359 Degrees

"a crate of Oreos"

Hey if you can afford a crate of oreos every night, you can easily afford to bankroll the Historical Society.

Now my place is ancient. It was designed by a couple of hard ridin bikers at a party over at Chuck E Cheese one night. How much can I get from the society for renovation of the property?

 Scott's reply:

Well, us real geeks are more likely to eat M&Ms or Twinkys.  It's the wannabees who eat some Oreo knock off.  They probably buy them at an Aldi's.

And if you want to complain about the disappearance of what you love about Brookfield, you should start being part of the solution.  Otherwise you're just an embittered crybaby with no answers.

I think some types of preservation are a great bonus to a community. Certainly, the bar should be set very high to protect property owner rights. Everyone points to our Parks and Ruby Farms and the Depot as being worth saving, but then when we want to set the bar on what is considered a historical or significant property, those begging for no development complain about a preservation ordinance proposal. I don't understand how someone could gripe for preservation and against introducing this proposal, unless they have a constant personal agenda...

Santa's Elf,

It seems you want it both ways, No to all developement, and No to any preservation...  Your comments here are all sarcastic, rude, bitter, and immature, with no solutions or compromise ideas.  You remind me of INTWERM that always posts all those negative thoughts, but at least he/she has a novel idea or an actual solution offered once in a while.

Not that Brookfield's neighbors are any more civilized or sophisticated, yet they all have Historic Preservation Ordinances. Hmmm. I haven't heard of any challenges from taxpayers in those communities. Hmmm. Does this mean Brookfield is "special" or full of baloney and self righteousness?  Might just be the case since the last attempt to write and enact an ordinance was 13 years ago. Pave paradise, puit up a parking lot. Tick, tick, tick...

Scott's reply:

I'm not sure I entirely understand your message, but I'll interpret it as general support of a preservation ordinance and doubt that property owner opposition will be significant.

Hi Scott, as I have expressed my feelings in the past I do not support Historical preservation. How far do we want to go back. We have the Milwaukee Public Museum as a sorce of historical data. Lots of it in boxes on the shelf because of a lack of funds to display it in a meaningfull manner for those that are interested in that information.

We already have a problem with the our own historical society having a  short fall of money to support the Dousman House that the City has been throttled with its ownership. The lack of volunteer funding for this lonely project ought to tell the City of the general lack of interest in wanting further tax burden to support those that want historical preservation.

We have Old World Wisconsin that has a great smathering of all the heritage of Wisconsin. This entity also is in finacial trouble. Hint as to a lack of over all support from an entire state.

To disect that (historical preservation) and do it on an indivitual community basis is really expensive. We have the Dousman House (really stuck with it now being owned by all of us). It will continue to bleed us tax payers because of it's type of construction for ever. Dust to dust Ashes to Ashes.

Most historical buildings are nothing but a tree that has been modified into building materials. All trees die and so should those things that are constructed of them. Nature does take care of it's self one way or another. I don't think historical preservation should get in the way of that.

Our Tax burden here in Brookfield as well as other communities is overwhelming. You and your associates should use your valuble time on more productive and meaningful efforts to reduce our growing tax burden.

We often are compared to Mequon as a community. They have a tree preservation ordiance. The powers to be in Mequon are really stiff on anyone wanting to take down a tree for any reason. They are now eating that ordinace with trees that have toppled on houses where the people wanted to avoid that problem. All the leaves clogging the gutters and causing flooding of the foundations of homes because of not being able to control the water though proper storm water mangement on an individual basis. Trees do nothing but rot houses. Mequon just turns a deaf ear to their citizens because of "Green" brains and blind eyes as to what trees really can do to homes and damage to their sewer lines and foundations.  This is some what off your subject matter here but all important with what is happening with our weather and how communities want to tell people what to do with there property.

Scott,Thank you for you contributing minutes of your life to the public's interests.

Scott's reply:

Thanks for your comments.  The only point I will make is that once a building is demolished, it's gone forever.  A reconstruction isn't really the same.   

Why are the Egyptian pyramids so fascinating?  How many people travel to Europe to marvel at centuries old churches or castles?  Why do peole still flock to Gettysburg when its most historic event is long out of living memory?  Granted, I'm not claiming any of the Brookfield buildings are in that league, but they are part of OUR heritage. 

Still, from a public policy view it's a balancing of rights and costs.  I want to give people a chance to comment so that the balance is fair.

Hi Scott, We just got back from a trip to the Greek Isles. Just an overload of history their. They use it as a great source of income with tourism being at the top of that pyramid. Things are also built different in Europe and in othe parts of the world as well. They build as they get the funds to do so. No loans. They build them to last for centurys. Simple family homes are built that way. There history is there to stay, Marble , stone, not going to blow away in wind or rain. Our historical heritage in the way of buildings are not meant to be preserved for centurys as they are in other parts of the world. Even there Mother Nature has its way.

People vist Old World Wisconsin also with great curiosity of how our imigrants made it happen with out marble and stone. And yet there still is not enough interest to fund the preservation of those buildings and heritage. Most family trees are photo albums with pictures of past family members. The genetics live on until the family tree also dies through lack of reproduction. I guess in some cases we might like to stop that reproduction also. Bad family tree, rotten from the start. Thank you.

Scott, Once your application to the Society has been accepted, will you espouse the same theme as that fostered by our resident slum lord and sitting Mayor: "If it's truly historic, it need not meet modern building codes!"?