Retail, office planned for Cudahy landfill site

Milwaukee developer sets $58 million project

Retail, office planned for Cudahy landfill site - The Business Journal of Milwaukee

A Milwaukee development firm plans to build a $58.3 million office and retail complex in Cudahy on a former landfill owned by the city of Milwaukee.

Cobalt Partners L.L.C. wants to build a retail center and office park on the 24-acre site, which is at the intersection of East Layton Avenue and South Pennsylvania Avenue.  The company also is negotiating to purchase 2 acres from Cudahy and 10 acres from Milwaukee County to expand the project to 36 acres.

The Milwaukee Department of City Development selected the Cobalt proposal from three submitted by developers as part of a request for proposal process that started in November 2005.  Cobalt had the highest market value among the proposals, said Dave Misky, a spokesman for the Department of City Development.

Cobalt was the only developer to match the city's asking price of $1.8 million for the land, Misky said.

Milwaukee and Cudahy officials would not disclose how large the retail center would be or how many square feet the office project would include.  Cobalt is trying to recruit a national retailer to anchor the development, they said.

The proposed Cudahy mixed-used commercial center is adjacent to the northeast corner of General Mitchell International Airport and an exit for the Lake Parkway.  The nearest retail center is less than a mile east of Cobalt's proposed site at the 150,000-square-foot Whitnall Square center in St. Francis.

Sunset Investors in Franklin and Herbert Theine of Oconomowoc also presented proposals to Milwaukee, city officials said.  Department of City Development representatives would not discuss details of the losing proposals.

Kendall Breunig, president of Sunset Investors, declined to reveal details of his company's proposal.  He said Sunset did not match the city's asking price for the land because of environmental issues with the former landfill.  Breunig said he expects construction crews to encounter methane gas and possible problems with the site's soil bearing capacity.

Stormwater issues

The city of Milwaukee bought the Cudahy land more than 50 years ago and used it as a solid waste landfill for 30 years.  The landfill was closed in the early 1970s.

"Stormwater management will be an issue because rainwater from the site will not be allowed by DNR to percolate into the ground," Breunig said.

Cobalt Partners is a new development company owned by Charles Gabaldon, James Heffernan and Scott Yauck. Gabaldon also owns a Milwaukee real estate management company called Gabaldon Properties.  Heffernan is a former Kohl's Corp. real estate executive. Yauck is a former Quarles & Brady real estate lawyer.  Yauck also is the former president of Custom Metal Products, a metal fabrication company that was acquired by Mayville Engineering Co. in July 2004.  None of the partners of Cobalt were available to comment on their Cudahy project.

In recent years, Cobalt Partners developed a Target department store in Oak Creek.

Cudahy Mayor John Hohenfeldt said he expects little opposition to the development plan.

"This is a prime piece of real estate that will attract retail tenants," said Hohenfeldt, who consulted with city of Milwaukee officials during the request for proposal selection process.

Hohenfeldt expects the developer to complete the land acquisitions with Cudahy and Milwaukee County before spring.  Since Cobalt does not have to request a change in zoning for its Cudahy project, the project's plans will be reviewed by Cudahy's plan commission and the Common Council in the spring or summer.

Source: The Business Journal of Milwaukee

Cudahy weighs two properties for big-box developer

Published: May 12, 2010

By Sean Ryan

Cudahy can support only one big-box retail store, leaving planners debating whether such a project should be built on the city’s Iceport property or on land near the edge of town.

Cudahy is discussing the potential development of a big-box department store with Continental Properties Co. Inc., Menomonee Falls, said Lara Fritts, Cudahy’s economic development director.  She said the city is in negotiations and cannot disclose the potential retailer’s name.

The city has two potential sites — the 31-acre Iceport property near downtown and a contaminated site on the northern edge of Cudahy that Cobalt Partners LLC, Milwaukee, plans to redevelop.  But city studies of the area’s retail market have shown Cudahy lacks enough shoppers to support more than one big-box retailer.

Fritts and the majority of Cudahy’s Community Development Authority support encouraging Continental to consider the Cobalt site so the Iceport property can be saved for a more valuable development.

“When you lay it all out,” Fritts said, “if you put a big-box retailer on the (Iceport) site, you really lose the ability to maximize the value of the site.”

Steve Wagner, senior vice president of Continental, would not comment for this story.

Scott Yauck, partner in Cobalt Partners, said he plans to develop a big-box retail store on his Cudahy property.  He said he has not had contact with Continental.

But two members of the Community Development Authority argue a big box at the Cobalt site, which is farther from downtown Cudahy than the Iceport property, would siphon shoppers from the city center.  Mike Clark, vice chairman of the CDA, said Cudahy would hurt itself if it pushes a big retail development to the Cobalt site near General Mitchell International Airport.

“At least with the Iceport property,” he said, “you are dragging them at least a little bit into Cudahy.”

Alderman Joseph Mikolajczak said he shares Clark’s concern about pushing people from the downtown.

Mikolajczak said his constituents prefer the Iceport property because it is within walking distance of city neighborhoods.

“It’s interesting now that the conversation has switched to: Where do we want to put it; not whether we can have it,” he said.

Fritts said that, based on the assessed values big-box stores have generated in other communities, project such as Continental’s would have roughly $18 million in property value.  But the city is negotiating to bring a 300,000-square-foot industrial plant to the Iceport property, she said, that would generate $25 million in new value.

She said ongoing negotiations also prevent the city from disclosing the name of the potential industrial company.

Continental in 2007 proposed building a Walmart on the Iceport property, but the Cudahy Plan Commission rejected the project after residents opposed having a Walmart in town, Clark said.

Fritts said next week she will negotiate with Cobalt and brokers for potential big-box tenants at the annual meeting of the International Council of Shopping Centers.  She said Cudahy representatives will promote the Cobalt site.

Source: Daily Reporter

Redesigned Wal-Mart includes groceries

Franklin — Wal-Mart unveiled its latest store design Wednesday at a remodeled store on S. 27th St. that includes a full grocery operation in an expanded 211,000-square-foot format.

The Franklin Wal-Mart is one of several in the area that have been remodeled and upgraded with grocery offerings, including stores in Lake Geneva and Sturtevant. Over the past 19 months, the Franklin store received an exterior facelift with a more upscale look: earthtone brick on the building, and red brick pavers on the drive in front of the store.

"All of the walls have been rebuilt in some way," said co-manager Jessica Van Buren.  The grocery section is on the west side of the store, where 60,000-square-feet were added.  The grocery department includes a full-service deli and bakery.

Aisles are wider throughout the store, and merchandise has been re-arranged to place consumable products - cleaning items, paper goods, disposable diapers, pet food - near the grocery store.  The store also has a department that is new to Wal-Mart, "Celebrate," with party and wedding supplies and decorations.

"It's presented very nicely," said Angie Evrard of Franklin, who was shopping in the produce section. Some of Wal-Mart's grocery prices are cheaper than competitors', some are not, said Evrard, who regularly shops at Pick 'n Save and at the Sendik's on S. 51st and W. Rawson Ave.

"I think Pick 'n Save will have competition," Evrard said.

The remodeled Franklin store is an example of what Wal-Mart calls "Project Impact," said David Livingston, a Waukesha supermarket consultant.  "They're getting away from the 'supercenter' name," Livingston said.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/98475554.html

Click Here it see if the beach is safe to swim in.

Wisconsin Beach Health Website has been REDESIGNED to make it easier for you to find out the situation at your beach.

Check out the buttons on the left, the map below and the report to find all the information you need.  Sign up for Email Notifications or RSS Feeds when Beach Advisories are issued during the Wisconsin Beach Season.  If you click on a beach photo in the Advisory Report below, it will bring up a larger image.

Wisconsin Interactive Map    

Launch the map interface to view the latest

beach advisory and water quality data by clicking

on the Wisconsin image shown below.

Click Here

How would you feel about a homeless shelter being built in Cudahy?

----------------------------------

Finally, it is so needed in Cudahy

A good thing!

It would be okay, but what happens after hours and where do the homeless people go?

Not so much of a good thing

No Way!

---------------------------------

Find a Shelter Click Here

WISCONSIN - SHELTERS

Burlington Transitional Living Center

482 S. Pine Street

Burlington, WI 53105

Phone: 262-763-6226

Eagles Nest Emergency Shelter

(located on the Menominee Indian Reservation)

P.O. Box 283

W6733 Shawpokasic Street

Neopit, WI 54150

Milwaukee Rescue Mission

830 North 19th Street

Milwaukee, WI 53233

Phone: 414-344-2211

FAX: 414-344-6972

Racine Emergency Shelter Taskforce (R.E.S.T.)

818 - Sixth Street

Racine, WI 53403

Phone: 262-638-1441

FAX: 262-638-2144

The Sparrow's Nest

1816 Harrison

Beloit, WI 53512-1075

Phone: 608-362-8215

Twin Oaks Homeless Shelter

W9665 US Hwy 14

Darien, WI 53114

Phone: 262-724-3662

Emergency Shelters & Homeless Shelters both provide short term relief for the homeless & low-income.  Usually there is a maximum stay of 3 months or less.  Many of these shelters ask their clients to leave during the day.  Meals and other supportive services are often offered.  3 times out of 5 these shelters offer their services free of charge.

Day Shelters supplement homeless and low-income people when the shelter their staying in only offers shelter on an overnight basis.  Case management is often provided and sometimes there are laundry and shower facilities.  Meals and basic hygiene may also be offered.  Almost all day shelters provide their services free of charge.  Any emergency or homeless shelter that allows clients to stay during the day is also classified under this category.

Boy Scouts of America

http://www.scouting.org/

Celebrating 100 Years

For 100 years, the BSA has created a foundation of leadership, service, and community for millions of America's youth.  Our 100th Anniversary is a milestone bigger than a single day celebration.  So, we've launched a series of programs, spanning two years, and we’re inviting everyone in America to get involved.

http://scouting.org/100years/100years/Celebrating100Years.aspx

------------------------------------------

Obama skips, McDonnell attends historic boy scout jamboree

President Obama may not be planning to speak at the 100th anniversary of the boy scouts' jamboree today in Virginia, but Gov. Bob McDonnell wouldn't miss it.

McDonnell was a boy scout. His two sons were boy scouts.  And his wife, Maureen, and all three of their daughters were girl scouts or brownies.

The jamboree began this week at Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, less than an hour from Richmond.  Held at that location since 1981, it will the last time the event will be held in Virginia.

In 2006, McDonnell fought back against the ACLU, which tried to end the jamboree, arguing that the Defense Department's financial support of the event violates the separation of church and state.  He called the lawsuit an "attack by the left wing on religion in the public sphere."

The governor will speak to 45,000 scouts this morning, congratulating them for a century of service and emphasizing the importance of their work to their communities and country as a whole, his spokeswoman Stacey Johnson said.

Obama, out of town for a taping of the ABC show The View (the first president to do so) and Democratic fundraisers, will send a videotaped message instead.

Seven presidents, including Obama's three immediate predecessors, have made it to one Jamboree while in office.

Source: Washington Post

Apple Offers Free Case as "Death Grip" Fix

Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, announced Friday that the company will provide free protective cases to buyers of the iPhone 4.  The cases will reportedly alleviate the "death grip" problem that has plagued the device since it’s release.

The announcement from Apple is a response to the plethora of complaints from consumers.  Also, on Monday, Consumer Reports refused to recommend the phone to consumers and suggested that Apple compensate it’s buyers.

Source: news.yahoo.com

Walmart remodeling plans proceeding in Racine County

Walmart's plans to remodel several of its Wisconsin stores are now underway in several locations, including Racine County, the company has announced.

Walmart recently finished remodeling its Sturtevant discount store-supermarket, and just started remodeling a similar store in Burlington, with that work to be completed by July.

The Burlington renovations include wider aisles with no product displays; an expanded electronics department, and a doubling in size of the beer and liquor department.

Walmart plans to remodel nearly 80% of its existing stores within the next five years.  There's no word yet on when Walmart's three discount stores in Milwaukee will be remodeled.  A Walmart discount store at 3355 S. 27th St. last year had a supermarket added to it.

The expansion of the Franklin store, 6701 S. 27th St., which also is having a supermarket added, will be completed by mid-summer, the company said.

Source and Fully Story: MJS

Village of Pewaukee — Costco is a go…Almost.

The Plan Commission on Thursday gave a unanimous blessing to the final plans for the 148,000-square-foot store to be built just north of Walmart off Pewaukee Road.  However, there is still a litany of details to be worked out, including final action by the Village Board.

One hurdle that the retail giant needs to clear up is final approval from the state Department of Transportation for the intersection that will connect the store with Highway 164.  The state budget crunch will delay that action until later this month.

Along with the intersection, a retaining wall at that intersection still needs to be designed and will need some type of guardrail because there will be a steep dropoff, according to Village Engineer Mike Steiner.  That design will be contingent on the DOT's review of the plans, he said.

Other areas that need to be ironed out include traffic patterns and traffic signs in the parking lot and stormwater engineering details.  All those will be handled on the staff level, as the commission took its final actions on the store, which had raised some controversy earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Costco officials told the commission the store would employee about 200 people, about half of those being full-time; the store's payroll would be about $4.5 million, with benefits totaling about 40 percent of that amount.

Costco would pay about $78,500 in real estate taxes and $13,000 in personal property taxes to the village.  Waukesha County would receive $38,000, Waukesha County Technical College $24,000 and the Pewaukee School District $208,000 in taxes, store officials said.

Source: LLC

There is development going on and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Maybe we don’t have development in Cudahy, but in other places, it is going on!

Oh where, oh where has the final TIF audit gone?

I have asked and asked, but haven’t heard a thing

It must be Golden or was that silence the song?

I have looked here and looked there, I even tried Bing

It was to be finished in May and now it is almost August.

I cannot find it anywhere and that makes me wonder

I hope we don’t read it and have disgust

I hope it wasn’t some city blunder

Just post it on the City website

And be open and honest of what was found

We shouldn’t have to fight to see the sight

Even if it might make us frown or make an adult sound

I just wanted to say congratulations to the South Shore Cyclery Classic Bicycle Race in Cudahy.  From everyone I have talked to, it was a smashing success.

The local fans and those fans from out of town were able to see what Cudahy has to offer.

I was told that about 1,000 people attended, many of them visitors to Cudahy.  It might not be the 80,000 people some were claiming Cudahy would see, but for the first time this was a success! 

1 in 8 pools closed for being too dirty

CDC: Contamination with fecal matter a common problem

A new government report shows one in eight public swimming pools were shut down two years ago because of dirty water or other problems, like missing safety equipment.

Kiddie pools were most likely to be the germiest, from fecal matter and improper chlorination.

The report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008, including those in parks and hotels.  It's the largest study of the topic ever done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the report Thursday.

Each year, there are about 15 or 20 outbreaks from stomach bugs blamed on pools, the CDC said.  Studies suggest a quarter of them are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites that should have been killed by proper pool treatment and chlorination.

Fecal particles are a common factor, especially in kiddie pools and fountains where children frolic.  But urine is also a problem: It contains nitrogen that eats up chlorine in pool water, depleting the supply.  Sweat and suntan lotion have the same effect.

And about one in five adults admit they have peed in the pool, according to a survey of 1,000 Americans done last year for a chemical industry advisory group, the Water Quality and Health Council.

Source and Full Story:  MSNBC

‘Active’ 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Forecast (Update1)

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- The 2010 hurricane season in the Atlantic will be “active” and produce 16 tropical storms, including eight hurricanes, four of them intense, Tropical Storm Risk said today.

There’s a 74 percent chance that more storms than normal will hit the continental U.S., the closely watched U.K. forecaster said in a report issued today.

“At present, every main indicator points to hurricane activity being well-above norm in 2010,” the report said.

The forecast joins a growing number of predictions that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which starts June 1, will be among the most-active on record.  Academic and commercial forecasters including Colorado State University are calling for the storm total to range from 14 to 18 named storms by the time the season ends Dec. 1.

In an average year, 11 systems develop into named storms with winds of at least 39 mph (62 kph), with six of them reaching the 74-mph threshold for hurricanes and two growing into major storms with winds of 111 mph or more, according to the National Hurricane Center.  The 1950 to 2009 average is 10 storms, six hurricanes and three major systems.

Prediction for Landfall

At least two hurricanes and three tropical storm-strength systems are expected to hit the U.S., according to the British forecaster, which is affiliated with University College London and is co-sponsored by the insurers Aon Benfield, RSA Insurance Group Plc and Crawford & Co.

Last year, the number of storms was held to a 12-year low as only nine formed and none made landfall at hurricane strength in the U.S.  An El Nino, or warming in the Pacific Ocean, is credited in part with keeping the number lower than average.

El Nino creates high-altitude winds over the Atlantic that tear storms apart before they can form.

The prediction for above-normal storm formation this season “is expected to be even higher if La Nina develops during the second half of the 2010,” Tropical Storm Risk said.  “Even now there is a high likelihood” that this year’s hurricane activity “will be in the top third of years historically.”

The current El Nino cycle is waning and the Pacific will return to normal temperatures by June, according to a U.S. Climate Prediction Center update issued yesterday.  Some models suggest a La Nina, or cooling of the Pacific, may develop later this year, the center said.

Source: Businessweek

NOAA does NOT make seasonal hurricane landfall predictions

NOAA does not make seasonal hurricane landfall predictions.  Hurricane landfalls are largely determined by the weather patterns in place as the hurricane approaches, which are only predictable when the storm is within several days of making landfall.

Source: NOAA

Slow market weakens project incentives

Published: March 22, 2010

By Sean Ryan

The weak development market is forcing municipalities to scale back the amount of money they give to support new projects.

Cudahy, for example, plans to use tax-incremental financing to dedicate $5.8 million to a proposed $11 million landfill cleanup and retail redevelopment.

Before development slumped and growth in property values slowed, the same TIF district could have raised $1.2 million more for the project.

“It’s going to mean less flexibility on the part of the community to provide for incentives,” said Michael Harrigan, chairman and chief financial officer of Brookfield-based Ehlers and Associates Inc., which is a financial consulting firm working with Cudahy.

Tax-incremental financing districts are municipalities’ main tool for raising money for private projects.  The districts let municipalities borrow money for projects and pay off the debt with the increased property taxes generated by the new development.

But the amount of money the districts can raise is based on the value of the new development.  New developments are not worth as much as they used to be.

So the 200,000 square feet of retail buildings Milwaukee-based Cobalt Partners LLC plans to build in Cudahy will not support as much city borrowing through the TIF district.

Under a proposed development deal with Cudahy, Cobalt Partners will pay for the remainder of the cleanup costs.

Municipalities’ should count on TIF districts generating less tax money, said Chuck Sulik, team leader in MSA Professional Services Inc.’s Baraboo office.

Consultants such as Ehlers and MSA predict future property values so municipalities know how much they can borrow through TIF districts.

“It’s not going to be at the levels that we’ve seen in the past,” Sulik said, “so you have to be more conservative in your deal-making than you have in the past.”

In the past, Sulik said, new buildings were given a value equal to their construction cost. But that is not true any more, forcing consultants to take a more careful approach, he said.

In 2009, for example, Merit Gear LLC built a $10 million manufacturing plant in a city of Antigo TIF district. But the state appraised the plant at only $3 million, said Dale Soumis, Antigo city administrator.

Antigo borrowed $2 million through its TIF in 2009 for site work to support the project and expected the $10 million project would pay for the debt, he said.  But the lower value means the city’s annual budget of $7 million, rather than the TIF district, must pay a portion of the more than $100,000 annual debt payments.

“It kind of leaves you high and dry,” Soumis said.

Cudahy’s conservative approach is an attempt to avoid the same fate as Antigo, said Lara Fritts, Cudahy’s economic development director.

“We model conservatively so we don’t end up in a position where we have to look at ways where we have to fund a shortfall,” she said, “which, unfortunately, has happened in other communities.”

When figuring out how much debt a TIF district’s taxes can pay for, Ehlers used to predict property values would increase by at least 2.5 percent a year, Harrigan said. On the Cobalt project, the firm predicted property values will grow only 1.5 percent a year, he said.

But that does not eliminate TIF districts as a development tool, Harrigan said.

“There’s a mutual interest there,” he said, “and the parties are going to have to work together in this tough economy and roll up their sleeves a little bit.”

Source: Daily Reporter

Memo to liberals: You're outnumbered

The Nation's Eric Alterman even penned a widely discussed essay explaining these disappointments on a system that's stacked against progressives.

But here is something to consider: It's the country -- not the system -- that's stacked against liberals and progressives.

From 1989 (after Reagan's presidency) to now, the most stable data in the NBC/WSJ poll has been that roughly one-fifth of the country identifies as being liberal, while one-third identifies being conservative.  Even in 2008, when Obama decisively won the presidency, the average in the poll was 25% liberal, 36% conservative.  And in 1996, when Bill Clinton easily won re-election, it was 22% liberal, 34% conservative.

For Democrats, this means that if they want to win national elections, they need to win about 60% of the self-described moderate vote -- which Obama did in '08 and congressional Dems did in '06, per the exit polls.  By comparison, however, John Kerry got 54% of the moderate vote in 2004.

So the bigger question for Democrats and liberals shouldn't be: "Why isn't Obama's presidency more progressive?”  Instead, it should be: "Why isn't the country more progressive?"

During the '08 presidential campaign, Obama declared (controversially at the time): "Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not."

He was correct.

Indeed, progressives -- as well as historians -- might better judge Obama 10 to 15 years from now on whether his administration was able to bend the trajectory of American politics like Reagan did after '88.

Source: MSNBC

RightOnline, sponsored by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity

http://rightonline.com/

It appears somewhere, somehow, that the cleanup costs for the former Cudahy Kohl’s site are wrong by somebody or someone.

The 2.2 Million dollar cost number in question came from Kevin Fech’s blog titled “Kohl's Site” comes these comments from Cudahy’s Economic Development Director Lara Fritts and Kevin Fech.

This was a comment put in directly from Mrs. Fritts logged in as “CudahyEconDev”.

Emphasis is mine!

“Kevin - The City and/or CDA has no plan to acquiring the Kohl's food site.  As for the contamination, yes, there is a possible underground storage tank according to a remediation report of many years ago.  The City in conjunction with the current owners have applied and will continue to apply for grants from the DNR to remove the tanks.  The estimate for removal and clean up of the tank (if it is in fact still there) is approximately $30,000 to $35,000.  I hope this helps to clarify - please do not hesitate to contact me directly with any questions.  Lara”

And this part was added as a comment from Kevin Fech from an email or phone call he received from Mrs. Fritts.

“Per Lara, the cost is around $2.2 million for the entire clean up”

Here is what we know or maybe NOT know!

A grant from the DNR has been sent in for the $30,000 tank cleanup:

DNR Brownfield Site Assessment Grant Applications Fall 2009, Round 11

Applicants requested $3.97 million in funding for the current round of grants.  However, only $1.5 million is available for Fiscal Year 2009-2010.  Any local government entity or tribe is eligible to complete an application for a grant.  While SAGs do not fund cleanups, the grants do fund the following activities:

??? environmental site assessments;

??? site investigations;

??? demolition;

??? asbestos removal associated with demolition; and

??? removal of tanks and drums.

Small Grant Applicants ($2,000 up to $30,000)

Cities, Towns and Villages Project Name Grant Request

Cudahy Former Kohl’s Food Store $30,000

Notice that was Fall of 2009 the City of Cudahy asked for the money to remove the tank(s)!

-------------------------------------------------

Email from City of Cudahy Accountant Bruce W Schuknecht

From Bruce Schuknecht <schuknechtb@ci.cudahy.wi.us>

To Randy Hollenbeck <rhollenbeck@gmail.com>

Date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Subject Kohl's site

Just a correction in regards to the article addressing the possibility of a community center on the Kohl’s site.  The $ 2.2m for cleanup is for the lot on Layton & Pennsylvania not for the Kohl’s site. 

----------------------------

From Randy Hollenbeck <rhollenbeck@gmail.com>

To Bruce Schuknecht <schuknechtb@ci.cudahy.wi.us>

Date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Subject Re: Kohl's site

Thanks.  Do you know what the total cleanup on Kohl's site would be?

--------------------------------------

From Bruce Schuknecht <schuknechtb@ci.cudahy.wi.us>

To Randy Hollenbeck <rhollenbeck@gmail.com>

Date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 2:00 PM

Subject RE: Kohl's site

I know the gas tank or tanks would be around $ 30,000 to $ 35,000, as for the total cleanup of the Kohl’s site, as far as I know there have been no formal discussions to my knowledge.

----------------------------------

So I emailed Cudahy Economic Department Director Lara Fritts in thinking that with all the talk with the Rosebud Theater people, some numbers should be out there for the asbestos cleanup (Floor and ceiling tiles and pipe wraps) and other things.

I was basing that on this March 30, 2010 MJS article titled “Developer loses contract for possible theater in Cudahy” or this one “Cudahy cinema developer loses control of project site”

Emphasis is mine!

“The project's estimated construction costs, including environmental cleanup work, turned out to be higher than expected.  That's made it more difficult to obtain private financing, Glazer said in December.”

I also find it odd that the $ 2.2m is for cleanup for the lot on Layton & Pennsylvania based on the $7.5 million stated before to cleanup the Layton & Pennsylvania site.

From Feb. 23, 2010 MJS article titled “Long-stalled Cobalt project in Cudahy moving forward” By Tom Daykin

Emphasis is mine!

“Scott Yauck, Cobalt principal, told committee members that it would still take "a couple of years" to develop the site for retail use.  Yauck said Cobalt is negotiating with Cudahy for a tax incremental financing district to help pay for the cleanup, which he said would cost an estimated $7.5 million.”

OR

Or maybe it is $3.5 million for the Layton & Pennsylvania site...

Emphasis is mine!

“Cudahy may also borrow an estimated $3.5 million to pay for environmental cleanup of the land.”

http://cudahy-wi.gov/resources/novembermediareleases.pdf

OR just pick a number or throw some darts on a wall.  True it doesn’t say was is being cleaned up or if it is a total cleanup.  One would only know or should know!

Don’t you think the City of Cudahy would have the correct and accurate dollar amounts it would cost to cleanup sites?

Don’t you think these should be readily available on the city development website?

But by Lara Fritts’ own words we have this for the Layton & Pennsylvania site:

Emphasis is mine!

Cudahy landfill redevelopment taking shape

Published: February 23, 2010

“But before anything can be built there, the developer has to tackle the estimated $7.5-million job of removing contaminated underground waste left behind by a landfill that closed 40 years ago, said Lara Fritts, Cudahy economic development director.”

So how can the 2.2 million be the cost of the cleanup on the Layton & Pennsylvania site?

Lara Fritts for the Kohl’s site in email below does give a dollar amount for the asbestos removal in the $250,000 range and the tank(s) price from a couple of years ago of $28,000.

------------------------------------

From Randy Hollenbeck <rhollenbeck@gmail.com>

To frittsl@ci.cudahy.wi.us

Date Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 4:40 PM

Subject Kohl's site

Dear Mrs. Fritts,

Do you know what the total cleanup on Kohl's site would be for not only the oil/gas tank, but for the asbestoses cleanup (Floor and ceiling tiles and pipe wraps) as well?

Randy Hollenbeck

-------------------------------------

This is an email from Lara Fritts on July 21, 2010 to Alderman Mikolajczak replying back to Alderman Mikolajczak that Mrs. Fritts was so kind to forward to me to answer my email to her.

Alderman Mikolajczak’s questions are in black

Mrs. Fritts’ answers are in red.

Subject: Kohl's Building

Lara,

    I have a few questions regarding the former Kohl's building

1)       What is the cost of the building?

The last I heard the investors were willing to sell for $345,000

2)       How much was the asbestos removal.

There has been no solid figure given but it could be in the $250,000 range

3)       How much to remove the fuel tanks. 

The estimate received to have this done was around $28,000 – but that was a couple of years ago. 

In addition there is a significant amount of electrical and drywall work that has to be completed and I don’t have a figure.  To get the best estimate, I would encourage you to contact inspection and have them go through the building.  Hope this helps.

------------------------------------

Question from email:

My answer is in blue.

“Randy, why does the city and Lara not have the Kohls building listed as privately owned property?  There aren’t any pictures of it.  Please look for yourself.  http://www.cudahy4business.com/cudahyecondev/locations+available/privately+owned/default.asp

Any idea when are they finally going to audit Lara’s time and she what she is doing or not doing? “

I don’t know why the Kohl’s site isn’t listed, but it might be somewhere else on the website or it might be that Lara Fritts is holding out that the Rosebud Theater might make a come back! 

As far as auditing Lara Fritts’ time, that is for another blog.

Super Walmart coming to Lake Country

City of Delafield — There is a likely to be a super Walmart open for Lake Country shoppers by Christmas 2011.

The Common Council gave final approval Monday night for a 25,000-square-foot addition to be built onto the existing Walmart at Heritage and Hillside drives in the Highway 83/I-94 retail corridor.

Most of the addition will be devoted to construction of a new, full-service grocery store that will be part of a total remodeling of both the interior and the exterior of the store.

"It will look like a new store when it is all done," said Project Manager Kerry Hardin of R.A. Smith National of Brookfield, planners and engineers for the project.

Hardin said officials of the Arkansas-based retail giant will seek bids this week for contractors for the project that they anticipate having completed by the end of 2011.

It has taken the project nearly a year to wind its way through the city approval process.

Walmart representatives have told city officials they decided to convert the existing store into a super Walmart after they determined the 20-year-old facility required extensive interior and exterior remodeling.

The biggest obstacle to city approval was an ongoing discussion between Walmart engineers and architects and the city planning staff over the redesign of the freight delivery docks on the west side of the building.

Approval of the project at Monday night's special meeting of the Common Council ended a short-lived experiment into having only one meeting per month during the summer.

Mayor Ed McAleer and City Administrator Tim Schuenke suggested last month that the council could cut back on its scheduled meetings to one per month during the summer because there is often a lack of items on the twice-monthly meeting agendas during June, July and August.

Shortly after the council agreed and scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 2, Walmart officials and city planning staff indicated they were ready to present the project for final approval.

Walmart asked the council to act quickly on the matter so it could submit the project for competitive bids this week in an effort to have most of the work completed by Christmas 2011.

McAleer said the Walmart experience, along with some other pending projects and city issues, convinced him that once-a-month meetings during the summer was probably unrealistic.

McAleer and Schuenke added that they will postpone council meetings whenever there are not enough agenda items to justify continuing with a regularly scheduled session of the council, which occasionally occurs.

Source: LLC

Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th.

The Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15th and also ends November 30th.

Here is what we have so far.

The 2010 National Night Out for the City of Cudahy.  This year’s event will be held on Thursday, August 5th from 4-8pm.  It will be held at the Cudahy Family Library municipal parking lot.

Demonstration Area:

CHS Pom Pon Squad

CHS Cheerleading Squad

Ezzo Obedience, drug search, fleeting subject, etc

Cudahy Police Tactical Unit vehicle assault

Cudahy Fire Department Jaws of Life

Food Tents:

T.A.T.S.

Pa Pa Luigi’s Pizza

C.J.’s Station House

La Serenata

Children’s Activity Area:

Bike Rodeo (South Shore Cyclery)

Bike Safety check up (South Shore Cyclery)

Bounce House

Survive Alive House (CFD)

Games with prizes (Prizes from McDonald’s)

Bike Helmet Fitting (Cudahy Health Dept.)

“Crazy Hair” hair painting from Cost Cutters

Indoor Display Tables:

IMPACT (alcohol, drug resource, runs County 211, Pledge sheets for kids, coloring books)

ABRI (Health Education)

Milwaukee County Department on Aging

St. Francis Hospital

Lakeshore Medical Clinics (local doctors)

M+I Bank (Reverse mortgages, watching out for senior scams)

Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin (Foster care training agency)

Custom Vehicle Display:

Authentic Automotive

Memories Car Club

Requests at Car Shows

Government Vehicle Display:

CUPD – Police Squad, Chief’s Squad (asset forfeiture from drug seize), 4 wheeler 

CUFD – Ladder Truck w/flag, other vehicles

MCSO – Mounted Patrol, Community outreach vehicle (Sheriff)

MPD – Bearcat (Armored assault vehicle)

DNR – Truck w/boat or ATV

U.S. Coast Guard – Helicopter

Cudahy DPW - equipment display

Armed Services:

128th Air National Guard

257th Army National Guard

U.S. Marines Recruiter

U.S. Navy Recruiter

Media Representation:

Patrick McIlheran of MJS

Kevin Fischer of PBS Interchange

Official Representation:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark

Milwaukee County 8th District Supervisor Patricia Jursik

State Rep. 20th Assembly District Democrat Christine Sinicki

Senator. 7th Senate District Democrat Jeffrey Plale.

Current Cudahy Officials

Ex Cudahy Mayors

Misc:

Fundraiser for Police K9 Ezzo

Door prizes

Fundraiser for next years Cudahy National Night Out

Fundraiser for Bike Helmets