Council Rejects Animal Hospital Proposal

A proposed Animal Hospital of Oak Creek breezed through most of the city approval process.

But at the last step, it was denied by the Oak Creek Common Council. Aldermen voting against it cited concerns over its location as well as the number of other veterinarians already in the city.

The business was proposed to go into an office building at 8870 Mayhew Drive, just south of . Aldermen Ken Gehl and Steve Scaffidi said they did not feel that building was appropriate for an animal hospital, and that the city was within its rights to use discretion and deny the hospital's conditional-use permit.

Alderman Mike Toman, meanwhile, agreed with an Oak Creek veterinarian who argued the city already had enough such businesses.

Dr. Frederick Ruhl, owner of in Oak Creek, cited a study that said a town of Oak Creek's size should have three or four veterinarians; the community now has eight veterinarians between Ruhl's business and , according to Ruhl.

He added that his business would likely suffer and could be forced to lay off employees. He also criticized the proposal for going into an existing building, instead of making a bigger investment by building a new, standalone structure.

"I provided you guys with facts, not emotions," he told the council at a public hearing Tuesday. "What's in it for the city by doing this?"

Toman said he did not want a proliferation of any one type of business in Oak Creek.

"I don't see a need for another animal hospital here," said Toman, who is a business owner himself (). "I'm reluctant to say that because the last ting I want to do is limit competition. It's a gray area for us because I don't want to sit here and make (Ruhl) the king of the hill when it comes to veterinarians."

Others showed support

Two other aldermen, Dan Bukiewicz and Tom Michalski, as well as Mayor Dick Bolender, argued the city needed to allow the animal hospital to open.

"You would have to make a list of all the businesses we don't want, and we can't do that," Bolender said. "Everybody in this country ... has the right to start a business. Unless it doesn't fit the land use, unless there's some legal problem here, he has the right to do that."

Bukiewicz said there were many positives about Animal Hospital of Oak Creek's proposal. It would bring life into what is now an empty space; it would mean more tax revenue for the city; and it would create jobs in the community, Bukiewicz said.

Added Michalski, "There's probably 21 banks in the city of Oak Creek. I gotta think that 20 of those people think there are 20 banks too many.

"Even with 20 banks, the people get to decide whether they want to go to M&I, or Bank Mutual, or PNC, or whatever, and if they don't want to support the bank, it will fall by the wayside. So I'd like to (give) the people of the community and the people of the surrounding area the ability to go to whatever vet they want to use."

The sixth alderman, Dan Jakubczyk, was absent from the meeting.

Clinic at Pick 'n Save approved

While the council rejected one animal hospital, it approved another for part of the .

Aldermen said they were more comfortable with that proposal because that business will be a referral clinic, and thus much different than the other vets in town.

The facility will focus on critical-care cases that cannot be handled by nearby clinics. Plans call for the hospital, the name of which has not been announced, to be open 24 hours, seven days per week and be staffed by at least two people at all times. It will be similar to Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals in Greenfield.

A representative of the clinic that within three years, 60 to 80 positions could be created.

Scaffidi was the lone alderman to vote against the business' permit. He said he did not have enough information to vote - in addition to the name of the hospital, the name of the owner is being kept under wraps - and also did not feel the multi-tenant Pick 'n Save building was a good fit for an animal hospital.