Promoting the aerotropolis

As promised at the beginning of the year, this month I will be introducing legislation to further advance economic development around the Mitchell Airport.

Upon passage, Milwaukee County will join seven other municipalities to form a nonprofit organization that will be able to better market the unique opportunities provided by Milwaukee’s low-cost airport, low traffic, and low shipping costs.

Milwaukee has a great opportunity to show off our stark contrast to Chicago’s higher cost of doing business combined with its long shipping delays by road and air. If we can work successfully together as a region, the surge of new airlines offering low fares as they fight to get market dominance at Mitchell Airport will only be a precursor to new companies moving here to take advantage of our growing shipping industry.

Community Gardens

The community gardens on Sixth Street opened up 80 plots last month at Sixth and Howard. I’m proud my legislation passed and to see this county land being put to good use after it has been vacant and unused for decades. UW-Extension, the Garden District Neighborhood Association, Alderman Witkowski, Simon Landscaping, and the neighbors worked together to get this started. If it is a success, we plan on expanding even more plots next year to put more land to good use. If you’re interested in getting a plot for next spring, please contact my office.

Upcoming Events

In addition to Fourth of July, Frolics, and Chill on the Hill, there are a couple of other great events coming up in our parks.

On Saturday, July 3, Tour de Fat will be holding a day-long event at Humboldt Park from 9am to 4pm. A bicycle parade will leave in the morning to ride around Bay View, returning to the park for festivities and a beer garden. The event is family-friendly and costumes are encouraged. The $5 suggested donation will go to the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin.

On Tuesday, July 27, the Park People will be doing the first ever Run for the Parks, a 5k run through Humboldt Park at 5:30pm. The run proceeds will support renovations at the Humboldt Park Band Shell. Afterward, you can stick around for Chill on the Hill. Sign up or get more info at parkpeoplemke.org/5k.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Big improvements in Humboldt Park Pavilion

For years, deferred maintenance has been plaguing our park system. When the state failed to enact the new dedicated sales tax, it was obvious that some other solution would have to be found if we were going to renovate Humboldt Park Pavilion.

For months, I discussed and worked with several other leaders in Bay View and I’m proud to report that big changes are in the works.

Two months ago, I sat down with representatives from Bay View High School, Humboldt Park Watch, Bay View Neighborhood Association, and Milwaukee County Parks to figure out what could be completed quickly. The goal was originally to get the Humboldt Band Shell bathrooms renovated. We learned that there wasn’t enough money for this project this time around, so we’ll have to wait a year or two.

In the meantime, we are getting started on improvements to the pavilion. The Parks Department has helped with a power washing and some scrubbing. After that, a good coat of paint at the entrance and in the hallways applied by volunteers and students from Bay View High made a real impact.

The two big projects you’ll next notice are the kitchen being renovated and some big improvements in the bathrooms. These are being carried out through the hard work of the students at Bay View High School and through the generous donation of materials from Home Depot. The changes are many, and significant, so be sure to stop in and see them for yourself this summer.

Many thanks go out to our neighbors who really made this happen: Teri Crain and Dale Nook of BVNA, Julie Zettel of Humboldt Park Watch, and Mark Bajurny and Dan Hennessey of Bay View High. With their dedication and the generosity of Home Depot, we’ll have a much better pavilion soon.

To book your next event at Humboldt Park Pavilion, call (414) 257-8005.

In other news, community gardens are available for rental north of Howard Avenue and east of Sixth Street. There are only a few plots left so please book yours today by contacting UW-Extension at (414) 256-4606. If you don’t get in this year, you can always book for next season.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Mass transit sesquicentennial

On May 30, 1860, River & Lake Shore City Railway Company operated the first horse-drawn streetcar in Milwaukee along a single track on N. Water Street from Erie to E. Juneau Street-at five cents a ride. In May 2010, Milwaukee County kicks off six months celebrating mass transit as Milwaukee’s economic backbone for 150 years.

On Friday, May 7, rides on Route 15 will be free all day in honor of the first transit route, which operated a portion of the current route. Northwestern Mutual is sponsoring the rides, which last from when the bus pulls out in the morning until the last ride after 1am.

Across the county, we will celebrate Milwaukee’s oldest line by highlighting 15 landmark stops on Route 15. The “15 on the 15″ will be done in coordination with MCTS, neighborhood groups, and several other supervisors to celebrate this vital route in our transit system. Last year, Route 15 provided 7,858 rides each weekday to people through the heart of Bay View on a daily basis.

“The 15 on the 15″

1. Bayshore Town Center
2. Whitefish Bay Silver Spring shopping district
3. Estabrook Park
4. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
5. Milwaukee’s Central Library
6. Milwaukee City Hall
7. Historic Third Ward
8. Walker’s Point neighborhood
9. Allen Bradley clock tower
10. Kinnickinnic business district
11. Church of the Immaculate Conception
12. Bay View neighborhood
13. Bucyrus International’s Heritage Building
14. Cudahy Historical Society Train Depot and Immigrant Park
15. Grant Park

We will be highlighting the great shops of Bay View as well as areas from Grant Park to Bayshore with many stops in between. We will have the full list of the 15 stops available at our office as well as at cafes around Bay View. There will also be a celebration at the Downtown Transit Center, 909 E. Michigan St., at 1pm on May 7.

Our transit system gets people to and from work; provides rides to people home from bars; gets people to and from shopping locations; and moves students and young professionals who may not want the hassle and stress of parking, car insurance, permits, tickets, etc. Our buses now offer bike racks, monthly passes, and will next year go even more “green” with paperless smart cards and cleaner buses. If you haven’t ridden the bus lately, May 7 is a great chance to try it for free.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Why it’s only going to get worse

From the first moments of this year, County Executive Scott Walker’s 2010 budget put us in a deficit. Because of this deficit, a county ordinance allows for the executive to do anything he chooses in the name of “corrective action.” With this provision in hand, Walker unilaterally laid off 75 county workers last month, just one day after he announced an additional 10 furlough days for some employees (for a total of 22 days).

These new cuts, combined with the furloughs already in the budget, will affect every service that the county provides: parks will not be maintained, deep-well and wading pools will be closed, sheriff’s deputies will be furloughed, the courts will reduce their caseload, and the airport will suffer service cuts. The cuts at Mitchell Airport are the most interesting.

By every indication available, business at the airport has been booming. We have three major airlines competing for business, record passenger counts, and a flush budget. The increase in usage comes despite a challenging economy and decreases in passengers experienced by airports nationwide. If anything, more help is needed at the airport to keep up. Yet, the county executive announced 10 airport layoffs. What’s worse is that these layoffs won’t save you or the county a dime. Federal Aviation Administration regulations forbid our airport from using local tax dollars. Mitchell International is entirely funded by user fees from airlines and passengers.

The 10 employees fired lost their jobs without justification. Now, it’s more likely that your call to complain about airplane noise will not be answered and no action will be taken.

What could have been done to prevent this? Back in September during budget deliberations, we could have had an honest discussion about the labor contracts that had been negotiated over the previous 18 months. Instead, all of it was scrapped and traded in for crossing our fingers and hoping things worked out with the economy. Obviously, this hasn’t happened. The only option left now for Walker is to continue to cut the services that you rely on the county to provide.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Toward regional synthesis, not partitioned bureaucracies

Recently, the Public Policy Forum released a report regarding the future of Milwaukee County government. While the 162-page study gave a balanced analysis of the situation without leaning one way or another, much attention has been paid by local media to the idea of simply “getting rid of” Milwaukee County government.

While this might sound good, the fact is that Milwaukee County is simply a supplier of essential services that stretch across 19 smaller municipalities. These services include mental health care, operating the airport, managing our courts, running two detention facilities, supplying bus service, maintaining 144 parks, and more. It’s important to remember these services are what the county does. If the county were “blown up,” these services would either no longer be provided or they would be given over to a different district.

I feel that partitioning off pieces of services to new bureaucracies isn’t the way to go. Many people say that government should function more like a business, yet I have not seen a successful business model that shows breaking apart a large entity in order to form smaller units that would do the same thing. The fact is that most areas of the country are moving toward regional forms of government in order to eliminate duplication, find efficiencies, and plan on a wider scale. This also helps in courting new businesses and planning for larger economic development zones. This is the direction Milwaukee County should move in order to be more competitive in attracting businesses, creating jobs, and keeping taxes low.

The plans to dissolve county government for the sake of just doing something are misplaced. Instead, let’s work together to find real efficiency in the way services are provided. I have been on the board for just under two years now and knew that it was going to be a challenge when I started. Now is not the time to shy away from these tough decisions.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Goals for this year

As we continue to gear up for 2010, I wanted to share a few of the initiatives I’ll be pursuing throughout the year.

Newsletters

Starting this week, volunteers and I will be delivering the first of two newsletters into the district by hand. By skipping the post office and dropping off the updates personally, we’ll be saving over $6,000 for the year. This is on top of the monthly email newsletter and this column that help citizens keep up with what’s going on around the county.

Aerotropolis

I will be introducing legislation to further advance economic development around the Mitchell Airport. If successful, Milwaukee County will join other municipalities to form a nonprofit organization that will be able to better market the unique opportunities provided by Milwaukee’s low-cost airport, low traffic, and low shipping costs. Milwaukee has a great opportunity to show off our stark contrast to Chicago’s higher cost of doing business combined with its long shipping delays by road and air.

If we can work successfully together as a region, the surge of new airlines fighting to get market dominance at Mitchell Airport will only be a precursor to companies moving to take advantage of our growing shipping industry.

Community Gardens

If legislation I’m introducing this month passes, Milwaukee County will be adding a strip of community gardens on the east side of Sixth Street and south of Howard. This land has been vacant and unused for two decades so we’re going to try to put it to use. The Garden District Neighborhood Association has agreed to work on the first plots this summer. If successful, we will expand the project and invite other groups to put more land to good use.

Do you have other projects you’d like to see pursued in 2010? Please give me a call at 278-4252 or send me an email at chris.larson@milwcnty.com.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

2010 budget conclusion

The conclusion of the 2010 budget is that we really only succeeded in delaying the looming crisis just a little longer. By kicking the problem farther up the road, we must again commit ourselves to gaining the dedicated sales tax that voters asked for in last year’s referendum. Until we move away from funding all our county services with the property tax, we will see a continued decline in all the county’s offerings.

Despite my best efforts to stop the decline in transit service, routes were trimmed a little more; the fare will go up another $.25; and the call center will not have as many live operators to answer calls. This is on top of the reduction of service over the last seven years that has resulted in over 40,000 jobs becoming inaccessible by transit, while bus fares nearly doubled. All of this could be reversed if the state grants the dedicated funding that 95 percent of transit systems across the country already have.  »Read more

Budget should reflect what Milwaukee values

It’s hard to say what the final county budget will look like. This is one of the worst budgets in Milwaukee County history, and given our fiscal state, there are no easy solutions. But it’s clear that the budget proposed by County Executive Scott Walker was not fiscally sound and could not be passed as introduced.

Among the biggest problems were wage concessions that would break both federal and state laws related to labor negotiations. The other major problem is that the executive’s proposed budget raises spending by about $80 million or more than 6 percent over last year. To do this, it relies on taking on three years’ worth of debt at once while pushing the real cost into the future.

It does sound tempting to pursue a “zero-percent budget.” But, given the level of cuts to our courts, parks, transit system, highway department, sheriff’s department, emergency medical services, and more, we would no longer live in the same community we now know.  »Read more

Damaging cuts expected from county exec.

Later this month, the county executive will propose his 2010 budget. If the past seven years are any indication, we will face a cold and unkind budget with many potential cuts to crucial county services. The County Board will have to make some difficult decisions about how to restore funding for the functions most important to you. As your representative on the County Board of Supervisors, I have heard your concerns. I am willing to fight for the quality of life that you expect and deserve in Milwaukee County.

Milwaukee County’s Farm and Fish Hatchery, which supplies 40,000 fish to county park ponds and lagoons including Humboldt, Holler, Wilson, and Saveland, seems to be one of the favorite targets of the county executive’s budget ax. This facility saves taxpayer dollars, provides great activities for Milwaukee County residents, makes food available for the hungry, and improves the environment. I will vote to restore funding for this facility should it be cut.  »Read more

Milwaukee “Aerotropolis”

Since taking office 16 months ago, I have been working to improve economic development near General Mitchell International Airport, which is owned and operated by Milwaukee County. These efforts culminated in July with a meeting of many elected officials and a discussion with John Kasarda, the leading expert on the “Aerotropolis” concept.

He believes that a new urban form is emerging-the Aerotropolis. These are aviation-oriented businesses clustered around airports and nearby transportation corridors. Similar to the traditional metropolis, the Aerotropolis consists of an airport core, outlying corridors, and clusters of aviation-linked businesses within a 20-mile radius. Elected officials from Milwaukee County, local municipalities, and designees from the state and federal levels are currently brainstorming how to spark further economic development within this zone.

We must first make sure the airport area is attractive for businesses. A wide range of businesses can benefit from locating near major airports like ours. Airports can provide accessibility, speed, and agility to supply chains and connect entrepreneurs with customers and other partners across the globe. For many people, the airport is the first and last place they see when visiting Milwaukee. Think of when you are shopping for a home and pull up to a house that is for sale. If it doesn’t look good, you’re probably not going to buy it. Simple things like planting trees and beautifying airport corridors will make the area more inviting and appealing.

We must work collectively to develop a long-term strategic plan for our airport area. Municipalities should come together to formulate a cross-jurisdictional Milwaukee Metro Aerotropolis Authority to oversee an integrated Aerotropolis. This marketing tool can effectively advertise our unique Milwaukee spirit. We’ve already started by adding Alterra Coffee and Nonna Bartolotta’s inside the airport.

Kasarda noted that Milwaukee County is actually ahead of the curve on the Aerotropolis idea. Our easily accessible shipping port, short freeway travel times, and proximity to the overflowing Chicago business market all give Milwaukee County a competitive edge. We should leap at this unique opportunity.

If you have ideas on how to increase this competitive advantage even further, please contact my office. For more information on the Aerotropolis concept, visit aerotropolis.com.

Chris Larson is supervisor of Milwaukee County’s 14th District, which encompasses southern parts of Bay View, the airport, and other parts of Milwaukee’s southeast side. He can be reached at chris.larson@milwcnty.com or (414) 278-4252.

Prescription savings available

In times of economic hardship like we’re in now, it’s important to save money wherever you can. If you or someone you know doesn’t have prescription drug coverage, the costs can be crippling. Since 2006, Milwaukee County has offered free prescription drug discount cards that provide 20- to 50-percent savings to all Milwaukee County residents with no prescription drug coverage.

Since the program was started, residents have saved more than $426,000 in prescription drug costs, for an average savings of more than 22 percent. There are currently more than 1,000 Milwaukee County residents taking advantage of this program, with that number growing every day. Even people with prescription drug insurance coverage can get the discount if they have a particular drug that is not covered under their policy. There are also some individuals who have been able to use the discount card on prescriptions for their pets.  »Read more

Results of today’s county board meeting votes

• 11-8 Veto sustained (No: Borkowski, Broderick, Cesarz, Jursik, Rice, Sanfelippo, West, Holloway) to override the County Executive’s veto of a resolution to establish an interest earning trust fund for the purpose of depositing monies bequeathed by the estate of Frank and Maxine Allen to economic and community development purposes.

• 15-4 (No: Dimitrijevic, Larson, Lipscomb, Weishan) to adopt an amended resolution authorizing the County Executive and County Clerk to convey by Warranty Deed a portion of the northeast quadrant of the County Grounds in the City of Wauwatosa for the development of a new College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) campus, to be known as the Michael J. Cudahy Innovation Park to UWM Innovation Park, LLC and/or assigns for the consideration of $13.55 million, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Purchase Agreement.

• 8-10 item fails (No: Cesarz, De Bruin, Jursik, Lipscomb, Rice, Sanfelippo, Schmitt, Thomas, West, Holloway) to adopt an ordinance restricting the use of mobile telephones while operating a motor vehicle in Milwaukee County.

• 14-5 (No: Borkowski, Clark, De Bruin, Sanfelippo, Weishan) to approve a contract for the period June 1, 2009, through May 31, 2010, in an amount not to exceed $125,000 to retain consultant assistance and related services from Wisconsin Community Services, Inc. to the Milwaukee County Task Force on Work Reform for Men to provide more focus on equitable employment opportunities in work reform, particularly fathers and males of color.

• 12-6 (No: De Bruin, Johnson, Lipscomb, Sanfelippo, Thomas, West) to approve a fund transfer for the purchase of a replacement street sweeper requested by the Interim Director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

• 17-2 (No: Mayo, Thomas) to receive and place on file the report from the Controller, entitled “2009 Fiscal Report as of March 31, 2009,” dated May 12, 2009.

• 16-3 (No: Clark, Thomas, West) to modify Transit Route 53 on a trial bases to serve the arrivals and departures of the Lake Express ferry excluding the 12:30 a.m. trip.

Appointment No. 09-220 was withdrawn by the County Executive. All other items were approved with no objection. The complete agenda can be found here:

http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/CountyBoardMeeting121996.htm <http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/CountyBoardMeeting121996.htm>

The next regular meeting of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 200 of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. 

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