Providing Logical Solutions (PLS) for a Better Community

From: PLS - website http://www.forabettercommunity.org

Understanding the interrelated issues of personal and community development is both a challenge and key to cost effective public education.  

I believe we as a community can better utilize the wealth of resources  residing in the hearts, minds and abilities of people who live and work in New Berlin.

Money is not the primary motivator of successful educators. Whether they be parents, teachers or life's volunteer mentors, all appreciate inspiring and being inspired by children's natural desire to learn.

Responsible educational communities provide safe learning environments  for children to play in and explore challenges requiring life skill development. 

Through engaging story telling, creative imaginations are exercised,  enjoyment of recreational reading increases and ability for self guided visualization develops.

My personal  experience  teaching  strategies for "computer-less"  problem solving, has been that, mental imaging skills and balanced nutrition support logical analysis, systematic formulation and sustained cognitive calculations. Feed kids fresh food!

I also believe that students developing confidence in their ability to learn are best facilitated by coordinated parent, teacher, and peer team strategies that build upon individual strengths while encouraging synergy of diverse classroom interests.

Toward this goal I have met individually with principals and district administrator teams, during prior school board campaigns, to emphasize the importance of developing accountability  and measurable goal components of "parent connect".

We must fully utilize the school districts recently purchased software "Infinite Campus". Give students credit for creating websites and projects that provide logical solutions for issues of student, parent and community concern.

Community volunteer programs could mentor service learning opportunities that honor and develop youths special gifts and talents.

Pragmatic life skills, home economics and holistically healthy consumer education, with community support, could augment core curriculum requirements.

Networking educational system teams is the most cost effective way to ensure  comprehensive awareness of methods and opportunities to improve students ability for living successful and meaningful lives.

By working together and learning from each other, we can build a better public education system while lowering the cost. - pls

The comprehensive plan, which must be completed this year, will determine the character of Land Use in New Berlin for many years to come.

Spending $500,000 for outside consultants, to work with planning staff (who also do not live in New Berlin),  is not acting in the best interests of New Berlin residents.

Fundamental changes need to be made at City Hall regarding how control of information is shared with the public.

When making or implementing plans, sharing verifiable information amongst the public and their elected representatives is key to transparent, open and accountable government.

 The Mayor who chairs the "planning team" Steering Committee and Plan Commission  could require that relevant demographic information be provided as a basis for citizen  opinion surveys in which alternatives are considered by local residents for specific locations in their area of the community.

Currently, public participation process does not invite residents to raise "issues and opportunities"  for discussion at neighborhood meetings.

Meetings could be held at City Hall and televised so that people are aware of developments in the process. " Issues and Opportunites", which is the first of the nine elements that state statute requires to be included in the plan, could  become the focus for citizens working together to create cooperative strategies for a Better Community.

The free exchange of ideas is essential  for democracy to thrive.

Final approval of the Comprehensive Plan wlll be the Common Council's responsibility. But opportunities for citizens to meaningfully participate in formulation of issues and opportunities for discussion with the Common Council  are not  provided.

  Public hearings and "privilege of the floor", before Common Council meetings, are for the most part unilateral, in that they do not allow for open dialogue and development of ideas.

As alderman, I promoted "town hall" meetings with open discussion opportunity.

Keeping elected officials accountable is difficult when citizens questions are not addressed in public.

The current Common Council has decided to disallow public access to information via voter forums in City Hall.

.Voters are the ones who must decide who gets hired.  Citizens need to know where the candidates stand on the issues.

The intention of the official City Hall Facility policy  is to provide information to the public. 

However, the Incumbent politicians are so invested in controlling their power of spin on the issues  that they sometimes violate the rights of citizens who offer differing opinions.

  Citizen rights to "privilege of the floor"- for speaking about issues on the council agenda, are taken away from candidates for public office, by council rules.

At a recent Public Hearing, when questions for clarification regarding the water and sewer Urban Service Area boundary got to close to revealing hidden development agendas, the mayor switched off the speakers microphone.

These incumbent protectionist policies must end.

Comprehensive plan alternatives for open public consideration, discussion and decision must be provided.

 "During the spring of 1997, a group of 70 citizens, business people, special interest advocates, and elected officials participated in a series of "Focus New Berlin" planning meetings to design an updated strategic plan for the community."

While serving in 1998 as the “Focus” Resource and Land Use Committee Chairman  I resolved to accomplish the community planned strategic directives according to the Land Use and Urban Design Plan for the City of New Berlin: 2010. The established objectives, principles and standards of our Master Plan serve as excellent guidelines for ecologically balancing the economics and environmental  health that sustain our community well being.
 
Then in 1999, during a “fast paced and multi-faceted”, $367,000  master plan update, I was elected  4th district alderman on a campaign promise to transform the “Rural Development Policy”, from a  precursor of west side sewers,  into a sustainable “rural conservation  policy”. Though Aldermen Chiovatero  and Wysocki fought against my advocacy  of environmental stewardship and fiscally tax conservative  policies, my four year zoning ordinance battle to reduce infrastructure costs while protecting woodlands, open green space, scenic views, and aquifer recharge areas was finally successful.

But, the Plan Commission, which the Mayor chairs, removed all farmland from the Future Land Use Map, and the war wages on.

$500,000 dollars are now being spent for outside consultants to update our plans again.

A recent proposal to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee provides increased residential density incentives to develop Prime Agricultural Land across from Elmwood School.  If implemented, school redistricting or expansion and higher taxes  will follow. Our best hope is that objectives, principles and standards of our original Master Plan direct us to preserve that strategic farmland for future generations agricultural business opportunities, to produce and distribute fresh food for local urban populations.

Once again voters have an option. I promise to uphold our principles and standards by providing logical solutions of sustainable economic opportunity for a better community, not a bigger city.

My incumbent opponents by past actions and statements apparently do not appreciate the importance of this issue. All three, through lack of foresight, have failed to oppose this next urbanizing step in the march of sewers west ward.

Mayor Chiovatero and his  staff have brought this urbanizing incentive proposal forward.

Former Mayor Wysocki's staff, contrary to MMSD 2020 Facilities Plan directives for calculating future population projections in accordance with adopted plans, quadrupled adopted Future Land Use population projections for section #35, in question, without consulting the Plan Commission or Utility Committee.

Council President and Utility Committee Chairman Harenda, failed to schedule a Public Hearing, regarding the MMSD 2020 facilities plan, untill six days after the final DNR deadline for comment. Without consideration of public comment from Harendas hearing, the DNR approved 7 square miles being added to the MMSD 2020 Plan Area. 

This area  expands over territory, west of Calhoun Road and south of National Avenue, that our current Master Plan update states is not to have sewer.

Four years ago, during my last mayoral campaign I informed the community that this 2020 sewer expansion enabling plan was in the works. It seems like every year we hear that MMSD has dumped sewage, during major storm events, into the lake.

Why do we consider making these problems worse?

When is enough, enough?

 All the best,

Please visit www.forabettercommunity.org  

Thank you for voting  PLS 009

 What good is Farmland?

This blog is intended to help move consensus toward providing logical solutions on issues of community importance.

We need solid reasoning and legal grounds upon which citizens can stand for their rights to live in a community where their governmental representatives truly act in the best interests of residents health, safety, and welfare. 

Please help create this foundation of critical thinking.

To often our society succumbs to the pressure of short term private or governmental profit demands, at the expense of the long term social and economic well-being of the community.
 
Thus is the situation with the proposed destruction of New Berlins only designated “Prime Agricultural Land”. A planning team draft proposal, presented to the comprehensive planning process steering committee, would if adopted create incentives for developers to request rezoning New Berlins best Farmland  into non agricultural uses.
 
So what?, some might say. This square mile of fertile farmland, Section #35;  which is west of Sunny Slope ave, East of Moorland ave. South of Grange Ave. and North of College Ave.. is the next in line for expansion of municipal sewer and water.  You can’t stop progress. But is it progress?

The revised policies of the Growth and Development Master Plan 2002 Update envisioned this land as a transition area between Suburban Residential and West Ridge Business District. But did even that future land use vision, created by a “fast paced and multi faceted approach” to planning,- which eliminated all farmland from the future Land Use Plan,- diverge from important objectives, principles and standards of the  Land Use and Urban Design Plan for the City of New Berlin: 2010.?
 

As former Chairman of Focus New Berlins strategic “Resource and Land Use” planning committee, and alderman of that area of city, I  formulated my opinion and vision around strategically planning an alternative for that valuable resource.

First, I believe it is most important that people understand some Master Plan back ground information.
 
Anyone interested in related issues such as school redistricting, traffic congestion, diversified economic opportunity, environmental health, convenient healthy fresh food sources, road safety and expansions, or taxes,  please consider the following information..

1987 Land Use and Urban Design Plan for the City of New Berlin: 2010

First----three important Master Plan Definitions:

Objective: a goal or end toward the attainment of which plans and policies are directed

Principle: a fundamental generally accepted tenet  used to support objectives and prepare standards and plans.

Standards: a criterion used as basis of comparison to determine the adequacy of plan proposals to attain objectives.

Please consider some relevant common sense.  
Master Plan Objective #5
“The preservation of sufficient high quality open space lands for protection of the underlying and sustaining natural resource base and enhancement of the social and economic well-being  and environmental quality of the area.”

Principle:
“Ecological balance and natural beauty are important determinants of a communities  ability to provide a  pleasant and habitable environment for all forms of life and to maintain the social and economic well-being. Preservation of the most significant aspects of the natural resource base – that is, primary environmental corridors, and prime agricultural Lands, -- contributes to the maintenance of the ecological balance, natural beauty, and economic well being of the City.”

Principle
Prime Agricultural Land
“Prime agricultural land constitute the most productive farmland in the study area, and in addition to providing food and fiber, contribute significantly to maintaining the ecological balance between plants and animals; provide locations close to urban centers for the production of certain food commodities which may require nearby population concentrations for an efficient production-distribution relationship; provide open space which provide form and structure to urban development; and serve to maintain the natural beauty and unique cultural heritage of portions of the City.”

Standards.
“Parcels 35 acres or greater that are comprised of  50% or more of  national  prime farmland  as designated  by the U.S. Department of Agriculture , national conservation service, and included in  national farmland aggregate parcels of 100 acres or  larger shall be preserved in Agricultural use.”  

What are your thoughts on this issue?

After we have a chance to brainstorm this issue, I will share my vision of how cooperatively this Prime Agricultural Land could be more productive and profitable and maintain, or hopefully improve, our Master Plan Standards.