Sunday, November 11, 2012
Whitefish Bay is the first governmental body in the nation to restrict the popular book depots from residents' front yards – although they are still allowed on porches and back yards.
The Little Free Libraries that have been heralded around the world for promoting literacy and cultivating a sense of community by sharing books with neighbors have come under restrictions in Whitefish Bay. The Village Board decided to enforce the existing village code and ban Little Free Libraries from front yards across the village – not out of a hatred of literacy – but because mailboxes and other structures are not allowed in the front yards of Whitefish Bay homes. With more than 4,000 to 5,000 Little Free Libraries erected in 34 countries, Whitefish Bay is the first municipality to restrict the structures, according to Rick Brooks from the national Little Free Library organization. The board's discussion about Little Free Libraries …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Village Board hopes a potential committee will develop a pesticide policy that addresses each group's concerns.
The Whitefish Bay Village Board hopes to reach a consensus on the hotly contested issue of pesticides in public parks by bringing together stakeholders to develop a plan that addresses concerns from both sides. After holding a listening session in July, the Village Board met Monday night to discuss, among other issues, how it should proceed with the input gathered from the public hearing. Trustee Jay Miller proposed a committee of stakeholders be formed to reach a consensus and recommend a policy to the Village Board. Miller said the committee could be led by staff members from the village and the school district and could also include representation from Whitefish Bay Soccer Club, Friends of Bay Baseball, Duke Pride, Whitefish Bay Little …
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Whitefish Bay officials considering sharing half of sanitary sewer upgrade costs for work in Shorewood that will be mutually beneficial.
Shorewood and Whitefish Bay are mulling a cost share agreement as both communities move forward in their campaigns to mend faulty, outdated sewers. Sewer projects are scheduled over the next several years in the northwest portion of Shorewood, with upgrades to the village's sanitary and stormwater sewer system. When the projects are finished, most sanitary sewer connections between the two communities will be cut, though some connections will still remain. The cost share agreement took into consideration the mutually beneficial sanitary sewer work conducted along Fairmount Avenue in Whitefish Bay in 2010 and sanitary sewer upgrades on East Kensington Boulevard to start this summer in Shorewood. The cost share agreement has been drafted to…
Monday, August 1, 2011
Fitness center is considering the purchase of the building currently occupied by Elements East.
The Whitefish Bay Village Board Monday granted Anytime Fitness an exception to operate outside of the village's standard retail hours, meaning the fitness franchise will move forward with the purchase of the current Elements East building at 109 E. Silver Spring Dr. Under the Whitefish Bay zoning code, the club would only be able to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which franchise owner John Mathie said would not be acceptable. The Village Board agreed in a 6-1 vote to allow the business to operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m every day, which came on a recommendation from the Plan Commission. In addition to the Shorewood branch at Oakland Avenue and Capitol Drive, Anytime Fitness also has franchises on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee and in Wauwatosa …
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Trustees OK $400K in borrowing for first year of operation.
Whitefish Bay village trustees agreed Monday to merge emergency dispatch operations with Bayside, Fox Point and River Hills, and to borrow up to $400,000 for the first year of the merged operation. Merged police and fire dispatch services, proposed for spring 2012, is expected improve service and save more than $230,000 within the first 10 years of the joint operation, according to estimates provided by Matt Schuenke, interim village manager. Expected service improvements include speedier response times, fewer 911 call transfers between dispatch centers and reduced potential for human and technological error. Under the current system, emergency cell phone calls first are directed to the Milwaukee County Dispatch Center, then to the North…
kindness first
12:58 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
My 88-year-old former engineer father and I are going to make one in his garage as soon as it's warm enough. Already have some of my favorite books - only the best - saved up to donate. Amazing that WFB doesn't realize that sniping at this totally goodwill effort is a much bigger stain on the community than even the ugliest little library could be. I've never seen an offensive one yet, and I've … more ›