southmilwaukeenow.com
search all things local
Rummage MapseHarmony
weather

41°

Foggy | 15MPH

NEWSROOM * CIRCULATION * ADVERTISING

Friday

March 2010

12

Blog Home |        Welcome to MyCommunityNOW - Blogs Sign in | Join
Browse By tag All Tags » Wal-Mart » Talk Back (RSS)

Related Tags

Questions For Mayor McCue's State of The City Address

By Randy Hollenbeck
Wednesday, Apr 8 2009, 05:00 PM

My take is Mayor McCue will speak for most of the time and only allow for a few questions due to time constraints.  Planned?????

 

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…

 

 

 

April Top 10

By Randy Hollenbeck
Saturday, May 10 2008, 06:59 AM
 

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.
 
  1. 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.
 
  1. ** 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.
 
  1. 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.
 
  1. History Repeating Page Two  –I wrote about the info a reader emailed me about a Cudahy School closing and Wal-Mart spin.
 
  1. 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.
 
  1. Proposal On The Table  – I wrote about what is the Wal-Mart proposal, TIF, and the Plan Commission.
 
  1. 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.
 
  1. 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.
 
  1. 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.

 

I may use sarcasm at the expense of others that don’t agree with my views or me, but it is not personal just on the material.

 

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.

 

 

Gag Order

By Randy Hollenbeck
Sunday, Apr 20 2008, 02:24 PM

Gag Order - Judicial ruling barring public disclosure or discussion (as by the press) of information related to a case; broadly: a similar nonjudicial prohibition against the release of confidential information or against public discussion of a sensitive matter.  (Definition by Merriam-Webster)

 

Someone in the public forum had stated that maybe Mayor McCue had placed a gag order on our elected officials from posting or emailing about Wal-Mart (while understanding “working in good faith and the walking quorum” problems) and with information about the pending lawsuit (s) it maybe true then.  The poster went on to say that the Mayor doesn’t want anything in print so he/they can deny whatever is said and conversations on the phone, therefore it would be hearsay.

 

During the State of the City meeting, Mayor McCue stated these close door meetings protect the city and don’t show our hand.  On his campaign website (http://ryanmccue.com/IcePort.html) he statesAs a citizen, I was frustrated that the mayor scheduled numerous closed session meetings, excluding the public.”

Maybe there are valid reasons that at the time McCue was unaware of why the Mayor (to which one is he talking about) had for the closed meetings.  Maybe he sees things in a different light now.

If they had been told in closed session by legal counsel, to keep their mouth's shut, not to further damage the city’s position, then they should just come out and say so.  We don’t need all of this secrecy and mystery.  This muzzle, without explanation, just creates mistrust and distrust, misinformation and rumors.

With all of this information that was stated in the public forum, like the Eminent Domain put out there months before it was publicly announced and now this, I stated this before it sounds like someone inside the local government is not happy with the direction our captain and the ship are heading.

If I were the Mayor, I would be very uneasy if there truly is this secret discontent floating information out.  It begs the question, is there more coming? 

I don’t care who it is as long as it is the truth that comes forward.

It is just like “Deep Throat of Watergate” and makes this interesting!

At this moment, we will classify it as a rumor, until the press (Cudahynow) releases a statement from the Mayor’s office telling us that it is true.  My money is on that it is true to some degree.

By the way, a neighbor of mine has made an observation that things in meetings get tabled if there is no media present to record them and passed when someone is there to report on it.  You and I will have to watch for that.  If it is true, we have egomaniacs in office.

 
 
 

Gates Says Web Helps Government Transparency

 

Using Denmark and Sweden as examples, Bill Gates credited the internet with making governments more transparent.  According to Gates, those two governments have taken steps to have detailed postings of all government activities.

 

While not as easy to access as their Nordic counterparts, he said that the US government has made a lot of data available, but it is complicated by jargon and often difficult to navigate.

 

He also indicated that the Nordic countries are the model to follow, not the US.

  Source: www.reuters.com 
 

While reading another city’s blog on WaukeshaNow called “Mayor Larry Nelson - Worthy of scorn or support?” by Jay Walt, it came to mind that at the last Plan Commission meeting a very loyal fan of Mayor McCue came up to me and said, “You need to stop all of this nonsense of writing about the Mayor!  CudahyNow is about fun and what is positive.  You seem to want to ask the Mayor to be something he is not.  Leave him alone.  So what if he doesn’t email back!”

I told her that if it were me (I told the Mayor this same thing) as Mayor and a constituent emailed me, I would email them back.  If they called me, I would call them back.  If they mailed a letter to me, then I would mail one back.  The means to which the public uses to contact the city, should be the same means you contact them back.  I don’t think that is asking too much. 

Here is a small sliver from Jay’s post (which was very good).

“HERE'S ONE!  Name the last higher-ranking public official who will return phone calls and emails, and then go on, albeit interminably at times, about the great things occurring in Waukesha - The (trick) answer?  Both Mayor Nelson and his predecessor Mayor Carol Lombardi.  Interestingly, he will even ask your opinion on local issues...”

Notice the Mayor will return the emails.  True it doesn’t say email back, but people are hard on the city which includes THE MAYOR.  Some times, while emailing the city, I wondered if whether the city’s email server is on the fritz or something?

 

I am obviously under the Mayor’s skin causing him ire, and he has never had anyone when he was an alderman or supervisor, that would stay on him, and call him on things.  We must be challenging him and all of the government by keeping them on their toes and put them on notice we have a voice.

 

Please people don’t forget – They work for us!  Which makes us the BOSS!

 

Like I said previously, the first year you get a free pass, and then it gets tougher.  We must use our voice.

 

Let us not just close our eyes and allow someone to blindly lead us down a hasty path that is the wrong one.  Walk, not run, with eyes open wide, down the right path.

 

Character is doing the right thing when nobody is watching!

 

If you cannot handle the heat stay out of the kitchen.

 

Do you think I am being too hard on the Mayor?

 

My question to you…does the Mayor or Alderpersons ever reach out to you, the constituents, if you are not contacting him?

 

Have you ever be asked by your Mayor, Alderman or county supervisor to see how you stood on a topic? 

 

If we don’t make phone calls or emails voicing our opinions, then, to them, this means everything is O.K. and going smoothly.

 

I believe that being informed on what's going on in the city and the neighborhood keeps a lot of misinformation and rumors at bay.

 

 

Talk Back - How to Make Our City Grow

By Randy Hollenbeck
Friday, Apr 18 2008, 03:36 PM

Many communities have found the right mix of housing, retail and manufacturing to keep it viable and Cudahy needs to do the same.  Cities are places where people can live, learn, work, visit and play.  They should offer a wide range of services - schools, parks, health care, stores, restaurants and transportation, just to name a few.  Cities that are vibrant, safe, and attractive are where residents, visitors and businesses want to be.  Cudahy has what is necessary to be successful; it just needs to move forward.

 

To move forward you have to identify your problems, except them and fix them.  Currently our city is in denial of many issues that plague our wonderful city.  Also, Cudahy has a sort of Identity crisis I am told which I covered in “Cudahy's Image Problem”.

 

Job number one must be to stop the decline in our city’s population, job losses, and keep Cudahy money in Cudahy.  To do that we must lower our crime and taxes.  Crime and population go hand in hand though; do GHOST TOWNS need to worry about crime and we can have all the development in the world and the greatest park system but if everyone is afraid of going there then what's the point?

 

Job number two is to increase tourism traffic to Cudahy and to bring in money from outside our city.

 

Look at the pie chart at the bottom of this post as to “The concerns of Wisconsin Residents”

 

Cudahy needs to find its identity and niche.  Obviously, the economy is foremost...having lost that much of the population I could only assume it was an economic issue again, taxes and a rise in crime (the issue of crime was so big I covered it in two blogs earlier).  By niche, I mean find an industry, which could thrive and then create economic incentives for corporations to move here.  We need to target biotech, drug industry, software and technology businesses.  We must identify areas that definitely need improvement and intervention.

 

One of Mayor Ryan McCue’s platform statements was “We need to concentrate on keeping businesses in Cudahy and make it easy and attractive for new businesses to locate in Cudahy.”  It is essential for Cudahy to keep the trucking companies that call Cudahy home.  These trucking companies pay good wages and has excellent benefits.  We need to keep the moniker of truck alley.  I know many people in attendance at the common council meetings in the past have talk bad about all of the trucks on the streets of Cudahy.  That is a sign of a living city, I have told them.  One woman told me “I just wish they were in some other city, not ours.”  We will never make everyone happy.  This is the same sediment the Wal-Mart has on some people.

 

Right now, we are a city losing jobs and people who live in the community.  Our enrollment in Cudahy schools is down.  Some people confuse the issue of specialty stores with big business retailer.  We need the big business retailer, Wal-Mart, to increase the standard of living of the residents who live in Cudahy.  The specialty stores help increase tourist traffic, not to say the Cudahy residents will not shop them because they will, but the very nature of the word “specialty shops” should be a clue.  This is not a daily or weekly destination, but a place to go for a special need, which is why many of them fail.

 

Once Wal-Mart is given the go ahead “The Shops of Cudahy” will fill-up with tenants.  Currently the prospective tenants would like to hangout in the weeds until Wal-Mart is named.  There is to be a hotel built on this 26-acre property.  That too is in limbo until Wal-Mart is named.  You have the classic “Chicken and the Egg.”

 

Yes, we need to increase tourism, but it is more important to stem the tide of good residents leaving our community and jobs moving elsewhere.  One-person blogged on the public forum about Generations of pride and that his own kids have moved out of Cudahy.  This is exactly why we need to make a reason for people to stay living in Cudahy.  Having a high tourism and high amount of people moving out will not cancel each other out as some people think.  It starts with this Wal-Mart, which is a destination of Cudahy residents.

 

Of course, the Mayor doesn’t like this Wal-Mart, check that, is not a fan of Wal-Mart and he doesn’t feel it is a destination spot, because he is looking through glasses marked tourism.  The part of the Master Plan is an excuses, it is not ridged but flexible.  Many communities have a Wal-Mart in them, why would someone from outside our community want to shop our Wal-Mart if they already have one.  They wouldn’t unless their Wal-Mart is out of a particular item, ours is closer to where they work, or they simply like to shop ours.  It is mainly for the residents, not tourism.

 

Obviously, the Mayor (who shops Wal-Mart) is not concerned enough about the citizens living in Cudahy, and is worried more about just how to drive up tourism to Cudahy.  That is only one side of the problem.  Take off the tourism glasses and use your own eyes to see that both can be accomplished.  Wal-Mart for the Cudahy citizens and the specialty shops for tourism along with the Wave Center.  There are plenty of vacancies dotting Cudahy that would work perfectly for specialty shops besides this need to be placed in Cudahy Station.  We only need find them and to fill them.

 

The Wave complex can host soccer training in 60,000 sq ft and doubles as a 40,000 sq ft convention center once converted to that mode.  It will have a pull of 100-mile radius.  That includes 60,000 soccer moms and dads shopping, eating and driving around Cudahy.  Talk about large numbers of shoppers!

Cudahy needs this Wal-Mart and we need it to be successful.  Our future depends on it.  This Wal-Mart is not the savior, but it is the first piece of a puzzle called “How to grow and fix Cudahy.”  It is imperative to our revitalization that this large retailer comes to Cudahy and the responsible thing to do for our city to prosper.  Some say that we are just copying what other cities have and that it does not set us a part.  To this I say, why not move out all grocery stores, gas stations since everyone has one.  The answer lies in conveniences.

 Why should we drive to another city to get our consumables?  This Cudahy Station, with Wal-Mart as the anchor, is vital to our growth and prosperity.  Cudahy Station will generate more foot traffic that will help to sustain existing businesses, encourage new businesses to develop, deter crime, and boost the city's tax base.  Having more people around does deter crime, there is less time for the crime of opportunity.  This does not mean crime will be zero; it will happen whether Wal-Mart or another store is here!  Good planning leads to orderly growth and helps us to have the type of community we want.

Cities on the rise are enjoying developmental booms, embracing their history and their geography.  Stimulating the local economy for businesses and the job market, will in turn keep people in Cudahy and will keep us growing.  The military has a saying called the “6P’s”--- Proper --- Planning --- Prevents --- Piss --- Poor --- Performance, and if we follow that, we cannot fail.

What has plagued us in the past will haunt us.  A lack of vision and the carelessness nature of local politicians in the past has cost us dearly.  The town was governed by entirely by old-timers who were dead set against any kind of change and are running the town into the ground.  Status Quo is the term to describe that type of thinking.

 

It's the "we can do without that" mentality that suppresses new ideas for economic expansion.  I think that is what has kept young people from being drawn to and staying in Cudahy.  We need to engage them and entice them to stay.

 

Many locals want to retain a mid-sized city atmosphere but there is a great deal of influence from developers to change the demographics.  I am in favor of that as well, as long as the intent is not to push out the lower income elderly.  If we could push out or evict the lower income people who don’t want to work but instead live off the system, let us do it.  Far too long Cudahy has allowed the slumlords to use Cudahy and us.

 

Renters are fine as long as they care about the property, and contribute to the prosperity of the community.  Many do not.  Sometimes it does follow the lower income, but that is a case-by-case thing.  Would I like have the tax revenue of $300,000 plus homes, yes as long as it doesn’t change who we are.  Too many people would like to remake Cudahy into Whitefish Bay and that will not happen.  Cudahy is hard working class of people.  We can have a successful mix.     

 

I would support the KRM if taxes didn’t go up and the answer to that is private funding.  Funny how the people upset with the TIF are okay with taxes going up to fund the KRM.

 

So funny, don’t you think?

 

Yes, it would be an excellent opportunity existing to lure some of those new transplants into our neighborhood with several mixed-use projects featuring condos, lofts, and apartments in various price ranges.

 

Yes, tourism development would be nice.  Many proposed projects in Cudahy are shot down because the taxpayers are tired of paying for everything.  With some outside (tourist), revenue coming in we could get some help then the rest could follow.  I am just not convinced the KRM will make it and I don’t want to be the one paying for it then.  We you are on the right side you don’t have to do any convincing!

 

New residences downtown will generate more foot traffic that will help to sustain existing businesses, encourage new businesses to develop, deter crime, and boost the city's tax base.  We can entice people to move to our downtown, which already has all of the ingredients necessary to sustain residents (library, restaurants, shops, bars, pharmacies, banks, workplaces, houses of worship, etc.) if only Cudahy didn’t have the stigma of land of high taxes.  Adding more taxes for the KRM is not the answer especially as the country heads for a long recession.  We need to conserve our money.  I understand the philosophy that “you have to spend money to make money,” just now is not that time.

 

The "growth of a city" depends upon each individual in it.  Simply put, how we are treating each other.  I have said this before.  It’s not size.  It’s not money.  The better we treat each other that is the growth.  A modest size city where people treat each other well will attract much to it, everything that it needs to expand.

 

Yes, I become very discouraged and feel very sad to see so many people bashing my city all the time, but I know only better times are ahead for it (especially if and when I climb the political ladder as many of you would like me to do).

 

Cities need visionary, non-corrupt governments to progress and grow (I am not necessarily saying ours is).  The officials need to stop focusing on such micro issues, where if they focused on bigger picture problems, the micro problems would eventually be fixed.  The free market place has, in many cases led the change, as long as it was not tampered with.  Good planning leads to orderly growth and helps us to have the type of community we want.  Cities on the rise are enjoying developmental booms, embracing their history and their geography.

 

The Mayor's job responsibilities vary widely, but all are intended to ensure the well-being of the city and its people.  The Mayor and council members have the responsibility of representing not only the people who elected them, but all citizens.  Council members also serve as a resource to the residents of their district, making sure they receive quality services and helping them to solve problems.  Priority must be given to the well-being of the city and its people and is in an ongoing process to do so.

 

None of us are Mayors or are in charge (except the Mayor, Ryan McCue), but through this forum/blog our voices may be heard.  We still may not hear from the powers that be, but they will read your comments.

 

Everyone is looking for a formula that will provide healthy growth and stimulate the local economy for businesses and the job market.  With the challenges and opportunities we have, we can move forward and succeed.  We all must be trying to breathe life into our city and care about each other.  We must stem the tide of population and job loss.  We must lower crime and taxes.  We must, because if you don’t, Cudahy will become a GHOST TOWN.

 

Does the Mayor and its city officials get a report card?  I am working on that!

 

Maybe we should do an online one.

 

 

 

What problems does our city have and what suggestions do you have to help our city grow? 

So what would you do if you were Mayor of Cudahy?
 
 Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation.  You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.  - Ronald Reagan

 

Turf War - What to Build?

By Randy Hollenbeck
Wednesday, Apr 16 2008, 04:51 PM
 

I get the impression Wal-Mart is NOT really interested in the Pennsylvania and Layton site as some people would wish they should be.

 

This is our last, best hope for a Wal-Mart!  Period.  People please don’t fall under the spell that a gift like this will come again!

 

In working with Cobalt, the long narrowness of the site, coupled with the environmental problems, won't generate enough revenue to probably make it economically affordable.

 

I respect Joe Henika very much, but I think he is “Naïve” in thinking Wal-Mart will want to stay focused and willing to build in Cudahy.

 

Contrary to belief, everyone’s driveway is a destination!  I strive to park my car every day and plan my day to do so.  Maybe some don’t feel that way and don’t want to go home.  I want to see my family!

 

Wal-Mart is a destination!  Any shopping place is!  Unless you are talking tourism.

 

Based on numbers run by Cobalt, to get about $10 million in TIF assistance on the environmental on that site, they needed to create $53 million in development for the numbers to work.  People, they will ask for TIF money!  Any business building in Cudahy in a TIF can! 

 

Is it that all TIFs are bad or just bad at Cudahy Station?

Is 10 Million the most ever asked for?

What is the most ever received?

 

I just wanted to clarify something Wal-Mart is not getting a TIF; the TIF is for the Wave.

 

In the Mayor’s 2008 State of the city address, 36 minutes into the speech, he states “Wal-Mart itself is not asking for a tax [TIF] subsidy.”  I just think it needs to be said again.  Taxpayers are not paying for Wal-Mart.

 

Again, anyone can ask for a TIF.  Not all do, Joe Halser (City Lounge Co-Owner) was kind enough to inform me that City Lounge is in a TIF district but they have never received nor requested to receive any tax dollars for their venture.  It has all been privately funded.

 

Does Cudahy have a master list available to look at what TIFs have been requested and approved over the years?  Does the Mayor have the last say if one is approved?  Who’s name is stamped on the document?

 

With all of this fuss over the Cudahy Station TIF, don’t you think the city should have the records posted for the public to see?  After all, we are paying for it!

 

As Mayor McCue said, “Once elected as your next mayor, I will work hard to attract new business that will benefit and enhance our community.  At the same time, I will not give unnecessary incentives to developers.”  Source

 

How do we know if unnecessary incentives are or were given to developers?  Remember the classic Ronald Reagan quote “Trust, but verify.”

 

Cudahy offered $8 million in TIF funds for the United States Bowling Congress to locate in a new 70,000-square-foot building at Cudahy Station, located at the intersection of Layton and Nicholson avenues.  The building would have cost $13.5 million to build.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/localnews/1603842.html

The part about Cudahy offering the $8 million tax [TIF] subsidy to get $13.5 million building is truly amazing.  If the residents of Cudahy knew about that one, they would go ballistic! 

 

Oops, I guess I just told them if they didn’t see it already.

 

I am told from Mayor McCue, that the information from The Business Journal of Milwaukee is wrong.  Neither the city nor the Mayor can offer a TIF.  The developer must request one.  Mayor McCue said it should be that the developer Continental Properties, offered it to the Bowling Congress. I just wanted to include what Mayor McCue had to say.

 

How can a developer make an offer to a business, that has only days to make a decision whether to move, if the whole process takes time and has to go to the committees in regard to how a TIF gets approved?  Can it be fast tracked?

 

In the end, would Mayor McCue have approved or rejected the TIF request for the Bowling Congress?  What do you think?  I think he would accept.  This was a highly publicized, high profile item in the news.

 

Can you imagine if Joe Henika knew that they were giving $8 million tax [TIF] subsidy to get $13.5 million building?  Again, I just told him.  Please, someone check in on Joe.

 

I can't believe that the Milwaukee Journal did not report about the incentives offered.  Well, I guess I can.

 

Pennsylvania and Layton site - Even when the market was booming, at most, with a Wal-Mart Supercenter, two to three medium box stores (size of Best Buy), and a couple of small special stores or a restaurant closer to Layton, top end you could only push about $47 million in assessed value on the site.  (Remember there is a height restriction of no more than three floors.)

 

That is why, if Wal-Mart doesn't feel that they can get the city to move in the next 30 days, they will probably throw in the towel on Cudahy, and move onto other sites in other cities.  Other more cooperative and welcoming, not to mention, an organized city.

 

In the end, we will be driving, and the steel will be rusting, the city will be cowering (having to cleanup the site) and because of the issue those NO group are making on the TIF, the next developer will not come forward because of the false stigma of asking for a TIF.  Nothing like shooting yourself in the foot.  We will sit on it, just as the Mayor wants us to do. 

 

We can drive for our goods.  We don’t need a convenience of having a Wal-Mart in Cudahy. Right? Why have any retail in Cudahy, we can all drive to Oak Creek. 

 

Those that twist the truth when convenient shall be tangled in their own ways!

 

If I'm the problem, then I'm the one that needs to get out of the way so it can get better.  If somebody else is the problem, then they've got to be big enough to step out of the way or do what is right!

 

Maybe it is my own “Naïveté” that sees this!

Here is an email I received and my response back, with some additional comments.  Please people keep the emails coming.

 
Mr. Hollenbeck,

My name is (removed, by request), I've been a Cudahy resident for about 17 years and
like you, I actively support this Wal-Mart.  I'm behind you 100%.  About two
weeks ago, I decided to ask Mayor McCue about the plan, I said he should think
about what the citizens want and put his own negative thoughts behind for the
benefit of the citizens.  I wrote him a letter and this is what I stated:


Dear Mr. McCue,

I’m writing as a Cudahy citizen to urge you to reconsider your thoughts about the Wal-Mart plan.  I’ve lived in Cudahy for about seventeen years and I have seen many things come and go around here, and I’m writing to say that we need this Wal-Mart.  A lot of people really want this Wal-Mart, not the whole town, but I know many people want this.
 I know that you have already made your statement on what you think about Wal-Mart, you have made the statement of “It’s not what were looking for the city of Cudahy.”  I just want to ask what is it your trying to look for in Cudahy? What is that one thing that we need to get people to come here, I know a Wal-Mart is not a destination point or tourism attraction, but it’s something the town would like, you would be surprised on how many people in Cudahy are on a fixed income, have a tight budget or are trying to save a few dollars.
You have already made your statement about Wal-Mart and what you think of it, I honestly believe that you should think about what the citizens of Cudahy want instead of trying to make Cudahy into a tourist attraction.
 Yes, we do need people to come to Cudahy, but we also need business.  The Wal-Mart company is willing to help us out, they will bring the business that Cudahy desperately needs.  You can’t let this opportunity slip away because of your negative and personal beliefs.

Don’t take offense to this Mr. McCue, but sometimes I think you need to put your own differences aside and think about what Cudahy really needs.  Please reconsider the Wal-Mart plan.

A Cudahy citizen,


I wrote him that letter, on Tuesday the 1st of April, he left a message on my machine saying that he wanted to talk to me about it.  I called him Friday and I told my side saying that business is what we really need.
McCue had stated that he has not decided yet about the Wal-Mart.  His concern is the use for the land that the Iceport is on.  He said that we can do better and is a big box store really an option with the KRM rail line coming through.
 Stating that he thinks we can do better than putting a big box store there.

He also stated that he was misquoted in the paper saying he is "not a fan of Wal-Mart" he saying that "it just doesn't fit with our master plan."

My question to you Mr. Hollenbeck is this.  Did it sound like I just got the run around; to me he sounded like he answered my questions but left some openings?

And do you think he has already made a decision about the Wal-Mart yet, but just isn't telling us?  What is your opinion?

Here is my response back!

 

I think you got the double talk politician answer.  Answering the question without answering it.  He has not to mine or many others stated what should be in there instead.

 

Also, if you look back at his campaign platform ( http://ryanmccue.com ), he talks about Wal-Mart coming to Cudahy.  That was when Wal-Mart was not on the Iceport, but Pennsylvania and Layton.  So all of this gobbledy-gook about Wal-Mart is fine just not on the Iceport is not so much truthful as a political answer.

 

Yes, I do think his mind is made up, yet I do think he is softening.

 

The Master Plan is flexible and not rigid as the Mayor makes it out to be.

 

If he was misquoted “Why not have it fixed right away”?  When the paper misquoted me, I have them fix the online on and run a retraction.  Which they did.  Why is it now he is just bringing it to light?

 
 

Maybe the reader is wrong, maybe he misheard Mayor McCue, maybe not.  I was not there to know the truth (on the phone).  Why would the reader lie?  Why would the Mayor deny it?   What can be accomplished from this?

 

It sounds to me that the Mayor is still banking on KRM, probably at the insistence of VandeWalle and Associates and is willing to just sit out the 20-30 years before it happens.

 

Didn’t your parents teach you to bank on something you know is real?

 

The Mayor’s view of utopia for Cudahy does not include Wal-Mart

 

He, Smith, the Pavlic types (remember they voted against), have no intentions of having their name on the Wal-Mart.

 

When I offered “YES Wal-Mart” signs to some of the city personnel they acted as if I was giving holy water to a vampire.

 

People, think back to the 2004 election and it was no surprise that Bruce S (lost reelection), Tom Centernowski and Jill Gestwicki (decided not to run) disappeared from the political landscape, and all voted in favor of the Iceport development.  Smith survived because he had no challenger, and truth be told, if the construction had not have stopped in Feb 04, probably Jack Vaccaro would have been Mayor of Cudahy from 2004 to 2007.

 

 

How Childish

By Randy Hollenbeck
Friday, Apr 11 2008, 03:02 PM

At the Plan Commission meeting, I received and handed out “YES Wal-Mart” signs.  I kept a few for myself and my two neighbors. 

 

To those who emailed me for signs, I have not forgotten and more are on the way!

 

I put my sign out on my lawn Wednesday.  Thursday everything was fine.  Then Friday morning, sigh is missing.

 

This is what the “NO” crowd resorts to.  They don’t want the word to slip out and God forbid the PEOPLE of Cudahy promote and want Wal-Mart.

 

Remember what they did in the public forum?

 

**How childish to resort to such antics of someone posting as me! **

 

Everyone, this is what the opposition is now doing.  Cannot beat me in debating, so personally attack me.  If you have been reading for any length of time, I would never make such mistakes.  Cannot win on the issues so try and make me look dumb.  All it does is shows how immature you are!

 

To the “NO Wal-Mart” group, I hope you are proud of what your side does.

 

Don’t worry I have more signs coming.  You maybe able to steal a few signs, and a few of the voting, but you will not steal the voice of the people.

 

The City, Mayor Ryan McCue, and all of the Aldermen and Alderwoman do not condone the theft of yard signs. 

Please contact the Mayor and your Alderperson and tell them the NO crowd will NOT steal the voice of the people!

 

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

 

 
More Posts

Posts

Your browser must support javascript to use the posts pager. Please enable javascript or return to the home page to page through posts.
Newer Older

Tags

News

Please Don’t forget my Alpha Site at http://www.rightviewwi.com/milwaukeesouthshore/

Search the Blogs