The Forum

There is a fairly serious misapplication of words in the Village that I need to address. During the previous two election cycles, I heard a number of times that, while an individual voter may have liked me personally, s/he would not support me because "I heard you are a Republican".

First off, I campaigned on a variety of issues including environmental responsibility, improved senior citizen facilities, rights for low income renters, installing wi-fi infrastructure in Shorewood, more money for Shorewood schools, fiscal restraint, and shifting part of the tax burden onto businesses by encouraging pro-growth policies. Those positions could not possibly be used to triangulate any partisan affiliation on either side.

I would further argue that the words "Republican" and "Democrat" have no place whatsoever in Shorewood political parlance. For example, would Republicans differ from Democrats in their approach to road construction and sewer maintenance? Do Democrats take a differing stance on the unfunded pension liability or TIF financing? What would a Republican say about Zoning variances or parking fines? Do Democrats have unique beliefs on pet licensing, class B liquor licenses, or joint purchasing agreements? What would Republicans do to reduce the duplex vacancy rate? How would a Democrat approach asbestos abatement contracts?

These are the types of issues that are the responsibility of the Village Government. They do not, in my view, have even a remote relationship to partisan politics.

So come next year, when you hear whispering from a neighbor that one candidate or another is a hard right, reactionary fascist or a left wing, bleeding heart communist, I challenge you to do two things.

1. Read the candidates literature or listen to him/her speak. See if you agree with the candidate on the issues rather than making your decision based on a label applied to him/her by someone else.

2. Ask the rumor-monger which particular municipal issues they believe will be affected by that candidate's alleged party affiliation.

We have enough partisanship at the state and national levels to cause division and bitterness. Let us not let it infect our Village politics.

Section 13-216 Injuring or Killing Birds

It shall be unlawful for any person to injure or kill any kind of bird in the Village except that starlings, English sparrows, and homeless pigeons, which are hereby declared a public nuisance, may be trapped or destroyed under the supervision of the Health Department.

I intended to go to the Marketing Steering Committee meeting this evening at 7:30 PM. Unfortunately, upon arrival at Village Hall, it became apparent that the PM in that last sentence should have been an AM. So I missed it.

For those of you who do not know, Shorewood is engaged in an initiative to create a Shorewood "brand," to better control the messages that are out there about Shorewood. I fully support this initiative, as the Village competes for future residents and attempts stem the population decline. However, being a marketing professional myself, I am skeptical of several aspects of the process itself.

How are the Trustees involved actually contributing? There are no marketing professionals among the Trustees at this time. Other than President Johnson, the business background of the assembled group is marginal (2 lawyers, an architect, a professor, a fund raiser, and a stay at home mom). As such, it remains to be seen how the initiative progresses if it is up to Trustees to lead.

Often, non-marketing professionals get caught up in an endless cycle of data collection when required to make a marketing decision. Collecting marketing data is outrageously expensive, so this trend can be dangerous.

Anyway, I will try to round up some of the presentations and materials from these meetings and post them here.

In the year 2004, the Village of Shorewood collected $354,404 in parking fines.

All of us on the NW Corner have been anxiously anticipating the completion of the construction project on Glendale and Woodburn. Anyone who has seen one of the streets recently knows they look great, but that the project is not quite complete. For instance, there are no manhole covers yet, and the street is still a few inches below the other streets. The following is an update from Jim Bartinicki, head of the DPW.

"The asphalt you see on Glendale and Woodburn is the first lift of asphalt (3 1/2"), the second lift (1 1/2") will be put down at a later date.

What happens now? Actually we're going to be digging the asphalt up to raise the manholes and valve boxes up to finished grade. They can't pave a road with the manholes sticking up in the air, so they leave them buried when they put the first lift on the base. Then they dig down and adjust the manholes frames and valve boxes to finished grade, a point where they can pave over everything and it's all at the same grade when all is said and done.

I would expect they'll be ready to put down the final lift sometime in early August, which will be about a month ahead of schedule."

The North Shore American Legion Post 331 is located at 4121 N Wilson Dr, the last building on the west side of Wilson Dr, as you head North. Their website has this to say::

"Since August 9, 1935 the North Shore Post 331 has been serving the Veterans and the residents of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point and the near North Shore area. Our Post, Marches in the 4th of July Parade, holds Memorial Day Services at Atwater Beach, sends students from Shorewood High School Badger Boys State and is active in many other Charitable functions."

In addition to their many veteran advocacy and charitable activities, they also operate a tavern on the lower level, which serves as the closest thing to a neighborhood watering hole we have in this part of Shorewood. The Post registers only at the periphery of most people's consciousness as they hurtle down Wilson Drive between point A and point B.



But those who stop in will be rewarded. The Post serves a terrific fish fry on Fridays, and $1.25 tacos on Wednesdays. The wait staff is friendly, and the beer is inexpensive and in plentiful variety. Odds are good you will find veterans of many of our Nation's wars gathered around the bar enjoying the ruthless humor that is a trademark of military men and women. If you are looking for a local landmark with a personality all its own, the Legion Post will fit the bill.

An article in Tuesday's Journal Sentinel had this to say about our population levels.

"Four [municipalities] - Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, Brown Deer and Shorewood - ranked among the five worst municipalities statewide in the percentage of population decline, among communities of at least 5,000 people."

According to the table presented in the article, we have lost 571 people from the year 2000 to the year 2005. The article points to smaller household sizes as the key driver of the population decline. It also mentions changing housing preferences toward large houses in the exurbs as a reason for lower demand for suburban homes. The article goes on to say,

”In Shorewood, village officials are attempting to redevelop the core area along Oakland Ave., the community's main commercial strip, to include housing. The community development authority has purchased three buildings in the 4500 block of Oakland Ave. and intends to construct a large, condominium development or housing for seniors.

"We saw this trend coming," said Chris Swartz, village manager. "We're working on it."”

I have no doubt that these measures will go part of the way toward solving the problem. I fully support the bold initiatives being drafted by the Village Board at this very moment. However, there is one piece of the Shorewood missing from this analysis: rental properties. Of the 6,696 housing units available in Shorewood, 3,429 of them (52%) are rental units. Although I have not been able to find hard data stating our precise vacancy rate, anecdotally, the rate seems very high these days. In my previous two runs for trustee, many landlords mentioned a drastic up-tick in rental vacancy rates. On the two blocks near my house, there a total of eight units for rent. The house next door to me has been for rent at least since I moved in, back in August 2005. Driving around on Oakland, Capitol, and Wilson, it seems that nearly every building has had a for rent sign in front of it for most of the last year.

I will have much more to say about renters in the future. But for now, I would strongly encourage Village officials not to ignore rental vacancies when assessing the causes of population decline.

Shorewood still has the opportunity to be at the leading edge of the Wi Fi revolution, though our progress on this initiative has lagged. Cities across the nation, including Milwaukee, are in various stages of either discussing Wi Fi, or moving forward with it, so our window of opportunity to be a leader is closing fast. Given the amount of time, effort, and money being spent to improve the Shorewood business district, it makes perfect sense to add Wi Fi to the progress we are making in the Village.

"So Steve", I have been asked, "how much would it cost Shorewood to make this magic Wi Fi beanstalk grow?" That is the beauty of it. For the village, it is 100% free. For residents, average subscription costs across the country are in the $20 range. Compared to the $30-$60 paid by many subscribers at this time, $20 sounds like a bargain to me.

We can go one of two ways. We can do Wi Fi soon, and gain headlines and notice as an exciting and innovative town, reinventing itself to compete for new residents and businesses. Or we can do Wi Fi later, after everyone else has done it, and gain no such headlines. Either way, Wi Fi will be installed in Shorewood. In 10 or 15 years, Wi Fi will be installed everywhere. Will there be difficulties? Uncertainties? Of course there will, as with any new technology. But the train is leaving the station. And I believe it is time we get on board.

In many municipalities around the country, there are laws left over from days gone by that defy logic or reason. As a part of running for office, I read most of the village ordinances, and came across some strange ordinances right here in Shorewood. For no reason other than to lighten up your day, I introduce the “Odd Ordinance of the Day” series. For your reading pleasure, I will post a bizarre ordinance currently on the books in Shorewood ever week or so.

Ch 13, Section 13-217 Keeping of Bees

It shall be unlawful for any person to keep or maintain in his possession or under his control or care within the Village, any bees or colony of bees; the keeping of any bees or colony of bees in the Village is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.

Welcome to The Forum, a blog about Shorewood. As I see it, The Forum will serve two purposes.

1. The Forum will be a site where citizens of Shorewood can come together for a meaningful discussion of issues related to our local government. I will point out articles, resources, and websites that clarify confusing issues, and bring the truth to light. My hope is that The Forum will serve as a place for an open discussion, and well as a resource for those who wish to learn more about the many issues affecting our village and its government. While I may mix in my own opinion from time to time, I will make it clear what is fact vs opinion.

2. This is also a blog about every day life in Shorewood. I will write about goings on in our village, as well as the restaurants, the festivals, the people, the places, and everything else that makes our village what it is today. I will write about St Roberts, Atwater Park, Hubbard Park, The Legion Post, City Market, Bakers Square, Pick N Save, Sendik’s, Shorewood PC, The Sommelier’s Palate, and everything in between.

As of now, there is no mechanism for leaving feedback on this blog, but we hope to resolve that soon. In the meantime, please email me your comments at stevekoczela@yahoo.com, and I will publish them with your name attached, as a part of a regular posting.