OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Milwaukee Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - April 29, 2026

City Plan Commission — Wednesday, April 29, 2026
BodyMilwaukee, Wisconsin
SessionCity Plan Commission
DateWednesday, April 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 27:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Economic development committee.

0:01

I'm your chairman Alderman Stanford to my right.

0:03

Further's right is Alderman Chambers to his left is Order Woman Dimitri Avis.

0:08

We've just been joined by Order Woman Moore.

0:10

Welcome.

0:11

And uh we are here with Alderman Jackson and our trusted assistant, Miss Carmen.

0:16

We're gonna get started with number one, two five zero six five nine.

0:20

This is a substitute ordinance relating to the membership of the emerging youth achievement advisory council.

0:26

We are here joined by the chief of staff for the president, Mr.

0:32

Clifton Crump.

0:33

Cliff, you want to tell us about this membership.

0:36

Uh thank you, Mr.

0:37

Chairman.

0:37

Committee members, uh Clifton Crump, Policy and Administration Director for President Perez.

0:42

I'm gonna read a brief statement uh that he prepared um in relation to this item.

0:48

Uh I'm a firm believer that youth must be at the table when they are being discussed to that end on April 21st.

0:55

The council approved a partnership with Milwaukee Succeeds that will, amongst other things assist in identifying youth that are interested in seeking board task force or council memberships via Milwaukee Succeeds youth training model for board readiness.

1:10

Uh, this legislation proposed is proposed in concert with that resolution as we seek to add two youth members, likely high school graduates, uh, to the emerging youth achievement advisory council.

1:20

Uh big picture wise, we collectively need to engage youth uh to hopefully stay in Milwaukee and become more civically engaged.

1:27

This is one method to do so.

1:28

So we've been talking about doing this for quite some time.

1:31

Um had various iterations of it.

1:34

Uh we shortened the term to two years just because of the uh young young people tend to move around.

1:40

Um, and so that's one of the most recent changes we've made to it.

1:43

Um we'll be flexible with the times as well as we uh make future agendas, but again, the purpose is to have uh younger people at the table when we're making decisions about the future.

1:53

Excellent.

1:54

Yeah, this conversation derived from the few meetings that we've had at the council, and one of the biggest concerns was uh adults not engaging youth for what the youth want or what the youth want to see.

2:08

So I support this.

2:09

Thank you for your leadership on this, Cliff.

2:12

And uh, you've been right with us from the beginning with the emerging uh youth council.

2:16

So I'll open it up to my colleagues for any questions or comments.

2:21

Yes.

2:22

Okay, Alderman uh chambers moves for approval, but we do have comments by Alder Woman Moore.

2:27

Right?

2:28

Uh yes, yes.

2:28

I just had a um comments.

2:30

I just want to echo your sentiments as well, Mr.

2:32

Chair.

2:33

Of course.

2:33

Um, this obviously, you know, I love what you said, Cliff.

2:37

We cannot have um opportunities for young people without young people being at the table.

2:41

Right.

2:41

And so um I am hoping that you know, so when we say that, and I hope that we don't say that just as a the just as buzzwords, but it also has to go into action by number one uh making sure that those young people there's some sort of small stipend um that they receive um in addition to making sure that the meetings are convenient, you know, for them depending on the age group or population, you know, um that you're looking to serve, whether it's high school or college age.

3:08

Uh, but that you all, you know, that the group really push themselves to make sure that they um um structure you know the the meetings to support um young people's input.

3:21

But thank you all so much for moving forward on this.

3:24

Thank you, Mr.

3:24

Chair.

3:25

Yeah, I was just gonna comment and I deal well, and I know all the woman more is very uh involved with the youth council, and I deal well.

3:32

This is a this is the next step for them.

3:33

That's as they begin to learn more about Roberts' rules and procedures and budgets.

3:37

Um so again, it's just that's a it's a pathway, um, it's a start.

3:41

Uh we'll seek any method, whether it's private funds or whatever, to pay this board.

3:47

This board is not a compensated board, uh, the emergency.

3:49

No, just the young people though.

3:50

Right.

3:51

Yeah.

3:51

But you know how things are if you you have certain rules, you have to pay one, you have to pay them all.

3:56

But we'll we'll we'll we seek to find ways to um to accommodate that.

3:59

Yeah.

4:00

Well we'll be here if you need to change the policy on that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Youth Programs███████████████████19%
Business Licensing███████████████████19%
Arts And Culture██████████████████18%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Milwaukee Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - April 29, 2026

The Community and Economic Development Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council met on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 1:35 PM to 2:01 PM in City Hall, Room 301-B. Chair Alderman Russell W. Stamper II presided, with all five members present (Stamper, Dimitrijevic, Jackson, Chambers Jr., and Moore). The committee considered nine agenda items, including an ordinance to add youth members to an advisory council, appointments to Business Improvement District #51 and the Milwaukee Arts Board, and a resolution accepting a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for regional food systems. All votes were unanimous (5-0).

Ordinance on Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council Membership (Item 1)

  • File 250659: A substitute ordinance to add two youth members (likely high school graduates) to the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council, reducing terms to two years for flexibility. Clifton Crump, Policy and Administration Director for President Perez, presented the ordinance, stating that youth must be “at the table” when decisions affecting them are discussed. The ordinance aligns with a recent partnership with Milwaukee Succeeds to identify youth for board service.
  • Ald. Sharlen Moore recommended exploring a small stipend for youth members and ensuring meeting times are convenient for high school or college-age participants. Crump noted that the board is currently unpaid and paying only youth could trigger rules requiring compensating all members, but the office will seek private funds or other solutions.
  • Ald. Mark Chambers Jr. moved to recommend passage; the motion prevailed 5-0.

Appointments to Business Improvement District #51 (Items 2–5)

  • Beth Handle (Item 2, 12th District): Owner of Milwaukee Kayak Company (14 seasons), appointed to represent Harbor District. Confirmed on motion by Ald. Moore (5-0).
  • John Rossetto (Item 3, 12th District): Reappointed; noted for perfect attendance. Confirmed on motion by Ald. Dimitrijevic (5-0).
  • David Stegeman (Item 4, 14th District): Representing River One area; employer Michaels Corporation. Ald. Dimitrijevic praised his company’s investment for sparking positive growth. Confirmed on motion by Ald. Dimitrijevic (5-0).
  • Colleen Cheney-Trawinski (Item 5, 14th District): Active in South Side, bridging Harbor District and Lincoln Village. Ald. Dimitrijevic thanked her for unpaid service. Confirmed on motion by Ald. Dimitrijevic (5-0).

Appointments to Milwaukee Arts Board (Items 6–7)

  • Erin Fonseca (Item 6, 6th District): Manager of after-school arts and humanities programming for Milwaukee Recreation; former teacher and artist. Confirmed on motion by Ald. Jackson (5-0).
  • Melissa Muller (Item 7, 10th District): Fund development consultant and artist; organizes Washington Park Wednesdays concert series. Ald. Moore shared a long personal connection and moved confirmation. Confirmed 5-0.

Appointment to Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council (Item 8)

  • Maritza Ugarte (Item 8): Appointment by the Mayor. Applicant was not present. Ald. Chambers moved to hold the item at the call of the chair; motion prevailed 5-0.

Resolution on USDA Regional Food System Partnerships Grant (Item 9)

  • File 252209: Resolution to accept and fund a U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Regional Food System Partnerships Program grant. Mario Higgins, Director of Community Development Grants Administration, presented the grant, which is just short of $1,000,000 (approximately $1,000,000 per the minutes) over three years, plus a city match. The city serves as the fiscal agent, with most resources directed to Milwaukee.
  • The grant aims to develop a replicable model for regional food system transformation, improving food access and economic opportunity in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin. Partners include Dane County (Madison) and Brown County. Targeted Milwaukee zip codes are 53205, 53206, and 53208. Key activities include convening partners, technical assistance for food enterprises, infrastructure for food recovery and composting, and coordination with the Health Department.
  • A project coordinator (to be hired via RFP) will manage cross-county work; the committee discussed whether a contractor or city staffer would be more cost-effective. Mini-grants ($300,000 total) will be awarded to local organizations. Grant compliance manager Matt Balistrieri will dedicate 40% time.
  • Ald. Chambers moved to recommend adoption; the motion prevailed 5-0.

Key Outcomes

  • All five votes were unanimous (5-0).
  • The ordinance to add youth members to the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council was recommended for passage and will go to the full Common Council.
  • Four appointments to BID #51 (Beth Handle, John Rossetto, David Stegeman, Colleen Cheney-Trawinski) and two appointments to the Milwaukee Arts Board (Erin Fonseca, Melissa Muller) were recommended for confirmation.
  • The appointment of Maritza Ugarte to the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council was held pending her appearance.
  • The resolution accepting the USDA grant was recommended for adoption, with the administration to return to the committee with more detail before launch.

Meeting Transcript

Economic development committee. I'm your chairman Alderman Stanford to my right. Further's right is Alderman Chambers to his left is Order Woman Dimitri Avis. We've just been joined by Order Woman Moore. Welcome. And uh we are here with Alderman Jackson and our trusted assistant, Miss Carmen. We're gonna get started with number one, two five zero six five nine. This is a substitute ordinance relating to the membership of the emerging youth achievement advisory council. We are here joined by the chief of staff for the president, Mr. Clifton Crump. Cliff, you want to tell us about this membership. Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Committee members, uh Clifton Crump, Policy and Administration Director for President Perez. I'm gonna read a brief statement uh that he prepared um in relation to this item. Uh I'm a firm believer that youth must be at the table when they are being discussed to that end on April 21st. The council approved a partnership with Milwaukee Succeeds that will, amongst other things assist in identifying youth that are interested in seeking board task force or council memberships via Milwaukee Succeeds youth training model for board readiness. Uh, this legislation proposed is proposed in concert with that resolution as we seek to add two youth members, likely high school graduates, uh, to the emerging youth achievement advisory council. Uh big picture wise, we collectively need to engage youth uh to hopefully stay in Milwaukee and become more civically engaged. This is one method to do so. So we've been talking about doing this for quite some time. Um had various iterations of it. Uh we shortened the term to two years just because of the uh young young people tend to move around. Um, and so that's one of the most recent changes we've made to it. Um we'll be flexible with the times as well as we uh make future agendas, but again, the purpose is to have uh younger people at the table when we're making decisions about the future. Excellent. Yeah, this conversation derived from the few meetings that we've had at the council, and one of the biggest concerns was uh adults not engaging youth for what the youth want or what the youth want to see. So I support this. Thank you for your leadership on this, Cliff. And uh, you've been right with us from the beginning with the emerging uh youth council. So I'll open it up to my colleagues for any questions or comments. Yes. Okay, Alderman uh chambers moves for approval, but we do have comments by Alder Woman Moore. Right? Uh yes, yes. I just had a um comments. I just want to echo your sentiments as well, Mr. Chair. Of course. Um, this obviously, you know, I love what you said, Cliff. We cannot have um opportunities for young people without young people being at the table. Right. And so um I am hoping that you know, so when we say that, and I hope that we don't say that just as a the just as buzzwords, but it also has to go into action by number one uh making sure that those young people there's some sort of small stipend um that they receive um in addition to making sure that the meetings are convenient, you know, for them depending on the age group or population, you know, um that you're looking to serve, whether it's high school or college age. Uh, but that you all, you know, that the group really push themselves to make sure that they um um structure you know the the meetings to support um young people's input. But thank you all so much for moving forward on this. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I was just gonna comment and I deal well, and I know all the woman more is very uh involved with the youth council, and I deal well. This is a this is the next step for them. That's as they begin to learn more about Roberts' rules and procedures and budgets.

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