Issues you care about "With your involvement, we can build a sense of community."

I-94 Reconstruction from Holt Avenue to the State Line

Click here for the latest updates from the Department of Transportation. Their latest update on closings and traffic flow modifications runs through Late Spring, 2010.

Community Safety - RE: WIDE LANES

I want to thank all of you that took the time to get involved in our community. We have just began to set new standards for design and citizen input. Franklin is a clean, safe community with excellent police, fire, and other dedicated city employees. We have a wonderful library, many civic groups, and a school system that is successful at educating the young hearts and minds of our future leaders.

Yet many times I wonder how we got to this point:

A city full of roads and streets that are enormously forbidding and hostile to anyone not traveling in a vehicle;

A city where we cannot allow our children to walk a few thousand feet to school or ride their bikes to the Little League diamonds;

A city where the high school requires huge parking lots and congests the road morning and afternoon because students who live in subdivisions adjacent to the school have no safe bike or foot route;

A city where local businesses struggle and cannot gain a foothold due to the lack of community space nurtured here;

A city overlooked by business and commercial opportunities because we lack public spaces that encourage out-of-town visitors and regular, repeat customers.

As a bloated 51st street took another step forward without even a concept plan for discussion by the Council or the public’s view, it became clearer and clearer what brought us here. There seems to be a fear that if you are not a professional you can’t make a sound decision for your own neighborhood. The professionals have all the answers. The -sit back, relax, don’t worry - we know what you need attitude- needs to be put aside and we need to come together to find a common vision. After all, many of YOU are professionals too plus have local neighborhood knowledge.

The Mayor’s veto provides an opportunity to send a strong message that while we can’t always agree on everything, your input is valid and needs to be considered. It’s vitally important that we use a different approach or we will continue to chip away at the very elements that attracted us to live here initially.

I will do my best not cry wolf but your support may be needed again soon if the Mayor’s veto is to be upheld. In addition to the points suggested below I will have several points on my website that may help you formulate a convincing email to the Council members. We need to let them know we want a plan that includes citizen input.

1.      In coordination with DOT staff in the SE Waukesha Regional office, direct staff to complete web and literature research for the purpose of summarizing optional road designs and to include safety results of street widening in purely residential neighborhoods.

2.      Direct the Park Commission, using neighborhood input, to research future sports related and school access bike/walk commuter route opportunities to integrate with residential neighborhoods.

3.      Hold neighborhood meetings to learn the common vision and to achievement the outcome for items 1&2.

I am looking forward to jointly seeking solutions that will result in increasing safety while maintaining the value of our homes and our city.

Walkable Neighborhoods - The lack of marked lanes, walkways, and sidewalks compromise pedestrian safety and passage throughout Franklin. This may contribute to injuries or fatalities in our community.

One particular concern for my district is the Pleasant View School neighborhood, where the only safe walking area for children is proposed to be a mixed traffic area. There are safer alternatives. The Council will take this matter up again. Update: This matter has been tabled until Spring 2009 without funding.

Another example of a serious pedestrian safety issue is College Avenue. College is the northern border of the 3rd District, from 27th to roughly 43rd St. College Avenue is a county highway (Hwy ZZ) in need of improvement. Flooding is also an issue in this area. Frequently, I pass people of all ages walking on this dangerous, narrow shoulder, even at night when they are nearly invisible. It is only a matter of time before there is a fatality. This safety concern is shared by the adjoining communities. As your alderman, I will work with the corresponding representatives to address this issue.

My final example is the corner of 51st and Drexel Avenue. This corner, especially during school days, is extremely dangerous for students trying to walk to and from Franklin High School. I join many concerned Franklin residents on this issue, and will support additional traffic safety measures and pedestrian walks. Residents should be able to travel without risk to Franklin High School for class, school activities, and events. The current situation is unacceptable.

These examples help to explain why I support connectivity and creating safe, walkable neighborhoods for Franklin residents.

Sycamore to 35th - I do not support connecting these streets and there is no request being made to do so. Update: The Council voted to vacate the Sycamore Street extension. The utility access easements documents have been approved by Council and are being signed by the utility partners.

Taxes - Since 1980, the total number of households in Franklin has doubled. Residential development costs the city more than business, as additional services need to be provided for new residents and their children, vs. business development, which creates more economic activity (jobs) and brings money to the community. To prevent declining home values, zoning locations need to consider the surrounding uses.

Businesses should include restaurants and family operations or more regional businesses that can give our city an identity. Larger businesses should include corporations with high employment needs and good pay (i.e. Northwestern Mutual, Harley Davidson). High-paying corporations can be significant, long-term partners that substantially increase the value and profile of a community. I will support attracting local businesses that will help money circulate longer in Franklin, versus bringing in large, retail corporations (i.e., Wal-Mart, Shopko, Home Depot) that you can find anywhere.

Taxes and the School District - Many things are right about our schools - a near-perfect graduation rate and test scores well above the state averages. Good schools are part of a great community but they also make a large demand on our tax revenues. How to provide funding is an ongoing challenge.

Sections of the 3rd District (and 4th District) are in the Oak Creek School district. While there is much displeasure about the 27th street businesses tax revenue going to Oak Creek rather than Franklin, attempts to change this school division have been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, Franklin continues to put TIF Districts in this area. A district change would also mean the need to prepare our school system to take in all the additional children. I am open to this change if it is carefully assessed from a cost, as well as a quality standpoint.

Increasing our tax revenue by approving more residential development is not the answer. More residents just increase the demand for bigger schools, which the state share is inadequate to address. I believe in redirecting quality business development to create a central Franklin business district. The school district must be frugal with our tax dollars and they need to keep us informed on where and why our tax dollars are being spent.

Taxes, Development, and Community Identity - What makes a community worth living in? Some responses are safe neighborhoods, clean air and rural character, good schools, convenient and varied shopping, and job opportunities with good pay.

Development will continue but it should be attractive and add positive character to a city. Habitat for people should trump habitat for cars. A drive down 27th Street between College and Rawson provides a perfect example of an area that is not pedestrian friendly. We must do better. Money has been allocated by our present Council for the 27th Street corridor improvements. I want to be your voice so the 3rd District's portion of 27th Street receives fair share of these funds.

Development can best help Franklin by being directed to a City Center. Currently, our council has ignored the need for a city center by changing civic center zoning to facilitate opportunistic development proposals or ignoring civic center guidelines when approving developments within this area. As your council member, I will insist that valid zoning requirements be followed and the character of developments not be sacrificed for short-term economic gains at the expense of our City's character. I will support development that can find creative solutions to maintaining important natural resources over the big box in the center of the sand box mentality.

Additional Community Safety Issues

Sexual Predators - I fully believe in the right to know the whereabouts and identity of these people and the need to keep our children safe from them. We need to protect our community from convicted sexual offenders.

We should be aware that the typical offender commits over 100 such crimes before being apprehended and convicted. As a resident of Franklin, you should know that you may register at www.familywatchdog.us to be notified if a convicted offender takes up residence within a distance you specify from your home address and two additional addresses.

Police and Fire - Staffing needs will continue as our city grows. Keeping up with response times is important to our safety. I will support proper training, state-of-the-art technology, and making use of grant funding to cut hiring costs. This is an area where we should be frugal but not at the expense of our safety.

Conservation and Natural Resources - We need to be careful stewards of our natural resources. In 1989, Franklin had 17% (about 6 sq. miles) of its total 34.7 sq. miles remaining of significant natural habitat areas. This figure is lower today. Much of this land is within the floodplain of the Root River and owned by Milwaukee County. We should ask ourselves; when Franklin is fully developed, is less than 17% enough?

If we are to have important flood protection areas and wildlife movement corridors (that help to keep deer off our roads), then it is important to put a conservation plan in place that will protect the rural character many of us live here to enjoy. Our resources and historical features do not have to be in competition with development. They can be included as amenities, which provide beauty and relief from asphalt parking lots. Natural features maintain property values.