Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The Bender Park boat launch is closed as crews clear the way for boats to access Lake Michigan.
The Bender Park boat launch has been closed as work to dredge the harbor is under way. The county has committed $150,000 to dredge the Bender Park harbor this spring while they plan a long-term solution to low water levels at the boat launch. Details are still being finalized on when the work will be completed, County Supervisor Steve Taylor said. The county is also studying solutions for problems at the Bender Park beach, which has been plagued by algae, e-coli and noxious odors.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Dredging at the Bender Park boat launch won't be done as soon as hoped but is still in the works.
Plans to dredge the Bender Park boat launch are moving forward but won't be completed as soon as hoped. Milwaukee County just received its permit to dredge and has started bidding out the job, County Supervisor Steve Taylor said. Officials previously said they expected the dredging to be completed by May 1. The county has committed $150,000 to dredge the Bender Park harbor this spring while they plan a long-term solution to low water levels at the boat launch. Meanwhile, Taylor also said that what appears to be a tree-clearing at Bender Park is actually an annual maintenance project done each spring. "There is no major tree removal project going on," Taylor said in an e-mail. See this previous Patch story for more on problems at Bender …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Angered over allegations that Milwaukee County Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic has been illegally negotiating with county employees, several county board members want her to resign as chair.
Another Milwaukee County board member has stepped forward in asking for Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic's resignation, according to Patch's media partners at WISN 12 News. Last week, supervisors Mark Borkowski, Steve Taylor, John Wieshan Jr. and Deanna Alexander signed a memo requesting that Marina Dimitrijevic resign her position as chairwoman. Now Jim "Luigi" Schmitt has thrown his support behind the request. "Because of this lack of clarity and accountability, I cannot sit on the sidelines and will no longer continue to support our chairwoman," according to Schmitt's statement. The five members are accusing Dimitrijevic of negotiating with union employees after the state barred them from doing so and then lying …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
County Supervisor Steve Taylor said he no longer trusts county board members after a story alleging they illegally negotiated with a union.
Just three days after supporting a county board reform package, County Supervisor Steve Taylor reversed course and voted against the measure when it came to the full board. Taylor voted yes on the proposal, which cuts supervisors' pay by 20 percent and reduces the board's staff by 50 percent, in a committee meeting Monday. But he said he flipped his position after a Journal Sentinel story alleging the county board was negotiating with a de-certified union, which is illegal under Act 10. "Act 10 is the law of the land and if members of the board are willingly and knowingly violating this law, then how can I honestly trust that they will follow through with the proposed board reforms," Taylor said in a statement. "This is the first time in …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Steve Taylor says he supports state legislation reforming Milwaukee County government, but also backed an alternative proposal put forward by opponents.
As discussion continues on dueling efforts to reform Milwaukee County government, County Supervisor Steve Taylor said Tuesday he supports them both. One proposal, which is making its way through the state Legislature, would marginalize the Board of Supervisors' role in many county affairs and put a referendum on supervisors' pay to Milwaukee County voters. Opponents of that bill last week introduced a counter-proposal cutting supervisors' pay, though not as much, and reducing the board's staff by 50 percent. Taylor, who represents most of Oak Creek on the board, has previously endorsed the state bill and voted in favor of the new proposal in a committee meeting Monday. "I cannot cast a vote in Madison but I can in Milwaukee County," …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Steve Taylor and Mark Borkowski, each of whom represent suburbs on Milwaukee County's south side, proposed cutting five supervisor positions and 40 percent off the board's personnel budget.
Two South Suburban county supervisors are proposing their own version of Milwaukee County Board downsizing. Supervisors Steve Taylor and Mark Borkowski on Tuesday released a proposal that calls for the board to be reduced from 18 supervisors to 13 by 2016. In addition, the board's personnel budget would be cut by about 40 percent starting in 2014 and potentially 50 percent by 2016. In an open letter, Borkowski and Taylor said they will be "asking the state Legislature to give us the tools to downsize." "Without this authority, we are not able to take this first step in reforming ourselves," Taylor and Borkowski said. Their plan comes after state Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, a former county board member, authored legislation that calls for a …
Friday, October 19, 2012
In a town hall meeting Thursday, Taylor also said he disagreed with the county executive's plan to shift patrol of county parks in Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Police Department.
County Supervisor Steve Taylor says he supports increases to county employees' health care costs, though he does not agree with a plan to shift patrols of county parks away from the sheriff's office. Taylor touched on a number of other topics at a sparsely-attended town-hall meeting in Oak Creek City Hall Thursday night, but the proposed county budget was the central focus. The county board is mulling County Executive Chris Abele's proposal and is scheduled to approve a budget in November. The proposal calls for health care costs to continue to shift toward employees and retirees to help make up for a $28.5 million budget shortfall. Under Abele's plan, $9.3 million of anticipated health care costs increases would be covered by moving $10.5…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Steve Taylor will host a listening session regarding the proposed Milwaukee County budget.
County Supervisor Steve Taylor will host three town hall meetings, including one in Oak Creek, to hear from residents about Milwaukee County's proposed budget. The Oak Creek meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at city hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave. Other meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17 at Franklin City Hall and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24 at Hales Corners Village Hall. The county board is deliberating County Executive Chris Abele's proposed 2013 budget, which among other things, calls for a property tax freeze, changes to the sheriff's office budget and increases in both pay and health costs for county employees.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Construction on 13th Street between Rawson and Drexel avenues is scheduled for 2016, with work between Drexel and Puetz to take place the following year.
The good news is that a reconstruction of 13th Street in Oak Creek is now in Milwaukee County's plans. But the timetable isn't likely to make Oak Creek residents, who have long pressed for the street to be fixed, very happy. Officials said at an economic development forum Thursday that reconstruction on 13th Street between Drexel and Rawson avenues is scheduled for 2016. Another stretch of 13th, between Puetz and Drexel, is set for 2017. County Supervisor Steve Taylor said the project has been added to the county's five-year capital improvement plan but needs planning and engineering, which is scheduled in 2014 and 2015. The project will cost a total of about $9 million, Taylor said. "It's a big chunk of the capital improvements budget, …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
As part of her Chat with the Chair initiative, County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic visited Oak Creek Monday for a town hall meeting.
Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic bused it to a town-hall style meeting in Oak Creek to recognize "unmet needs" in the county's transit system. As part of her Chat with the Chair initiative, Dimitrijevic is taking the county bus to host meetings in all 19 Milwaukee County municipalities. Transit was one of a few concerns expressed at yesterday's session, the fifth in her Chat with the Chair series. A small number of residents asked questions about transit, 13th Street and Bender Park. Transportation Dimitrijevic noted a shortfall in transit services in suburban communities, especially in Oak Creek. In fact, Dimitrijevic had to be picked up in Franklin because she could not get to Oak Creek City Hall through public …
Dennis Wink
10:09 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Very, very happy to hear this is finally getting started. Next thing is to get the American Flag up and flying before Memorial Day. Lets see what can be done! more ›