvements over time. Additionally the Milwaukee Connector study group will be holding a series of meetings to allow residents to voice their opinion. The open houses will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the following dates: February 3, 2009 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Wisconsin Room 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. February 4, 2009 Fritsche Middle School Cafeteria 2969 S. Howell Avenue February 5, 2009 Black Historical Society 2620 W. Center Street February 10, 2009 Northwestern Mutual Franklin Campus 1 Northwestern Mutual Way (S.27th Drexel and Rawson) February 11, 2009 Milwaukee County Research Park Technology Innovation Center – Room 162 10437 Innovation Dr. February 12, 2009 O’Donnell Park Harbor Lights Room 910 E. Michigan Street Sign the petition
Jan 31st, 2009 by Dave Reid
Committee Not Happy With Zoo Interchange Plan
The Wisconsin DOT presented the most recent plans for the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange. The project team argued that because of the age of the interchange, number of accidents, and predicted congestion that the interchange needs to be rebuilt and widened. They presented multiple options, all of which included the relocation of at least 13 residential homes, one business and would cut the parking lot at State Fair in half. It was pointed out that the under the plans now being considered there will be no impact to the Honey Creek Business Park. The design includes additional lanes and new frontage roads, referred to as Texas U-Turns, that essentially double the footprint of the highway. Alderman Bob Bauman expressed that the Wisconsin DOT seems to always push for freeway expansion saying that “no one ever talks about the no build option” and that “this a stealth widening of the Milwaukee freeway system”. In response to a series of questions and comments regarding transit options, Ms. Brown, from the Wisconsin DOT, responded that “transit is not considered as part of the construction of the interchange”. Alderman Murphy expressed the committee’s belief that the Wisconsin DOT has ignored multi-modal options at the expense of the City of Milwaukee saying that “the way they (Wisconsin DOT) set up this planning they specifically excluded it”. Wisconsin DOT staff repeatedly pointed to SEWRPC’s planning as their guiding direction and Ms. Brown reiterated “that (rail) is not an option given the schedule and time frame”. Near the end of the meeting Alderman Bauman summed up the committee’s message to the Wisconsin DOT saying “carry back the message you don’t have any happy campers”.
Jan 30th, 2009 by Dave Reid
BreakWater Fiasco
A column in Milwaukee Magazine criticizing the design of Renner Architect's soon-to-be completed BreakWater Condominiums spurred a response from Renner's firm that was in very poor form.
Jan 29th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Green Initiatives Stalled by City Committee
In the name of cost savings two green efforts were stalled during today’s meeting of the Public Works Committee. 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 Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District 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 Bob 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 Robert Bauman complained that “what we’re painting doesn’t last even in months”. Alderman Joe 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.
Jan 28th, 2009 by Dave Reid
