Shorelines

On   Whitefishbaynow.com is an excellent blogger, Kevin Buckley, who recently wrote a posting about getting a ticket for parking overnight in front of his house ----  (you can read his entire posting at:

http://blogs.whitefishbaynow.com/village_spillage/archive/2008/06/18/took-10-years.aspx)

Some excerpts from his posting:

 " We've lived in Whitefish Bay 10 years and it finally happened. 

I wrote some Comments back to Kevin regarding overnight parking ......

 Shorewood had finished Streetscaping North Oakland Avenue just a little over 10 years ago, when it decided the multi-million dollar project was obsolete. 

Other than a need to level the pavers in the parkway, most folks did not think there was a need for a total redo.

Ironically, most of what Shorewood deemed to be obsolete --- benches, planters, trash containers  and street lights --- are now being productively used by the Shorewood School District.  They must have a different definition of obsolete over there.

Without question however ---- the New Streetscape is Obsolete ----- before it is even finished !!!!

As part of the project, giant concrete borders were put around all the trees in the parkway. 

Aside from the questionable aesthetics of the hard surfaced smooth borders clashing with the rustic look of the pavers and concrete walks --- the borders are too high for cars to park alongside them.

The absolute need for maximum parking on Oakland is well known and acknowledged.  But with the new concrete borders:

1) Cars with passengers will not be able to park next to the curb, as the passengers will not be able to exit the car.

2) A lot of nice cars are going to have serious damage to their doors as folks try to open them and they get crunched on the concrete borders.

3) Cars that do park so that passengers will be able to exit will have to be far away from the curb -- which will probably result in parking tickets and be a hazard to bicycle riders.

4) There will be traffic backups and the potential for accidents, as cars have to stop in the driving lanes to let out passengers before they can park.

Below are pictures of the new concrete borders and how they affect car doors:

Any by the way --- what do you folks think of the new benches ?  In my opinion the new black benches are smaller and uglier than the green benches they replace. 

And I pity the poor soul who happens to sit on one of those black benches on a hot sunny day while wearing shorts

----- ouch !! 

 WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW !

 Deciding not to let the voters of Shorewood elect a trustee to replace Phinney who resigned his seat, the Village Board interviewed 12 applicants ..........

( I believe none of the twelve have ever subjected themselves to the bright light of the election process and found this back door way to office to be more palatable !)

The Village Board Members selected Sean Cummings, who is the co-chair of the D2D Committee. 

The D2D project, replacing the SHS natural field with an artificial field, and possibly adding a big dome for winter, was touted as a private contribution project that would cost in the $3 million range.

The "private contribution" aspect of the project may have been well intentioned at first, but the D2D Committee, with Sean Cummings in the lead, quickly acquired about $1 million in taxpayer money from the School District, the Village Board and the CDA.

In the meantime ---  the School Board is cutting back programs like music, arts and languages, and is trying to figure out which school building to close for the lack of students and money  ..........

Mr Cummings should fit right in with the present Board Trustees, who have a penchant for overlooking the mundane every day needs of the Village of Shorewood, for the bright lights and glamour of the Big Dollar Projects.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW ! 

This hit the fan this afternoon just after 5PM right outside our front door!

I heard a car rev to top end, followed by two thumps and someone yelling:

GET ON THE GROUND!

 As readers of this blog know, I have written "ad nauseam"  :-)  about the lack of consideration for small business parking in areas where there is No Construction Work being done, but No Parking signs are left posted --- and tickets are written for patrons of businesses and residents who might have "logically" thought if there is No Work going on, parking for a few minutes should be ok --- Wrong !!

Contacting the Officials that Be had not been very productive, as the finger pointing (Construction Crews, DPW, Administration, Police, BID) invariably followed a circular pattern, 

I am happy to report that Guy Johnson, the Shorewood Village President, as he promised,  has taken an interest in this situation and is reviewing it with the Village Administration and DPW.

Will there be an immediate change to the current practices ? 

I don't know ---- but I am encouraged the process is being reviewed ---- and that the plight of the hapless small business owners is now a consideration.

WHAT DO YOU THINK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT BELOW.
 

 Frequent readers of my blog --- both of you :-) --- may recall that last fall when the Village was starting the Streetscape project, they had NO PARKING signs all along Oakland Avenue --- for days at a time when NO WORK was being done.

This week --- AGAIN --- on the 4400 block of North Oakland, which is heavily concentrated with small businesses that rely on walk in traffic --- the street has been marked NO PARKING all week although there has been NO WORK done.

Obviously, when they are working in the area, the construction crews need to have the street cleared of parked cars.  

But when they are not working in a retail area --- even if it is for one day only !!!! --- why can't they take the signs down or cover them.

Again --- let me ask of the  Village Government --- the Village Board Members --- the Administration ........... do ANY OF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESSES IN SHOREWOOD ????

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW ! 

According to the Greater Milwaukee Realtor Association, of which I am a member ---- sales in April in the Milwaukee Area were still down: 

If this trend continues, it could affect the repayment of the TIF's the back the spending by the Village on various projects, as the cost of repayment could be spread to all property owners if the TIF properties do not appreciate in value. 

 County-by-county analysis

The contribution limits for individuals in the presidential primary race is $2300.  This has been a problem for Hillary Clinton whose money primarily came from big contributions, and quite a number of contributors who hit the limit, and could not be hit up for more, versus Barack Obama, whose contributions came from more individuals in smaller amounts --- individuals he could go back to several times, with no fear of their hitting the limit.

Although there is a limit on contributions from individuals to a candidate, the big loop hole in the campaign finance laws is that a candidate can contribute unlimited amounts to his or her own campaign.

So when she was running out of money in  February Hillary Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million, and with continuing fundraising difficulties, she lent another $6.4 million in trying to beat back Obama in Indiana and North Carolina.

Now please note there is a Second Loop Hole in the campaign finance laws - Candidates don't have to actually lose the money they put into their campaigns, they can simply LOAN the money as Clinton did, and PAY THEMSELVES BACK with later contributions.

With Clinton's poor showings in North Carolina and Indiana, the political pundits have all but written off her chances of winning the nomination, especially as the math is against her possibility of getting enough pledged delegates to close the gap with Obama.

Many pundits are debating as to just why Hillary is still campaigning so hard, when it appears her chance of victory is somewhere between slim and none.

The pundits talk about her future political career, possible vice president aspirations, and the possibility of behind the scenes deals with the Super Delegates, as being her motivation.

I believe you simply have to FOLLOW THE MONEY !

Hillary does not want to eat her contributions --- she wants other folks to pay the bill.  After all, that has always been the Clinton Way !

By continuing her campaign, Hillary will continue to collect contributions.  But future contributors should not be too surprised to find that instead of using their money to continue the campaign, it may just be going back to Hillary's pocket !!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW !

As the results from the Indiana Primary showed, the Bubba vote that Hillary was so hotly pursuing in the recent weeks, did not come to her aid for a big win.

After Barack Obama made his comments about Small Town America:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years, and nothing has replaced them, and it's not surprising they get bitter. They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them, and it goes on--or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The Clintons tried very hard to make the case that Obama was an "elitist" who was out of touch with the working class, such as these comments that Bill Clinton made while campaigning for Hillary:

It's "not by race or even income," he said. "It's by those who think they are better than everyone else and think they should play by a different set of rules. In West Virginia and in Arkansas, we know that when we see it."

I find no lack of wonderment that Hillary is trying to appeal to the working folks as one of their kind, when her life was growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois (read very wealthy Chicago suburb) --- going to elite schools, and making a ton of money representing big special interests in Arkansas, such as Wal Mart and Tyson Chicken, as a lawyer who happened to be married to the sitting governor (funny how much money such a lawyer can make with that kind of connection).

Perhaps the height of the Clinton's duplicitous new found love for the working class, is exemplified by their acceptance of help from their political "pit bull" James Carville, in regards to Bill's many unwanted advances upon  "working" class women who happened to cross his path. 

Carville demeaned anyone who criticized his patron and once famously characterized a clerical worker in Arkansas state government as "trailer trash" when she truthfully told her humiliating story of Governor Clinton's inexcusable sexual advances.  

"You drag a dollar bill through a trailer park, and you never know what trash might turn up".

I give the Indiana voters credit for seeing beyond Hillary's new "shot and a beer" persona, and for seeing who she really is. 

Not so very long ago, Indiana was the birthplace of the Klu Klux Klan - but the people of Indiana, with their votes,  have shown that this is a New World in which Color of someone's skin will not necessarily be the sole criteria they vote on --- even when being subtlety and not so subtlety reminded of the race issue by the White Rich Woman Candidate.

Much has been said about the ability of Barack Obama to win over Independents and Undecided Voters ...... which will bode well for whichever Democratic Candidate faces off with John McCain.

McCain has a strong attraction to Independent Voters who do not necessarily vote a straight party line, but who look at the individual candidate's attributes. 

Politicians like McCain (and Obama) who have shown a willingness to work with the Party on the other side of the Aisle, are very attractive to Independents who are tired of the Same Old Politics and Political Polarization in our government.

One of the reasons that Barack Obama has done so well against Hillary Clinton, is that Clinton has long been seen as one of the Polarizing Politicians and is often a turn-off to Independent Voters and even Declared Democrats who are looking for Real Change.

As I noted in my previous posting, I believe the Media is portraying the Underwhelming Clinton win in Pennsylvania as an upset --- to keep the race going, along with the viewership of the News Shows and Media Advertising Sales that benefit from the continuation of the Race.

Clinton was forecasted early on to win Pennsylvania by 20 points or more, and her less than double win of 9 point some percent, showed that Obama was able to Whittle Her Lead by More than Half  ---  And among Registered Democrats ONLY !!! 

My Question of who won the Independent Voters in Pennsylvania was a TRICK QUESTION --- INDEPENDENTS COULD NOT VOTE IN EITHER PARTY PRIMARY --- AS THEY ARE ALLOWED TO DO IN WISCONSIN !!!

Under Pennsylvania's system, a Voter must declare their Party Affiliation at least a Month Before the Election, and those who declare Independent, CANNOT vote for either a Republican or Democrat.

Would the ability of the Independents to vote for one of the Democratic Candidates been of benefit to Barack --- would it have put him over the line for the win ??? We will never know for sure, but based upon the effect of the Independent Voters in other races, it is a Very Probable Scenario that their ability to vote in the Democratic Contest would have been a Straight Win for Obama !!

And going on to the General Election --- the Independents will play a Very Big role in deciding between McCain and the Democratic Candidate. 

If the Independents do becoming the deciding factor in deciding our next president --- as they have had in every election since 1992 --- the Democrats will need Obama to be a Viable Alternative to McCain --- a role which Hillary, with all her Polarizing Baggage, cannot fulfill.          

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME !

Since the resignation of Michael Phinney from the Village Board, I have received quite a bit of information on the "personal" reasons that he resigned -- which alluded to illegal conduct -- which coincidentally happened during the election that both he and I were on the ballot along with Ellen Eckman.  They won, I lost.

The Village is finally getting serious about providing the Shorewood Police Department with some decent facilities.  The present building they work out of is totally obsolescent for a police force their size in this day and age.

I had previously suggested that the Village talk to the School Board about the SIS building, as the school system has too much space for too few students.  The main drawback to that idea would be getting the School Board and the Village Board to come to a consensus within a reasonable amount of time. 

As the Village Board has been so delinquent in addressing this problem, and with all the different considerations that have to be taken into account by the School Board, it is probably not a solution that can happen in a timely manner.  Which is unfortuanate, as more than likely we will have the problem of what to do with the SIS building in the next  few years.

A viable site for the new police station that is going to be looked at is the AB Building at 4057 N Wilson Drive.  At first blush, it appears this is a site that can meet the physical requirements of the SPD.

The downside is that it will mean a loss of $63,000 in property tax revenues.  Considering all that the Village is doing in trying to increase tax revenues, this would be a step backwards.

I don't think though, that the site should be dismissed out of hand because of the tax consequences, if the Village can get innovative and perhaps make up the difference in other ways.

For instance, it has been mentioned in the past that perhaps the Whitefish Bay PD would be interested in sharing space with the SPD.  If the 4057 building has enough room, the combination of savings by both departments through shared resources, and the rental income from the Bay PD could offset the tax loses.

Other possibilities that could be explored would be rental of space to the Sheriff's Dept for a substation --- or possibly other law enforcement organizations.

If there is a decent gun range in the new facility, NRA hunter training programs and possibly range rental time for pistol leagueS could generate some additional revenue.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  PLEASE COMMENT BELOW !

Just about 10 years ago the merchants on North Oakland had to endure a disastarous summer of (non) business as Shorewood tore up the street and sidewalks and made North Oakland the "Jewel of Shorewood" !!

Now Shorewood is at it again (obviously they didn't get it right 10 years ago) as the street is a two lane mess, sidewalks and crosswalks are torn up --- and the business owners are Hurting .....

But according to recent comments from the Shorewood BID reported in Shorewoodnow.com  ---

"We are turning what could be somewhat of an inconvenience into an exciting way to attract customers and keep them coming back for the quality products and personal service that Shorewood is known for," BID member Barb Caprile said."

Barb --- you just Don't Get It !!!  It is NOT an "inconvenience" for the merchants on North Oakland --- it is a Financial Disaster. 

Talk to the guys at Mautz Paint -- this should be one of their busiest times -- and their business is way down.  If you don't have GPS with the optional topographical map feature --- trying to patronize the Wick Family's store is all but impossible. 

And just in case the project moves along too quickly --- according to the Village Website, construction will be suspended for most of the month of July to accomodate the 4th of July parade and the Criterium Bicycle Race.

Hmmmmm --- did the BID ever think of re-routing the Bike race so that the Oakland merchants can get back to business as soon as possible ?  As I noted in my blog last year, the Bike Race actually Hurts the Majority of the Businesses on Oakland -- yet the BID keeps it going, and against all evidence otherwise, the BID claims they do it for the Businesses !!!

Why not relocate it to another business area in Shorewood and let them enjoy all the boost to business the Bike Race brings -- NOT !

And since the 4th of July parade is Mobile by Nature --- how about a different route so work can continue on the Oakland Construction. 

I think most of my business neighbors would agree we with me when I say --- Let's Get the Damn Thing Done and Give Us Back our Customers ----  Please !!

 WHAT DO YOU THINK ?  YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW !

Whether it is the Village spending money or the School District --- it all comes from the same pocket --- Ours !

The Schools say they do not have enough students to use all the building capacity they have.  And unless we import even more students from Milwaukee, it does not look like our student population is going to grow anytime soon, if ever.  Especially as the Village Board is now entertaining thoughts of reducing the housing units in Shorewood, by subsidizing the transformation of duplexes into single family homes.   

Fewer housing units = fewer families = fewer students

And yes I know --- if we build enough High End Condos and Nursing Homes --- the case can be made that housing units will actually increase --- but I doubt we will see many students spawned from those kinds of developments.

The Village has a problem in that the Police Department is housed in facilities that are too small. 

 Just maybe the Two Problems that need to be Solved ---  can be Solved using Existing Facilities. 

One Possible Solution to the School Problem that has been Floated is to Close SIS and convert Lake Bluff and Atwater to K through 8 Schools.

 This would result in an Empty Building !!

A building that on the surface appears to be of Adequate Size for the SPD --- has an expandable receiving area and drive for covered parking and Prisoner Intake --- room for the Municipal Court --- and plenty of Parking in the area.

I know this is Not the Sexy kind of Project that our Village Board and School District Board prefer ---

Why Keep a Perfectly Good Building When It Can be Torn Down and a New Building Put Up ........................

An added bonus to the use of the SIS building, is that it is Not on the Tax Rolls now ---- whereas, if we used a Site like the one on Kensington and Oakland where the Mobil Station is --- we Lose Taxable Property !!

 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ???

 I had noted in an earlier posting that a major TIF property had a questionable assessment.

The property at 3907-09 N Sherburn, which is one of the parcels for the Sunrise Development that the Village Board is planning on funding for $800,000 plus had a drastic change in assessment for 2007.

The assessment dropped $598,059 or about 21% of its former assessed value.  In addition, the assessor changed the property from a parcel with improvements to vacant land --- even though there is still an apartment building on the property.

When I questioned the Assessors Office as to why the new assessment discounted the aparment building, I was told that the Assessor knew there was an offer on the property, and that the new owners planned to tear down the building and get TIF funding for a new project --- and that the Assessor valued the property as though is was empty land, based upon what might happen.

In fact, the property had an occupied apartment building and there was not even a closed sale on the property.

In checking with the WI Dept of Rev, they affirmed that the assessment was done incorrectly, and that the property should have been properly assessed with the improvements, and not as vacant land.  Future planned use has no affect on the present use and market value.

The almost $600,000 that the assessor dropped off the value of the property means that all property owners in Shorewood pay more in taxes to make up the difference.

Also when the TIF district does their calculations on the increase of value on the property, they will have an extra cushion of $600,000 that will go to the TIF and not to the schools, county, MATC, etc ......  which again will be taxes shifted from that property to other property owners in Shorewood.

Following are the assessments for the Sherburn property for the past few years, applying the applicable State Equalizers:

Sherburn                                      Land                           Improvements                    Total

2004                                           474,000                        1,627,240                         2,101,240

2005                                           507,900                         2,250,282                        2,758,182

2006                                           530,425                         2,350,081                        2,880,506

2007                                          2,282,447                       00000000                         2,282,447

                      This is a drop in the assessment of $598,059  which equals a 21% drop in value !!

HERE IS A COPY OF THE ACTUAL TAX REPORT THAT STEVE REQUESTED I POST

                    WHAT DO YOU THINK?               YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED !

The current Shorewood Village Board is spending some big dollars and planning to spend more, and gambling that increasing property values will pay the bill.

Shorewood is using what is called a TIF (tax incremental financing) as a Financing Tool to pay for various projects, such as Streetscaping, the River Project, Condo Development, etc. 

According to the information published by the Wisconsin Dept of Revenue, a TIF works like this:

"Tax Incremental Finance, or TIF, is a financing tool that allows municipalities to invest in infrastructure and other improvements, and pay for these investments by capturing

property tax revenue from the newly developed property. An area is identified (the tax

incremental district, or TID) as appropriate for a certain type of development, and

projects are identified to encourage and facilitate the desired development. Then as

property values rise, the property tax paid on that private development is used by the

municipality to pay for the projects."

There is a risk though, that IF property values Decline, rather than Increase --- All the Property Tax Payers will pay for the expenditures through Increased Property Taxes, as explained here by the Dept of Rev:

" Municipalities can invest significant amounts of money  into  these infrastructure

improvements in hopes that growth will follow (sometimes called the "build it, and

they will come" strategy). However, if little or no private development occurs after the

improvements are made, there may be no tax increment revenue with which to pay for

the investment. If there is no increment revenue, the bonds used to pay for the

improvements will have to be paid for with general tax revenue. Paying for these bonds without a larger tax base means a higher tax burden. Another risk of over-investing can be that the site is improved, but the improvements actually prevent some types of development from being able to use the site."  

The Big Question now becomes --- are Shorewood Property Values Increasing or Decreasing ?

There are many different ways to calculate the values, and with the current volatile real estate market --- it is anybody's guess of what the values will be by the end of the current year. The basic method of calculating property values, involves what is termed "Market Value", and changes in what the sales prices are in comparison between two comparable time periods.  (Other methods of valuation, "replacement" and "income" are not commonly used for residential property appraisals or assessments).

Taking a snapshot of Single Family Home sales in Shorewood for the time period of January 1^st of this year (2008) to date, compared with the same time period for last year (2007), there is a notable trend:

JANUARY 1 TO MARCH  26, 2007 --- SINGLE FAMILY HOMES SOLD IN SHOREWOOD (17 sales)

ORIGINAL ASKING PRICE             DAYS ON MARKET             SALES PRICE

189,900                                               24                                            192,100

214,900                                               169                                          180,000

224,900                                               114                                          215,000

230,000                                               16                                            221,500

259,900                                               126                                          235,000

289,900                                               183                                          237,000

289,000                                               13                                            289,000

298,000                                               46                                            298,100

329,900                                               99                                            295,000

309,000                                               20                                            310,000

320,000                                               45                                            320,000

339,000                                               42                                            335,000

364,900                                               43                                            356,000

387,900                                               68                                            350,000

449,000                                               10                                            460,000

749,000                                               18                                            750,000

1,495,000                                            62                                            1,425,000

Tot  6,740,200                                     1098                                        6,468,700

Avg 396,482                                        65                    &nbs