Enlightenment from Bruce Murphy

You have to go all the way down to the “Buzz” section, but there it is

-Waukesha Mayor Jeff Scrima’s proposal to have a referendum to approve or reject the idea of buying water from Lake Michigan probably puts him on the side of average folks in the city and in opposition to nearly the entire leadership community of Waukesha. This is turning into a bizarre soap opera that could continue right through his four-year term.

via Inside Milwaukee – Dine, Shop, Entertainment and more.

If so, should we expect to see an increase in folks running against sitting council members who are roughly 12-3 against the mayor?

So whatever happened to that minor league team coming to Waukesha?

I thought about it last evening when I was at Frame Park watching the Badgerland Ski Team perform. There was also a high school baseball game going on and a Christian gathering at the same time.

Needless to say parking was at a premium. And there wasn’t anywhere near the 3,000 that was projected for the new team when they played. At least according to my poor estimating skills.

Not all parking areas were being used. I doubt that lot at the corner of White Rock and Niagara was being used. And there may have been some other places.

But every where else was pretty much full.

So anyway, back to the team. We know that initially the recession kept them from expanding. The team still has a web site, although there is no mention of Waukesha in the Northwoods League’s expansion plans.

And then I thought, “Hey, I bet James has some news,” and sure enough, I found this,

“The plans are on hold until at least 2011. Mayor Larry Nelson said he has conversed with Chad Bauer, who is to build the stadium for a Northwoods League baseball team. Bauer has not secured financing to build the stadium. Even if he does Nelson said the stadium would not be ready for baseball until 2011. The Common Council has to re-approve an agreement with Bauer in order for the stadium to be built.”

So there you have it. Bauer has to come up with financing and Common Council has to re-approve.

I don’t think that will be happening any time soon.

Noted 05-15-2010

Mark Neumann spurned the Republican Party hierarchy on Thursday, saying he won’t pursue the party’s endorsement for governor.

So does this mean he’s going to run as an independent?

Dozens of illnesses reported after Waukesha County fund-raising luncheon. I think it was the Democrats. Everyone knows the  Country Springs is a Republican hangout. 🙂

Session scheduled on proposed Waukesha west bypass.

Salary increases proposed for Waukesha County officials. Can I get one, too?

Former Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson will return to the classroom in the fall after the Waukesha School Board approved a contract with him Wednesday, the same night it also voted to send layoff notices to 18 full-time teachers.

In approving Nelson’s return, the school board was honoring a contractual agreement that allowed him to go on unpaid leave for four years when Nelson was elected mayor in 2006, Waukesha Superintendent Todd Gray said.

Former Waukesha mayor Nelson returning to classroom. Isn’t that special? Nothing like job security.

Less than a month into his term as Waukesha’s new mayor, Jeff Scrima is taking exception to aldermen who are embarking on their own public relations battle over the city’s quest for Lake Michigan water.

Common Council President Paul Ybarra, Ald. Joan Francoeur and Ald. Rick Tortomasi are meeting with representatives of the City of Milwaukee on Wednesday while Scrima announced Friday that he would have the first of some upcoming meetings with three Milwaukee aldermen May 24.

Scrima said he asked Ybarra to wait and join in Scrima’s meeting, but Ybarra declined.

Rift emerges between new Waukesha mayor, aldermen in water talks. The Boy Mayor learns how hard it is for the mayor to do anything in a weak mayor government.

New page added

Note that I’ve added a page called “2010 elections” I’ve tried to include all the candidates for statewide offices as well as congressional races. I realize the information may become out-of-date rather quickly (Like this for example). If you have information that would update this page, please leave a comment. Thanks.

I am working on Wisconsin Assembly and Senate races that touch Waukesha County. Any information there would be appreciated also.

I also removed the page that had links to my Community Columnist pieces from a few years back. Just about all of the links were non-existent so there was no point leaving it up. I may scan the hard copies I have later.

Waukesha water woes?

So, did Waukesha get a glimpse of things to come? In a flurry of activity recently, we saw:

1. The Milwaukee County Board voted 13-3 on April 22 to oppose the Waukesha’s water plan.

Ostensibly the vote was to protect the county’s streams from pollution and erosion, but the comments from board members seems to indicate a different motivation, the kind you normally see from children.

“You have been sidestepped on this process,” said one. “We’ve been treated purely as an afterthought,” said another.

“They do not care about the concerns of Milwaukee County,” replied another.

“Why should I trust them?”

“They get the water and we get – I don’t want to say it – we get everything else,” intoned another.

Mature.

Waukesha’s water utility manager, Dan Duchniak disagreed with the assessment, claiming that the water Waukesha puts into the creeks will be cleaner than the water flowing there now.

To be fair, the County Board is excluded from the process of approving or disapproving Waukesha’s request. The DNR and the Great Lakes states are the ones who will sign off on the request.

Racine’s representative Cory Mason is on record opposing dumping of Waukesha waste water in the Root River. (A tip of the conservative ball cap to James Rowen who recently posted on how new phosphorus rules could add to any plan’s costs.

2. Milwaukee aldermen and Waukesha’s new mayor, Jeff Scrima, traded letters about requirements for receiving Milwaukee water.

Scrima contended during the recent campaign that if Waukesha didn’t keep its options open it would lose some of its sovereignty to Milwaukee. He alleged that somehow, Milwaukee will use Waukesha’s needs for water to advance some dastardly purpose.

The water saga continues and will stretch well into the foreseeable future.

If you’ve been living in a cave the last few years, Waukesha needs water because of elevated levels of radium. Lake Michigan seems to have a lot of water and Waukesha would like to get some, but the Great Lakes Compact requires returning the water to Lake Michigan.

Waukesha’s plan, sent to the DNR earlier this month, is to return the water to Underwood Creek where it would flow to the Menomonee River and back to Lake Michigan.

Waukesha is somewhat under the gun, facing a 2018 deadline for cleaning up there water.

People talk regional cooperation but the playing out is a little more difficult. The suburbs think Milwaukee wants their tax dollars. Milwaukee thinks the suburbs are using their infrastructure without paying for it.

Obviously, more work needs to be done. Like maybe growing up and behaving like adults.

3. Two neighboring local governments have expressed concern about the city’s plan to drill shallow wells as a backup measure. The major concern here seems to be the potential for privately owned wells going dry as Waukesha sucks water from the planned area.

The road is long, the opposition varied and the clock is ticking.

And if both options go down in flames, what’s left?

There’s a lesson for communities everywhere—don’t outgrow your water supply.

Yeah, like they will pay attention.

Waukesha mayoral candidates part 1

This is the first of probably several posts on the spring primary coming up February 16.

First the candidates in alphabetical order (Links on names point to candidate websites, any info about candidates are from this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article unless a separate link is displayed).

Bill Beglinger, a police officer for 28 years, is running and had an editorial in the Waukesha Freeman (who has invited all five candidates to submit one although only Beglinger and Scrima have thus far done so) explaining why he thinks taxes can be lower with examples. He also notes a listening session he will hold from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church.

Darryl Enriquez wrote for many years about Waukesha for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He also continued this at his website Waukesha News Online, which is on hiatus while he runs for mayor.

Larry Nelson is the incumbent, having been elected 4 years ago after former mayor Carol Lombardi retired. Some were surprised that Nelson, a Democrat, was elected in a Republican stronghold. They should take a walk downtown sometime. Besides that local elections are less about party ideology and more about local issues. Though I may disagree with his Democratic leanings, in his four years as mayor, there is little to complain about. Most of what he tried to accomplish was overwhelmingly approved by the Common Council.

Randy Radish has been a council member for several years, representing the downtown area. He probably has the most experience with city government.

Jeff Scrima is a developer who is the only candidate who thinks the mayoral position should be part time. He cited high property taxes as a reason for running. He used his editorial to advocate caution on hooking up to Milwaukee water until the situation has been studied further.

Most of these gentlemen are long time residents of the city and have served the city in various capacities.

The Freeman is also eliciting responses from the candidates on different issues and publishing them each Saturday. Last Saturday was on homelessness and this week’s was whether the mayor should be a full time job.

There was also an article in the Freeman about how the candidates stayed informed on city issues.

That will start for an overview. Future posts will delve into particulars.