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May 2006 Bay View Compass Editorial
Dear Bay View Compass Readers,
Recently, many residents in District 4 have contacted my office concerning the possible privatization of our Milwaukee County Parks System. As you may already know, County Executive Scott Walker proposed this idea in his State of Milwaukee County Address he delivered earlier this year. In his address, he promoted the idea of putting coffee shops and restaurants throughout our County Parks system in hopes of solving Milwaukee County's fiscal problems-many of which are the result of long-term, deferred maintenance within our decaying infrastructure.
In addition, County Executive Walker pointed to the successes of the current private leases within the parks system, mainly the Lake Park Bistro in Lake Park, Coast Restaurant in O'Donnell Park, and Starbucks in Red Arrow Park. On April 25, 2006, the County Board of Supervisors received an Audit of these relationships and the information contained within is far from a success story for Milwaukee County residents.
The Audit details a wide variety of disappointments within these private endeavors, many of which are familiar problems with privatization, from lax management and oversight of private leases to general lack of accountability. Walker's administration has not monitored gross sales commissions and has missed opportunities for additional commissions from a private vendor by permitting revenue-generating events that are not covered by any lease agreement. Utility and energy bills have been backlogged and technical requirements of insurance coverage certification have not been met. A signed copy of the Letter of Agreement with the exclusive caterer in O'Donnell Park and Milwaukee County is missing and was never submitted to the County Board for approval.
In the case of the Lake Park Bistro, major improvements were made to the private restaurant area during the term of the lease. However, the public community room has not been upgraded. The Lake Park Trust Fund which is set up for improvements to the building has been monitored by the private lessee, not Milwaukee County. Lastly, only 1 of 32 construction projects to the Lake Park Pavilion has been certified by our Office of Community Business Development Partners as being operated by a minority or woman-owned business.
In conclusion, immediate action is needed to bring private initiatives in our Milwaukee County Parks system into compliance with the adopted lease agreements. These lease agreements are important to county residents because they guarantee public access and market compensation for the use of public buildings. Once this is done, there should be a community discussion on the merits of coffee shops and restaurants in our publicly owned facilities, especially in light of the mismanagement of the private leases this audit has found. As always, feel free to contact my office with any comments or questions you may have at 278-4232.
Sincerely,
Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic
MILWAUKEE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Courthouse Room 201, 901 North 9th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233
PHONE: 414-278-4232 FAX: 414-223-1380
Page last updated 05-02-06
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