Fox Point Moves to Demolish Footbridge

After years of debate, the Village Board is seeking bids for the removal of the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, although a private effort will continue to raise funds for a new bridge.

Footbridge Foe Calls for $12.5K Survey of Taxpayers

In a letter to the Village Board, a new taxpayers group requests $12,500 to survey all Fox Point residents about the use of taxpayer money for the Bridge Lane footbridge project.

A newly-formed Fox Point Taxpayers Alliance is requesting $12,500 from the Village Board to survey all Fox Point taxpayers about the use of taxpayer money for the Bridge Lane footbridge project. Larry Booth, a longtime opponent of the footbridge who serves as the president of the new group, said the Taxpayers Alliance deserves access to village funds, just as the Footbridge Friends received $30,000 to start its $625,000 fundraising campaign. Booth said the majority of residents are not aware of the cost of the footbridge project. In a letter to the board, Booth said trustees should give equal credence to villagers who do not support the footbridge project. "Therefore, in the interest of fairness, citizen participation and the obligation of…

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Footbridge Fundraiser Falls Short of Goal

Because the group only raised one-third of the required funds, Fox Point trustees are wondering whether they should extend the fundraising deadline or put an end to the project.

The Bridge Lane Ravine footbridge project is in jeopardy, after supporters only raised one-third of the money required.  The Fox Point Village Board must now decide what to do. Options include extending the fundraising deadline, giving supporters another chance to raise $600,000 toward the $1.2 million project, paying for the repairs with municipal funds or removing the bridge connecting Barnett and Bridge lanes.  In April, the Village Board lent $30,000 to Footbridge Friends so they could lead a fundraising campaign to raise $625,000, half the anticipated project cost. The resolution said the board could reconsider the project if Footbridge Friends failed to meet its fundraising goal by Jan. 31. At a Tuesday night board meeting attended …

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Bob Cory

1:03 pm on Monday, February 25, 2013

You are absolutely correct! Where is the village voice?   more ›

Fox Point Taxes Up Slightly as Board OKs $6.9 Million Budget

An extra $525,000 was also inserted into 2013 budget for the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge project, brining the village's total budget for the bridge to $1.6 million.

Fox Point taxpayers are going to see a bump in the village portion of their property tax bills next month. The Village Board Thursday approved a $6.9 million budget for 2013 by a 6-1 vote, with Trustee Douglas H. Frazer casting the lone "no" vote. The $6.93 million budget for 2013 is up 1.7 percent from last year's $6.82 million budget. The board also voted to increase the property tax levy to $6.99 million, up 0.5 percent from last year's $6.95 million levy. But Frazer said increasing the levy to cover expenditures that aren't in the budget isn't the right move. Rather than raising taxes for expenses that aren't budgeted, he would have preferred a lower levy. "I think we missed an opportunity because we have the ability to adopt and …

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Fox Point Board to Consider Footbridge Survey Tuesday

After many residents have expressed strong feelings, both for and against, work on the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, the Village Board will talk about including a survey in the Fall Village Newsletter.

The Fox Point Footbridge saga continues Monday when the Village Board will chat about possibly including a survey in the fall, village-wide newsletter.  The Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge connects Bridge Lane and Barnett Lane, spanning a deep ravine, and that bridge has been closed since October 2010.  Residents Larry Booth and Bob Cory have asked the board repeatedly to consider posing a referendum question on election ballots to gauge the level of support for taxpayer money funding the project. Both men are not in favor of building a new bridge, as Booth called it "The $1.1 Million Bridge to Nowhere" in one of his Letter's to the Editor.  "We need this to be on an informational flier to all residents (like the crime report sent out) and…

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Sarah Worthman

9:45 pm on Sunday, September 9, 2012

Thanks for your comments everyone. Will any of you be attending the meeting Tuesday?   more ›

Fox Point Village Board Holding Special Footbridge Meeting Monday

The board will potentially vote on providing the initial funding for the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, a hot topic in Fox Point that's garnered much support for each option - repairing, replacing and removing.

The Fox Point Village Board could vote Monday to issue initial funds to replace the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge.  Those funds would be supplied to Footbridge Friends, Inc. to allow Progress Consulting, LLC. and Clear Verve Marketing, LLC. begin marketing campaigns to solicit donations for the remaining half of the estimated cost to replace the bridge.  In December the board challenged residents to raise $500,000 toward the estimated $1 million replacement cost for the bridge. The Village Board will meet at 4 p.m. Monday to discuss funding and could potentially approve those funds — to the dismay of some residents. "The fundraising group was supposed to raise funds on their own," Fox Point resident Bob Cory told Patch in an e-mail. "A …

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Residents Target Fox Point Footbridge at Village Board Meeting

The infamous Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge was not on Tuesday night's Village Board agenda, however, three residents still brought up their concerns about the building cost of reports and a stronger need for pool repairs.

For the first time in months, the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge was not on the Fox Point Village Board's agenda. However, that didn't stop three residents from voicing concern that the footbridge is a perpetual cost and that money could be better spent elsewhere.  "My concern is that Fox Point’s going to spend any money that they have and then we’re going to be stuck without a swimming pool a couple years from now when that needs to be done," resident Deborah Whittle said. "I’m just concerned that when you guys keep going at this bridge that really only services the people in that general area." Whittle mentioned the March Village Board meeting, which had so many people in attendance the crowd spilled out into the hallway. At that meeting…

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Letter to the Editor

Fox Point Resident Questions High Cost of Fox Point Footbridge

Bob Cory compares the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge project, with projects around $1 million, to a similar pedestrian footbridge installed at Riverside High School for just $185,000.

Recently a pedestrian bridge was ordered, assembled and erected in Milwaukee near the Riverside High School. This bridge was assembled and erected in one week and it took aprox. ninety minutes to install. The assembly and erection was accomplished by three men at a  total cost of $185,000. The Village of Fox Point is “researching” a pedestrian bridge to replace an aging bridge known as the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge. The “research” has been ongoing now for over a year and after spending tens of thousands of dollars on consultants – they are awaiting the results of the third such study at a cost of $17,500. Just about a year ago, the village arranged financing for this as yet to be approved obscure capitol project to the tune of …

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Village Approves Additional $17,500 for Footbridge Planning

Village President Michael West says contractor Ayers should "Bring their A game."

Though the Fox Point Village Board still has not yet decided whether to rebuild, replace or remove the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge, they allocated another $17,500 to planning purposes at their meeting Tuesday. Ayers Associates, the contracter who the village recently authorized to plan a new bridge, asked for the additional funding to meet the Village Board's requests for renderings of the bridge in order to solicit donations. "These renderings is what this project is hinging upon," Trustee Christine Symchych said. The board has resolved not to move forward with construction before residents secure $625,000 in donations for the project, with a deadline of January 31, 2013. That value is approximately half of a rough estimation for the …

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Don Jacobs

9:03 am on Thursday, May 10, 2012

Just a little speculation.......it would not be unusual for a municipality to request a bid from a contractor and then reduce the contractors scope of work to get the price down. It would also not be unusual for the municipality to then be unhappy with the work submitted by the contractor due to the reduced scope of work (read lower price/lower quality) and then authorize additional expenditures …   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Village Board to Vote on Fox Point’s $1.9 Million “Footbridge to Nowhere”

Fox Point resident, Larry Booth, talks about the Village Board's possible vote on Tuesday and why he believes the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge shouldn't be replaced.

If a small vocal group of people get their way, Fox Point taxpayers will now have to pay $1,917,000 for a useless “footbridge to nowhere." This includes the new higher cost estimate of $1.75 million for construction, $142,000 in consulting fees and about $25,000 for legal fees and staff costs.   In a village of just 6,600 people, $1.9 million is an extraordinary and unprecedented expenditure of public money especially for something that is essentially a private footbridge used by only a handful of residents in a very exclusive neighborhood. Consider this:   There are many other places in the village and surrounding communities to look at leaves --- and they won’t cost taxpayers a dime. The Village Board will hear public comments and then …

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