Update - From Sgt Blunt:
"The hearing date for the Thirsty Moose is Thursday October 23rd at 6:30pm.  All indications are there will be an actual hearing.  I strongly encourage anyone and everyone to attend this meeting."

Awhile ago I commented on Eminent Domain about the city taking over bars in Cudahy as the wrong way and that it should be done with finding violations to shut them down.

Then this story ran on CudahyNow http://www.cudahynow.com/story/index.aspx?id=806124

“Provoked neighbors hope to kill The Thirsty Moose
Complaint filed to revoke tavern’s liquor license
By CHANTEL BALZELL

Posted: Oct. 15, 2008
When Terry Kaminski bought her home one block away from The Thirsty Moose in April 2007, she thought she moved into a quiet residential neighborhood.

But ever since the tavern at 3800 E. Layton Ave. opened in July of that year, the weekends have been noisy and chaotic, she said.

Not only do people trespass through her yard as a shortcut to the bar, but each morning they leave broken glass, beer bottles, cans and litter on her property.

“It’s like a trash bin out there in our yard,” she said.

During an Oct. 7 meeting, a complaint was filed by fed-up neighbors who want the tavern’s liquor license revoked.

Gang members frequent
Several of the residents say the bar caters to gang members, who are disrespectful to neighbors and act unruly.

Many of the neighboring residents have children and do not want them exposed to gang members.

Courtney Marzec, a neighbor and mother of two small children, said the area is usually loud on weekends. But one night she looked out her window and saw a man in the middle of Layton Avenue curled up in a fetal position being kicked and beaten by a group of 15 to 30 people.

“I don’t want to get woken up one night to gun shots and find out that one of my children has been shot,” she said.

Authorities have found gang members in the tavern. During an unannounced visit in March, the Cudahy Police Department and the Milwaukee Police Department’s Gang Unit arrested three people who had warrants and identified four gang members.”

I received this email today from Sgt Chris Blunt on the Thirsty Moose tavern’s revocation hearing.  If you can please attend, the meeting today October 16th at 6:30pm in the Common Council chambers.

Here is the email:

“Revocation Hearing  

Chris Blunt  
 
This e-mail is advise everyone there will be a License Committee hearing regarding the revocation of the Thirsty Moose tavern.  I will be one of the representatives of the police department and probably will be testifying.  This is a public hearing that is taking place today, October 16th at 6:30pm in the Common Council chambers.  I know this is an important issue for many residents.  I hope you consider attending this hearing.

Respectfully,

Sgt Blunt”

Texx’s Victory Hall, 3665 E. Grange Ave., and Thirsty Moose tavern, 3800 E. Layton Ave., are on city officials’ radar.

I am glad to see the city decided, when it comes to bars, to do things the right way this time.  I am pleased they are not talking about eminent domain in this instance, but using problems at the bars to possibly pull their liquor licenses.  Down with the Moose if it is a real problem and is a hazer to the community and its citizens.  

In my blog posts “David vs. Goliath”, “The Mayor and I”, and Has the Genie already been let out of the bottle? I explored the eminent domain of Dusty's and Wayne's World taverns and why I don’t think its use was right.

Let us hope enough people in the circle of power saw and understand why it was wrong and how this time it is the right way to solve the problem.

I don’t know where the city stands in the issue of the Eminent Domain on the two bars in Cudahy, it was in the infancy, and I am not sure if it has grown up or faded away. 

In the online article from onmilwaukee.com “Good times still flowing on Cudahy's Packard Avenue” Mayor McCue said "The taverns that are undesirable are fading away," as I pointed out in my post “The Mayor and I” was confusing to which Mayor Ryan McCue was doing the interview.  Talking out of both sides of his mouth is not something the Mayor should be doing.  Straight answers are what we need.

Are the bars in question fading away or are the Mayor and the council going to proceed on the Eminent Domain?  I should stop into the bars in question, take some pictures and talk to the owners and show everyone them.  If someone knows the owners, please let them know I will try and find time to have their side of the story heard.  It would be nice if they would publicly post on my blog.

As I have stated before, I would hope the city would use that power on the vacant Kohl’s Food Emporium building just north of Layton Ave in the heavily eyed downtown revival.  From City Lounge you can see the decrepit Kohl’s lot.  There is graffiti on the building and the vacant building is looking blight, paint chipping away.  See pictures below.  I was not fast enough to get the camera out and take pictures of kids playing on the parking lot during school hours.

To me and many that have emailed me, that makes common sense, use it at the Kohl’s building. 

While in the shower the other day, I was thinking - Is the city not doing the Eminent Domain at the VACANT land or building because they don’t want to occur the cost of litigation of fighting with big powerful property owners and it is EASIER to pick on the small businesses who will not have large cash reserves?  (Being a small business owner myself, this is worrisome.)  If it is not those, then we have a bigger problem.  Someone’s ego is dictating this.

McCue said he is prepared not only to "put an end to the Iceport" but also to control taxes, ensure safe neighborhoods, eliminate blight and hold absentee landlords accountable for their properties.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=578865

That must not have included vacant business properties.

While I am told Dusty’s is not in good shape, there are other ways of correcting the situation.  Either forcing the business to cleanup or pop them on legitimate violations taking away their liquor license.    

Hopefully between my posts Has the Genie already been let out of the bottle? and The Mayor and I many people will see the mixed message that the Mayor is sending.  Part of that is not his fault, but that of a politician playing politics.  Some feel you have to play on both sides of the fence and NEVER truly stand for something. 

I don’t agree! 

The Mayor is full of mixed messages, like he will end the Iceport debacle, yet gives them six more months.  People need to “Say what they mean” and “Mean what they say.”

Here is a comment that was left on onmilwaukee.com about this issue:

“Nice upscale restaurants and bars are nice, but the Mayor should not rip the livelihoods out from under the current proprietors in order to accomplish this.  I agree with Hollenbeck, as current liquor license is turned in or taken away for a legitimate violation, then the city should be looking at upgrades.  The Mayor should not consider the use of Eminent Domain to tear down Cheers.”

And here is an email I received on the issue:

You should ask yourself, “Why is the city not looking at bettering the city in these vacant buildings?”  Better then that, ask the city and the Mayor yourself.  As the Mayor said "There's a great potential for something better," and he is right, better and more productive then empty buildings that are VACANT and BLIGHT, he just has his sites set on the wrong locations. 

Here is someone who does,

http://badgerblogger.com/?p=5017

 or

 http://badgerblogger.com/?p=5687. 

You should be able to see the difference between him and me.

Bill of Rights - Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Mayor McCue and I were mentioned in the OnMilwaukee.com article In Bars & Clubs

Good times still flowing on Cudahy's Packard Avenue Link below

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/bars/articles/packardave.html

Now they correctly quote me from my blog “Has the Genie already been let out of the bottle?” which was about Eminent Domain. 

What they failed to tell people was that the Mayor and Common Council are looking at taking over the private properties at Dusty's (which is mentioned in article above) and Wayne's World taverns in the 4800 block of South Packard avenues.  Does that sound like someone who is supportive of bars?

The picture that is painted about Mayor McCue is he is all for the bars.

"The city of Cudahy has a lot of proud people and a lot of hard-working people," McCue said.  "We have a great night life with a lot of variety.  You can go to Vnuk's Lounge (5036 S. Packard) and see world-class entertainment and enjoy a great beer selection.  They're definitely the shining star.

"But, there are a lot of other bars, too.  There are nice places to go with good food and reasonable prices."

McCue, an Irishman, compared the atmosphere in Cudahy to what he encountered on a trip to Ireland.

"Over there, the pubs are where people go to sit and talk with their neighbors," he said.  "That's kind of what we have here.  It's part of Cudahy's fabric.

"The old-school pubs are kind of like ‘Cheers.’  You go in for the first time and by the time you leave you'll know everybody's name."

Asked about the problems presented by taverns, McCue pointed to the charitable work and team sponsorships of many bars and chuckled and said the city has "a very fine police department" to take care of any problems.

"The taverns that are undesirable are fading away," McCue said.  "That's fine.  We're not going to allow problems to continue.  We're raising the city's expectations."

McCue said that the addition of the City Lounge, an upscale establishment at 3455 E. Layton Ave., and extensive remodeling at the K-Ranch, 4840 S. Whitnall Ave., and other bars have helped raise the bar for the rest of the city.

"The City Lounge is an example of how successful a bar in Cudahy can be," he said.  "It's added a totally different dimension.  You wouldn't think of a place like that being in Cudahy.

"It's starting to evolve and bring it up a notch.  Some of the bars in Cudahy could be your grandpa's bar, but we have a lot of different places to go."

Contrast that with: City may use eminent domain to close bars

"(The Eminent Domain option is) in the infancy state right now," said Mayor Ryan McCue.  "This is a formality to let us think about it."

The city would use condemnation to take over the businesses and help beautify the area.

McCue said there is development taking place to the south of the bars.

"There's a great potential for something better," he said.

Would the real Mayor Ryan McCue please stand up!

On Feb. 5, Common Council members unanimously approved a contract, among the city, the Community Development Authority and Single Source, which will help city officials with the process and procedure of taking over the private properties at Dusty's and Wayne's World taverns in the 4800 block of South Packard avenues.

This marks a sad day for me in Cudahy when we resort to such action, even if it is just in the infancy.  Just because we can do it, doesn’t make it right or that we should.  This is a slippery slope.  Open Pandora's Box, just once, and it may never close.  I do believe someone in the Wal-Mart public forum did post that something like this was around the corner.  I do believe someone else posted that rumors like that should not be spread.  Seems to me whoever posted that original info may have been from inside our government, giving us a warning…

Let us assume that we ARE doing this for the better of the city and community.  Eminent Domain can be much like a drug and once you get hooked on doing it, you cannot stop.  I think our leaders should be very careful in doing this.  Who and what is next?  The citizens have no voice on eminent domain and those using it.  Fear the beast that cannot be slain, for it has no weakness and all powerful cannot be stopped.

It is not a shock that I have stated we have too many bars.  Here is what I stated before and also posted in the public forum:

Maybe the real answer is we crack down on the bars causing problems or have violations.  Pull their liquor license, which affectively puts them out of business.  Not all bars are bad, but what standards do we use to determine what is?  Even the Mayor’s statement of, the city would use condemnation to take over the businesses and help beautify the area.  There is development taking place to the south of the bars and he believes there is a better use of the land than housing taverns.  "There's a great potential for something better,” Who determines what is better?  The process of using these technique boarders on the wrong side of morality.  This should be a last resort after all else has failed, some call that the nuclear option.  Everyone is looking for a formula that will provide healthy growth, it is just whose growth and in whose interest.

Eminent domain is not all bad; it does have the right uses.  I can see using eminent domain for the buildings like the old Kohl’s food emporium or the old Walgreen’s store. They have been vacant and nonproductive for years.  In those locations you do have blight and unwilling of the landowner to find a new tenants.  Why not start there?  Maybe the Mayor should set clear guidelines and we all could see as to what is in store for us!  It was just recently rejected in Muskego.  Muskego Condemnation

"It's (the eminent domain option) in the infancy state right now," said Mayor Ryan McCue.  "This is a formality to let us think about it."  Think deep Mayor and council members, think long and hard!

Here is something to consider and think about:

Just about everyone knows that under a process called eminent domain, the government can (and does) seize private property for public use - to build a road, a school or a courthouse.  But did you know the government can also seize your land for private use if they can prove that doing it will serve what's called "the public good"?  Cities across the country have been using eminent domain to force people off their land, so private developers can build more expensive homes and offices that will pay more in property taxes than the buildings they're replacing.  Under eminent domain, the government deems the property “blighted” and buys your property, paying you what's determined to be fair market value.  Why?  So that private developers can build high-priced condos, a high-end shopping mall or anything that can raise the property tax base.

A city like Cudahy reaches an aging tax base that has been shrinking and the city simply needs more money.  The term 'blighted' is a statutory word, and it is, it really doesn't have a lot to do with whether or not your home is painted. ...A statutory term is used to describe an area.  The question is whether or not that area can be used for a higher and better use.  Somehow, I feel that our inventiveness in offering ourselves crazy escape routes from our own foolishness will take us to a place where we won't want to be.

But, what’s higher and better than a home?  The term 'blight' is used to describe whether or not the structures generally in an area meet today's standards.  And it's the city that sets those standards, so Cudahy could set a standard for blight that would include most of the homes in the neighborhood.  I am not using a scare tactic, I am stating a fact.  Here in lies the problem, if the city officials state that a home could be considered blighted if it doesn't have the following: three bedrooms, two baths, an attached two-car garage and central air and then there is a problem.  We are at the whim of whatever they want it to mean.  Total power with total control equals total disaster.

Herein lies the over powerful subjective tool that I hope the Federal Supreme Court overturns the government’s authority on.  We don’t get a vote (if they choose that option), we the people, we the citizens that is.  I have argued with friends that the great flaw of democracy is that it assumes we are all rational and understand what roles each of us have to play.

The magnitude of the situation should not be undermined.  I am not trying to be an alarmist, a catastrophist, or “Chicken Little” in the doom and gloom of doing said action, we just need to pause and ask ourselves if this is the path we want to take!  The effects will ramify through the city good or bad.  Once we move forward, we can never return!  No resetting the game!  No do overs!  Has the Genie already been let out of the bottle or can we put it back? 

Contact the Mayor or your Alderperson and tell him to be careful with this process!

Contact:

Mayor Ryan McCue

Phone Number: (W) 769-2222

Address: 3927 E Plankinton Ave

mccuer@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Alderperson First District Joseph Mikolajczak

Phone Number: (H) 483-1255

Address: 3754 E. Plankinton Avenue

mikolajczakj@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Alderperson Second District Mary Schissel

Phone Number: (H) 744-0420

Address: 3836 E Munkwitz Ave

schisselm@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Alderperson Third District Mark Otto

Phone Number: (H) 769-6626

Address: 3324 E Mallory Ave

ottom@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Alderperson Fourth District Sean Smith

Phone Number: (H) 486-6221

Address: 5618 S Rosewood Ave

smiths@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Alderperson Fifth District Name Thomas Pavlic

Phone Number: (H) 483-7116

Address: 6015 Summer Winds Ct

pavlict@ci.cudahy.wi.us