Whither the Environmental Commission? Or, I think Mayor Taylor is a closet environmentalist

• 10/26 UPDATE •

According to Franklinnow.com, Mayor Taylor has decided against dissolving the Environmental and Economic Commissions:
"I had a discussion with some people in the community and city staff, and what I found out is the amount of staff time needed for both commissions can be rolled back considerably," he said. "If the staff can get their routine duties done, then we'll provide staff to those two commissions. In other words, we don't need to dissolve them."
______

To anyone tracking the depleted influence afforded Franklin's Environmental Commission, the eventual proposal to simply eliminate the volunteer body comes as no surprise. Developers trying to consummate deals in Franklin - - which is dotted with wetlands - - are no fans of the Commission, a group that threatens to lengthen the time it takes for them to deposit checks in their bank accounts.

But I really smelled something fishy when Alderman Steve Olson, who was originally elected on a pro-development platform, made the motion recommending 20 year-old Greg Kowalski to the Commission (the nomination was made by Mayor Taylor). Kowalski had been blogging for a while by that time and had already exhibited a degree of... youthful exuberance, let's call it... that gets him routinely excoriated by conservative franklinnow.com bloggers and publicly scolded (which was pretty over the top, I might add) by area activist Casper Green. The conspiracy theorist in me says that Olson saw Kowalski's outspokenness and "flaming youth" as a way to draw unflattering attention to the Environmental Commission, a group for which he has no great regard.

That theory crumbles a bit when you consider that Olson has said he's in favor of keeping the present Environmental Commission intact - - and why not? They aren't allowed to do much of anything in their current incarnation, so why not maintain the illusion for Franklin citizens - - rather inexpensively, I might add - - that someone is looking out for issues beyond fattening the wallets of developers?

This is why I think Mayor Taylor is a closet environmentalist.

In publicly proposing the end to the Environmental Commission, he's brought the discussion to the forefront. Who, other than impatient developers, was talking about the EC before? Now formerly ambivalent citizens are starting to wonder how the EC  - - the members of which are paid nothing - - could be allowed to slip into a state of uselessness and then disappear.

The story below also strongly implies that developer Mark Carstensen (he of Shoppes at Wyndham Village, etc.) was singularly instrumental in getting the eminently qualified Kevin Haley (who has been praised in this blog on many occasions) removed from the Environmental Commission. What the story does not mention is that Mayor Taylor then installed Kevin Haley on the Plan Commission, a much more influential body where Haley has been doing an excellent job, speaking truth to power regularly.

I perceive a silver lining here, to say the least. Hats off to Mayor Taylor for what may turn out to be a very savvy - - and surprisingly eco-friendly - - move.

Also, kudos to Annysa Johnson for closing her piece with this precious, revealing quote from Council President Lyle Sohns regarding his rather quaint vision of the EC's mission:

"If they [the EC] had some worthy project - how to get people to recycle more or how to get people to compost. But they don't want to do that."

••••

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Environmental panel fights dissolution

Franklin mayor wants to disband watchdog group

By ANNYSA JOHNSON
anjohnson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Oct. 24, 2007

Franklin - The city's independent-minded Environmental Commission has been going toe-to-toe with officials and developers in this fast-growing community almost since the commission was established in the early 1990s.

Its success can be seen around the city, in tougher development standards; stronger monitoring of quarries; and the preservation of high-quality green space, from the 40-acre Fitzsimmons Woods to a virgin prairie remnant in the midst of a luxury subdivision.

But commission members may have picked one fight too many.

Mayor Tom Taylor is proposing to disband the board as part of his 2008 budget, replacing it with a conservation committee with what he calls a more focused agenda.

Taylor said he's eliminating the panel, along with the Economic Development Commission, to lessen the burden on city planning staff assigned to support them.

But Environmental Commission members say they're being targeted for speaking out against projects favored by the Common Council, most recently developer Mark Carstensen's Shoppes at Wyndham Village, whose state permits are being contested before an administrative law judge.

"It's not just (Wyndham) but development in general," said Gregory Kowalski, a new Environmental Commission member who's been criticized by aldermen for comments he's made on a blog. "This council wants to rubber-stamp these projects, and they see the Environmental Commission as the only obstacle to getting developments pushed through as quickly as possible."

Kowalski and a group of current and former members and supporters will launch a petition drive this week to urge Taylor to not only retain, but also to strengthen, the Environmental Commission. [Online petition is here.]

Taylor, who notes a study three years ago recommended axing the two committees as a way to streamline government, said he's open to public input.

"But I still have staff concerns," he said. "There's only so many hours in a day."

Supporters of the petition drive include Taylor's predecessor, former mayor-turned-municipal judge Fred Klimetz, who established the commission.

"I'm not saying they're always right about every issue. But they have a viewpoint that should be listened to," Klimetz said.

"If there's not enough public interest, then that would be a sign that people don't feel a watchdog group like the Environmental Commission is necessary, which I think would be a real shame," he said.

Developers have long complained that Franklin's Environmental Commission, with its strict interpretation of the city's natural resources ordinances, has made it difficult to do business there.

The city has taken steps to diminish its role in recent years, including turning over the environmental review of new projects to outside consultants, which some argue have the potential for conflict of interest because they also do work for developers. But the constraints have grown tighter since members began raising questions about the Wyndham project in April, Chairman Kristen Wilhelm said.

"The mayor sets our agendas now, and he has them going through the city attorney's office," Wilhelm said. "We have no input."

Taylor said he's running agendas for both the Environmental Commission and the Economic Development Commission through legal channels to ensure they comply with notice requirements.

Taylor denies being pressured by developers or other officials to rein in the commission, though he said Carstensen raised concerns about former commission member Kevin Haley shortly before Taylor decided against reappointing him to another term earlier this year.

And in May and June, Ald. Steve Olson and Council President Lyle Sohns complained to Taylor in e-mails about commission members expressing personal opinions and weighing in on matters outside purview.

Sohns threatened to withhold approval of mayoral appointments until Taylor addressed their concerns.

Sohns said this week that he's "ambivalent" about disbanding the commission but sees no point in it continuing if it won't stick to the mission set out for it by the council.

"If they had some worthy project - how to get people to recycle more or how to get people to compost," he said.

"But they don't want to do that."

Comments

[Greg Kowalski]

John,

Nice entry.

Sohns was at our Environmental Commission meeting last night to speak out about recycling issues as a matter of fact.

I appreciated his input, and the Commission will be doing a series of recycling "memos" to residents in the coming weeks. A lot of new methods were discussed and brought forth to us - and many of them were rather simple to do and will be beneficial to our community as a whole.

[John]

Thanks, Greg. But I was sort of chiding Sohns for professing his belief in a very limited role for the EC in his "recycling" remark.

I'm glad to hear that he's working on the issue with the EC, however.

[Greg Kowalski]

I wouldn't go so far as to say he's "working on the issue" with the EC, but rather that he gave his input from resident concerns in his District.

I'd say he's very "hands-off" in his approach - just giving subtle hints and suggestions. I don't think he'll be at future Commission meetings unless his constituents request that he speak out on a topic - such as with the recycling issue. And in my opinion, that's perfectly fine.

We have Alderman Ken Skowronski as the representative of the Council on the EC.

[Terrence Berres]

"Developers trying to consummate deals in Franklin - - which is dotted with wetlands - - are no fans of the Commission, a group that threatens to lengthen the time it takes for them to deposit checks in their bank accounts."

I take it that two posts back when you took Mr. Kowalski to task for being "vaguely sarcastic" it was the "vaguely" to which you objected.

[John]

Mr. Berres, you are absolutely correct. If one seeks to be sarcastic or facetious, being "vaguely" so is merely annoying, particularly in the context of a commenter to whom I have patiently explained details he chose to skim over.

[Greg Kowalski]

Nice.

I think I'm beginning to find out who some commentators are on FranklinNOW...

[Bryan Maersch]

Looks like John was right with the Mayor removing the EC from the chopping block.

[Terrence Berres]

If you're saying that you use historical examples only by analogy, but are actually calling for what are actually more demanding standards in practice due to changed conditions, then what you advocate involves the higher costs of those higher standards. It seems a bit unwarranted to then talk as if the hangup is the greed of developers.

[Greg Kowalski]

I'd hold the phone on the "We saved the EC!" festivities for the time being...

I'll be covering the Mayor's response and posing questions tomorrow on my FranklinNOW.com blog.

[Bryan Maersch]

Didn't Tom Taylor just say last year, talking about Kristen Wilhem, Vice Chair of the EC: “We believe Kristen Wilhelm not only qualifies for Conservationist of the Year, but is a perfect example of a concerned citizen becoming involved in improving her community. Through her hard work, dedication and passion for conservation of natural resources, Ms. Wilhelm has without a doubt improved the quality of life for citizens of Franklin and its surrounding communities.”

[Bryan Maersch]

If the EC goes away now that it is up to the Common Council. Not even a 1000 person signed petition is going to save it.

[Greg Kowalski]

Bryan - why do you say that? I thought the Council is supposed to listen to their constituents.

I guess we shall find out.