CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE
Regular MeetingMilwaukee, WI · May 21, 2015
Minutes
200 E. Wells Street
City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53202
Meeting Minutes
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
COMMITTEE
ALD. ROBERT BAUMAN, CHAIR
Ald. Nik Kovac, Ald. Michael Murphy, Ghassan Korban,
Martin Matson, Mark Nicolini, and Mariano Schifalacqua
Staff Assistant: Linda Elmer, 286-2231
Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov
Fiscal Planning Specialist: Kathleen Brengosz, 286-3926,
kbreng@milwaukee.gov
Thursday, May 21, 2015 9:00 AM City Hall, Room 301-B
1. Review and approval of the minutes of the April 16 and 17, 2015 minutes.
Meeting convened: 9:05 A.M
Members excused: Mr. Nicolini
Mr. Schifalacqua moved for approval of the minutes. There were no objections.
2. Discussion of and recommendations for the 2016 Capital Budget Requests.
The committee discussed its recommendations for the 2016 capital budget.
Ald. Bauman noted the large number of IT related requests especially in the Police
Dept. He said there was no real basis for evaluating their legitimacy. He asked if
there was any capacity for independent review of these requests. Mr. Froh said that
in the past, an effort was made to have ITMD review all IT requests but that fell by the
wayside because ITMD didn’t have the expertise for police, fire and many public
works matters. He said that reviewing and comparing software for various
applications is expensive. He recommended having a representative from ITMD on
every IT project over a pre-determined cost. Ald. Bauman asked if the City already
had a committee devoted to IT issues. Mr. Matson said the City Wide Information
Management Committee meets regularly. Mr. Schifalacqua suggested that the
committee recommend funding for a dedicated position in ITMD to independently
review IT requests. Mr. Froh said that the operational department is in the best
position to decide what piece of software fits it best. ITMD can determine which
piece of software makes the most sense in terms of its functionality and its reliability.
He said it’s important to determine the purpose of purchasing software. He said
software purchases should allow the City to get more done or it should lower costs.
Ald. Bauman said he was not comfortable recommending funding for any of the IT
requests. Mr. Froh said he was not comfortable denying it all. Mr. Matson said the
HRMS project definitely needed funded. Mr. Schifalacqua asked if the committee
should pass the requests through to the Budget Office. Ald. Bauman said he would
like to zero them out. Mr. Matson expressed concern with that approach. Ald.
Kovac said it was more important to express concerns regarding the IT requests than
to recommend a specific dollar amount.
Mr. Matson said the tax collection system and the assessment software for the
Assessor seem to be reasonable requests. Mr. Matson suggested giving the Police
department the same amount they got in 2015 and let them prioritize their capital
expenditures. Ms. Brengosz said that evaluating Police Department IT requests
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especially difficult because most projects appear in the capital request for the first
time in the year the project needs funding which doesn’t give a lot of time to evaluate
the merits of the project before a decision needs to be made. Ald. Bauman
suggested that the committee recommend zero funding for the Police Department’s
IT requests with a footnote explaining that more information is needed before funding
can be recommended.
Special Capital Projects
Ald. Kovac said he would like to see funding for the Municipal Art Fund. Ald. Bauman
suggested $50,000 for the Municipal Art Fund and $87,000 for the Capital
Improvements Committee.
Ms. Brengosz said that the Better Buildings Challenge is administered by the Office
of Environmental Sustainability and would replace the DPW capital account for
Energy Efficiency Upgrades. She said the requested funding is not specifically tied to
grants. Ald. Bauman asked why improvements at firehouses and police stations
were not included in the departmental requests. Ms. Brengosz said because these
projects would be specific to energy reduction goals, not general building
maintenance. Ald. Bauman suggested cutting the request in half. Ald. Kovac agreed
saying he would like more information about the projects.
DOA – ITMD
Ald. Bauman suggested $300,000 for IT Upgrades and $800,000 for the Tax
Collection System. Ald. Kovac suggested reducing Public Facility Communications to
the amount budgeted for 2015.
Ald. Kovac asked how the CSWAN/COMON upgrade was different from the Public
Facility Upgrade request. Mr. Froh said the CSWAN project would replace the
electronics of the system as opposed to the conduit, fiber wiring. He said electronic
components typically last between 3 and 7 years. Ms. Brengosz said they were last
upgraded was in 2008. Mr. Froh said the price has come down substantially since
the last upgrade. Ald. Kovac asked about the consequences of postponing the
CSWAN project. Mr. Froh said that as electronics age, they are more prone to
periodic failures or incidences of randomly shutting down and coming back on.
Ald. Kovac suggested cutting the funding in half for the Corporate Database Server.
Mr. Froh said that it was already a two year request. Ald. Bauman suggested
$150,000. Ald. Kovac said he would like to see more detail on how the funding for
the CRM Upgrade ($220,000) would be spent.
The committee deferred its recommendation on the CRM Upgrade project. The
committee reduced requested funding for the following programs: Public Facility
Communications, (from $625,000 to $550,000), Corp. Database Server Upgrade
(from $270,000 to $150,000), and CSWAN/COMON Upgrade (from $500,000 to
$250,000). The committee recommended the requested funding for the IT Upgrades
and Replacement Program ($300,000) and the HRMS Upgrade project ($1 million)
Assessor
Mr. Schifalacqua expressed concern that almost half of the request for the
Assessment Software project was for positions. Ms. Brengosz said that the capital
request for the 2015 Budget included a similar amount of positions. She said she did
not know how much has been expended on the project. Ald. Bauman suggested $0
until more information is available because there may be carryover funding available.
Mr. Matson suggested recommending the full requested amount because if the
request is largely for salaries, the money will be spent. Mr. Froh agreed. Ald. Kovac
suggested reducing it to $555,000. The committee recommended funding of
$555,000 for the Assessment Software project.
City Attorney
Ald. Bauman suggested recommending $0 for the 8th Floor of City Hall. Ald. Kovac
said that it was likely that there would be no be funding in the 2016 Budget primarily
because of the uncertainty regarding the foundation project. The committee did not
recommend funding for the 8th Floor of City Hall Remodeling project.
City Clerk
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Ald. Bauman expressed support for the Channel 25 Conversion project. Ald.
Bauman said he did not support the LRB Office Upgrade or the Room 205
Remodeling. Ald. Kovac was in agreement. The committee recommended $225,000
for the Channel 25 project.
DCD
Ald. Bauman said the $28 million for Tax Incremental Districts is a placeholder. He
said the budgeted amount was likely to be higher. Ald. Bauman said the requests for
the Advanced Planning Fund and the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative seem to be
reasonable. He said he was comfortable with $450,000 for the Housing
Infrastructure Preservation fund. He suggested funding the Commercial Investment
Fund and the Brownfield Fund as requested.
Ald. Bauman said that the Strong Neighborhoods Program is difficult to evaluate
because it is spread across so many capital accounts in different departments. Ms.
Brengosz said that the Strong Neighborhoods Program also gets funding in the
operating budgets of several departments. Ald. Kovac suggested footnoting any
capital request relating to the foreclosure crisis asking for comprehensive information
regarding funding. Ald. Bauman suggested funding the Strong Neighborhood
Program as a special capital project. He also suggested deferring action on any
Strong Neighborhood Program related capital accounts until the next meeting.
Ald. Bauman asked why carryover wasn’t included in the write up. Ms. Brengosz said
that based on feedback from the committee after the 2015 capital budget hearings,
the annual carryover amount was deleted from the committee’s write up, primarily
because it didn’t accurately reflect the amount of funding that is available. Ald. Kovac
said that he would prefer to have carryover information so the departments could
explain it. Mr. Korban said it was important to identify encumbered funds and
obligated funds.
The committee deferred their recommendation on the in rem Property and
Commercial in rem Property programs. The remaining projects and programs in the
Dept. of City Development were recommended for funding as requested.
Fire Department
Ald. Bauman asked if a site had been found for the new repair shop. Mr. Schwark
said no. Ald. Bauman suggested $0 for the Fire Repair Shop.
Ald. Bauman asked what equipment was budgeted for the Fire Department in 2015.
Ms. Brengosz said funding was provided for two ambulances. She said that based
on the current size of the front line fleet, funding for two engines per year would keep
the fleet age within the NFP guidelines. She also said that obtaining engines
consistently over time would allow for a proper break in period for new equipment
would be less disruptive to the department’s operations. Mr. Froh said the request for
major equipment is consistent for the next five years. Ald. Bauman suggested $2.2
million for Major Capital Equipment. Ald. Kovac said he was comfortable with that.
Ald. Kovac asked if the University of Chicago study was complete. Ms. Brengosz
said that the department hopes that by early September they will have a model that
will be able to identify the effects on response time of moving a piece of equipment
from one house to another.
Ms. Brengosz said that the majority of the work being proposed for 2016 in the Fire
Facilities Maintenance account involves roofs. Ald. Bauman asked if improvements
at the fire houses were related to improving energy efficiency. Mr. Korban said that
presumably projects would include energy efficiencies but that improving energy
efficiency was not the primary purpose of the project. Ald. Bauman suggested
funding Fire Facilities Maintenance and Auxiliary Power Supply as requested.
Ald. Bauman suggested $0 funding for the Record Management system and the
Radio Console Upgrade because the committee needed more information. Ald.
Kovac said he would like to see the Fire Department coordinate with the Police
Department on IT upgrades.
The committee deferred their recommendation on the Fire Record Management
System and the Fire Digital Radio System. No funding was recommended for the
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Fire Repair Shop. The remaining projects and programs administered by the Fire
Department were recommended for funding as requested.
Library
Ald. Kovac said the request for the construction of new mixed use libraries has been
discussed for several years. He said the current plan was to replace four
neighborhood libraries. He also said that constructing mixed use libraries is far less
expensive for the City than building stand-alone facilities. Ms. Brengosz said the
construction timeline has been extended to reduce the annual capital requests. Ald.
Bauman suggested funding the Library as requested.
All capital programs administered by the Library were recommended for funding as
requested.
Municipal Court
Ms. Brengosz said the construction of the Municipal Court space in the Police
Administration Building would be funded in the Police Department’s budget. The
request would fund a consultant who has expertise specific to court operations and
security. The committee did not recommend funding for the Court
Remodel/Redesign project.
Dept. of Neighborhood Services
Action on the Code Compliance Program and the Demolition program was deferred
because both accounts are part of the Strong Neighborhood Program. The
committee supported the continuation of the conversion of the Anderson Water
Tower Garage. The committee did not support the Remodeling of the Development
Center Offices.
Police Department
Ald. Bauman asked if the Police Administration Building project was back on
schedule. Ms. Brengosz said yes.
Ald. Kovac suggested reducing the request for District Repairs to a level more
consistent with recent budgets. Ald. Bauman suggested $500,000. Ald. Kovac
suggested reducing the Radio & Communication Upgrade request by half. Ms.
Brengosz said the department was currently in negotiation with a vendor for the
Record Management System. Ald. Kovac said he would like to see the CAD system
coordinated with the RMS system.
Ald. Bauman asked why additional funding was needed for the Uninterruptable Power
Supply project. Ms. Brengosz said that in 2014 the Police Dept. received $696,000 to
replace auxiliary power supplies for various department systems. She said that no
funding was requested 2015, but now the project appears to be more extensive than
originally estimated so the department is requesting an additional $850,000. Ald.
Bauman said that this was a large estimating error.
The committee deferred action on the Police department’s IT requests and the Police
Administration Building. The committee reduced requested funding for District
Repairs (from $2,053,900 to $500,000) and for Radio Communications Upgrades
(from $815,000 to $400,000)
Port of Milwaukee
Ms. Brengosz said it was likely that the crane, which has been in the capital plan for
several years, will be purchased in 2015 with redevelopment bonds.
All programs and projects administered by the Port of Milwaukee were recommended
for funding as requested.
DPW – Operations
Mr. Korban said the department has purchased one brine maker and intends to
purchase two more. He said having three brine makers will reduce travel time and
reduce the City’s salt usage.
The committee deferred action on the Vacant Lot Beautification program because it is
part of the Strong Neighborhood Program. All other programs administered by DPW
– Operations were recommended for funding as requested.
DPW – Infrastructure
The committee discussed the memo from DPW regarding repair and replacement
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options for the 1st Street Bridge. The bridge opens approximately 700 times per
year. Mr. Korban said that there are many variables that influence cost, but that a lift
bridge would probably not be significantly cheaper than a bascule bridge. Mr.
Schifalacqua said that if the City applied to close the 1st Street Bridge or reconstruct
it as a fixed bridge, there would likely be opposition from affected property owners
during the public comment period. Ald. Bauman said that the construction of the
freeway in the mid 1960’s over the Milwaukee River created a permanent restriction
on the vessels that can go up the river. He said other bridges including the Hoan
were constructed 125 feet above the river to allow for boat traffic
The committee discussed funding for street reconstruction. Ald. Bauman said that
the total amount requested was lower than last year. Ms. Brengosz said the
approximately $2 million of Local Road Improvement Program funding would be
available from the state in 2016. Mr. Korban said that the increase in the High Impact
request would allow the department to begin improving local streets. Mr. Korban said
the City crew to make repairs to electrical manholes is now in place.
The committee recommended the Major and Local Bridge programs for funding as
requested. The committee recommended the paving related capital accounts for
funding as requested. The committee also recommended the following accounts for
funding as requested: Alley Program, Sidewalk Replacement Program, Street
Lighting Program, Traffic Control, Underground Conduit and Manholes, Underground
Conduit and Electrical Manhole Reconstruction.
Facilities
Mr. Korban said that based on meetings with the consulting and construction firm the
department is comfortable reducing the request for the City Hall Foundation Project
by $5 million for 2016. He said the project is expected to take four or five years and
that the first phase, at $15 million, is likely to be the most expensive because it
includes the relocation of the mechanical room. He estimated the cost of the
mechanical room alterations at $4 million.
Ald. Bauman asked if the Space Planning, Alterations and Engineering was a general
account. Ms. Brengosz said that the account has generally been used to address
smaller projects and needs in various departments that come up unexpectedly during
the year. She added that in the 2016 request, the Space Planning and City Hall
Remodeling were combined in a single request.
Ald. Bauman asked if the Hartung Park landfill was full. Mr. Korban said that 2016
will be the last year of funding for the Hartung Park Landfill project. He said funding
will allow the department to put the finishing touches on the park.
With the exception of the City Hall Foundation Project, all projects and programs
were funded as originally requested.
Parking Fund
The committee discussed the request for the parking structure at 4th & Highland.
Ms. Brengosz said that a revised request for $50,000 was received from the
department. Minimal work is planned at the structure pending the resolution of the
arena construction discussions.
Mr. Korban said that as existing parking meters age and need replacement, the
department would like to replace them with meters that can accept credit cards. Ms.
Brengosz said the meters were last replaced around 1997.
The committee discussed the operation of the Luke parking meters, including issues
with card reading and the lack of reliable receipt production. Mr. Korban said that as
parking and payment technology continues to advance, the department will
re-evaluate the use of Luke meters. Mr. Korban said the convenience fee for the
parking payment app ranges between 22 and 37 cents. The customer pays the fee
to the application manager. The app was developed at no cost to the City.
With the exception of the parking structure at 4th & Highland, all programs and
projects administered by DPW Parking were recommended for funding as originally
requested.
Milwaukee Water Works
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Mr. Korban said the department’s request was consistent with the plan to increase
water main replacement. All programs and projects administered by the Milwaukee
Water Works were recommended for funding as requested.
Sewer Maintenance Fund
All programs and projects administered by the Sewer Maintenance Fund were
recommended for funding as requested.
Agenda
The committee discussed the agenda for the June 3 meeting. Ald. Kovac said he
would like to discuss the Police and Fire Department IT items and the Strong
Neighborhood Program. He requested that a representative from ITMD be present.
Ms. Brengosz said that the condition reports for DPW maintained buildings,
recreational facilities and forestry were on the schedule. She asked if the committee
wanted the Police and Fire Departments to appear. Ald. Bauman said it was not
necessary.
Meeting adjourned: 11:00 A.M.
This meeting can be viewed in its entirety through the City's Legislative Research
Center at http://milwaukee.legistar.com/calendar.
City of Milwaukee Page 6
Agenda
200 E. Wells Street
City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin
53202
Meeting Agenda
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE
ALD. ROBERT BAUMAN, CHAIR
Ald. Nik Kovac, Ald. Michael Murphy, Ghassan Korban, Martin
Matson, Mark Nicolini, and Mariano Schifalacqua
Staff Assistant: Linda Elmer, 286-2231
Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov
Fiscal Planning Specialist: Kathleen Brengosz, 286-3926,
kbreng@milwaukee.gov
Thursday, May 21, 2015 9:00 AM City Hall, Room 301-B
1. Review and approval of the minutes of the April 16 and 17, 2015 minutes.
2. Discussion of and recommendations for the 2016 Capital Budget Requests.
This meeting will be webcast live at www.milwaukee.gov/channel25.
Members of the Common Council and its standing committees who are not members of this committee
may attend this meeting to participate or to gather information. Notice is given that this meeting may
constitute a meeting of the Common Council or any of its standing committees, although they will not
take any formal action at this meeting.
Upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities
through sign language interpreters or auxiliary aids. For additional information or to request this
service, contact the City Clerk's Office ADA Coordinator at 286-2998, (FAX)286-3456,
(TDD)286-2025 or by writing to the Coordinator at Room 205, City Hall, 200 E. Wells Street,
Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Limited parking for persons attending meetings in City Hall is available at reduced rates (5 hour limit)
at the Milwaukee Center on the southwest corner of East Kilbourn and North Water Street. Parking
tickets must be validated in the first floor Information Booth in City Hall.
Persons engaged in lobbying as defined in s. 305-43-4 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances are
required to register with the City Clerk's Office License Division. Registered lobbyists appearing
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available at http://city.milwaukee.gov/Lobbying.
City of Milwaukee Page 1 Printed on 5/13/2015