Franklin Today

Arbor Day festivities are posted for Saturday

Every year for Arbor Day, city and community groups host a variety of events to celebrate the day. Honestly, it's one of the biggest "community" days for Franklin, next to the Civic Celebration, National Night Out and St. Martin's Fair. This year's lineup for Arbor Day events, which is this Saturday, includes:

• Citywide Cleanup (9-11am): The City of Franklin, in conjunction with Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Inc., will be hosting the "Great American Cleanup Day". For important information on how to register, click here.
• 12th Annual Arbor Day Celebration (9-11am): The City of Franklin and the Franklin Environmental Commission will be distributing trees in honor of Arbor Day. Tree saplings will be given away on a first come, first serve basis to City residents at the Franklin Public Library parking lot, 9151 W. Loomis Road, from 9am to 11am, or while the limited supply lasts (one per child or one per family).
• Birdhouse Installation throughout Franklin's Parks (12-3pm): Friends of Franklin’s Parks, in partnership with the Franklin Historical Society, will be installing bird houses at Legend Park, Lake Ernie, and Franklin Woods on from 12 Noon to 3 pm.  The groups hope to install up to 40 bird houses in these parks.  The groups are looking for additional volunteers to help out.  Please pre-register for the bird house installation project  by  e-mailing Don Dorsan.  The volunteers will meet in front of Franklin City Hall, 9229 W. Loomis Road, at 12 Noon on Saturday, April 30th.

Greendale & Muskego get it on beautification

Here in Franklin, we can be rather materialistic when it comes to things. I myself have been part of this movement, always asking for the best and greatest when it comes to new projects in the community. When a development is proposed, we have made it a defining point that the developer better not be proposing junk for architecture, and better have the proper signage and, of course, the lovely "green space."

Problem in Franklin though is that the green space is a little too green - as in all grass and nothing very lively. Landscaping? Heck, it took the developer of Sendik's & Sendik's West on 51st & Rawson over a year to move forward on the agreement to landscape a portion of Rawson with some shrubs and plants. For the most part, even asking for a tree seems to be a tad much.

What a shame.

In other communities, like our neighbors in Greendale and Muskego, their leaders understand that even landscaping adds to the quality of life and the overall image of the community. Heck, Greendale has practically made the environment a staple of its being, and heavily touts its truly green initiatives, such as rain gardens that were installed in 2009 when the village reconstructed Grange Avenue. It's happening in Muskego too, with its incumbent Mayor John Johnson touting present and future work on Moorland Road as part of his announcement to seek re-election next April. From the NOW:

A sure way to improve the outlook for the city is to encourage economic development, a priority for him, Johnson said.

Although the bad economy stalled his efforts in 2008, "GE and Walmart were under contract prior to that," he said. And those two massive developments are adding thousands to Muskego's tax base.

In addition, Moorland Road going past those developments is now wider and otherwise improved, so the whole area makes a better impression as drivers enter Muskego, Johnson said.

"It's an image-building thing," he said.

Also enhancing the city's image will be the beautification the city plans for Janesville Road, he said.

"The road is designed in such a way to be very pleasing to people," Johnson said.

It's an "image-building thing," indeed...as well as yet another way in showing that Franklin is out of touch with what's going on around it. Planting a few trees along the medians isn't going gangbusters in terms of costs but adds much in terms of welcoming visitors to our city and boosting the community's pride and image. Furthermore, such expenditures don't even have to come from tax rolls - people or businesses can fundraise for things like this, which would include possible maintenance. It's that out of the box thinking that needs to happen, but doesn't seem to be. Little projects here and there can accomplish much, but I fear some might be looking too high in the sky and not noticing the simple possibilities and victories right at the tip of their noses.

Council receives detailed past from individual whose property is a target for more government regulation

It's a lengthy title, but I don't know how else to describe it. Last night, Franklin Today was copied on an e-mail sent out by Deb Bozewicz, whose philosophy to have a true "natural lawn" on her property has become the focus of potential council action. This has been an issue that was brought up in the past by her neighbor, Bob Swendrowski, who vehemently opposes her ideals and, shall I say, way of life and how she maintains her personal, private property. While Franklin residents might not have any clue about Mr. Swendrowski's past, some of your politicians certainly do. 

Statement from the person being targeted via the "natural lawn" ordinance

Whether it be the Journal Sentinel, Fox 6 News, or the FranklinNOW, no one has heard from the individual who Mr. Bob Swendrowski felt the need to complain about. If it wasn't for Swendrowski, this wouldn't be an issue today, and if it wasn't for this neighbor's lawn, it is unknown if Swendrowski would have complained.

So I reached out to this seemingly elusive neighbor, who happens to be a very friendly individual. She was kind enough to give us a statement, which is below in its entirety:

In my opinion, the main purpose for native plant restoration is to take responsibility for one's own temporary "ownership" of a piece of land and to lend a hand to the greater community as well as the natural world.

There's nothing illegal (of which I am aware) with paving one's whole property or the new trend of spraying a lawn with green paint. But there IS something immoral about it.

Well-manicured lawns are wonderful eye candy, but at what cost? People buy and apply chemicals they can't pronounce to make the grass grow. When the weather hasn't supplied rain, people water their lawns, usually by inefficient means. Then they buy and use big, noisy, gas-guzzling machines to cut it down. They can't use the grass for any practical purpose, they can't eat the grass, they won't hear birds or see butterflies thriving on the grass.

Prairie restoration creates LESS burden on the environment:
NATIVE PLANTS = LESS MOWING = CLEANER AIR
NATIVE PLANTS = LESS FLOODING = LESS BURDEN ON DEEP-TUNNEL = LESS RAISING OF TAXES
(long tap roots, perfectly designed for our area)
NATIVE PLANTS = FILTERING OF SURFACE TOXINS before water flows to the Lake (or Mississippi, or any watershed)
NATIVE PLANTS = NO NEED FOR CHEMICALS = CLEANER GROUNDWATER
NATIVE PLANTS = NO NEED FOR WATERING
(weather dictates which plants will be showy in any particular year. SOMETHING will grow.)
NATIVE PLANTS (once established, approx 3 years) = MINIMAL WEEDING
NATIVE PLANTS = BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES, BUGS = people in tune with nature WITHOUT LEAVING HOME
NATIVE PLANTS = healthier planet

What's not to like?

In light of the problems SE Wisconsin has seen lately with heavy rainfalls, I think people and corporations need to start thinking about being "part of the solution" instead of controlling every square inch of their property by unnatural means, then pointing fingers (most recently at MMSD) when they have a problem with Mother Nature.

Here's an idea: Read. Do a little research. Mull over it for a year.
Plant NATIVE plants, the plants Mother Nature designed for your area.
(The Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network and MMSD offer plans online and in booklet form, hold workshops, and sell plants at a discount. No, I do not have a connection to either organization.)

Yes, the look of a prairie (savannah, woodland) replacing a mowed lawn takes time for adjustment. But when you find a dry basement after the next "storm of the century", you will be thrilled with your decision.

Work WITH nature, not against it. Because, in the end, nature will win.

Deb Bozewicz
(The person with the "eyesore" of a yard filled with beautiful critters. And a dry basement.)

An update on the "natural lawn" discussion

Two things happened since last night's post about a "natural lawn" ordinance in Franklin. The issue was the subject a Fox 6 story, which included an interview of Robert Swendrowski, the individual who has complained of his neighbor's natural lawn, and Fox 6 reporter Bob Moore:

I also was able to speak with Common Council President Steve Taylor about this issue, and was informed that Alderwoman Wilhelm wasn't the only elected official subject to Swendrowski taking photos of their homes. When he presented his complaint to the Common Council several weeks ago, he provided images of several homes of aldermen in his presentation. When I asked if he had a reasoning behind these images, it was an unknown. With the case of Alderwoman Wilhelm, his image of her condo also included her as she was washing her vehicle in preparation for the 4th of July Parade. Obviously Wilhelm wasn't expecting someone to arrive at her home just to take photos of her condo which also included her in the image.

It's amazing in regards to how far some people will go to make a point. However, I simply don't see why aldermen needed to be subjected on a photo tour of their properties, and why it was absolutely necessary for the public to have record of those images.

An Alderman's suggestion goes awry

Next week Wednesday, the Environmental Commission will be reviewing a "natural lawn" ordinance. Below is the document created by David Kanning from the Planning Department relative to this ordinance:

Natural Landscaping Memo - 8-18-10

This ordinance was brought to light after a resident, Robert Swendrowski, has made an issue over his neighbor's lawn, which is more natural and without pesticides.

In response to the commission's agenda & packet being distributed for next week's meeting, Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm sent an e-mail to city staff with some suggested documents to be included in the packet. Mr. Swendrowski decided to respond to Wilhelm's suggestion with some remarks of his own. It thus began an interesting e-mail conversation. The conversation is below (or after the jump):

Landfill expansion talks move forward

Other news that really hasn't hit the community circuit are that the talks between several communities/counties and Waste Management has really picked up steam over the past few days. This past Wednesday the Waste Facility Siting Committee, which comprises of individuals representing the Cities of Franklin & Muskego and the Towns of Norway & Raymond, met to discuss Waste Management's proposal. Since the landfill is entirely within the City of Franklin, Franklin has a 9-member representation on the 19-member committee, and is the only community Waste Management needs to be concerned about in terms of signing an agreement.

The Journal Sentinel put up a piece on the meeting and parts of the deal that were reached. While there were several important items in this deal, the most significant was Waste Management's dedication of 283 acres east of the landfill into a conservation belt. These parcels of land would form a green belt from the Franklin Savanna State Natural Area to past the county line. That's a lot of real estate Waste Management is leaving alone - and Mayor Taylor succeeded in getting them to commit to NOT going east of 112th Street.

In terms of financial benefits, Waste Management is slated to pay the communities around $9.8 million over the next 3-5 years. The communities have to work out a plan as to who gets how much still, but I'll assume that the City of Franklin will likely get a decent chunk of it. Even if Franklin were to receive $5 million out of the $9.8 million, that would be approximately $1 million per year for the next 5 years. If that million goes directly into the general fund, that could be very handy in keeping tax increases down.

A busy Arbor Day is ahead

This Saturday will have plenty of events going on in the community - from turning your recyclables into cash donations for FHS athletics and activities to picking up a tree for free at the library. Here are the events going on throughout the day on Saturday:

8AM to 2PM: Saber Spirit Club's 2nd Annual Recycling Drive (FHS south parking lot) - Did you know that saving your laptops, computer monitors & towers, holiday lights, lawn mowers, grills, shovels, refrigerators, freezers, and almost anything metal can help our school AND our environment?  Your basements and garages are filled with loads of cash in recyclable items!  Time to spring clean!!! Money raised from this drive will go to support the many Athletics and Activities at the High School. We have teamed up with Action Recycling. Go to www.actionrecyclers.com for a list of the many things that are recyclable. *Please no televisions*

9AM to Noon: 11th Annual Arbor Day Celebration with the Franklin Environmental Commission (Franklin Public Library SE parking lot) - receive a free tree and learn ways to help promote a better environment in the community.

9AM to Noon: 9th Annual Citywide Clean-Up (throughout Franklin) - The City of Franklin will have trash pick up bags available at the Franklin Public Library, 9151 W. Loomis Road.  Participants are asked to pre-register by contacting the Franklin Public Works Department at 414-425-2592 or via email.  You may also register at the Library on the day of the event.

For more community events, check out Franklin Today's Community Meetings & Events page!

Question from reader regarding Sohns resignations deserves answering

After yesterday's post about Alderman Lyle Sohns resigning his posts as aldermanic representative for the Board of Public Works and Environmental Commission, a reader sent me an e-mail and asked the question, "So why should Sohns continue to get any pay if he refuses to do all of his duties?"

Alderman Sohns resigns from all boards and commissions

Earlier in the week, Alderman Lyle Sohns notified City Hall that he will be resigning from all his posts in various Franklin boards and commissions. This comes just weeks after he made the decision to not seek re-election for 5th District Alderman.