City of Delafield - Margaret Zerwekh's neighbors have filed a law suit in Waukesha County Circuit Court challenging a ruling by an administrative law judge that Zerwekh can remove the dam she owns on the Bark River near the corner of Main Street and Mill Road.

The law suit argues that Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Boldt and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources failed to follow state laws and regulations and failed to protect the property rights of the homeowners by issuing a permit that allows Zerwekh to remove the dam.

The neighbors have objected to the dam removal arguing that it will adversly affect the property values of their homes located along the mill pond and deprives the city of a recreational asset.

A lawyer for the Department of Natural Resources predicted the law suit could delay the removal of the dam and the restoration of the Bark River "for months" and that is rare for a circuit court judge to reverse a ruling by an administrative law judge.

City of Delafield - A proposal to add 25,000 square feet to the existing 90,000 square foot Wal Mart on Heritage Drive was referred by the Plan Commission Wednesday night to the Public Works Committee and city planning staff for further review,

Wal Mart representatives told the commission they want to convert the existing store to a Super Wal Mart by providing additional space for a grocery store and modernizing the exterior of the building.

While the architectual plans for the addition to the northeast side of the existing building drew positive reviews from some commission members, the commissioners requested the Public Works Committee review what impact the expansion would have on existing storm water control facilities and traffic patterns. The commission also asked the plan staff to review issues related to proposed new lighting in the parking lot, landscaping, signage, and screening for roof top mechanical equipment.

The proposal will be returned to the Plan Commission for futher consideration, when the staff and the committee complete their reviews, according to Mayor Ed McAleer, chairman of the commission.

City of Delafield - A St. Johns Northwestern Military Academy official notified the city Wednesday night of the academy's future intentions to convert a least a portion of its nine hole golf course into a residential development.

Academy Vice President Kenneth Smits told the Plan Commission that the academy must seek new sources of revenue because of declining enrollment and endowment funds as result of the national economic recession.

Smits said the golf course is no longer part of the academy's long range plans. He said the academy may maintain a portion of the course as a practice facility for its golf team and the public.

Smits did not indicate how soon the academy might be ready to develop a portion of the golf course and he acknowledged existing economic conditions are not favorable for residential development.

However, he said he was appearing at the Plan Commission meeting to ask the city not to change the golf courses existing zoning category which would allow residential development. The plan commission is considering changing the zoning of the golf course to an  institutional category as part of the city's proposed Smart Growth long range land use plan.

City of Delafield - The Common Council is expected to discuss at its March 2 meeting the possibility of creating a Nagawicka Lake Management District which might be formed to help pay for dredging Lake Nagawicka.

Council President Erv Sadowski asked the issue be placed on the next meeting's agenda following a two and half hour public hearing attended by about 130 lake shore residents, most of them protesting proposed special assessments they might have pay to reimburse the city if it dredged six areas of the lake at an estimated cost of about $3.5 million.

Some of the residents suggested the city explore the feasibility of creating a lake district.

City Administrator Tim Schuenke said some research has already been done into the creation of a lake management district based on a request from about a dozen homeowners who live along a mill pond by a privately owned dam in the city.

The home owners want the city to acquire and maintain the dam.

Council members also urged the mayor and city staff to meet with state and federal officials in hopes of securing some funds for dredging from the $787 billion economic stimulus package approved by congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The city has previously sought federal assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but corps officials said they did not have sufficient funds to help pay for the dredging.

City of Delafield - A public hearing regarding proposed special assessments to help pay for Nagawicka Lake dredging is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 at the Delafield Hotel. The meeting time has previously been incorrectly reported as 7 p.m.

City of Delafield - The Lake Welfare Committee has uanimously urged the Common Council to ask voters in the April 7 municipal election to approve up to $7.4 million for Lake Nagawicka dredging even though the city has disqualified the only competitive bid it has received on the project.

 The committee recommendations appears to be contrary to the mood of the Common Council. Four council members have told Lake Country Publications that they will not support calling the referendum because there is no way to accurately estimate the cost of the project without a qualified construction bid.

Committee Chairman Kent Attwell said numerous contractors have told him they did not bid on the project because they were not certain voters would approve the funding. Committee members argued the best way to attract new bids on the project was to win voter approval.

The committee also agreed to add 25 percent to the original estimated $3.5 million cost of the project in order to be sure the city would have sufficient funds to dredge the five areas in the lake if voters approved the referendum.

A public hearing on proposed assessments on lake front properties to pay for the project is scheduled for Monday, Feb 16 and 6 p.m. at the Delafield Hotel. 

City of Delafield - The Common Council is expected to vote Monday to cancel the Nagawicka Lake dredging referendum that was going to be scheduled for April 7.

Four Alderpersons have told the Lake County Publications that they cannot support calling the referendum since the city apparently does not have a qualified bidder to complete the project.

The only bid received Tuesday was for about $5.5 million, about $300,000 higher than the city anticipated, from a Texas frim whose proposal does not appear to meet specifications required by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Mayor Ed McAleer said today he wanted to await a recommendation from the Lake Welfare Committee, which meets tonight, before deciding whether to ask the council to cancel the referendum.

Council President Erv Sadowski said it makes no sense for the city to scheduled the referendum if there is not a qualified bidder for the project. Council members Michelle De Yoe, Beth Leonard and Ron Miskelly said they concurred with Sadowski.

McAleer said the city will continue with its plans for a public hearing Monday night at the Delafield Hotel on whether to specially assess 300 lake shore properties for the cost of the project.

City of Delafield - A Houston Texas firm is the only contractor to submit a bid to city officials for dredging Lake Nagawicka and the company's proposal may not meet bid qualifications and is seeking construction costs about $300,000 higher than city consultants had anticipated.

 Public Works Director Tom Hafner said city consultants have expressed concerns that the bid from Eveready Industrial Services Inc. of Houston, Texas is "non responsive to our requests."

Hafner said the consultants will conduct a detailed review of the bids but are initially concerned that the methodology proposed by the company will not meet Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource requirements for the dredging six locations on the lake.

City officials had anticipated that the construction costs for the project would total about $3.2 million. The bid that was opened this afternoon was for $3,541,810.

City of Delafield - Several businesses at the Walmart Center on Heritage Drive were evacuated for about 90 minutes early Monday morning due to a natural gas leak.

Lt. Chuck Moranchek of the City of Delafield Police Department said there was report of the odor of natural gas at 7:02 a.m. and police and the City of Delafield Fire Department responded to the strip mall off Heritage Drive. WE Energies responded at 7:30 a.m. and at about 8:30 a.m. businesses were allowed to open. The mall, which does not include Walmart, includes such stores as Subway, Petco and Office Max.

City of Delafield - Developers of a proposed 25 acre business park that would be anchored by RedPraire, the global business software company, have asked city officials to postpone a public hearing schedule for February 18th.

"There are still several hurdles that need to be cleared before we can commit the significant dollars required to go through the public meeting process," Robert G. Goehner of Briohn Building Corporation said this morning in an email to City Clerk Gina Gresch.

"We are putting the RedPrairie Technology Park approval process on hold until we conclude our negotiations. We will certainly keep you posted as to project progress and we do look forward to getting this development presented to the public at the appropriate time, Goehner concluded.

Mayor Ed McAleer speculated that the developers may be engaged in negotiations with Waukesha County highway officials regarding the design and costs of improvements that would be needed at the intersection of Highway C and Indian Springs Drive, on the southeast corner of the interchange of Interstate 94 and Highway C.

McAleer said until those negotiations are completed the developers may not be able to prepare traffic impact, fiscal impact, and project design and costs reports necessary for the public hearing that had been scheduled for next month.

A Black Friday shopper was robbed in the parking lot of the Delafield Target at 2553 Sun Valley Drive off Highway 83 around 6 a.m.

The shopper went back inside the store and called police 6:35 a.m. to report that their purse had been taken and they were assaulted in the lot by the suspect, according to Waukesha County Communications, the dispatch center for the City of Delafield. There was no mention of a weapon and officers are calling the incident a strong-arm robbery.

The dispatcher was unable to get a description of the suspect during the call. Police said further details are not available but are encouraging shoppers to keep gifts concealed in the trunks of vehicles.

City of Delafield - The Plan Commission agreed Wednesday night to schedule a public hearing during the first week in December on a proposal to develop a 25 acre commercial office park on the southeast corner of the interchange of Interstate 94 and Highway C that might be anchored by a 120,000 square foot, four story, headquarters for RedPraire, a world wide business computer soft ware company.

The commission's unanimous vote came amidst questions about who would pay for the millions of dollars in public improvements that would be necessary to implement the plans proposed by RP Technology Development Group; Milwaukee and Lake Country area investors including Rob Gerbitz, who has served as chief operating officer for developer Bob Lang, and George B. Erwin III, who has served as Lang's attorney.

Erwin told the commission that the project probably could not completed without the city creating a tax increment financing district which would raise real estate tax dollars that would be used to help pay for the improvements.

Erwin estimated that about $4.5 to $6.5 million in taxpayer dollars would have to be raised depending upon the cost of the improvements which he said might include expanding the Highway C bridge to four lanes and extending sewer service from downtown Delafield across the interstate.

Mayor Ed McAleer, who is also chairman the Plan Commission, said he did know if he could support the tax increment financing proposal until he received more details of the plan and was confident it would provide guarantees that would protect city real estate tax dollars.

McAleer told Erwin to present his tax incentive proposal to the Common Council at its November 17 meeting.

McAleer said he would include in the negotiations with the developers the possiblity of assurances from the Lang that 25 acres he owns adjacent to the proposed office park would be developed for high end residential use.

McAleer said he did not know if some citizens might oppose the  proposal, which might include as many as five office buildings, because they feared it would destory the rural residential charecter of the city.

"I don't know. I guess we might find that out at the public hearing," he said.

McAleer said he wanted the hearing held at the Cushing Elementary School rather than at City Hall in order to accomodate a large crowd.

City Clerk Gina Gresch said she would set the date for the hearing after school officials told her what days in the first week of December were available at the school for the hearing.

City of Delafield - RedPraire Corporation, a $200 million dollar Waukesha based company that produces business computer programs and software, announced its intentions today to build a 120,000 square foot, four story corporate headquarters near the interchange of Highway C and Interstate 94.

The headquarters building which will be able to accommodate about 450 to 500 employees will be one of four buildings included in  a technology park proposed by RP Technology Development Group of Delafield.

"The Delafield location offers the positive qualities of our old location, while adding new features that our employees will enjoy. This includes promixity to Lapham Peak State Park and downtown Delafield," the company said in a new release issued Tuesday morning.

The company presently maintains two offices - one of which is the corporate headquarters - in Waukesha.

According to company officials, RedPrairie generated about $253 million in revenues in 2007 and employees 1,300 employees world wide with 350 based in Wisconsin.

RP Technology Development group includes Rob Gerbitz who has served as chief operating officer for developer Bob Lang and George B Erwin III who has served as Lang's attorney. Other partners inlcude Briohn Building Corporation of Brookfield and Zilber Ltd. of Milwaukee.

Gerbitz said the site includes 25 acres of land that Lang is selling to RP Technology Development group. Lang owns about fifty acres of land located south of the interchange.

Lang was unsuccessfull in his efforts about three years ago to develop a large multi use residential and commercial development on about 80 acres of land near the interchange.

City of Delafield - Four term Seventh District Alderman Ron Miskelley has announced he will not seek reelection to the Common Council in 2009.

Miskelley says he will be retiring in 2010 as a merchandising executive with Briggs & Stratton and his life "will be moving in a new direction."

He was elected to the council in 1999 and served two terms before deciding not to seek reelection in 2003. He was elected again in 2005 and 2007 to the district located on the city's northwest side.

He made an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2002.

In addition to his service to city, he has also served on the boards of directors of the Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital and Pro Health Care. He was chairman of the Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital board of directors for four years.

Prior to moving to Wisconsin, he was also active in school and youth activities in Michigan.

"I think it is time to give someone else a chance to serve their community," he added. 

City of Delafield - A well-know doctor at Rogers Memorial Hospital and a Madison Builder are proposing to construct 72 units of studio and one and two bed room apartments in downtown Delafield, next to City Hall.

Mayor Ed McAleer and City Planner Roger Dupler have each listed several land use and zoning code issues that must be resolved before the city considers approving the project.

Dr. Theodore Weltzin and Joe McCormick of Madison said they have purchased about 15 acres of land south and east of City Hall and are planning to build two, three story buildings with 72 apartment units and some commercial office space on an approximately three to four acre parcel of the land.

However, Dupler said the proposal does not meet some city zoning requirements.

Alderwoman Beth Leonard, a member of the Plan Commission, also noted that the proposal includes extending Oneida Street to connect with Genesee Street in downtown Delafield.

The Common Council has concurred with a recommendation from the Public Works Committee that theOneida Street should not be extended and connected to Genesee Street for residential development.

McAleer said he wants the developers to submit plans indicating how they would propose to develop in the future the remaining approximately 11 acres of land they own near the apartment building site.

McCormick said he anticipates responding to some to the issues raised by city planners during a Plan Commission meeting next month.

He says that the unique charector of downtown Delafield would be attractive to apartment dwellers who would be interested in living in environment where there are many amenities and services within walking district.

He said the tenants would provide new customers for downtown retail and service businesses.

Paul Mueller, chief operating officer of the hospital, said there is a need in the region for temporary housing for patients, medical personnel and other employees who visit the hospital and participate in alcohol, drug abuse and eating disorder treatment programs.

Mueller, however, emphasized no agreements have been reached between the hospital located in the Town of Summit and the developers regarding leasing apartment space.

Weltzin has served as medical director and a national spokesperson for the hospital's eating disorders program which have often been recognized by national news media.

City of Delafield - City officials say they have not yet been served with a copy of the lawsuit that former City Administrator Matt Carlson filed in federal court Thursday alledging that five common council members "willfully and maliciously" violated his civil rights when they conspired to have him fired in November of 2007.

Carlson's lawyer argued in an 11 page complaint that the Common Council breached his contract with the city when the council voted 5 to 2 to fire him.

Attorney Debra Slater asserted Carlson could not fired unless the council filed a formal complaint and conducted a due process hearing that determined he could be fire for cause as determined by state law.

Mayor Ed McAleer, who was elected after Carlson had been fired, said he could not comment on the law suit until he and lawyers for the city had a chance to review it. City Clerk Gina Gresch said this morning the city had not been served with a copy of the lawsuit.

However, other city officials have previously said that city labor lawyers advised the council that they could fire Carlson provided they paid him a severance package that included compensation equal to 12 months salary and accrued benefits.

According to Carlson's job performance evaluations, five council members voted to fire him because of the way he handled a number of issues, including an unsuccessful $20 million referendum for new downtown government office buildings, during 2007. The council approved later in 2007 a compensation package of more than $90,000 for Carlson.

In the lawsuit, Carlson asserts he was fired because of political motivations of each of the five alderpersons.

Alderpersons Michele De Yoe, Jeff Krickhahn, Beth Leonard, Gerald MacDougall and Erv Sadowski were named as defendents in the law suit.

Alderpersons Ron Miskelley, Lynn Morrisson and former Mayor Phil Schuman were not named in the law suit.

The firing of Carlson was an issue in a municipal election campaign in April where incumbents council members DeYoe and Leonard were reelected while Schuman was defeated by McAleer who captured about 70 percent of the votes.

City of Delafield - Gagliano's Market may close their doors as early as this week, store employess are telling customers.

Late last week it was reported that ISB Community Bank of Ixonia had taken over operations of Gagliano's Market, and bank officials intended to operate it as a grocery store until a buyer could be found. 

Jeffery P. Knudtson, president of the bank, said he had no comment on whether the grocery store would be closing this week.  He said they were trying to figure out a long-term plan, and that it was too early to tell whether the store will stay open or if it will close. 

City of Delafield - The Common Council unanimously approved Monday night the sale of $8.9 million in bonds most of which will pay for the construction of the first phase of a new downtown local government complex.

City Financial Advisor Philip Cosson of Ehlers said interest costs on the loan will be about $275,000 less than anticipated.

He emphasized that the reduced interest costs do not represent a revenue windfall for the city but rather a reduction of the amount of taxes expected to be required to pay off the loan over 20 years.

Cosson said interest payments will be lower than anticipated because of the size of the bond issuance, fluxuations within the bond market, and the city's strong bond rating; all of which attracted national as well as regional financial insititutions bidding for the bonds.

FTN Financial Capital Markets of Memphis Tennessee offered the lowest bid package with interest rates at about 4.1 percent and net interest cost of $4,926,362.

Moody's Investors Service assigned the city as Aa3 bond rating which it said "reflects the city's continued healty financial performance, affluent and growing tax base favorable located between Milwaukee and Madison, and a manageable debt profile despite additional borrowing."

The city will use $7.2 million of the money to construct next year a new public safety building for police and fire departments and remodel the Department of Public Works Garage on West Main Street.

Another $5.2 will borrowed in late 2009 to build a new city hall and library civic center at the existing City Hall site on Genesee Street. The $12.4 million in capital projects was approved by voters earlier this year.

The remaining $1.7million will be used on various capital improvement projects such as the annual street resurfacing program and the purchase of heavy equipment.

The city's total outstanding general obligation debt is $18.6 million, according to Moody's.

City of Delafield - "I am very happy to be back in Wisconsin. I am tired of the Cubs and the Bears."

Said like a true Cheesehead, Timothy Schuenke, a native of Lake Mills, returned to his Wisconsin roots Thursday night when he accepted an appointment as administrator for the City of Delafield.

Schuenke, 57, took advantage of an early retirement incentive plan offered by the City of Park Ridge, Illinois and resigned as city manager in February.

In his letter of resignation, he said one of his life's goals was to finish his local government career in Wisconsin where he wanted to retire.

Schuenke began his career about 30 years working for his home town and also the City of Jefferson before he moved to Illinois.

His wife Peggy and son Matt were in attendance during Thursday night's special session of the Common Council where his $93,500 a year contract was approved.

He was among more than 40 candidates who applied for the position that became vacant when former administrator Matt Carlson was fired late last year.

He was among the seven finalists, including other Illinois municipal government administrators, who were interviewed for the posts on July 13 and 14.

The day before his interview with the Common Council, he was received a life time achievement award from the Illinois City/County Management Association.

All of the members of the Schuenke family are employed in municipal government. Matt Schuenke is an administrative assistant for the the Village of Whitefish Bay and Peggy Schuenke is a communication coordinator for the Village of Western Springs in Illinois.

Village of Nashotah - The elected chief executives of three communities said Tuesday night that they were confident they could agree on a formula for funding a consolidated Lake Country Fire Department.

"I think we can find a formula that we can agree on," said Chenequa Village President Bryce Styza.

"I agree," added Nashotah Village President Richard Lartz.

Delafield Mayor Ed McAleer concurred with his two colleagues that a nine member committee studying consolidation may be able to agree on how to share the cost of the consolidated department, an issue that some local officials believed was the committee's biggest obstacle.

The City of Delafield, the Village of Chenequa and the Village of Nashotah are each represented by three members on the committee including the elected chief executives.

The committee was appointed by the three communities to determine if it is feasible to merge the City of Delafield Fire Department with the Lake Country Department which serves Chenequa and Nashotah.

Various cost calculations reviewed by the committee during a more than hour two meeting Tuesday night indicated that a consolidated department could save or increase each communities' fire department budget by similar amounts, depending upon which formula was used to calculate the cost.

"We could have sat here tonight and saw formulas that were way out of balance for one community or another and we would have had to throw up our hands and said this isn't going to work. But, that is not what happened," added Lartz.

The committee scheduled another meeting for next month to continue reviewing funding alternatives as well address other issues that need to be resolved if the department is going to be consolidated.