Safety around Schools and June 5 Mtg Recap
TL/DR:
Police Dept and School District are working on improving communication as it relates to lockdowns- they are aware of the frustration regarding the lack of info that was included on district emails re: three elementary school lockdowns over the past month.
Public Works is awaiting grant approval to conduct a village-wide bike and pedestrian safety study. This remains a priority for that committee.
The village is in excellent financial health, based on the results of an independent financial audit that’s performed annually.
Plans for new Silver Spring food & beverage operators Forage Kitchen and The Daily Dose appear to be moving forward.
The empty office building (and two dwellings immediately to the north) on the northeast corner of Hampton and Santa Monica is tentatively under contract with a developer who presented conceptual designs for a mixed-use development at the 6/5 board meeting, which also prompted a request by the Board for the Plan Commission to look into zoning reform for these sorts of developments.
Hi everyone!
Before we all go our summer ways, I wanted to get out a quick update.
Communication re: school lockdowns over the past month:
This week, I spoke with Police Chief Patrick Whitaker about the recent school lockdowns in WFB. If you’re like me and my wife, the school lockdowns at Cumberland and Richards were anxiety-inducing to say the least. All of these incidents (3 in total) involved police activity adjacent to, but not on or in school property.
The School District put out quick email notifications to announce the lockdowns but these contained no other information as to why they were happening. Most of us parents were left scrambling to text each other or scour the WFB Parents Facebook page for details. It’s a difficult situation for all involved because we as parents want info but real-time events requiring significant police engagement make it challenging for officers to be able to communicate what’s going on to the public, in-the-moment.
Chief Whitaker noted that he and Superintendent John Thomsen are well-aware of the need to improve communications. In fact they met this past week specifically to work on better messaging. They are in the process of developing ways to provide some basic information during the initial email from the School District. It’s reassuring to know they are are aware and committed to improving this!
Bike and pedestrian safety:
It’s safe to say that the combination of so much car traffic around our schools, a lack of bike lanes, poor helmet-wearing and safety awareness by some student bikers, and tons of pedestrian traffic are a very dangerous combination. We’ve all heard of or witnessed near misses or mild injuries related to this. A few of you have even reached out to us about this.
The Public Works Committee has also been engaged on this topic. At their Feb 2023 meeting they outlined a timeline for action. Public Works Director John Edlebeck has applied for a state TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grant to conduct a village-wide bike/ pedestrian safety study. If obtained it will allow the village to properly evaluate the entire village, including the hotspots many of us are already aware of. In addition, they are discussing the development of a Bike & Pedestrian Safety Advisory Group to help formulate strategy and recommendations.
Finally, during my conversation with Chief Whitaker, he also noted that the the police dept is developing a strategy to foster improved adherence to bike safety among our student bikers.
June 5 Village Board Meeting recap:
Received results of an independent village financial audit. The village is in excellent financial health. Thanks in large part to Finance Director Jaimie Kreuger, the Village received recognition for the 6th year in a row for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Govt Finance Offcers Association.
Approved request from Forage Kitchen to utilize a roughly 6x40ft area of sidewalk as part of an outdoor seating build-out.
Approved a request to use TID funds (not tax dollars) to support the renovations needed for The Daily Dose to open in the former Penzey’s space. Great business and bonus points for this franchise being operated by Whitefish Bay residents.
Robust discussion about zoning reform prompted by an upcoming development. The empty office building on the northeast corner of Hampton and Santa Monica and two buildings to the north of it are privately owned and are under contract by Spoerl Commercial, LLC. They are planning a mixed-use commercial/ apartment building for that corner and presented their preliminary plans (for conceptual discussion only- they are not currently seeking approval). Unlike the Women’s Club development, where the village was engaged after plans were formalized by the developer, Trustee Raisa Koltun was able to connect with the developer prior to formalization. Spoerl Commercial was gracious in both meeting with the village board and developing several iterations of a project that might best serve the community. The Board formally request the Planning Commission to investigate zoning code reform to allow for broader possibilities for these sorts of development.
Phew! That’s it for now! Congrats to all the parents and families of graduates and hooray for the end of the school year!
As alway, please feel free to share and please let me know what you think!