Idle Isle May Get More Attention in 2013 Budget

The Parks Board tours Idle Isle Park, with possible additions for the Common Council to consider for the 2013 budget

Idle Isle Park has a lot on its shoulders, and some Common Council members feel it could use some help with the heavy lifting. It functions as a prime access for boaters wishing to launch and park on Little Muskego lake, snowmobilers and ice fishermen in winter, green space for picnickers, and the only beach front for public swimming on the lake. So, after requests came in from Parks director Craig Anderson during the budget process, Alderman Neil Borgman felt the lake park was left out in comparison to its younger but bigger brother, Park Arthur. The only improvement originally requested for Idle Isle Park was replacing the ADA accessible pier at a cost of $63,000 versus more than $1 million in requests for Park Arthur in 2013. Anderson …

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Little Muskego Lake Association Pledges $50,000 to Borst Property

Lake group presents a down payment of $5,000 during Tuesday's council meeting promising assistance over the next 10 years for the conservancy land.

Howard Schneider told the Common Council Tuesday night that the Little Muskego Lake Association has always been committed to the health of the lake, and extended its support to the land that has been called "environmentally significant" to the lake. LMLA presented a check for $5,000 to the city to "help out Conservation Coordinator Tom Zagar, because he's got a lot of work to do at the land there," association member Schneider said. The Baedetscher preserve is part of the Borst property, which the city recently closed on purchasing for approximately $1 million. The land rests west of Racine Avenue and is part of the Little Muskego Lake watershed. The 100-acre site features environmentally desirable oak savannahs as well as a creek that …

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Week in Review: May 12 - 18

A week that saw the recall in Muskego come and then go, along with a spotlight on what makes our schools great.

May 12 - Muskego hosted its first-ever Special Olympics, with about 500 athletes competing at Muskego High School May 14-18: the five Compass Award Winners took time to share their stories with us. Receiving the honor this year were Jenn Gennerman, Charlene Dupler,  Lucy Spoerk, Dennis Bussen and Therese Rilling. May 14 & 15: an announcement from citizens recall group, Muskego for Ethical Government, first had stated the Keith Werner Recall Would Move Forward, while suspending their efforts against Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti and Alderman Neome Schaumberg. The following day, a second look by the group had them stating they would withdraw their recall petition against Werner after all. Idle Isle Park could see an ice cream shop as well as phase…

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Idle Isle Improvements Include Signage, Boat Wash Station

Little Muskego Lake Association continues its focus on the island park, hoping to update signs and perhaps include a boat wash station in this year's plans; large sign for park underscores the need to develop a city-wide branding for signs.

Lisa Niles, a Little Muskego Lake Association (LMLA) member who helped coordinate shoreline improvements at Idle Isle Park last fall, was back at the table to talk about the phase II and III efforts for the island. Appearing at the Muskego Parks and Recreation board meeting Monday night, Niles explained the next order of business would be to order signage for the park, including small placards to identify the plantings. Larger signs would recognize donors that provided materials and money to fund the landscape improvements from last year. Additionally, a new park sign would mirror the parks' updated look, which incorporates the City of Muskego logo, featuring the grasses seen on the gateway signage and those at the business park and city …

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Lake Park Committee Gets the Green Light; Land Purchase Will Wait

Officials hope delay of purchase of Little Muskego Lake property and creation of new committee will address public's need for costs on proposed park development

Extra time to consider citizens' input on what should go into a park on the lake: Check. Exploration of costs based on that input: Check. The ability for the Common Council to reverse an earlier decision to buy the property should it decide buying the park land is not in the best interest of the city: Check. Addressing the concerns of many residents regarding the city's proposed purchase of a 4.6-acre parcel on Little Muskego Lake, aldermen voted 5-2 Tuesday night to approve a resolution that puts the next step into the hands of the Parks and Recreation Board. The resolution calls for the creation of a subcommittee of the parks board that will study the issue, gather cost estimates and public input, and come back to the Common Council with…

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The Anti-Alinsky

10:23 pm on Friday, March 16, 2012

The city spends spend hundreds (possibly thousands) of dollars to make sure they are doing things legally. No competent attorney is going to give advice that is going to partial and lopsided enough to "back the alderman into a corner". As usually you use histrionics to try to overstate a weak argument. More than three alderman represent the city of Muskego. Like the whiners that camped out at the…   more ›

Editor's Corner

Blame Parliament For The Confusion At Muskego Council, But Don't Lose a Good Idea

What happened and why during the Common Council meeting, which is more than any of us wanted to know about parliamentary procedure, shouldn't overshadow a creative solution.

For most who sit through the average Common Council meeting in Muskego (remember those?), a certain rule of order needs to be followed and is really in place to ensure discussion is fair, public and open. So, while it seemed like matters were buried at the Tuesday night meeting at Lake Denoon, it's actually done to meet open meetings requirements. After public comment was over, the next agenda item was a discussion to reconsider the resolution which passed 4-3 on Jan. 24. However, an item on the agenda first needs to be moved to the floor for discussion. And as the item was the reconsideration of a voted-upon resolution, only those who voted for that resolution have that ability. None of the 'yea' votes did so, and therefore a discussion …

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The Anti-Alinsky

4:41 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012

Thank you for the example. Since you asked I will respond to your question. Starting with the minutes from the August 12 2008 Common Council minutes: “Suzi Link,W172 S7297 Lannon Drive She is concerned that the (fire department) consolidation is being done too quickly; she wants the department to remain voluntary. She is against big box development in the Moorland Road TIF area.” When you throw …   more ›

Muskego Lake District Proposes a Compromise With Conservancy

Issue over how $30,000 in grant monies were to be used could be resolved if conservancy is agreeable.

The Little Muskego Lake District (LMLD) has drafted a proposal that could help smooth the waters over a disagreement of Holz Foundation grant dollars that the Muskego Lakes Land Conservancy accepted.  The money was part of funding expected in the purchase and preservation of land, named the Calhoun Creek Preserve, in New Berlin. LMLD members were upset that the conservancy was not planning on redistributing funds back to all partners involved in the initial purchase of the property. Along with the LMLD, the Little Muskego Lake Association, Linnie Lac Lake District and the cities of Muskego and New Berlin had contributed dollars to purchase the 40-acre parcel to the north of Calhoun Park. At the December meeting, the conservancy offered to …

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Little Muskego Lake District and Conservancy Make Little Progress

Disagreement over how grant funds should be used continues as the district is given a proposal from the conservancy.

A partnership among parties, which helped to purchase land in New Berlin deemed significant to the Little Muskego watershed, continues to be strained with grant funds received from the Holz Foundation at the center of the dispute. The Little Muskego Lake Conservancy is the 'charitable arm' of the Little Muskego Lake Association, and allowed for the grant funds to be awarded, but district members are upset that the conservancy is not disbursing the funds to the partners in the purchase of the land. Conservancy board members told the district at their regular meeting Thursday night that the money was specifically to be used for the property, and instead of sharing the grant dollars, offered to cover costs on a portion of the work that needs …

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Wake Up Muskego - October 19

Mid week already! Bundle up and take it on informed.

Click below to get your live, local information. In the event of something out of the ordinary, such as a major crash, Patch editors will update this as quickly and accurately as we are able. Give me a list of today's events.  Patch calendar editors recommend: Meeting with the folks who help make Little Muskego Lake thrive!  The Little Muskego Lake Association will meet at Alpine Lanes, and will feature a speaker on winterizing your boats, as well as a member of the MPD who will update everyone on activity from a police perspective on the lake. Is there information you'd like to get every day that we haven't included here? Let Muskego Editor Denise Konkol know, and we'll try our best to include it!

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Muskego's Island Park Sees Improvement, and Looks Forward to Next Step

Little Muskego Lake Association reports a successful first phase; next step will include signage, recognition of volunteers.

Lisa Niles and Renee Reckin came before the Parks and Recreation Board on Monday night with reports of a great community volunteer effort, and the before and after photos to prove it. The volunteer-driven effort to reclaim the overgrowth of weeds along the park's shore was given high praise from park director Craig Anderson, who said many people who were at the park over the past weekend remarked how nice everything looked. "It's just been a fun project, and people have been so helpful," said Niles, a member of the Little Muskego Lake Association. "Just getting the weeds knocked down, you could see a big difference." The group plans to continue to raise funds for signage updates in the park, including gateway signs into the park and a new …

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