Oak Creek Mayor Bolender: “Franklin’s not going to help us…and I just blasted them.”

MAYOR DICK BOLENDERResolution Number 10987-061609, approving an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), for the development of the Joint Oak Creek-Franklin South 27th Street Corridor project, was recently signed by principles for each city’s Community Development Authority, which for Franklin is Mayor Taylor, and City Attorney Jessie Wesolowski.

In a Special Common Council Meeting on Monday, June, 29, 2009, Oak Creek Common Council was presented with and approved the resolution.

With an estimated $2 billion in shared economic impact—presumably half going to Franklin—isn’t it reasonable to expect there would be at least one Franklin politico in the audience at this meeting, in particular, Mayor Taylor and/or Franklin District 1 Alderman and Chairman of the Joint South 27th Street Steering Committee; Steve Olson?

Sadly for Franklin taxpayers this was not the case. I can only speculate that Mayor Taylor, Ald. Olson, and other members of the Common Council, justified their absence in their own self-righteous way.

Like Franklin’s elected officials, I did not attend this meeting, but I can confirm there were at least two Franklin citizens in the audience that night; the heavily, civic-minded Scott Thinnes, and the former, infamous principle with the now-defunked political action committee, Franklin Citizens for Responsible Leadership (FCRL), Ted “BOOMGAARD” Grintjes.

After reading the 19-page meeting transcript, I was pretty ticked-off—to put it mildly—by the “Franklin–trash-talk” and political rhetoric coming out of the mouth of Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender.

Here are a few of my “favorites.

CONTINUED...

But before we get to Mayor Dick Bolender, here is a portion of the opening statement by Oak Creek Community Development Director; Doug Seymour, which first raised my “antenna” (emphasis added):

“…Resolution No. 10987, which approves intergovernmental memorandum of understanding…between the City of Oak Creek and the City of Franklin, pertaining to the development of the South 27th Street Corridor plan. Now, while the MOU is titled as an MOU, regarding the South 27th Street corridor plan, it really, the juxt of it is, is that it really pertains more so, or equally so, to the [Oak Creek I-94] Drexel Avenue interchange as it applies a cost sharing mechanism for future street lighting on 27th Street as a way to bridge the gap, if you will, between the [Oak Creek] local share, or 25% that the City had previously committed to via Resolution and the 50% share that the State, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, has been requiring…staff has heard consistently from this Council and from the Community of that a couple of things have to happen in order for them even to consider that and it would be that the [Oak Creek I-94 Drexel Avenue] interchange would have to be accomplished at little or no risk to the [Oak Creek] taxpayer…”

Mayor Bolender responding to an Oak Creek citizen regarding the funding the estimated $15.2 million Oak Creek, I-94 Drexel Avenue interchange said (emphasis added):

“Well, let me give you a background on that. A couple of years ago we were at a meeting at the [Oak Creek] Community Center and they, Franklin, all six aldermen from Franklin and the Mayor was there, and [Mayor] Tom [Taylor] and those guys said, Dick, we are going to be with you, and it sounded great and then they changed, a couple of council people left and you know, things change, and I even sent the typed word-for-word, perbatim (sic) of the whole discussion to Tom Taylor, and he said, I can’t do anything. It’s out of the City, nobody’s going to pay for it, that’s what the Council said. I can’t go on what they do. You know? I got to go on what’s good for Oak Creek and sometimes you stick your neck out and sometimes you get it chopped off, but I’m looking at the future of this City… But the idea is with this thing, Franklin’s not going to help us. I have given up trying to shame Tom [Taylor]and the Council. I went over there and spoke to their council on a Saturday, they had that Council, they had that deal with do they need a full-time Mayor, but it got around to the Drexel interchange, and I just blasted them and I said, okay, I’m leaving, have a good day. I got it off my chest. I feel better…This is our thing and I just feel that a big gate so that when you leave the expressway, you can only go East is the greatest thing in the world.”

As a follow-up, the same citizen asked “…if Franklin doesn’t get in [shared funding] it ain’t going to happen, correct?,” Bolender answered:

“No, it will happen as long as we get in for the 25% that we already overrode my veto because I didn’t like the funding. Now they [State of Wisconsin] want that 3% to show our good faith, and Franklin has to come up with that 3%, which they passed 6-0. They said, okay, we’ll throw the 3% in for the better lighting (emphasis added). The better lighting, according to me, is just like fluff.”

There is a great deal more that needs to be brought to the public's attention on this subject, that we will be discussing here in the days ahead.

In the meantime, I encourage readers to take the time to get engaged on this multi-million dollar, taxpayer-funded project by reading the full transcript of the June 29 Oak Creek Common Council Meeting.

Comments

[John Michlig]

Interesting post - interesting information.

Fred, what is the source for that transcript? Does Oak Creek generate those?

[Fred Keller]

John -- The transcript was provided by the Oak Creek City Clerk's office. I originally called to get a CD for the meeting and was offered the transcript; much easier to work with than a tape or CD.

[Bryan Maersch]

My message for Mayor Bolender is a quote from Kurt Vonnegut's novel SLAPSTICK. The chacter Wilbur Swain, who is the last President of the United States, advises people when the meet new family members they don't like they should say:

"Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the mooooooooooooon?"