The Road To Sprawlville Chapter XVIII: Tear Out That Corn, Now!

The Village of Wales, in Waukesha County, would rather have a vacant lot than seven acres of corn growing there.

That's because Wales can collect more property taxes on the vacant land, zoned commercial, than it can collect if the same parcel of land is in agricultural use.

The owner says he won't ask to pay taxes at the lower rate: he just wants to grow corn on the property, put the crop to use as cattle feed, and then replant the acreage with grass.

But the Village powers-that-be want the land returned to its potential commercial use immediately, before this year's corn is ready to be harvested.

In other words - - get that corn off those seven acres and make that vacant lot vacant again.

I've been out that way a few times. In fact, Chapter IV of this occasional series, The Road To Sprawlville, was a trip to "Cow Corner" in Wales, where the need for an office building and a coffee shop jeopardized another small piece of agricultural land.

It's a pretty area and it's got a famous Frozen Custard Stand, LuDuc's, but like so many small Waukesha communities across the Kettle Moraine, Wales' rural heritage is giving way to subdivisions and related development.

Still, this all sounds more about local politics and the exercise of power than it is about whether seven acres of corn is out-of-character for the village..

Regardless, it makes you wonder why, in this day and age, some government officials would be willing to have several thousands of dollars of perfectly good feed corn deliberately go to waste?

And why they would make the case that a vacant lot is a better land tenant in their small but growing Village (in the 2000 census, 2,523 residents, on 2.4 square miles), than a small field of corn.

Thanks to Darryl Enriquez of the Milwaukee Journal Story for an interesting story.

Milwaukee Common Council President Hines On Water's Value

Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines says a pending study by the City of Milwaukee on the true value of water will help ensure a more rationalized process the next time a suburban community seeks a sale of Lake Michigan water through the city.

Hines opposed the recent water deal with New Berlin, in part because the City of Milwaukee did not have its study in place, and also because New Berlin had not met certain conditions on water purchasers the City of Milwaukee already had in place.

Beware The Spin And Deception Surrounding New Love Affair With Nuclear Power

Politicians have discovered this election year that fear of rising gasoline prices somehow makes discussion of building nuclear power plants politically tolerable.

Aside from the accidents at Three Mile Island and other nuclear generating facilities, these politicos are conveniently forgetting about the thorny issue of where to safely store these plants highly-dangerous radioactive waste that is measured in the tons.

Safely means stored far from where people live, breathe the air and drink the water.

And nowhere near where terrorists might choose to plot or attack.

The only proposed nuclear waste site in the US that could take some of the existing tonnage is in Yucca, Nevada, where the good folks living there have blocked the waste facility's construction for many years.

Sure it's NIMBYism, but you can see their logic.

And is it moral to demand that a certain type of plant be built in one area, but the potentially catastrophic end product be shipped and stored forever somewhere else?

Turn the situation around? Would folks in Northern Wisconsin, for instance, want to accept nuclear waste shipped in perpetuity, say, from Nevada, or elsewhere?

I thought so.

Taxpayers and consumers should also know that the federal government is estimating that the construction of the waste storage facility is approaching a cost of $100 billion - - an increase of 38% since the previous estimate in 2001 - - and the facility wouldn't be able to accept all the waste generated from existing plants, let alone the 45 that Sen. John McCain wants fast-tracked.

This is the problem with throwing out complex ideas in the middle of a political campaign, especially one at the Presidential level.

What is definitely a serious issue - - energy policy - - turns into the most superficial matter instead, as battling camps need a fresh photo op and news release to look organized and to feed the 24-hour news cycle.

In this campaign, nuclear power is little more than the flavor of the day, a cheap and superficial gimmick.

Pabst Farm Shopping Mall Interchange Project Fee Of Just 7% Looking Even Sweeter

Developers will bear the full cost of road improvements tied to the expansion of I-94 in Kenosha County, according to the Daily Reporter.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, WisDOT, has certain formulas that it applies to private interests that will benefit from a publicly-funded road project, and I am told that it's a relatively inexact science if and when shares get apportioned.

Transportation funding and road spending are getting squeezed by a variety of factors:

* Overblown and unnecessary spending, particularly the $1.9 billion committed to the I-94 reconstruction and widening between Milwaukee and the Illinois state line;

* Falling gas tax revenues for transportation budgets as driving and fuel consumption declines;

* Soaring prices for oil-based road-building materials, like asphalt, not to mention diesel fuel that powers the trucks, road-graders and other vehicles that deliver materials and otherwise help put projects into the ground.

So legislators will look at a variety of means in Wisconsin and Washington to get more money into the system, since none of our political leaders have the will to reduce road-building to reasonable, sustainable levels.

That means higher gas taxes, boosted vehicle registration fees, first-time tolls in Wisconsin, property tax, income tax and bonding increases, and other methods to squeeze more money out of taxpayers and motorists to keep the highway/political complex fully fueled and oiled.

Which brings me back to the deal cut earlier this year to build a $25 million interchange in Western Waukesha County at Pabst Farms to serve an upscale shopping mall that has had an on-again/off-again planning history.

Plans come and go, but the interchange has been approved.

The assessment to the mall developers for this privately-owned mall?

$1.75 million, or 7%.

The other shares - - $1.75 million to Waukesha County, $400,000 to the City of Oconomowoc (now there's a bargain, too), and $21.1 million to state taxpayers.

That would be you and yours truly.

The state could have assessed the mall owners a larger percentage, but didn't.

Why not?

Because with a full diamond interchange already built, the rest of the so-called freeway reconstruction plan across Southeastern Wisconsin will thus have one interchange already done years early, making the remainder of the Waukesha County segment west of Milwaukee a fait accompli for WisDOT.

Bush Administration To End-Run Endangered Species' Protections

Back from junketing to the Olympics, and with just a few months left to wreak havoc on domestic and foreign affairs, Pres. George W. Bush has launched a new effort through administrative rules to help developers, road-builders and other special interests:

Let government project managers, not scientific experts, determine whether their projects put endangered species at risk.

Conservatives at mining, logging, energy, highway and other industries, and their blogger/commentator allies who are usually suspicious of bureaucrats will be elated.

The key paragraphs from AP:

"If approved, the changes would represent the biggest overhaul of the Endangered Species Act since 1988. They would accomplish through regulations what conservative Republicans have been unable to achieve in Congress: ending some environmental reviews that developers and other federal agencies blame for delays and cost increases on many projects.

"The changes would apply to any project a federal agency would fund, build or authorize. Government wildlife experts currently perform tens of thousands of such reviews each year.

"If adopted, these changes would seriously weaken the safety net of habitat protections that we have relied upon to protect and recover endangered fish, wildlife and plants for the past 35 years," said John Kostyack, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming initiative.

"Under current law, federal agencies must consult with experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether a project is likely to jeopardize any endangered species or to damage habitat, even if no harm seems likely.

"This initial review usually results in accommodations that better protect the 1,353 animals and plants in the U.S. listed as threatened or endangered and determines whether a more formal analysis is warranted.

"The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, according to the 30-page draft obtained by the AP."

10th OWI Arrest Brings $2,000 Cash Bail

Maybe it's enough to hold a twice-imprisoned drunk driver in jail until trial, but is $2,000 cash bail the right sum for a person arrested his 10th time for Operating While Intoxicated?

That's the bail set by a Dane County Court Commissioner, reports the Madison Capital Times.

I know bail is supposed to be appropriate to the defendant, but there is a social message delivered with it, and it looks from here like that opportunity has been missed.

Oil, Natural Gas Leases in Michigan Go Without Production

Like leases offshore Florida and California, many oil and natural gas sites in Michigan go without production.

4,000 of them.

Sounds like part of an effort to keep production down, thus prices high, aina?

Natural Gas Drilling Under Lake Erie Panned In Pennsylvania

High natural gas prices are not provoking a big rush to drill for it under Lake Erie, though the Canadians have been doing it for almost 100 years.

Keeping The Great Lakes Bound To The Public Trust Doctrine

Dave Dempsey is waging a one-man campaign to a raise awareness about the flaws in the Great Lakes Compact, and, in doing so, to put conservation of this unique fresh water resource above its commodification.

When negotiations began in 2001 to upgrade the Compact with standards and uniform, rationalized diversion procedures, it seemed as if the emphasis was on water conservation.

But as the discussions produced Annex 2001, and, finally, the draft Compact finally approved by the eight Great Lakes states this summer, a great deal of attention became focused more on getting water out of the basin - - to communities like New Berlin and Waukesha, WI - - and less on validating the fundamental conservation and common ownership ethic that has underscored the Public Trust Doctrine since its US creation in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

The New Berlin diversion application is close to formal approval by Wisconsin authorities, and a tentative agreement has been reached between that small suburban city and a willing seller, the City of Milwaukee - - even though Milwaukee has yet to hire a consultant to advise it about how to value Lake Michigan water being transferred from the larger, land-locked Milwaukee to the fast-growing, upper-income suburbs.

Dempsey is also taking the lead in pointing out that the bottled water loophole is a serious flaw in the agreement because it allows for an unlimited diversion of water away from the Great Lakes basin in containers smaller than 5.7 gallons.

Dempsey, a writer and former environmental official in Michigan under former Republican Governor William Milliken, is pointing out the continuing problems with the Compact, regardless of the protections it offers.

He's looking to make the agreement stronger, and more in line with Great Lakes history:

Where are his counterparts in the region's environmental movement?

Does Bush Still See A Worthy Soul In Putin?

Remember when Pres. George W. Bush looked Vladimir Putin in the eye, got all gushy and saw a decent soul?

Wonder if he's had a chance to do some soul-gazing with Putin as Russian bombers, tanks and ships are flattening the Republic of Georgia?

Can you imagine the outrage on the Right if a Democrat, say, Pres. Bill Clinton got equally captivated by the likes of Putin, only to have pal Putin so whole-and-cold-heartedly slaughter Georgian citizens by the thousands, according to some estimates?

But let's not bother Bush. He's having fun at the Beijing Olympics.

Lake Baikal Preservation Effort Documented by AP

There's a struggle underway in Russia to protect the world's largest single freshwater lake.

Noah Hall Reviews Books On Bottled Water

Law professor and environmental commentator Noah Hall offers reviews of two books looking at the water bottling industry.

Waukesha residents would recognize some of the historical perspective, given that city's long-ago status as a spring, spa and water bottling city.

That was before its springs fell victim to over-pumping.

Dim Planners' Bulbs Keep Motorists In Dark

Wisconsin keeps building new highways, but like plowing, pot hole repairs and other maintenance services it defers, the state can't find the money to replace burned-out bulbs in the very lamps that keep the roads and motorists safe.

This is what happens when priorities do not connect with reality: the public's true needs are kept in the dark.

Bush, Still President, Hangs Out With Athletes in Beijing

Our President is immersing himself in the Olympic games.

Another piece of his farewell junketing.

It's another reminder that W. is still Frat Boy/Jock Wannabee at heart, and was happiest when he was the front guy for the Texas Rangers and he could spend his days hanging with the players and, occassionally, signing off on deals, like the one that sent a young Sammy Sosa and most of his 600 home runs to the White Sox and Cubbies.

And had Bud Selig not gone after it so hard, George Bush would have won the election for Major League Baseball Commissioner, and the worst presidency in American history wouldn't have happened.

Some sourcing, here.

Madison Blogger Emily Mills No Fan Of Waukesha's James Wigderson

Emily Mills has some good questions for Wigderson.

Another Scott Walker Budget Fiasco

I took a walk through Lake Park a few years back and was shocked at the widespread neglect and deterioration.

Weeds, trash, crumbing infrastructure everwhere.

Whitney Gould produced in 2003 a hard-hitting story about the sad shape of this once-proud park, here, and noted that budget cuts by County Executive Scott Walker were keeping the park from the upkeep it needed.

Fast forward to this fine story today by Sean Ryan at the Daily Reporter which documents what it will now cost to fix a pair of key structures in Lake Park - - the famous Lion bridges.

Years of deferred maintenance in the name of ideologically-driven, but short-sighted budget cuts have driven up the bottom line now that the need for repairs has reached a critical point.

So put this mess right at the County Exec's doorstep, and file it under politically penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Walker will probably run to the private sector and other units of governments, as he did to find a fix for the County's abuse and neglect of Bradford Beach, to get a Lake Park maintenance bailout.

Walker would have been left with a trashed reputation and beach at the base of Lake Park if the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District - - which did not own the storm water drains that spewed contaminants across the region's premier beach - - philanthropist and business leader Sheldon Lubar's family, and MillerCoors hadn't come forward with financial and restoration assistance.

I wonder who will get tapped to fix the famous Lion bridges so the Walker can continue his 2010 run for Governor with as little baggage as possible?

Forbes Says Milwaukee Is Nation's Second Booziest City

This is a list on which you don't want to be near the top.

Growing Concern About Bottling The Great Lakes

From the Toronto Star, with thanks to Dave Dempsey.

Minor Events Pre-Empted By Former News Outlets

A minor news story or two were overlooked by the former mainstream media as it morphed into The 24/7 All-Favre Information And Minutiae Complex.

And there's always the video of Prince Fielder's dugout meltdown available for a few thousand more replays.

Until the next breaking news weather alert from the Storm Center.

Environmental Groups, WE Energies, Negotiate A Smart Settlement

There has been a productive settlement ending protracted litigation between state environmental groups and the owners of the Oak Creek power plant.

The plant's construction on Lake Michigan will proceed, and its owners will make several significant contributions to lake cleanup and other environmental activities.

Among the highlights, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"$100 million would be allocated for Great Lakes water quality, to address problems including invasive species, runoff pollution, toxic loadings and habitat destruction.

"$5 million would fund projects to reduce emissions linked to global warming, consistent with a recommendation of Gov. Jim Doyle ' s global warming task force.

"The utilities would seek to expand the state 's solar energy by 15 megawatts.

"Another initiative would seek to invest in energy efficiency projects for public buildings in the state, another task force recommendation.

"All three utilities would agree to provide information to customers to help track utility greenhouse gas emissions."

I think this is a good example of thoughtful negotiations that produced outcomes serving broad public policy purposes.

It could be used as the basis for regional agreements in southeastern Wisconsin - - if the parties want to think big and put real issues on the table.

A final thought.

I don't think the settlement would have been possible if litigation hadn't been initiated.

It's always a heavy card for groups to play - - costly in dollars and, potentially, in bridges burned - - but the serious signal it sent to all parties helped pave the way for the deal, no doubt.

I like the settlement, and I like the strategy and the willingness of environmental groups to take risks.

Well done, Clean Wisconsin, Sierra Club, and their attorneys.