Wauwatosa 1st District aldermanic race

Jeffrey Kroll

Age: 32

Address: 2165 N. 60th St.

Years of residency: about 23

Family: wife, Angelique

Job: adjunct instructor in the Social Sciences and Communication Department of Waukesha County Technical College

Education: bachelor's degree in sociology from Carthage College, master's in sociology from University of Arizona

Community involvement: Pabst Park Neighborhood Association; Big Brothers, Big Sisters; YMCA: Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful

Website: KrollForAlderman.com

Contact: KrollForAlderman@gmail.com, (414) 334-9545

There have been a number of burglaries, thefts from vehicles and robberies on Wauwatosa's east side in the past year. What should be done to protect residents?

Our house was burgled two years ago, so I feel for these victims. But the public will be served best if we put aside our emotional responses and deal with the issue rationally. Evidence shows that our fears may be disproportionate to the actual dangers we face. East Tosa has a very low crime rate and fast police response times. The police are doing their job well here, and we should do what we can to maintain current levels. That said, they're not necessarily in a position to prevent burglaries, unless we're willing to fund an officer standing around on every corner. What can help to minimize these incidents is neighborhood-level activity: We must be willing to watch each others' backs, get to know our neighbors, exchange numbers and recruit more people into our block watch programs. If we report suspicious behavior to the police, they'll show up in minutes!

Which projects in the East Tosa commercial district master plan should receive priority?

I think two of the projects suggested in the plan will have the greatest overall positive impact and should be implemented soon. One is replacing the unpopular "chicane" street design with a regular two-lane style. This will immediately create more parking and make the district more friendly to bikers who currently divert up to the safer Center Street, thus depriving North Avenue businesses of potential customers. The other is instituting an organizational structure for four-block "thematic business subdistricts." It's tricky for businesses on North to cooperate because the district is so long and thin. Breaking it up into more digestible chunks will allow businesses that operate individually to form into cohesive units capable of collective action. For example, coordinating on a themed event in which all businesses offer a certain kind of discount could lure shoppers to visit multiple businesses in a single trip.

Private sewer laterals have been identified as a major contributor to overwhelming the system, which leads to basement backups. Do you support performing work on private property and, if so, who should pay?

I would prefer to wait for the results of the lateral rehabilitation pilot program before committing to a course of action. I suspect, though, that if we leave the fixing of private laterals up to homeowners, most of them will remain unfixed and the city will continue to experience problems, which will ultimately harm the perception of our neighborhood and the quality of life here. Also, the work will be done more efficiently if the city does it, because the city can leverage economies of scale to get a lower price per home. This will make the project drain less money from our city than if each individual homeowner works on their own. We certainly ought to be working with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to find grants and other sources of money to help defray the cost to taxpayers. The city's role here is to protect long-term property value.

Jim Moldenhauer

Age: 48

Address: 6925 W. Lloyd St.

Years of residency: lifelong

Family: single

Job: information technology manager for Hampel Corp.

Education: master's of business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Community involvement: Wauwatosa Beautification Committee

Website: jim@jimmoldenhauer.com

Contact: (414) 453-8821, jimmoldenhauer.com

There have been a number of burglaries, thefts from vehicles and robberies on Wauwatosa's east side in the past year. What should be done to protect residents?

Protecting public safety and fully funding our police are of great importance to District 1 residents, and I have made both tenets of my campaign. A review of the current comparative incident statistics provided by the Wauwatosa Police show that, citywide, crime is down almost 4.5 percent as compared to 2010 and just over 15 percent from 2006. The trend is clearly in the right direction - and our Police Department's efforts and strategies are a good reason why. The Common Council's job is to ask for accountability from our law enforcement officials. From a resident perspective, it's important that when criminal incidents manifest themselves that we increase residential awareness in problem areas. Greater awareness, including having citizens being proactive in notifying law enforcement to suspicious activities, is a key component to the public safety and well-being of our city, in general, and District 1 residents, in particular.

Which projects in the East Tosa commercial district master plan should receive priority?

District 1 residents have shared with me their strong enthusiasm and support for the East Town master plan. I've publicly stated my support, and will actively work to bring about its intended realization. To that end, it's important to note the current plan and public dollar investment focuses largely on public property; but to achieve the plan's goals, any public investment dollars must leverage the plan's proposed private dollar investments. In specific, one can make a strong case that our focus should be on what would be deemed "problem" properties - the goal being to attract desirable uses. Efforts could be expended to perhaps pay for demolition of such properties, thereby helping create the business case for a developer to move forward with the necessary private funds investment. With the plan as our guidepost, we need to focus on successful execution and achieving the plan's goals.

Private sewer laterals have been identified as a major contributor to overwhelming the system, which leads to basement backups. Do you support performing work on private property and, if so, who should pay?

Sewer backups in District 1 are a big issue - one with horrific consequences for homeowners. It's well documented that over the last two decades Wauwatosa has been remiss in dealing with infrastructure investment. Sanitary sewers are one major example. Upon further analysis, there are a number of solutions available: have MMSD deal with it (and then have homeowners pay the cost); have residents, on a case-by-case basis, shoulder the large, one-time lateral repair cost to their property; prepare, fund and execute a comprehensive city-led effort to address targeted areas. The Common Council is still in the process of gathering the facts and costs for proposed solutions. Until all our options and costs are known, it would be premature to make any decision. I will surely have the best interests of District 1 residents in mind - and will garner considerable feedback - prior to making any formal decision.