A few items of note:

First up, Whitefish Bay’s 4th of July was a huge success, albeit a sweaty one.   Thousands packed Silver Spring for the parade & Klode for the festival.   Hats off to the WFB Civic Foundation for donating hundreds of volunteer hours, giving up their time for what is Whitefish Bay’s biggest party.   They do an amazing service for our community.

As a reminder, those festivities are not funded by tax dollars.   The WFB Civic Foundation is funded by the individual donations of your Whitefish Bay neighbors.  Take a minute and think of what Bay would be like without a 4th parade, without the Pumpkin festival, without the Ice Cream Socials, without Sounds of Summer --  then please consider supporting your Civic Foundation with a few bucks.  Click here to do so online. 

You're probably tired of me beating that drum.  Sorry.   As long as these Bay traditions continue, the need for financial support will as well.

Next up .. Silver Spring will be hosting "red wagon days" next weekend, July 16 and 17.   It's a sidewalk sale, silent auction (to benefit the new Silver Spring Art Fund).. with wagon decorating and live entertainment.   If you ever wanted to shop local, now's your chance.

Two weeks from now, Sunday, July 25th, the annual bicycle race will be running on Silver Spring again .. same route as last year. 

Finally .. at tomorrow's Village Trustee meeting, there's a few items of interest.    We will be discussing for-profit use of Klode again, and with the throngs of friends and neighbors excited about Boot Camp, this may be a hot topic.

We're also going to discuss the future of Klode's playground structures, as they are being slowly replaced.   Personally, I think we missed the boat last year, not getting enough public input on the new structure installed in October 2009.

If you have an interest in Klode's playground, it's important to come to this meeting.

A while ago I was flipping through Google's news archive .. it's very cool.   Didn't know in 1965, they considered putting Village Hall at Klode.  (yikes.)    In 1995, an article was entitled "Neighbors complain about sex, nudity at Klode Park beach"  (wow!)

The article that made me think of blogging was from 1987, where they were discussing several Klode projects and 350 villagers showed up.  What a different time.  In my tenure, 350 is a few years' attendance.

Today, thousands use Klode playground each year.   Are you interested in its future?  C'mon over, Monday July 12, 7pm at Village Hall. 

First up, the highlight of yesterday's Trustee meeting was that WFB participated in a sale of bonds.  One was a re-funding of higher-rate bonds to lower, saving the Village $335k at a paltry 2.7% interest rate, near the 42-year low for rates.   Amazing.

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The Civic Foundation is hosting a new event in 2010 .. the First Annual Skate Date at Cahill Ice Rink this Saturday, Jan. 23, starting at 4pm.

From 5-6pm, the First Annual WFB Broom Ball Bowl will commence.  (Ok, I made that up.  But there will be broom ball games at 5pm.)

The Civic Foundation will provide brooms & ball as well as hot water and hot chocolate mix. Bowls, spoons, and napkins will also be available for residents who bring their own pot of chili to eat.  (Which reminds me, if you've ever wanted to make home-made "Real Chili" here's a link to a few recipes -- we've made #2 several times.  It's not exactly Real Chili, but it's close enough.)

Hopefully, the ice rink will stay frozen for this new Civic Foundation event.

Here's the Facebook event link, and please join the Civic Foundation Group, if you're a Facebook fan.

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Do you use the Whitefish Bay Library?

The Library Board wants your input on their long-range plan.  Click here to take a moment and fill their survey. 

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Finally, Bay Ball is going to happen this year on Friday June 4th at the new Harley Museum.

Pulling off the Bay Ball takes a load of volunteers.  If you could help out with publicity, raffles, logistics, baskets, reservations .. whatever, please drop an email to one of these co-chairs:

Joe & Lori Kampschroer:  lkamp@att.net

Larry & Rega Plaster:  regap@sbcglobal.net

Michael Pyter & Mary Beth Jacobs: mjacobs10@wi.rr.com

A few bullet points from the Dec. 7th Whitefish Bay Trustee meeting:

* We recommended approval of floating $5.7m in sewerage system bonds, and $5.6m in general bonds.  From memory, the rates were around 2.9%.

* We were presented with a report on various possibilities for changes to WFB's garbage collection.   We examined some analysis on the possibility of discontinuing "walk up" collection to each home, and possibly change and require all garbage be placed on the sidewalk for curb-side pickup.

Potentially, this would save collection time and possibly create a route consolidation and a savings of $60,000/year.  That savings figure might have been high, due to the fact that somewhere between 20-50% of all residents already place their garbage on the sidewalk.

About half the folks on my block put their garbage out on the sidewalk for pickup.  Just an FYI, that's not required.   The collectors will retrieve your trash up at your house.  The same thing goes for recycling, a fact I did not know.   We've forgotten to roll our carts out before, were skipped, and mistakenly thought we'd have to suffer for a month with an overflowing cart of recycling.    If you don't pull your recycling to the sidewalk, and they miss you, call up the DPW and tell them they missed your house.

In a straw poll, most Trustees didn't think this service reduction should be pursued for a variety of reasons, from the math not working, to continuing a service that many find valuable.   As I wrote last month, Trustees dismissed my attempt to snip the budget of $77k that wouldn't have cut any service to Villagers.  Cutting an actual service would be quite odd indeed.

* Finally, a resident delivered a presentation concerning prohibiting early-morning snow-plowing on parking lots, as the plowing of the Holy Family lots disturbed his family's sleep.  While all were sympathetic to this issue, the broader impact to the many schools and businesses in WFB was a serious concern.   As a side note, the DPW currently plows regular streets in the Village at any time they deem necessary.

Another week, another 4+ hour Trustee meeting.

What did we do?

First up, we were met by the largest audience in 2009, namely, the the dozens of young and old who want to keep ice skating rinks in Whitefish Bay.    While many Villagers have offered to volunteer to build and maintain the rinks, work like this is squarely owned by the DPW's union, which means delicious overtime for the over-night flooding process.

Trustee Fehring suggested we dispense with this annual budget request, and make it a regular item that did not need examination each year, however, other Trustees disagreed.  -- Personally, while not a skater, I believe the rinks should be built every year without question.  They are clearly a beloved attraction that draws people to our parks in the deepest of winter.

In any event, the Trustees voted 7-0 to create ice rinks in 2010.

Next, we passed Whitefish Bay's "Comprehensive Plan".   It's actually quite interesting reading, if you haven't had the chance.  120+ pages of detailed information about the Bay, its history, and future.  Click here to read.

We also addressed the roof-mounted HVAC building code question that was first debated on September 14th.  (Click here to read.)

In September, the Trustees voted (5-1, as I dissented) to allow HVAC units on the roofs of municipal buildings -- and Public school buildings, with the approval of the School Board.

The relevant quote from what I wrote last month was:

.. not only did the vote change the rules in favor of the Village & District Schools alone, it did so while discriminating against private schools, institutional buildings, not to mention homeowners.  I am hopeful this is rectified ... when we take it up again.

When we took this up last night, in short, the Trustees did not rectify, what I consider an unfair double standard, whereby the municipal buildings and public schools (only) get to play by relaxed rules.

During casual straw polling, Trustees Siegel, Roemer, Foster and President Pritchard believed the status quo should stand, while Trustees Miller, Fehring, and myself believed all of these buildings, including private schools (Dominican, Holy Family, etc) churches (United Methodist, Bayshore Lutheran, etc) and community facilities (WFB Women's Club) and should be under a consistent rule instead of favoring just the public buildings.

This outcome disappointed me greatly.  Good luck to everyone who will need to pay for, and beg the Board of Appeals for an exception.

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Finally, we had a discussion about the 2010 municipal budget.   Part 1 of the Budget process began last Monday, as Trustees were presented with the draft containing the figures for many departments:  The library, police department, Village Hall, etc.

In the current working draft, Village staff had suggested a 2.8% tax levy increase with nearly identical increase in expenses.  2.8% is about $350,000 of our village budget.  For the record, the biggest category of increase is for Wages & Benefits, which are projected to increase 5.98%, most of which is for rising health insurance.

Trustee Fehring suggested the Village keep the tax levy increase to zero percent by using prior years' surplus.

In 2009, the Village will have collected a projected $849k in excess of expenses from homeowners.  Over the past 5 years, the Village has collected $2.8 million in excess, for a variety of reasons.

It is important to note, surpluses go into the Village's "General Fund balance" and that a healthy fund balance is vital for many reasons, especially for bond rating purposes.  If the General Fund is kept above 20% of budget, a municipality is usually in good graces.  By the end of 2009, our Fund Balance will have increased to 34% of budget. -- As an aside, the WFB School District keeps their fund balance between 15-18%.

I support Trustee Fehring's idea.  This year especially, as 2009 has been one of the worst economic periods in decades, we should be sensitive to the property tax we ask Villagers to pay. 

A zero percent levy increase should be the goal .. as well as keeping the increase in expense to a minimum.   It should be noted, due to a huge loss of State Aid, the WFB School District has actually cut expenses 3.37% for 2010.

Whether the idea of a zero percent tax levy increase will prevail is another matter.  There is the concept of "protecting the increase for the future" that may sway enough of the Trustees. 

Additionally, we are discussing paying a 5.5% loan off early, which could use $500k of the general fund, which would save the Village $25k/year in interest.  Doing both, paying down this loan, and keeping the tax levy increase at zero, would still keep the fund balance %age above the golden number of 20%.

We will (probably) finalize the budget next Monday, October 26th.   The public is welcome, as always.

Standard Disclaimer:  The commentary above does not represent the official position(s) of the Board. The above certainly shouldn't be considered official minutes, which will be eventually published.  This blog entry is your peek into one Village Board meeting from my perspective.

Here's the run-down of the October 5th Trustee Meeting:

• Former WFB Trustee, current Milwaukee County Supervisor Joe Rice gave us a County Budget update.  To summarize: It's gone to hell in a handbasket.  It's a little premature to discuss, since County Exec Scott Walker just created Budget 1.0, and we've seen this movie before.  The County Supervisors will severely alter the budget in the next month.
   
• Also former WFB Trustee John Kearns dropped by to give an update on the Armory Park Memorial project. 
  
  The project has raised enough money to put shovels in the ground, and will complete significant parts before the ground freezes.
  
  Funds are still needed for example, for water access, to allow gardens .. so take a moment and consider a donation.  Click here for their donation form.
   
• We approved a contract for study of a Lake Drive Traffic Calming / Pedestrian Enhancement project.  The project will look at Lake Drive in its entirety as it runs through WFB, and suggest enhancements.  However -- since Lake is State trunk Highway 32, there are a number of typical traffic calming features that might not be approved by the State DOT.
   
• We were presented with 3 bids to tear down the Klode Park play structure and replace it with something from the same company that manufactured the Cahill structure.   The reason for this change is to comply with ADA regulations to make playgrounds more handicapped accessible.  -- Most of the funds for this comes from CDBG grants.
  
  However.   A number of Trustees, myself included, were hoping for a better option, whereby the playground would be added to, instead of replaced.  The current structure is less than 15 years old, and was donated by many generous families, as memorial plaques attest.   It would be a shame if we tore it all down, and I assume some or all who donated would be displeased.
  
  One aspect of the new playground is that the wood chips would be removed, to be replaced by rubber mats, which are more wheelchair friendly.  This complicates the possibility of keeping the old structure, since significant ground prep is needed to install the mats.
  
  In the end, the project was tabled, and we'll give Village staff a week to rethink, and hopefully propose something with a middle ground.  (Villager thoughts?)
   
• We spent several hours combing through the Village's Comprehensive Plan.  Take a look at it, it's quite impressive, documenting WFB's characteristics, yielding recommendations for the future.  Public input for the plan has been ongoing, and a Public Hearing is scheduled in two weeks.

There were two major items on the docket for the 9/21 Trustee meeting .. that wrapped up after 11pm after much consideration.

First was the discussion concerning the detachment of the former Mobil gas station on Oakland, which sits on the municipal line between Shorewood and WFB.  WiRED properties had proposed a development of 25 "luxury" apartments and 4 commercial spots.   You can read my original look at the project here. 

The short story is that the development wouldn't go forward without TID financing, which means the project must lie in a single municipality.  Shorewood had offered to compensate Whitefish Bay about $104k to make up for the loss in tax revenue.   As a reminder, the property was a parking lot, generating $2,500 in annual tax revenue for the Village.

Additionally, Shorewood offered a second proposal, in that, instead of receiving $104k, Whitefish Bay would participate in the TID financing at a 30% rate (70% of the development is in Shorewood) and invest ~ $430k, then receive 30% of tax revenues later.   After much discussion, the Trustees decided the original proposal was in our best interest, and passed the "detachment" resolution.

So if the Bay seems a little smaller this morning.. well, you're right.

The other major item on the docket was the a retail "recruitment" program for Silver Spring.   In an effort to bring more business to Silver Spring, the Village and the Business Improvement District is putting their money where their mouth is.

The recruitment program works like this .. The BID taxes its members (Silver Spring businesses) to the tune of $100,000, and the Village matches that total to bring the pot to $200k.

New merchants can then apply for grants up to $50,000.  The applications are reviewed and voted on by the BID and the Village's Community Development Authority. 

So there you go .. in the last 12 months, Whitefish Bay has marked off a number of major accomplishments:

Business Improvement District created - CHECK

Street-scaping completed - CHECK

Two Restaurants opened - CHECK

BID Marketing / Recruiting Director hired - CHECK

Retail Recruitment Program  - CHECK

In the forseeable future, four new businesses should be opening on Silver Spring .. JJ Design, Simon Oliver, Oro di Olivia, and later, City Market.

Oh, and the Business District quietly revealed their new website at http://www.shopwhitefishbay.com.

The WFB Board of Trustees met Monday night, 9/14/09 .. here's my recap:

• We passed the special assessments for a giant 2010 sewer project.  In the next year, we'll be fixing some 17,000 feet of main line and resident lateral sewers.
  
  For definition sake, here's a glossary:  A main runs down the middle of the street.  The laterals that are being replaced are from the main to your curb.  There is another sewer pipe that goes from your curb to your home, and that is NOT being replaced, as it is homeowner property.
  
  True, the sewer pipe under your yard is probably decades old.   In the past, there may have been a program whereby homeowners could contract with the firm doing the construction to replace both pipes.  Unfortunately, with a project this size, that is not being pursued, as it would severely impact the schedule.

• Tree Inventory - The DPW will be applying for a DNR grant to defray half the cost of a Village-wide tree inventory as a precursor to possibly treating for the Emerald Ash Borer.  The inventory will identify, measure and evaluate each Village tree.

• We discussed the "For-Profit" use of Klode Park by exercise groups.  Neighbors have noticed increased park use.  One could imagine these groups should be under the same guidelines as the various WFB sport teams, who schedule the use of the various parks.  Additionally, the park is often used prior to its 6am opening time, which would indeed be problematic for neighbors.
   
• The Board eventually passed a code change concerning roof-top HVAC equipment:

This code change proposal was provoked by the Village's immediate need to replace a unit above the WFB Police Department, which has been without A/C for 2-3 weeks.

Currently, rooftop units are allowed for all buildings in the business district.  New language is as follows.  (The italicized words are new.)

(D) Installation of an exterior air conditioning system in the business district, where no rear yard is available, may be made above the roof.  Installation of an exterior air conditioning system may be made on the roof of municipal buildings with approval of the Village Board.  Installation of an exterior air conditioning system may be made on the roof of school district buildings with the approval of the School Board.

Trustee Fehring proposed an amendment that would strike the last sentence, granting school district buildings this new ability, since the phrase would only grant the privilege to WFB's schools, leaving Dominican, St. Monica's, Holy Family out.  (Not to mention the various other institutional buildings.)

Furthermore, this would break new ground, allowing the School Board to have jurisdiction over a part of the building code. 

Fehring's amendment failed, 3-3, with Fehring, Trustee Miller, and myself voting to strike the wording.

This provoked conversation that we should allow it on all institutional buildings, except that under Open Meeting law, we could not do so at the meeting without our intent on the meeting agenda.

It was agreed this same issue would be taken up at next week's meeting, to insert language about institutional buildings, or perhaps allow it for all housing stock.  Clearly, the Village has a menagerie of HVAC code rules that continues to trouble its residents, provoking numerous trips to the Board of Appeals. 

The final vote was 5-1, with myself voting against the code change -- my first dissenting vote.

While I certainly want the Police Department to resume working in a climate controlled environment ASAP, I concur with an audience member (initials RS) who suggested that the Village should abide by the same rules everyone else does, namely, if the Village wants to do something that doesn't conform to code, they should go before the Board of Appeals to plead the case, instead of changing the rules of the game for only themselves.

Instead, not only did the vote change the rules in favor of the Village & District Schools alone, it did so while discriminating against private schools, institutional buildings, not to mention homeowners.  I am hopeful this is rectified next week when we take it up again.

In the other Trustees' defense, I assume many of them voted in favor because of the expediency of getting the Police Department A/C back on. -- Meanwhile, even with the new code, the A/C won't be installed until early to mid-October, when the need for cooling is less.

Standard Disclaimer:  The commentary above does not represent the official position(s) of the Board. The above certainly shouldn't be considered official minutes, which will be eventually published.  This blog entry is your peek into one Village Board meeting from my perspective.

Two pieces of news today:

The Armory Park Project has had a productive summer. In the past two weeks, a number of donations and pledges have arrived, including a sizable bequest.

The project is now $5,000 away from their goal to start construction. That's outstanding news, especially in this economy.

If you are interested in joining the many other donors, please visit the project website at www.ArmoryPark.Org or click here for a donation form or send a check, made out to "Friends of Armory Park" to: Friends of Armory Park / PO Box 170344, Whitefish Bay, WI 53217.

If you have any questions about the project, contact John Kearns at armorypark@sbcglobal.net

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Also .. a week ago, the Whitefish Bay Board of Trustees voted to allow the Police Department to move staff around to create a School Resource Officer. One has been chosen.

Officer Dave Hryniewicki has been assigned as the Whitefish Bay School Resource Officer, who will begin his new role near the beginning of school.

From the Chief: "The PD believes that this assignment is very important for developing better relationships with school staff, students and parents, and has the potential to have a significant positive impact in dealing with youth related problems."

It's been a slow summer for blogging the Village.

Here's what went on last night at the WFB Village Trustee meeting:

• A new Villager was appointed to the Library Board, Georgia Mavrinac, who previously served on the CDA. Thank you for your efforts.
   
• We had a public hearing and debated the Cumberland project. This had been debated months back, but the Village had inadvertently missed the driveway apron assessments.
  
  Just a refresher .. the Village (all of us) pay for 70% of (most) street repairs. Individual homeowners pay 30%, based on their frontage. Driveway aprons are paid for 100% by the homeowner.
  
  So while no one is happy with assessments, the project costs $244k, property owners pick up about $73k, plus or minus. The entire driveway apron project is paid for by owners.
   
• We had a public hearing and debated the "Sanitary Sewer Relay Project" of 2009, where we are replacing relays and laterals around 10 blocks of the Village. Of greatest concern to residents, naturally, is that the sewer laterals (from the main to your property line near your sidewalk) is paid for by each property owner, at around $2800 each.
  
  WFB's sewers were laid decades ago.
   
• We also started the discussion about 2010's Sewer/Lateral project, whereby another set of 10-20 blocks of sewers will be maintained. A public hearing is tentatively set for the next Trustee meeting, which is September 14th.

Finally the most interesting item from last night was a presentation by Shorewood and its developer "WiRED Properties" for the Location Formerly Known as the Mobil Station across from Wick's liquor on Oakland.

Why? Because the WFB/Shorewood boundary slices half-way through that lot.

Here's a picture of the lot .. Wick's is on the lower right, Mobil is in the center. The Mobil station has since been demolished.

Into this:

The development includes 26 one, two, and three bedroom "luxury" apartments, plus 4 retail spots. The developer has tenants lined up already, including a wine bar, spa, and coffee retailer.

Under the proposal, Shorewood would pay WFB $103k for 150 years of property taxes, based on the Village's share of the current property tax stream of $2,500/year. The WFB School District, which receives roughly 50% of property tax revenue would be compensated in the neighborhood of $200k. The School District will need to approve this transaction as well.

UPDATE 9/18:  That was inaccurate.  The developers/Shorewood offered the School District $40k, which they declined on 9/16.  The school board's decision has no impact on whether the project goes forward.

The developer needs Shorewood's TIF financing to complete the project. If WFB declines to sell the property, the developer explained the project would not move forward, but instead, some other form of development on the Shorewood half would be considered.

Make sure to read:

• Grab Bag: Chronic Nuisnaces, Trustee Meeting, State Aid
• WFB 4th of July Festivities: SUPPORT THE WFB Civic Foundation!
• Armory Park Update
• 2nd Blogversary
• Rep. Pasch Town Hall Meeting
• Wisconsin State Budget - Just Appalling
• WFB School Drug Search Followup
• WFB Vandalism
• Wear Glasses? Read this.
• Lake Express 2009 Rates - WOW.
  

*** NOTE: Don't want to keep checking for WFB Village news on this blog? Have VILLAGE SPILLAGE delivered to your inbox, free.

Just a few notes from WFB's 4th of July festivities:
 

• While I enjoyed walking in my first parade, I sure missed watching the parade with my family.
   
• Anecdotally, one Trustee, a veteran of many WFB parades, thought the attendance was much higher this year.
   
• I did not run out of candy. Apparently, 4,300 pieces of candy is exactly the right amount. Maybe even too much. I had a ton left when I was a couple blocks away from Klode, so I had to start tossing it out quicker. -- And, parents, please keep your kids off the street. There were some pockets where the kids were 10-15 feet off the curb and it gets pretty crazy.
   
• The folks at the WFB Civic Foundation are awesome. They give up so much time in preparation and execution of Whitefish Bay's biggest party, it's not even funny.
  
  I had the honor of volunteering for a couple hours at the beer tent, but that paled in comparison to the dozens of hours that each of them put in to preparing for the parade, the food, drink, games, and fireworks, time spent away from their own families on the 4th of July.
  
  So, to Greg Ramirez, Dana Serrano, Ann Pasterski, Jay Kuehn, Crystal Luehne, Bob Kuesel, Paul Dryden, Lynn Short, Carol Cochran, Tracy Rothman, Amy Lukas, Doug Weber, Mike Bortolotti .. THANK YOU. You put on a hell of a show yesterday.
  
  (I hope I got everyone in that list.)
  
  Hey, here's a thought. Did you like the parade? The picnic and games and fireworks? All that stuff costs a ton of money. That's not your tax dollars at work, the Civic Foundation depends entirely on donations from fellow villagers and local sponsors.
  
  How about stepping up to the plate, and writing out a tax deductible donation to the WFB Civic Foundation while you are in the mood to support the 4th festivities, Ice Cream Socials, Sounds of Summer, Great Pumpkin display, etc.
  
  Seriously, I mean it. The CF is supported by just over a hundred donors, yet the events touch thousands on a day like today.
  
  Consider it your WFB party tax.
  
  
   

Mail to:

Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation

5300 N. Marlborough Drive

Whitefish Bay, WI 53217

Here are some bullet points from the Whitefish Bay Trustee meeting last night:

• The WFB Library Director has resigned. A search will commence to find a replacement.
   
• The Shorewood/WFB Health Officer, Cindy Tomasello presented the "Community Health Plan" to the Board. Generally speaking, Whitefish Bay is doing pretty well with its health, but we need to exercise more and eat our vegetables. (I'll get right on that.)
   
• We were given a presentation on the "CMOM" plan, which is required by law to describe our capacity/management/operation/maintenance of WFB's sewer system.
   
• Finally, we approved the contract to hire Jennifer Heise to provide WFB with Retail Recruiting Services.
  The work includes recruiting merchants to WFB (Silver Spring,) maintaining an inventory of vacancies, creating materials for recruiting, contacting brokers, contacting businesses, etc.
  
  Heise will be providing roughly the same services as the Kilduff group, which the Village hired in 2008 for a "six month experiment." Mostly, the difference is that Heise is paid an hourly rate, up to 40 hours per month, and will be significantly less expensive.
  
  This is a good match, as Jennifer Heise is currently working as the marketing director for the Whitefish Bay BID. Personally, I'm very pleased to see this hiring. I realize this isn't a magic bullet for Silver Spring's woes -- none exist, but believe it is part of the solution. This is a relatively inexpensive way to coordinate and promote business in our Village.
  
  Here's another plug for the Silver Spring Drive website: http://silverspringdrive.wordpress.com
  
   
• One final note .. we need you. Whitefish Bay still has two committee openings.
  
  One is for an alternate on the powerful Board of Appeals, the other opening is on the Library Board. Each of these committees meet just once per month.
  
  You can contact myself, or Village Hall for more information. Click here for an application.

The WFB Board of Trustees met tonight with a relatively light agenda. (The entire agenda can be found here.)

As a continuing disclaimer, what I write here is not a complete nor official report of what actions the Board took. Official minutes can be found on the Village website after they have been approved at the following meeting.
 

• Voted to approve a Class B beer permit for the 4th of July/Klode Park celebration
• Voted to purchase a number of light poles that had been destroyed primarily by car accident. Much of the money spent is recaptured from the drivers or their insurance companies.
• Voted to create an Environmental Advisory Commission. The commission's main role will be advisory to the Board of Trustees and residents, staffed by 6 residents and a Trustee liaison.

One interesting news item that did come up was the Milwaukee Journal / CNI local news gathering resources were changing. Apparently, Jane Ford has been "reassigned" and Mary Buckley will be covering more territory, many suburbs governmental and school boards, including WFB. No reporter attended tonight's Board meeting, and one can imagine the meager attention the media pays WFB will sadly decrease further.

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One other notice from Bay United.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19th from 7pm-8:30, Bay United will be meeting for the third time at Dominican High School's auditorium with educational leaders from Richards, Cumberland, WFB Middle School, WFB High School, Holy Family, St. Monica's and Dominican High School, discussing their present and future plans for drug & alcohol abuse prevention programs.

I won't be in attendance, because it'd be my 4th meeting in seven days, and I think my wife might do bodily harm to me if I again abdicated my fatherly responsibilities.

One might imagine no other media may attend, so if you're interested, you'd better show!

NOTE: CLICKING ON "POST COMMENT" WILL NOT WORK UNLESS YOU ARE LOGGED IN!

Last night was my first Whitefish Bay Board of Trustees meeting.

In the grand scheme of things, your first meeting as an elected official is right up there with your wedding, birth of your kids, and Marquette making it to the Final Four. 

Ok, maybe lower than those.  But I dragged my wife, 2 year old, and 10 month old to see daddy get sworn in anyway.

The three newly elected Trustees, Miller, Foster, and myself were quickly sworn in and then we were off to the "super exciting" business of the Village.

I'm not sure how I'll blog about these meetings.   I can't imagine there are that many folks who are sitting at home, waiting to find out if the Village approved the Class-B Beer License for the Lion's club tent during the bike race.  (We did.)

One of the first items was the appointments of volunteers to the many committees that help run our village.  I admit, I am apprehensive about this process.  These committees are vital, and often have great impact on the lives of residents.  Effectively, the volunteers are vetted and selected by the Village President, then confirmed by the Board of Trustees without meeting in person.   Next year, I will seek more information about each candidate.

The big ticket item discussed was the Cumberland Street Reconstruction Project, which was awarded to the low-bidder and should begin shortly.   Naturally, streets are expensive items for a municipality, and those who live on the blocks to be done are required to pay a special assessment for the work.

Of course, no resident likes paying an extra bill.  It is important to note, that the Village generally picks up 70% of the cost of these street reconstructions, and 100% of the water and sewer work.  The home owners "only" pay the remaining 30%.  -- This, I did not know until a few months ago.  

Clearly, the village as a whole has an interest in maintaining community streets, but each homeowner on those blocks do indeed uniquely benefit.  A 70/30 split seems about right.  Not to say that that 30% isn't painful, of course.

We voted on some additional planters for the Silver Spring reconstruction.   I made my first rookie mistake by blurting out a "second" to a non-existing motion.  (At least I got that first mistake out of the way early.)

We also had overview of the Shorewood/WFB Board of Health Community Health Improvement Plan .. and some commentary about the possible future of merging with the North Shore BoH.  Right now, more questions than answers remain.

I should probably end with a disclaimer.  I think the above is about right, although certainly incomplete. (The full agenda can be found here.)  The above certainly shouldn't be considered official minutes, which will be eventually published.  Think of this blog entry as your peek into one Village Board meeting from the perspective of someone sitting up there. 

If you want further information about any of the topics above, I may be of assistance, or put you in touch with who can.

Election thoughts...

First the easy part .. the School Board race.  It broke down pretty close to what I imagined, with Rogers, Steele and Martinelli winning.

Although I got the order wrong, that's to be expected when 3 candidates end up within 1% point of each other.  Martinelli's strong showing indicated that his lack of lawn signage was not detrimental to his chances.  One can guess, 1,600 people, plus or minus, all voted for the same set of folks.

Tom DeMuth winning 647 votes was .. honestly disturbing.  I know Tom is a good guy, but out of 3,069 ballots, that means 21% of the electorate didn't know DeMuth had dropped out of the race months ago.  That's a huge chunk of uninformed lever pullers.   Yes, it is possible DeMuth has friends who will vote for him no matter what, and yes, some of that could be a .. protest vote?  But one in five?  More likely, that group just had no idea who they were voting for.

In 4th place was Debbie Taran Frensz, with 776 votes.  I believe her distant 4th place finish isn't because of her character.  It's because of her choice to not plant lawn signs.    Lawn signs get a candidate's name out there, and many voters are pulling the levers based on perceived popularity.  No lawn signs in WFB = no victory.

Writing about the Trustee Election got exponentially more difficult for me, of course.  The candidate I backed lost by 258 votes, with Miller besting Finnigan. 

I was recording the results at Village Hall and had to make the trip to Finnigan's election party to break the disappointing news.  It's tough, after spending scores of hours walking the Bay, meeting people, dropping literature by hand, not to mention the hundreds of dollars in personal expense, only to lose.

I think about the Finnigan/Miller race and can't help but imagine that I might have lost to Miller as well, had the races lined up differently.  Sean Finnigan and I are roughly the same candidate.  We're both Whitefish Bay transplants, with less of a past, and more of a future vision.

A villager told me something a few months ago, "You're new to Whitefish Bay."  I indignantly replied, "What are you talking about?  I've been here 11 years!"  Their reply, "I've been here 20 years, and I'm still 'new' to the Bay."

That attitude is pervasive.  -- Imagine that.  I bought my first house in Whitefish Bay, got married, my wife taught a few hundred WFB 3rd graders, and bore two children, all right here in the Bay.  Yet I'm a new guy.

As I said in my endorsement piece, a few years ago I wouldn't have given a candidate like Finnigan (or myself) a chance.  Although eventually, the demographics shift.   Each year, the cosmic tumblers spin, and WFB becomes more diverse.   Eventually, those 30 and 40 somethings, many of them 'new' who didn't vote yesterday, turn into 50 somethings who do.

One other random thought..

One thing that's struck me over the past 24 hours is the concept of winning, losing, and consensus.  I spend 99% of my life in consensus. 

At home, we're copacetic.  Sure my wife and I disagree now and then, but we rack up 1000 mundane decisions a week without disagreeing, e.g., what should we have for dinner, what should we do on the weekend, whose turn is it to clean the litter box.  Generally speaking, we're in a state of near constant consensus.  (Although my 2 year old would disagree.  It's time to get dressed: NO.  It's time for lunch: NO.  It's time to go to bed: Nooooo.)

At my workplace, perhaps less so, but our business hums along with clear goals and a desire to serve our customers. 

Elections are rarely about consensus.  Sure, there's the occasional 60 point trouncing of a candidate, but when you're talking about flipping 1 out of 10 voters the other way changing the direction of an election .. there's a majority, not a mandate. 

Well, duh, of course, that's how elections run.  I think it has more meaning for me now, as a rookie elected official. 

Oh, the things I will learn.  

Sorry, I can tell a ton of people are checking the blog to see my reaction to all the local races tonight.  It is late, I'll get something more substantive out tomorrow.

I do wish to thank the 1,500+ people who voted for me today.  I know it was an uncontested race, but you took the time to vote and check my name, and I appreciate it.  

I had no idea that starting a blog 20 months ago would lead me to this place, and I am thankful for you readers who take time out of your day to read my written thoughts.  I will endeavor to speak for you, and the Bay as a whole.

Kevin Buckley
Whitefish Bay Trustee-Elect

---

WFB Election Results :

Trustee (top 2):

Buckley 1,508
Foster 1,280

Trustee (1)
1. Miller 1,395
2. Finnigan 1,137

School Board (top 3):

1. Rogers 1,707
2. Steele 1,645
3. Martinelli 1,577

4. Taran 776
5. DeMuth 647 (dropped out of race)

Total Ballots cast in WFB 3,069

(All figures are unofficial.  I recorded them as they were verbally delivered at Village Hall.)

Just a reminder.  The spring election is TODAY, polls close at 8pm. 

WFB's voter turnout hovers around 32% for Spring election cycles.  Amazing that it hit 89.4% in November for the presidential election.  There's a TON of people out there who know where to vote! 

I would also guess that readers of Village Spillage .. may top the voting charts of any demographic group.  So bring a friend!

All of these candidates have worked very hard on their campaigns, and it's up to you to cast a vote.

Please take some time to hit the booth today.  Here's a list of stories I've posted on the blog about each of the candidates:

• ENDORSEMENTS
  
  
• WFB School Board: Kathy Rogers -- Gerry Steele -- Joe Martinelli -- Debbie Taran Frensz
• WFB Trustee : Sean Finnigan (website)  - Jay Miller (no story submitted)
  
  

As I did last year, I am writing my endorsements for WFB Local elections.   This is a tricky article to write, as some readers have already made up their minds, others have not, and appreciate my effort to analyze each race.  --  PLEASE READ the disclaimer at the bottom of this post.

WFB SCHOOL BOARD:  ROGERS, MARTINELLI, STEELE

Prior to 2009, I hadn't met any of these candidates.  After attending the School Board Forum (see video clips here), and reading each of the four candidates' long-form letters on the blog, I know who I am voting for:

• KATHY ROGERS - Kathy is the most well spoken, highly educated candidate of the bunch.  She's got command of all the issues.
  
  
• JOE MARTINELLI - Joe is the kind of guy you need on a school board .. his corporate, no-nonsense background was refreshing.  He's the wise pragmatist of the bunch.
  
  
• GERRY STEELE - Gerry is the WFB parent who has done just about every role imaginable for the past dozen years, from PTO, Advocates for Education, to the WFB Civic Foundation.
  

Predicted finish:

1. Gerry Steele - Tons of lawn signs, huge popularity.
2. Kathy Rogers - Lots of lawn signs, great candidate.
3. Who comes in third?  Hard to tell.  Joe Martinelli or Deborah Frensz Taran.
   

Get the pattern?  Lawn signs win elections.  Martinelli has a smattering of signs.  Frensz Taran chose not to plant signs, but has done some leg work.  If I had to guess, Martinelli wins a close race.

WFB VILLAGE TRUSTEE:  SEAN FINNIGAN

This race shapes up along classic David/Goliath lines:  Miller, the experienced candidate with lots of life-long connections, versus Finnigan, the underdog 'change' candidate. 

I like Sean Finnigan, and have supported his campaign.  After he explained his platform to me, I realized he shares my values and outlook on our Village.

So much of winning a local election is about lawn signs and effort.  Clearly, Miller has home field advantage on Lake Drive, with scores of signs, while Finnigan lives in the lesser traveled northwestern quadrant.  Finnigan may have the same number of signs, but they are lower-traffic, and spread throughout the Village, a disadvantage.  (Although Finnigan does have a website.)

Since I've never met Miller, and he did not contact me to post a long-form letter on the blog, all I know about him is what I've read, just like nearly every other voter.  Reading from his flyer, the headline uses the words "Prudence/Leadership/Experience" indicating a classic platform.  Clearly, he wins the experience factor, Duke Pride, Advocates for Education, Planning Commission and seasoned lawyer.  I am certain he is a fine man who has served the Village well with his talents.

As for Finnigan, I'm hopeful for him.  He's whip smart and well spoken.  I think he'd give the Village some thoughtful, pragmatic energy and help move it in new directions.  I think he appeals to a growing segment of Villagers who are unhappy with what is happening in the Bay.  They've watched the erosion of Silver Spring, the rise of regulatory red-tape, and think the Village is paralyzed by planning, planning, and more planning.
 
In a sense, this election will be a barometer on how much WFB has recently changed.   A few years ago, I wouldn't have given a "change" candidate much chance, but now there's a good chunk of people in Whitefish Bay that are unhappy with The Way Things Have Always Been and want new direction.


DISCLAIMER:

For those who disagree with the above, before you dash off your hate mail, PLEASE remember a few things: I AM NOT A JOURNALIST.  What you read here is my opinion.  Newspaper journalists remain neutral.  Opinion bloggers do not. 

As for myself, a candidate for Trustee, endorsing another -- one email suggested it was "historically simply not done" in WFB.  Actually, yes, it really is.  In this very election, current and former School Board members are endorsing candidates for School Board, and a current Trustee is endorsing a candidate for Trustee.  I spoke with two officials who've been on local ballots for decades .. guess what:  They've endorsed, and have been endorsed by other officials for years.

Readers are free to subscribe to what I write, or not.  Read, or not.  If you support another candidate, by all means, use your unique talents to support them with lawn signs, distribute literature, host meet and greets, or indeed, write letters in support to your contacts.

Allow me to do the same.  I will respect your civic efforts and your right to vote for whomever you wish; please respect mine.

Looking for info on local candidates?  Blog links:

Information on our local elections has been sparse, for both School Board and Village Board.  There have been a grand total of two official news articles:

"Four candidates running for three seats" (School Board)

"Two candidates vying for one-year term" (Village Board)

Judging by the article titles, WFB NOW really, really, really wants you to know how many candidates and how many seats are on the ballot.  Beyond that, each candidate gets about 4-5 sentences to tell you why you should vote for them.

In continuing with posting the long-form letters of Whitefish Bay candidates, Village Board candidate Sean Finnigan has submitted the following:

Village Residents:

I am extremely excited to be running for the Whitefish Bay Village Board and I am pleased that I am running opposed as it allows me the opportunity to communicate my objectives and goals, if elected, prior to joining the Board.  I want to make sure by the end of reading this letter that you know where I stand on the issues currently affecting the Bay.

There are many reasons people view Whitefish Bay as the premiere suburb in the Milwaukee area.    However, like all communities, our Village has a number of areas that need improvement. 

In preparation for my candidacy, I spoke to many Bay residents to find out what issues they felt Village government most needed to address.  Based on my own experience and the information gathered by talking to Villagers, I believe the following issues, among others, need the Board’s attention.

Drug/Crime Prevention:  Drug use and related crimes in the Bay have become highly publicized recently.  These problems affect all residents and it’s important for the Board to facilitate communication and coordination between the Police Department, schools, and residents (especially Bay United) in order to find solutions to these problems.

Silver Spring:  Silver Spring is in a sad state, and until recently the Village Government has done little to stop its deterioration.  However, the Village Government has finally taken steps to reverse the downward trend in the form of the Streetscaping Project and the creation of the Business Improvement District Board.  This is just the beginning and we need to build on this momentum so that we ensure our investment in the Streetscaping Project does not go to waste.  The Village Board must take an active role by bringing together business owners, landlords, members of Village Government and residents to make Silver Spring vibrant once again! 

Fiscal Restraint:  In light of the economic situation, it is more important now than ever, for the Village Board to practice fiscal responsibility to help ensure that there is no future need to raise property taxes.  We must spend money smartly.

Infrastructure Planning:  For years the Village neglected and postponed infrastructure repairs and improvements.  As a result, we have broken streetlamps, worn out water mains, and potholed roads needing attention.  Recently, the Village hired a new, ambitious Village Engineer, and we need to seize this opportunity to create a comprehensive, long term infrastructure plan, and most importantly, execute it.

Improve Pedestrian Safety:  We as residents are both fortunate and unfortunate to have a busy state highway like Lake Drive winding through our Village.  Anyone who has tried to cross Lake Drive during rush hour or ride their bike downtown knows crossing this thoroughfare can be a scary experience.  The Village must focus on finding workable solutions to make pedestrians safer when crossing busy roads such as Lake Drive, Silver Spring and Marlborough.

Improve Communication between the Village and its Residents:  There is no reason that the Bay Leaves and the WhitefishBayNOW should be the primary sources of critical information for Village residents.  When there are important crime alerts, updates regarding trash and recycling pickup or Village Government notices we should be able to depend on a user friendly Village website. 

Improve Oversight of Construction Projects:  Infrastructure improvement projects such as the Silver Spring Streetscaping are a necessity for the Village.  However, such projects do not have to create great inconvenience and harm to Village residents.  The Village Board can do a better job overseeing such projects so as to minimize incidents of fugitive dust covering people’s cars, broken or mislabeled barricades, confusing signage, or construction materials injuring pedestrians.

Don’t Forget the Little Things:  During campaigns there is a tendency to focus on the big issues facing the Village while forgetting about the less publicized functions of the Board.  It is important to remember that a majority of the decisions that the Board makes don’t necessarily make the headlines but are just as important to the character and charm of our Village.  To that end I believe that it is important that the Board continues to work with the Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation to promote their efforts; that it works hard to accommodate residents who enjoy the annual ice rinks; that it continues to work to improve the Village Library facilities; and that it continues to promote environmental efforts such as Green Day in the Bay and all environmental efforts. 

I understand and appreciate that the above list of issues may seem long and that I may be overly optimistic in thinking that the Board can tackle all of these issues, but the reality is that we must.  Each of these issues, and many others not even listed, require the attention and consideration of the Board.    My fresh perspective, unlimited energy and dedication to the Village make me a good fit for the Board.  

Sean Finnigan
Whitefish Bay

Email: Finnigan4WFB@gmail.com
Campaign Website: SeanFinnigan.com

Make sure you read other items:

1. Kathy Rogers - School Board Candidate
   
2. Joe Martinelli - School Board Candidate
   
3. Gerry Steele - School Board Candidate
   
4. DeMuth Drops out of School Board Race
   

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The extended registration deadline has come and gone, and we now know how the Whitefish Bay elections will shape up:

Two candidates have registered for the two 3-year terms, incumbent Trustee Richard Foster and myself.  The race is officially uncontested, and barring a write-in candidate, I will serve as Trustee in April. 

I admit, it's very anti-climactic to "win" an election position uncontested.  I enjoyed last April, attending a candidate party, waiting for the phone call with election results.  Yesterday, I read I had won because no one else volunteered to serve.

I wish to thank the many folks who prodded me into running, and the dozens who emailed me and signed my nomination papers.  

Whitefish Bay will have one Trustee race, as two candidates have registered for the single 1-year Trustee term: Sean Finnigan, and Jay Miller.  

Last year, when I interviewed candidates, I was aiming for citizen journalist from the perspective of the voter.  Now I'll be on the Board, and my biases for homeowners and merchants are no secret .. so I'm not sure how I'll blog this election.  Certainly, I will provide any candidate the opportunity to write to the public, far more than the 3 sentences they receive in the official NOW article.  

SCHOOL BOARD:

Last April, the School Board race was uncontested, so I didn't cover the election.  In 2009, there are 5 candidates running for 3 positions on the Board.  Kathy Rogers, Thomas DeMuth, Geraldine Steele, Joseph Martinelli and Deborah Frensz Taran are the five candidates.

I confess, I do not know many of the issues that confront the School Board, as my young children aren't in WFB schools yet.   I assume most issues begin and end with money, contracts, and the teacher's union.    I'd love to hear from voters on what major issues need to be discussed. 

School Board members make a cool $1,200/year, doubling the Trustee's take of $600/year.      Clearly, nobody is serving on either board for the money, but the disparity is odd.   For grins a chuckles, I've collected the data for a number of Milwaukee's suburbs:

It's interesting that WFB pays their board members the least of all the suburbs who pay.  Must be an easy job, right?

EDIT:  No, I'm not laying out the case to boost salaries!!  Just reporting the stats.

WFB Trustee/School Board CANDIDATES:  Please email me (KevinBuckleyWFB@gmail.com) at your earliest convenience if you'd like to discuss your campaign for publication.

Make sure you read other items:

1. Drugs & Whitefish Bay
   
2. Grab Bag: Lots of WFB Updates
   
3. Here's an idea: WFB Wi-Fi
4. New SS Restaurant: Berkeley's
5. WFB Wins Voter Turnout Championship
6. My LASIK experience
7. Why is the NY Times picking on WFB?
   

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I filed my papers over the lunch hour, and am officially on the ballot.  Trustee Richard Foster is also on the 3-year term slate.  If no one registers by the deadline, the race will be uncontested for the two 3-year Trustee positions.

However .. the 1-year Trustee slot now has a contested race!  

• Sean Finnigan, whose name should be familiar.  Finnigan and Richard Foster were the final 2 back in September when the Trustees were appointing a replacement Trustee.  Finnigan lost on the 5th ballot.  Here's his work website.
  
  
• Jay Miller .. Miller is currently on the Plan Commission for WFB.  No other information is known at this time.
  

Last Tuesday, when I announced I would volunteer to run for Village Trustee, I was quickly humbled by receiving a few dozen emails from new supporters within a couple hours.   It was interesting meeting with all these folks who are fans of this blog, but I've never met before.   Honored to meet so many supporters in such a short time.

I have enough signatures to be on the ballot.

I admit .. I've been profoundly remiss in publicly beating the bushes for candidates to run our Village.  Privately, I've tried to goad people into running, but that only goes so far. 

While I (and the NOW) are unaware of any changes since the New Year, NO CANDIDATES have filed for the One-Year Trustee position.

The deadline is Tuesday, January 6th at 5pm.

So .. Think you have something to offer Whitefish Bay?   Even if you don't want to run a campaign, the One-Year term is sitting there, waiting for someone to step up.

It's interesting that 4 short months ago, seven Villagers wrote out applications and went through an interview process to be appointed as a Trustee to fill out Brennan's term.   Today, none of those folks (besides incumbent Foster) have applied to run for the "sign and you're in" 1-year term. -- There was talk that one of the "finalists" was seriously considering putting his name in, but so far .. that hasn't happened.

So .. unless something changes, in April, the first order of business for the Trustees will be to .. drum roll .. ask for applications for a 1-year appointment to the Board, just as they did 4 months ago.

So here's what you need to do:

Monday - File EB-1 and EB-162 at Village Hall.  They are easy, short forms to fill out.  They must be presented at Village Hall BEFORE you can collect signatures.

Tuesday - 5pm - File EB-169 - Nomination papers.  You need a minimum of 20 signatures, but you should get a few more, just in case any of them are incorrect (signed by someone under 18, not living in the Bay, etc.)   I found that most households were "good" for two signatures, so you're really going for 10 households, if you have some luck.

Yes, time is tight.  It's not easy getting 20+ signatures in such a short time.   Come by my house, my wife and I will sign. 

After being asked by a number of folks, I am entering the race for Whitefish Bay Village Trustee (3 year term.)

I admit this was a tough decision on my part, mainly because of the "job" I have as the "Village Spillage" blogger.    I started writing this blog about Whitefish Bay almost two years ago, posting many of the good things, and problematic issues in Whitefish Bay, from the viewpoint of an 11 year resident.  

Last year, when asked to run for Trustee, I rationalized my decision not to run because .. I was already serving the community in my own way, covering WFB with some new-media attention, as the regular newspaper’s coverage was and is, paper thin.   The same is true today.   

While I will not stop blogging if I were selected by the villagers to serve, there’s no doubt the "voice" of Village Spillage would change, from the local crank who points out issues, to a Trustee who is part of the system.

So why run now?  Perhaps because there is an obvious lack of those willing to volunteer their time to serve.    I understand.   I estimate the job of Trustee must take  somewhere north of 150+ hours per year of time (for the princely compensation of $600/year!)     That’s a tremendous time commitment for anyone.  

There are three Trustee positions up for election in April, and at the moment, only one other individual has submitted paperwork to run, and time is running out.

Trustee Richard Foster, who joined the Board a few months ago, is running for a 3-year term, instead of the 1-year "Brennan Seat" to which he was appointed.  

No word from current Trustee Rita Cheng whether she is running or not.  I sent a message to Trustee Cheng two weeks ago, asking her what her intentions were and she did not reply.  The deadline for "non-candidacy" was last week, so she is either late to submit papers, or possibly doesn't want to campaign again.

My "platform" is an open book.  Indeed, the voters of Whitefish Bay may know more about me than any candidate in our history, as I’ve written some 120 pieces of commentary about our Bay, all lurking around the WhitefishBayNow site for all to read.  

In summary:

1. Help Silver Spring:  Work with the BID board to understand what merchants’ need to thrive.   We need to improve our marketing of the soon-to-be streetscaped district.  We need to evaluate merchant-unfriendly codes.  We have a reputation of a red-tape municipality, and need to bend over backwards for all new businesses who knock on the Village Hall door.
   
   
2. Defend Homeowner Rights:   Whitefish Bay has curtailed the rights of homeowners often to the dismay of anyone who seeks to improve their homes.  Whitefish Bay is landlocked.  The main way we increase our tax base is through homeowner improvements, and we must do what we can to encourage and streamline that process.
   
   
3. Communicate:  With the lack of media attention of Village happenings, as a blogger, I’ve tried to fill that void.  I will continue to do so in the future.   We only have one other Trustee (Fehring) who is reachable by email.  If elected, I will be the second, open to your comments.  

So, loyal readers:  I need your help.  I have filed the initial papers to begin circulating a nominating petition .. if you are willing to sign, I’d be happy to visit you at your home .. Please email me at KevinBuckleyWFB@gmail.com .. Thank you!

At tonight's special session of the WFB Trustees, 6 candidates were interviewed for retiring Trustee Brennan's position.  One applicant withdrew her name prior to the meeting.

The process was to allow each candidate 15 minutes to answer 4 questions:

1. Describe your WFB experience, and any skills or talents that you have that would apply to being a Trustee
2. What specific areas would you be interested in while serving as a Trustee
3. What do you think are three greatest challenges for WFB
4. Do you have any questions for the board?

To kibbitz a little .. Question 2 and 3 frequently elicited the same answer.   Generally, people talk about what interests them because they see it as a challenge.  For example, many answered that they were interested in seeing Silver Spring improved, which, no surprise, is also the answer to the "biggest challenge" question.

Question 4 is a throw-away question that doesn't tell you much about the candidate, because in the end, the Trustees went around the table, answering that question.  Honestly, Question 4 told me more about the Trustees, than it did the candidates.

I would have loved to have heard more about how each candidate values, for example, homeowner rights.  Or what specific ideas they could bring to the table concerning their "biggest challenge."   -- That being said, I think the process allowed the cream to float to the top, so to speak.  It "worked."  -- And I suppose my perspective, as a villager who has interests, versus the perspective of a Trustee, is vastly different.  I want to elect someone who shares my values.  Their criteria for appointment should reflect the whole village.  I get that.

These 4 questions were designed to figure out "what kind of guy/gal" the person was, were they thoughtful and articulate, could they talk the talk.   It was very different from how someone would run an election, which should be based on issues, and answers to challenges .. i.e. a "platform."

After all 6 were interviewed, the Trustees each voted for their top 3 candidates.   The top two were Richard Foster, a 40 year journalist veteran, and Shawn Finnigan, a very bright young attorney. 

As an aside, I penciled in my votes, and Foster and Finnigan were my 1 and 2 as well.  

The Trustees then voted on Foster and Finnigan, but couldn't reach the required 4 votes to declare a winner.  (Trustee Cheng was not in attendance.  So the winner needed at least 4 of 5 votes.)   Originally, it was 3-2 for Finnigan, but after two rounds, it flipped to 3-2 Foster.     No discussion was heard between votes, which I thought was a bit odd, since it left the Trustees up to blindly changing their votes back and forth, hoping to hit 4 votes eventually.

Surprisingly on the 5th ballot, Richard Foster won, and will be sworn in next week as our newest Village Trustee.  If he wishes to retain his seat, he will need to run again next April (2009).

I had Foster as my #1 choice after listening to all six.  He was well spoken, had solid answers to all the questions, and knew the issues surrounding Whitefish Bay, which should come as no surprise, as he'd run for Brennan's seat in April 2006.  Welcome, Trustee-elect Foster.

One other note .. I was very irritated that no one from the "real" media came out to observe these official proceedings.  This is an important deal here, people.  -- It was also sad that no other members of the public showed up to hear, what really amounts to, a "mini-campaign" for an elected office.

Good night!

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Ok.. now that the primary is over, we can get back to WFB issues!

I have the list of Villagers who have applied for Trustee Jim Brennan's position.  Brennan resigned about a month ago.

From what I've pieced together, these seven applicants will be interviewed by the board later this month, with the Trustees picking one.  With seven candidates, I can imagine several rounds of voting to reach a majority on one individual.

It's interesting that, last April 2008, we had to beat the bushes to come up with 3 candidates for 2 Trustee positions.   Now we've got SEVEN applicants for 1 spot.  

Is there a new surge of people who want to lead?  Or is this because people would rather be appointed, instead of running for election?  If so .. whoever gets appointed is going to have to get really good at running campaigns, real quick, if they wish to keep their seat.

Why?   This appointment  is for 6 months, and will go until April 2009, at which time, there will be an election for the position.  Trustees Schmidt and Cheng will be up for re-election in April 2009, for 3 year term, but also, the appointed Trustee's position will be up for re-election to "fill out" the original term of Brennan, which ends in April 2010.

So the newly appointed Trustee will need to run two campaigns, one in 2009, and again in 2010, which takes them to 2013.

I want to commend all seven of these villagers for stepping forward:

• Chad Wiener,  N. Cumberland, Attorney (website)
  
• Sean M. Finnigan,  N. Shoreland, Attorney (website)
  
• Julie K. Gilpin,  N. Sheffield, HR Manager
• Richard Foster,  N. Murray, Retired -- former Editorial Writer, Milwaukee J-S (Click for list of editorials)
  
• Thomas L. Williams,  N. Santa Monica, Interim Minister
• Heather Nill,  N. Elkhart, Sales Manager
• Kevin McMahon,  E. Beaumont, Stay-at-home Dad

I tried to do some google searches on each person, couldn't find much .. linked to their bios or, in Fosters' case, a list of editorials he wrote for the Journal Sentinel. 

Foster may sound familiar, as he ran for Trustee in April 2007.  Thomas Williams ran for Trustee, back in 2004.  Both Williams and Foster lost races to Brennan, whose very spot they are now trying to gain again.

It will be interesting how many Trustees will need to recuse themselves, during questioning and voting, because of close relationships with applicants.  It's one thing to appoint someone to a committee who is your friend, it's quite another to have them join you on the Village Board of Trustees.    Clearly, many Trustees have a wide spectrum of friends and acquaintances because of their time in the Village, so lines need to be drawn somewhere or you might not have any impartial votes.  In the end, the Board needs diversity of opinion, not a good ol' boys/gals club.

And .. one wonders what the Trustees will ask in their interviews.

Here are a few questions I'd want to know from each .. feel free to add more in the comment section:

1. What skills and ideas will you bring to the table to help revitalize Silver Spring? 

2. How respectful are you of homeowner rights?   Will you pass codes that restrict homeowners and what  they can do with their property? 

3. Name three ordinances that you'd like to see changed, removed, or added in Whitefish Bay.

If any of the seven candidates wishes to have an opportunity to describe their candidacy to the public, please email me at KevinBuckleyWFB@gmail.com ..

Finally .. to the hundreds of new readers of this blog .. welcome!  The past few weeks have been dedicated to the 22nd race .. future entries will mostly be about Whitefish Bay.  Stick around!   Even better .. no need to check the blog every day to see if something has been written ..  Have it delivered to your inbox, so you won't miss anything.  Free.  Click here.

So yesterday I read the email alert for the posting of the agenda for Monday's WFB Trustee meeting.   I noticed two items, a "Commendation for Jim Brennan" and "Discussion of vacancy on Board".  Putting two and two together, I emailed a village official and got confirmation that indeed, Brennan had resigned July 31st due to health reasons.  (Village Spillage wishes Trustee Brennan well.)

But this episode is a great example of how poor the Village is at communication.

The resignation of a Trustee is pretty big news.  It means that a 3rd new member will be joining the board in 2008, which is significant turnover.   Brennan wasn't some member of an arts & crafts committee.  He was one of the seven elected officials who run our Village. 

How did Villagers find out?  Some silly blogger just happened to read the agenda and wrote about it.   Crazy.

Now, maybe the Village put out a notice to the media, and they'd left for a long weekend.  Maybe.  But meanwhile, how about using that new Village website, and its "Announcements" page?  Seems like a great place for something like this.

Next up .. is the debate on how to fill the vacancy.  Brennan was re-elected in April 2007, so his term goes to 2010.

Shorewood just finished going through this same problem.  They discussed 4 options.

1. Leave the slot vacant until 2010
   
2. Appoint someone until 2010, or until a special election
3. Have a special election on the November 2008 ballot (3 months from now)
4. Add the spot in the April 2009 election.  (Currently, Trustees Schmid and Cheng will be up for re-election at that time.)

I think my least favorite option is to leave the slot vacant.  2nd least favorite is to wait until April of 2009 .. we had enough trouble scaring up 3 candidates for 2 spots in April 2008.  Imagine filling 3 spots.

Then there's trying to do a November 2008 election.  Logistically, that's pretty tough as well, to find candidates, get them to run in a compressed election time-table.   It can be done, though.  The wildcard is just trying to finding multiple decent candidates who will give it a try. 

Finally, appointing a villager has its pros and cons.  I can't find where our municipal code explains how this is done, but I'd guess the Trustees interview interested parties, then choose one.  On the one hand, it shortcuts the effort necessary to run an election and it probably guarantees multiple candidates, and allows the board to flunk out light-weights. To have 6 Trustees pick someone to join their club has a spectrum of possibilities, more skewed however, to choosing the like-minded.

Tough choices.

Make sure to read the entry on the 22nd District Candidate Roundup for Wasserman's Seat.

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I've been meaning to drop in a story about our newly elected Trustee, Tom Fehring.   He's trying to put me out of business.

Sort of.

He has his own blog!   Imagine that, a Village official, tinkering with internet outreach.   So far, Tom's been writing about topics from construction to rain barrels .. he's got a great page on Exploring WFB History .. and one explaining his take on how to Improve the Village .. I hope to see future blog entries on all the secret wheeling and dealing behind Trustee doors. 

Heck, I'd be happy to read about the public wheeling and dealing, as our media coverage is pretty thin.

Oh, and here's something else.  He has a public email address, TrusteeFehring@WFBVillage.org.  Imagine that. 

All the Trustees have private email addresses that some people are fortunate enough to have, but they're not technically public information.  If you want to reach the Trustees via email, the official way is to email the Village Manager (manager@WFBVillage.org) who will forward/print your email for Trustee consumption.  Hardly 2007 technology.

Of course, the reluctance has something to do with open records laws, whereby official communication should be archived.  Now that WFB has a new website, with GovOffice servers, the technology should be available.

I think email correspondence is vital to a more responsive government.  Let's face it, Whitefish Bay's demographics are dominated by busy people.  Families with soccer games to go to.  Dance recitals, kung-fu tournaments.  Not many have the time to go to Village meetings and voice their opinions, or just converse with their officials.  

Email is the great equalizer, as it lowers the bar, making it very easy to communicate with the people who represent you.  Of particular import, though, is that with more communication, vocal minorities can be equalized by the greater community. 

In Shorewood, you can contact your Trustees via email.

In Glendale, you can contact your Trustees via email.  They even have Trustee pages, on their (otherwise abysmal) website.

In Mequon, you can contact the Mayor via email.  Partial credit.

In Brown Deer, you can contact most of the Trustees via email.

In Cedarburg, you can contact your Trustees via email.

In Grafton, you can contact your Trustees via email.

In Port Washington, you can contact your Trustees via email.

Fox Point and Bayside have pretty nice websites, but no Trustee access.  

But extra credit goes to Bayside.  Somehow, their tiny town has got their internet act together, minus Trustee email address.  You want a list of New Ordinances?  How about Resolutions?  (Oh, and notice how a resolution was passed 5 days ago, and posted immediately?  Warp speed.) How about a WEEKLY newsletter on what Bayside officials are up to?  Great stuff.

WFB Trustee Fehring requested his Official email address.  Let's see Pritchard, Roemer, Schmidt, Cheng, Siegel, and Brennan do the same!

Make sure to read Homeowner Rights Suffer Blow.  and ARC-ARGH.

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I've been to three meetings at Village Hall in the past year to witness three decisions I cared about.  I am 0 for 3.

The first I attended was to observe the annual decision to continue the practice of having Trick-or-Treating on Sunday afternoon, trumping tradition with convenience, flying in the face of how the rest of the country celebrates Halloween.  While I was disappointed, life will go on, and the GHOST-PAC army will grow each year.

The second, was to witness the debate on allowing Aurora Health Care build a clinic on prime Silver Spring property.  Again, I was disappointed in the decision, but I understood it.  When your business district is in a death spiral, you accept sub-optimal establishments, hoping it will work out.

I went to last night's Trustee meeting to hear the debate on curtailing homeowner rights.   To be honest, this one made me angry.

To summarize, the debate was over how homeowners may use their garages.   As Whitefish Bay residents seek to improve their homes, their dilapidated garages are replaced with glorious new structures, often with room above the car park that can be utilized in ways only bound by the homeowner's imagination.   Maybe a home office, maybe a toy room, maybe a neighborhood ping pong arena, or maybe just a simple room with a couch to read books in peace.

Well, imagine no further, Whitefish Bay residents.  You can't do that anymore. 

Four residents spoke at the meeting, two of them architects, all asking: Where is the public outcry for new regulation?   The answer is, there isn't any.  

The trustees based their decision on two specious elements.  Safety, and privacy (aesthetics).  Since fires can break out in garage spaces, Whitefish Bay "shouldn't" allow habitable space above them.   An audience member debunked that idea with two hits:  First, we allow people to live atop attached garages all the time.  Second, new garages are required to be built to fireproofing standards.  

As for the "privacy" rationale, whereby residents don't want tall remodeling projects blocking out their view, Trustee Siegel aptly suggested that occurs frequently in Whitefish Bay, as people are allowed to construct additions to their homes, which certainly alter the view of neighbors. 

Furthermore, we have an Architectural Review Commission who makes sure all projects are of "proper scale and mass."    For the most part, these garages with floorspace above will be built.  The question is, what can people do with them?

At one point, Trustee Roemer, who was chairing this part of the meeting, said he was uncomfortable with the rules at hand, and he thought the Board would not be able to vote on them until the issues had been resolved, since the debate had exposed many unaddressed problems.  However, since the "Plan Commission had worked on this for so long", sending it back to them wouldn't be productive.  It appeared the Trustees just wanted to move on, flaws notwithstanding.  They then passed each rule as written, with a couple feeble dissents per rule.

As a guess, I think Trustees Roemer and Fehring, who cast the two lone dissenting votes, were frustrated but swept up in the bunch.

Honestly, this kind of regulation is infuriating.  Whitefish Bay is landlocked.  Lot sizes are small.  Homeowners should be encouraged to do their best with the small property they have with the rules already in place, .   The answer to residents desiring more space to inhabit on their property shouldn't be "MOVE TO MEQUON."  

What angers me the most, however, is that this is a classic case of lawmakers passing a regulation that the public would overwhelmingly reject.   There were 4 village residents who spoke passionately and knowledgeably against passage.  There were ZERO residents there to speak in favor, besides the ARC chair who spoke informationally.  Yet the Trustees imagined hoards of Fonzies, secretly renting out 2nd floors of garages (with no plumbing).  The Trustees imagined fictional Villagers taking umbrage with neighbors using space above their new garages for offices, or recreation, or dozing.  

To an extent, I blame myself.  I should have written a column weeks ago, maybe snared a few more residents who care about their rights as homeowners to show up.  On the other hand, would the Trustees have listened had 10 people showed, or 20?   The Trustees were using their imaginations about unspoken, theoretical neighbor unhappiness which apparently trumped the passionate pleas from those actually in attendance.

(And for the record, I don't have a garage, so I am not biased to favor lax rules.  I do, however, realize my family has doubled in the past two years, and my 1300 sq. foot home is getting smaller by the minute.  A home with an extra room over the garage could be exactly what I'm looking for in my next WFB residence, but alas.)

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Voter registration roles are public information .. the data for WFB is interesting.  There's a record for each of the 9,892 registered voters in Whitefish Bay, detailing their name, address, and voting record.  Yup.  I know if you, William Whitefishbay of 1234 Henry Clay, voted or not.  If you lived on Henry Clay, there's an 81% chance you didn't vote.  More about that later.

The data for the April 2008 election is not out, except for knowing that there was a 43% turnout.

I crunched the numbers from the April 2007 election to compare two similar elections.  In 2007, 4 candidates were on the ballot for Village Trustee (Brennan, Roemer, Foster, Anderko) .. and there was a WI Supreme Court race with two candidates, Ziegler and Clifford.  2008 had a contested Village Trustee race (Fee, Siegel, Fehring) and a WI SC race, Butler and Gableman.

2007 Compares to 2008 in that, for both years, there were WI Supreme Court races, and a contested Village Trustee race.   2008 also had a Milwaukee County Executive Race (Scott Walker/Taylor), a WFB Judge Race, and the Frankenstein Referendum -- It is interesting that voter participation went from 32% in April 2007, to 44% in 2008. 

I'm not sure how to explain that 12 point, 37% increase in participation from 2007 to 2008.  Maybe it was the Walker/Taylor race.. or the 100s of ads for State Supreme Court, but were there more ads for the 2008 SSC race, than the 2007 SSC race?  In comparison, Shorewood's turnout rate stayed around 34% for both April 2007 and April 2008.  So if the ads motivated WFB residents to vote, it should have also motivated Shorewood's residents.  And it did not.

Maybe WFB's voter increase had something to do with the nature of the Trustee race?  You could theorize that Villagers have been inundated with Silver Spring business closures over the past 12 months, which may have spurred people to vote.  Heck, I suppose one difference between 2007 and 2008 is that no one wrote extensive Candidate Profiles (cough, cough) in 2007, so who knows .. maybe this very blog made a difference, yielding a more informed electorate and higher turnout.  (I'd like to think I helped out.)

Ok .. enough with that.  Here's a table of a street-by-street breakdown of who voted in WFB for the April 2007 election. 

Clearly, short streets shouldn't win the prize for "Best Voters" .. I think that prize goes to streets like Lake View, Circle, Birch, Woodburn and Newhall.  Chateau, Anita, and Henry Clay are where the slackers live.

There's a few items you should have on your calendar over the next 10 days:

1. Monday, April 21st is the first Village Board meeting with newly elected Trustees Julie Siegel and Thomas Fehring. The agenda is a real barn-burner!

2. This Thursday, April 24th at 7pm, Advocates for Education of WFB will host a forum entitled "The Pitfalls of Raising a Children in an Affluent Community" with featured guest Philip Chard.  The event is located on the 2nd floor of the WFB library.  You can find out more about Advocates for Education here, and read more details about the forum here.

3. Saturday, April 26th, the WFB Civic Foundation is hosting "Green Day in the Bay" .. This is a volunteer effort to spend one hour, from 9am-10am, to clean up our streets, parks, and beaches.  Contact JulErickson@sbcglobal.net or read the details here or the NOW article here.

4. Next Tuesday, April 29th is the WFB Plan Commission meeting to discuss the application for Aurora Health Care to build a medical clinic on the old Famous Footwear/Talbot's property on Silver Spring.  The agenda can be read here. 

Prediction 1:  Aurora gets their clinic.  The CDA approved it, and what Aurora wants, Aurora gets.  Who knows, though.  Maybe the seven commission members will see what an important corner-stone property it is, and hold out for something that would be welcomed.  Hope against hope.

Predictions 2-3-4: The next three major properties that are renovated on Silver Spring will have rents so high that the only viable businesses are medical clinics, pharmacy chains, and banks.  Shorewood will be so envious!

Looks like the election letters that didn't get published in the paper edition, got pushed to the "Voter Guide" where .. few will read.

Here's the one you might have missed:

TOM FEHRING:  Public Forum

Whitefish Bay is a great place to live. But it can be better. I've been listening to Village residents and their concerns. Based on this, and my own thoughts, here is a list of 10 measures that I believe would enhance our village:

1. We need to properly maintain the village infrastructure. Properly maintaining our streets, water mains, sewers, street lights and other areas of the village's infrastructure doesn't mean we need to spend more - it means that we need to efficiently maintain what we have, to anticipate needs before they develop, and to establish effective plans for improving the infrastructure we rely upon.

2. We need to do a better job overseeing village construction projects. To illustrate the point, consider last summer's construction project to replace the sanitary and storm sewers and water mains along East Courtland Place. Fugitive dust was not controlled, safety barricades were not uniformly employed, and the project didn't get completed on schedule.

3. We need to improve the decision-making process. We have been talking about renovating East Silver Spring since Bayshore Town Center was first proposed. Meanwhile, Bayshore Town Center is now complete while we are still talking to consultants about what to do about our shopping district.

4. We need fiscal restraint. The Whitefish Bay board has done a fairly good job of controlling the increase in property taxes devoted to village services. But by benchmarking our services to that of the best communities in the Midwest, we can increase the efficiency of operations and help hold down costs.

5. We must build a better sense of community. Active neighborhood associations can become a critical part of the social foundation of the village and can make neighborhoods more enjoyable places to live. They can also provide the eyes and ears of the community for the Village Board.

6. We should improve pedestrian safety. Crossing Silver Spring continues to be a hazardous experience for pedestrians, and crossing Marlborough at the library isn't much better. We need both better enforcement and effective crossing designs.

7. We must build a sense of history. I have been working with the Whitefish Bay Historic Preservation Commission to identify the historic and architecturally significant homes and other sites within the village. We are working on signage to identify these historic sites, and walking tours that will build on our sense of history.

8. We should improve village governance. Having served as corporate secretary for a major corporation for years, I have the skills to improve village governance. I will work to make our board meetings more responsive to the needs of citizens and improve communication regarding the board's actions.

9. We should improve communications. The village should do a better job of providing information to its residents. An overhaul of its Web site has been promised for many months - if done properly, it can provide a source of up-to-date information.

10. We need a village skating rink. In a year in which you could almost skate on any village street, we again have been unable to create a skating rink for residents. We need to find a way to make this happen.

Tom Fehring - Website: http://www.FehringForWFB.com/

Great letter. 

*** Make sure you read all the candidate profiles and endorsements HERE. ***

Summary: 

President:        PRITCHARD
Trustee:           FEE, FEHRING
Judge:             CHRISTENSEN
School Board: GRECO, PHILLIPS

Well, the filing period came and went, and we've got a few races. 

While I'd focused on the Whitefish Bay Trustee spots, of which two are open for three candidates, a last minute entry came into the dock for WFB Board President to challenge Katie Pritchard.  Doug Weas, who, if Google is correct, is this guy, and heads Weas Development, which appears to be a real estate developer, or consultant of some sort. 

I'm pleased that Weas has entered the race, as uncontested races are no good.  I will try to get interviews with Pritchard, Weas, and David Fee in the next few weeks.

State-wide, we have a race for State Rep (22), since Sheldon Wasserman is challenging Alberta Darling for State Senate.   Sandra Pasch (of Whitefish Bay) and Rosemary Ponik (Brown Deer), both Democrats, will face off in the September 2nd primary.  Winner coasts to victory in November.

With news last week that a third candidate was running for Village Trustee, Whitefish Bay now has a race, three people for two spots on the Village Board.  Since incumbents have a great probability of re-election, David Fee will probably retain his job, which means this race is mostly between Julie Siegel and Thomas Fehring, who submitted campaign paperwork last week. 

Again, please note, I am not a journalist, I'll endeavor to be fair, however, I suppose I will write an endorsement later in the election process.  In general, I will ask each candidate the same questions.

THOMAS FEHRING:

I contacted Thomas Fehring, and spoke to him at length, asking a range of questions, from his educational background to specific issues that will be discussed in this election.

Thomas is a long time resident, living in Whitefish Bay for the last 34 years, which is probably why this interview took two hours.  He has a rich feeling for the Village and its direction. 

He has a Bachelors and Masters from Marquette in Mechanical Engineering, and was formerly a vice president and general manager at We Power (Wisconsin Energy Corp.) and is now consulting on energy matters out of his home office.  Tom is currently the secretary on the WFB Historic Preservation Commission, and was named "distinguished volunteer" by the board in 2007.  He's also served as a director for Dominican High School.

His engineering background may account for one of his platforms for running.  He explained that he has a great concern for the deterioration of Village infrastructure, from roads, to water mains, sewers and street lighting systems.  "At a time when residents are making an unprecedented investment in improving their own homes, through remodeling and additions, the municipal infrastructure is deteriorating, and our efforts to improve it aren't keeping up," he said.

His other reasons for running were due to his concern with the lack of action on the renovation of Silver Spring.  "There doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency.  The streetscape has deteriorated, businesses have left, and this reflects badly on the community. We can and should have a vibrant, pedestrian friendly, shopping district."  Fehring believes his background in engineering and project management and long history of service to the village will be an asset on the board.  He has worked with and has great respect for outgoing Trustee Ken Berg, and felt his leaving is a great loss.

And, his wife encouraged him to run to get him out of the house. Whose wouldn't?

We spoke at great length about the re-development of Silver Spring.  Fehring is frustrated by the lack of urgency that has surrounded the process, noting that the Village has been talking about the issue for years and yet very little has been accomplished, while during the same time, Bayshore has been planned and constructed.    He believes that Silver Spring desperately needs new businesses, especially restaurants. 

We had a long discussion about how that could be accomplished, and Fehring tended away from monetary partnerships between the village, landlords and entrepreneurs, and instead wants to create regulatory environment through which businesses can prosper. 

"WFB probably took a step backward when Silver Spring properties were valued so highly.  This increases taxes and, of course, rents."  "Heinemann's was a great asset because it served as a community meeting place for decades.  Whitefish Bay needs to partner with businesses like that to accommodate their needs, make it work for them, for example, with outdoor seating space, alcoholic beverage sales, or increased hours of operation."

Fehring also said that it is important for existing Silver Spring merchants to be proactive in developing and enhancing their own businesses, and the Village officials should be willing to work with them to facilitate the improvements. 

He believes the Village should, on an informal basis, bring together strong community voices who can assist developers with their projects, and help communicate their ideas to the public. 

We spoke about eminent domain for a while, and generally speaking, Fehring is against the use of eminent domain except as a last resort, if a land owner was allowing a property to go unused for a protracted period of time, or when a single hold-out is preventing a desirable project from moving forward.  

As for the demolition of residences, or tear-downs, Fehring believes the historic preservation committee and architectural review boards have gotten the regulations "about right" although he noted that there remains opportunities to strengthen them.  While around 150 homes would qualify to be on the Village historic register, he believes that property owners should have rights to improve their buildings as they see fit, as long as it is not disproportionate to the neighborhood and has proper mass and scale and is sensitive to historic and architectural features.

As for my pet issue, night-time Trick or Treating, Fehring believes WFB should encourage the use of Neighborhood Associations, like Wauwatosa does.  Neighborhood Associations can do many communal events that bring the smaller areas together, including night-time Halloween celebrations.

Tom had a ton of things to say and I've tried my best to summarize our conversation.  I appreciate the time he took with me.  I will try to follow up with all the candidates later in the election cycle.

Well, it looks like I may have goaded at least one candidate into running for Whitefish Bay Village Trustee.

Thomas Fehring, 60, of N. Woodburn St., is the latest to file to run for the Whitefish Bay Village Board.

While I've never met Thomas per se, he's a faithful reader of this blog, and he's emailed me on a few topics I've written about. I will have an interview with him in the next week or so.

I'm very pleased we now have an actual race, three candidates for two spots on the Village Board.  Incumbent David Fee and newcomer Julie Siegel are also running.

At the moment, Katie Pritchard is expected to be the lone candidate for Board President.   

There is still time, however, for more candidates. 

While the filing date for nomination signatures is January 2nd, a candidate needs to file a form before asking for the 20 required signatures.  (Read this blog post for details.)  So let's say you've thought about it over Christmas, and decided to give of yourself to your fellow villagers.  Plenty of time.  If you make it to the Village Hall, file your candidacy papers this Friday .. get your 20-30 signatures over the long weekend, you're all set.   (And again, email me if you need signatures.   My wife and I will sign your form.  All you need is 18 more!)

I do want to take a moment and give some thoughts on the people who've served, or are thinking of serving.  Bless you.  Really, I mean it.  I've thought about running, and have spoken to others about having them run, too.  The #1 reason for not volunteering is not the hassle of a campaign, not the once monthly meetings.  It's the untold hours of your time that you would give up, the committee meetings, plus the certainty of villagers calling you at night, taking time away from your life, your hobbies, your work, your family.  All for $600/year?

It's amazing to think 25, 50 plus years ago, serious men (mostly) would strive to be leaders of their communities.  Now, our lifestyles are different.  Our children engage us in ways unthinkable decades ago, soccer, dance, hockey, etc.  We try to maximize our family time at all costs.   Stepping forward, volunteering to lead your community and its governmental needs falls far down the family priority list.

So I salute those who've held these positions, past, present, and future.   Thank you for your service.
 

There are two open spots for Whitefish Bay Village Trustee for the April 2008 election, and currently, exactly two candidates.  I've been told incumbant David Fee is indeed running again, and as interviewed last week, newcommer Julie Siegel has filed papers for the other open spot.  Additionally, Katie Pritchard, the current President of the Board, will also be running.

While all are good candidates, I strongly believe that competition is necessary for democracy to function well.  3 runners, 3 winners is not a race. It gives citizens no chance to compare and contrast, and pick the better woman or man.

There's time left for someone else to step forward.  I've done some leg-work for you, and found that the deadline for filing is January 2, 2008.  However, you do need to submit a Registration Statement before you can get the ball rolling.  Below are the rough steps, but be sure to contact the Village for the exact rules.

1. Go to the Village Hall and pick up a packet .. here's the links to most of what you'll receive:
   * Ballot Access Checklist EBIS-7
   * Declaration of Candidacy - EB-162
   * Campaign Registration Statement - EB-1
   * Nomination Paper for Nonpartisan Office EB-169
   
   * Here's the Election Admin Manual for Candidates
2. You need to submit the Campaign Registration Statement before circulating nomination papers. 
3. You need a paltry 20 nomination signatures of Whitefish Bay residents.  Of course, you should get more, just to be on the safe side.
4. Get it in to the Village Hall by 5pm on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008.

So .. do you have ideas on how to fix Silver Spring?  Have something to say about our zoning rules?  Historic preservation or tear-downs?  Care about WFB's infrastructure and parks?  Ideas on public safety, or tax rates?  

I know the holidays are right around the corner .. but 20 signatures is a piece of cake.  You've gotta know 5 neighbors on your block, easy.  That's a10 signatures if there's two adults in each household.  Linger around Winke's, Sendik's, or the Library, and you're bound to find 10 more friends, willing to sign.

Bring it by my house, my wife and I'll sign it.  I'm in the book!

Now's your chance to share your voice and lead.

If you're not interested .. think about who might be.  Forward this article to them, and ask them to think about running.  There's time left.

You might have missed this blurb on the WhitefishBayNOW website:

As of today, Julie Siegel, 42, of 5267 N. Diversey Blvd., is the first to file for one of the two seats available in April on the Whitefish Bay Village Board.  Incumbent Kenneth Berg announced he will step down. The other incumbent is Trustee David Fee.

With the dearth of village coverage from the print media, I'll step up to write about the April election in Whitefish Bay.  It's an odd position, and I remind all that I am not a journalist.  I will be as fair as possible in these beginning months.  I'll try to talk to each candidate and get their views on Whitefish Bay and its direction.  I will, on occasion, interject opinion, and will probably write endorsements at the end of the process. 

JULIE SIEGEL

I contacted Julie Siegel, our first candidate for the two spots on the Whitefish Bay Village Board of Trustees.  I spoke to her for about 45 minutes, and asked her a range of questions, from her educational background to specific issues that will be discussed in this election. 

Julie grew up in Shorewood, and moved to Whitefish Bay 16 years ago.  She has a Finance degree, as well as a Masters degree in Social Work from UW-Milwaukee.  She has previously worked in Real Estate, and had been working at St. Michael's as a social worker, but left her job two years back to attend to her family.

Her husband, Roger, works in real estate and has been recently been appointed to WFB's Community Development Authority (CDA).  Her father, Samuel Dickman, is the Village Board President in Bayside.  She said she'd considered running for Trustee before, and explained her father had encouraged her to investigate recently.

I asked about how her nomination process went .. she said her kids laughed at (with) her as she went into Sendik's and bumped into people she knew, to get the 20 signatures required for nomination.

Why is she running?  "I love Whitefish Bay," she said, "I love living here, it's a great place with good schools and a quality community."  She mentioned the 4th of July Parade and Great Pumpkin displays as some of her favorite civic moments. 

I asked for her thoughts on the re-development of Silver Spring.  She had attended the Panel Meeting in November, and found Joe Bartolotta's ideas on Silver Spring to be helpful.  She wasn't sure what she would like to see on Silver Spring, noting that, as Bartolotta had, rents are prohibitively high for restaurants to be successful.  She was generally accepting of creating a Business Improvement District (BID) Board, but wasn't sure if it was for the Trustees to form.  As an alternative, she suggested having one realtor in charge of marketing the district.

Generally, she said, it was important to keep the scale appropriate for any new buildings on Silver Spring, and that anything new be considerate of the immediate neighbors.  I did ask if she believed the "pace" of action on Silver Spring was too slow, too fast, or just right .. she had no comment because she was "new to the process". 

We also spoke about another issue that has concerned Whitefish Bay over the last few years, namely, the handful of homes that have been torn down to make way for new, bigger homes.  She didn't have a specific answer, but suggested that as long as the new homes fit the scale of the neighborhood, and that the developer is following the zoning regulations, it was acceptable.

Finally, she said she was going to research the issues of Whitefish Bay by talking to the Village Manager, and by going door to door to get a feel for what residents think is important.  She ended with the idea that she would work hard for the village, that she was open minded and willing to listen to concerns and find out answers to questions she didn't know.

---

Admittedly, this is a very premature interview with of a candidate who had just filed nomination papers, and hadn't formed positions on the issues that face our Village.  I appreciate the time she gave to me, and will try to follow up with Siegel later to hear more specific answers on her vision for the village.

I would also like to add that Whitefish Bay needs candidates for these positions.  Government doesn't work well with politicians who run unopposed, when voters have no choices, and no ability to pick the better woman or man.    As Ken Berg leaves the board, he takes with him some 15 years of experience, and leaves a big hole to fill.  Whitefish Bay faces serious issues each year, and we need some of the best and brightest to step forward and lead.

I will find out the specifics, but I believe the deadline to file nomination papers is the first week in January, 2008, so the clock is ticking!