Franklin Today

Emerald Ash Borer discovered near Southwood Glen; first case of EAB in Milwaukee County

Below is a press release I received relating to the discovery. Since there was a news conference at Southwood Glen earlier today, there should be more information on the evening local news tonight. 

Franklin gets new 2nd representative on 27th Street Steering Committee

Looking over the upcoming 27th Street Steering Committee agenda scheduled for tonight at 5:30 @ Oak Creek City Hall, an item announces a welcome of Franklin's newest representative for the committee. Apparently the Economic Development Commission or Chairman Alderman Ken Skowronski himself appointed fellow EDC member James Kerr to be the replacement for Jim Rhiner on the committee. Franklin's representation on the 27th Street Steering Committee has definitely seen its bumps and rocky roads, starting with the Boomgaard controversy in April, 2008.

Oak Creek retail continues to grow; what about Franklin?

Perhaps it's a no surprise anymore to hear more positive retail development occurring in Oak Creek, in particular the stretch of S. Howell Avenue from Drexel south to just before Ryan Road (Hwy 100). Howell Avenue has become an extremely popular spot for national retailers to stake their claims.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Tom Daykin, a strip mall located across from Oak Creek's City Hall, library, and community center could soon see a major revitalization of sorts. The Oak Creek Center strip mall once was anchored by a Sentry Foods before it closed and thus the strip mall fell in tenants and increased in vacancy. Now that is all changing due to the pending announcement that TJMaxx and Petco could take up two spots in the strip mall, bringing the center not only back to life but will add two more national retailers to Howell Avenue.

Great point made by Franklin School Board Member regarding parent contracts

Last week it was made known by Franklin Public School Board Member Janet Evans that the School Board is likely to rescind the parent contracts in favor of a new busing contract for those students attending St. Martin of Tours School. This was accomplished in part as a compromise between the school and the school district administration, which would trim bus routes downward to make it on par with costs associated with transporting public school students.

Janet Evans noted that as it stands, the three members of the School Board's Finance Committee seem to be aiming to vote yes to this compromise, largely in part to it still saving the district $88,000; it's only a $2,000 difference from the original savings of $90,000. Evans indicated on her blog that she would also lean in support of this proposal, but plans on reviewing the information before she casts her vote. If things go smoothly, the plan would pass with a minimum of 4-3. 

While those attending the school, especially those who utilized the busing, could easily rejoice over these turn of events, Evans raised a good point that could have been largely overlooked in her blog post:

Do Franklin residents need a basketball court?

I'll give this to our new NOW reporter - he sure is prompt with his articles! Only hours after the Common Council met last night, reporter Mark Schaff posted an article on what seemed to be the "hot topic" for that meeting: the city-owned property across from the Franklin Public Library. It has been mentioned several times on Franklin Today, and I'm still supportive of a plan that involves bringing in several entities, including possibly the Franklin Public School District, MATC, and UWM, to run a business of some sort that caters to the residents. This was brought forth by Franklin blogger and Economic Development Commission member John Michlig several months ago and was initially well-received by the Common Council.

Unfortunately, it looks like Michlig might have gone a little too slow in getting things done, for now several other entities with much more political clout, such as the Franklin Fire Department and the Franklin Parks Commission, want to see their plans for the same parcel come to life.

Used Books, CDs, DVDs, and Tapes Needed for Annual Book Sale Fundraiser

With the kids back at school are you looking for a place for all those gently used books CDs, DVDs, Tapes, or Magazines?  Why not donate them to The Friends of the Franklin Public Library Annual Book Sale?

This popular annual event helps the Friends sponsor numerous events at the Library such as the wonderful cooking classes presented by Staci Joers, quilting classes or the successful Divas and Divine Desserts program. In addition to these great community events, the funds raised by the Friends help support programs that the Library budget simply cannot afford. This past year the Friends donated  $14,000 toward computers for the  children’s department,  $8,000 toward updated books about foreign countries and the 50 states and $4,500 toward the children’s, young adult and adult summer reading program.

Help the Friends continue supporting the Franklin Public Library and to continue to offer these community programs by donating your books and other material to the Library for their sale. Drop off your used books at the Franklin Public Library between the hours of 10 and 8:30 Monday through Thursday and 10 to 5pm on Friday.

The book sale will be held on Friday, September 11th  10am - 5pm, Saturday, September 12th  10am - 5pm, and Sunday, September 13^th 1pm - 4pm

A special Friends only presale will be held on Thursday September 10^th from 6pm to 8:30.  Not currently a Friend of the Franklin Library?  Pick up a Friends’ membership form at the Library  or e-mail the Friends of the Franklin Public Library at FranklinFriends@mcfls.org  The Franklin Public Library is located at:  9151 West Loomis Road, Franklin, WI 53132  Phone (414) 425-8214.

CVS is now in Franklin, with "upgraded" architecture and all!

If three Walgreens weren't enough for Franklin residents, now they can add CVS/pharmacy to their list of drug stores for the community. The store, located in front of Sendik's Food Market near 51st & Rawson, is now open. They kicked off their opening today with a ribbon cutting event, where I'm sure many "who's who" in Franklin were present to give their warm welcomes to CVS representatives.

Now I'm not one to rain on anyone's parade, but I did notice something was up with the CVS architecture, or should I more appropriately say, "signage". While the brick is more in line with what's seen at Sendik's, the signage seems to be rather excessive. In seeing all the lovely red signs showcasing CVS' pharmacy and photo abilities, I decided to take a peek back at some original renderings for the store. Here's what I came up with...

Governor Doyle's not seeking re-election

It has come out today via a report that Governor Jim Doyle has decided not to run again for a 4-year term as Wisconsin's leader in 2010. This information first appeared on the political website Politico, which then landed on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate refused to comment.

This opens the door for other Democrats to seek the spot to become the next Wisconsin governor. Personally, I haven't been a strong fan of Mr. Doyle, and this announcement comes as a relief of sorts to me. I don't believe Doyle would have had an easy re-election bid, especially against Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former District 1 WI Representative Mark Neumann, both Republicans. 

Politico notes that prospective Democrats that could seek the spot include Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, WI Representative Ron Kind (D-La Crosse), and State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton). In my opinion, the least likely to seek the gubernational position is Barrett, who just announced yesterday with Doyle a plan to revamp the Milwaukee Public School System by putting him in charge of it. As expected, it's igniting a battle of sorts in Milwaukee over who really should run MPS and why. With that in mind, Barrett seems to have a lot on his plate now, and considering a bid for governor would probably not be on his top priorities.

UPDATE: The Journal Sentinel has learned that Doyle will make an announcement Monday regarding his future in Wisconsin politics.

An update on the Franklin Public Library's $30,000 approved request

Upon reading up on Fred Keller's posting yesterday about the $30,000 approved by the Common Council for the Franklin Public Library to purchase new computers, I shot off an e-mail to Library Director Barbara Roark to see why the $30,000 was needed, and if it needed to be used on the computers only. Here is the response from Ms. Roark to me, of whom I'd like to thank for being prompt in response time:

Should we really trust our neighbors in Oak Creek?

Having in-depth open records can have plenty of perks for the public...including those living in adjacent communities who might be concerned about joint projects. The 27th Street Corridor has been in the works between the cities of Franklin and Oak Creek for almost ten years now. Mind you that under the current set-up, any new (re)development occurring on the corridor purely benefits taxpayers of the Oak Creek-Franklin Public School District and not the one most Franklin taxpayers reside in, the Franklin Public School District.

In light of that, it amazes me that Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender got in a huff several months ago over Franklin leaders, thanks to pressure from their constituents, refusing to automatically agree to funding a portion of the Drexel Avenue Interchange with Interstate 94. In the Minutes of Oak Creek's June 29th, 2009 Common Council meeting, Mayor Bolender notes Mayor Taylor's refusal of simply agreeing to convincing our aldermen at Franklin City Hall to find dollars to pony up to Bolender's community. Apparently I was correct in noting many times before that Oak Creek apparently is in the mode of being Franklin's bully, and it's only in that mode because some Franklin leaders past allowed our community to be in that position...especially when it came to giving up lands now deemed prime commercial territory to Oak Creek's school system.

By the "New Day" on Franklin's Common Council occurring on April 1, 2008, Franklin City Hall shifted its gears towards Oak Creek, and Bolender is now completely aware of this.