Meeting will discuss details of Tosa's Meinecke flood project

Wauwatosa residents who have questions about the Meinecke Avenue flood mitigation project will have an opportunity to learn about the plan and potential impacts on the neighborhood during a public information meeting June 4.

The meeting comes in response to a block of homeowners who didn't receive special assessments notices alerting them of the project as well as resident who did get notice but thought the project was simply a street repaving.

Resident Christine Riley had circulated a petition for an evening public information meeting scheduled two weeks out so neighbors could make plans to attend. Additional signatures continue to come in, she said today.

She credits the city with putting project information online at Wauwatosa.net, under the Hot Topics section, and sending meeting notices to about 600 homes.

However, she remains concerned that the schedule to approve the contract bids doesn't give residents much time to digest the information and lobby city officials with their opinions. The Common Council is expected to vote on awarding the construction contract the following night, June 5.

"It's obvious this project is going through," Riley said. "We just want to make sure people are thinking about our needs and taking into account quality of life issues."

For instance, people want to know how they will enter and exit from their properties, where they will park their cars and whether smaller machinery could be brought in to save a larger number of trees.

Those who signed the petition are looking to have the council vote delayed until June 19.

Meanwhile, the council's Budget and Finance Committee will meet May 29 to talk about finding the money in the existing five-year Capital Improvements Plan to pay for the flood mitigation project. The low bid came in at $14.4 million, $2 million overbudget.

City staff is going through the sewer, water and street funds to determine if they can find extra money from some of the projects that have come in under budget, City Administrator James Archambo said.

Once those dollars have been analyzed, they can determine what smaller project to delay to make up the funding gap, he said.

Next step

WHAT: A public information meeting will be held on the Meinecke Avenue flood mitigation project

WHEN: 7 to 8:30 p.m. June 4

WHERE: Wauwatosa Public Library, 7635 W. North Ave.