Here are questions from readers:

Mayor Ryan McCue, you are an Irish Catholic and a church going person why did you pick this Thursday, during the largest religious week, the holy week to hold this important meeting.  As you are aware that you cannot even have a funeral after 5:00pm Friday until Monday after Easter!

What are the plans for the site formerly Thirsty Moose?

What current negotiations are happening with businesses to revive the City of Cudahy?  Please be specific.

Schools, PTAs, Police, Fire have all used the PhoneBlast system to notify important information, has the Mayor and local officials thought about using this to get out information?

How are the Cudahy Schools doing compared to local, state and national?  Please be specific in ranking of each section.  What plans and actions are being promoted to increase quality education in Cudahy?

Have local businesses been approached to help in mentoring and volunteering at local schools for programs such as LegoRobotics, Odyssey of the Mind, or other educational and artistic enrichment programs?

What are the duties and responsibilities of the City of Cudahy?  Are these different from other cities?  If so, why?

Did you run on an anti-Wal-Mart platform?

Why is the city proposing to pay $30 million dollars for the ice port site? 

Why did you move from the old mayor's office, which you said was too closed off and dark, yet was open and easily accessible to the public?  Then you chose to move from that old office to the glassed in office only to spend thousands to wall it off.  Would it not made more sense or better yet, any sense to just remodel the old Mayor’s office?

Why was a referendum not done for Wal-Mart in Cudahy?

Is it true that there was/is another Tannery company interested in moving in the Cudahy Tannery?

Is the city still looking into purchasing the Cudahy Tannery to put a road in on Edgerton?

Did you turn in for any reimbursement of costs or damages due to your house being vandalized to the city?

Since I will not be able to attend Mayor McCue’s State of The City Address, I have made up a list of questions that maybe someone in the crowd could ask and hopeful Mayor McCue will answer them.  There are an awful lot of questions Mayor McCue could just demystify for us!

Mayor McCue it might help you to divulge some of these in your speech instead of making your speech a pre-campaign diatribe. 

How would you grade yourself as Cudahy’s Mayor?

What are your job duties?

Do you feel the Cudahy Mayor’s job is part time?

Does the city staff work for the Mayor?

What are the goals for Lara Fritts?

Who keeps track of your sick, personal days, and vacation time?

Why is there no City car use policy and log put in place yet?

Once the city takes possession of the property, when do they propose beginning environmental remediation, and how much will it cost the taxpayers?

Why could we not get a scout or school group to adopt and plant flower baskets rather than paying thousands of dollars to a company which no longer has it's business located in the city of Cudahy?

With residential homes devaluing at a rate of 5 to 10 % per year, how do you to propose to balance the budget yearly with the cities overall value in a declining mode?

In your 2007 campaign platform you claimed, “The past two budgets, Mayor Hohenfeldt has presented deficit budgets” do you have an evidence to back up that claim?

Why doesn’t Cudahy have a defined downtown and since it doesn’t how can the Master Plan call for certain things to happen downtown if one is not defined?

Are you going to hold a referendum so the citizens can vote on the KRM since this is a very big deal that will affect the Cudahy residents vastly?

Was it your idea to put flowerpots on the light polls downtown?

Are you okay with 97 of 250 city jobs being held by non-Cudahy residents including our Police Chief, Superintendent of our schools and now our Fire Chief?

Complaints resonate amid higher tax bills, lower property values

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/36734324.html

Nice quiet small town type community on Lake Michigan. The main disadvantage is the high cost of property taxes. Wisconsin has some of the highest property taxes in the U.S.

If you have a question for Mayor Ryan McCue just post it in the comments section!

Mayor…

The Salvation Army - Wal-Mart donation Press Release.

Christmas Toy Drive Brightened by Wal-Mart Donation

MILWAUKEE, WI, December 18, 2008 –

The Salvation Army’s annual toy drive has received a major helping hand from Wal-Mart’s four city of Milwaukee stores.  The four stores have collaborated in making an $11,000 donation, responding to The Salvation Army’s need to accommodate twice the usual number of requests for gifts for needy Milwaukee area families.

            Additionally, The Salvation Army’s toy barrels will be at each of the four Milwaukee stores from Friday through Sunday (Dec. 19-21) where last minute shoppers can contribute toys for the annual drive.  Included are the company’s stores at 401 E. Capitol Dr.; 5825 W Hope Ave.; 8700 N. Servite Dr., and 3355 S. 27th St.

            “The donation and timely toy collection are greatly needed and appreciated especially this year with the economic downturn and the substantial increase in requests for toys.  It will help brighten Christmas for thousands of families,” said Major Jesse Collins, Salvation Army Milwaukee County Commander.

            He added Wal-Mart’s contribution and full cooperation surfaced after recent news reports regarding the challenges facing The Salvation Army for this year’s campaign.

About Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club locations in the United States.  The Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom and, through a joint venture, in India.  The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT.  More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com.  Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com

and www.samsclub.com.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1865.  Nearly 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children.  About 87 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide.  For more information, go to http://www.SAmilwaukee.org

If you didn’t catch that - $11,000 donated from Wal-Mart to the Salvation Army locally in Milwaukee from four stores. 

Now let’s look at this article from Forbes.com - America's Most Generous Corporations for a national prospective.

The No. 1 most generous company overall, Wal-Mart Stores (nyse: WMT - news - people), gave away $301 million in 2007, including total cash donations from the company foundation, and excluding free product and service offerings, otherwise called "in-kind" donations.  That amounts to 1.3% of the company's 2006 operating income.

Beneficiaries of Wal-Mart's goodwill include the Children's Miracle Network, America's Second Harvest, the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the United Way of America and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Just how much of that untapped amount could have been donated to Cudahy?  Maybe for Parks, streets, put in the sidewalk I have been requesting, schools, churches, and other charities.  The thoughts are endless of what could be asked for!

Is the Mayor and the Alderpersons that voted NO and sent Wal-Mart packing, going to make up the difference? 

That is a foolish question because we all know they could NOT!

This is part two of Knowing A Gift When You See it

I will work this over with these dollar figures:

Wal-Mart’s amounts in black $10.91

http://www.jsonline.com/business/36380809.html

According to Lisa Nelson (no relation to Waukesha Mayor Nelson) of Wal-Mart, the $10.91 is just store average total of hourly workers.  These are the same figures she gave Cudahy.

Wisconsin minimum wages in red $6.50

http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/dwd/publications/erd/pdf/erd_9247_p.pdf

The amount in 2005 anti-Wal-Mart establishments used in blue $9.68

http://www.laborresearch.org/print.php?id=391

Most associates are full-time associates (34 - 40 hours per week), but there are part-time jobs available, as well.

Wal-Mart Careers

For the Cudahy Station we will use 300 jobs as that was the number Wal-Mart released.

300 jobs with 60% as full-time

300 x .6 = 180 jobs full-time

300 jobs with 40% as part-time

300 x .4 = 120 jobs part-time

So far so good!

180 jobs x $10.91 per hour = $1,963.80 per hour full-time jobs

120 jobs x $10.91 per hour = $1,309.20 per hour part-time jobs

300 jobs x $10.91 per hour = $3,273.00 per hour total

Now full-time jobs we will take 34 hours a week as a conservative number of hours worked

180 jobs x $10.91 per hour x 34 hours a week $66,769.20

Now we will use 50 weeks average worked $66,769.20 x 50 weeks = $3,338,460.00 and that is just what the full-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart conservatively.

For part-time, we will use 20 hours a week as that was the standard at K-Mart and most large retail.

120 jobs x $10.91 per hour x 20 hours a week $26,184.00

Now we will use 50 weeks on average worked $26,184.00 x 50 weeks = $1,309,200.00 and that is just what the part-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart conservatively.

So let’s bottom line this!

300 jobs in Cudahy (not to mention the management positions) $3,338,460.00 + $1,309,200.00 = $4,647,660.00 that Wal-Mart in Cudahy would put into the workers hands with a lot spent in Cudahy.  (Don’t forget that is $4.6 Million +)

We will average full-time 34 hours with 40 hours

$10.91 x 34 hours = $370.94 per week x 50 weeks = $18,547.00 per year (conservatively)

$10.91 x 40 hours = $436.40 per week x 52 weeks = $22,692.80 per year

Averaged out $18,547.00 + $22,692.80 = $41,239.80 / 2 = $20,619.90

Now what some would like to argue is that Wal-Mart jobs you cannot live off of so let us do some more math and checking in.

Remember what the Poverty rates were?

2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Family or Household 48 Contiguous States

1 Person $10,400

2 Person $14,000

3 Person $17,600

4 Person $21,200

So, as you can see IF the Wal-Mart employee is the only one working with four person household it is below the poverty rate if you use either the average or 34 hour a week numbers.  Now again, most households would have the other person working.

True retail doesn’t pay the greatest, but where does it say that a retail job must provide a living wage for themselves and others?  Why must Wal-Mart be the one that everyone decides should?  Does Starbucks offer a living wage?

It is always nice to show the math work and actually deal with facts!  The truth can lie when you don’t use facts.

Now let’s calculate this with all at minimum wage (again not including management)

Alternatively full-time & part-time pay at different rate of Wisconsin minimum wage rate $6.50

180 jobs x $6.50 per hour = $1,170.00 per hour full-time jobs

120 jobs x $6.50 per hour = $780.00 per hour part-time jobs

300 jobs x $6.50 per hour = $1,950 per hour total

We will use 34 hours a week for full-time hours worked

180 jobs x $6.50 per hour x 34 hours a week $39,780.00

Now we will use 50 weeks average worked $39,780.00 x 50 weeks = $1,989,000

Again, that is just what the full-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart conservatively

Once more for part time, we will use 20 hours a week.

120 jobs x $6.50 per hour x 20 hours a week $15,600.00

Once again, we will use 50 weeks on average worked

$15,600.00 x 50 weeks = $780,000 and that is just what the part-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart.

So let’s bottom line this with just minimum wage figures!

300 jobs in Cudahy (don’t forget the management positions that are not factored into this) $1,989,000 + $780,000 = $2,769,000 that Wal-Mart in Cudahy would put into the workers hands with a lot spent in Cudahy.  (Don’t forget that is $2.7 Million +)

We will average fulltime 34 hours with 40 hours

$6.50 x 34 hours = $221.00 per week x 50 weeks = $11,080.00 per year (conservatively)

$6.50 x 40 hours = $260.00 per week x 52 weeks = $13,520.00 per year

Averaged out $11,080.00 + $13,520.00 = $24,600.00 / 2 = $12,300.00

2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Family or Household 48 Contiguous States

1 Person $10,400

2 Person $14,000

3 Person $17,600

4 Person $21,200

Now the amount in 2005 anti-Wal-Mart establishments used $9.68

180 jobs x $9.68 per hour = $1,742.40 per hour full-time jobs

120 jobs x $9.68 per hour = $1,161.60 per hour part-time jobs

300 jobs x $9.68 per hour = $2,904.00 per hour total

Now full-time jobs we will take 34 hours a week as a conservative number worked

180 jobs x $9.68 per hour x 34 hours a week $59,241.60

Now we will use 50 weeks average worked $59,241.60 x 50 weeks = $2,962,080.00 and that is just what the full-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart conservatively.

For part-time using 20 hours a week

120 jobs x $9.68 per hour x 20 hours a week $23,232.00

Now we will use 50 weeks on average worked $23,232.00 x 50 weeks = $1,161,600.00 and that is just what the part-timers would bring in at the Cudahy Wal-Mart conservatively.

Bottom lining this!

300 jobs in Cudahy (not to mention the management positions) $2,962,080.00 + $1,161,600.00 = $4,123,680.00 that Wal-Mart in Cudahy would put into the workers hands with a lot spent in Cudahy.  (Don’t forget that is $4.1 Million +)

We will average full-time 34 hours with 40 hours

$9.68 x 34 hours = $329.12 per week x 50 weeks = $16,456.00 per year (conservatively)

$9.68 x 40 hours = $387.20 per week x 52 weeks = $20,134.40 per year

Averaged out $16,456.00 + $20,134.40 = $36,590.40 / 2 = $18,295.20

2008 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Family or Household 48 Contiguous States

1 Person $10,400

2 Person $14,000

3 Person $17,600

4 Person $21,200

Disclaimer –doesn’t factor any overtime in equations

That is a lot of money Cudahy is losing out moving around the city!  And yes, not all jobs would go to just Cudahy residents, than again what company does?  Even the Police department in Cudahy doesn’t require only Cudahy residents!

Nobody forces anyone to work at Wal-Mart, they choose to!

In my post titled: Cudahy Common Council Meeting Dec 2nd, 2008 (includes audio file) a reader reached out and posted the following comment:

“Randy, is there anything the citizens can do to still make the Wal-Mart happen?  What about a protest outside city hall, and try to get as much news coverage as we can?  WISN radio has been doing a good job, but I think more exposure is needed.  I hate to see this just end like this.  What can we do?”

While out and about the city having my daughter’s picture taken with Santa, a few people came up to me and asked me basically, “Yes what can be done?” 

Which I replied to the people and the reader that reached out:

“It is the right of people to protest, but someone would have to come forward and lead and organize it!  I will look into it.”

I also received an email about a possible City Hall protest:

“Good.  If I can get off of work, I will be there, and I will drag my mother along.  Thank you again.”

So I decided to email the Cudahy Police Chief Thomas D. Poellot and CC’d in the Mayor and Common Council members for information.

Here is what I said:

“Dear Police Chief Poellot,

It has been asked how can Cudahy citizens lawfully protest at City Hall.  What would be the do’s and don’t of the protest?  I would not want anyone to get arrested, but don’t want to squash the First Amendment right of free speech and the Right to Demonstrate and Protest. 

I fully understand that the First Amendment prohibits restrictions based on the content of speech.  However, this does not mean that the Constitution completely protects all types of free speech activity in every circumstance.  Police and government officials are allowed to place certain non-discriminatory and narrowly drawn “time, place and manner” restrictions on the exercise of First Amendment rights.

I also just want to clarify that an organized group can gather and protest at City Hall. 

I know that generally, all types of expression are constitutionally protected in traditional “public forums” such as public sidewalks and parks.  Public streets can be used for marches subject to reasonable permit conditions.  In addition, speech activity may be permitted at other public locations such as the plazas in front of government buildings, which the government has opened up to similar speech activities.

This is coming to light due to the Common Council and the Mayor’s decision not to allow the MOU for the Cudahy Station to be passed, thus closing the doors on Wal-Mart. 

Some feel this is unjust and that the City, most notably the Common Council and the Mayor, are not listening and following the voice of the people, so the people must voice louder and be visible.

I am not coming to you with the intentions of leading or supporting a protest at this time, however, I am addressing these questions in order to provide the answers to many of the other City of Cudahy residents that will or have contacted me to investigate their rights.

Randy Hollenbeck”

The gracious response back from Police Chief Poellot is as fellows:

“I would be happy to sit down and talk to the protest organizer.  We can talk about how many people the organizer expects and what accommodations can be made for that amount of people.  I would like to keep traffic safely flowing on the street and make sure that access and egress at City Hall is not impeded.  Due to the close proximity of the High School, another concern that I have is for students going to or coming from school.  I wouldn’t want to have kids having to walk out into traffic to walk around people blocking the sidewalk. 

As far as the do’s and don’ts of protesting, I’m sure that we’re on the same page.  I don’t believe that these folks want to come here to break the law.  No one wants intimidation or harassment of others, property damage, injury or other unlawful conduct. 

I don’t know if anyone’s heart is set on City Hall as the location, but it’s always possible that an alternate location would work for the organizer.

Again, I would be happy to sit down and talk to the protest organizer. 

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Poellot, Chief of Police

Cudahy Police Department

5050 South Lake Drive

Cudahy, WI 53110-6108

Phone: (414) 769-2260

Fax:     (414) 769-2259

chiefpoellot@ci.cudahy.wi.us”

If someone were looking at organizing a protest at City Hall, I would post the information you wish to have out just email me the information @ rhollenbeck@gmail.com or post it in the comment section.

Just remember it is within your right to protest if you so choose to, just do it lawfully!

Time doesn’t change a man’s word, but you learn his sincerity of action during it!

Here was a suggestion I received on this subject:

“In case the party of whom you requested the info will not be of assistance, I offer the following.  According to our constitution, we all have the right of "Peaceful Protest.” 

This includes utilizing the sidewalk in front of city hall property to march back and forth in an orderly manner utilizing signage and verbal chants so long as they do not disturb the peace in volume. 

You may not disrupt traffic either foot or vehicle, you may not block driveways or stop vehicles or pedestrians.  If one is so inclined to utilize their constitutional rights to Peaceful Protest, it may be advisable to contact the media so as to gain full advantage of the situation and inform the citizenry of Cudahy in a manner as to maximize the effect of the protest. 

One thing to remember is that the police department will probably monitor any protest march that takes place and it is advisable to stay within the letter of the law.  I would also suggest that you check to see if there are any permits are now required for protest marches or "parades,” since the executive branch of the city government may have factored this into the equation already.

Good luck.”

Jay Weber Talking about Oak Creek Booming and Cudahy NOT

With Oak Creek’s Mayor Chasing retail. (located at the end of the pod cast)

Pod Cast Here

It is just too bad the rest of the Cudahy Alderpersons didn’t send out a questionnaire like Third District’s Mark Otto.

To know is to be.  As information is all power, so too can power come from not knowing.  It is only for the knowing to wield instead of the all.  As if information is known, the power is diminished, but the glory can be shared.

It is easy for Fifth District Alderperson Thomas Pavlic and Second District Alderperson Mary Schissel to sit back and claim that their Districts were not in favor.  The same could have been made for the Fourth District when Sean Smith was still in office.  Do they have any real proof that is the case?  Real proof, not just that they claim phone calls which cannot be verified.

Remember Ronald Reagan’s Quote “Trust but verify!” 

What would be the outcome if an Open Records Request were done on email for Wal-Mart with the two alderpersons?  That would not necessarily take in count the phone calls.  We would never truly know now will we?

An honest person walks a straight path, while a less than honorable one bends and twists.

My opinion is they didn’t want to really know what the residents in their districts wanted as they had no intention of voting that way.  My guess because of some personal dislike of Wal-Mart.  This gives them plausible deniability, as the military would say I couldn’t confirm nor deny anything.  All you have is my word.

He who seeks the enlightened path, knows the truth when he is confronted with it not!

Now you may have noticed that First District Alderperson Joe Mikolajczak was not singled out, because in the end he wanted to at least hear out what Continental Properties had to offer.  (In cases where it would be split 50/50, don’t you think it would be reasonable to hear out the plan?)

Trust is earned not given!

Wal-Mart was not a silver bullet, but it would have helped the city.

Lamin Perfect Balance: I move forward in life with ease and with joy at every age – I trust the process of life.  All that I need is always taken care of!  Lamsafe

Oh yeah by the way, what was the results of Mark Otto’s questionnaire?

To look is to see.  To see is to know! 

(340 total sent out)

1.  Do you want WALMART in Cudahy?

YES 51 NO 22

1a. Should tax revenue generated from a WALMART be used to assist the creation of other development?

YES 29 NO 36

Please keep in mind that the Milwaukee Wave was in the picture back in July of this year.

Also, keep in mind that the IcePort site is in the third district and would have impacted those residents more, so it should have carried more weight.

The only correct answer is the truth!

A reader emailed me that “the whole Iceport/Wal-Mart is a Greek Tragedy, where fear ruled the hearts of those who oppose change and forward movement.”

They also gave me this link:

The classic discussion of Greek tragedy is Aristotle's Poetics.  He defines tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also as having magnitude, complete in itself.”  He continues, "Tragedy is a form of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear.  Its action should be single and complete, presenting a reversal of fortune, involving persons renowned and of superior attainments, and it should be written in poetry embellished with every kind of artistic expression.”  The writer presents "incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to interpret its catharsis of such of such emotions" (by catharsis, Aristotle means a purging or sweeping away of the pity and fear aroused by the tragic action).

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/tragedy.html

The trampling death of a Wal-Mart employee is blamed on the store not being unionized.

 Jay Weber’s Pod Cast Click Here

Family of man trampled at Wal-Mart sues retailer

1. Truly, What’s The Beef With Wal-Mart? – This was a question and answer from the Wal-Mart public forum.

2. Recall Donations and Help Needed – Talked about the open record request and the recall and how to donate.  They still need money donations to keep doing the open record requests.

3. Setting the record straight by Lisa B. Nelson  – Guest blog from a Wal-Mart rep to debunk the Joe Henika post in the public forum on Wal-Mart asking for a tax subsidy.

4. Moving Forward  –About the Wal-Mart moving forward and what I thought of the future.

5. Putting People’s Mind To Ease – Some one in the Wal-Mart public forum made an accusation that K-Mart, Walgreen’s, and Pick N’ Save would close if Wal-Mart came to town.  I called and talked to management of each of the stores and they didn’t seem concerned and welcome them.

6. Business Conditions  – I talk about what I would include in the business conditions with the developer and Wal-Mart.

7. Water-boarding  – I let people know what exactly water-boarding is and how I feel about it.

8. Important Emergency Phone Numbers – A collection of Important Emergency Phone Numbers that I have collected.

9. Lawn Care Part II – Weeds – Creeping Charlie  – This one is about those pesky weeds that are everywhere in Cudahy and southeastern Wisconsin.  They are very hard to get rid of.  Normal weed and feed will not kill it.

10. Audio File – Cudahy State Of the City Address – You can download it or just click on and listen to the speech that the Mayor gave if you missed it.