Village Seeks Resident Feedback on Sewer Plan

Property owners can expect to receive a survey in the mail soon, as the village attempts to gauge community support of its to faulty sewers.

Shorewood worked with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Urban Initiatives and Research to develop a seven-question survey, which should be in the mail this week.

The Village Board approved a $10,340 contract with UWM on June 11 to develop the survey. It asks residents whether they support the village’s sewer plan, whether they prefer to pay through property taxes or user fees and if they support the use of special assessments to fund some of the project. UWM's Urban Initiatives Center will also provide data analysis and develop a final report with the survey data findings.

Last July, basement backups devastated Shorewood property owners after torrential rainfall saturated the area, but not every home was affected. Trustee Jeff Hanewall said the survey is important to reach out to residents that might not have been affected by a basement backup.

Trustee Michael Maher said the survey is needed before the village moves forward with its sewer plan.

“This is an opportunity for us to get some feedback from residents on what approach they want us to take,” Maher said.

The surveys will be due back in mid-August, in time for the village to have good statistics before they move forward in September with designs for the first phase of major projects, Village Manager Chris Swartz said.