Franklin Today

Aldermen look for 27th Street spending options while Mayor points out the unknown

Last week, the Common Council authorized staff to explore funding options for the city as they continue to make developing 27th Street a high priority. This continuation of spending comes at no surprise to some, given that the city has pumped in millions of dollars from a variety of public funding sources to this commercial corridor. When the spending began back in the 1990s, Franklin officials believed strongly that our neighbor to the east, Oak Creek, would be an equal partner sharing an equal high interest in seeing the corridor develop to its maximum extent. However, as years turned to decades Oak Creek's interest went from a nice high to perhaps an all-time low. This was evident as Mayor Taylor mentioned prior to the Council's vote that with a new mayoral administration in Oak Creek coming soon, their commitment to the corridor was up in the air.

Common Council refuses to make report accurate

Last night on a 3-2 vote, the Council rejected Alderwoman Wilhelm's motion to correct portions of the Planning Department's Crossroads Area report that was before the Council for review. Wilhelm noted discrepancies in the report and made a strong case as to the importance of accuracy in public documents. "When it comes to Boards and Commissions' actions, you just can't make this stuff up. There should be motions and actions that support your facts before putting them in a document for the public," said Wilhelm.

More public funds for 27th Street?

Tonight's Common Council agenda includes two development topics: the Crossroads intersection (Hwy 100 & Loomis) and the 27th Street Corridor. What stands out is how those two topics part ways in terms of priorities and vision.

Halloween trick-or-treat time to be decided tonight

Every year, this issue for some reason or another becomes a hot topic at City Hall. This is due to some politicians, like Mayor Taylor, believing that more conformity in the trick-or-treat times throughout the Milwaukee metropolitan area will result in less crossover between communities. The matter became a hot button issue in regards to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council (ICC), which Mayor Taylor is its Chairman. 

In recent years, leaders in the suburbs, Mayor Taylor included, are frustrated more than ever in terms of carloads of children coming from elsewhere, the elephant in the room being the City of Milwaukee, to the suburbs in persuit of a safer, more enjoyable trick-or-treat (and likely better choices of candy at the doors). The leaders are upset because of an apparent silent uprising among suburban residents having to purchase additional candy at the local Target or Walgreens to accomodate these Milwaukee youths running around in costumes with their, in our case, Franklin counterparts.

September Updates from Alderwoman Wilhelm

Dear Residents,

Here is good news from our Chief of Police and a few items of possible interest. 

Kristen Wilhelm

Franklin's 3rd District

Council tables 230-foot sidewalk connecting subdivisions to FHS

Last night after a spirited debate over a variety of matters, the Common Council voted 6-0 to table a bid acceptance to construct a 230-foot sidewalk connecting subdivisions south and southeast of FHS to the school. This proposal came before the Council after months of earlier discussion that started when a homeowner wanted to build a path along the border of his property for students rather than the alternative of nothing.

Forward Franklin EDC member's application missing from city website's packet

For the past couple of meetings, the city has begun what hopefully will be a positive norm of uploading the Common Council's agenda packets to the city website for public viewing. This has been a significant leap forward in terms of open, transparent government and the city should be lauded for this particular effort. However, unfortunately, it appears that an online Common Council packet is not complete for the public's viewing.

Family Movie Night coming up at the library

Franklin Teens Fighting Tobacco, in conjunction with the Franklin Public Library Foundation, are hosting a movie night next Thursday for kids and their families. See the flyer below.

'So You Think You Can Dance' has a contestant from Franklin

This season of FOX's 'So You Think You Can Dance' has a 19-year-old resident of Franklin competing. His name is Nick Young, who has been dancing since he was 4-years-old. His family owns the Young Dance Academy, based in Oak Creek, and was a 2010 graduate of Greendale's Martin Luther High School.

You can read more about Nick by going to the Journal Sentinel's write-up, or Nick's Q&A from the FOX website. The whole Franklin community is sure to be rooting for Nick as he continues forward in the show.

Parks Commission backs CCD concept, makes recommendation to Council

At last night's Parks Commission meeting, Citizens for Community Development (CCD) was asked to present its concept for lands surrounding Froemming Park and the Milwaukee County Sports Complex. As most of you are aware, CCD has been working on this concept for a little over a year, tweaking it per the input given by the community. In recent months, CCD's concept has gained significant momentum in light of the petition supporting its concept being submitted to the City and with more attention being given to it by other entities. Doing the presentation was myself, as CCD's President, and Mike Soto, who's on the CCD Board of Directors and whose employer, Continuum Architects, donated its time and talents to assist CCD in continuing to mold this concept for our community.