The Public Works Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council convened at 9:11 AM on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in City Hall Room 301-B, and adjourned at 12:32 PM. All five members were present: Chair Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Vice-Chair Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, Alderman Robert J. Bauman, Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, and Alderman Alex Brower. The committee considered 28 agenda items, including assessable and nonassessable public improvements, reappointments to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), parklet permitting, infrastructure funding, leaf collection policy, and license applications.
Welcome to the public works committee. I am Vice Chair Alderman Lama Westmoreland. Joined to my right by Alderman Robert Bauman. We are joined virtually by all Alder Woman Larissa Taylor and Alderman Alex Brower, Chairwoman, Alder Woman Malele Cox, will join us uh momentarily. Um per Alder Woman Cox, uh, we would not be taking any public testimony for the MMSD appointments if anybody is here for that. Uh item one, two six zero zero six nine resolution relating to the approving to approving the levying of assessments and construction of accessible public improvement projects at various locations and appropriating funds for these purposes. Good morning, Holly Rutten back with DPW. I will be advising on the special assessment process and project details. For those projects approved this morning, a bill will be sent to each property owner sometime after completion of the work. Within 45 days upon receipt of the bill, the full amount may be paid without interest. If the bill is not paid within the 45-day grace period, a charge of 8.5% simple interest per year will be added. If the assessment is at least $125, the assessment can be paid over a period of ten years on the tax roll at that 8.5% interest. For those projects approved with late billing, a bill will not be sent before January first, 2028. If anyone is here to provide testimony, please feel free to come forward. If you could just give us both your um both of your names and addresses. just re help regulate traffic in front of St. Francis of Assisi in front of the Howard Fuller School in front of the Black Holocaust Museum at the very north end of North Avenue. So we uh we are very much the my my entire building there's ten of us Caitlin being one of them that are very much in favor of um this this action by the city I'll just echo what Gary had stated. We had been talking about this for a couple of years now as a condo building that we believe that it needed to happen. A lot of people have pets in the buildings they're going out walking their dogs and they're almost getting hit by a car because somebody takes Valor Phillips's throughput to avoid um MLK. So they're going probably 60 miles an hour. I continue I'm on the corner of the building that I watch a lot of traffic accidents happen. And I believe that this will slow everybody down and it's just for the safety of the neighborhood. Cool cool thank you. Thanks for coming down guys appreciate it. Motion by Alderman Bauman is approval uh any objections hearing non so order. In the seventh Aldermanic district the alley between West Keith Avenue West Townsend Street North 46th Street North 47th Street. Concrete alley pavement reconstruction replace some abutting walk or driveway approaches grading storm drainage facilities and permeable pavement as necessary. Is there anyone here to testify to this item out of twenty one impacted properties the majority were in support and the alderman supports the project. Most of Alderman Bauman is approval any objections hearing on the order in the 10th Aldermanic district the alley between West Appleton Avenue, West Chapman Place, West Nash Street, and West Potomac Avenue, concrete alley pavement reconstruction, replace some abutting walker and driveway approaches grading storm drainage facilities and permeable pavement as necessary all those who are here to provide testimony on this item please come forward out of 40 impacted properties the majority were in support and the alder woman does support the project is it how many property are in fact 40 40 and what was the count I was not provided the count the older woman said the majority were in support. Okay, like a two to one vote. Good morning, if everybody could just uh one at a time um give your name and address and testimony uh the address of the your house your house where you live yeah okay uh Gloria Ellen 4851 North 67th Street Milwaukee Wisconsin by 3218 but the property is at 7283 West Appleton Avenue. Uh my name is Oscar Ellen uh my I says it's 4851 no six seven in the city of Milwaukee Wisconsin zip code five three two one eight yes Charles Ellum 4739 North 53rd Street Milwaukee Wisconsin City of Milwaukee zip uh zip 53218 and I'm here with uh Robert Stetson uh 7274 West Potomac Avenue Milwaukee Wisconsin five three two one six Teresa Borough 7234 West Potomac Avenue Terry Robey uh 722 Potomac Avenue. Arthur will be 722 West on the capital. Okay and uh we start with your testimony and then we'll work our way that way. Okay well I'm protesting the pavement of the alley that's costing us eight thousand six hundred dollars to the microphone please I'm sorry. Microphone pull the microphone closer thank you so much I'm protesting that amount of money I mean we are church um we don't even have our own parking lot paid because we can't afford it. Pave our own parking lot in the pavement alley behind us. That's too much money. Uh it's too much money. We have too many things we have to do and speak that we have like a roof repair, parking lot repair. And then you want us to do an alley that we can't afford. So no, we don't. How many of you are connected with the church? Oh three. Oh, three of us. Uh and m most of the that then uh w w who think about how and I was talking to him a few minutes ago that uh we don't necessarily have to use the attic because we got inches from the street. But I I understand it's a cat twenty two regards whether we use that or not, we're gonna be charged with it. And then uh we know that uh and membership has decreased since the COVID nineteen and we don't have a few members and most of it we've been paying the bill, was just a dollar level. But uh it would be called it'd be a kind of strain or nothing.