Petition proposes vote on potential $10 million community center in Cudahy
SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) – People in South Milwaukee are collecting signatures to create a referendum on a proposed community center project.
The South Milwaukee and Cudahy school districts are looking to purchase the building that was formerly a YMCA facility on College Avenue in Cudahy. The districts want to transform it into a South Shore Community Recreation Center. St. Francis would partner with the two districts if the project goes through.
Katie Swanson, a lifelong South Milwaukee resident, served on a committee that helped develop the concept for the community space. She believes it would allow for safer schools and provide additional programming which would enrich the community.
“We do have to invest in our communities, so they continue to thrive,” Swanson said. “If we don’t invest in our communities, that is when we are unable to draw small businesses and young families.”
According to a video from December with Dan Arnold, the Director of Business Services with the School District of South Milwaukee, the preliminary price listed is set at $4.9 million for the property. However, the district is prepared to take out a bond for $10 million dollars. Under the current draft partnership, South Milwaukee will look to pay 53% of the costs, with Cudahy taking on the other 47%.
If this current plan were to go through, it would mean tax increases for people in South Milwaukee and Cudahy. A South Milwaukee taxpayer with a $250,000 house would pay about $50 dollars a year for the next 20 years, according to Arnold.
In the Facebook group ‘South Milwaukee Town Hall’ many people are sharing their opinions on the proposal and believe the tax increase for the development would be too significant for parents already struggling.
Erin Seel and Gigi Szeklinski are currently collecting signatures for what they say is a "non-partisan petition." If it gets 1700 signatures by January 16, it will require a vote on the facility through a referendum.
"We just want the community's voice to be heard. If it is for it, if it's against it, everyone has their own personal situation that they are in,” Szeklinski said. “We want to be their voice."
Swanson fears if the proposal goes to referendum, the property could be sold to another potential buyer.
Seel and Szeklinski are still collecting signatures. They say they will continue to provide updates on future locations to sign the petition in the Facebook group ‘South Milwaukee Town Hall.’
You can read more about the proposed community center here.