1. Downtown park tax district draws mixed reviews
By Steve Schultze of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 29, 2013
A plan to create a new taxing district
to renovate and maintain downtown's
Cathedral Square and Juneau Park was
touted Tuesday as "a chance to create
two jewels" that would attract local
residents and tourists.
The parks would undergo $4 million in
improvements, including a new
pavilion and restroom at Cathedral
Square and grooming and stabilizing
the lake bluff at Juneau Park, to
restore breathtaking views of the lake.
The much smaller Burns Square Park,
at E. Knapp St. and N. Prospect Ave.,
would also be included in the special
district.
However, the hybrid park oversight arrangement drew complaints
from residents of the proposed taxing district, who said they would be
taxed doubly for parks. Milwaukee County would continue to own the
parks under the plan.
The special parks property tax that's proposed - estimated at 25 cents
per $1,000 in property value - would be passed on to apartment
tenants, likely driving some away from the area, several building
owners told the County Board's parks committee. The owner of a
condo valued at $200,000 would pay $50 a year.
The district would run from Lake Michigan on the east to the
Milwaukee River on the west, and extend from E. Clybourn St. on the
south to E. Ogden Ave. on the north.
A better alternative would be to raise money privately for the
improvements that developer Gary Grunau and other supporters
envision, said apartment owner Benjamin Crichton.
Grunau, who has spearheaded the plan along with the East Town
Association and Friends of Juneau Park, said it would be difficult to do
that because of keen competition for donations from arts and charities.
"Everybody in town is looking for money," Grunau said. He didn't rule
out a fundraising effort but said the taxing district should be approved
to ensure something happens with the downtown parks. If money can
be raised privately, that could be used to retire an anticipated bond
issue early and lower the tax, he said.

2. A nine-member board, elected annually by residents and property
owners, would oversee the district, according to the plan overview.
Those members would also be confirmed by the Common Council and
County Board.
Summerfest CEO Don Smiley said he opposed the plan. It would be
unfair to dun residents and building owners of such a small area when
Cathedral Square and Juneau Park are considered citywide attractions,
Smiley said. He also said he was uncomfortable wresting control of the
parks from the County Board and the county Parks Department.
Smiley said he'd volunteer to help privately raise the $4 million.
"The money we're talking about here is not a staggering amount of
money," he said.
John Lunz, president of the Preserve Our Parks advocacy group, said
the plan would cede too much control over the parks to the East Town
Association, the group that sponsors Jazz in the Park, Bastille Days
and the East Town Market at Cathedral Square.
He said the pavilion and restroom envisioned for Cathedral Square
would likely be inadequate for the crowds generated by those events.
"Perhaps these events are getting too big for the square," Lunz said.
Ian Abston, president and founder of NEWaukee organization for
young professionals, backed the tax district plan as a means of
upgrading city amenities that help lure and retain people in the city.
Cathedral Square "is a big eyesore" now, he said, pointing to the
temporary stage and portable toilets used during the summer there.
County Supervisor Gerry Broderick, chairman of the parks committee,
said he'd hold a public hearing on the plan after the April 2 elections,
when two vacancies on the County Board will be filled.
The plan won the backing of the city Plan Commission last fall, but the
Common Council's Community and Economic Development Committee
last month voted to delay acting on the proposal at the request of
Mayor Tom Barrett. The city needs more detail on a proposed park
management contract between the county and the East Town
Association and Juneau Park Friends groups, according to the mayor's
office.
County Executive Chris Abele, whose approval is needed for the plan,
declined to comment. He'll hold off "until there is a specific proposal
put forward and approved by the city," said spokesman Brendan
Conway.