May 2012 newsletter

East Towne newsletters come out four times a year (February, May, July, and October). If you or someone you know is not getting newsletters, please contact your area representative. If your area does not have an area rep or your block does not have a distributor, please consider volunteering. It is our goal to reach all homes in the Tosa East Towne Neighborhood Association. Contact Nancy Hall at nancyhallatr@gmail.com if you wish to volunteer or need more information.

Saturday, June 2
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tosa East Towne Neighborhood

(76th to 60th Street, Between North Avenue and Center Street)

Our neighborhood-wide rummage sale is Saturday, June 2. We hope to see many of you buying and selling at this great event!

If you want to participate (sell items), please complete the online registration form below.

If you prefer to download a PDF of the form, click here. Mail the form to Jennifer Lautz, 2536 N. 72nd Street, Wauwatosa, WI, 53213. Starting May 1, you can also drop your registration in a bin on Jennifer’s porch. No call-in registration, please.

Deadline for rummage registration is May 25 and the rummage is free for TETNA members; for non-members the fee is $5.

Here are some great tips on How to Throw A Killer Yard Sale.

If you’re interested in helping with the rummage sale in any capacity, or if you have questions, please email one of our Rummage Sale team members: Jennifer Lautz at jenlautz@gmail.com, Sarah Hunt-Frank at slhuntfrank@att.net, or Kristyn St. Denis at kstdenis@gmail.com.

The deadline for Rummage registration is Saturday, May 25 — this will give us one week to create and distribute a database map for our shoppers!

To register online use the form below:

Saturday, March 31
10 a.m.
Center Park

Bring your kids to TETNA’s annual Spring Egg Hunt at Center Park. This event is great for the kids and a wonderful way to connect with your neighbors. All families with current memberships participate for FREE! If you are not a member, you may pay your $8 annual member dues at the even with a completed Membership Form.

If you’re interested in volunteering for this event, we’ll need help promoting, setting up, and cleaning up. Please contact Brian Holtz at brian.holtz@micorp.com.

After the event, we will be collecting empty plastic eggs to fill for next year’s hunt. If you have eggs that you’d like to donate, drop them in the bin on Jason Odrzywolski’s front porch located at 2607 N. 70th Street. Eggs will be collected from Saturday, March 31 to Saturday, April 21. If you have any questions, please contact Jason at 708-4891 or jasonodsky@gmail.com.

Saturday, March 31st
9:00AM until 2:00PM
Roosevelt School, 2535 N. 73rd St.

The Aldrich Family will sponsor Jake’s 13th Blood Drive on Saturday, March 31, from 9am until 2pm at Roosevelt School. Appointments are encouraged but, walk-ins are welcome. Child care will be provided. Save a life, donate blood!

There are 30+ openings for whole blood donation. Also looking for two more dual red cell donors to fill the 10:30am and 12:00 Noon slot.

How to sign up???

Visit www.bcw.edu/jakes13th
or
Email Jennifer Aldrich at jaaldrich@jhancock.com

You have a voice in shaping East Towne’s future. Now is the time to speak up. Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to develop a strategic plan for North Avenue, but questions and decisions remain.

The Blockbuster store is out on 61st Street and North Avenue, but an O’Reilly Auto Parts store is ready to move in. Does O’Reilly get your thumbs up or your thumbs down? Are you happy and relieved the building will soon be occupied? Or were you hoping something different would anchor Tosa East Towne?

You can take a look at the strategic plan for North Avenue. A link is provided below under More Information and Resources. Then tell city leaders what you think.

The City Plan Commission meeting is this Monday, March 12th at 7pm. It’s located on the 2nd floor in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall on 76th and North Avenue.

More Information and Resources

RDG Planning & Design, East Tosa North Avenue Plan: Opportunity Gap/Surplus of Retail Demand and Supply Table 3.9, p. 34; Retail Targets for the District, p. 37, Opportunity Gap/Surplus of Retail Demand and Supply, Table 3.10, p. 38; Potential Development Sites, p. 40-41; 62nd Street Center, p. 62; Priority Criteria and Sequencing, p. 83.

City of Wauwatosa Plan Commission

Scott, Stefanie (18 January 2012) Neighbors fear what follows Blockbuster, WauwatosaNow

Scott, Stefanie (30 January 2012) Streamlined review boards to have first meetings, WauwatosaNow

Price, Jim (4 February 2012) Auto parts chain leases former Blockbuster building, WauwatosaPatch

Pantuso, Bobby (5 February 2012) O’Reilly’s… Oh, really?, WauwatosaPatch

Budget & Finance Committee Meeting
Tuesday, March 13

If you feel the current over-burdened storm water pipes should be fixed to mitigate future overland flooding, please contact our aldermen immediately! This will be voted on Tuesday, March 13.

Please share this information with your neighbors as we need to spread the word quickly.

ASK:

Please recommend replacing the storm water pipes per the recommendation of our City Engineers and encourage work to be done, wherever possible, in concert with other work scheduled to be done for possible cost savings and decrease in disturbance.

WHO:

5th district Alderman
Bobby Pantuso bpantuso@wauwatosa.net
Michael Walsh mwalsh@wauwatosa.net

WHY:

During the last large flood, hundreds of East Towne homes and neighborhood businesses were impacted by overland flooding. Core streets, including Center, North, Meinecke, and Clarke, were impassable during the storm.

The City Engineering Department has run tests and worked with consultants to determine the best course of action to provide long-term mitigation of storm water flooding in our neighborhood.  They have recommended replacement of current storm water pipes with larger ones.  Though this replacement would be very costly, if approved, it could be done in concert with other work being done by MMSD and the City of Milwuakee thereby reducing disturbance and some possible cost savings.  In addition, it would mitigate overland flooding in the future.

Unfortunately, due to the high cost of this project, the Budget and Finance Committee has not approved this measure to the council, but instead has asked for a side-by-side comparison of the cost to fix the overland flooding and the cost of damage to residences and businesses. In other words, was the overall damage enough to warrant fixing the problem?

Aside from the thousands of dollars in immediate damage, we are all aware of the negative impact this has on our property values.  In addition, due to road closures throughout our neighborhoods, emergency crews did state at the committee meeting that their concern was their inability to access several neighborhoods—which were in greatest need of during the flooding.

If you feel the current over-burdened storm water pipes should be fixed to mitigate future overland flooding, please contact our aldermen immediately! This will be voted on next Tuesday.

Below is an excerpt from the committee meeting minutes concerning flooding:

BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Schoonmaker Creek Watershed Stormwater Flooding study

The committee reviewed a memo from the City Engineer regarding Tosa Eastown/Schoonmaker Creek Watershed Stormwater Flooding Analysis. In recent years the Tosa Eastown area (Schoonmaker Creek Watershed) has experienced overland flooding during extreme rain events. This flooding has resulted in stormwater entering people’s homes through doors and basement windows. In 2011, the Common Council authorized a study of overland flooding in this area.

Mr. Wehrley said this presentation complements the sanitary sewer presentation we had last fall. This covers the land in Wauwatosa and City of Milwaukee that drains down into Schoonmaker Creek. Mr. Wehrley said the cost to solve the problem is a phenomenal amount of money.

Gary Raasch, of R. A. Smith National, presented the stormwater analysis to the committee. The purpose of the study was to identify stormwater system improvements to reduce frequency and severity of surface flooding. Overall the inspection results showed the storm sewers in good condition with a few problem areas. The watershed components include 75 subbasins, 175 sewer or channel segments. The study shows the area where the sewers are deficient for a 10-year storm event. Different alternative were shown on how to remedy this. Unresolved flooding areas include State Street and 62nd Street, and 74th Street and Center Street. The estimated capital costs range from $35,800,000 to $77,000,000.

Mr. Wehrley reminded the committee that the City is required to mitigate the areas which have excess sewer flow as previously noted. The stormwater side is strictly a policy decision. Some cost savings may be seen by combining some of the work. The City Engineer reported that MMSD has work scheduled south of State Street by Hart Park. The City may be in a situation where MMSD does their work and then restores everything only to have the City come in the next year and tear everything up. There are time constrains when decisions have to be made. In addition to the structural flooding, in 2010, State Street, Lloyd Street, North Avenue, Meinecke Avenue and Center Street were all closed due to street flooding. It is difficult for the Fire Department to maneuver around town for a high spot to avoid street flooding.

Mr. Wehrley asked the committee how they would like the department to proceed. Would they like to pursue continued investigations? If so, should the consultants work together to arrive at a detailed joint scope of work and cost estimate to combine the two plans.

Ald. Donegan asked for further evaluation on the number of homes involved and what were the repair costs to these homes? Would it be better to purchase the homes outright if the number of homes is minimal? Mr. Wehrley said that does not address the street flooding issue.

Moved by Ald. Donegan, seconded by Ald. Berdan
to recommend analysis at a higher level to include an evaluation
of financial damage done to parcels in this area by a 10-year storm
and the cost to solve the problem – Ayes: 6 Noes: 1

Board Member Positions…
waiting for your name to fill in the blank

The best job in Tosa East Towne is to be a TETNA officer or board member. Impress your friends and influence people with your East Towne title. Get your name in the neighborhood newsletter. Attend meetings. Say “yay” or “nay” to things that impact your neighborhood. Express your opinions and have a drink with us afterwards at Walters!

If you’d be willing to do these things for your neighborhood this year, please contact Sarah Hunt-Frank and attend the annual meeting on Wednesday. Click here for more information.

One of the most popular requests on our Groups Interest form is a wine tasting group. The purpose of these groups is to get neighbors to meet other neighbors with common interests. Sometimes its difficult in our busy lives to connect and meet new people who share the same passions and leisure activities. That’s where your neighborhood association is here to help!

We’d like to kick start the wine tasting group with a private event at Ray’s Wine and Spirits, 8930 W. North Avenue. Ray’s offers the best wine tasting and educational facility in the Milwaukee area. How lucky we are to have them so close to home!

So far the word hasn’t gotten out for this event and we hope to make it our first successful start-up. Our president, Sarah Hunt-Frank, has created a scheduling poll to get the best date for residents who want to attend. Two of the proposed dates have passed, we’d like to know if you can attend. Click here to RSVP for a possible February date.

If you are interested in being part of this wine tasting group and would like more information, please contact Sarah at slhuntfrank@att.net Our vision is for small social groups to form (similar to a book club) with gatherings at favorite wine spots around the area. You can post your gathering times on Tosa East Towne’s Facebook page, in our newsletter, Twitter, or website. Contact Julie Terwelp at jmkterwelp@wi.rr.com to get the word out.

Cheers!

February 2012 newsletter

East Towne newsletters come out four times a year (February, May, July, and October). If you or someone you know is not getting newsletters, please contact your area representative. If your area does not have an area rep or your block does not have a distributor, please consider volunteering. It is our goal to reach all homes in the Tosa East Towne Neighborhood Association. Contact Nancy Hall at nancyhallatr@gmail.com if you wish to volunteer or need more information.

TETNA meetings are open to everyone in the Tosa East Towne neighborhood. Please feel free to attend. We gather at 6:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Home, 7500 W. North Ave. If you have a topic or issue you would like to discuss, contact Sarah Hunt-Frank to be included on the agenda.

Click here to read the January association meeting minutes.