District 7 News August 2011
Ned Dorff
I met with department heads and staff who could put some heat on some
of our problem areas. Many of these updates are especially pertinent
to the folks who live near Velp.
1. Dept. of Public Works
2. Economic Development
3. Planning/Inspection
4. GB Metro Transit
5. Parks/Forestry
6. Green Bay Police Dept.
7. Development News
8. Events
9. Gardens
10. Neighborhood Associations
1. DPW
I met with Director Ed Wiesner to discuss some safety concerns and
problems with absentee property owners.
Due to unsafe conditions created by a few property owners not
shoveling within the allotted 24 hours, I am going to propose a change
to city policy that would allow DPW employees to shovel walk ways and
curb ramps if they are not cleared within 24 hours of a snow fall, and
then bill the property owner for the service. Right now, we give a
notice after 24 hours, but it can take a day or two before the city
has a chance to return to check the site. Often, they remain covered
in snow and ice.
I believe similar measures can be taken for nuisance properties with
uncut lawns and garbage out for several days.
2. Economic Development
I met with our new director, Greg Flisram, to discuss downtown,
Broadway, and the Velp corridor. We discussed Velp road
reconstruction, and he pledged to take a close look at Velp from an
economic development and planning standpoint.
3. Planning/Inspection
I met with Director Rob Strong to discuss problem properties, focusing
on Velp and northward. I asked him to instruct inspectors to severely
limit extensions on cleaning up property or finishing building
projects. We also discussed plans for Planning and Economic
Development to work together to develop Velp into a vibrant corridor.
4. GB Metro
I had a great meeting with our new transit director, Tom Wittig.
Over the past year and a half, I've been pushing for a west side hub,
preferably at Mason/Military. GB Metro came up with a better idea: TWO
west-side connecting points. One will be at Mason/Military and the
other will be at the west-side Wal-Mart. Many routes that now take 1.5
hours will take 15 minutes!
Also, there will be four FREE routes (as in paid for by the Packers
and Miller Brewing) on Packer game days all the way through the NFC
Championship game. All routes will be online, and I am told there will
be a route app for smart phones.
http://twitter.com/#!/GBmetro http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/transit/
5. Parks/Forestry
Due to staff reductions over several years, the area north of Velp
hasn't been pruned in many years. I talked with our head forester on
Wednesday about some problem areas in our district. They are currently
in the area around Mather Heights and will be out pruning city trees
within the next week or two in the neighborhoods north of Velp.
6. GB Police
I met with Chief Arts to discuss the new district policing. We will
now have four community police officers on both the near east and west
sides of the river (up from two). There will also be a team of 6
community officers who can respond to emergencies or be part of
long-term actions.
We also discussed SWAT team policy. There will be _much_ better
communication with neighborhoods in the future when SWAT does a
training exercise.
7. Development News
Over the summer, WaterMark on N. Washington has increased the pace of
development, the city has penned a 40-year deal to keep Schreiber
Foods downtown, and Dimension IV architectural firm has begun planning
a year-round market with several residential units at Larsen Green.
http://www.watermarkgb.com/; http://www.schreiberfoods.com/ ;
http://dimension-iv.com/
Sadly, Al's Hamburger Shop was lost in a fire. The GBFD and GBPD made
an incredibly rapid response.
8. Events
Downtown Green Bay, Inc. and On Broadway, Inc. have both been managing
the most eventful summer we've seen downtown. Keep up to date
http://onbroadway.org/ and http://downtowngreenbay.com/
9. Gardens
This spring, residents of the east side of District 7 doubled the size
of the native wildflower garden at Monroe/Walnut. Residents north of
Velp and west of Lincoln are planning a major rain garden to reduce
flooding and mosquitoes and improve water quality and biodiversity.
Residents of several neighborhoods have created and maintained a large
community vegetable garden on University Ave. next to Golden House.
10. Neighborhood Associations
We now have six neighborhood associations active in our district:
Navarino, Downtown, Fort Howard, Fisk Addition, Mather Heights, and
Northwest Railway Garden. Here's a link:
http://www.ci.green-bay.wi.us/neigh_assoc/index.html
Take care,
Ned
--
Alderman, District 7, Green Bay, WI
www.neddorff.com
920-217-4369
Invest in the downtown grocery co-op: http://www.newleafmarket.org/
"The time is always right to do what is right." MLK, Jr.