I an going to start this off by saying this is a long post, which may make some other bloggers upset that they have to read.  Many of the younger crowd are so self centered and need things to be short because they lack big attention spans.  This is what society has created.  I am sure they will quickly run to their blogs and write about me and my comments or how long they feel my blogs are.  They may even pull out the statements that what I write is boring that they almost fall asleep reading it.  I don’t think these people could just curl up on the couch or sit in a chair and read an entire book in one sitting.  If there isn’t a big explosion or cliff notes, they cannot keep their attention to read.

Choose what you want to hear and you will miss the truth

I will not say I am sorry for the length of my post(s)!

Emphasis is mine!

When you read Patrick McIlheran’s take on the KRM, think about Cudahy’s Mayor McCue, who to me appears to be condo happy and I know he places a lot of hope that the KRM will turn things around in Cudahy.  While that is all fine and dandy, how realistic is it after looking what the costs are and how much use it actually will get?   What is the bang for the buck?

Remember there were people touting how much visitors would be coming from the KRM, and then we found out least than 1% of riders will do this.

Think hard and deeply about this as well - M&I forecloses on Cudahy condo project

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. has obtained a $3.6 million foreclosure judgment on a new condominium development in Cudahy, and the city's taxpayers are facing a possible loss from their role in helping finance the project.

http://www.cudahynow.com/watch/?watch=28&date=12/17/2008&id=48961

(Condo sales at a trickle due to stagnant market)

http://www.cudahynow.com/story/index.aspx?id=638608

Be informed is all I ask.  Please look at the study and listen to the pod casts and then read 8th District Supervisor Milwaukee County Patricia Jursik response to the study.

Milwaukee's Commuter Rail Plan's Supposed Economic Benefits

Aren't Credible; System Would Require Massive Subsidies

Report outlines several better transit options for region

Reason Foundation

Policy Study 372

Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Corridor Transit Service Options: An Investigation and Analysis

By Thomas A. Rubin

Project Director: Robert W. Poole, Jr.

KRM Commuter Rail Plan’s Supposed Economic Benefits Aren’t Credible;

System Would Require Massive Subsidies

Reason Foundation report outlines several better transit options for region

The claimed economic benefits of the proposed commuter rail line for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee corridor are “not credible” and other transit options should be studied, according to a new study by Reason Foundation, a free market think tank.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee analysis of the local economic benefits of the construction of the rail line wrongly assumes all expenditures, and jobs created, would be local, even though there is no local capacity to produce many of the components, such as the $48 million rail cars.  And the $2.1 billion increase in property values the rail project alleges would mean that each of the 3,696 projected 2035 round-trip riders would be “worth” $568,000, a claim that “cannot be taken seriously” the Reason Foundation concludes.

Reason Foundation finds every new passenger boarding the commuter rail system would cost $28.  Yet passengers would pay just $2.92 for a ticket, meaning taxpayers would subsidize over $25 for every new one-way rail passenger.  By comparison, the total cost per passenger for the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) in 2007 was $3.

“Amidst a recession and tough economic times, it is more important than ever to make decisions based on cost-effectiveness and benefits to citizens,” said Tom Rubin, author of the Reason Foundation analysis and a transit consultant.

http://www.reason.org/ps372/

Full study report here http://www.reason.org/ps372.pdf

Vicki McKenna’s Pod casts on

“Tom Rubin discusses the realities of rail.”

Click Here

“Some people continue to believe rail would solve all economic and social problems.”

Click Here

Jay Weber’s take on this

Rail is expensive if it is or isn't used.

Click Here

Jay Weber's Podcast Click Here

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Patrick McIlheran’s take on this

(Please read all of the article, but here is a snippet.)

Magic costs more than mere rides

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/36263929.html

Backers of commuter trains down the south shore start off with a measured tone, but they soon get to the chorus of dreams.

To them, rail transit isn't just about commutes.  It's about transforming us, drawing smart young people to work downtown and cocoon in new industrial-chic lofts in Racine.  Without trains, we're not just immobile; we're Dullsville.  With them, we could be Manhattan.  Can you put a value on that?

Well, you can put a price.  It's fairly high, according to transit backers' data and Tom Rubin's merciless accountancy.

Rubin, who used to be the chief financial officer for a transit agency in Los Angeles, was almost hired by train backers here to study how great the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee, or KRM, line would be.  They demurred, so he ended up doing the study anyhow for the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.  He uses numbers from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority to calculate how much we'd be spending for each of the new transit passengers lured out of their cars by the train.

We'd spend $28 per ride, an estimated $25 of which would fall on the taxpayers.

I'm not saying KRM is dumber than dirt or that it'll fail," he told me.  What he is saying is that the region has other good options it hasn't looked at, ones that may cost a lot less.

One that he suggests examining is running express buses up I-94.  The freeway's problem is that it's nine miles west of downtown Racine.  But there's room to put in park-and-ride lots, and the buses in Racine and Kenosha easily could run routes out to the freeway. Depending on how you run the express coaches, they could serve as their own feeders and distributors, picking up riders in town and distributing them to destinations beyond downtown Milwaukee, meaning fewer transfers.  And buses would be much cheaper and could be started much sooner than trains.  All they would lack is rail's sex appeal.

On the other hand, moving a lot of people around - the basic idea of transit - at fairly low cost is pretty appealing itself.  In New Jersey, about a quarter of long-distance commuters into the real Manhattan go by buses.  Taxpayers subsidize rail riders there by $4.42 a ride and bus riders by 80 cents.  In Los Angeles, coaches from far suburbs carry commuters on jam-free high-occupancy toll lanes at reasonable fares that cover more than 90% of the cost, a figure unheard of in rail.

"For the vast majority of riders, the mode of transit isn't important," said Rubin.  Surveys repeatedly show regular users care more about how far they'll have to walk, how many times they'll transfer, how long they'll have to wait - all things where buses can beat trains.

He isn't saying a bus scheme up I-94 is a cinch, only that it deserves study.  Especially since they adapt.  You can add buses one at a time, and change them or drop them if routes flop.  With a train, we'd be on the hook for $249 million in construction before the first passenger rode.

"Commuter rail is, to a very high degree, an all-or-nothing option," he writes.  It's impossible to erase a mistake, so we'd just keep throwing money in.

That's a virtue, say rail's backers: Such permanence means riders won't worry that the route will change.  This will induce them to buy nice condos nearby and sell their cars.  Thus, say rail backers, it will reshape the lakeshore cities and downtown Milwaukee.

But think about what that permanence implies.  To lure people to live in downtowns rather than elsewhere, authorities would be saying they'd spend hundreds of millions of dollars to install a train and to run it even if no one rides on it.  They don't believe such profligacy would spook off tax-weary citizens.  They're betting that such a faith-based wager - which, again, costs taxpayers many times what a bus would - would transform us.

By this point, we're way past transit and into the realm of hope and magic.  Nothing wrong with hope and magic, but, for the money, there may be better ways of getting people to work.

Patricia Jursik’s Email to me

“Thank you for contacting my office.  I am familiar with the Rubin study.  It is interesting to note that a very conservative business group The Metropolitan Milw. Assoc. of Commerce, specifically Pete Beitzel, criticized Rubin and stated his opinion follows the money that is paying him.  I would also note that all of the chambers of commerce in our south shore communities favor the KRM piece, Cudahy has created an economic development plan that uses a transit station as a catalyst for development, as well as So. Milw.  While the county board's transportation committee voted against the RTA proposal, I have reservations about the total elimination of KRM because of the many business groups that see it as a positive move on behalf of their businesses.”

Patricia.Jursik@milwcnty.com

New study questions commuter rail line

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/36210564.html

With all this talk about rail in the paper, news and talk radio I thought it was a good idea to identify the basic differences in rail.

Commuter rail stops frequently, connecting several cities that are in a region.  Diesel locomotives or self-propelled vehicles pull two to several passenger coaches on a right-of-way that is shared with freight rail.  Passengers board from platforms, usually at stations.

High-speed rail makes infrequent stops and connects large metropolitan cities across the country or a large region.  Diesel locomotives pull passenger coaches on a right-of-way that can be shared with freight trains.  In many cases, luggage storage, food service and sleeping facilities are available.  Passengers board at stations from platforms.

Light rail makes very frequent stops and connects neighborhoods and immediate suburbs to a densely populated central city.  Light rail generally runs on rails in streets or in a right of way, and is powered by overhead electrical wires.  Passengers board light rail from the curb.

Day 5 – Still No response from the Mayor

Amazing, the leader (in name only) votes something down, is silent, and will probably gets away with it.  Hey, only in Cudahy!

It was requested that I do a monthly review of the most looked at topics I wrote.  I will run down the top 10 and give a small overview of each. 

Some of these have an unfair advantage because they are older and have had the chance to be looked at longer.  By far, the shorter time Wal-Mart articles have more people view them quicker.  Many people still want to hear about Wal-Mart from both sides of the issue.

People keep emailing me offline in private and that is good.  I would like people to start making comments.  The South Shore viewers don’t seem to want to publicly comment, by how many private emails I get vs. the comments feature used.

1. Turf War – What to Build? –Yes it is a Wal-Mart post and I talked about TIFs and how the Mayor doesn’t want the Wal-Mart and how this chance may not come again. I also included a letter from a reader that they sent to the Mayor and my responses to what the Mayor replied.

2. Real Voter Intimidation – I talked about how during the 2006 election my neighbor was intimidated and took down his sign in fear of retribution from his union steward.

3. ** Adults Only **  – The title maybe misleading to a few, but the subject matter was how adult content is on the web and we must watch what our children do on the web.

4. One Must Look Back To See The Future  – Here I wrote about that sometimes one must look back to see the future and how Mayor McCue had some foreshadowing in his campaign pledge about Wal-Mart.  Cudahy, as is the nation, is in a recession and how in a downturn we should not pass up the opportunity of this Wal-Mart.

5. History Repeating Page Two  –I wrote about the info a reader emailed me about a Cudahy School closing and Wal-Mart spin.

6. Plan Commission   – I wrote about what happen at the last Plan Commission meeting about Cudahy Station.  How some members didn’t even understand what they were to be voting on that night.

7. Proposal On The Table  – I wrote about what is the Wal-Mart proposal, TIF, and the Plan Commission.

8. Teen’s Common Sense Sometimes Lacking  – I wrote about a report I came across on how Florida legislators are encouraging a review of their "abstinence only" sex education programs after a recent survey completed by Florida teens returned some curious results of not understanding things like drinking bleach prevents HIV.  By now way am I attacking "abstinence only", just bring to light what they found.

9. Flamethrower  –I wrote about what a person said to me about how I deal with the Mayor and if I hate him.  I may be ruffling feathers and again once you write it, and sign it, you can’t hide from it something I wish the city would do.

10. Keeping Us In The “Noir”  – Keeping Us In The "Noir" is about how we are in the dark (Noir) on may things in government and how with open records laws, the information should be public and easily obtainable.  I wrote about how many of these very things should be on the web at a mouse click away from you and I to read and know.

I hope everyone enjoys reading my posts.  You may not agree with me, but maybe what I have to say will shed some new light on matters and make you pause.  I am not a reporter, but a commentator.  I do not get paid, work for the city, or have a secret agenda.  I gain nothing personally from doing this blog other than the satisfaction of being able to put “The Way I See It” out for others to read.  I do it because I think it needs to be said.  I try to be fair and when I see something I don’t agree with, I let it be known.

Many people have said I am hard on the Mayor in his first year and I write blogs that don’t show his job performance in a good light.  When I see something that he does great, I will blog on it.

Hey, I am not the only one blogging on the Cudahy Now website, Greg Janisch was McCue’s campaign Treasurer and he can blog.  Just because I am critical of the Mayor’s job performance, does not make me a person who is attacking Ryan McCue personally nor am I character assassinating him!  This is about his job performance period!  We all have freedom of speech and a voice; I just choose to use mine.

Here is what a reader, Dave Taylor, said in a comment:

“Randy, there's a lot of people in Cudahy who back you up, even if they are too scared to admit it.  We should all be thankful that someone is willing to take a stand for what is right for our city; like you said, "...just want Cudahy to be better", too bad there are egos that get in the way of the good the city could do.  There isn't any reason to be shameful of an opinion, that's what makes us human (not robots) and why our country is a great one!

Sometimes you may feel your comments fall of deaf ears, but the truth is that people ARE reading and they ARE listening.  We rally behind you and hopefully, you are stronger in your plight for a better Cudahy because of it.  You are a voice that matters!  You are looking out for the betterment of Cudahy!  You are taking a stand, unafraid of whose feathers you ruffle!  Those of us who stand behind will continue to support you, even if the “powers that be” wish we weren’t listening!

Keep up the good work…your supporters need your voice!”

Someone has talked to my superiors at mycommunitynow.com to have my work censored or shutdown.  The claim was I lie, spread rumors, and have false and inaccurate information.  I try to source my work and some comes from people in government that do not like the direction we are headed or people close to a situation that feel some injudicious is being done.  I have always believed in correct information and not disinformation.  If something is truly wrong let me know and I will correct it, but don’t be all that upset and try and shut me down because you don’t LIKE what I am saying!  People if what I am hearing from those inside is true, some scary things are coming or happening.  Hypothetically, it might even be something like a change of salary ordinances for health insurances that is not fair and done evenly.  Should it not be changed for all and not leave out anyone?  Fair is fair.  That is a hypothetical, but watch it might just come true.

I will not stop until the misinformation, disinformation and no information are brought to light.  More and more people are emailing me with things.  These are very reliable people and trustworthy people.  Together we can all make a difference.  I will NEVER sell you out and I have been asked who is telling me things.  The wheel of information doesn’t need to stop spinning just because it might ruffle some feathers.

With a tie vote (Alderperson First District Joseph Mikolajczak voted YES), Mayor Ryan McCue votes NO sending the Wal-Mart & the Wave Center (Which would have 500,000 visitors yearly, much more then the KRM) to a border city.  Killing our hopes and dreams of a better Cudahy.  A stronger economically viable Cudahy gone.

People have asked me who in the common council voted yes and no for the Cudahy Station.

Alderperson First District Joseph Mikolajczak as part of the Plan Commission voted YES

Alderperson Fourth District Sean Smith as part of the CDA voted NO

Alderperson Fifth District Name Thomas Pavlic as part of the CDA voted NO

Alderperson Second District Mary Schissel never got a chance to vote – My guess would have voted NO based on a readers reply from her.

Alderperson Third District Mark Otto never got a chance to vote – My guess would have voted YES based on personal talks with him.  He seems truly open-minded.

Remember the Commissions are appointed positions.

Surprisingly retiring Engineering Department Head Craig Faucett was very rude to the citizens when asked to speak up.  He replied “I don't care I  am not talking to you” to the audience. Forgetting the city works for the residents.

That was the tone for the meeting.  The city people minus a few don’t talk to the people, don’t talk with the people, but talk down to the people.  Craig Faucett voted NO.  He was conflicted.

This is truly a sad day and comment on our community. Thank you Mayor!  In the end, the Mayor did what was best for him and his Utopia not Cudahy!

A small amount of people clapped, but the majority booed (75 of those in attendance with YES Wal-Mart signs) and shouted, “RECALL THE MAYOR”.

A Wal-Mart rep said they are done with a city like this and I am told, if you draw a circle 5-mile radius from the proposed Wal-Mart site, that is where the Wal-Mart and Wave center will end up together.

You can thank your Mayor for having this one slip, no I am sorry, pushed away and with it 500 jobs and MONEY.

I will be doing more blogs on topics that have been slipped away or pushed away this summer; I know we will be losing more.  I will be adding to my posts, courtesy of the Mayor.

How to Recall a City Mayor Follow this link here: Link

According to one person in the crowd, he knew how the vote was going to go when the Mayor asked the Vandewalle & Associates person what he felt of the proposal.

A representative from the Wave organization said when leaving the building "I feel sorry for you people here in Cudahy."

Let the lawsuits start.  Joe Henika thought the amount was high before, just double that amount.

McCue what was the thought of asking what the people wanted if you really didn’t care.

I will tell you what, you didn’t like what the people had to say, so you made sure at this meeting you would not have to listen to them.  You were going to tell us!

As a reader emailed me this right after the meeting, I thought I would share it.

“I cannot believe what just happened.  They let the greatest opportunity in Cudahy pass us by without giving the people the chance to speak, now with no Wal-Mart coming or any other business, Cudahy is now going to be a backward hick town.

After the meeting and even how the Continental people about Cudahy "this is the worst treatment we've gotten in any city."”

Now that Wal-Mart is dead, and I truly believe it is, I wonder if the Mayor will answer the following questions.

1.  Since Mayor Ryan McCue stated that the liens against Sportsites have been paid off; the question is “Who” paid them?

2.  Now that the Wal-Mart / Wave is dead, and if Continental does not bring back another proposal before July 1st (the extension agreed to by the city), does the City of Cudahy get the land back free and clear with no additional payments by the City?

3.  When will the City of Cudahy demolish the shell of the Iceport and clear the land for future development?

Currently the city will have to cleanup the land and because the land is contaminated and people and kids are walking around the land, a fence for public safety needs to go up restricting people from the dangers, all of this at our expense.  Thank you Mayor.

Parents, maybe it’s time to contact the health department to see if they have any information regarding the safety of this land, i.e. the contaminated dirt. Maybe we need to contact our Alderpersons to find out what the city knows about the condition of this dirt.  Is it really safe to be walking near it or around it? Do we need to take precautions and have our family physician test our children for unknown toxins? What is the city going to do about this vacant, tainted land that is just going to sit here for who knows how long? Don’t you think it is time to erect a fence around the known sullied property? The city and THIS MAYOR have not had the due diligence to erect a fence around this area.

The Mayor quickly slithered out of the room with a smirk on his face.

Please watch this blog for information on the RECALL of Mayor Ryan McCue as it unfolds.

He showed us!

Now show him and your Alderperson your displeasure.

Contact the Mayor and your Alderperson and tell them this was a big mistake and actions have consequences!

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

The Mayor is still banking on the KRM, probably at the insistence of VandeWalle and Associates.  Pigs flying have a better chance of happening, before KRM.  His view of Utopia for Cudahy does not include Wal-Mart.

McCue, Smith, Pavlic and like types, have no intentions of having their name on the Wal-Mart.  That is it period!

Time is running out…

One cannot make, melt or gain time. 

You cannot even rush it, let alone stop time. 

You can watch it and be ready for it.

Am I blowing this out of proportion?  NO!  I don’t think so!

As you are aware, I am not for the KRM with taxpayer public money.  Here is a list of key business endorsements.  Just ask them to fund it.  You will find out quickly, they don’t want to pay for it just use it to bring in workers at taxpayers expense.

Please Note: this endorsement is for the concept of KRM, and not for any specific financing plan.

I see… ***Head nods***

http://www.transitnow.org/key-endorser-list.html

Fisk Johnson, Chairman - S. C. Johnson & Son

Gale Klappa, CEO - WE Energies

Richard A. Hansen, President & CEO - Johnson Financial Group

Helen Johnson-Leipold, Chairman & CEO - Johnson Outdoors

Scott Kelly, President - Johnson Bank-Racine

Thomas Mahoney, President - Johnson Bank-Kenosha

Christian Lie, CEO - Johnson Insurance Services

John Matthews, V.P. Global Communications - Johnson Diversey

Jerold Franke, President - WISPARK

Robert Mariano, Chairman & CEO - Roundy's

Aurora Health Care

Edward Emma, President & COO - Jockey International

Randy Baker, President - Case New Holland (CNH)

Dennis Kuester, President & CEO - Marshall & Ilsley Corp.

Dave Rayburn, President & CEO - Modine

Jerry Ryder, President - In-Sink-Erator

Carol Skornicka, Sr. V.P. General Council - Midwest Airlines

Brian Klemstein, Vice President - LaSalle Bank

Roch Lambert, Exec. Vice President - Bombardier Recreational

Thomas Bernacchi, Vice President - Towne Realty

Fred Luber, Chairman - Super Steel Corp.

Gary Grunau, Sr. Vice President - GPD Gilbane

Michael Cudahy, President - Endeavors Group

David Gordon, Director & CEO - Milwaukee Art Museum

Paul Matthews, President - Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

Dennis Troha, Chairman & CEO - JHT Holdings, Inc.

Mark Sommer, President - Gormac Products, Inc.

Dennis Barkow, President - Quinte Systems

Jess Levin, President & CEO - Bank of Elmwood

John Burke, Chairman - Burke Properties

Vince Ruffolo, President - S.I.C., Inc.

Alan Ruud, President & CEO - Ruud Lighting, Inc.

Ken Buser, President & CEO - All Saints Health Care

Daniel Risch, CEO - Lincoln Luthern of Racine

Ronald Gibb, President - Wells Fargo-Racine

Mark Ernst, Partner - Engberg Anderson Design Partnership

Dave Perkins, CFO & Vice President - Racine Federated, Inc.

John Hennessy, President - Hennessy Group (Milwaukee)

John Shannon, President & CEO - Quick Cable Corporation

Ralph Tenuta, Owner - Tenuta's

Eric Resch, President - Stone Creek Coffee

Robert R. Henzl, President - Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C.

Michael Stanich, Partner - Lakeview Investment, LLC (Kenosha)

Keith Johnson, President - Pathway Development (Salem, WI)

Lincoln Fowler, Partner - Alterra Coffee Roasters, Inc.

Dana Anderson, President & CEO - Foote, Cone & Belding

Renquist & Associates (Racine)

Steve Johnson, President - Miller Brands

James Eastman, President - Merchants Moving & Storage (Racine)

Mark Irgens, President – Irgens Development Partners

Gerorge Seater, President/CEO – Seater Construction

Now back to KRM, The federal government restored the funds.  Mayor Tom Barrett would rather use the money for streetcars, and County Executive Scott Walker would rather use the money for his plan of the rapid buses.  I sense that Tom and Scott will not agree anytime soon, on ONE PLAN.  While both are honorable men, they won't come together on KRM any time soon!

Here is the part of the KRM equation that no one talks about, yet those in the loop know.

They talk about an extension of Metra (controlled by the Illinois State Legislature) up to Milwaukee.  So, for any extension north of Kenosha, the Illinois State Legislature MUST approve it.  That's right...  The Illinois State Legislature must approve!  What do you think the chances of that are?  Again, pigs fly!!

All counties in Wisconsin involved must agree.

The only reason Metra came up to Kenosha was that it was cheaper and easier to turn around there, rather than at a point in Illinois.  Doyle is beholden to the road builder, and if you had any smarts at all, you knew that I 94 from Layton to the state line was coming up for rebuilding, and you have seen the EPA article about the 4 lanes each way approval.  The road expansion is happening!

Now, if the state and feds are going to spend Billions on that stretch of road, what do you think the chances are of the state putting up some money for Metra in the 09-11 bi-annual budgets?  Again, pigs fly!!

For the same reason that Glowacki wanted the IcePort as his legacy to the city, McCue is banking on KRM, and the value of that property shooting up so high, he would hold it up forever, rather than see a Wal-Mart go there.

Side note, you didn't and don’t see Mayor Richard Bolander (OC), and Mayor Tom Zepecki (SM), holding up every development plan for their cities due to KRM.

Again, you don't see Tom Zepecki holding up all of the development plans for SM, including the Bucyrus site (right along train tracks), for KRM.  Unfortunately, if Mayor McCue plans to wait for KRM, the steel will have fallen down, by the time the trains show up.

Thank you for voting NO on the Milwaukee Connector, with it being a Milwaukee County run project, it will cost the taxpayers of Cudahy for a system that will not work and doesn’t service my area.  Just because the federal government is giving away money, the system has never been tested in the US, and is only in two cities in France, does not mean we have to do it.  Just say NO.  Where is the money to run to come from, us the Milwaukee county taxpayers.  Nationwide rider ship of mass transit has been going down.  This is a flawed system.  Hopefully Scott Walker vetoes it.  God help us, in a time of insolubility to build something and then figure out how to build be saying.  Well we put the money in it, we might as well finish it!  Sounds to me much like the pension scandal.

Sincerely,