Franklin Today

Taking care of multiple birds with one stone

As you already know, the benefit of having a central park and sports complex in Franklin would solve many issues our youth and adult sport clubs currently have with facilities. This complex would open the doors for tournaments to be held in Franklin as well, something that several parents noted are huge opportunities for Franklin groups to effectively raise funds in support of the teams. The lack of such tournaments has an impact, and I'm glad to have learned of this.

Setting all of that aside, the other huge benefit that really isn't discussed as much (but should) is the economic impact to the city and the school district. The park & complex would become a magnet for not only our community, but likely would draw residents in from other communities as well. This attraction becomes very mouth-watering to those wishing to construct restaurants or locate their retail business in the area. It also opens the door for additional hotels, seeing the opportunity of being the "home" for those families in town playing a tournament.

Those businesses all pay taxes - taxes of which aren't likely to be in any TIF District at all. This means those funds directly go into the coffers of the city & school district...the Franklin Public School District. This has been something I have heard time and again, where people are bummed out because Franklin seems to only have business development outside the district, leaving most of the district's tax burden on residents. This park & complex would help reverse that trend.

Lastly, it would also promote our community and make it stand out amongst the others in our area. This makes us more desirable for corporate businesses and residents to locate here, and the increase in both of those areas means, again, additional tax revenue.

That is part of the goal of Citizens for Community Development - to create a destination and provide solutions to multiple issues in our community. This is why even if you don't have children, you should consider adding your name to the petition being circulated online. I discovered many of the remarks made by parents in the comments section of the signatures page was dead-on with what I've been hearing time and again about our current athletic facilities, and why we should look forward and consider making an investment now rather than later.

Oak Creek steamrolls ahead while Franklin stalls

You'd think an economic recession never existed if you're in Oak Creek. Despite the economy, our neighbor to the east continues to move ahead. Just today, the Journal Sentinel wrote that the city approved $2 million to assist Bucyrus International in their takeover of the former Midwest Airlines HQ buildings, and is now considering a TIF District along the lakefront to spur additional growth there over the next 10-20 years.

Does anyone think 27th Street is on their radar these days?

In the meantime, Franklin continues to stall in efforts to attract businesses to just fill-in our existing vacant properties. You see, while Oak Creek is adding more sites, Franklin can't fill-in its current sites. That speaks volumes. Franklin needs leadership now, not later, to address this situation.

Oak Creek is doing the smart thing by planning now and getting their ducks in a row before the economy begins to grow once more. When it does, they'll be more than ready to take on any major project that comes before them. In Franklin's case, it'll likely become another situation similar to what happened during the last boom in the 2000s, where we kept hearing about how our Planning Department was overworked to the gills. Several of our Planners left during this period as well, leaving for greener pastures and less stress. That's what happens when everything gets dumped on your lap and there truly is no plan that's being followed.

Franklin leaders need to wake up and smell the coffee now. Fun and games are overwith. Our neighbors have been and continue to stake their claim as a regional destination for business in southern Milwaukee County. That should be Franklin's beck and call, considering that our community is more centralized in the region than Oak Creek. What will it take for our leaders to be motivated to take a proactive look at marketing and promoting the City of Franklin? Let the debate begin.

Sustainable projects in Franklin? Why not?

John Michlig put up a video on his blog this morning showcasing Retrofitting Suburbia author Ellen Dunham-Jones talking about recreating suburbia. Franklin has plenty of areas where the ideas and discussions by Dunham-Jones could be put into action, and transform Franklin's vital commercial areas and increase our tax base significantly, lowering taxes on residential properties. See the video below:

Want to be an extra in Transformers 3?

Word came out today that Transformers 3 will be filming several scenes in Milwaukee the week of July 12th. The locations will be the Milwaukee Art Muesum and the Tower Automotive site on Milwaukee's north side. According to an article by the Journal Sentinel's Tom Daykin, the movie is looking for some paid extras, and will be doing a casting call at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. That will be taking place on Saturday, June 26th from 10am to 3:30pm. The JS article mentions the movie specifically is looking for "trendy, executive type" males and females.

I can surely think of several Franklin residents who can fit that bill easily!

The #1 Issue: The Great Recession hits Franklin

It doesn’t come to any surprise that the Great Recession would be the #1 Issue that was faced in 2009. There were many setbacks that residents faced during the past year, and everyone felt the pinch. The City of Franklin was impacted in the following areas:

Kudos to Alderwoman Wilhelm on the Photo ID ordinance for hotels and motels

Last night after the budget was approved, Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm put forth an ordinance which would require anyone paying in cash at Franklin hotels and motels to provide their photo ID. The hotel or motel would then photocopy it and keep it in their records, which some (including the police department) argue will lead to less obstructed investigations.

While both hotels and motels are mentioned in this ordinance, in my opinion it has been some of our motels that have caused some community concern over the past few years. In particular, the Park Motel has been on the police blotter regularly for incidents, and a serial killer from Milwaukee was arrested there a while back. Obviously these issues lead a community to ask for tougher enforcement, and I'm glad that the council approved this measure unanimously.

I believe Wilhelm took the ball on this matter primarily because of the incidents at the Park Motel, which is in her district. Her success at the council level can hopefully put some ease back in residents and her constituents. Because of these efforts, the NOW reports that our ordinance is similar to those in place in Brookfield and Glendale.

Business Journal names off top hot spots in metro area - where's Franklin?

As a subscriber to the Business Journal, I receive their weekly paper and on a regular basis they will have random inserts/publications to read about specific topics. Last Friday, the paper included a tiny publication discussing the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area's top "hot spots" in real estate growth.

For those who might not know, many sitting on the Common Council were elected based off of their ideals to bring forth increased economic development. Most of them got in via a wave created by the now defunct organization Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership (FCRL) back in 2004-2005; however many prior to their council sitnts also sat on many key commissions that would encourage economic development.

So they get elected thanks to the negative campaigning, and we begin to push the fast forward button. I hope you can keep up with the ups and the ultimate downs that we're now being impacted by in our community. These downs are so big that Franklin did NOT land in the Business Journal publication on Friday; it's bumped aside by Grafton, the Historic Third Ward, the Kenosha Area, New Berlin, and Wauwatosa. An interesting observation I made (and is really telling to how the situation could be kinda bleak in Franklin) is that the Business Journal's Editor, Mark Kass, also sits on the Community Development Authority.

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.

Hampton Inn plans continue to be alive

Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin reported last Friday that the Hampton Inn & Suites slated for construction within the Loomis/Rawson/76th triangle is still planned to be built and opened up for business within the next year. Daykin quoted developer and business owner Ed Eldridge in his report, who noted that he'd like construction to begin in Fall and opening in 2010.

Eldridge also has the parcel of land currently housing the 2-story People's Choice Car Wash, which would be next to the hotel. It will be interesting how that parcel turns out once the hotel opens up for business. Given the unique high ground to a major Wisconsin highway (Loomis Rd/Hwy 36) and a 101-room hotel opened up next door, it wouldn't be too "out there" to see the car wash perhaps torn down for other amenities such as a restraurant. As it has been noted here many times, the Loomis/Rawson/76th business area has a severe lacking of restaurants, but has several fast food choices. I just don't know if we want to tout to the people staying at the hotel how lovely our McDonald's is to eat in...

Staybridge Suites opening soon

When the talk about that grant for Staybridge Suites peaked two weeks ago, I received an invite by the Director of Sales for the hotel, Mark Hansen, for a behind-the-scenes tour. I only thought about it for a short second before I accepted the invitation and got ready to put that hard hat on my head.

The tour answered many questions for me, including some I had about liquor usage in the hotel. While the hotel offers free beer and wine to guests from 5:30 - 7:30pm daily, I saw nothing in the realm of a bar area in the hotel. To be honest, at this time the current layout of the hotel provides no room for such an amenity; they'd have to rip up several hotel rooms on the main level to accommodate such a need. From what I saw, the biggest drinkers would end up being stuck with raiding the fridge in the BridgePort, which is a miscellaneous shop that would also sell beer in the form of cans.

What I was pleased to see on the main level was a great lounge area for guests to meet and talk, as well as potential for renting out by local groups for events. Next to the lounge area was a conference room/library/DVD rental room, where guests can do various needs or, as it notes, get DVDs for their TV.

Another area next to the lounge was the area where food and drinks would be provided in the mornings and evenings. Mr. Hansen told me that local cuisine would be showcased for meals if enough local restaurants opt-in to show-off their specialities. He mentioned something along the lines of, "Topper's on Tuesday, Arizona Grille on Wednesday, and maybe Philadelphia Grill on Friday." Obviously the rest of the week would be filled in with other restaurants, to which Hansen noted would encourage guests to venture out and possibly dine at those locations during their stay. Personally, I find this a great idea, and I hope they showcase more Franklin dining choices than those in Oak Creek.

Upon further exploring, I saw the theater that was nearly complete. It can definitely hold 18 people, with the slight possibility of 24. Mr. Hansen pointed out that this theater could serve very well for birthday parties for children. You can get 18 kids and parents seated to watch Wall-E and it'd be similar to being at the big screen. Personally, I liked the stadium-seating atmosphere for City Hall, especially for Common Council meetings!

The rooms they had were enormous. They offered several varieties of rooms, from the simple studio to a 2 bed/2 bath. What I liked about the 2 bed and even 2 bed/2 bath options was that both bedrooms and bathrooms were separate from each other, giving both workers their own personal space while sharing a common zone in the living and kitchenette areas. I think these rooms will be a hit for those on an extended stay for business at Northwestern Mutual.

What I did notice as a negative, though, was the views out of the hotel. I can't say I was very impressed, and actually I sort-of felt bad for the new guests. You're in a high quality, upscale hotel with a view that shows a dim light on possibilities for what to do after working hours. When I toured the 5th floor with Mr. Hansen, he gave me the opportunity to look out the windows at different vantage points. The front view clearly showcases the Mobil gas station, and you can see outward to the trucking terminals near I-94 on Ryan Road. Looking north sees the side/back-end of Walgreens and the Buckhorn, as well as the large intersection of 27th & Ryan. Perhaps the best view in the hotel is looking south, since there's still a viable natural area consisting of a stream and woodlands. That would probably be my choice of room if I ever needed to stay there for an extended period of time. Fortunately, I didn't see any rooms that faced the rear of the hotel, which would be looking at the Holquist Stone facility. If there are any rooms facing that, it could probably be the worst view in the hotel, in my opinion.

Perhaps Franklin leaders and even other bloggers should contact Mr. Hansen for a tour of their own. I say this not for the reasons of seeing how the pool looks, but rather the eye-opener of being on that 5th floor looking out and seeing the reality that Franklin (and Oak Creek) is currently in. There's nothing out there!, and that's a big problem if we want to encourage more quality hotels like Hiltons or Hyatts to locate in our community. It's definitely a blow to my personal morale upon seeing that the best Franklin can offer to their new guests is a gas station or a bad end of a Walgreens. Where's the nightlife!? Oh yeah, that's right...Mr. Hansen did tell me that there would be shuttles provided for guests to go to and fro some places like Potawotomi Bingo Casino, but they'd have a set timeframe when to go and when to come back.

Staybridge Suites opens February 13th, in time for Valentine's Day.