Now It's Time to Bring Development to the Town Center

The last meeting of the Mequon/Thiensville Town Center Committee was held on Thursday evening June 20, 2010.  This was a special meeting, not just because it was the last for the committee, but a number of past members were able to attend.  The meeting was held at Thiensville Village Hall and before the meeting we were able to view the new fish ladder being constructed around the Mequon/Thiensville dam.

It is a very positive step to see the Town Center initiative move from the planning and design stage to the implementation stage.  As a transition from the Town Center Committee, monthly meetings are being held by Mayor Gielow and Village President Karl Hertz along with the administrators from the two municipalities.  This will assure that there is coordination between the two communities with economic development being a high priority.  The Mequon Council and Thiensville Village Board are the bodies that need to make things happen and it appears they are working aggressively to do that in a challenging economic environment.

I want to thank the many volunteers who have served on the M/T Town Center Committee and sub-committees since our inception in 2003.  I want to also thank the leadership and staff of our two municipalities as putting together the zoning, design guidelines and financing has been a major undertaking.  I also want to thank the M/T Chamber of Commerce that has played an ever increasing role in this initiative.  There has been excellent cooperation between our two communities and I feel confident that will continue. 

Let's look forward to an increasingly attractive, pedestrian friendly, town center where we can live, shop, walk to the library, watch a baseball game, swim, stroll on the Rotary Riverwalk, stop for coffee or ice cream, relax overlooking the river, and enjoy an even better quality of life in our Mequon/Thiensville community.

Stan Smith, Chair

M/T Town Center Committee

Town Center moves to the "Selling Stage"

At our March 18, 2010 Town Center Committee meeting, we voted to move forward in to a new era with the Town Center implementation.  Now that the Town Center structure is in place with zoning districts and design guidelines, it is felt that a new structure of cooperation between the communities is in order.  With a new Mequon mayor coming in to office, it seemed like an appropriate time to take the next step.

Working closely with Mayor-elect Curt Gielow and Village President Karl Hertz, along with the administrators of the two municipalities, it was agreed that the Mequon Council and Village Board were in the best position to work along with the Chamber of Commerce on the next steps.  Specifically, the Town Center Committee passed the following motion:

            The M/T Town Center Committee recommends that this Committee formally dissolve effective May 31, 2010 and that the Mayor, Village President, and administrators of the two municipalities meet on a regular basis to focus specifically on:

·         Developing ideas for economic development within the Town Center area that can be referred up to the respective municipal leadership for consideration, debate and implementation.

·         Develop coordinated, volunteer-led, promotion and publicity of the Town Center area in concert with the M-T Chamber of Commerce and the two communities.

·         Continue to foster bipartisan community relationships as the Town Center develops to maximize the mutual interest of the two municipalities and consideration of design consistency.

The plan is to have at least bi-monthly meetings between the administrators of the two communities specifically set up to exchange information on developments in the Town Center area.  This feedback will be provided to the Mequon Common Council and to the Thiensville Village Board.   While the Town Center Committee has set the stage over a number of years, I'm confident this next step will assure a better communication between the two elected bodies.

As Mayor-elect Gielow said at the Town Center Committee meeting, "It's time to move to the selling stage".  That will be the emphasis in Mequon as the new mayor and staff, along with the Economic Development Board, work with potential developers to demonstrate the advantages of projects in the Town Center area.  The Village appears to be moving in the right direction with the new Fiddleheads under construction on Main Street and other property owners talking with developers about potential projects.

There will be one more meeting of the current M/T Town Center Committee to be held on Thursday May 20, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.  This will be an opportunity to recognize the TCC accomplishments and to be sure any open issues are referred to the elected bodies of the two communities.

Stan Smith

Fiddleheads to Roast in Town Center

It was a pleasure to attend last night's meeting of the Thiensville Plan Commission at Village Hall.  The foresight of the village in earlier purchasing and clearing the property at 120 N. Main Street has paid off.  Ray and Loreen Marcy have agreed to purchase the property and will construct a new building for roasting coffee as part of their expansion of their coffee houses.    The proposed building is a perfect fit for the Town Center and has characteristics that match the historical perspective of the village.  The building is a very attractive two story structure that will include a patio or porch in the front for outdoor seating.

The Plan Commission meeting was followed by a Village Board meeting where approvals were given for the sale of the land.   

Many of us enjoy the camaraderie found at Fiddleheads' three current locations and many discussions, both business and personal, have been held on their patio or in their very comfortable indoor seating areas.  The expertise and friendliness provided by Mike, Lynn, and Steve will now carry in to the visibility of the roasting operation which, along with their eventually offering bakery goods, should be a very attractive destination.  We wish Ray and his family the very best as they expand their business well beyond our borders with their online sales.

I hope the plans will stay on schedule with a target of June for the building to be completed.  That would be wonderful and it can set the stage for others to follow with new development or redevelopment in our Mequon/Thiensville Town Center.  

Stan Smith, Chair
M/T Town Center Committee 

Thoughts for the New Year

It's a new year and a perfect time to review what has taken place in our Town Center during 2009.  In Thiensville, the Main Street / Freistadt Road intersection was completed and the Pigeon Creek construction was finished with further landscaping scheduled for Spring.  In Mequon, the Cedarburg Road construction was completed with a convertible road that can be closed and used for periodic celebrations.  New sidewalks will be constructed and landscaping will be placed this year.

Our M/T Town Center Committee (TCC) is scheduled to meet the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm.  We don't necessarily meet every month but committee members try to hold these dates open for meetings.  We have been rotating meetings between Mequon City Hall and the Village Hall in Thiensville.  Agendas are published on the village and city web sites and the public is encouraged to attend.  The Town Center Committee consists of five members from Thiensville, five from Mequon, and one from the M/T Chamber of Commerce.

There have been discussions about the possibility of a more appropriate name for the Mequon/Thiensville Town Center.  While there is concern for making a change after a number of years of planning with the "Town Center" as the name, funds were provided by the City to contract with a consultant to explore the possibility of a different name as well as "branding" of the Town Center.  The hiring of this consultant is now in progress and the status will be reported at our January 21st TCC meeting.

Emphasis continues on publicizing the advantages of shopping locally.  While the TCC works to bring new business to the Town Center, we are continually looking at ways to support our current business community.

It was nice to see the very informative Guest Viewpoint written by our M/T Chamber Executive Director Tina Schwantes in the 12/31/09 issue of the News Graphic.  Tina did an excellent job of summarizing accomplishments.  The key role played by the Chamber in our Town Center initiatives  is recognized and appreciated.

I'm looking forward to this new year and seeing the next steps in the Town Center development.

Stan Smith, Chair
M/T Town Center Committee

Some Town Center Reflections

I just took a swing through the Thiensville part of the M/T Town Center and it was great to see all of the completed construction and no orange barrels. I went to Walgreens, the Bank and the Post Office. The intersection of Main Street and Freistadt is very attractive and the new stop lights look great. The temporary mailbox at Walgreens is gone and things appear to be back to normal only much more attractive.

Last week's weather was pretty lousy and it's disappointing to hear the Mequon road construction on Cedarburg Road is a little behind schedule as a result. It will now be "mid November" before the road construction is completed. However, the multiple color concrete panels in the "convertible road" in front of City Hall are looking very attractive. I look forward to the time when a visit to the Library, City Hall and Logemann Center will be just as easy as the trip through Thiensville was this morning. That should be soon.

The Thursday night "Lady's Night Out" in Thiensville looks like it will be even more popular this year with a great ad section in the last News Graphic.

Things are coming together in the Town Center. I realize there is some talk of a different name for the Town Center but that's what we've been calling it for a number of years and I'll stick with that for now.

Stan Smith, Chair
M/T Town Center Committee

Thiensville - Main Street Sign

Back on August 19th, I wrote a blog feeling quite good about the "Thiensville - Main Street" signs that had been placed on Mequon Road pointing north. I even posted a picture of one of the signs. It was quite a surprise this week to find that the signs had been removed at the direction of the Department of Transportation. Apparently the sign approvals were not received from the appropriate DOT officials.

For years, it has been a challenge for people to find Main Street in Thiensville when they are approaching on Mequon Road. The through street is called Cedarburg Road in Mequon and changes to Main Street when it gets in to Thiensville. Maybe this removal of the signs has actually helped get publicity out about the Main Street location. It was good to see a front page story in yesterday's News Graphic entitled "Finding Main Street just got tougher". If people read the article, maybe it just got easier.

It was good to hear that the DOT will arrange for replacement of the signs and I guess they will be the approved color, shape, size and height. We'll hope the new signs still refer to Main Street and don't just have an arrow pointing to Thiensville.

In the meantime, it's great to see that the Freistadt Road / Main Street intersection is complete and the new stop lights look great. Construction of Cedarburg Road is on schedule and should be open to through traffic on November 6th. It will be spring before landscaping will be done but I think we will all be impressed with this new section of street in the Mequon Campus part of the Town Center.

Stan Smith
Chair, M/T Town Center Committee

Construction Updates

While it's great to see things moving along with the construction in the Mequon portion of the Town Center, we fully recognize the inconveniences there will be during upcoming weeks. Please check the construction status on the City of Mequon web site (www.ci.mequon.wi.us). I am told that these status reports will be updated on a weekly basis.

While the detour is required for thru traffic, local traffic to local businesses is maintained. This includes access to the Weyenberg Library and to Mequon City Hall. A plan was considered where two lanes of traffic could be maintained at all times but it proved to be considerably more costly and would have taken more weeks of construction.

I've taken the detour on several occasions and find it doesn't take much longer but is obviously an inconvenience. However, it will have been worth it when we complete this portion of the Town Center. We are especially concerned about people continuing to shop at local businesses. Below is a picture of the sign on the detour route making it clear that the detour will get people to Main Street in Thiensville. It is a priority of our Town Center Committee to stress the advantages of shopping locally especially during this period of road construction.

During October, there will be 20 days when Cedarburg Road will be closed but otherwise it is open for traffic to local businesses. However, I find taking the detour is much easier for thru traffic and access to the Library from the north of the construction and City Hall from the south is the way to go.

Final completion is expected by October 31st.

Stan Smith
Chair, M/T Town Center Committee