Waukesha CDBG Advisory Committee Meeting - May 12, 2026
Waukesha Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee Meeting – May 12, 2026
The Waukesha CDBG Advisory Committee met on May 12, 2026 at 10:15 AM (the transcribed recording suggests a start time of 4:04 PM, a discrepancy noted here for accuracy). The committee reviewed and recommended allocations for the 2027 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The city’s expected allocation is $233,749, with 85% ($198,686) reserved for facilities, housing, and economic development projects, and the remaining 15% ($35,062) for public services programs. Presentations were made by city departments, followed by discussion and a vote on staff recommendations.
Discussion Items
- Grand View Park Crossing Improvement (Traffic Engineering) – Darren Wolford presented a request for $200,000 to replace a 36‑year‑old traffic signal with a pedestrian hybrid beacon, add pedestrian bump‑outs, and make the crossing ADA‑compliant. Staff recommended $65,000, noting the project could be partially funded through the city’s capital improvement program (CIP). The new beacon has a lifespan of 25–30 years.
- Buckner Park Playground Resurfacing (Park and Recreation) – Melissa Lipska requested $250,000 for a new resilient playground surface and ADA‑compliant sidewalk replacement. Staff recommended $63,687, with the understanding that the project could be scaled back or supplemented with other funds.
- Frame Park Formal Gardens Restoration (Park and Recreation) – A request for flagstone pathway replacement, pillar restoration, and tuck‑pointing was presented. Staff recommended $0, prioritizing Buckner Park due to its proximity to low‑to‑moderate‑income (LMI) neighborhoods.
- Landmarks Commission Paint and Repair Grants – Charlie (staff) presented the program, requesting $25,000 for historic property owners. Staff recommended full funding, noting the grants are fully spent each year and have no alternative city funding sources.
- Public Art Fund – Requested $33,333 for Freedman Alley art installations. Staff recommended $25,000 (a 25% cut).
- Downtown and Central City Wayfinding and Placemaking – Jeff Fortin requested $50,000 for banner replacements and new signage, especially on William Street. Staff recommended $37,500 (a 25% cut), noting the program could be spread over multiple years.
- Senior Activity Coordinator (Park and Recreation) – Logan Kind presented a request for $12,562 to fund a coordinator for free senior programs (concerts, bingo, bunco). Staff recommended full funding.
- Adaptive Education Specialist (Park and Recreation) – Gayla Evers requested $20,000 for a certified teacher to support children with special needs in before/after‑school and summer programs (serving over 900 students). Staff recommended full funding.
- Swim and Park Play Partner (Park and Recreation) – Gayla Evers requested $4,000 for a summer water‑safety and enrichment program for youth. Staff recommended $2,500, with the possibility of using program fees or financial assistance to cover the gap.
Key Outcomes
- The committee unanimously approved staff recommendations for the services programs: $12,562 for Senior Activity Coordinator, $20,000 for Adaptive Education Specialist, and $2,500 for Swim and Park Play Partner.
- The committee also unanimously approved staff recommendations for facilities, housing, and economic development projects: $65,000 for Grand View Park Crossing, $63,687 for Buckner Park Playground, $0 for Frame Park Formal Gardens, $25,000 for Public Art, $25,000 for Landmarks Paint and Repair, and $37,500 for Wayfinding and Placemaking.
- The resolutions will be forwarded to the Common Council for final approval, likely at the first meeting in June 2026.
- The meeting adjourned at 5:20 PM (transcript time; the provided meeting time was 10:15 AM).
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good afternoon, everybody. Um is 404, and my name is Mike Crowley, and I'm chairman of the order. We do have uh forum uh numbers of California. Um next up on our agenda is public time. Any public time before we get into the meeting uh I'm um Alderman Rico Camacho representing district fifteen. Everybody hear me. Yeah, representing district fifteen up by the hospital. Uh Manda Roddy, uh community member, Mike Crowley, community member, and last way, community member Mike Anderson, uh District 10 Alderman. Bob Ford, uh Ford Construction. Next up is approval of our meeting minutes from May 9th, 2020. Um May 20, was it me ninth? Uh that's weird because on yeah, minus says 2025. I have the wrong agenda. Oh my god. Should be May 28th, 2025. A second. Thank you. Any comments or the May. Next up is our new business. We have a C B Gordon presentation. And Jeff is that uh yes. So um Jeff Fortin, economic development project manager for the city. Um Robin Grams, who used to run this, uh, has left us for a different job. So I'm taking over this year with our anticipation of whoever we hire to replace Robin. I'll end up uh doing this committee in the coming years. Um but I used to do it in the past, so hopefully bear with me if there's any if I need any assistance. But so as an overview, the city of Waukeshaw is a um we're an entitlement community, which means that we meet the qualifications and the size to um receive federal HUD um community development block ground funds. We have an agreement with Wokashaw County where they do our admins, they deal with the feds, they also deal with all the nonprofits that apply for these funds every year. Um, but we also get a chunk of those monies that are dedicated to the city for city projects. So unlike a lot of communities where someone like say habitat or the Hebron House would come to the city and apply, they go to the county. Um so with our funding that we get, uh we have this committee, uh the advisory committee, and it's can consisted of citizen members and aldermen. Um and your role really is to look at these requests, and we'll kind of get into the two different types of requests and make some determinations on where you want to recommend that the council do their allocations. Um this meeting we'll have a presentation from the various people that represent the departments that applied for the funds. You can ask questions of them, and then we kind of go through and try to um work the committee can kind of work on what they think the council should approve for these um for the um allocations for 2027. Um in the past, usually the council takes whatever this board comes up with, and that's what they approve. I've never seen them switch it around or anything. Um with that, um I guess we can move on to the if there's if there's no if there's any other questions about it or about the process or the board. So I guess um so for 2027, talk to Walkshaw County. Our allocation has gone down. Uh we went down for 2026. Um and now for 2027, it's expected to stay at that 2026 level, which is shown here. Our expected allocation is a little over um, it's 233,749. 233, 749,000. Of that, the way this works is we have two separate buckets of money and they can't be mixed, they can't be uh mixed together. Uh facilities housing and economic development, that's 85% of that allocation that must be used for those. Um, and with that, that leaves about 1986,000 for those programs or for those projects. And the programs, they're capped at 15%. The reason they're capped at 15% is because of the the agreement we have with Walk Show County. Um, programs tend to fall under admin money, so that's where that's why that number is a little lower since the counties don't all our admin and working with all these nonprofits. So that leaves about 15% for city specific um programs.
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