Inside New Berlin

The voter polling places for Aldermanic District #3 and 4 have been changed.

Recently, the New Berlin Common Council approved changing those polling places from government facilities to church sites!

Apparently, New Berlin Fire Station #5 in Aldermanic District #3 was not working out well as a poll site because of drafty conditions, doors opening & closing, diesel fumes, traffic problems, etc. That District polling place has been changed to World Harvest Church (formerly Calhoun School) at 1500 S. West Lane.

Voters in Aldermanic District #4 won’t be able to continue using New Berlin Center School as a polling place, because the New Berlin School Board decided to raze that school for an athletic field. Their poll place has been changed to Peace Lutheran Church at 17651 W. Small Rd.

The City Clerk assured me that she tried very hard to find suitable polling places. Evidently, lack of accessibility for voters (particularly elderly or handicapped voters), minimal parking at some sites, or facility manager refusals (citing security or other concerns) left few viable choices.

I was surprised to learn from the City Clerk, that the new, costly Reagan School, which is adjacent to New Berlin Center School, is not suitable as a polling place due to minimal parking and lack of accessibility for elderly and disabled voters.

Although it’s wonderful that World Harvest Church and Peace Lutheran Church are being so welcoming and civic-minded, using churches as polling places is a significant change in New Berlin.
It raises some questions and concerns.........

Some people may not feel comfortable casting votes for political offices/ issues in church facilities.
Some may object on separation of church and state grounds.
For them, the absentee ballot option?

What about snowplowing? Who is going to coordinate that and ensure that these church locations are accessible on election days?

The churches are private, not public property. What about liability?

What prevents the churches from advertising their church or promoting their religious views at the church site ( signs, flyers, or whatever ) when people are voting?

Why couldn’t government-owned facilities like Prospect Hill School or the New Berlin library be used as poll places?

Instead of getting himself all worked up, Matt Thomas should reread my last blog.

At the very beginning of my last blog I stated that “a little bird told me”.
In other words the information is hearsay!
I did not identify the person(s). Thomas can guess away if he wants.

I did not convey I had investigated the information provided--only that I had been told it.

In fact, because of not knowing whether the information told me was accurate or not,
I specifically stated in the blog “If all the information is correct”.
Thomas must have missed or chose to disregard that significant word “If”

My dictionary defines if: in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that; uncertain possibility; a condition, requirement, or stipulation.

I hope Thomas isn't suggesting that I am supposed to investigate information about the finalists. I thought that was the School Board's job. I suppose I could do some research about the current North Lake Superintendent and his School District and post it on one of my future blogs ---if the School Board announces that he is their choice --since Thomas is so upset.

But let’s get back to the REALLY IMPORTANT issue: Who is going to be the next NBPS Superintendent?
Thomas doesn’t say.
If I was a gambler, I’d put my money on the North Lake Superintendent getting the job.

Oh, and North Lake IS looking for a Superintendent. North Lake, Oregon. Interesting coincidence. And the OREGON link IS posted right there in my blog for all to read.

A little birdie told me------
Some New Berlin School Board members were at North Lake School District Friday. Why? New Berlin Public Schools Superintendent James Benfield retires in June.
The current North Lake Superintendent will be the next New Berlin Public Schools Superintendent.
He does not plan to move to New Berlin. The New Berlin School Board will waive the residency requirement.

The North Lake School District Board of Directors has already starting searching for a new Superintendent. click here.

More: CommunityNow online news article.

If all that information is correct---

Then, consider this:

Compare the North Lake one-school, K-8 school district with the New Berlin School District, which has five K-6 elementary schools and two grade 7-12 secondary schools.
Over 4,000 students are enrolled in New Berlin Public Schools. The North Lake web site states its district serves 225 students. Quite a difference.

This Superintendent finalist does not plan to move to our community. Therefore, he won’t be paying New Berlin school/municipal taxes. He has only a few years Superintendent experience.
--Unlike our current Superintendent, who lives in New Berlin and has been paying New Berlin property taxes.

The DNR scheduled a public informational hearing re: the Ronald Reagan Elementary School for October 27, 2005. It was held at Eisenhower High School.
None of the New Berlin School Board members attended it.

On October 31, 2005, then-School Board Vice- President Matt Weiss sent the DNR an e-mail ( a public record), which states, “ Our school administrators, school board, architect, and construction manager have made it clear from the beginning that they fully intend to be sensitive to environmental issues as they affect the construction of the new elementary school, especially as they affect the wetlands and possible existence of threatened species.”
In the remainder of his e-mail, Weiss attacked the citizen who had requested the hearing.

What a sham!
“intend to be sensitive to environmental issues” !?!
Yeah, right.
Permits were issued. The Reagan School construction began in November 2005
--- and a few months later, City engineers and DNR inspectors were reporting environmental regulations/laws/permit violations occurring at the project site. There were pond breeches, failure to do required erosion control and other issues. Trucks were even reportedly sinking 6 feet deep in the mud.
The DNR served New Berlin Public Schools with a Notice of Violations/Notice of Claim alleging multiple violations. Recently, the state/DNR issued citations to New Berlin Public Schools and the contractor.

Not only was there mismanagement of the Reagan School project and deficient Board/administrative oversight, but it seems our “sensitive” School Board VP/ now President-- who had pushed for the Reagan School-- was too busy to attend the DNR’s informational hearing about environmental issues, but not too busy to issue bogus assurances of sensitivity or to denigrate one of his own constituents who had expressed concerns.

* For more on those subjects, scroll down to my other January blog entries with these headings:
State Issues Multiple Charges Against New Berlin Public Schools and Contractor

Citizens More Right Than School Board

The New Berlin School Board blasted citizens who were concerned about the district’s and the builder’s lack of concern for the environment, regulations, and wildlife, including endangered species. The fact that the state and DNR have brought charges against the New Berlin School District and VJS Construction Services, Inc. (the contractor hired by NBPS) vindicates local citizens.

Those local citizens were right to put pressure on the school district by requesting hearings. Even with that pressure, the district and builder have been accused of wrongdoing by the DNR. The citizens were right not to trust the district in this.

The DNR’s public notice in the April 18, 2005 New Berlin Citizen newspaper communicated that the public could request a hearing on the Ronald Reagan Elementary School construction project.

In an October 4, 2005 letter, the DNR notified the school district that it had “scheduled a public informational hearing” for the proposed Ronald Reagan School on October 27. The DNR letter also states: “Because your project is in or connected to public waters held in trust by the state for all citizens, state law provides an opportunity for public input to the Department’s decision. The hearing is a time for gathering additional facts to help gauge possible impacts of the proposed project on fish and wildlife or their habitat, natural scenic beauty, surface water use and similar features of the lake or stream. The hearing is being held because a request for a public informational hearing was made by a citizen representing the Prospect Hill Independent Parent’s Association. The hearing is informational only.”

But the School Board did not want that opportunity for public input or scrutiny of the Reagan School project. Acting outraged that they had to hold such a hearing, the School Board turned its own October 10, 2005 Board Meeting into a shameful attack session against the Prospect Hill Independent Parents Association (PHIPA) leader/parent. Referring to him by name many times, they talked about him and to him--- but refused to let him respond to their remarks or to defend himself at the meeting. Additionally, Board Clerk Keith Heun has depicted the request for the informational hearing as a “complaint”.

Not only did School Board members and the Superintendent characterize the PHIPA leader as an obstructionist and in other negative ways, then-President Jennifer Eitel had the audacity to suggest the district’s lawyer be consulted about suing the guy. Imagine-- threatening to sue a taxpaying constituent for exercising his legal right to request an informational hearing!
You can get a tape of the meeting by contacting the District Office.
I have a tape, too.

The Board members’ attacks against citizens are part of their scorched earth policy with critics or even those who question their actions. We’ve seen how grotesque and destructive this approach to public discourse has been on the national scale, with the White House’s pattern of disinformation and personal attacks---there is no reason we should be tolerating that from officials here, especially since the critics have been proven right yet again.

Concerned about Global Warming?

The Waukesha County Environmental Action League (WEAL) strives to provide up-to-date information on environmental issues to the general public and officials.
WEAL recently communicated an invitation issued by The Ecology Association of New Berlin to attend a symposium, titled Global Warming and What We Can Do About It.
It conveys:

The symposium is scheduled for today---Tuesday, January 16
at 7 pm at the New Berlin Public Library .

The symposium is free and pre-registration is not required.

It will feature Dale Olen, Ph.D., an ecopsychologist.

The announcement also says:
* The earth is warming rapidly. More extreme climate events are already occurring, seawater levels will rise, deserts will grow, forests will shrink, and many living species will become extinct.
* In this presentation, Dale Olen will explain the process of global warming and how humans have accelerated it. He will discuss the environmental, human health, and economic impacts of this serious threat, and then share the hopeful technologies and policy directions needed to fix the problem.
*He will also offer suggestions about what individuals can do now to reduce the human impact on climate.

On April 3, 2006, a Notice of Violation/Notice of Claim was served on the New Berlin School District by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. An enforcement meeting was held the next day.

The DNR alleged that some of its officials observed violations in fish habitat and storm water regulations and permits at the Ronald Reagan Elementary School site during a March 23, 2006 site inspection.

Here’s an enforcement update:

On January 8, 2007, a warden informed me that he had issued multiple citations to New Berlin Public Schools last week re: the Reagan School project. He said the school district would probably be entering its plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest to the charges in mid- February. According to the warden, the District could be fined $10-$13,723 for each storm water violation-- and per day of each violation-- and between $0-$753 for each Chapter 30 permit violation.

In September, six citations were issued to VJS Construction Services, Inc., the company hired by New Berlin Public Schools for the Reagan School construction project and erosion control. See Wisconsin Court Access web site.

Because the New Berlin School District kept mum about the Notice of Violations/Claim, I brought it up publicly in my privilege-of-the-floor speech at the April 24 School Board Meeting.

You may remember Board President Matt Weiss’ dismissive response reported in the April 27 New Berlin Citizen newspaper--- “ ‘I won’t even listen to her,’ he said. This is a complicated building project. There are bound to be some bumps along the way.’ He said the district has hired reputable engineering and construction firms to do the job, and said he was not interested in micro-managing the project.”

In other words, the leader of the School Board says he won’t even listen to a constituent who addresses the School Board; he shrugs off and makes excuses for non-compliance with laws and regulations; and he rejects accountability and responsibility.

Fact is, New Berlin Public Schools and VJS are both being charged with multiple violations.
Those violations of Wisconsin Statute chapter 30, permits, and storm water regulations alleged by the DNR, happened on the watch of Schools Superintendent James Benfield and School Board officials Matt Weiss, Matt Thomas, Keith Heun, Jennifer Eitel, Marc Duff, Susan Manley and Art Marquardt.

Roundy’s (Pick 'n Save) plans to buy 5 Jewel stores this month, including the Jewel-Osco store at 13995 W. National Avenue in New Berlin. That will probably surprise many New Berlin residents.

A New Berlin Pick ’n Save store already exists nearby at 15445 W. National Ave.

So, what will Roundy’s do with those two stores? Consolidate them? Operate both? Close one?
Guess, we’ll have to wait and see.
See business news article: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Once upon a time, there was a Kohl’s Food Store in our city.
It closed after Pick ’n Save came.
Apparently, we will soon be losing our Jewel-Osco Store.
What a shame.

Acquiring the competitor's stores may be good for a business, but local shoppers may come to miss Jewel’s variety of goods---and the competitive pricing.

Gotta love those UW Badgers!

The University of Wisconsin football team's 17-14 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks on New Year‘s Day marked the second year in a row that the Badgers beat a Southeastern Conference opponent at the Capitol One Bowl.

It was also the 12th game the Badgers won this season. Their only loss was at Michigan.

Impressive.

On New Year’s Day, football reigns. It was football, football, football at our house. Friends and family---including our oldest son, who is a UW grad, and four of his UW alumni buddies--- gathered at our place to watch the nationally televised Capitol One Bowl game. All of us rooted for the Badgers and were happy they won.

We are looking forward to the Badgers’ 2007 season.

On New Years Day, it was reported that the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq had reached 3,000. One article I read also mentioned that 93 American soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq, and more than 20,000 have been wounded.

That was sobering news, indeed.

And, according to The New York Times-------
“The service members who died during this latest period fit an unchanging profile. They were mostly white men from rural areas, soldiers so young they still held fresh memories of high school football heroics and teenage escapades. Many men and women were in Iraq for the second or third time. Some were going on their fourth, fifth or sixth deployment.”