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: Deep Pockets and Too Many Consultants

Fox Point resident criticizes board for hiring additional consultants and the Village President for perpetuating his personal agenda.

The village of Fox Point recently contracted with an engineering consutant to "Count the existing street signs and recommend new signs that conform with recent Federal guidelines". With all the summer hire people working for the village along with a qualified internal engineering staff could not the village turn inside to "count signs" and look in a catalog for new ones? We already hired our third consultant at a cost of $17,500 to give the village advise on the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge! Is the village going out of its way to spend money? Is the village staff actually "under used"? The village of Fox Point seems to have deep pockets when it comes to building over-sized police buildings, buying vehicles and equipment, and casually …

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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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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Fox Point Village Finances

Resident Bob Cory says the footbridge only puts a burden on the debt service status.

Not long ago, the Village of Fox Point built a new police station. Perhaps even over-built it! The village has contributed its share of funds toward the Bayside combined dispatch center. The village regularly purchases new equipment and vehicles giving us a DPW fleet unmatched in the state. And the list goes on. I am sure that the village has a long wish list of capitol improvement projects it would like to undertake. Most of those projects are necessary to the operation and upkeep of village utilities, roads etc. As the village borrows funds for these projects our debt load increases steadily. At what point does this dept service experience an "overload" capacity? Does out borrowing strength diminish? Does our bonding status lower? To …

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Letter to the Editor

In Tight Fiscal Times, a Footbridge is Not a Priority

Fox Point resident Bob Cory shares his thoughts on the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge.

Editor's Note: This letter was sent to Patch in response to another Letter to the Editor on the Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge posted Tuesday. If you have a letter to the editor, please email it to the editor.   The village has initiated a foundation to raise funds for the project. They are to raise at least one-half of the necessary funds. If they raise one-half, residents will still have to put out the other-half. If they fall short of their goal, then the residents will put out one-half, plus whatever is short from such a foundation pursuit. In these times, this is not a worthwhile priority!!!! Bob Cory Resident of Fox Point for 25 years

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Letter to the Editor

Fox Point’s $1.1 Million “Footbridge to Nowhere”

Fox Point resident, Larry Booth, gives his two-cents on the controversial Bridge Lane Ravine Footbridge.

At the same time the Village of Fox Point is talking about cutting back on essential services and infrastructure, the Village Board has authorized spending up to $1.1 million of taxpayer money to rebuild an unused and unneeded FOOTBRIDGE. That $1.1 million price tag was 44 percent of the village’s ENTIRE 2012 capital budget. In other words, the board authorized spending nearly as much on a single footbridge as it has on all of the critical road, sanitary sewer and stormwater improvement projects in the village. That enormous price tag is not the only problem with this project: And the $1.1 million is not the only cost to taxpayers. The village is paying two engineering firms $142,000 to develop proposals for the footbridge. Taxpayers are …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Resident Requests Support for Footbridge

Neighbors of the bridge say new proposal could save many trees and a lot of money.

Editor's Note: This letter comes from Cissy and Jack Bryson and Mary and James Connelly of Fox Point.  Concerned Fox Point residents who care about the outcome of the Bridge Lane Footbridge should consider attending the Fox Point Village Board meeting on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Village Hall, 7200 North Santa Monica Blvd. to hear the two latest reports. Our privately funded engineer, Conor Nelan from Cold Spring Design, will present his analysis of the footbridge and the REAL costs to restore the bridge with an environmentally conscious approach. The Village’s consultants will also provide their newest concept. The Fox Point taxpayers need to make informed decisions regarding acceptable live load limits, scope of ravine …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Abele Hasn't Done His Homework

Bayside resident says the North Shore is already a great example of consolidated services.

Editor's Note: This letter comes from Bayside resident Kelly Herda in response to an article posted Friday regarding a proposed $3 million cut to paramedic services by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. I have to wonder if Mr. Abele has really done his homework on this one. He states that he “hopes municipalities will take this opportunity to seriously consider consolidation to remove duplication and save taxpayers money.” Well, we’ve been consolidated since 1994 and I am quite certain we have saved millions of taxpayer dollars over the years because of that consolidation. However, consolidation can only do so much. What needs to be addressed is what has been driving up the costs of these services. I don’t think cutting staff and …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Crossing Guards Needed Outside Busy Bayside Intersection

A Bayside mom has a call to action for any parents looking to keep their kids safe while passing through on their way to school.

Dear Parents of Maple Dale Students:   Last Spring my kids wanted to ride their bikes to school, but I wouldn't let them because I didn't feel that the Regent Road and Brown Deer Road intersection was safe. I witnessed adults being nearly run down while in that crosswalk. Needless to say, my kids were pretty upset with me, so I called the Bayside Police Department and asked about the possibility of "volunteering" to act as a crossing guard for that intersection. Lt. Tom Henkel advised me that we would first have to get an ordinance passed by the Village Board that would allow for crossing guards, then volunteers would need to be recruited and trained. This summer, Lt. Henkel was able to get the ordinance passed and is now offering to email…

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Kelly Roark Herda

9:06 am on Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Great suggestion Kris, thanks! Hopefully a Bayside Middle School parent, living south of Brown Deer Rd., will help us spread the word to that district as well. I am hoping to recruit at least 10 volunteers.   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Taxpayers Will be Watching

Fox Point resident reflects on the outcome of Tuesday's election.

Before the teacher’s union and School Board get over confident with their referendum victory, there are five things they need to remember:   1. The School Board works for the students and the taxpayer --- NOT the teachers. The teachers have their union to fight for them. Unfortunately, the fact that teachers union officials and School Board members were celebrating together after the referendum shows who they really think they represent.   2. Nicolet teacher compensation needs to be brought in line with similar schools. Nicolet teachers are the highest compensated public school teachers in the state of Wisconsin. This results in 85 percent of the school budget being devoted to teacher compensation. It’s time to put the taxpayer’s money to …

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