Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - March 11, 2026
Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - March 11, 2026
The Community & Economic Development Committee of the Milwaukee Common Council met on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 1:33 PM in City Hall Room 301-B. The meeting was chaired by Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II. Four members were present (Stamper, Dimitrijevic, Chambers Jr., Moore) and one was excused (Jackson). The meeting adjourned at 2:03 PM. The committee considered 13 agenda items, including appointments, an ordinance, resolutions, and communications.
Consent Calendar
- Appointment of Marques Hogans as Health Department Commissioner designee to the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council was recommended for confirmation (4-0).
- Appointment of Roy Suarez del Real, III to the Fourth of July Commission was recommended for confirmation (4-0).
- Appointment of David Knutson to Business Improvement District (BID) #20 was recommended for confirmation (4-0).
- Appointment of Brandon Strand to BID #51 was recommended for confirmation (4-0).
- Resolution designating August 1–8, 2026, as Bronzeville Week was recommended for adoption (4-0).
- Substitute resolution establishing the 5th District Movie Night Fund as an official city event was recommended for adoption (4-0).
- Communication from DCD regarding the 2025 annual report of neighborhood poster sales was recommended for placing on file (4-0).
- Ordinance relating to the appointment of emerging youth achievement advisory council members and designees was recommended for passage (4-0) after reconsideration.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Appointments to BID #51 (Items 4, 6, 7, 8): Four appointments/reappointments to BID #51 were held to the call of the chair: Beth Handle (appointment), John Rossetto (reappointment), David Stegeman (reappointment), and Colleen Cheney-Trawinski (reappointment). No reasons were given for the holds.
- Ordinance 251933 (Item 9): Initially held, then reconsidered after Ald. Perez submitted a letter explaining the ordinance removes the council confirmation requirement for ex officio members of the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council, aligning it with other plural bodies. The committee recommended passage (4-0).
- Bronzeville Week Resolution (Item 10): Deborah Moore, Events and Outreach Coordinator for the Common Council, presented the 16th annual Bronzeville Week, a week-long family-friendly celebration from August 1–8, 2026. She noted that the 2025 festival had over 130 vendors. A short video from the 2025 event was shown.
- 5th District Movie Night Fund (Item 11): Initially held, then reconsidered to allow Ald. Westmoreland to present. The fund will support an annual movie night, partnering with Milwaukee County at Cooper Park, featuring the movie The Little Mermaid. The date is to be announced.
- Communication from DOA – Community Development Grants (Item 12): Held to the call of the chair after Ald. Dimitrijevic requested more time. Ald. Chambers asked about the purpose, which was to identify available funds in the Block Grant office. The item will be discussed at a future meeting.
- Communication from DCD – Poster Sales (Item 13): Luke Olson (DCD) and Stacy Swadish (Executive Director, Historic Milwaukee) presented the 2025 annual report. Historic Milwaukee’s total revenue in 2025 was approximately $619,000, with poster/merchandise sales of $7,795 (about 1.2% of budget). They also highlighted the Doors Open Milwaukee event (held the fourth weekend of September), which attracted 64% of visitors to neighborhoods they were previously unfamiliar with, and 72% planned to return. 82% said Doors Open makes them feel proud of Milwaukee. 42% of visitors lived within the city, 29% in Milwaukee County. The committee voted to place the report on file (4-0).
Key Outcomes
- All votes were unanimous (4-0) with Ald. Jackson excused.
- Four appointments/reappointments to BID #51 were held without action.
- The ordinance on emerging youth achievement advisory council appointments was recommended for passage.
- Bronzeville Week and the 5th District Movie Night Fund were recommended for adoption.
- The annual poster sales report was placed on file.
- The Community Development Grants communication was held for further discussion.
Meeting Transcript
Development committee. I'm the chairman Alderman Russell Stanford II. To my left in person is Older Woman Charlotte Moore. To my uh on the board is Alder Woman Marina Dimitrievich and Alderman Mark Chambers. Uh Alderman Jackson is excused today. We're gonna get started. Should be a quick one. Number one, two five one eight seven zero. Appointment of Marcus Hogans as the Health Department Commissioner Destiny to the Emerging Youth Achievement Advisory Council. Mr. Hoggins, please come up. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. How are you today? Pretty good. So you've had a couple of meetings with us. What's your experience and why would you like to continue? Um excited about what the committee, the council says. Marcus Hoggins, um, Health Strategy Director from Milwaukee Health Department. Yes, sir. Uh excited about what the uh council is looking forward to doing supporting you for uh for agencies. I've been in the youth space for a while. Uh I have two children that grew up in Milwaukee that we're looking for activities to do, and so really uh leveraging that as an experience to support the board. Excellent. How old are they? How are the my children? Yeah. Uh 22 and eight seventeen. Okay, okay. Both graduating college and high school this year. Congratulations. Congratulations. Proud and excellent father. Yeah. All right, all right. Uh, do we have any questions from the committee? No, thank you so much for your service, and I move approval. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you, uh, Mr. Hogan. And all the women more moves for your approval. Here in Norm Jessica's for order. Congratulations, man. Have a good day. I'll see you at the meeting. Yep. Yes. All right, number two, two five one eight seven four. Appointment of Roy Suez Del Rio, the third, uh, to the Fourth of July Commission.
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