Two tidbits from Elmbrook’s Annual meeting.

Resident Bob Hammel took the wind out of the sails of the budget report which bragged that Elmbrook’s budget increases stayed below the cost of living since 1980. Bob then asked the number of students in 1980 compared to 2006. Enrollments were much higher 26 years ago; thus the cost per student went up, not down. Elmbrook kept the increases in check not because of budget restraint, but because of declining enrollment!
Board member Patrick Murphy moved to raise the annual pay for board members from $3,600 to $4,600. Now I am all for saving money, but I believe a workman is worthy of his hire. Meg Wartman did not favor increases--something about not asking the taxpayers to pay more. I wish the board would have that attitude when approving $400,000+ Astroturf football fields or embarking on the costly 4 year kindergarten program. The pay raise failed 18-50. The budget passed 64–6. The vote does not really matter--the actual budget is set in the fall. But aren’t we happy to pay the $71,746,924 next year? It IS for the kids. (OK, I will take the tongue out of my cheek.)

It’s time to speak up about Calhoun Road--comment forms due Friday, June 30 & Correction

Last Wednesday night I attended the Calhoun Road South Public Information Open House, where I spent a good deal of time speaking with 2 representatives from R. A. Smith (the firm designing the roadway). I expressed my disapproval of their plan; they both enthusiastically defended their design. I can see why someone who was not familiar with the area might think that their rational made sense, but to me and many others, this project is just OVERENGINEERED and OVERPRICED!

This was the 3rd open house for Calhoun south. About 85 residents attended—pretty good for a summer meeting. (Approx. 140 attended the 1st and 2nd open houses.) Comment forms were passed out in the info packet from R. A. Smith. I was told that they would also be available on the city website, but I could not find it there. If you need a form, just email me kyleprast@gmail.com and I will send it and a detailed list of concerns to you pronto. Comments must be received by Friday, June 30th. Please take the time to send in your concerns regarding this project. Remember: it is a south side issue but a city wide expense. WE ALL GET TO PAY FOR IT and it will be much more than the $11 million estimate!

Also, don’t think that once Calhoun south is finished that it will be the end of these expensive road projects. ALL of our major roads—North Ave., Barker, Brookfield, Calhoun north, etc. will face this. IS this what we want? Is this what your neighborhood wants? Send in the comment forms. While you are at it, email the aldermen too—they will be the ones granting final approval.

My first objection was the traffic study. Their numbers did not equal my experience. Last year, when I heard that they were planning the widening, I started to use Calhoun south during rush hour. My experience was that it was a good way to avoid the heavy Bluemound congestion. I did not find it to be solid bumper to bumper traffic as they infer. The 3 aldermen—Chris Blackburn, Jerry Mellone, and Lisa Mellone--from district 6 & 7 have delved into the studies and found errors. First, the years the study started, 2000 &2001, were years Greenfield was torn up from 124th to Calhoun. Of course traffic on Calhoun would be higher those years; people living west of Calhoun on the south side avoided Greenfield east of Calhoun and used Calhoun more to connect to other east/west streets. The other thing the 3 aldermen found was that the 2% of growth was too high a multiplier. This has resulted in the projections exceeding the actual by about 3,000/day. You can see that if you just took the numbers presented by the engineers, you would form a different opinion than if those same numbers were probed for accuracy.

Secondly, the perception or size/scope of the road to me is OVERKILL for a primarily residential area. I had mentioned to the city and RA Smith engineers at previous open houses that the width of the roadway appeared to me that they were building an interstate! They said that it was not that wide. But when I looked at their cross sections for Calhoun north of the freeway, it measured 86’ in width from the paved edges east to west (roadway only—not bike/walk paths). This would accommodate a 2 lane, with 10’ emergency lane, no median interstate (the kind with dividing barriers in the middle). South of the freeway it measures 76’-- just 6’ shy of interstate width. The R. A. Smith engineer had to admit that the perception of the wider road would lead drivers to exceed the 35 mph speed limit. Alderman Blackburn first told me of this phenomena—there are studies that prove it to be true. I am sure you have noticed it yourself on the new section of Calhoun. Plus the entire roadway speed limit will be increased to 35 mph. Currently, it is 25 mph south of the freeway. How is increasing the speed limit going to make it safer?

When I asked the engineer what would be the harm of just repaving and making a few turn lanes, he said that it would not be safe; you would have bumper to bumper rear end accidents. I heard the accident rate from the past *6 years has been 7 incidents—4 of those deer related!*-- This was incorrect, the actual numbers were 21 from 2001 - 2004, 7 were rear endings (the type the engineers are so concerned about, 5 of the 21 were deer related. The actual traffic study reported, "Despite these observations, the annual crashes and crashes by type are relatively low and do not constitute a significant safety problem." The crash rate is 176 / 100 which is lower than the statewide average for urban streets of 260 per 100 million vehicle miles. I live off of Sunnyslope Road, where we do have bumper to bumper traffic at rush hour due to Bishop’s Woods office park—a 100 acre complex of offices between Elm Grove Rd. and Sunnyslope. We seem to be able to handle the traffic on 2 lanes.

We all know the real reason for a project of this size is to accommodate VK’s new development—what ever that will be. Does it make sense to construct this expensive road only to have construction traffic destroy it? IF it needs to be this size to accommodate VK’s development, WHY ISN’T HE PAYING FOR IT? Shouldn’t we know what he is planning before we construct the road? Cost estimates for the project of $11 million do not include the cost of the new I-94 bridge—thought to cost $4 to $5 million alone, nor do estimates include the temporary bridge. (Bridge replacement costs are not usually a city expense!)

One new ridiculous addition to the project I noticed this time was the addition of TURN LANES from the side streets. That is right; a separate lane to turn left or right onto Calhoun Road. (Some of these streets only have a block or two worth of residences.) What are they thinking? I think this illustrates that engineers just like to, well, engineer: the bigger and more complicated the better!

Don’t forget that historic Ruby Farm will be destroyed if the project proceeds as planned. Momentum is growing to save the historic homestead.

The medians—a whopping 24’ in width—will force motorists to make numerous dangerous U-turns just to enter their homes. The Mobil gas station and 405 building will have NO NORTHBOUND access to their businesses because of the median.

A TWLTL (two direction shared center left turn lane) would allow for left turn vehicles to wait for an opportunity to complete their turn, out of traffic, without encroaching as much on private resident’s frontages. Adding a TWLTL and 5’ grass terrace with 6’ bike/walk path would result in a 62’ Right of Way as opposed to the current proposed 100’. The current width south of the freeway is 44’. TWLTLs are used in many communities across the country. New Berlin uses them and I have seen them in other states on roadways as wide and busy as Bluemound.

There are many other concerns—too numerous to mention here. Alderman Jerry Mellone gave me a list of them. If you would like a copy, just email me.

PLEASE send in your comments to:
MR. DOUG M. SENSO, P.E.
R.A. SMITH & ASSOCIATES, INC.
16745 WEST BLUEMOUND ROAD, SUITE 200
BROOKFIELD, WI 53005-5938

Email: doug.senso@rasmith.com You may email your comments, but include: Your name, address, phone, and email and the following info.
Project I D 2721-10-00
Calhoun Road, City of Brookfield
Greenfield Ave. (WIS 59) – Bluemound Rd. (US 18)
Waukesha County

Project I D 1060-18-00
I-94 Bridge Replacements Over Calhoun Road, City of Brookfield
Waukesha County

Email your concerns to ALL of the aldermen; your action now could $ave us Million$.
Aldermen:
Bill Carnell williamcarnell@att.net
Dan Sutton dano8287@aol.com
Rick Owen rco3@tds.net
Bob Reddin sreddin@wi.rr.com
James Garvens LGarvens@execpc.com
Ron Balzer ronbalzer@netzero.net
Steve Ponto svponto@execpc.com
Mark Nelson milwnelson@aol.com
Scott Berg scott@scottberg.com
Gary Mahkorn mahkorngd@aol.com
Jerry Mellone jmellone@wi.rr.com
Chris Blackburn blackbrn@ticon.net
Lisa Mellone lisa@betterbrookfield.com
Mike Franz mikefranz@juno.com

Mayor Jeff Speaker, Speaker@ci.brookfield.wi.us
Engineering: Tom Grisa, Grisa@ci.brookfield.wi.us
Jeff Chase Chase@ci.brookfield.wi.us

Public Works Board Members:
Rick Owen – Chairman rco3@tds.net
Ald. Steve Ponto svponto@execpc.com
Ald. Mark Nelson milwnelson@aol.com
Ald. Christopher Blackburn blackbrn@ticon.net
Ald. Lisa Mellone lisa@betterbrookfield.com
Ald. Scott Berg, aldermanic alternate scott@scottberg.com


Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com
Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

...and the City will get as much mileage out of the survey as possible

I can almost hear it already. The next time some unfortunate neighborhood tries to scale back an overly dense development from diminishing their quality of life, the city will quote their survey and say, well, 67% of Brookfield residents favor development to reduce or control the tax rate, and 97% are happy with their quality of life.

Right now the hot development issue is the widening of Calhoun Road. I am not calling it a road improvement project, but a development issue. That is because its sole purpose is to prepare the way for VK’s Ruby/WTMJ mystery project. (No official plans have been filed. This is so that when asked, Ertl and the Mayor can say nothing has been filed—we don’t know what VK is planning.)

Will VK’s project “reduce or control the tax rate” as the survey led all survey participants to believe? The survey said that development would make taxes go down or at least be controlled. But that does not ring true with this VK property. The taxpayers will need to fund the $11+million price tag for the road widening—and that is just to get the road to it! This figure will be higher since material costs have increased and the I-94 bridge replacement figure of $4 to $5 million has never been included. The temporary bridge cost of $100,000 has always been grossly underrated. To give you an idea of costs, those foot bridges in the parks run about $50,000!

Now add to that the cost to get sewer, electric, and water to the property. Once it is built, it will require extra police and fire protection, and last but not least—don’t forget the added school costs from the 300+ apartments/condos. We could get hit with some extra roads within his property too?—we just supplied the cul-de-sac for a condo project off of Brookfield Rd.

The City will tout that 97% of those surveyed believe their quality of life in Brookfield is either excellent or good. But the point the survey misses is that we treasure the high quality of life we have—that is why we are working so hard to protect it! The survey also grouped those who lived here 20 years or longer as the least likely to favor development. I think that is because we have seen the changes in our city over the decades and see how the increased traffic, higher density, and loss of greenspace are eroding our quality of life. Like the canary in the mine, we are more sensitive to the problems that will come if development continues at its current pace and scope.

Maybe that is why no real questions were asked about future concerns and problems in the survey. Although the City did not directly word the questions, they did "help(ed) develop the survey questions.” If you are the one putting forth a survey, you only ask questions you want to hear an answer to.

I would guess the city will often refer to the 97% satisfied with their quality of life and 67% favor development to keep taxes low statistics. The survey cost was around $25,000 to conduct. Do we think we got our money’s worth? I’m sure the City thinks they did.

Online survey report

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

And the survey said.....

The Brookfield Community Attitude & Opinion Survey report was given Tuesday night. Here are a few of the results: the majority (44.4%) of the 392 respondents have lived here 20 or more years, the majority (24%) are 45 – 54 years old, 61.2% have no children 18 or younger in their household, 84.9% own their single family home, and the majority (41.4%) believe their homes are valued in the $200,000 - $299,999 range. (I fall into the majority category on all of these, or at least I will when my son turns 18).

The next question however, made me question the relevance of the remaining survey question responses: “Within which Aldermanic District do you currently reside?” A whopping 59.4% of respondents did NOT know what district they lived in! Their lack of knowing this pretty basic fact made me question: do they vote? and how much do they really pay attention to city issues?

Nearly all of the respondents thought the quality of life in Brookfield is excellent--53.6% or good--43.6%. I would agree, but I think that quality of life must be protected--not taken as a given. Most thought Brookfield was doing a good job--61.2% and excellent job--30.6% providing services. 26.5% of respondents said creating a new interchange between Moorland and Barker Roads was not a priority compared to 19.6% who thought it was a major priority. Maintaining the quality of schools carried the highest percentage of major priority: 45.7%. Ensuring the quality and stability of single family neighborhoods came in 2nd with a 36.2% saying it was a major priority.

The question about increased development was asked in two ways: “I favor additional development and redevelopment in selected areas as a way to reduce or control the City’s tax rate” with 67.6% agreeing or strongly agreeing, and “I am opposed to additional development even if it means raising city taxes” with 65.7% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. But both of these questions carry a bias; they assume the only way to reduce taxes is by increasing development. Another problem with asking these types of questions is that they are asked in the general—not the specific! Notice, it did not say, Would you agree if the development was in your neighborhood or created a traffic jamb every day on your commute? The survey did not ask any questions concerning future concerns in Brookfield such as: loss of greenspace, loss of quality of life, increased traffic, tax increases, etc.

After the report the aldermen were given a chance to comment. Alderman Berg mentioned that he received 2 phone calls regarding the survey and the opposing additional development even if it meant raising taxes question. I believe the word extortion was used in regard to that question! Alderman Blackburn a pointed out that the respondents were not asked if they would still favor development if they knew their tax dollars would go to pay for the project’s infrastructure (thus costing the taxpayer, not giving tax relief).

So, I think Disraeli was right when he said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, @#*$%& lies, and statistics"! (Mark Twain really liked that quote!) Not that the survey results are lies, but that surveys only ask what they want to hear. They don't always reflect the true feelings of the respondent.

P.S. Lisa Sink, from MJS made a great point regarding the City's high marks, "But the satisfaction seems at odds with the ouster of three incumbent aldermen."


Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com
Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

Two important meetings: Public Survey Results & Calhoun Road Open House

Summer vacation time is here—at least for those who mark the seasons by children’s school schedules. Unfortunately, there is no summer vacation from city politics! We must remain ever vigilant.

Tuesday night, 7:15pm, at City Hall, Common Council Chambers, Community/Citizen Survey results presentation. Agenda Will the survey results ring true to what you believe are the important issues in our community? Come and hear what they have to say.

Wednesday evening, 5:30 – 8:00pm, Safety Building, CALHOUN ROAD SOUTH PUBLIC INFORMATION OPEN HOUSE. PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT YOUR FELLOW BROOKFIELD CITIZENS and PROTECT YOUR WALLET. Stop in, view the realistic renderings of the Engineering Department’s proposed wider Calhoun Road, and MOST IMPORTANTLY—SUBMIT YOUR WRITTEN COMMENTS! This may be a south side issue, but YOUR tax dollars will pay for it regardless of the road’s location.

District 6 Aldermen Chris Blackburn, Jerry Mellone and District 7 Alderman Lisa Mellone believe the size, scope and price tag of this project are way out of line. Jerry Mellone prepared a complete report about the problems concerning the project. Chris Blackburn is requesting that those who prepared and approved the traffic survey results be accountable for the discrepancies. The traffic counts are already about 3,000 less than projected. Blackburn is also asking that a new traffic count be taken after Brookfield Road becomes a through street to Greenfield Avenue because it will divert traffic from Calhoun Rd.

Alderman Lisa Mellone stated at the last Public Works Board meeting that there were too many discrepancies and unanswered questions to approve of the project in its present form.

This project, like all projects, is a result of a study. The study then fuels the need. The cost invested in the studies and planning then serve as justification for going forward with the project regardless if the project is needed. This process happens all the time and becomes the proverbial tail wagging the dog. To me, the amount of money spent on perusing an unneeded solution shouldn’t justify going forward.

In the case of this Calhoun Road project, we already know the original study was horribly flawed. Engineering admitted it is incorrect, but is reluctant to correct the study. Tom Gisa stated at the last PWB meeting that the direction or scope of the project could be changed at any time, but that those changes carried consequences since all of this planning carries a price tag. Blackburn is urging that these studies be corrected, “Since funds are continually being expended on this project, every delay in resolving this matter has the potential of wasting taxpayer’s money pursuing the wrong plan.”

This measure will come before the Common Council. It is not too early to contact all of the aldermen and urge them to scale back this project.

Aldermen:

Bill Carnell williamcarnell@att.net

Dan Sutton dano8287@aol.com

Rick Owen rco3@tds.net

Bob Reddin sreddin@wi.rr.com

James Garvens LGarvens@execpc.com

Ron Balzer ronbalzer@netzero.net

Steve Ponto svponto@execpc.com

Mark Nelson milwnelson@aol.com

Scott Berg scott@scottberg.com

Gary Mahkorn mahkorngd@aol.com

Jerry Mellone jmellone@wi.rr.com

Chris Blackburn blackbrn@ticon.net

Lisa Mellone lisa@betterbrookfield.com

Mike Franz mikefranz@juno.com

Mayor Jeff Speaker, Speaker@ci.brookfield.wi.us

Engineering: Tom Grisa, Grisa@ci.brookfield.wi.us

Jeff Chase Chase@ci.brookfield.wi.us

Public Works Board Members:

Rick Owen – Chairman rco3@tds.net
Ald. Steve Ponto svponto@execpc.com

Ald. Mark Nelson milwnelson@aol.com
Ald. Christopher Blackburn blackbrn@ticon.net

Ald. Lisa Mellone lisa@betterbrookfield.com
Ald. Scott Berg, aldermanic alternate scott@scottberg.com

Brookhollow condo project will be on the next Plan Commission agenda. Monday, June 26

Contact the Plan Commission (listed at end of Brookhollow posting) and voice your opinion.

Elmbrook Schools Annual Meeting, Dixon Elementary School, just north of North Ave on Pilgrim Rd. Budget Hearing 7pm, Annual Meeting, 8pm.

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

Is anyone thinking how much this will cost the taxpayers?

Have you noticed how many issues before the School District and the City of Brookfield carry a hefty price tag? Is our government considering how we are going to pay for all of this? It does not seem so. We all need to work within a fixed budget. They should too.

Elmbrook was forced to give up on their pie-in-the-sky two new high school idea. Instead, they are promoting their bargain, nearly $90 million high school renovation project. That is supposed to be a practical solution?

The spending does not end there. Now they are venturing into the costly proposition of providing 4 year old kindergarten. Have they even considered the ethics of providing free daycare at taxpayer expense?

Our City Plan Commission and Park & Rec. Commission unanimously approved the “Pocket Park” for the new Town Square west of Brookfield Square (where the Firestone store is located). This will be surrounded by more condos/apartments and retail—all part of TIF #3. Isn’t that just what we need? More traffic generating development for already congested Bluemound!

The idea of relocating our 2 east side fire stations is gaining momentum. First we had the study, now we have the need. But is it a need? One reason given for the need is that the two older stations originally were designed for one fire truck. Now they need to house an ambulance too. Another reason for the need is to have separate bathroom facilities for female fire fighters. If the present facility has completely individual single shower/bathroom stalls with a lockable door, isn’t that sufficient? That is the way shower facilities are done at many National Parks and I never felt threatened by it. Or, had anyone even considered only stationing female fire fighters at the new safety building? But if they really need to make an additional shower room, last time I checked, an extra bathroom and garage bay addition did not cost $2.5million!

The west side may need better fire and EMT service, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of serving the east side of the city. A satellite EMT station, not costing anywhere near $2.5 million, could be located somewhere on the west side, thus improving response times. Plus, we are annexing more Town of Brookfield land all the time. What happens when the west side grows to the point of needing their own fire station? If we have moved them away from the east side and then still need a new one on the west side. Relocating the fire stations will have only created a very expensive problem.

Let’s not forget the Calhoun Road south project costing over $11million! (Yes, I know about 2/3 of that is Federal Tax Dollars, and we all know those are free.) Again we have the study fueling the need. Alderman Jerry Mellone presented very compelling evidence that the traffic study used to justify the colossal scope of the widening was flawed. Tom Grisa acknowledged the inconsistencies in the study, but defended the scope of the project anyway.

Jerry brought up a very creative solution: by narrowing the project to 2 lanes south of Swanson School, the city would have enough money to purchase and save Ruby Farm. The city could then locate an EMT station there, thus eliminating the need for the expensive fire station relocation project.

Bottom line? We need to start separating needs from wants. Taxpayers expect to pay for needs, not wish list wants.

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com
Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

The Kinsey Park playground is finally open!

Area families will be pleased the next time they venture to Kinsey Park: the playground project is finished. Basically the playground consists of the play structure, merry-go-round, spring loaded car, 4 swings, and a swivel seat (presumably, the child sits on the stool while a buddy spins him?) Alas, the tire swing is no more.

Enjoy!

Last or first: Brookhollow Condominiums and Calhoun Road traffic count discrepancies are tabled—Perpetual easement granted to well on Elm Grove Rd.

Last on the agenda, Monday night’s Plan Commission voted to table the Brookhollow condominium project because there was not sufficient time for discussion. This delay does give you extra time to contact the Plan Commission members and express your opinion.

The Water Board granted a perpetual easement to a potential municipal well located at Elm Grove Road and I-94. It seems some arrangement has been reached with the land owner and the City--owner gets the city to build a road in exchange for a municipal well on his property?

Alderman Jerry Mellone addressed the Public Works Board Tuesday night with his report questioning the traffic studies and other criteria used to justify the scope of the Calhoun Road widening project. Although last on the agenda, the board voted to move it to item #1. Over 1 ½ hours of discussion followed.

Aldermen Jerry Mellone, Chris Blackburn, and Lisa Mellone brought up many good points about the faulty traffic study used to justify the widening project. The study used 2003, the highest traffic count year, as the base year to add their 2% yearly growth increase to. Trouble is, 2003 was not a typical traffic year; it was a higher than normal year. This has resulted in the projections now being off by a few thousand. Since we are basing the road width needs on this study’s projections, and it is already off target by 2,000-3,000, shouldn’t we reevaluate before proceeding with this very expensive project?

Tom Grisa and Jeff Chase from Engineering defended their plans, stating that they were only doing what the Common Council and Master Plans had asked for. They did say that any project could be changed at any time, but that such changes and delays have consequences.

The question of development came up again too. Chris Blackburn asked, are we willing to got the taxpayers and say, we need $11million in tax dollars to facilitate the highest level of density for VK’s Ruby and WTMJ property? The present plan is based on the VK property being developed at its highest level. But this remains an unknown. No plans have been submitted to the Plan Commission to date. So, we in essence are building the biggest road to accommodate something that is unknown for sometime in the future.

A simple resurfacing of Calhoun was mentioned. Grisa was quick to point out that this would not last and said this would be throwing money away. For comparison, a figure of $220,000 to resurface Sunny Slope Road was cited (similar length, but only 2 lanes from Blue Mound to Greenfield). He called this a band-aid approach to Calhoun’s needs.

Time was ticking on, and so Ponto, Nelson, and Owen voted Yes to table; Blackburn and Lisa Mellone voted No.

I think a band-aid is just what we need right now. With the faulty traffic study (not to mention the conflict of interest in having the traffic study be done by the same firm designing the road), the wetland issues, and the real needs issue pertaining to the VK property development still unknown, I like the idea of the band-aid.

Brookfieldnow.com posting, "Calhoun project isn't any slimmer, New aldermen's efforts frustrate city staff who favor wider road"


Public Works Board Members:
Rick Owen – Chairman rco3@tds.net

Ald. Steve Ponto svponto@execpc.com
Ald. Mark Nelson milwnelson@aol.com

Ald. Christopher Blackburn blackburnc@ci.brookfield.wi.us

Ald. Lisa Mellone lisa@betterbrookfield.com

Ald. Scott Berg, aldermanic alternate

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost!

Calhoun Road traffic counts do not add up

Please attend Tuesday's June 13th Public Works Board meeting (it should start around 7:30 pm? following the 7 pm Water/Sewer Boardmeetingg). Alderman Jerry Mellone will present additional information(#6 on the agenda) in an effort to scale back the expensive and expansive Calhoun Road south project. You may remember that the Common Council approved the current widening design plans (6-lanes/4-lanes) prior to the last April election. Jerry hopes his new information will lead to further reductions. Aldermen Chris Blackburn and Lisa Mellone have also been urging the project be reduced.

Jerry's in-depth report, available on his website, raises important questions concerning alternatives, environmental wetland issues, and inconsistent and exaggerated traffic studies. The traffic specialist Jerry consulted with pointed out that, "It was not a good business practice to have the (Traffic Impact) study conducted by the same road design engineer." That seems pretty obvious to us, but not to the Engineering Department in the City of Brookfield? From what I read on Jerry's website, this specialist is questioning what we have questioned all along: why do we need 4 lanes south of I-94? Traffic counts dowarrantrrent it. The report is a meaty one and includes pictures of the flooded wetlands and historic Ruby Farm. (As the plan stands now, Ruby Farm is in grave danger.) Please take the time to read through it and attend the PWB meeting to show your support.

Don't forget: next week there will be another open house style Public Information Meeting to preview the wider Calhoun Road south plans from 5:30 - 8pm at the Safety Building. Remember, whether you live there or not, it is your tax dollars that pay for it!

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost

Here we go again: Brookhollow's proposed 80 condo units V.S. District 7 residents

On Monday, June 12, the Thomson Corp. will go before the Plan Commission & Review Board seeking approval for their 80 unit condominium project, Brookhollow. Once again, this proposal pits an existing neighborhood against a developer.

So where is this property and what is the controversy? The property is the vacant parcel east of Brookfield Suites (former Embassy Suites) on Moorland Rd. and north of the new Pick 'N Save on Greenfield Ave. It was zoned residential until 1978 when it was rezoned to multifamily "contingent on access to Moorland Rd." In other words, if the property would have its own direct road to Moorland Rd. then its zoning could be increased to multifamily.

Since 1978, vacant properties on Moorland Rd. have all been developed with no thought to protecting a direct access to Moorland Rd. for the vacant Thomson property. Land to the south has been declared a wetland, and land to the west is existing single family. That means the landlocked, vacant parcel east of Moorland would remain single family zoning, right? Wrong! Because of some snafu, that language of requiring Moorland Rd. access was not included in the minutes of the meeting and therefore not binding.

Without its own access road, Brookhollow's 80 condo units--if approved--will use existing Hackberry Lane as their entry road. Eighty condo units could translate to 160 more cars making who knows how many trips a day on the only access road to the existing neighborhood.

The neighborhoods that will be affected by Brookhollow did everything right to protest: they organized, wrote letters, met with the mayor, got experts involved to study water quality issues, etc., but to no avail. Their letters to various city departments were shuffled to other departments and ignored!

If you recall another controversial condo project, Capitol Heights, became an issue during the last campaign. Two aldermen, Brunner and Schellinger--both voted out of office--stated they "regretted" their vote in favor of that project after the fact. (I have heard that Capitol Heights has not sold as quickly as anticipated and so VK has not proceded with the next phase of that project.) I hope Brookhollow will not be another Capitol Heights.

What can be done? District 7 Alderman Lisa Mellone is requesting the size and scope of Brookhollow be scaled back to be more in keeping with the existing adjacent single family residential neighborhoods. The number of units could be cut back as well as the type. The proposed 2 story, 900 sq. ft. condos with underground parking will not blend in with the existing neighborhood as well as fewer, 4 family condo units would. The housing market is not as hot as it once was, so why approve 80 units only to have them remain vacant and become rental property?

Please email the Plan Commission members and request this project be scaled back and water quality issues be examined before approval is given. The Thomson Corp. was very good about accomodating the adjacent neighborhood to their Pick 'N Save complex. We can at least try for that compromising attitude again. Correction: You may attend the Plan Commission meeting, but there is not an opportunity to speak at the meeting.

Plan Commission Members: Jennifer Donze jdonze@wi.rr.com
Gary Mahkorn - Alderman mahkorngd@aol.com
Michael A. Faber mike@capstonequadrangle.com
Mark Nelson - Alderman milwnelson@aol.com
Rick Owen - Alderman rco3@tds.net
Mayor Jeff Speaker - Chairman Speaker@ci.brookfield.wi.us
Paul Wartman paul.wartman@rbcdain.com

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com
Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost!

Don't despair; the Kinsey Park playground IS really coming!

For Kinsey Park area residents, it seems the new playground will never be finished. But don't despair--the Parks & Rec. Dept. still hopes to have it finished before summer starts.

I did contact Director of Parks & Rec. Bill Kolstad, and he confirmed our suspicions about the delay: too much rain which lead to too much grass mowing. (Can we all sympathize?) The same crew that mows city property, medians, and parks is the same group working on installing new park equipment. The extra summer seasonal staff is now on board, which should free up the playground installation crew.

This is the timetable from Bill Kolstad: "The playground structure is just about finished and our intent is to install the refurbished merry-go-round this week. In addition, we are aniticipating delivery of surfacing materials within the week which would be installed ASAP. We should be on track with work schedules and available resources to hopefully complete the project within the next two weeks (weather permitting). That is our objective and we are focusing our efforts in that direction."

So, the goal is to have it finished in about 2 weeks! Many will be pleased to note that the merry-go-round will be returning--there was a lot of interest in that particular piece of equipment.

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost!

Concerned Calhoun Community meeting tonight: Calhoun Road widening, Fire Station relocation, & more!

The C.C.C. will hold an impromptu meeting tonight at 7pm at the Swanson School Cafeteria.

Newly elected District 6 Alderman, Jerry Mellone, will give an update on the Calhoun Road widening project. There will also be reports on the Swanson Site Task Force and the relocation of the Fire Stations.

Lisa Mellone, District 7's newly elected alderman, will be attending and available to discuss your concerns and ideas for our city. Area resident Bob Collison, who is running for Scott Jensen's seat will also be there.

Links: www.betterbrookfield.com and www.brookfieldnow.com

Weed control links: garlic mustard and garlic mustard's pretty cousin, Dame's Rocket. (It can take over native areas too.) Garlic mustard should be thrown in the trash--do not compost!