Wednesday thoughts

The old Waukesha Rubber plant is being demolished to make room for the controversial privately-owned Carroll College dorm building.  The neighbors hate it, but every single one of them chose to live near a college.  Its like the people that move out to the far suburbs then complain that the farmers are using manure.  Every time I walked or drove by the building I couldn’t stop thinking about what a terrible eyesore it was.  Actually that whole area south of La Estacion and the old Fox Head brewery between Grand and Maple all the way to College is an eyesore.  This is the first step in cleaning up the southern gateway to downtown.  Now if we could only do something about the west side of downtown along Broadway….

I cannot help but wonder how many Presidential debates there will be by the time elections roll around next year.  There was another one last night I have ignored all of them.  I am a political junkie (I majored in Political Science in college) and I just cannot get into them.  Maybe its because I just cannot get into any of the candidates.  I am not a fan of Hillary and I think Obama may not have the experience that is necessary to hold the office just yet, though I do agree with him on some core issues.  I ran through the Candidate Selector at SelectSmart.com and my top 5 results were:

1. Christopher Dodd, who I cannot stand and think is a phony, especially after watching him waffle his way through Meet The Press last Sunday

2. Barack Obama, who I will probably end up voting for in the primary.  Though I am considering crossing over and voting for Giuliani because I think his candidacy would ensure a Democratic victory in November.

3. Dennis Kucinich, who has about as much of a chance to win as I do even though I think I agree with him on most issues that I consider important.

4. Hillary, another phony.  I just cannot support someone who supported the Iraq War and is now opposing it.  She claims she only supported it because of faulty information, which is bullshit.  These people supported the resolution because nobody really thought Bush would be stupid and arrogant enough to invade Iraq.  He called their bluff.  She only opposes it now because the Democratic party would disown her if her position was the same as Bush’s.  

5. Joe Biden, another Iraq war supporter who has flip-flopped.  Besides the war issue and  his propensity to say stupid stuff (particularly abut Obama and Indian-Americans), I kind of like him.

 …and now for sports

An interesting team name came up on Curt Schilling’s 38 Pitches Blog.  Curt will be a free agent for the first time in his 21 year career.  He listed the teams he would be interested in going to.  Surprisingly one of those teams is the Milwaukee Brewers.  This is one of the first times I have heard a baseball player of his caliber mention the Brewers as a team that the would like to play for.  It used to be the Brewers would only show up on no-trade clauses in people’s contracts.  I am glad the Brewers are at a point where people see that they are doing well and want to be a part of it.  Not that Schilling is that good anymore, but if the Brewers can sign him to a 1 or 2 year deal it might really help them get over the hump. 

Downtown happenings on Saturday

I went downtown for the last farmers market of the year (how depressing).  I picked up some cabbage, onions, smoked lamb bratwurst from Greek Acres, and an awesome baguette from Back To Bread Bakery, which is located in Wales.   I also checked out the cooking demo by Andrew Ruggeri.  He said they aim to open the Black Trumpet restaurant in March.  He really seems excited about his project as well as other happenings downtown. 

I also stopped by the tent where the real estate people set up booths for various Waukesha projects.  There are a couple of exciting residential developments that should breathe some more owner-occupied residential life into downtown including a complete renovation of the building at the southwest corner of Maple and Main, across from Otto’s Fine Art Academy.  The building is boarded up now (as you can see in the photo above), but looking at a couple of sketches of the inside, it looks very impressive.  I think that the west end of downtown needs more life to it and this is another step in the right direction.   It is being redone by Tom and Vicky Hekkers and if it looks anything like their house (in an old Studebaker shop) which was featured on HGTV’s “reZONED.”  (Check out these articles here and here).   Smart Realty is doing a new two unit residential development across from the Rochester Deli.  It looks similar to homes found in the Beerline (along Commerce Street) neighborhood in Milwaukee.  I hope these projects are successful as they may encourage further owner occupied housing downtown. 

Contact e-mail

You can now contact me via e-mail at fivepointsblog@gmail.com.  There is also contact me section along the right sidebar.  I ran into a frequent poster at the Farmer’s Market and she brought it to my attention that nobody could e-mail me, they could only leave comments.  Now you can send hate mail, spam, and angry rants to me without having the whole world see them.   I would just ask that you please not send me any of those stupid cat pictures that seem to be all the rage.  You know, the ones with that have cats doing different stuff like fixing computers or eating brownies.

Drink up!

Blah, blah, blah blah, blah….more whining about the liquor sampling law by the Journal Editorial Board, MADD, and the Spring City Chronicle.  People seem to be so up in arms over nothing.   Someone can easily go to a bar and drink 10 shots of whisky and get in a car and drive but these  teetotalers are freaking out about liquor stores being able to give very small free samples of liquor?   People can have a drink or two and drive a car and be under the legal limit of .08 BAC.   Most people are very responsible about this.  When I go out for dinner I will usually have only one or two beers or one glass of wine.  That is how most responsible adults behave.   Anyone who would go to a liquor store to try and get wasted on free booze is probably the same kind of person who would down a bottle of Jack Daniels and get behind the wheel of a car.  I wish people would quit treating us like babies and let responsible adults make their own decisions.   Know what I think is the biggest scam in the budget? Spending a single dime on anti-smoking programs.  Everyone knows smoking is bad for you, why are we spending millions on this nonsense.

This is the last weekend of the Farmers Market.  So get downtown tomorrow for Harvest Fest.  As a celebration of the end of the season there will be all kinds of special events, including a sneak preview of the cooking of Andrew Ruggeri, who is developing the Clarke Hotel and Black Trumpet restaurant.  Andrew will be be doing some demonstrations by cooking up some apple dishes at 10:00 AM.  While you are there be sure to grab some great fall produce like butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and onions.  The prices cannot be beat and the quality is top notch.

Larry Nelson’s Travel Budget

Every day for at least the last month the soundoff column has been filled with diatribes against Larry Nelson for his audacity to increase his budget to join some organizations that he believes will help Waukesha.  While I think that we don’t need to join every organization, the notion that Larry Nelson is just doing this for himself is absurd.  These groups don’t benefit him personally, they benefit the City, or at least claim to.   Membership in these groups is not just about the Mayor (well, maybe the Conference of Mayors is) they are about the City of Waukesha. Say what you will about what the Mayor has done in office over the past year and a half, but if you have ever met Larry Nelson, all he wants is for Waukesha to be the best City it can be.  This guy eats, breaths, and sleeps Waukesha.  Everything he does in office is done because he thinks it will benefit Waukesha.   People have the right to object to these expenditures in this time of tight budgets and I don’t think that the City should spend the money on all of these groups.  But stick to the issue and complain about spending the money and try not to make this some personal attack on Larry Nelson.  People can disagree about how to best address Waukesha’s problems but to think that Larry Nelson has some ulterior motive and is just doing this to further his ego is way off base.

Lots o’ stuff

More crying from the neighbors about the CBRF in the town of Waukesha.  Some neighbor had to pull out the “children” card when speaking about his opposition to the facility (which again, the town CANNOT deny.  The State mandates that these facilities are a permitted use).  This guy said “I don’t want this around my children, do they have dementia? Do they have a criminal history?”  What the hell?   Its a friggen senior facility  How does he know if any of his neighbors have dementia or a criminal history?  How do these people that their neighbors are not pedophiles, spousal abusers, drug dealers, or thieves?   These people are just being selfish jerks throwing up all kinds of crazy scenarios in an attempt to kill something that they are powerless to stop.  Having seniors in your neighborhood is a good thing.  They are around all the time, so they can keep an eye on the neighborhood.  It will not generate much traffic or noise.  I would wager that even with 8 people there it will still be less traffic than the typical family with 2-3 kids coming and going for work, school, sports practices, shopping, etc.  This facility will allow people’s parents and grandparents to move into the neighborhood and closer to their families. I can only hope that when these anti-CBRF nutjobs are old that they have to move to some facility miles away from friends and family because they are no longer welcome in their subdivision.   I hate to break it to you people but this is coming unless you can find some way to change state law (yeah right).  Your best bet is to get on that advisory committee and try to get your concerns addressed because you are wasting your time trying to stop this.

Curt Otto has some news (including a color rendering) of what Fuzzy’s will look like if their renovation plans are approved.  It looks awesome.  I am glad the outside will finally reflect what the inside has, which is a pretty attractive decor with hardwood floors and a ton of flat panel TVs.   Fuzzy’s food is great as well, just read this review. 

Free samples of liquor will be allowed at Grocery Stores.  I know of one store that already does sort of “under the radar”  this but I am not saying what one or where it is located.  Of course MADD is against it.  They are against anything that allows responsible adults to drink alcohol.  Maybe they should focus on the problem drinkers, habitual drunk drivers,  people who guzzle Lynchburg Lemonade inside Super Wal Mart and keeping teenagers from drinking (and driving) and leave those of us who like to go out and have a beer or two (or a sample of liquor, beer, or wine) alone.

Which should come first, the mall or the interchange?  The Pabst Farm interchange is approved and I support the construction even though there is some uncertainty as to what is happening with the mall.  People will come out and say “Why would the state spend all of this money when we are not even sure a mall is coming!!”  To those people I would say that if you install the interchange it makes it a hell of a lot more likely that something good will go there.  I am sure developers would be turned off if the state said “We might consider an interchange.”   This gives potential developers and investors assurances that there will be adequate access to the project. 

Tuesday ramblings

The City is looking at cutting jobs to meet levy limit requirements.  One thing that should be an easy target are the memberships that Larry Nelson is proposing.  I think the City should maybe look at adding one membership, say the Conference of Mayors.  But the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and Alliance of Cities?  For $20,000?  I am not sure what the Alliance of Cities does, but I know that the League of Wisconsin Municipalities does not offer anything that the City is in desperate need of.  They offer some insurance packages and lobbying services, but Waukesha doesn’t really have a need for that.   They publish a newsletter, but you can get most of that information for free on the Internet.    The mayor is touting the Big Read which is focused on reading Fahrenheit 451, as something he learned about at a conference.  As much fun as it seems that people are having with the Big Read, I hardly think that it really benefits the City aside from maybe fostering a bit of community spirit.  I would much rather have Mayor Nelson return from a conference touting a $10,000 grant to be used for economic development or redevelopment planning than to give people free copies of Fahrenheit 451.

Also, its been pretty quiet on the City Administrator front.  What I want to know is why they decided to not offer the position to one of the other candidates once the Grafton guy said no.  Were they that terrible?  If you couldn’t get someone from a national search firm the first time around what do you think will happen the second time around?  Why not do what most people do when they have a job, put it in the Journal, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities website (so long as you don’t need a pricey membership to do so) and maybe some national public sector job sites.   Instead of hunting around for people who you want to apply for the job, why not let the applicants come to us? 

The Spring City Chronicle lets us know that Steak and Shake is now hiring.  Let me know when the City gets a nice sit-down restaurant.  While Steak and Shake is fine, its still a fast food joint.   I would like to have a place in Waukesha where I can take friends for a nice dinner.

Thoughts on the Pewaukee Mosque Proposal

Pewaukee better be careful if they don’t approve a rezoning for a proposed mosque at N7W23825 Bluemound Road, the site of the former Taste of Italy restaurant.  Under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), it has been established that “No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person, assembly, or institution is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.” 

Plan Commissioner Ted Janks said that “(The mosque) doesn’t seem like the best use for that property, in this case, it takes a prime commercial place off (the tax roll).”   Wrong.  It takes marginal commercial off the tax roll.  That is a terrible location for retail.  It is just kind of out in the middle of a mix of industrial, residential, office and a scattering of retail.  If it was such a good place for retail, why aren’t developers knocking down the door with their proposals?  Why did Taste of Italy fail? Its a good place for a church because it is on a road that can handle the increased traffic.

The problem is that most Cities do not have land set aside that is zoned for Churches, nor do any of them set aside land in their Land Use plan for Institutional.  There is really no logical place for them.  If you place them in commercial or industrial zones you are taking valuable land off the tax rolls.  If you place them in residential areas you are putting something that generates the traffic of a commercial business in an area that may not have the roads and infrastructure to support it.  Pretty much any church proposal will require a rezoning and the way RLUIPA is set up basically ties the hands of the community.  In general, if the church/mosque will not impose an undue burden on City services you pretty much have to approve it. 

I think Pewaukee needs to look at it this way:  Will the mosque generate any more traffic or require any more services than a commercial business? If the answer is no, and I believe it is, the city should approve the rezoning.  I really think they need to take a look at what happened to New Berlin and the  Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church lawsuit.   Read page four of this pdf for the best summary of what happened.  If Pewaukee denies this, my guess is that the taxpayers will end up paying for at least a portion of the Church construction after the City is sued and loses.

A small part of me can’t help but wonder if this was a Catholic church instead of a mosque if the City would have the same concerns.

Thursday

I haven’t posted in a while because I have nothing really to comment on.  There were a couple of items in today’s Freeman that caught my eye.  First was the story about how some Town of Waukesha residents are upset about a Senior Living facility in their subdivision.  They may claim that they are all opposed to it but if it gets built I would guess that the majority of the residents will be parents or grandparents of people living in the subdivision.   Why is it that the only type of housing that is acceptable to anyone anymore is stand-alone single family residential?  I think it would be great if seniors could stay in their neighborhood or in a neighborhood that their family lives in.  The residents should really read Wisconsin Community Based Residential Facilities (CBRF) statutes.  They would then find out that if there are 8 or fewer residents that CBRFs are a permitted use and there really isn’t anything the Town can do to prohibit it.

Also in the Freeman is an article about parents who refuse to get their kids vaccinated, many of whom claim it is for religious reasons when it really isn’t.  I think it is irresponsible and unless you can provide documentation that you cannot have a vaccine because of medical reasons I think you are being selfish. 

Also I just want to come out and say it: Ellen DeGeneres is a bitch.  She is using her show to basically shut down Mutts and Moms, an animal rescue agency who had the audacity to follow their policy, which DeGeneres’ girlfriend Portia di Rossi agreed to when she got the dog.   You see Portia, who by the way is far too hot to be dating Ellen, adopted a dog.  The dog didn’t get along with their cats so they gave it to Ellen’s hairdresser.  The agency has a rule that the dog cannot be given away without their approval.  They didn’t want to place this dog in a house with small children. Ellen’s hairdresser had small children so the agency took the dog back and placed it in a house that was a better match.  Maybe the agency should have let her hairdresser keep the dog for a few months and see how it interacted with the kids, but that is not the issue.  My problem is that  she (Ellen) is taking a private matter and using her celebrity status to try and force this agency to break their own rules and place a dog with a family that they don’t think is appropriate for that type of dog.   The agency is getting death and arson threats and will probably have to close its doors. Good job Ellen.  Because you are a spoiled whiny celebrity you have basically shut down an agency that does a lot of good for animals. 

Plan Commission: Kicking Ass and Taking Names

The Plan Commission was not too pleased with the request by the El Palmar Social Club to sell beer.  Apparently when the owners presented the business plan to the City in April, they claimed it would be a non-drinking, non-smoking, family friendly place to gather, shoot pool, and hang out.  Yet another flawed business plan downtown. What they have really created was a bar without alcohol…or they have managed to create what essentially is a basement rec room downtown (though you can dink beer in your basement).  Neither of which makes financial sense. The Plan Commission denied their request and I cannot blame them. 

The Plan Commission seems to be taking charge of downtown lately, not only did they deny the beer license for the El Palmar Social Club, but they denied some low-rent apartments at 334 W. Wisconsin Avenue.   Since the Common Council doesn’t have the balls to eliminate rooming houses from the Zoning Ordinance, I am glad the Plan Commission denied this rezoning request.  I am glad they are looking out for the best interest of downtown.  You just know this was going to be essentially a dorm for sex offenders.

Opus North, the developer of the ostentatious and pretentious Shoppes at the Fox River listened to Plan Commission concerns and revised their site plan to create a development with a sense of place.  I am glad the Plan Commission stood their ground on this.  We will get a more attractive development as a result.

Reiminder: Leaf Pickup starts on Monday and ends the day before all of the leaves actually fall off your trees.