School of Freshwater Sciences should stimulate revitalization

The Journal Sentinel editorial board continues to shill for locating the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences on prime Lake Michigan shoreline between Discovery World and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

By equating support for the Lake Michigan site with support for the research facility the editorial board is misrepresenting this important locational discussion.

At the Board of Harbor Commissioners public hearing opponents of the former Pieces of Eight location (who numbered supporters by more than 2 to 1) were clear that they supported UWM's effort to establish a School of Freshwater Sciences. Their opposition was to locating the proposed 50 thousand square foot building on prime lakefront property.

Alderman Tony Zielinski was particularly eloquent in suggesting that UWM and the Commission be more strategic in their location of the new school, urging that the investment be used to help revitalize a less pristine waterfront area south of downtown.

Proponents of the Pieces of Eight site like Badger Meter Honcho Rich Meeussen argue that other cities closely tied to a specific industry all boast bricks-and-mortar structures to denote their status. He told a meeting of area business executives that Paris has the Louvre Museum as the centerpiece for art, New York City has the Broadway theater district as the focus of its theater business and Nashville can point to the Grand Ole Opry as the home of country music.

There are more than a few problems with this position.

Milwaukee's identity is not defined by ties to water companies as Meeusen argues. Our commercial identity remains more closely associated with beer, Harley Davidson motorcycles, advanced manufacturing and our now defunct hometown airline. Our city's baseball team is not named the Badger Meters or even the Lake Perch, but the Brewers!

Following Meeusen's logic we would absurdly urge MillerCoors or at least one of our signature microbreweries to relocate to the lakefront.

Meeusen's proposition that the community lacks a signature building is also dead wrong. The Art Museaum designed by the internationally renowned Santiago Calatrava is that signature building. It provides Milwaukee with a soaring aesthetic identity that promotes both the city and Lake Michgan. Locating a 50,000 square foot building near it would, as others have pointed out, detract from its unique relationship to the lake, sky and shore.

Meeusen has been honest that he wants the prime lakefront property location to hawk his firm's meters to out of town corporate clients. What better site than Milwaukee's lakefront with the signature Calatrava as background?

But that ignores two crucial questions. First, should the lakefront be devoted to marketing a private firm's products? The answer is obviously no which is why Meeusen has tied his wagon to the public mission of the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences.

But that raises the second question-does UWM need a 50,000 square foot building if its goal is to conduct fresh water research and graduate education. The answer is a resounding no. That's why half the facility is designed for water product displays.

Meeusen dubious goal is to use the state's bonding authority to subsidize the sale of his firm's merchandise. Public use and control of lakefront property should not be sacrificed for that narrow private objective. Nor should the public's bonding authority be devoted to boast Badger Meter's share price.

Support for a School of Freshwater Sciences does not dictate support for the former Pieces of Eight property. The question the public needs to ask and UWM needs to respond to is where will Milwaukee get the biggest bang for its School of Freshwater Sciences investment buck?

Twice in recent years the City has allowed narrow business interests to dictate public investments that undermined their catalytic economic impact. Miller Park was built in a isolated concrete jungle off I-94 rather than downtown. Other cities like Cleveland and Baltimore more wisely located new stadiums downtown to capture the ancillary economic benefits. More recently UWM made the decision to locate its new engineering building in Wawautosa minimizing the regional economic development benefits of this investment.

Once again the community has the opportunity to maximize the economic gains from a public investment. The School of Freshwater Sciences should not be located on prime lakefront property that already has two signature developments. It should be built on a river or lakefront location where it will stimulate community revitalization and commercial activity as it pursues its important mission of educating a new generation of freshwater scientists and engages in freshwater research.

The story behind Carlos Santiago's decision

The Miami Herald's coverage of UWM's Carlos Santiago's unsuccessful candidacy for the presidency of Florida International University (FIU) could not have been more different than the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's.

When Santiago pulled his candidacy at the last minute, the Journal Sentinel breathed a sigh of relief, quoting local opinion makers as being "shocked" and "thrilled" that Santiago would not be leaving UWM.

Milwaukee's Mayor Tom Barrett even suggested that Santiago's commitment to Milwaukee was the determining factor: "At the end of the day, it wasn't a situation where I thought he wanted to leave."

The Journal Sentinel ends its coverage with a transparent call to sweeten Santiago's $300,000 contract by Jean Dowdall, vice president with the executive search firm Witt/Kiefer that had recruited Santiago for FIU.

The Miami Herald had a very different take on Santiago's candidacy reporting that: "FIU failed to attract truly powerhouse candidates," and that Santiago's abrupt withdrawal had less to do with a commitment to Milwaukee and UWM and everything to do with the fact that:
"He had his name removed from consideration ...after it became evident that he did not have enough votes to get the job."

Mayor endorses downtown location for UWM engineering campus

Has Milwaukee's Mayor Barrett decided that downtown Milwaukee is a better location for UWM's new engineering campus than the County Research Park in Wauwatosa?

It appears that might be the case.

In a December 18th article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Larry Standler reported that the Mayor's stimulus proposal included: "$15 million to help the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee develop its new School of Freshwater Science and downtown engineering campus."

According to one City Hall insider, the Mayor has concluded that the new campus should be built in downtown Milwaukee.

Whether this is a bargaining chip aimed at getting the County to reduce its price or a recognition that a downtown location maximizes the investments economic development potential in a more student friendly location, it is welcome news.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has editorialized several times in favor of the County Research Park in Wauwatosa and buried the story when the Milwaukee Common Council endorsed a downtown location.

The paper claims there is a fire wall between the editorial page and the newsroom. If so, one would think that the Mayor's change of heart on the engineering campus's location would be worthy of coverage.

UWM breaks promises to east side neighborhoods

For several years east side community residents have been meeting with top UWM officials in an effort to address the escalating student behavior problems associated with the University's rapid and uncontrolled growth. While the University’s administration has repeatedly promised to work with the neighborhoods, its record increases in enrollment have undermined those commitments. As a result, neighborhood problems have intensified and the quality of life in the residential areas has deteriorated:

*The neighborhoods adjacent to the University are the only ones in the city that have experienced an increase in absentee landlords.

*Vandalism and violent student behavior have increased as the number of student party houses has soared.

*As families have been moved out in response to aberrant and unacceptable student behavior, stable residential neighborhoods have become transient and assaults and vandalism have increased.

*Property destruction by students who have no commitment to the neighborhood has increased and in some areas the housing stock has deteriorated.

In meetings with leaders of four neighborhood organizations and state elected officials two years ago, Chancellor Carlos Santiago and Provost Rita Cheng stated unequivocally that UWM recognized the problem of being a landlocked campus with increasing enrollment. Even before its recent record enrollment increases, UWM with 331 students per acre was far denser than any other University of Wisconsin campus. Its closest rival was UW Lacrosse at only 76 students per acre. Santiago and Cheng promised that enrollment increases would be modest and come only from increased retention.

Today’s MJ Sentinel article suggests that the University's top administrators have not kept their promise to the community.

UWM has experienced record enrollment increases in at least the last two years and led the entire UW system this year.

The University has not negotiated with its eastside neighbors in good faith and has ignored the neighborhood’s concerns.

It is apparent that the University's leadership thinks it can pacify east side residents and elected officials with promises and police patrols (which divert anti-crime resources from more problematic areas of Milwaukee), while exacerbating the problem by recruiting more and more students to its landlocked east side campus.

The University's failure to keep its promises to the residents of the east side residential neighborhoods cannot be tolerated.

If UWM wants, as it claims, to be a neighborhood partner, it needs to cap its east side enrollment, abandon plans to purchase Columbia Hospital and convert it to a dorm, and support the community's effort to expand Chapter 17, the University disciplinary code so that it covers off campus behavior.

A failure by the University’s leadership to respond responsibly to these legitimate neighborhood concerns will lead to increased tensions between UWM and the neighborhood residents whose taxes support it.