Milwaukee Parks and Cultural Committee hears new proposal for Mitchell Park Domes

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Mitchell Park Domes have been a staple in Milwaukee for more than six decades, however, the cost of maintenance might be their swan song.

"I think these numbers, in the tens of millions of dollars, are just -- we don’t have the money, we absolutely do not have the money," said Sheldon Wasserman, chairman of the Parks and Culture Committee.

Tuesday, Aug. 12, members of the Milwaukee Parks and Cultural Committee pushed back on the proposed rescue plan for the Mitchell Park Domes.

The plan was presented by the Milwaukee County Parks Department.

The Parks and Cultural Committee said the park's multimillion-dollar plans are simply not feasible.

"The long-term maintenance costs are going to be huge."

The Parks Department presented a nearly 40-page PowerPoint to the committee, backing the domes' sustainability with hopes of preserving what has become a crown jewel of Milwaukee's skyline.

"It's one of those things that if you don’t get the funding to do something, it's going to continue to deteriorate," said Executive Director of Milwaukee County Parks Guy Smith.

Smith, joined by his deputy director Jim Tarantino, laid out the rescue proposal, drafted by an outside consultation group, Concord.

The consulting group proposed four options to make the domes financially sustainable: one, demolish all three of the domes; two, repair the three domes; three, rebuild all three; or four, restore one of the domes and build a new conservancy -- all of these solutions coming with a multimillion-dollar price tag.

"It's shocking, to say the least," said District 12 County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez.

Martinez said those dollars should be allocated to other avenues in the park.

"We need to reinvigorate a sense of pride in our community, and we do that through the parks, and Mitchell Parks is one of those," said Martinez.

At the end of Tuesday's meeting, Chairman Sheldon Wasserman told the committee this is a choice best left to those who call Milwaukee home.

"Let the public make the decision and have a binding referendum that includes cost, includes options, and let the public decide," said Wasserman.