Gateway to Milwaukee

3rd August 2009

Part of our climate changes has resulted in locally heavy rainfalls that have caused flooding in areas outside of documented flood plains.  One such area is along 13th ST north of College AV and along Ramsey AV north of Maitland Park, where severe flooding has damaged residences, apartments and businesses in the area, to the point of one business closing and another moving out of the City of Milwaukee.  The flooding also created potential safety hazards with the water itself plus it blocked the passage of safety vehicles in the area.

Maitland Park is a small Milwaukee County park bordered by I-94, Ramsey AV, 13th St and a small residential area north of College AV. It currently has a children’s play area and two sidewalks going through it, with limited parking available only along 3 of its borders.  Some years ago the County considered using it as a future site for a water park, but it currently is lightly used and is relatively unknown outside the immediate area.  Through the park runs Oak Creek, which originates about one mile northwest of Maitland Park and then flows through much of the city of Oak Creek, into Grant Park and then Lake Michigan.

A partial solution to curbing flooding in the 13th & College area would be the creation of a detention basin along the west side of Oak Creek in Maitland Park.  Water could flow into the basin during heavy rains, which would help alleviate the build-up of water where the floods have occurred downstream.  After the rains, water would flow back into Oak Creek to continue in its normal flowage pattern.  In the interim periods between heavy rains, the basin would be a grass-covered area just as it is now, although it would be several feet lower.  Users of Maitland Park would continue to have access as they currently do about 99% of the time.

The City of Milwaukee, Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District and WI Department of Transportation have agreed to create the detention basin next year in the Milwaukee County park, at no additional cost to the taxpayers.  Funding for the effort is available as part of the I-94 NS Reconstruction project and WisDOT will either create the basin or put up sound barrier walls along the west side of Maitland Park -  but not do both.  It needs a decision for planning purposes by the end of September.

The surge basin would not cost Milwaukee County any money either, but the County has taken a position of wanting to be paid money for work being done in its park -  reportedly $ 2 million. The irony is that the potential sources of such payment are other government entities.  So currently the decision to move forward is on hold while government entities, all of whom are funded by taxpayers, negotiate among themselves over which entity will keep $2 million, if such a sum is even available.  Some of these taxpayers have already been hurt financially by the flooding that can be alleviated in the future.

With the current economy and hopes for growth in the future, collaboration among governments, businesses and citizens will be critical for greater Milwaukee to be a competitive and attractive area for economic growth.  The partial solution to the flooding around Maitland Park -  more work will also be needed downstream and the DNR will need to be involved -  is a resonable and funded task that ultimately will only occasionally cause current users of the park to not use the sidewalks for a few days.  This situation calls for Milwaukee County to allow the work to be done, which will benefit taxpayers who have already suffered financially from prior flooding.  Understandably Milwaukee County and its Parks System would like some money as it battles its financial crises.  But requiring a payment of money to allow work to be done on its property for this probject demonstrates a lack of collaboration to help solve a problem that harms its taxpayers, be they owners or renters.  Its time for the County to move toward the greater good for people and businesses in the area.