Mayor Outlines His Vision For Oak Creek Civic Center, Delphi Sites

The following letter was written by Mayor Dick Bolender to Oak Creek residents. It appears on the city of Oak Creek website and is being republished on Oak Creek Patch.

Here in Oak Creek there is much to be thankful for. Many of us have just experienced the joy of being together with family and friends to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. I am truly thankful that I live in a country and community that has provided my family and me the opportunity for a great education, a good job and an unmatched quality of life. I am also truly honored that you have entrusted me with the responsibility of guiding our community as we prepare for the challenges and opportunities that face us in the years to come.

I have heard it said that opportunities are never lost; someone will always take the one you miss. One of those opportunities involves how we as a community deal with our aging and obsolete civic facilities. If you haven’t already heard, the city is planning on replacing its library and city hall with new facilities. Both facilities were built ( in 1964 and the in 1972) when the population of our community was about 14,000, and are not able to meet the needs of a growing community of 35,000, which is where we are today.

The question now before the Common Council is where to develop those facilities. The two options have been narrowed down to the existing city hall site and the former Delphi property at Howell and Drexel Avenues. While it may seem like a simple question, the right answer demands that we look at a number of related issues. You will no doubt hear or read many differing opinions on this matter. Some of them will try to tell you that we need to keep the library and city hall here because that’s where it has always been. It is important that you consider the source of these comments, and the possible motivations behind them.

I strongly feel that the library and city hall should be built at the Delphi site as a critical part of a new town center. The following is my list of reasons.

• As part of a new town center at the Delphi site that might include retail, office, residential and recreational spaces, the library and city hall would serve as a catalyst for the development of what has been recognized as one of the best sites in the Milwaukee area. Construction of a building 4-6 stories tall could house the library on the 1st floor, city hall offices on the 2nd floor and rental units on floors 3-6 for possible business or living spaces. Rental of these spaces could defray the cost of this building to the taxpayer. Should a city own or rent spaces for their needs? We must find new and creative ways to pay for our necessary buildings. Do we watch and let others decide how the property will develop or do we lead with our vision, commitment and courage? I say, “It’s time to lead!”

• The School District recently purchased fifty acres near the southwest corner of Howell Avenue and Oakwood Road as a new, presumably second high school site. The City could trade the current City Hall and Library site to the School District for property the district owns at Howell and Oakwood. Relocation of the Library and City Hall to the Delphi site would open up the existing city hall corner, allowing for the possible expansion of the Oak Creek high school at the site, and giving the School District more cost effective options that are not currently available to them.

• Expansion of the high school onto the current city hall/library site would save taxpayers millions of dollars by avoiding duplication of costly facilities and avoid many problems associated with building and operating two high schools.

• Expansion of the high school onto the current city hall/library site adjacent to its current location allows the School District to sell the 50 acres it had purchased at Howell and Oakwood for future business park development, creating hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in additional tax base. For example, if these 50 acres were to be developed as part of a business park, they could be expected to produce 25 million dollars in new development, which would result in yearly tax revenues of $500,000 that would help all local taxes.

• The existing could be moved from 10th Street to the expanded high school site which would return the existing administrative office property to taxpaying business use to further keep your taxes down.

• If the city were to reconstruct the library and city hall at their existing location, it would not allow for flexibility in building design in order to continue existing operations during construction. Where would parking occur? Where would the construction set down areas be? How would the public and employees navigate the mess on this limited site? There would be additional costs involved by trying to maintain city operations at this site while we were trying to build right next door.

• A library and city offices at the former Delphi site will create the opportunity for building partnerships not thought possible at the current site. The building or buildings could be designed in ways that will allow us to operate more efficiently and cost effectively; things that may not be possible if we were to try to build around our existing buildings on the current site.

We are at a crossroads. We can either take the easy way out, and do things the way we have always done them, or we can be bold and work together to come up with innovative solutions that benefit all of present and future residents of Oak Creek.

The future is about where we are headed and not where we have already been. Traditions and the recent past may be a source of comfort and security for many but they are a poor substitute for what makes sense for the future. We should be thinking and acting upon what is in the best interests of those who would choose to make Oak Creek their home in 5, 10, 20 or even 30 years from now. In my discussions with business people, developers, and our younger residents there is no question in their minds about the great future possible in the city of Oak Creek with informed and bold leadership which such a move and commitment to the Delphi site would represent.

One final word about opportunity. Thomas Edison once said, “The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.”

Well, I’m not afraid of a little hard work, especially when the end result will be a community ready to meet the challenges and demands of our next generation, with more and better jobs, increased tax base, better schools and a new and exciting town center that we can all be proud of.

As always, God bless you and your family, God Bless America and God Bless the city of Oak Creek.