Wag the Dog

In reviewing the agenda for the Common Council meeting on Tuesday May 6^th, I have to ask myself the question.

Committee of the Whole meeting - Monday May 5, 2008  agenda item H. Discussion of Mayor Taylor's tax levy limit pledge (Ald. Sohns)

Common Council meeting - Tuesday May 6, 2008 6:30pm 

Alderman Lyle Sohns Responds to Tax Pledge - Bullseye - Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Alderman Steve Olson Responds to Tax Pledge - Bullseye - Monday, April 7, 2008

Lets see how this Dog Wagging turns out! 

Today's TMJ 4 blasts Franklin in last nights news for being one few places in Milwaukee County without tornado (formerly know as civil defense) sirens. Kevin Fischer in his blog posting Does Franklin need an overhaul of its warning sirens? suggest we all need to purchase a Weather Alert radio that gives an alarm when impending bad weather is coming. Funny you should mention that Kevin because that is exactly what the Franklin Public School system does and they are serious when it comes to students reacting to the tornado drills as you see in TMJ's video, featuring our own Robinwood Principal Tom Reinke.

Mick Trevey then goes on to interview a Franklin Resident - Rita Bruders:

TODAY’S TMJ4’s Mick Trevey: “Today was the big statewide tornado drill. Did you know about it?”

“No,” Franklin resident Rita Bruders said.

Mick Trevey: “Did you hear a siren?”

“No, I wasn't aware of a siren,” Bruders said.

Trevey: That's because Franklin doesn't have tornado sirens, even though the mayor and the fire chief have both urged the city council to approve them.

The next question Treavey should have asked: If there was a siren what would you do? My guess the answer would be "I don't know". 

Next the interview with the Assistant Fire Chief - Lloyd Bertram:

Mick Trevey: “Does it come down to cost?”

“I'm sure it does. Putting in sirens is a very costly endeavor, to try to find the funding to have that put in place,” Franklin Assistant Fire Chief Lloyd Bertram said.

Note: Kevin Fischer's source at city hall quotes a Franklin Taxpayer price tag of $200,000 since Wisconsin Emergency Management denied a hazard mitigation grant in 2004 that would have provided the city money for tornado sirens. The State does not think it is important enough to pony up the money for Franklin.

Trevey further points out:

The city is considering a reverse 911 system that could call people if there was a tornado warning, but for now, people have to count on weather radios for any information, if they happen to have them turned on. Franklin is one of the few places in Milwaukee County where you can't hear the sirens, but for the people that live in Franklin, that's small consolation.

OK Mick I grew up in the City of West Allis where we had a siren two blocks away. It went off at noon every Wednesday and guess what ... people ignore them.

They were angry when they went off by accident or when there was just a thunderstorm. These sirens were originally set up for Civil Defense and people have become oblivious to them. My guess if you interviewed a dozen people in the other Milwaukee County communities about the siren, many would say What siren? and What the heck is the Statewide Tornado Siren drill?

Alright, I have to ask, are you willing to pay more in taxes to get these sirens installed or are you going to go out to buy a weather radio with an alarm, just like FPS did?

Most of the Franklin Bloggers and commentators just chided the Council on the funny name the Zizzo group came up for the district, while Greg felt he needed to take it to the extreme.

Talk about WAGGING THE DOG.

Updated 4/24/2008 - 10:46PM

Greg Responded with:

My apologies to Greg as his posting looked like he was taking up 2+ hours of the Mayors time to discuss the naming of the Boomgaard District. You may remember that Greg currently is Vice Chairman of the Environmental Commission and an employee of Alderman Kristen Wilhelms Conservancy organization Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy (MALC) .

A Tip of the hat to Franklin BULLSEYE blogger Fred Keller as he sums up so perfectly the latest news about New BerlinNOW bloger Linda Richter in his Saw You in the News posting.

It seems that her current legal woes are due to Linda 's involvement through her We Care New Berlin-PAC that allegedly lied three times in the groups sponsored campaign literature, about JJ Blonien. Blonien was the opposing aldermanic candidate for New Berlins 6th District while the group supported, Bill Moore, the incumbent.

It is good to see the bad karma return to this mean spirited Blog Roll friend of one of our own FranklinNOW bloggers. This FranklinNOW blogger encouraged us all  to read Linda's inflammatory, Anti-Kevin Fisher blog just a few months ago even though she herself was featured as a personal attack blogger in a March 2008 Milwaukee Magazine article.

The NewBerlinNOW.com site features a similar war pitting blogger and ex-school board member Linda Richter against blogger Matt Thomas, current vice president of the board and a leader of its conservative majority. Talk about getting personal: Richter publicized the bankruptcy records of Thomas on her blog to undermine his claim as a champion of fiscal sobriety.

Her now infamous blogs promoted us to be calling State Senator Mary Lazych to reprimand and gag, Kevin Fischer, for accusations of name calling of other bloggers and commenter's to his FranklinNOW blog. I certainly hope we can encourage our friends that are New Berlin residents to contact the Waukesha DA and encourage him to prosecute Linda along with her group to the fullest extent of the law if he finds the allegations to be true.

Yes it looks like Actions Do Have Consequences for EVERYBODY!

Other reading on the subject:

• Matt Thomas's The Right Side of New Berlin - Breaking News: Criminal Complaint Filed Against Linda Richter, Rush Wilkens & Ray McInerney
• The Daily Scoff - The Richter Scale of Injustice

• Tonight’s City Council meeting included the swearing in of Mayor Tom Taylor, new Aldermen Kristen Wilhelm (3^rd District) , Steve Taylor (4^th District) and incumbent 6^th District alderman Ken Skowronski.
  
  During the citizen comment period after the swearing in, former 4^th Distinct alderman Pete Kosovich gave a very touching speech, summing up his past years on the council, the election and a promise in his best TERMINATOR  voice “ I’ll be back”.
  
   
• The interesting surprise of the night, was that new alderman Steve Taylor, was elected Council President.  Steve was nominated for the position by new alderman Kristen Wilhelm. Former Council President Lyle Sohns was also nominated.  Alderman Steve Olson was out of town on business but had requested the council wait until the next meeting for the Council President vote. Despite this request the nominations and the vote went ahead,  three to two in favor of Steve Taylor for Council President.
  
   I believe the two new council members that were voted in during the April 1^st election will make their mark on this council.  
  
  There was no WAGGING THE DOG at tonight's meeting or was there?

FranklinNOW editor Mark Maley has come through as promised with the Honor Rolls for the City of Franklin. This feature should be updated on a regular basis according to Mark.  I am a firm believer that academic excellence should be featured in the community just as we praise our students for their athletic and extracurricular achievements. After all, isn't this the key reason we are willing to pay the taxes we do, for the kids.

Or am I just WAGGING THE DOG here?

The Franklin insurance executive of National Insurance Co. and his wife have given $1 million to the YMCA proposed for Franklin, claiming the naming rights to the new complex located just north of the Northwestern Mutual Networks Franklin campus.

As you may remember, Northwestern donated the 4.3 million dollar, 18 acre, piece of land the complex will be built on.

With these donations plus 1.4 to 2 million in additional fund raising, the YMCA is looking to open its doors in Franklin in the spring of 2009.

The 45,000-square-foot Franklin center being marketed as a "Healthy Lifestyle Village," in collaboration with Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare is expected to include an indoor track, multi-lane swimming pool, group exercise studios and a child care center. A medical clinic and physician’s offices will be built by the Wheaton’s adjacent to the YMCA.

Third - Congratulations to former FranklinNOW (now solo flying with BULLSEYE) blogger Fred Keller with his effort to get Franklin elected officials to sign a pledge to keep tax increases to under 3%. He has taken some criticism from other bloggers as to the impossibility of this pledge. Yet he is getting members of the Franklin Common Council to sit down and discuss how they might be able to back a tax cutting pledge.

Despite the half empty glass, views of some FranklinNOW bloggers, this positive action by Fred shows that there are Franklin Taxpayers who are willing to go one step further than just talking about how things should be.  As Steve Taylor - unconfirmed (but soon to be confirmed) 4th District aldermanic candidate said at the candidates forum "Almost all the people I talked with have said we need to lower property taxes".

Well Fred is trying to make sure everyone got the message.

Just got this message that I think is important to pass along about the Franklin Sex Offender Steve Hanke and his upcoming trial.

Just a reminder that Hanke is the convicted Sex Offender that who is in violation of the city's tough ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live. Several months after the ordinance took effect Hanke purchased a home in Franklin and is now living near Forest Park Middle School.

Last November Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Franke ruled against the city of Franklin's lawsuit brought against sex offender Steve Hanke who, has continued to live in his Franklin home 600 feet from Forest Park.

Please read the message below.

                                                   Steve Hanke

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On Monday April 14^th at 10:00 a.m., the case of Steve Hanke vs. the City of Franklin will be heard again at the Milwaukee County Courthouse in the courtroom of Justice Franke.

It appears that one of three decisions will be made:

1.        Dismiss the case (Hanke wins)

2.       Summary Judgment (Franklin wins)

3.       Case goes to trial (this is unlikely because there is no dispute of fact in the case)

(Thanks Alderman Olson for the above synopsis!)

Many of you have been supportive in the past by taking the time to attend the hearings in person.  If you are able, your presence in the courtroom next Monday is needed.  Not only is it important for the Judge to see that we are a unified community that wants to see our ordinance upheld, but it is also important for our neighbors in the area of 76^th and Forest Hill Avenue to see that the entire community stands with them.

This is not a single neighborhood issue!  This is case is vitally important in protecting our entire community from sex offenders and it may set an importance precedent for other communities around the state.

If you still have your  yard signs in support of Ordinance 167, please be sure they are out!  I’m sure your yards are empty now with all the election signs gone.  A bit of decoration in support of our neighbors and Ord. 167 would be great!!!

Please, if your schedule permits, join us in the courthouse on Monday, April 14^th!

As always, Thank you!

Shari Hanneman

As I  brought up in an earlier blog about the Franklin High School honor roll not being published. I have followed up on this with the editor of FranklinNOW and keep getting promises that it will be coming. It seems that they are waiting on some software to make it easier to publish our local school's honor rolls.

The original due date was mid-March which has come and gone, as we are finishing up with the 3rd quarter of this school year.

Several folks from the private schools in Franklin along with Tanya Ruder the Communications Specialist of the Franklin Public schools have told me they are ready to work with FranklinNOW editors to get this information published on the NOW website.

My question is. Will we be asking this same question next year?

If so, FranklinNOW, don't encourage the schools to send their honor roll lists, just remove it from your website

For Mayor, Tom Taylor easily swept challenger Basil Ryan with Taylor taking 67% of the vote to Ryan’s 33%. I don’t think there were any surprises here.

In the District 3 Aldermanic election Kristen Wilhelm squeaked out a win with 608 votes to  Al Hammelman’s  602 votes. Do the math, that is an obvious 6 votes and not much of a mandate but …...

Last but not least, Greg Kowalski said that Pete Kosovich had given up running for his Districts 4 Aldermanic seat. With a 50/50 % vote. Challenger Steve Taylor received 741 votes to Pete’s 730 votes. Not bad for someone who supposedly gave up!

Update 3/30/08 - Another call From Basil

It must be getting down to the wire since the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has endorsed Mayor Tom Taylor for Franklin Mayor.

I just got another call from Basil Ryan's service reminding me not to listen to the smear concerning his aldermanic recall election and to give him a call or go to his website.

Between his professional brochures showing up every other day and these phone calls. This isn't going to be a cheep run at the Mayor's office for Basil.

I wanted to wait until after the final Candidates Forum that was held at the Franklin Public Library on Monday night March 24th until I gave my opinion as to my voting preferences for the April 1st election, in the City of Franklin. While I do not live in the 3rd and 4th district, I do have an opinion on those races also.

So what is the basis for my voting preferences, 1) I read as much as I can about the candidates 2) I am involved with city as a technology commissioner and make observations. 3) I occasionally go to city council meetings and have stopped by at several of the other commission meetings. 4) I occasionally attend School Board meetings and have two children in the school system. 5) I attended both of the candidates forums. 6) I did not talk to any of the candidates on a one to one basis to allow  for a bias.  7) I do not look at political web pages for presentation but rather content. 8) I have lived in Franklin since 1989 and have followed Franklin politics since I came here to live. 9) I try not to forget what a politician has done because you never know when they will pop back up for an election. 10) I talk to my neighbors for their opinion.

Last but not least GUT FEELING. I find that has been fairly on target in my 52 years on this earth.

Armed with that information, I will let you know who I am going to vote for and who I would vote for if they were in my district.

When the 4 members of the School Board Candidates were asked at the March 19th School Board Forum. Who would they vote for Mayor? All of them felt uncomfortable but answered the question. All four candidates said with out a doubt -  Mayor Tom Taylor.

For varying reasons, one by one stated that Tom Taylor was a know leader and all felt he had done a good job leading the City of Franklin. There was not one mention of Basil Ryan, neither for good or bad reasons.  In that same vein, I too am going to vote for Mayor Tom Taylor. I know the job he has done, I know what kind of Alderman he was, because Tom was my alderman during the time of Basil Ryan's term as alderman.

While I am not crazy about the tax increases we have seen during Tom Taylor's years as Mayor, I can not say Basil Ryan has come up with anything concrete that shows me he will control them any better. Just a promise, which in my book, politicians do all the time and then forget what they promised.  On top of this, during Basil Ryan's time as alderman,  I saw a turbulent period of time on the City Council with allegations of litigation, misuse of aldermanic influence, and general kaos between the council members. We currently do not have those issues now.

Bottom line is, for now, I think Tom Taylor is the safe bet for Franklin.

First off let me say, the four people who are running for the two open positions on the School Board, deserve a whole lot of respect, given the information that has come out on the current Board members. All four, Dennis Butler, Edward Holpfer, Linda Witkowski and David Works are extremely qualified to sit on the School Board. They all are looking for better communication with the electorate, better board teamwork, and better student performance.

 I told them after last Wednesdays Candidate Forum, "I hope those that do not win this time will consider a run to replace the current members next April."

While all the candidates had similar responses to most of the questions, the two that stood out in my mind as to be the best of the four were Ed Holpfer (experienced) and David Works (dedicated).

Some of the statements that led me to believe this were:

When it comes to additional space and a new referendum " We need to separate the needs from the wants for a new referendum"  - David Works

"Let's look at the most cost effective way to achieve the additional space needed" - Ed Holpfer

When discussing a question concerning the Oak-Creek Franklin School district and how they have the 27th Street corridor as a major contributor to their School District.

Holpfer came up with this unique idea: Instead of trying to get Oak Creek - Franklin boundaries changed (a lucrative business ladened area) we could go to the State Legislature to negotiate paying a set amount per child attending the Oak Creek - Franklin School district, and the rest could go back to Franklin. 

"Don't tell me what we can't do. Let's see what we can do to make it work."  is Ed's battle cry and I believe he means it.  Dennis Butler and Linda Witkowski said that there is no way that Oak Creek would let Franklin out of any agreement and it would take much work with the State legislature to work toward that end. I feel that is a defeatist attitude that the current board is known for.

Lastly, Ed Holpfer was the only candidate in Monday's Forum that referred to the Franklin Public Schools Facility Needs Survey Report stating that a new High School was not wanted by the majority of the survey that the School District paid for but ignored by the current board. Both Dennis Butler and Linda Witkowski said that they favored the replacement of the High School. This was a major difference among the three candidates at the March 24th forum and this stuck out in my mind.

If you are looking for change this may be the place to consider. While the two current alderman have done an adequate job as alderman. Neither has stood out as a must stay in office for Franklin to survive. Neither has done much to let you know as their alderman, that you must keep them in office other than a stay the course campaign.

While I have at times, reported on Kristen Wilhelm who is running in District 3 against incumbent Alan Hammelman. I find her to be a breath of fresh air (no pun intended as she is the current Environmental Commission Chair). Her enthusiasm linked to green background may be what the City of Franklin needs for a kick in the pants. In reading her website and brochures, I can agree with many of the issues she wants to change including those concerning safety.

In the 4th District incumbent Peter Kosovich is usually the quiet one at the Council meetings that I have attended. He is running against Steve Taylor, a recent Environmental Commission member add. As much younger opponent (age 32), Steve just may have fresh ideas that the council could use along with his youthful enthusiasm. Taylor has been active in local government as an alderman in LaCrosse, WI and a Planning Commissioner in MN. I think his enthusiasm is something the citizens in the 4th district may be looking for. Steve Taylor also has a great sense of humor chiding, Tom Taylor that next time their is a Mayoral  election, there still may be a Taylor running for office.

To my surprise, what I found was a whole page on Mayor Taylor’s website full of Basil Ryan’s historical lawsuits, his recall election, a denunciation of Mr. Ryan’s claim to reduction of tax rates while an alderman along with the posting of Council Meeting minutes that showed Mr. Ryan was not in attendance for approval of the City’s 2004 Budget in November of 2003 and lastly a paragraph in which the Mayor categorically is denying  Mr. Ryan’s statement that Taylor lobbied for improper pension buybacks.

J Here is Mayor Taylor's Web Page on Basil Ryan his Opponent

I might be a little late on this one but, during my Sabatical in the month of January I missed this little tidbit in the news. 

Could our local FranklinNOW food critic be luring Cameron's Steakhouse to Franklin some time in the future? Has he been having private conversations with Cameron Mitchell too? After all Cameron Mitchell operates Mitchell’s Fish Market at Brookfield Square Mall.

Or given all the hype of "upscale dining" at the affluent Bayshore Town Center, would the push for "upscale dining" here in Franklin tank also?

I believe that the real litmus test will be how the candidates perform at the Candidate Forum sponsored by the Franklin Area Junior Women's club and the South Suburban Chamber on Monday at 6:30 pm, March 24th at the Franklin Public Library.  I am sure that Franklin voters will be asking difficult questions of both the candidates, their background and their future plans for Franklin.

For now the Websites are just a preaty facade:

•  Tom Tayor for Mayor Website
• Basil Ryan for Mayor Website

One of our FranklinNOW bloggers has pointed out what he feels to be smear tactics by incumbent Mayoral candidate Tom Taylor. The blog never states what those smears are but just points to where you may find them.

While perusing Kristen Wilhelm's 3rd District aldermanic candidate website (one of the Election links featured on his blogsite) , a couple of phrases came across that could be misconstrued as smears to Kristen's opponent Al Hammelman....

One was " Special interest goals have become entrenched within the Council and it is time for a change! " on Kristen's I will be a stronger voice for the taxpaying citizens page. I would say Kristen could be implying her opponent Al Hammelman, is a pawn of of special interests as he is a current council member.

The other  is "The 3rd District is being ignored and the citizens need a stronger voice. For our Council, it has been all about opportunistic development, while the safety issues for the 3rd District increase with each passing day." on Kristen's Why is Kristen the 3rd District's better choice? page. Looks like Kristen is saying Al Hammelman finds it more important to go after "Opportunistic Development" rather than safety issues in the 3rd District and that he ignores his constituents.

Kristen also states "Over the past eight years of my volunteer work in the City, I have not been intimidated by the Council or the special interest groups that bring their business before the City."  One only needs to read Janet Evans WHY THE EC BUGS ME to understand what Kristen means.

So is Kristen Wilhelm smearing her opponent on her election blog by tying Al Hammelman to Special interests and opportunistic developers?

I don't really think so.

No more than, Tom Taylor is tying past law suits to his opponent Basil Ryan as a picture of his future performance, if he was elected Mayor.

In case it has escaped you, a new retail expansion development due to open this spring has been going up on the south side of the Lowes Home Center. This development has a town center flavor and has a southern exposure to Rawson Avenue. Unlike most of the retail developments that we have seen on 27^th street, you notice that there is four sided architecture with multi-architectural elements not seen on most so called strip malls.  The available square footage of the Lowes Development is approximately 11 to 14 thousand square feet of retail space.