The fun in at the park, conveniently located at N. 51st St. and W. Bluemound Rd., will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The concert is sponsored by the Milwaukee County Parks Department.

The coyote was running south out of the neighborhood into the bluff area on Story near Mitchell Blvd about 9:30 p.m.

Says Joe: “I think our neighbors better watch their small pets.”

“For 2008 there were four sales in the neighborhood,” Reavey wrote in an email.  “Sales transactions were down city wide and the Story Hill area is not an exception to this. The neighborhood is not negatively impacted by foreclosures.  There are no open filings and there was only one foreclosure during 2008.”

The neighborhood, for assessment purposes, includes 252 properties.

The decline in values does not mean property taxes in the neighborhood will go down. The average assessment citywide dropped 7.2% citywide, meaning Story Hill’s property values, as a proportion of the entire city’s, actually grew. Properties of higher relative value bear a larger share of the property tax burden.

The city’s assessment write-up for the neighborhood is below.

Then, frustrated by the eight years of government neglect that allowed garlic mustard and buckthorn to take over Bluff Park, weed-out participants turned their attention to the west end of the hill, cleaning it up quite a bit before the weed-out ended at noon.

More than 30 bags of garlic mustard were collected, and dead branches, brush and invasive, hazardous buckthorn were removed from the two sites.

Bluff Park, which is the hill between the neighborhood and the freeway, has been in limbo for the last eight years while Miller Park and county officials have for some reason not been able to complete the deal that would transfer Bluff Park from Miller Park to county ownership. The County Board voted in 2001 to accept the property. The county has been maintaining the hill in the last few years, but the invasives already are in control of it.

The original intent Saturday was to remove garlic mustard from the hill, which is overgrown with the stuff in some areas. It soon became apparent, however, that the weed was inaccessible because of dead vegetation and hazardous buckthorn thorns.

And so, in one of those great community moments…

The weed-out was sponsored by Sustainable Story Hill, the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Parks Department, the Park People of Milwaukee County, the Bluemound Road Business Advancement Association and the Story Hill Neighborhood Association.

Participants each received a $10 gift certificate to a local Bluemound Rd. establishment. The certificates were donated by Sustainable Story Hill and  Derry’s, Kelly’s Bleachers, Long Wong’s, McGinn’s and Steve’s on Bluemoud. Thanks to those businesses for their generosity. Thanks to everyone who came out to make Story Hill a little bit better place to live.

A burglary was recorded in the 4700 block of Woodlawn Ct. at about 7:20 a.m May 2.

***

Speaking of crappy roads — Ellen P. is circulating for a petition seeking the long-overdue repair of Gen. Mitchell Blvd. where it poses a threat to safety. The city filled pothole craters a month or two ago (even though it is a county responsibility) but those patches are coming out.  Somebody is going to get hurt on this road and county officials are well aware of the hazard. It’s simply inexcuseable.

***

The Story Hill Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a local Pitch, Hit and Run competition at 9 a.m.  May 16th at Mitchell Blvd Park (5115 W. Bluemound Rd.).  The event is open to girls and boys from age 7 to 14.  It is completely free of charge.  Winners advance to sectional competitions, then team championships at Miller Park and finally to the national finals in St. Louis. The finals will be held during the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Please contact Pete Schmidt (check your neighborhood directory) with any questions or concerns.

More information about the competition is here.

…but the trees are as well.

The tree picture was taken on North Story Parkway, where the city is getting ready to do some sewer work.

The two allegedly have engaged in similar behavior previously.

Ald. Michael Murphy’s office, meanwhile, corrected some information released previously. The burglary occurred Saturday, and the license plates on the van were from Mississippi.

The Common Council approved the sale of the fire house for $300,000 back in 2007, but the renovations that Urology Associates LLC were supposed to do never got done. The buyers, in fact, got a $50,000 break on the price because of the money they were going to invest to rehab it.

The fire station is back on the market again, and the Department of City Development is again asking $350,000 for it.

The 4,792-square-foot building was constructed in 1927-28. It was one of five “bungalow” style fire stations in the city. It operated as a fire house until 2000 and was used as office space and for storage after that.

The city has several objectives in mind for any approved development:

•Renovation of the existing structure
•Office, R&D or retail use that positively contributed to the local neighborhood
•Minimal adverse impacts on the surrounding residential neighborhood
•Expansion of the City’s tax base
•Creation and/or retention of jobs
•Adherence to Design Standards
•Financially viability
•Timely redevelopment
•Incorporation of at least one sustainable or “green” element (such as increased energy efficiency or storm water management)
•Use of Emerging Business Enterprise– or EBE –contractors

The city also knows what it won’t welcome at the site:

•Automotive-related uses (repair garage or body shop, automobile sales, car wash, etc.)
•Use that generates significant traffic and parking needs
•Parking as a sole use
•Tax exempt use including a church or social service facility
•Convenience or liquor store, cigarette/cigar shop, gun shop, payday/auto-title loan store or pawn shop
•Tavern unless majority of the building is devoted to food service

The deadline for proposals is 2 p.m. March 6. More information is available on the Department of City Development  website here.

The man did not confront the two — a man and a woman — but alerted police, Murphy said. The two escaped with some jewelry.

Murphy said they were driving a van with Louisiana license plates.

More detail as it becomes available…