Lake Country This Month

By Sarah Pryor Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — This year's BluesFest will feature more than just blues — namely, some Les Paul-inspired gui- tar playing to honor the singer's 100th birthday year. The Waukesha County Museum & Historical Soci- ety is partnering with the Waukesha Rotary Club to offer a fundraiser concert on Aug. 6, the day before the offi- cial start of BluesFest 2015. Festival coordinator Bob Mittnacht said the museum and Les Paul Foundation will put on the concert, but will have full use of the BluesFest grounds at Naga-Waukee Park in Delafield. "This is two nonprofits finding a way to work togeth- er in providing a service to the county, and in raising money for something that really needs some fundrais- ing," said the museum's interim Executive Director Tom Constable. Waukesha County had given the museum $300,000 annually for more than a decade until the 2014 budget when it cut its support in half to $150,000. This year, the county budget defunded the museum entirely. Local developer Alan Huelsman has suggested a proposal that would raze two of the buildings on the muse- um's Main Street complex and replace them with luxu- ry apartments. BluesFest Chairman Rick Kobriger said the Waukesha Rotary Club is excited to partner with the museum for one big weekend. It's still early, so organizers haven't worked out details such as headlining acts and ticket price, Mittnacht said. The ninth annual Wauke- sha BluesFest is scheduled for Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. www.waukeshabluesfest.com By Sarah Pryor Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — A proposal to sell the Waukesha County Museum property to a pri- vate developer has garnered mixed and impassioned reac- tions from the community. The museum's Interim Executive Director Tom Con- stable said the plan is to sell the property at 101 W. Main St. to Historic Prairieville Limited, who will raze the 1885 original jail structure and a 1930s-era connector building to make room for a high-end apartment develop- ment. Then the museum would need to consolidate into the first two floors of the original Waukesha County Courthouse, and the third floor will be renovated into a banquet and wedding facility featuring a fully restored 1893 courtroom. The muse- um will likely sign a 25-year lease on the space, paying something like $1 per year for rent, effectively getting out from under crippling annual maintenance costs that formerly zapped the organization's budget. County Executive Dan Vrakas said he feels the development is a step in the right direction. "I think it's great. This potential for creating a sus- tainable plan for the muse- um is what everyone has been looking for for several years," Vrakas said. Waukesha County had given the museum $300,000 annually for more than a decade until the 2014 budget, when it cut its support in half to $150,000. This year, the county budget defunded the museum entirely. "The idea will do two things: first and foremost it will save the museum, and it was also shore up and save the courthouse, which is an icon in downtown Wauke- sha," Vrakas said. Not everyone shared his enthusiasm. "I'm very concerned with the proposal," said Alder- woman and County Board Supervisor Kathleen Cum- mings. "It's counterintuitive for a (limited liability corpo- ration) entitled 'Historic Prairieiville' to suggest and recommend demolition of a national, state and local landmark." Cummings also said she was distressed to find that a landmarks commissioner — Alan Huelsman, one of the partners of Historic Prairieville — would lead the proposal. Huelsman said his wife, Catherine, was formerly on the museum board, so the organization holds a special place in his heart. "We'd like to save the muse- um," he told The Freeman. Waukesha Preservation Alliance President Mary Emery said the plan includes the destruction of a historic structure, the jail building, which is part of the proper- ty's national and local land- marks designation. "The 1885 jail should be retained," she said. "It's his- torically significant." Waukesha resident Tracy Walendowski Schmidt said she feels the apartment pro- posal is inappropriate. "Waukesha barely has any historical buildings left, and they want to tear more down. Downtown ... has gotten a lot better over the years, but it's still not a place for luxury apartments," she said on The Freeman's Facebook page. "City government needs to step in and help the muse- um." Most exhibits, including the Les Paul exhibit, would need to be relocated and more efficiently stored for the museum's pared-down 25,000-square-foot space, Constable said. However, he doesn't think the Les Paul exhibit would need to be diminished. Sue Baker of the Les Paul Foundation declined to com- ment for this story. Mayor Shawn Reilly said there's not enough informa- tion for him to say whether he's in favor of the proposal yet. "Obviously there aren't sufficient details to say whether I'm in favor of it — we don't know what apart- ments will look like because none of the plans have come forward — but I'm heartened by the fact that the museum has put forth a proposal that will provide them the finan- cial ability to continue forev- er," he said. Email: spryor@conleynet.com FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY • Page 3A MARCH 2015 242243008 Our Brunch Buffet will be served Sunday, April 5, 2015 from 10 am - 4 pm in our Panos' Banquet Hall Breakfast Items (Only available until 1:00 pm) Scrambled eggs, French Toast, Hash Browns, Sausage & Bacon Omelets to order Main Entrée Items Chef Carved Prime Rib, Virginia Baked Ham, Beef Tenderloin Tips, Oven Roasted Turkey, Sautéed Chicken Breast, Peel and Eat Shrimp, B.B.Q. 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