'Let's think long-term': Public feedback sessions held on Brewers bill, Stadium Freeway future

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Everyday people had the chance Monday evening to be heard on a pair of issues that could drastically change how Milwaukee looks for decades to come. 

State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) held a town hall on the $700 million Republican-led bill to fund American Family Field renovations through 2050. At the same time, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation held a walking tour along Highway 175, commonly known as the Stadium Freeway.

Regarding the freeway, state leaders are contemplating whether to repair the freeway or remove it, similar to the debate around I-794 between the Marquette Interchange and the lakefront. 

Many of those on the tour support removing the freeway and replacing it with streets connected to the rest of the grid surrounding Washington Park and the Washington Heights neighborhood.

Robin Palm, a proponent of freeway removal, said he supports a redesign that would consist of two two-lane residential streets, which could also include small-scale retail, such as shops, restaurants and taverns. 

"More neighborhoods, more streets, more homes," Palm said. "It's not very often you have an established neighborhood given an opportunity to expand again."

Palm said such development would generate new property tax dollars for Milwaukee since the freeway is currently state land. Proponents argue the construction of new houses and apartment buildings would also relieve pressure on the housing market. 

There were also people skeptical a redesign would deliver benefits that justify the cost of tearing up a freeway and filling in the land to once again be at-grade. 

Jonathan Rupprecht has been an outspoken opponent of freeway removal. Monday, he repeated such a change would worsen commute times and increase traffic on N. 35th St. and N. Hawley Rd. 

He added he was skeptical development on the land would be as robust as freeway removal proponents suggest.

"It would improve nothing, it'll make things worse and it'll cost hundreds of millions of dollars we don't have," Rupprecht said. "It's a hillside between here and the [Menomonee] river and after that, it's hard to imagine if that were a grade-level boulevard, that there'd be any good place for businesses along there."

State Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee), said he supports freeway removal, in part because it'd pave the way for a new set of bicycle and pedestrian connections between Milwaukee's north and south sides. 

Goyke said the futures of the Stadium Freeway and American Family Field were "hand in glove" issues because the freeway leads right to the ballpark, where it becomes Brewers Boulevard.

Goyke added he would only vote for a stadium funding bill that included support for new development around the park, an issue where local leaders, the team and Republican lawmakers are far from agreement.

"Let's think long-term, where we'll be in 20 years, not just short-term of where we are," Goyke said. "Both deals can be done together and really unlock the potential of this part of town."

At the Larson town hall, which was held at Gordon Park Pavilion in the Riverwest neighborhood, most of the approximately 35 people in attendance opposed the stadium bill currently before the Legislature.

The GOP bill calls for $600 million in public funding while the Brewers would contribute $100 million. $200 million of the taxpayer share would come from the city and county of Milwaukee.

Kevin Kloehn said he didn't necessarily oppose that funding structure, but added he could tell it was unpopular and considered it more of a starting point in an ongoing negotiation.

"It's gonna be somewhere between $200 [million] and zero, probably somewhere between $50 and $100 [million]," Kloehn said. "Just find out what that number is and get it done."

Attendants at a town hall meeting on funding for renovations at American Family Field write their suggestions on post-it notes.

Others in attendance said the current proposal was far from fair. Larson's office displayed large sheets of paper with suggested ways to improve the deal. Attendants could then attach post-it notes to the ideas they supported.

Some of those ideas included giving the public an ownership stake in the team, selling American Family Field to the Brewers, allowing the public to capture all revenue from non-baseball events and implementing a ticket tax.

Nancy Gregory said, as currently proposed, she didn't see nearly enough public benefit to justify $600 million in taxpayer spending.

"I just see the money flowing one-way," she said. "There are people that don't even have the opportunity to go to ballgames, and they would be paying the taxes that the Brewers are asking for."

An Assembly committee will hold a public hearing on the GOP Brewers bill Thursday, starting at 11 a.m. It will be held at State Fair Park. The Assembly could vote on the bill as early as next week, although Larson said neither the Assembly nor Senate currently have enough votes to pass the bill in its current form.

Trevor Fannon, a communications manager for WisDOT, said the state will continue to collect feedback on the Stadium Freeway before eventually releasing a series of design concepts for public review next spring.