Wauwatosa was founded in the mid-1830s. We are an old community with an aging network of roads, sewers, and water mains. There is always work to do, particularly in our harsh climate.
When I became an alderman in 2008, the Common Council had put off maintenance on our infrastructure for many years. Our roads were in terrible shape and many of our neighborhoods were experiencing regular episodes of flooding. Since then, without raising taxes, we got our priorities straight and began a program of reinvesting in our infrastructure. We’ve systematically repaired our roads, addressed flooding issues, and rebuilt the entire infrastructure of the Village, including renovating Root Common and the Pocket Park and replacing the water main on State Street that dated back to 1897. (How’s that for deferred maintenance?)
The money we have invested in updating that infrastructure, using funds provided by the tax incremental financing (TIF) district in the Village, has paid off in a number of ways. More than ever, the Village has become a destination for regional tourism, with festivals, art competitions, a holiday market, and other attractions.
Many of our sewers and water mains are close to 100 years old, and the City still faces flooding issues in several neighborhoods, particularly in the Schoonmaker Creek watershed on the east side. We are continuing to work with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage Commission to address these problems, which will cost many millions of dollars.
